There's a group of close to perfect photos you often see at the top of a post and that batch of about seven or so are ones I can never get enough of.... especially that second pic above.... WOWOWOW! This is the second post in a row with 'Featuring' in the title but that won't be continuing on.... or will it? The answer is a partial Yes and it'll be for the next few posts in this 'My Current Watches' series but just for Korean dramas, there may be five of these featuring Jin Se-Yeon 😍 and her latest drama "Recipe for Love". It'll be airing for another dozen weeks and for this drama am doing something I've haven't done in ages and it just may be a one time deal. Close to 100% of the time I binge watch a drama once it's finished it's run, often I'll view the first episode right after its aired to see if it's worth watching and it usually is. I was kind of curious about this drama as it stars one of my all time favorite woman, I may exaggerate at times but when I gush about Se-Yeon 😍 all of the superlatives I use to describe her are right on the money!
"Recipe for Love" is a weekend drama that airs Saturday and Sundays at 8:00 pm, they're often the highest rated shows of a season. The dramas are long as they go on for 25 weeks with fifty episodes that are 65-70 minutes in length, 24 have currently aired. Thought I would check out the first two episodes just to see how they were and whether I should try to do some recaps for them in the future. The answer to that was an easy YES for I quickly became so enamored with this series and ended up watching six episodes that were 405 minutes in three nights and I still couldn't get enough of the drama! I honestly can't believe how terrific this drama is and that truly has shocked me but in a pleasant way. It's a very serious series yet has some comedy and light hearted moments plus there's never a dull moment as there's so many ongoing stories. But I do need to stop my viewing as I don't want to catch up with to the series quite yet and will put it on pause after the tenth episode.
Whew, when it comes to unbeatable legs Mai Shinuchi may finally have a rival, one massive positive about this show is that Se-Yeon loves to wear skirts and I love the fact she loves wearing them! Back to the details of the show and how I'll be doing the recaps which will be a semi-experiment. There's no way I want to write up fifty posts that would each have seventy screenshots and about a dozen paragraphs, that would take so long they'd be the only posts I could do in about a two month period. So the experiment I will be trying is one I really hope works out as I could do it for future dramas, it'd be such a time saver plus I could do a feature for an actress to begin off the post. For all of these "Recipe for Love" posts will have a couple of Se-Yeon segments to begin off the post, for today will have three that total over forty photos and after them will do a mini recap of the first two episodes. I'm beginning this on April 21st and bet it won't be done for three days as I'm not quite sure yet of the format plus I have other posts to write up, as mentioned have viewed the first six episodes. Future posts for the drama won't be nearly as long as I won't need to have a four paragraph intro section.
Usually give a play by play account of a drama's events but am going to try doing the recap in a semi-story style. Instead of listing the events in order will discuss what took place in the two episodes which total over 130 minutes. The plan is to have a three paragraph section followed by screenshots from the first episode but in that section will also be talking about things that took place in the second show, will also have another section and more screenshots. Sure I don't need to explain it all to you and you'll be able to understand everything once you start reading it so will update this intro once the post is complete. For today will also have a mini Character Section to discuss the main roles and have some info about about everyone, may copy that section and have it in future recaps. That bio section is the most important part so make sure you read that and guess this was enough of an intro.
So while Han-Na is my number one woman making a run at her lately has been Se-Yeon and while it may be hard to topple #1 if any woman can do it she'd be the one! After such a long gap in posts did one in February for her birthday and it's much more difficult to do posts for Korean actresses compared to the ones from Japan. Korean women don't do as much modeling and doing gravure work is unheard of so the amount of magazines they appear in is much less. So while it won't be easy there's no reason I can't do more posts for my favorite Korean actresses which is more than the three that were mentioned. So this new feature could work out well for including actresses in posts, there may not be enough new things for an entire post but think a segment or two before the drama recaps is doable. So let's get to some fabulous Se-Yeon photos and I've given most of her bio info in previous posts so check those out. Plus this may be one of the longest posts I've ever written up so don't want to gab on too long about Se-Yeon 😍 who was one of those rare women that I was smitten with from the first second! She does post many photos at her IG page and have quite a few below, could have had even more. The first four are from two months ago and were for her 32nd birthday, the four after those are my favorites and Se-Yeon looks so darn terrific wearing skirts! There's also a few photos from the set of "Recipe for Love" which is her first drama since 2024, that was the "Memory Eraser" series which I haven't viewed but will get around to it.
