Confession: The only reason why I knew a bit about SBS‘s Secret Garden was because Jay Park was rumored to be in it.

I was never really a big fan of his, but it was newsworthy in the beginning of this year when he officially separated from JYP Entertainment. I wasn’t even planning to watch Secret Garden to begin with, but the twenty-episode program got me hooked from episode one.

As big as he is, I was never really Hyun Bin‘s fan. I watched Daddy Long Legs, Millionaire’s First Love, My Name is Kim Sam Soon, and The World That They Live In (the first two are movies, the last two are dramas), but still, I didn’t consider his characters in the dramas/movies very noteworthy or extraordinary. To me, Hyun Bin was just one of those famous actors, but not the kind that I really liked.

As for Ha JiWon, I knew a bit more of her existence . I did watch a couple movies that she starred in (100 Days with Mr. Arrogant, Daddy Long Legs). However, I only remembered her because I thought Lee YeonHee looked like her, but primarily because of Wonder Girls‘ So Hot where Yoobin raps, “아름다운 내 다린 좀 하지원” (Beautiful legs like Ha JiWon).

In addition, I didn’t find the plot worth reading since I didn’t like any of the actors. Even if I did read it, mystical plots aren’t my thing. I mean, the posters aren’t very convincing either.

While I was initially very skeptical of this drama, I am loving it more and more. It’s almost as suspenseful as King of Baking, Kim TakGoo, but it’s hard to compare this drama to any others since Secret Garden is about body-switching while others are about different things. Moreover, Secret Garden is very unique in the fact that the main girl and guy start to like each other from the beginning, while the supporting girl and guy are ex-girl/boyfriends and start to like the main characters as well.

Hyun Bin and Ha JiWon’s really have chemistry this time around and I’m liking it. ;) At first, they seem to act really sweet and cute towards each other, but then Hyun Bin takes arrogance to a whole other despicable level. But not to fear, the body-switch is absolutely hilarious.

The plot has so far been fast-paced so that there’s enough time for the body-switching hilarity to take place. It’s similar to the American movie Freaky Friday in this way. However, Kim JooWon and Gil RaIm barely know each other and their characters are extremely different, not to mention the fact that they’re opposite genders.

Basically, watch Secret Garden! As of now, it has won my heart and it doesn’t disappoint (so far). It is full of hilarious moments caused by the constant confusion of character/gender faced by the main characters.

*Spoilers below*

“Kisses always fix these kinds of situations in movies.” (Kim JooWon and Gil RaIm share a short kiss, then withdraw. This is followed by a long kiss, where Kim JooWon and Gil RaIm start to enjoy the kiss, but withdraw after realizing what they’re actually doing.)

(Awkward situations caused by gender and personality switch.)