Unexpectedly, Secret Garden is quite entertaining. Sure, the story and the romance wasn't the best of the best, and the performances were so so, but still I can understand why this drama is so popular. First of all, the drama is about a rich, cynical CEO who meets a poor stand woman who gets his interest. Their lives get even more complicated, when they magically change bodies. Oaky, the magic part wasn't that good. It was a little childish at first, but it had a not-that-great explanation in the end. And the body exchange was very entertaining the first time, but the second time was just uncomfortable. The main male character was very funny, due to his character, and in the end, that was the only thing supporting the drama. For me, the twenty episodes were a bit too much; the story could have easily finish at the sixteenth or the eighteenth episode, and still, it would have been as good, as the final episode was a quick wrap up mixed up with a few concert songs, some flash backs and family life moments. So, 6 out of 10.

SPOILERS !!! 1- It's not funny, I hardly ever laughed. Part of it could be poor subtitles, but you don't need those for physical comedy, and there's precious little of that.2- The main premise of the body swap, which offered unlimited possibilities, is terribly underutilized.3- Characters do not behave in a realistic way, for example we are asked to believe that while swapped they aren't curious about their new bodies. Also why pretend they don't feel any kind of sexual impulse? If the creators didn't want them to have sex before marriage they could have found some perfectly good excuse.4- How and why the female lead, from the original distaste for him, comes to love the male lead, is poorly explained, we are left to assume she gets tired of him insisting so much and gives in.5- The story arc of the sidekick couple, even in its simplicity, is a lot more interesting than the protagonists' one.6- While the bodies are swapped they are sometimes showed as un-swapped (for the viewer benefit I guess?) but this only causes confusion and negates the premise.7- The main actress shows good acting skills when she does a man in a woman's body, but below average ones otherwise.8- The two most important conflicts (the difficult love stories of the two couples) are resolved too soon, so the final episode lacks any punch and is reduced to some 50 minutes of happy ending, which is way too many.9- The evil mother thing is overdone.10- The sister of the main character is first introduced and then completely forgotten about.11- Other characters which either had the potential for an interesting sub-plot (the gay musician) or were genuinely funny (the assistant of the department store director Park) were underdeveloped/underutilized.12- To an extent this is to be expected in most TV shows, but when it comes to Secret Garden there are way too many plot holes and inconsistencies.13- For a series produced in 2010, there are too many K-drama stereotypes: rich boy/poor girl, evil mother, sidekick couple, hospital… we've seen this for a decade now. Still it would be OK if at least it was well done, but it isn't.The series by which I jusge all others is "Kim Sam-soon" which, with all the limitations inherent to a family TV program / k drama, is funny, realistic enough, not too syrupy, and sports the best female lead character in the history of television.That show set the standard for rom-coms, and therefore we can expect it to be copied a lot, but Secret Garden went to far: - same actor in the male lead role - in both shows there's a trip to Jeju island - in both shows the male lead had a life threatening accident when younger - said accident left the male lead unable to ride a transport (car/elevator)

I really didn't think I would like this drama. I watched Boys Over Flowers and ended up really disliking the whole series because I couldn't get over how unlikeable some of the characters were. When I started Secret Garden, I thought "Oh great another story about a bratty rich guy who traumatizes his girlfriend into liking him... I bet the female lead looks like she's strong and then becomes a blubbering wimp or insensitive ice queen." I could have not been MORE WRONG. OK some may watch episode one and say...well sure looks like it to me! ...but it's not. This is how BoF should have tackled the rich boy/poor girl love story.OK to be fair I was not a big Joo Won fan for most of the series (His character alone made me question the series as a whole). Surprisingly the one who enchanted me was Gil Ra Im, and the adorable Oska! <3 I stuck with the series because it was refreshing to see the leading lady bite back when Joo Won was being a jerk. When he hurt her she would tell him, and she never gave in to his sharp remarks, and eventually Joo Won realized the power of his own words and slowly opened himself to loving her. When you fall in love and root for a character you once disliked, that's the power of great story telling. What is more amazing about this drama, even though it followed some typical Kdrama conventions it did so in a way that you were surprised and shocked that they worked in some big revelations. It brought out the true meaning of 'destiny' and it made the series as a whole more heartfelt and touching.The switching bodies theme...I thought "eeeeeeh this will be needless and over the top" but it was really well done! At first it took some getting used to, but it actually made for some of the more touching moments in the story, and the funniest. Joo Won swooning over Oska made me laugh to tears. Lastly, I find one of the biggest faults with many dramas is the story always feels like it tapered off without thought at the very end. I loved that Secret Garden tied up all the loose ends in the most touching of ways. It felt complete to me, and it made me feel like the love experienced in the stories was true and sincere.Overall, those of you who watch the first couple of episodes and are not impressed, I say stick with it! You'll be glad you did. All the characters are wonderful to watch and develop into three-dimensional people that you'll root for and cheer on! It's a fantastic love story that makes you want to find your soulmate. :D

