This time we are reviewing an old Kdrama that many of you may have heard about, a 2010 fantasy romantic-comedy drama. This drama has a lot of familiar faces like Shin Min-a, Lee Seung-gi, etc.
If the year the drama was released doesn’t make you feel like it was aired a long time ago, seeing the familiar faces of your favorite actors when they were young will definitely will. God, Lee Seung-gi, and Shin Min-a look adorable and cute in this drama, and their acting improves. But they are really good in this drama too.
The drama was released almost thirteen years ago, so I hope readers won’t mind the spoilers that will be thrown their way. Even so, I will try to reduce the number of spoilers. The series was created by
Plot and Review of My Girlfriend is a nine-tailed Fox
The series begins with the beautiful Shin Min-a calling out to Dae-Woong (Lee Seung-gi) and him trying to run away from her but failing to. He introduces her as his girlfriend, who is a gumiho, aka a nine-tailed fox, who also threatens to eat him if he doesn’t buy her food.
Then we are taken to a flashback to see how the legendary gumiho and the Dae- Woong met.
Dae Woong is a wannabe action star who is very proud of his acting. We are introduced to his character and mischievous actions in the first episode. We find out that he lost both his parents and was spoiled by his grandfather.
Because his actions displeased his grandfather, he is sent to ‘Spartan Academy,’ which will straighten him out. The scene shifts to an isolated temple, and we are introduced to the beautiful yet unfortunate Gumiho and her past story.
The description of the men being enchanted by Gumiho’s beauty felt so funny, but I think that was the intention. But we later learn from Gumiho herself that the monk was narrating someone else’s story.
Meanwhile, Dae-Woong evades his grandfather’s eyes and escapes but ends stranded and hungry. He seeks help from the monk who narrates the story of the Gumiho, and the monk allows him to stay in the temple.
And now, it is time for the fateful meeting. It was a funny scene, especially because of Lee Seung-gi’s expression. Dae-Woong goes out searching for a phone signal to call his aunt, but he ends up talking to Gumiho. He cannot see her, and he is scared because the phone is switched off, but he can hear her voice, and she can see him, but he can’t. In such a situation, anyone would be scared.
The Gumiho manages to manipulate Dae-woong into drawing nine tails on the fox in the painting present in the temple, which according to the monk earlier, is where the Gumiho is trapped.
And as we guessed, this helps the Gumiho to be free. The image of the fox disappears from the painting, and Dae-Woong runs out into the forest and gets hurt. To help Dae-woong, the gumiho gives her bead to him (most of us are familiar, who just recently watched this drama know about this magic bead from My Roommate is a Gumiho)
In the first episode, we get introduced to another male character (No MIn-woo) who knows more about the painting and the Gumiho. He seems to be looking for the gumiho. In later episodes, we find out that he hunts supernatural creatures. He also becomes a part of the inevitable love triangle in the drama.
And even though the Gumiho introduced herself as Dae-wrong, doesn’t believe her, I wouldn’t either. His reaction to her Revelation is normal; he thinks she is crazy. At the end of the episode, he believes she is a Gumiho because she shows him her true self with her nine tails.
Gumiho to Korean drama is what sirens are to pirate stories; they are used a lot. One may even say it is one of the most used myths in Korean television, especially in Tv series. From modern settings to period dramas, the Gumihos are everywhere and in all gender.
One thing is constant the Gumihos are pretty attractive, let it be shin min-a in this drama or Lee Dong-work in ‘The Tale of the Nine-tailed’ (Season two of the drama is coming soon). Even though the myth is used extensively, if you can create a good script, the Gumiho proves to be great material.
Coming to the story of this drama provides a good watch. But then I have to remind myself that this drama aired in the year 2010, which is more than a decade ago. The way we view series and stories was not the same back then. So I will restrain myself from being too critical.
I enjoyed watching the episodes; there are cliche and cheesy moments, but I guess these were not as cheesy back then as it is now, even if it was my lack of intelligence in old dramas that made me come to this conclusion.
Coming to acting, I enjoyed watching the leads. I think they did a really good job at that. Lee Seung-gi does a good job acting as an irresponsible boy chasing his dreams. His expressions during the funny scenes crack me up.
Shin Min-a has to portray a cute innocent character, who knows nothing about the world, and I feel she pulled it off well. Because to act such a character is tricky because it can easily become unbearably cringe. Thankfully, even though it feels cringy and cheesy sometimes, it is not unbearable.
Comedy and Romance are the core of this drama. The comedy sometimes acts as a soothing gel when our heart gets burned because of the sadness the Romance gives us. Why is Romance sad?
Our Gumiho finds out that keeping the bead inside a human will help her turn into a human. But unfortunately, it will hurt the human, her Dae-wrong, causing death. So, their relationship is fatal, and both are ready to sacrifice themselves for the other.
One must disappear for the other, so who will disappear? Or will some miracle help them stay as the cute couple till the end? If you need answers to this question, watching it yourself rather than having me spoil it will be better.
Our Verdict
It is a fun drama to watch, and the actors do well. But it has its flaws too. The storyline for us may feel a bit cliche, but remember when it was released. If you like watching old dramas, you will enjoy this drama.
Our Rating: ⭐ (3.5/5).
