Why You Should Be Watching: Wang's Family

cr. KBS

If you look into my recap history, you will see that I was recapping a weekend drama at one point. Unfortunately, the story became so erratic and repetitive that I had to stop watching it altogether. I said I would never watch another weekend drama again, but alas I have been sucked into one. KBS2's King's Family or as it is now known Wang's Family, though "Wang" means "King" but whatevs. 

What's this drama about: Based on the things that happen while living with the in-laws, a family drama which emphasizes on the matter of education supremacy and parent favoritism.(cr. koreandrama.org) 

Why You Should Be Watching: You may be wondering what makes Wang's Family so different and I will tell you. Everyone in the family gets their own story line and it's not all intertwined due to the main couple. It's pretty much about 3 older daughters within a family and their own individual lives while still maintaining the connection that they are family. Everyone within the family interacts with each other as well as with others outside the family. This drama will also show how one can overcome their family's standards by setting up their own.

I will warn you, you will want to throw something at the screen whenever oldest sister Soo Bak (Oh Hyun Kyung) speaks because, let's face it, she's a bitch. I am not going to sugarcoat it for you. You will wish her husband Go Min Joong (Jo Sung Ha) would leave her. Then you will want to strangle their mother, Lee Ang Geum (Kim Hae Sook) because she's equally bitchy and Soo Bak is her favorite. This is where the favoritism part comes into play. Both are in a bubble of their own and whine a lot, but that's not the main part of the drama anyways. You will find ways to either tune them out or skip them entirely.

Then we have second sister Ho Bak (Lee Tae Ran) whom is mom's least favorite(that's putting it lightly), she's been married for 10 years and has 2 children. Her husband Heo Se Dal (Oh Man Suk) is childish and he treats her terrible(along with his sister and mom) even though she's been working hard for the family. You will want to see him fall off a cliff. Third sister Gwang Bak (Lee Yoon Ji) is single and quit her job as a teacher to become a writer. Totally not what you would expect from someone who went to a very good university and was a teacher for 7 years. Her father, Wang Bong (Jang Yong), is a principle at the school she quit working at. Gwang Bak pursues a relationship with high school drop out, Choi Sang Nam (Han Joo Wan) who owns his own construction company. Gwang Bak and Sang Nam's relationship is where the importance of education comes in. I also will mention they are the OTP of the series.

Then we have 2 school-age children, Hye Bak (Moon Ga Young) who doesn't speak much but we are just delving into her individual story. So viewers are curious about her secrets. Never trust the quiet ones. The Wang's have only one son, Dae Bak (Choi Won Hong), and yes his name means jackpot. Dae Bak has his own mini love story line with Gu Mi Ho (Yoo Song Yi) who is a girl who swears she's going to marry him when they get older. Interestingly enough, he doesn't really stop hanging out with her or corrects her on this. The Wang's also have Grandma (Ahn Gye Shim, Na Moon Hee) and Uncle Don (Choi Dae Chul) who live with them. This was just mostly the main cast, I didn't get into the others like Se Dal's gold digging sister (Kang Ye Bin) or Sang Nam's father, Choi Dae Se (Lee Byung Joon) or even his Aunt Oh Soon Jung (Kim Hee Jung), who happens to be Min Joong's first love.

Like all dramas, there are secrets that are shown is what keeps these families divided. But we only have one giant secret right now that it seems only 4 characters really know about. That's Ho Bak, Mom, Soo Bak, and Se Dal. Dad may know, but as of now I am not sure what happened. Whatever it is, really cemented the divide between Soo Bak/Mom and Ho Bak. On episode 22 and we're not close to finding out this big secret. For the writer's sake, they better hope it's worth all this build up.

What really makes this drama worthwhile is the light hearted feel of it all and the main couple, Gwang Bak and Sang Nam. I have to say that for being a rookie, Han Joo Wan (This is actually his first lead drama role) is doing great and is good at delivering emotions that actors going on 10 years don't have. He's also a great kisser, that is a must for a couple who's constantly swapping spit every 5 minutes lol 

This is a good drama and very refreshing if you're not looking for anything too serious. I know most weekend dramas out now are more makjang than anything and I can say that this is not it. While it may discuss some serious things, it's not at all sad. Well only if you feel sorry for Ho Bak and Min Joong, but nothing too major. 

None of this helping? Well the ratings for episode 22 was over 32.5%, breaking it's previous record of 30.7% for episode 18.

Where to Watch: Currently KBS World is the only place actually subbing this drama and they're about 2 weeks behind. You can also try Darksmurfsub, but it's not always edited once the episodes are out since it's fan subbed. Nonetheless, it's better than watching it raw.
To read weekly recaps, head over to The Cat That Watches TV, who also takes credit for the screenshots.

                                                     Promotional Pictures cr: kbs.co.kr

Min Joong and Soo Bak

Ho Bak and Se Dal

Soon Jung and Mi Ho

Young Dal, Se Dal, & Park Sal Ra

Sang Nam & Dae Se

Wang Family