06 January 2016

오 마이 비너스 Oh My Venus


Title: 오 마이 비너스 O Mai Bineoseu (Oh My Venus)
English Title: Oh My Venus
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Year: 2015
Episode: 16
Cast:
  • 소지섭 So Ji Sub
  • 신민아 Shin Min Ah
  • 정겨운 Jung Gyeo Woon
  • 유인영 Yoo In Young
  • 방성훈 Bang Sung Hoon (성훈 Sung Hoon)
  • Henry Lau (헨리 Henry)
  • 최진호 Choi Jin Ho
  • 이승호 Lee SEung Ho
  • 반효정 Ban Hyo Jung
  • 최일화 Choi Il Hwa
  • 진경 Jin Kyung
  • 김정태 Kim Jung Tae
  • 권기선 Kwon Ki Sun
  • 조은지 Jo Eun Ji
  • 홍윤화 Hong Yoon Hwa
  • 정혜성 Jung Hye Sung



SYNOPSIS
Kang Joo Eun used to be the most beautiful and most popular teenager in her hometown Daegu. Although she's called Daegu Venus, Joo Eun does not take much pride on her appearance.

Joo Eun worked hard to become a lawyer, but the profession is not exactly how she thought and hoped it would be. Because of major stresses at work and how she's not taking care of herself properly, Joo Eun gained a lot of weight over the years.

After breaking up with her long-term boyfriend, Joo Eun enlisted the help of a world famous trainer to help her lose weight and to keep it off permanently.



REVIEW
Oh My Venus is an interesting drama about a woman who was a paragon of beauty when she was younger, but then became overweight when she started working. Her long-term boyfriend dumping her became her catalyst to go back to the ideal weight for her height, but she stuck with her daily regimen of dieting and exercising to address her many health issues.

Kang Joo Eun seemed like an assertive and independent person when she was in high school, and you would think she'll remain the same when she got older, so it was a shame that she was the quintessential damsel in distress who needed saving.

I understand that there should be a situation where she would meet Kang Young Ho, also known as John Kim. because they have to interact somehow. But the script called for Young Ho to come to Joo Eun's rescue at least four times in as many number of episodes, supposedly to drive the notion that they are destined for each other.

I think the drama should have been much shorter, maybe with ten episodes at most. It didn't seem to have enough material for sixteen episodes because in the latter half, the first twenty minutes were spent repeating the previous episodes.

Oh My Venus talks about health and wellness, and how important it is to take care of our bodies because we use it throughout our lifetimes. When we don't eat healthy and when we don't exercise regularly, we are only making it even more difficult for our bodies to do what it's supposed to do.

But I think the drama went to the extreme at times, imposing such strict dietary restrictions such as not eating any carbohydrates at all. There are good sources of carbohydrates, and I suppose I just can't accept living a life not being able to eat certain things at all.

Oh My Venus talked about how people can do anything they set their mind to, and they can be anyone they want to be. It's a great mantra, that you can do anything if you believe in yourself, and that anything is possible because you believe in yourself.

I just have an issue when it is related to serious health problems, as if you can just will yourself to get better. Perhaps there are cases where you can do exactly that, but I don't think it applies in all situations and with all illnesses.




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오 마이 비너스 Oh My Venus