Title: Cheese in the Trap
Revised romanization: Chijeu In Deo Teuraep
Hangul: 치즈 인 더 트랩
Director: Lee Yoon-Jung
Writer: Soon Ggi (original comic), Kim Nam-Hee
Network: tvN
Genre: Melodrama, romance, comedy
Episodes: 16
Broadcasting Dates: January 4 – March 1, 2016
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea
Source: watched online on www.dramafever.com

Synopsis: Hong Seol’s life is filled with work and study, and her diligent attitude is often taken advantage of by others. Yoo Jung was similar in the past, but has developed an exacting system of give-and-take to protect himself. Behind his solicitous smile lies a cold mind that demands payment for any mistakes it notes. When he wants to start dating Seol, she finds herself caught in a tangle of problems as the consequences of his past and present actions come to light.

– TRAILER –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf6dbv4jf7o

– CASTING –

Park Hae Jin as Yoo Jung
Park Min Sang (박민상) as young Yoo Jung
Kim Go Eun as Hong Seol
Seo Kang Joon as Baek In Ho
Yoo Je Gun (유제건) as young Baek In Ho
Lee Sung Kyung as Baek In Ha
Lee Na Yoon (이나윤) as young Baek In Ha
Nam Joo Hyuk as Kwon Eun Taek
Park Min Ji as Jang Bo Ra

– MY REVIEW –

I’d been seeing this drama being advertised since early last year, or even late 2015, before it became available on Dramafever, and I’ve been wanting to watch it ever since. After finishing Age of Youth and Moon Lovers, I was finally out of excuses, and finally watched it. I think that my expectations were too high however, because I was immensely disappointed.

Before starting the first episode, I decided to check out the webtoon on which this drama was based (also titled Cheese in the Trap), and I found that I liked the style, as well as the pacing. So, I finally let myself start watching, ….and the start was a good one. I was not quite sure what would be happening plot-wise, and I was getting some Pride and Prejudice vibes (which is always fun). I was also happy that even though, like in Pride and Prejudice, the male lead had a rival (In Ho) who was saying things about the male lead (Yoo Jung), to the female lead (Seol), there appeared as if there would not be a love triangle. I obviously did not watch the trailer that I posted above, previous to watching this entire drama…

I am very unimpressed with the use of love triangles in literature as well as in television shows and films as well, so I was quite happy that Cheese in the Trap wasn’t going to do that. But I was very very wrong. And even worse, was the fact that I liked the “rival,” In Ho, about a hundred times more than Yoo Jung! In Ho was a character whom I sympathized with, and rooted for, while Yoo Jung…I was unsure about at the start, and then immensely disliked by the last episode. Without giving anything away from the plot, I would just like to say that Yoo Jung is cold, fake, conniving…and in my opinion either a psychopath or sociopath. I did not find him attractive in the least, inside or out, and this definitely played a big part in how I felt about the drama as a whole.

At times, the only reason why I continued watching this drama was because I was hoping that the plot would become more exciting, and just more…up my alley. And I also really liked watching the part with In Ho, as well as Seol’s best friends Bo Ra and Eun Taek, and their little love sub-plot. As bad as it sounds, I would have rather that Bo Ra and Eun Taek had been the main love story! Or that Seol was simply paired off with In Ho, or someone else entirely. Just. Not. Yoo Jung.

Otherwise, I did like that this drama addressed many of the issues faced by students in university (or even high school even), regarding family, peers, and teachers. And some of the time I was more interested in how Seol was doing in school, and how she would get assignment A or assignment B done on time (yes, school was very important to me when I was a student…if you couldn’t tell, haha).

As for the plot as an overall, the change that I was waiting for never came. Or rather, things just became worse. And the ending was not satisfying in the least. Even if they were to make another season, I am not sure if I would watch it, to be honest. I am not sure what happened, because this story had great potential, but I did read in this post written by Leila and Rinchan over at Couch + Kimchi (don’t read the post if you want to avoid spoilers!) that there were some behind the scenes issues regarding this drama? The webtoon is still ongoing, and from the sounds of it, there were some conflicts and confusion in the back room, which may explain why the quality of the series kind of spiraled down toward the end.

But anyway, I will sadly not be recommending this drama as one of my favourites, and when I do mention it, I will be including some warnings. Despite the shortcomings I found with this kdrama, though, I do know that there are a lot of viewers who did love it, and that there will be more to come, who will feel the same. If this does sound like something you might enjoy I do recommend watching the first episode or 2, and just seeing how you feel, since I kind of got a feel for this drama from the start (but just continued watching because I was hopeful).

You can watch this drama too! Just click on the icon below to get redirected to the streaming site which I used, Dramafever:

I have a paid account, but Cheese in the Trap is luckily available to watch with a free account as well!

NONE OF THE IMAGES ARE MADE OR OWNED BY ME. THANK YOU FOR READING MY KOREAN DRAMA (KDRAMA) REVIEW! DO YOU WATCH KDRAMAS, OR HAVE YOU BEEN MEANING TO? OR HAVE YOU NEVER HEARD OF THEM BEFORE? I’M CURIOUS! PLEASE LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENT BELOW!