Amazed at the overflowing comments section for TK:EM, but unable to bring myself to watch it, after having been burned by the first episodes of several other KES dramas (what on earth was DOTS? Secret Garden? Heirs?), I thought I’d give her another shot, and started City Hall, based on multiple recommendations from Beanies on the Fan Wall. And whoa, I’m totally blown away by this show. I can only say thank you to all of you for highlighting this here.

For a 2009 show, it has aged *very well*. Sometimes the acting comes across as wooden, or two-dimensional, but the writing actually shines – whether it is in the plotline (nothing original here, but even so), or the dialogue (quick-fire, sometimes I need to slow it down). I’m only about half-way through, but it’s definitely among the better shows I have seen. Such a shame she’s stopped writing stories like this. 

In any event, a few things about this show stood out to me so far:
1. The plot is essentially a Pygmalion/My Fair Lady story – so far, at least, till about ep 10.

2. There’s not much face paint, and the actors look like real people. Why don’t dramas do make up like this anymore? It would be so much easier on the eye. 

3. In terms of cinematography, the city and fishmarket scenes are so real, not at all manicured. Very well done. The indoor sets, however, are terrible. 

4. I don’t much like either of the leads. Too much aegyo from Kim Sun-Ah, too much macho-ness from Cha Seung-Won. Sure, it was probably part of their remit, but it grates sometimes.  Even so, even with leads I don’t like, this show is a really compelling watch. This says something about how good the story is.

5. To reveal how shallow I am, Yoon Se-Ah is *beautiful*. I thought she was a stunner when I saw her first in Just Between Lovers and then again in Stranger and in the first few episodes of SKY Castle. I can’t stop ogling at her whenever she’s on screen. I feel like I’m stalking her. (Elsewhere, I’m stalking Yoo Yoon-Seok – to fill in the gaps between the weekly installments of Hospital Playlist, I watched  bits of Warm and Cozy , which I did not like, but he’s still eye candy. Maybe I have a thing for Yoons…) 
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    If you love Yoon Se-ah, check out Three Meals A Day in the Mountain

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    So pleased to hear that City Hall stands the test of time and you like it. It has been my all time favourite and it totally blown me away when first released back in 2009. As you said, the story is compelling (although I love the KSA-CSW pairing to pieces as the most mature and romantic OTP in my book). Ep 10 is where the story getting more and more intense till the very end and its ending is the best ever – hope this is not a spoiler.

    I’m sure you know but just in case – Samsooki’s recap is here at DB: http://www.dramabeans.com/2009/07/city-hall-episode-1/

    JB is not a fan of this drama, I recall, and Samsooki took it on to guest-recap (which was very rare in the early days of Dramabeans.

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      And I kind of hope, one day, KES could produce something as great as City Hall instead of the big buzz but disappointing fares in recent years.

      Yoon Se-ah is quite a regular in KES dramas but the last was A Gentleman’s Dignity in which she quite stole the show.

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        And a bonus is to see greenie Lee Joon-Hyuk as the aide of CSW.

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          I know!! Now there’s an actor who I feel hasn’t quite got his due on screen yet. He was excellent in Stranger (or maybe I just like everyone and everything about that show). Can’t bring myself to watch 365 because the story doesn’t interest me, but it’s great to see him here! He looks like a kid in front of CSW and KSA. 😀

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      I just finished ep 10! Thank you. I have been reading Samsooki’s recaps alongside watching the show, and really enjoying it.
      I’m surprised at how fast-paced the drama actually is. I went in with a great deal of hesitation, because (a) it’s an old show; and (b) I was expecting it to be slow-burn, slow-paced. But the story moves really really fast. It’s a great ride.

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    City Hall is an absolute gem^^
    And well, I adored CSW and KSA together! I remember being so obsessed with them, saving their pictures and looking at them every day:))) I miss those days.

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