Drama Reviews: The Ghost Detective | Jugglers

The Ghost Detective (今天的偵探)

Plot Synopsis by AsianWiki Staff 

Lee Da-Il is a private investigator. He was formerly in the military, but a whistleblower case led to his discharge. Jung Yeo-Wool becomes his assistant. She is a fearless woman. They work together to solve a mystery surrounding the death of a younger sibling. They also work together to solve other cases, some involving ghosts.

I binge watched these two dramas for the past few weeks and thus neglected my books. Well I still read, but my progress was slow. Now that I was done with them, I'm back to my regular reading mode (unless I was sidetracked once again). Anyways, back to the topic. The Ghost Detective was a horror thriller and I thought it has a good premise. The lead character, Da-Il (starring Daniel Choi) became a ghost while solving a kidnapping case; he was buried alive but his soul wanders around. Yeo-Wool (starring Park Eun-Bin) lost her sister to a paranormal incident and had requested the police to look into the case but was rejected. She encountered Da-Il and was the only person who was able to see him. They worked together to find this ghost who manipulated and killed several people, including Da-Il's mother and Yeo-Wool's younger sister. 

The paranormal aspect was an intriguing one, but there are some scenarios which I found confusing, though. I was particularly skeptical about Sun Woo-Hye (starring Lee Ji-Ah), the ghost because she was actually a twelve-year-old girl but over the years her body was in comatose and was kept alive through a respirator. Her speech and mentality were like an adult at times, and she was a real devil. The supporting characters were intriguing as well, as they involved a shaman cum medical examiner and a meticulous cop who seemed to have a little crush on Yeo-Wool. The romance element was minimal, but I liked the chemistry between Da-Il and Yeo-Wool. Despite a few shortcomings, overall I thought it was an entertaining drama. 

(3.5 stars)

Jugglers 

Plot Synopsis by AsianWiki Staff

Yoon-Yi (Baek Jin-Hee) works as a secretary and has held her job for the past 5 years. She is loyal and devoted to her work. Yoon-Yi also runs an internet community website for secretaries. One day, her boss's wife mistakenly assumes her husband is having an affair with Yoon-Yi. The scandal spreads throughout her company. Her boss though does not correct the misunderstanding to coverup his own real affair he is having with someone else. Yoon-Yi is placed on a waiting list for a new position and she is devastated.

Meanwhile, Chi-Won (Daniel Choi) is scouted for a managing director position in the Video Business Department at YB Ad. He carries a trauma related to a fire incident when he was young. He is not interested in socializing with other people and he does not a have a secretary. Yoon-Yi is assigned to work as Chi-Won's secretary at YB Ad, but Chi-Won tells her that he does not need her. Yoon-Yi tells him otherwise and that she will work hard for him. One evening, Chi-Won's boss invites him and Yoon-Yi out for dinner. Yoon-Yi gets drunk and Chi-Won takes her home. It turns out the house where she lives is the same house where the traumatic fire incident occurred when Chi-Won was a child. Next to the front door, he sees a flyer looking for a tenant for a second floor room. Chi-Won decides to rent the room to overcome his trauma.

Jugglers is basically a story about office employees (in particularly personal assistants) and the difficulties and challenges they often encounter while working alongside with their bosses; and at its core it is an office romantic comedy which I found both sweet and entertaining. I've to admit I watched this because of actor Daniel Choi. I was quite charmed by his charisma in The Ghost Detective and I was glad to see another side of him in Jugglers as he played a cool and an unsociable boss but ended up falling in love with his PA. 

What I liked about this drama is aside from the romance element (so, so sweet and romantic, sigh), it portrays the everyday life of a PA and what they do for their bosses. From running the office to running personal errands, they are the personnel who represent their bosses and at times, they have to grit their teeth to accomplish tasks which are beyond their duties. While not all bosses are making use of their authority and taking their PAs for granted, there are still some who do that like Yoon-Yi's ex-boss in this drama. 

Aside from Yoon-Yi's and Chi-Won's perspectives, I also enjoyed the story between Wang Jung-Ae (starring Kang Hye-Jung) and Hwangbo Yool (starring Lee Won-Geun). June-Ae was a shy, working single mother who struggled to make ends meet, while Hwangbo was a young director living a king's life. It was interesting to see the changes in them as the story progresses; and I felt for Jung-Ae throughout the drama because she led such a sad life. Fortunately there was a HEA for her in the end. I enjoyed this one much more than The Ghost Detective, perhaps this was a romcom and it had brightened up my mood amid my girls' school exams period (it was over as of writing this, thank goodness!)   

(4 stars)

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