Modern Farmer (2014)

Okay - so I'm really glad that I did not let the first 3-ish episodes deter me from this fun drama. The first couple of episodes are seriously silly and over-the-top with dramatics, over-acting, and goofy comedy. BUT, it is very much redeemed once you get to know all the characters. Not only are the characters redeemed (who appeared one-dimensional and somewhat petty in the beginning) but also the premise of the story.
The characters and their stories are very endearing and heartwarming. Overall, the story plays out very much like a family sitcom: a group of boys who don't really know anything about responsibility endure real life struggles through the support of their new quirky neighbors in a rural town. There's implied romance, but nothing gushy.

My favorite thing about watching Modern Farmer was how the boys mature and grow through their experience together in the rural town and gaining responsibilities and recognize their impact on others through their own hardships.

I wasn't crazy about the love triangle nor the side-character love stories, though I understand why they were used to add a layer to the story. I also found that the final 10 minutes of the final episode (epilogue) were lacking a bit. I would have really liked to see a much more matured ending with the 4 city boys becoming successful, if not together, than in their own right. It kind of bummed me out that they each kind of became good-for-nothings in the epilogue even though I know that was supposed to be part of the humor. >.<

But OVERALL, I would like to remember the silly antics and fun sitcom-like humor the rural town residents brought when engaged with the 4 city boys. Each boy really did face their own real struggles that were easy to empathize with, which made watching (while getting teared up) and continuing to watch easy! The story isn't complicated and the love triangle does not get nasty or messy, which I really appreciated. The overall message I got from Modern Farmer is be kind and supportive of others, even strangers; when others are feeling down, support and encourage them so we can get through it together. A heartwarming message.

Would I recommend Modern Farmer? Hmmm... I probably won't go out of my way to recommend it. Not because it's not good, but just because I don't think many people would necessarily appreciate the casual comedic watch it is. Honestly, there are far superior brotherly/friendship themed dramas to watch. But what makes Modern Farmers enjoyable is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, even if the story and ending themselves are not flawless - the journey is enjoyable all the same. :)

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This drama is funny and the characters are good too, the only problem here is they always shout. Like literally every episode in every five minutes. I think almost all the characters keep shouting and it's irritating me that's why I skip some/most scenes and I got bored (but still finished it). In my opinion, this drama would be good to watch and tolerable if they weren't so loud. Every time one of the characters shout, it makes me cringe and give me a somewhat second hand embarrassment.

I'll give this drama a 4/10. The acting is good (except the shouting obviously) and somehow the the music/OST in this drama got me hooked up a little bit. But still, I won't recommend this drama for you to watch.

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Very funny a good cheer you up series

This is a 2014 South Korean comedic tv series with 20, 60 minute, episodes.

After their rock career suffers a set back, members of the band Excellent Souls (ExSo): Kang Hyeok (Park Min-woo), Yoo Han-cheo (Lee Si-eon), and Han Ki-Joon (Dong Yeon) are persuaded by their lead singer Lee Min-ki (Lee Hong-gi) to give up their life in Seoul and take on farming to raise money to finally debut. Lee Min-ki’s grandmother left him a plot of farmland that had little value in real estate but could yield valuable crops such as cabbage. The village where the farm is located is comprised of villagers who are not very welcoming of outsiders especially city boys. The boys fight an uphill battle to win favor and much needed help from the villagers. Min-ki grew up for a time in the village and has fond memories of his first love, Kang Yoon-hee (Lee Ha-nuI). Yoon-hee is now a single mother and the village leader and Min-ki’s one connection to his past in the village. Can the boys gain the villagers acceptance and produce a crop that will give them a fresh start?

Spoiler 🚨 This is one of the most comedic dramas I have seen. It is very well cast and the young actors do a great job of conveying the struggle of being out of your element. They make so many hilarious mistakes and have you rooting for them the whole way. I fell in live with all the characters in the village. I loved the way everyone had each other’s backs no matter what. I was so interested in the music I looked it up and PT Island is on my playlist. Min-ki’s character was so dynamic it was easy to understand why people would follow him easily.