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Started on this after viewing six episodes but will try not to have many spoilers for shows after episode two though a few details may help. As we go along will be editing this section and for now have no clue if any other major characters will be added to this drama. Will also add in some different videos as these recaps go along, below is a behind the scenes one from the first two episodes. Will be doing five posts featuring a pair of episodes so ten in all and then the plan is to take a break.... I think? Don't want to get overly wrapped up doing these posts so after writing up five of these may let the series finish before resuming the recaps. This is foreign territory for me as I've never recapped such a long series though the "Abunai Deka" drama was quite long but the episodes were twenty minutes shorter. Let's get to the main characters and there are a lot of them, all get a decent amount of screentime and after the info are the details of the first two shows.
There's two main character sections for the Gong and Yang families who have been bitter enemies for thirty years! What happened back then is that the Gong father had run off with the mother of the Yang clan and what a scandal that turned out to be! The Gong mother and Yang father are still alive living with their families who have so many connections yet have remained enemies for three decades though could that change by the time this series wraps up???? The setting of this show is Onjeong which isn't too far from Busan but it's 240 miles to Seoul and am glad the location isn't South Korea's largest city but not sure if the setting will be all that important to the stories. Will also be adding in the links to previous recaps and because I'll be keeping them at six paragraphs(hopefully!) a post you should be able to zoom through them. Also for the next post will be adding in the ratings and these Saturday/Sunday dramas are the most popular ones in South Korea.
Jin Se-Young as Gong Ju-Ah.... Only one character's age has been revealed but am guessing Ju-Ah is around thirty in age, she's the eldest child in the Gong family. Which has prided itself on the amount of doctors they've had and Ju-Ah had gone to medical school, even though she received some sort of license decided to become a fashion designer to the fury of her mother Seong-Mi. Who has started to understand her daughter's career wishes and the two are finally starting to warm up again to each other. Ju-Ah is the main star of this drama, all the characters get a lot of screentime but she gets the most. Ju-Ah works for the Taehan Group as a designer and presume that's located in Busan, she's had many ups and downs but think by the end of this series she'll come out as a winner. Not just at her designer job but also at love as her teen friend Yang Hyun-Bin has moved back to Korea after being overseas for many years, at first she didn't recognize her friend but did by the end of the fourth show. He's her supervisor at the Taehan Group and will there be sparks between the pair???? Could have had this bio in the Gong family section but decided to keep the two main stars separate.
Park Ki-Woong as Yang Hyun-Bin.... As mentioned above Hyun-Bin had been friends with Ju-Ah up to the age of fifteen or so. She's a year older and Hyun-Bin had such a crush on her but not sure she felt the same way. Hyun-Bin had finished his schooling abroad and for the last few years had been working in Argentina, he seems to be a whiz at helping companies improve their image and making their brands profitable. He's trying to do so for the Taehan Group even though he knows zero about the fashion world but Hyun-Bin is so adept at working with others and helping them out anyway he can. That's him below right after returning to Korea and when he started to work at the Taehan Group he had cleaned himself up. He still has a crush on Ju-Ah but it doesn't appear it's as strong as it once was but he could be good at hiding his feelings. Hyun-Bin better not keep them hidden too long as his plan is to remain in South Korea for just one year and then return to Argentina. He's been a bit estranged from his family and will get more into that relationship later as we learn more about it in the fifth and sixth episodes.
The Gong family
Kim Seung-Soo as Gong Jeong-Han .... The father of Ju-Ah and Woo-Jae, like all in the Gong family works in the medical field. Jeong-Han owns a clinic which he runs with his younger brother Dae-Han, it is successful but doesn't make much money. For Jeong-Han is so kind hearted and tends to treat many older patients who can't afford going to a hospital, he's a nice guy but you know what they say about them! But things begin to look up for Jeong-Han beginning in the fifth episode, more about that then. He's been married to Seong-Mi for over thirty years, know that his age is 53 so she has to be close to that. The pair are a bit estranged as Seong-Mi has a lot of work in Seoul which is quite far away so stays there during the week but in the fifth show gave up her Seoul apartment. Which seemed to please Jeong-Han but for now the pair no longer have that spousal chemistry, Jeong-Han is a bit of a goofball but also very smart and someone who is a barrel of fun.
