I Really, Really Like You Vol. 1 of 2 (DVD) (End) (English Subtitled) (MBC TV Drama) (US Version) DVD Region 1

Former pop idol Eugene slips comfortably into the role of homely but adorable country girl Bong Soon who moves from her mountain home to Seoul to search for her long-lost parents. A hillbilly through and through with her thick accent and pet duck, Bong Soon nonetheless manages to make her way in the city thanks to her kind heart and superior cooking skills. She meets up again with President's son Joon Won (Ryu Jin), whom she rescued and befriended back in the country, and even lands a job as an assistant cook in the Blue House, the President's official residence. Unsurprisingly, Bong Soon falls for Joon Won, who is tiredly bearing the emotional burden of caring for his daughter and mentally ill wife (Jung So Young). But as time passes, she begins to develop an ambiguous relationship with Joon Won's mouthy bodyguard Bong Ki (Lee Min Ki) with whom she is constantly bickering. And where exactly are her parents again?

Ryu Jin inspires suitable angst and sympathy as the resident good guy on a tough break - which fits in well with his general air of being a solid likeable actor who doesn't inspire a following - but it's Eugene and Lee Min Ki's onscreen chemistry that really makes this drama a winner. Eugene makes for a cute and bumbling rom-com heroine, and Lee Min Ki manages to be both annoying and endearing as the gratingly loud hothead who turns out be quite the sensitive leading man. Among the three leads, Lee Min Ki would have been the wild card at the time, on the brink of breaking out after Be Strong, Geum-soon and memorable stints on the variety show X-man, and he brings a roguish, slightly zany energy to the drama that livens up the proceedings. Many of Eugene and Lee Min Ki's scenes and dialogue are laugh-out-loud hilarious.

I Really, Really Like You does a good job of balancing the comedy and drama so that the series never gets too serious to watch with a smile. Setting the drama in the Blue House and having the President around as a regular character also add an interesting dimension to the story, though the drama wisely steers clear of sensationalizing the setting, effectively painting the Blue House as an extraordinary, yet normal household and workplace. The same could be said for I Really, Really Like You overall. Without the eye-catching cast names, media buzz, or story gimmicks, I Really, Really Like You is just an enjoyable romantic comedy, a normal K-drama that turns out to be quite extraordinary.