I had mixed feelings about the ending. On one hand it made perfect sense but, on the other, I wanted to see the full success as I knew they would get there. Walt Disney applied for a loan some 200 times before he succeeded and those types of dreamers that never give up, almost always eventually do. Min-ki is that type of dreamer and it made it so enjoyable to watch.

I highly recommend this fun, feel good, movie. When it ends, you will miss all the characters like they are your good friends. You will want to spend time in the village with all the crazy, but lovable, characters.

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I decided to give this drama a try for two reasons: because it was a comedy and because of Lee Hongki, whom I had already seen and loved in You're beautiful (besides the fact that I'm a huge fan of him as a singer). At the beginning I found his character really funny, but later on I actually wanted to slap him. Not his fault, but the writers's fault, obviously. In fact, it's Lee Ha Nui's acting that was actually a nice surprise. Well, I had already seen her in Pasta and I didn't dislike her performance, but her role in MF is so different that I really enjoyed it.
The pairing is a little weird in my opinion and I don't think they had any chemistry at all. I guess that's one of the main handicaps in the story. I actually had a strong case of second male lead in this one, to be honest. In fact, there are many other more interesting and funnier couples in the drama, like Kwak Dong Yeon/Han Joo Hyeon, or Seo Dong Won/Jung Shi Ah. These two were really funny and I actually enjoyed Seo Dong Won's performance a lot.
Also, I liked AOA Mina's performance. I admit I don't usually expect much from idols's acting, but I think her role suited her and she was funny.
I think the drama is overall well casted.

One of the strongest points of the drama, in my opinion, are the female characters. They are pretty unusual female characters for a drama: a single mom, a swindler, an ex-unfaithful girlfriend, an idol... even a non-Asian wife. Even if in the end the same usual clichés end up resurfacing in the plot, and Han Bo Reum's character, for example, becomes the typical annoying second female lead.
Also I found the plot original for a drama, and I appreciate that it's not set in Seoul, for a change, and that it doesn't involve the typical chaebol/working class hero or heroine romance/s.
The humour... well it might not be everybody's taste, since it's a bit coarse at times, but it's pretty funny all in all.

As for the soundtrack, I don't usually like it when dramas use cuts from non-Korean songs, because they overuse the same songs drama after drama. It sounds too patched up to me. I prefer it when soundtracks are original and recorded purposely for the drama. I understand that at times they wanted to create an especific atmosphere since the plot is about a rock band, but either way, the choices could be much more original.

The plot development is sometimes uneven and it doesn't focus too much in romance, but either way it's an endearing story with quite endearing characters and I recommend it.

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Fun but had to grow on me

I enjoyed watching this a lot, even though it was definitely something that had to grow on me because all the toilet humor wasn’t my thing. I really appreciate how quickly the plot moved through everything and learned to care about all the characters! This drama did a really good job forcing me to suspend my disbelief and even though it had a lot of tropes, it honestly didn’t FEEL cliche, at all.

Now —I have such MIXED emotions about the ending? While it was definitely fun and not altogether so unrealistic, I felt like a lot of sub-plot was left out, like the debt and loan sharks, Yoon-hee's piano-playing, familial relationships, etc. Some sub-plots felt a little unnecessary and I think the time could've been used to explain other things better.

Similarly, I felt like they could’ve really subverted our expectations with some of the lovelines and having some couples NOT end up together — it’s not just that I didn’t really like them, but just that the relationships were based on so many issues that I don’t think were successfully worked out and I think the characters needed more exploring on their own.

So, same goes with some of the characters by themselves — as much as I loved cute domestic fluff, Hyuk's character was pretty under-utilized, while Han-chul’s cancer plot felt like it was only used to justify his obsessiveness and angstiness.

Overall, still a fun watch and very fast paced. If you liked Eulachacha Waikiki (which I didn't) you'll probably also like this sort of slapstick humor.

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There must be something wrong with me, because everyone says it's a good show. To me it was childish and extremely boring. I love Hong Ki so I really wanted to finish it, but it took me four months to watch eleven episodes and I was miserable during every single one of them, but it got harder and harder to watch. The lead woman is annoying, most of the acting is so-so (Hong Ki is very good and cute, but not enough to make up for everything else), the humor is not funny to me at all, the romance is not romantic and there is no chemistry. Maybe my review is irrelevant, since I'm kind of alone with my opinion :/

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