Yoo Ho-Jeong as Han Seong-Mi.... She's a psychiatrist and most of the time her work is in Seoul so Seong-Mi has been partially estranged from her husband and family. In Seoul Seong-Mi is known as a 'Love Queen' and appears on many shows to help people with their relationship problems, she may even have her own show starting up soon. By the fifth show Seong-Mi has returned to the Gong house to make it seven living there, her relationship with her daughter Ju-Ah is a bit strained but seems to be improving.
Kim Sun-Bin as Gong Woo-Jae.... The only son of Seong-Mi and Jeong-Han, I'll take a guess and say he's twenty in age. Like his parents is studying hard to carry on the Gong family tradition of being a doctor but Woo-Jae doesn't seem to be doing well in his studies which he's kept hidden from his family. He's become so stressed out and has begun to take some medications for that which has only been discovered by one other person. Who is Yang Eun-Bin, she's a part of the family that's eternal enemies with the Gongs! But she adores Woo Jae to no end and he couldn't stand her at first but is gradually beginning to like her, there may be at least four potential love stories in this drama.... with three being between the feuding families!
Choi Dae-Chul as Gong Dae-Han.... Jeong-Han's younger brother who isn't a regular doctor but a therapist and the pair run the Gong Clinic. Dae-Han lives at the Gong house along with his wife Hee-Kyung, they've been married for five years and she's in the third screenshot below. But have no children as secretly she's been taking birth control pills and Dae-Han does want children but the clock is ticking. In a shocking spoiler in the fifth and sixth episodes Hee-Kyung has stolen some money from her sister-in-law Seong-Mi and has left her husband! That stunned the Gong family to no end and for now have no idea how this may end, Dae-Han is such a nice man and is beating himself up badly for not noticing his wife's scheming ways.
Kim Mi-Sook as Na Seon-Hae.... The mother of Dae-Han and Jeong-Han, Seon-Hae must be 75 in age and still runs the pharmacy at her son's clinic. She's a very mild mannered woman and that must have been so heartbreaking when her husband Kim ran off thirty years ago with the wife of Yang Seon-Chul. The families may have been close before then but that incident destroyed that closeness but there secretly may be three budding romances between the clans.
The Yang family
Kim Hyung-Mook as Yang Dong-Ik.... He too is about 53 in age like his rival Gong Jeong-Han, Dong-Ik has a clinic right across the street from him! That clinic is doing well and there could be an expansion in the future even though Dong-Ik can be a bit of a clown but is still successful despite that. It is a bit of a secret that for so long Dong-Ik had had a crush on Seong-Mi and her husband knows that, he's used that info to con Dong-Ik now and again. He was once married and his two children were the result of that marriage, not sure why but Dong-Ik did get divorced and married the next character. Whose name is Se-Ri and she's been responsible for Dong-Ik's clinic doing well, also deserving credit is his slightly younger sister Dong-Sook who is the woman in the first screenshot below.
So Yi-Hyun as Cha Se-Ri.... Yi-Hyun is a very attractive woman, swear I've seen her in a few previous shows but can't recall them. In real life she's 41 in age and in this series is the stepmother to Hyun-Bin who is about 29 and Eun-Bin, would say she's twenty. Se-Ri is a hard woman to figure out, she is so smart and gets along very well with Hyun-Bin even though he's slightly estranged with the rest of the family. Se-Ri does keep the Yang household running smoothly and is an excellent cook who isn't appreciated by anyone save for Hyun-Bin. Se-Ri does have a sinister side and when her husband Dong-Ik was running to be president of the local Market Association she did a few devious acts such as making it look like Seong-Mi was having an affair, that backfired badly but she has been a help to her husband's clinic.
Jo Mi-Ryung as Yang Dong-Sook.... Dong-Ik's younger sister and works with him at the clinic. She seems like a decent woman but things never work out well for her such as with Dong-Sook's now ex-husband Min who we saw off and on for five episodes. He left the Yang household then and had not been liked by any of the family, Min cleaned out Dong-Sook's bank account and stole some of Se-Ri's expensive clothing to sell! Good riddance though and the pair did have a son who I don't think will be important to the story. A prediction will be that Dong-Sook will somehow end up with Gong Dae-Han, the pair are the same age and know each other somewhat well but there's some bad blood between them.
Yoon Seo-Ah as Yang Eun-Bin.... Dong-Ik's daughter who is about twenty in age and is one spoiled brat! She's very wrapped up in social media sites and activities though there is no future in that for her. She bickers with everyone in the family, she did leave the household for one show but returned as Eun-Bin has no way to support herself. She has a huge crush on the Gong son Woo-Jae but for so long that love was one sided but when Eun-Bin is around him she does act like a normal young woman so there is some hope for her.
