My Girl tells the story of a poor, animated girl with a talent for telling lies who gets mixed up with a rich guy. When his grandfather is about to pass away in the hospital, he recruits her to pretend to be his long lost cousin to fulfill his grandfather’s dying wish of finding her.
My Girl is a classic kdrama released in 2005. It’s been on my watch list practically from the moment I started watching kdramas. I had actually been saving it since it is only one of two dramas starring Lee Joon Gi that I hadn’t seen. I was also pretty worried about suffering some serious second lead syndrome since he’s not the main guy.
Although some of my second lead fears came true, I loved My Girl! Since the drama is over a decade old, it definitely feels older, but I don’t mind that at all. My first kdrama was Full House which came out just a year earlier. And they both have the exact same kind of look and feel.
It has a comfortable, laid back pace in the beginning as our story gets set up. Older dramas usually feel a bit slower than many new dramas, but it’s a matter of selling the story, characters, and atmosphere. And My Girl definitely does those things.
My Girl is written by the famous Hong Sisters, and their writing style is very evident throughout the drama. I have seen You’re Beautiful, Fantasy Couple, Master’s Sun, and my all time favorite drama, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, by them. They are wonderful writers overall.
The drama includes many of their signature elements including lots of fantasy scenes where the characters imagine themselves in different or crazy situations. I love these so much, and they always provide a lot of good laughs!
And the soundtrack to this drama is wonderful! It has that old-school feel to it too. One song after the other is played throughout each episode, and I loved every single song! Each song added a certain richness such as enhancing humorous scenes with quirky, fun music. And the dramatic ballads played during those classic kdrama moments and cliffhanger endings was magical and magnificent. I seriously couldn’t get enough of it!
Lee Dong Wook plays Seol Gong Chan. He’s our leading man who finds himself reluctantly falling for Yoo Rin. I loved his character in the drama. He’s your typical rich guy that’s a bit cold toward our girl. But he always had this softness to him that made him very appealing.
The poor guy also frequently sported this sad puppy dog face that looked like he was always on the verge of tears. But when we he smiles, it is oh so sweet! I only have praise for Lee Dong Wook’s talent in bringing to life the different aspects of this character. Gong Chan was certainly a pretty swoon-worthy male lead.
Lee Da Hae is our heroine Joo Yoo Rin. And she is a fun one! She is so lively and animated with a sparkling smile to complete the picture. I loved her quirky charms and watching her get in and out of some sticky situations. The faces she makes are hilarious, and everything about her was enjoyable.
Lee Joon Gi plays our poor second lead Seo Jung Woo. He’s a ladies man who ends up falling hard for Yoo Rin. This was a great opportunity to see that signature Lee Joon Gi charm. When he’s interacting with Yoo Rin, his bright smile is on display making him practically irresistible. I loved his look in this drama with his perfectly styled hair and cool clothes. He’s so much fun, and I just wanted him to get some love!
As I feared though, my little heart was breaking right along with him as he quietly pined for Yoo Rin and filled his dutiful role of making sure she was happy, even if it was with Gong Chan. Seriously, I think half of his scenes involved him long-fully gazing at her from a distance followed by him drinking his way through his misery. It’s a good thing I like Lee Dong Wook so much or this drama could have been torture.
There were some pretty adorable scenes between Jung Woo and Yoo Rin. He’s her friend and support as she finds herself in the midst of all of these lies. His friendly personality was something she really needed much of the time.
We have our second female lead Kim Se Hyun played by Park Shi Yeon. She’s a star tennis player and Gong Chan’s girlfriend. She comes back into his life out of the blue, but Gong Chan’s feelings for Yoo Rin are quickly building. Se Hyun’s jealousy then plays out before our eyes as her mission becomes to prevent Gong Chan and Yoo Rin’s happiness.
A common staple of Hong Sisters dramas are the entertaining supporting characters. We have Yoo Jin’s friends Jin Shim (Hwang Bo Ra) and Jin Kyu (Jo Kye Hyung). I always love Hwang Bo Ra vecause of how lively she is. And Jo Kye Hyung had a bit of a transformation throughout the drama that was pretty entertaining. These two were a fun duo.
We have one of my favorite kdrama grandpas (Byun Hee Bong) to create a lot of our conflict. We also have Gong Chan’s aunt (Choi Ran) and her guy Il Do (Ahn Suk Hwan). This guy is known for playing weaselly characters in dramas, and I was pretty surprised to see him pop up in this drama. He was actually pretty likable and quite a fun side character.
Another common staple of Hong Sisters dramas is my favorite genre mix of more comedy in the first half of the drama followed by more melodrama in the second half. My Girl fits this pattern perfectly. I like this mix of genres because it allows me to connect with the characters in a more light-hearted and fun way in the beginning which makes me more invested for the melodrama to come.
And oh how I loved the melodramatic goodness! Clichés abound! Those longing stares with epic music in the background, lies being discovered, and secrets being exposed. Second leads pining for their loves with our main couple involved in a push-pull relationship with each other as they cope with their feelings in the midst of their sticky situation. Seriously, I love this stuff!
And our main couple ends up being quite a wonderful pair. I loved Yoo Jin’s goofy silliness being played off of Gong Chan’s more serious nature. But she allows him to loosen up and actually have some fun too.
And while I wouldn’t say their relationship itself was actually swoon-worthy, it was so much fun and filled with a lot of dramatic goodness that made their love feel really big. Such a wonderful and adorable couple.
My Girl was such a treat for me. Being in my favorite genre and from one of my favorite writers, it had a lot going for it from the beginning. Each of the characters were interesting and played their parts well.
I loved getting to see Lee Joon Gi in this early outing from him. He never disappoints. I already loved Lee Dong Wook, but it only grew after this performance. Add in lots of humor and a dash of angsty goodness, and I was pretty well satisfied. My Girl is the definition of a kdrama rom-com, and it deserves its place in the Kdrama Hall of Fame.
My Rating: 9/10
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