*** Contains spoilers ***
There are many interesting K-drama series shown on cable TV, but few are registered here. ROOFTOP ROOM CAT is the best I have seen so far. WINTER SONATA had a weak story, but amazing acting and a nice theme song. HOTELIER and JEWEL OF THE PALACE were on the boring side. MY LOVELY SAMSOON also had weak writing and no chemistry between the actors, although the leading lady had an endearing quality about her.
The latest Korean TV series being offered in the USA is 2004's FULL HOUSE. The previews and promotions for FULL HOUSE advertise it as a fun comedy series. Comedy or not, an unrealistic setup is FULL HOUSE's fatal flaw. The first episode of FULL HOUSE makes BABYLON-5 seem like a documentary series. In FULL HOUSE, the leading lady believes she won a complex international travel package vacation with ZERO documentation. She does not call anyone to verify any details. The leading lady leaves for this one or two week international trip with only a one-way air ticket. Simply incredible. And even worse, the viewer is asked to believe that her real estate, her home, can be secretly sold (within a week's time) without her knowing. Property ownership is 9/10th's of the law. Real estate cannot really be sold from the trunk of a car.
Assuming that a person's house was sold in a scam, any normal person would call the police so the police can come over to begin an investigation, and any normal person would start calling lawyers for help. No normal person would leave their house and physically go to a police station. No normal small unarmed young female would attempt to physically confront the thieves alone.
The setup to FULL HOUSE is bizarre and unrealistic. But if a viewer is to accept the setup as being true, then the stranding in a foreign country and the loss of home, money and all personal property is tremendously sad and tragic. The average viewer wanting to enjoy a fun comedy series is going to be repelled by the major events in the first episode of FULL HOUSE. Also, an average viewer wanting to see a charming romantic story will be displeased by the cold and uncaring way the leading man treats the leading woman. Like MY LOVELY SAMSOON, the leading man shows no appreciation of female beauty. The leading man looks not at, but through, the leading lady with complete disinterest. Unlike J-dramas and programs from any other country, the leading men in MY LOVELY SAMSOON and FULL HOUSE constantly look at their leading ladies with contempt and annoyance and their behavior is cold and arrogant as if all females are unworthy of attention. If you are looking for a warm charming romance, look elsewhere.
One last and less serious problem with FULL HOUSE is that the female that the "famous movie star heart-throb" leading man wants is very much on the nerdy looking side compared to the leading lady and, I am sure, any girlfriend he has ever had in real life. The love triangle is simply not that believable.