Title:맨투맨 | Man to Man
Genre: Drama | Action
Episodes: 16
Broadcast Network: JTBC
Broadcast Period: April 21 – June 10, 2017
Synopsis:
Kim Seol-Woo is a deep undercover of the NIS in Korea. He is known as Agent K and considered to be one of the best. He uses every tool in the book to get his mission successfully accomplished until he went to a mission of being the bodyguard of Hallyu star, Yeo Woon-Gwang, who’s a bit narcissistic and full of himself in persona but, actually, has a longing in his heart. And, Yeo Woon-Gwang’s manager, Cha Do-Ha, a loyal confidante of Yeo Woon-Gwang and partly in love with him. Cha Do-Ha and Yeo Woon-Gwang met during their own personal tragedies in life and created a strong bond with each other. Kim Seol-Woo needs to use them to accomplish his mission but instead he discovered more his own humanity and the need for love and family.
Characters:
- Park Hae-Jin as Kim Seol-Woo
- Park Sung-Woong as Yeo Woon-Gwang
- Kim Min-Jung as Cha Do-Ha
- Chae Jung-An as Song Mi-Eun
- Yeon Jung-Hoon as Mo Seung-Jae
- Kim Byung-Se as Cha Myeong-Seok
- Kim Bo-Mi as Park Song
- Kim Hyun-Jin as Secretary Jang
- Jeon Kook-Hwan as Mo Byung-Do
- Lee Min-Ho as Mo Jae-Young
- Jang Hyun-Sung as Jang Tae-Ho
- Kang Shin-Il as Im Suk-Hoon
- Jeong Man-Sik as Lee Dong-Hyun
- Kim Jong-Goo as Robert Yoon
- Lee Si-Eon as Ji Se-Hoon
- Oh Hee-Joon as Yang Sang-Sik
- Han Ji-Seon as Choi Seol-A
- Lee Ah-Jin as Son Jung-Hye
- Cheon Ho-Jin as Lawmaker Baek
- Tae In-Ho as Seo Ki-Chul
- Moon Jae-Won as Team leader Yong Jae-Min
- Jo Seung-Yeon as Choi Jae-Hyuk
- David Lee McInnis as Petrov
- Oh Na-Ra as Sharon Kim
- Shin Joo-A as Pi Eun-Soo
- Lee Jun-Hyeok as Director Lee Hyuk-Joon
- Jeon Gook-Hwan as Chairman Mo Byung-Do
- Choi Il-Goo
- Jin Seon-Gyu
- Im Ji-Kyu
- Bbaek Ga
- Song Joong-Ki as Bank Teller
- Namkoong Min
- Jung Dong-Gyu as Attorney-General
- Son Jong-Hak as Park Joon-won
My Review:
When I am stress for some reason watching K-dramas calms me down especially if the K-drama is as fun as this. It has a bit of semblance on the manner why Descendants of the Sun became so popular and a phenomenon. However, though the story is great and Park Hae-Jin provided a great performance as well as the supporting actors including cameo roles of Song Joong-Ki no less, it didn’t capture the entire magic of DOS precisely because there’s lacking in chemistry between Park Hae-Jin and Kim Min-Jung unlike the Song-Song couple which is fireworks in the screen. Also, the delivery of the intimate scenes is lacking to spark intense feeling like it did with DOS. Too bad because Park Hae-Jin got again the shorter end of the stick which he truly deserves accolade on this K-Drama just like what he didn’t get in doing Cheese in the Trap. Hope next time, he’ll get the right story, director and partner to feature his talent the way it deserves to be featured.
So, What do I Like About this K-Drama?
(1) Park Hae-Jin as Kim Seol-Woo fits to a “T” with his character. I like him when he’s in K-Drama doing a character with a certain edge like in “Cheese in the Trap”. Quite cool and suits him.
(2) The transition of the character Kim Seol-Woo was done in a way to fit the romantic angle properly. And, I must say it is a good collaboration of the director, actor and the writer.
(3) The story is fast pace and there’s not much to wait around and be bored with sub-stories.
(4) I like that there are obvious villains but there are also who I need to keep on guessing. It makes the story interesting and the suspense real.
(5) The OST is very nice and apt for the tone of the K-Drama.
What I do Not Like About this K-Drama?
(1) This is the 2nd K-Drama after Queen of Mystery, that I wish they’ve used a different actress and , although, like the actress of Queen of Mystery, Kim Min-Jung can act. Just can’t relate to her.
(2) The romantic scenes could have been felt better by the audience especially since Park Hae-Jin as Kim Seol-Woo delivers his character very well except for the fake kiss. Somehow it lessens the arousal of the feeling of the scene because you know they are just having their lips touch together and that is it which is quite frustrating because the romantic scenes were very well written.
(3) There are some details that don’t fit for a ghost secret service man. Like how can he place the address of his actual location? Even if the room is concealed any decent antagonist will be able to figure out or at least check if the warehouse is really empty. These are details that are done to fit the romantic angle which K-Dramas are known for but doesn’t really provide logic.
Would I recommend this K-Drama? Yes.
My Rating to this Drama
( See My Rating System: ) 5/5 Stars
OST:
01. Map of Heart – Standing Egg
Play Me:
02. Aurora – Yangpa
Play Me:
03. The Reasons – Huh Gak
04. Full of Wonders – Vromance
05. Open Your Mind – Mamamoo
06. Destiny – Park Bo-ram, Basick
07. Take Your Hand – VIXX
08. You – Czaer feat. Far East Movement and Babylon
09. Temperature of Tears – Soul Latido