Joo Jin-Mo as Yang Seon-Chul.... The father of the Yang family and is about 75 in age. Seon-Chul has been single since his wife left with the Gong father thirty years ago, he still helps out at his son's clinic and what a grumpy old man he's been through six episodes so luckily his role is a small one.
Other semi-main characters.... this quartet is it for now but with so many episodes to go a few more characters may need to be added in.
Han Seung-Won as Park Jun-Hyeok.... Ju-Ah's best friend and also works as a designer at the Taehan Group. It's a medium sized role but at times Park may be important to the story as Ju-Ah respects him quite a bit and I wonder if he's got a huge yet secretive crush on her?
Kang Byul as Hwangbo Hye-Soo.... The VP at the Taehan Group and is the daughter of the chairman so we know how she got the job! Hye-Soo had also lived and worked in Argentina which is how she met Hyun-Bin, don't think they were ever a couple but it appears she would love to be his girlfriend. The reason Hyun-Bin returned to Korea is that Hye-Soo asked him to help restore her flailing company, so far her role hasn't been too meaty though that could change.
Kim Min-Ah as Oh Jin-A.... Hong Jin-Ki as Jung Gi-Beom.... The female is Jin-A who is a nurse at the Gong clinic and her character is very likable. With her is a new rookie officer for the Onjeong police Gi-Beom whose main area to patrol is the market district which is where the Gong and Yang clinics are at. He's always breaking up mini squabbles between Jeong-Han and Dong-Ik, I wouldn't be shocked if the pair of Jin-A and Gi-Beom hooked up for they seem like a perfect fit even though neither wants to admit liking the other person!
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Below is the Gong family mother Han Seong-Mi, unlike America women don't change their last names when married. Seong-Mi is in her early fifties and for thirty years has been married to the 53 year old man Gong Jeong-Han, he's in the third screenshot and many more. Jeong-Han and his younger brother Dae-Han run a clinic at the very large outdoor Onjeong Market, that's not far from Busan. While the brothers are very skilled at their jobs they often do a lot of treatments for free so they don't make all that much but neither will change. Seong-Mi is a very skilled and popular psychiatrist who does make a high amount of money as she appears on many TV shows and may have her own in the works. But her clinic and the TV appearances are located in Seoul so Seong-Mi had gotten an apartment there, over the years she's been slipping away from Jeong-Han though it's not a case of them not liking each other. Least in South Korean dramas tend to have 2-3 generations of a family living under one roof, the two children of Seong-Mi and Jeong-Han live with them at his mother's house. Also there is the other brother Dae-Han who lives with his wife of five years Hee-Kyung but for how much longer will they be together? In a bit of a spoiler it appears Hee-Kyung has run away with another man in the fifth and sixth shows, her role wasn't too large but an incident like that could become such a major part of Dae-Han's story.
It's not like the Hatfields vs. The McCoys but there is a feud between the Gong and Yang families, that's been going on for thirty years and talked about why in the above bio info. Wouldn't call the Gong family Heroes but in a way they are the Good Guys while the Yangs are the Bad Guys yet because of that are very interesting. Like the Gongs the Yangs are a family of doctors, as a matter of fact right across from the Gong Clinic in Onjeong is the Yang Clinic who are much more successful for they make sure they're reimbursed for their services! Dong-Ik is the head of the clinic and we didn't see much of the family until the halfway point of this first episode. He's kind of a goofy man yet is a very capable doctor, he's about the same age as Jeong-Han and the men are bitter rivals. Sure we'll learn more as the series goes on about this which is that at one time Dong-Ik had such a crush on Seong-Mi, did she refuse him and accept Jeong-Han's proposal thirty years ago? Dong-Ik was married and had two children but got divorced, then remarried a woman about ten years younger, her name is Cha Se-Ri. She is a very attractive woman and is in many screenshots near the bottom. Se-Ri is a mystery for she is a very intelligent woman who is a reason the Yang Clinic is doing so well plus she runs the household so smoothly but never gets enough credit. However Se-Ri also has such a devious side which we didn't see in these first two shows but will beginning in the third episode, I do like this devilish character. Twenty year old Eun-Bin is Dong-Ik's daughter from his first marriage, she's such a spoiled brat who doesn't work nor go to school. She does have a massive crush on the Gong son Woo-Jae and will discuss him in the next segment, any kind of romance between the two enemy families is strictly forbidden.