I waited for the series to end in GMA 7 before making this review. I watched the original Korean series with English subtitle but I didn't enjoy it. I don't know if it was the actor's or actress's voice or the subtitle but I really didn't find the series appealing. So when I saw the teaser from GMA 7 a few months back, I decided to give it another try. I watched Hyun Bin from the series My Name is Kim Sam Soon and I love him ever since. That's why watching it twice was not a bad idea.I wasn't disappointed. I liked the way the Filipinos dubbed the series. The "kalye" language they used was very appropriate for our culture and made the series more natural. I definitely love the "saltik" term Jamie used to call Owen. It became an endearment. (How was that possible? You should watch the tagalized series.)Secret Garden was one of the most popular drama series to hit mainstream Korea. It has high ratings and continued to be on top of the charts till the last episode. I won't argue with that. It was really funny. I understand why the Koreans loved it because after watching the tagalized version, I fell in love with it too. I thought that the series was like a Korean remake of the movie It's a Boy Girl Thing (2006). I'm not saying it was the same but I think the concept was derived from this movie. The Koreans just expanded the concept and made the story suitable for Asian audiences.Hyun Bin's portrayal of Owen's character was very smooth but I was more amazed with Hyun Bin's acting when the swapping of bodies occurred. He has to act as Jamie and that basically requires him to act like a girl— he was very effective. The change in characters was drastic but Hyun Bin pulled it off. It was not awkward. The acting was very natural. And as a viewer, I believed that Jamie's soul was in Owen's body.On the other hand, Hai Ji Won's acting may not be impressive but she improved very well since she started in the business. I first had a glimpse of her acting prowess in the movie 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant and she was not good. I found her acting in that movie very novice but that would be in another review. I don't think there's much difference from her Jamie-self and Owen-acting when the switched occurred. She already has as strong, tomboyish character at the beginning of the series, so I didn't find it exceptional.The series in general was slow-paced. I understand that they wanted to build the characters in the first ten episodes to make the viewers acquainted with their attitudes so by the time the swap happens, the viewers will easily see the changes. However, I was bored to death waiting for the swap to happen. This was supposedly the core of the series. Why haven't they shown it yet? When it finally did, instead of feeling ecstatic, I was relieved. At long last, the moment I've been waiting for took place.Hey, wait up! It's not all negative. There are a couple of things I love from the series.First, Owen's trademark track suit. That sequenced blue track suit was probably the most popular item ever copied and mass-produced in Korea. It looks funny in Owen but it looks adorable in Hyun Bin. (The analogy is difficult to explain. Ha-ha)Second, the unexpected kiss between Owen (with Jamie's soul) and his cousin Oska (Yoon Sang Hyun). I find that scene remarkable! I can't forget it. I know Hyun Bin was acting Jamie's character but still in reality he is who he is and Oksa is Yoon Sang Hyun and they shared a kiss?! I can't take that off my mind for a few days.And last of all, Owen's attitude with love. If there's a guy out there like him, pwede akin ka na lang? (Can you please be mine?) He fought for what he wanted. He didn't give up on love. Even if Jamie threw him out, physically and emotionally hurt him—he stayed. He showed the cold, afraid and aloof Jamie what it means to love and be loved.