Episode 11 – “You Had Me At An-Nyung (안녕).”

Jo Gook has come back and found that his hamster that he saved from tomato-throwing goons is being cared for by another. Jung Do again?? Doesn’t this guy already have a wife? (hmm, don’t you already have a fiancée? *ooh, busted by Samsooki*) Predictably, Jo Gook is upset; he petulantly tosses the clothes that he has bought for Mi Rae onto the couch and turns to leave.

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Read the rest of City Hall: Episode 11 (3,205 words)

© Samsooki for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 79 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Seung-won, City Hall, episode recaps, guest bloggers, Kim Sun-ah

Episode 10 – I’m Shin Mi Rae:  Your Mayoral Candidate #5!

What an opening scene. It looks like Jo Gook has everything he can dream of in this hotel room: he has his billionaire cake and can pet his hamster too. Jo Gook looks like a kid on Christmas morning who cannot decide which present to open first. The only slight adjustment I would make, if I were Jo Gook, might be to have them not necessarily be there ALL at the same time…

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Read the rest of City Hall: Episode 10 (2,764 words)

© Samsooki for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 71 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Seung-won, City Hall, episode recaps, guest bloggers, Kim Sun-ah

(This is what you get when you mix a little bit of Michelle Obama, Sailor Moon, an old rich Korean woman together with Mi Rae)

City Hall: Episode 9 – What It Means To Be A Civil Servant, What It Means To Be A Woman.

To neutralize Mi Rae as a wild card in the upcoming Mayoral election, Joo Hwa has just offered Mi Rae a job as a mascot / cheerleader for her Victory Party’s candidate. Mi Rae, incensed at constantly being treated like a fool by Joo Hwa, rejects the offer. Mi Rae declares that SHE will run for Mayor, and she will just have to become Wonder Woman to do so! Joo Hwa is in disbelief, but recovers more than a little of her classic sneer in deriding Mi Rae’s threatened action.

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Read the rest of City Hall: Episode 9 (4,004 words)

© Samsooki for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 67 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Seung-won, City Hall, episode recaps, guest bloggers, Kim Sun-ah

City Hall: Episode 8 – “Wonder Woman” or “The Other Woman”?

What a beautiful opening scene, with flower petals and budding crushes in the air. Smells like spring love, perhaps. As Episode 8 begins, we see Jo Gook giving Mi Rae a bouquet of flowers and inviting her to go on an overnight trip with him. That’s like a 5th or 6th date kind of thing, but I guess both Jo Gook and Mi Rae are old enough that they don’t need to go to dinner and a movie first, with mom riding shotgun.

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Read the rest of City Hall: Episode 8 (3,135 words)

© Samsooki for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 65 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Seung-won, City Hall, episode recaps, guest bloggers, Kim Sun-ah

Panoramic and beautiful Inju City on a warm spring day.

City Hall: Episode 7 – A Bright Future (미래) For Inju City

As we start Episode 7, I feel like a new drama series has started, and a new series that in some ways has very little to do with the first six episodes. Now, we are seeing main story arcs developing, like Mi Rae and her battle against abuse of power and corruption, and how far she is willing to go. The other big story line is the evolution of the relationship between Mi Rae and Jo Gook.

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Read the rest of City Hall: Episode 7 (2,597 words)

© Samsooki for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 70 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Seung-won, City Hall, episode recaps, guest bloggers, Kim Sun-ah

 City Hall: Episode 6 - One Woman’s Protest, One City’s Hope

The battle is on, between City Council Member Joo Hwa, and the lowest ranking Civil Servant and junior secretary Mi Rae. Joo Hwa has just demanded that the Mayor fire Mi Rae. Mi Rae is not in an accepting mood, and retorts that Joo Hwa is abusing her power. Joo Hwa’s reply is honest, if not a little coarse, “this is why people are so eager to grab power in the first place – for one reason alone – so that they can abuse.”  (Note:  if I had some steel wool and personal genie that could transport me to that scene, I would take the steel wool and wipe that smirk from Mrs. Perky Evil’s face.)

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Read the rest of City Hall: Episode 6 (3,021 words)

© Samsooki for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 57 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Seung-won, City Hall, episode recaps, guest bloggers, Kim Sun-ah

City Hall: Episode 5 – The Buildup Before The Storm

As you may recall from the end of Episode 4, Mi Rae was telling her friends a whopper of a romantic story about what “really” happened between her and Jo Gook at the hotel, but then Jo Gook innocently showed up and Mi Rae had no choice but to slap Jo Gook to get him out of the restaurant, to save her embarrassment from revealing her “artistic license.” Outside the restaurant, Mi Rae pleads Jo Gook not to reveal that it was all made up, but when Mi Rae’s friends follow her outside, Mi Rae has to continue her charade.

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Read the rest of City Hall: Episode 5 (2,743 words)

© Samsooki for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 40 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Seung-won, City Hall, episode recaps, guest bloggers, Kim Sun-ah