Last paragraph for this segment though they are longish, one more section to go after the screenshots. Even though there are about a dozen main characters all get a decent amount of screentime and to me that's a positive. But every show always has it's two main stars, for this series it's the Gong daughter Ju-Ah and the son of Yang Dong-Ik, Hyun-Bin. However in this first episode we didn't see too much of him but will beginning with the second show. Hyun-Bin has just returned to South Korea, he had been gone for about 12-14 years as he finished up his schooling abroad and for the last few years has been working in Argentina. While there Hyun-Bin had hooked up with another from his country who was Hwangbo Hye-Soo, don't think they had a fling but did work together. She's the daughter of the man who owns the Taehan Group and she's the VP of the fashion designing section which had one time had been massively profitable. Not so much these days so Hye-Soo has recruited her friend Hyun-Bin to return home to save the flailing company, he's a whiz at such matters. Before Hyun-Bin moved to Argentina he had attended school with the only Gong daughter Ju-Ah, what a secret crush he had on her. But she had forgotten all about him and coming from a family of doctors Ju-Ah attended medical school and did get some sort of license but instead of staying in the field of medicine Ju-Ah has become a fashion designer and of all places is working at the Taehan Group, she's had no training to be a fashion designer but seems to be doing well. So you can see where this last story may be heading and right near the end of the first episode the old friends saw each other after such a long gap but do they remember each other?
Hyun-Bin may be among the youngest of the cast, would say he's 29 in age, but he also seems the most level headed. During the night Ju-Ah slipped away and still hadn't realized who Hyun-Bin was and doesn't until the fourth show but they do meet up again in this episode. After getting cleaned up Ju-Ah reported to the Taehan Group building and was expecting to be canned by Hye-Soo but before that an event took place in their lobby. Which is that strolling in was their new savior Hyun-Bin and Ju-Ah thought he was stalking her(!), she had the guards subdue the man and escaped! But Hyun-Bin was soon freed by Hye-Soo who came into the lobby a few seconds later, this was Hyun-Bin's first day on the job. The two had a long pow-wow and Hye-Soo played the video of Ju-Ah's fashion mishap for Hyun-Bin, she was all set to fire the designer but Hyun-Bin said to hold off for a while. Those were the pair of run-ins in this episode for the two man stars, want to keep these segments at three paragraphs so will zip through the other events. Such as the possibility of Seong-Mi and her husband of thirty years Jeong-Han getting a divorce which shocked the Gong family to no end! Jeong-Han brought the subject up at dinner and he's been so frustrated with how his marriage has been going, Seong-Mi spends more time in Seoul than with her family in Onjeong. Jeong-Han still loves his wife but to him divorce may be the only solution to their problems, this scene was the only time that possibility was discussed in detail but there may be a solution in the next two episodes.
Final paragraph and who I hadn't talked about much was the Gong son Woo-Jae except for the fact the Yang family daughter Eun-Bin has such a crush on him. Woo-Jae is around 20-22 in age, like all in the family is attending college to become a doctor. However Woo-Jae doesn't seem to be doing so well with his studies and has kept that a secret from his family, he's so stressed out and has even been seeing a doctor in private who prescribes him medication. While the Gong family on the outside appear to have such terrific lives as you can see that's not the case through two episodes. There could be the potential divorce, Woo-Jae is having problems at school and with his health, Dae-Han's wife may be fleeing him in three episodes plus Ju-Ah's position at the Taehan Group may be ending soon! Things aren't going so well with their rival Yang family either though we didn't see them as much in this episode but starting soon there's going to be fireworks between the two feuding families! One good thing did happen near the end of this show as Hyun-Bin met up with his stepmother Se-Ri who is only about a dozen years older. Hyun-Bin has been estranged from his family for over a decade and more on that when he meets up with them in the next few shows. But Hyun-Bin has always gotten along very well with Se-Ri and she'll do anything to help her stepson out, in a way both are alike as the Yang family kind of looks down on them though of course Dong-Ik does love his wife.
**** So that concludes this recap and in six paragraphs was able to give most of the major details of what took place in the first two episodes plus some info of what will be happening. Usually this may have taken 16-18 paragraphs to do so for now it seems this new format has worked out, it did for me as it took so much less time to write up and for you viewers as it had to be much easier to read. So thanks if you've gotten to this point and as of now don't have a schedule of when these posts will be done but am thinking the next will be in the first week of May. PS: Even though the recaps are much shorter there's still plenty of screenshots which help you follow the story better.
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