My name is Kim Samsoon/Ako si Kim Samsoon (Philippine version)

Tuesday, September 9, 2008


Ok, so i've been a fan of the Korean drama with the same title, and I was surprised/skeptical to hear that GMA 7 was going to do a Philippine version. I told myself that I was going to see if this version may do the original one justice. Several weeks into watching the Fil-version, I have to say I'm kinda disappointed. Regine Velasquez (otherwise known as
Asia's songbird) is ok as Samsoon, she nails the way the original Samsoon acts (blunt,boisterous), although her character is waaaay much bigger than Korean actress' Kim Sun Ah's was in the Kdrama (is it just me or does her boobs look lopsided sometimes? =) and dude, the size of her butt kinda rivals jlo's... or even mine!). Mark Anthony Fernandez pales in comparison to Hyun Bin. He doesnt have the same charisma as the original male lead. Also, they made Dr. Henry Kim and Hee-Jin's character (or Hanna in the Fil version) so bad, I tend to switch channels when their scenes are being shown.
I think the essence of the Kdrama was you just don't tend to fall in love with leads but also the second leads as well. You kinda understand Hee-Jin's/Hanna's reason for going abroad was because she didn't want her bf worrying about her, and you applaud Dr. Henry's silent encouragement of her even though he's already in love with Hanna's character. With the Fil version, you want to puke at the seemingly innate nastiness that is Hanna's character. I think the only consolation that the Fil version has is veteran stage thespian Eugene Domingo's acting as Chef Dina. I've become a fan of her's from her other films but to watch her every night, 5x a week is something else. She's the gem in an otherwise blah remake. Credits also go to Jenica Garcia who play's Samsoon's younger sis Eliza. She has the comedic timing right, must be in the genes, what with both actors for parents, right?

Anyway, there are several more weeks, maybe even months to go, before the series ends. I hope they get to redeem themselves by making it even funnier than the original one, then, maybe I'll call myself a fan.





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