Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo

                                                                 Cute! Cute! Cute!

Synopsis

Kim Bok Joo is an accomplished weightlifter training at a sports college. Jung Joon Hyung, who was Bok Joo's classmate in elementary school, is a swimmer at the same college. Joon Hyung's mother left him when he was young and after finding out that his aunt forged letters from his mother for years, he developed a trauma that prevents him from competing in swimming competitions.

Bok Joo and Joon Hyung run into each other at college. She initially avoids him and is annoyed by him because he teases her by calling her her childhood nickname, "chubs." Bok Joo meets obesity doctor Jung Jae Yi who happens to be Joon Hyung's cousin and adoptive brother. Bok Joo develops a crush on Jae Yi and pretends to be a cello player in order to schedule regular appointments with Jae Yi. Joon Hyung discovers Bok Joo's cover and taunts her while also trying to help her with her crush.

Bok Joo and Joon hyung become close friends, often relying on each other. However, Joon Hyung's ex girlfriend Song Shi Ho attends the same college and ends up being Bok Joo's roommate. Shi Ho is a rhythmic gymnast who struggles with stress and regrets breaking up with Joon Hyung. She discovers Bok Joo's weight journal and leaves it for Bok Joo's coaches to find. Bok Joo was supposed to be working on moving to a higher weight class, not lose weight, so she gets into trouble with her father and coaches.

Bok Joo lies to Jae Yi that she's studying abroad in order to make an excuse to cancel appointments. However, he finds her at school and discovers she's an athlete. Jae Yi tries to be supportive of Bok Joo by attending one of her competitions, but this is exactly what Bok Joo was afraid of. She doesn't want Jae Yi to see her looking unfeminine while she's weightlifting. Then Bok Joo's coach, coach Choi, is forced to leave her position because she used school funds to bail a student out of jail. Bok Joo decides to quit weightlifting.

Bok Joo takes time off from school and during this time, Joon Hyung develops feelings for Bok Joo and decides he wants to start dating her. Bok Joo is adamant at first, but she also develops feelings for him and they begin to date secretly. Bok Joo's friend Seon Ok has to leave school because of financial struggles and lack of family support. After visiting Seon Ok, Bok Joo decides to return to weightlifting. Bok Joo and Joon Hyung's relationship is discovered by their friends and they date openly.

Joon Hyung's mom shows up in Korea after having been gone for many years. It turns out that she came back for money and Joon Hyung is devastated. He disappears and cuts off contact. But Bok Joo finds him and convinces him to apologize to his aunt and adoptive mother for closing off. Bok Joo gets accepted to train for the national weightlifting team, but Joon Hyung doesn't get accepted to join training for the national swim team. When Bok Joo visits home for a doctor's appointment, she discovers her dad has been lying to her about being hospitalized. She tells him she'll win the gold medal for him, and does. Two years later, it's graduation day and Joon Hyung and Bok Joo make plans to get married.

Reaction

There's something about campus dramas and largish ensembles that make a drama really enjoyable to watch. Part of what got me really hooked from the get go was Bok Joo's relationship with her friends. Very rarely do you get to see female friend groups in dramas. There are groups of guy friends and female leads usually have one female friend that spends all of her time obsessing over the female lead's life. That's just not realistic. So to see that Bok Joo had at least 2 great friends already made her a more relatable heroine from the start. I think Bok Joo's overall relatability is what drew in so many viewers. Viewers that are also awkward, walk weirdly, and don't know how to wear make up see themselves in Bok Joo.

I think the show could have avoided a good deal of its controversy had they made it an original story. I didn't see anything wrong with Lee Sung Kyung playing the title role with her figure had they not claimed the drama was loosely based off of Jang Mi Ran. Other than being accomplished female weightlifters, did the two have anything else in common? And it was pretty unrealistic that an obesity doctor would think that it makes sense for someone with Bok Joo's figure to need an obesity doctor in the first place.

I think Lee Sung Kyung still has issues with overacting, as was the case with WLFKBJ. But I would say that her acting skills have improved by leaps and bounds from her previous roles in Cheese in the Trap and It's Okay, That's Love. The scene that really moved me was the one in which Jae Yi showed up during one of Bok Joo's competitions. The physical emotion Bok Joo expressed when she lifted up the weight was so palpable. At that moment, I really sympathized with her for having to sacrifice her desire to look pretty and feminine for Jae Yi in order to win the competition. Nam Joo Hyuk also left a striking impression with his role as Joon Hyung. It was impossible not to love Joon Hyung and I think the reason why Joo Hyuk played the role so well is because that's who he is as a person. I noticed that the character Joon Hyung is actually very similar to Joo Hyuk's character Baek Ah from Moon Lovers. It think that's just actually Joo Hyuk's personality and that's why he's able to embody that type of character so well.

The friends to lovers romance between Bok Joo and Joon Hyung was the best kind. Bok Joo was having difficulties loving herself and Joon Hyung loved her for her. He supported her as a friend before his romantic feelings developed so, of course, the support would follow in the romantic relationship. And despite never having been in a relationship before, Bok Joo was able to support Joon Hyung in his time of need because she learned how to do so as a friend before they started dating. I loved all of their parka hugs, causing a ruckus around campus. If they hadn't ended up together in the end, I would have flipped a table. And can someone please fed ex me a boyfriend exactly like Joon Hyung ASAP?

SWWWWWAAAAAG (honestly didn't know this is what they were saying every time)