14th Completed Drama: Warm and Cozy

Warm and Cozy

Synonyms: Agreeably Warm; Jeju Island Gatsby
Episodes: 16

Country: South Korea

Aired: May 13, 2015 - Jul. 2, 2015

Network: MBC

Duration: 1 hr. 10 mins.

Genres: Comedy, Romance

Viewers Rating: 7.8/10

My Rating: 9.0/10

MyDramaList Link

Synopsis: Baek Geon Woo, a man that has everything that a woman wants in a man: good looks, eloquence, and a gentle manner. Although he's the grasshopper type who only does things he wants to do, his honest personality is his charm. A clever man who knows his assets, he is unexpectedly innocent, opening a restaurant in Jeju Island just because the woman he likes is there. Lee Jung Joo, a woman who has struggled and worked hard all her life but never has a break, resulting in exasperation. She plays the grouchy ant in the fable. She puts up a front of confidence and pride but is actually weak and delicate. Never missing a day of work during the 7 years at her company, she starts a new life in Jeju Island after losing her job, house, and boyfriend in Seoul. Geon Woo and Jung Joo meet in Jeju Island.

Cast: Kang So Ra - Lee Jung Joo

Yoo Yeon Seok - Baek Geon Woo

Review

Contains a lot of spoilers!

General Impressions:

Warm and Cozy is everything you would want in a romantic drama. A lovable prince, a strong-willed female lead, an annoying girl after the prince, and a second male lead for the female to turn to when something has happened with the prince. However, even though it is everything you want, it means it's pretty much of the verge of being cliche. Despite all the typical romance scenes during Warm and Cozy, it was extremely enjoyable and I'm sad that it's now over. Kang So Ra and Yoo Yeon Seok have become the perfect couple in my opinion.

Story: 8.0/10

The story of Warm and Cozy isn't anything new. Lee Jung Joo meets Baek Geon Woo meet when they both turn 18, she falls of him at first sight, and then reunite after a few years. They start to live together when Jung Joo has nowhere to go and slowly but surely fall in love with each other. With the addition of a few misunderstandings and problems, like Mok Ji Won's character in general and Mayor Wook's crush on Jung Joo. It's the typical love story, but everyone still seems to love it because we love seeing how a couple develops. But since it is something that we do frequently see, I can't rate it more than 8.5/10. However, I do love how the title of the drama "Warm and Cozy" is a frequent reminder throughout the series. The restaurant which Jung Joo owns and Geon Woo works at is called Warm and Cozy, their meals is either the Warm course or the Cozy course, Jung Joo and Geon Woo's relationship is very warm and cozy, and lastly, Geon Woo's father used those exact words to describe his former wife. I love it when a drama mentions their title in the dialogue (just like Mask has done).

Acting/Casting: 9.0/10

I do love most of the actors in this series, and they are why I love this series as much as I do. Firstly, the main reason I started watching Warm and Cozy is because of Kang So Ra, as I loved her character of Oh Soo Hyun in Doctor Stranger (although that drama wasn't the greatest). She's a brilliant actress and it's great to see her again. To be honest, I'm quite glad that Kim Woo Bin didn't take the role of the main male protagonist because I feel like Yoo Yeon Seok is too underrated and he definitely needed a drama like this to let more people know about him and love him. He's sweet, an amazing actor and handsome. What more is needed to like him? I also loved Lee Sung Jae and Kim Hee Jung's acting and characters a lot, and their relationship in the series was so cute. At one point, I loved it more than Jung Joo and Geon Woo's. Jung Jin Young as Jung Poong San and Kim Sung Oh as Hwang Wook were awesome as well. I did have two slight problems with regards to actors though. The first one was Ok Ji Young as Cha Hee Ra. I didn't really like her acting in the beginning, although I did grow to like her slightly during the latter half of the drama (especially in the last two episodes when she fell for Mayor Wook). And the second one is Seo Yi Ahn as Mok Ji Won. I didn't like her character at all, especially when she was pushing around Geon Woo, but her acting was also very repetitive and she's didn't pull more than three faces - the fake smile, the shocked face and her evil, bitch mode face. That was it.

Music: 9.0/10

The music was also very good. I especially loved Butterfly by Ha Neul Hae and Kong Bo Hyung. It was such a great listen. I do also like the soundtrack that was playing when Jung Geun (Geon Woo's brother) was daydreaming about Hae Sil in the pool and as a mermaid. It was such a funny soundtrack, but I don't know the track name yet as it isn't released as of now. Every other single released track in OST is also amazing, and it has such a sweet and relaxing tone to it.

Re-watch Value: 8.5/10

I would definitely re-watch Warm and Cozy again if I took out all of Mok Ji Won's scenes. She kind of ruined the drama for me and the only scenes that I would want to watch again are Jung Joo and Geon Woo's sweet and romantic moments, and Jung Geun and Hae Sil's relationship developing. The rest of the drama isn't particularly needed for me to watch again, and if I don't need to, I won't.

Final Verdict: 9.0/10

In conclusion, Warm and Cozy was a great drama and I'm so glad it happened, however I do wish that it wasn't as cliche as it was, and that Ji Young and Yi Ahn's acting improved because their characters weren't as good as they could have been. I'm hoping to be seeing Kang So Ra and Yoo Yeon Seok again in the new future.

Jung Joo + Geon Woo.