New Tales of Gisaeng (2011) poster
7.7
Your Rating: 0/10
Ratings: 7.7/10 from 1,558 users
# of Watchers: 4,526
Reviews: 19 users
Ranked #4454
Popularity #3030
Watchers 1,558

New Tales of Gisaeng depicts the love, sadness and pain of people surrounding a gisaeng house, where only VIPs can enter. Dan Sa Ran majored in classical dance while attending college. Her mother died when she was still young and her father remarried, bringing with him a new stepsister and a materialistic stepmother whom she has trouble warming up to. Sa Ran comes from a poor family, but she maintains her dignity around friends who come from rich families. Either fate or coincidence brings her together with Da Mo, to whom she feels an instant attraction, but her awareness of her poor background restrains her from voicing it. A head gisaeng at Buyongkak observes Sa Ran's natural beauty and grace as well as dancing talent, and recommends her to become a gisaeng. Ah Da Mo takes business administration training at his father's company. He does not get along with his father, who is indifferent towards his family and only shows affection towards their pet dog. Da Mo is cocky and tends to look down on women, but begins to question his attitude when he meets Sa Ran by chance. He finds himself involuntarily drawn to her, and their relationship begins. Edit Translation

  • English
  • magyar / magyar nyelv
  • dansk
  • Norsk
  • Country: South Korea
  • Type: Drama
  • Episodes: 52
  • Aired: Jan 23, 2011 - Jul 17, 2011
  • Aired On: Saturday, Sunday
  • Original Network: SBS
  • Duration: 1 hr. 10 min.
  • Score: 7.7 (scored by 1,558 users)
  • Ranked: #4454
  • Popularity: #3030
  • Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Cast & Credits

Reviews

Completed
iRenge Finger Heart Award1
40 people found this review helpful
Sep 11, 2011
52 of 52 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
Well first off, I really loved New Tales of Gisaeng. When I first started it I got stuck around episode 7 or so and took a few days off from it. I was determined to finish it though so I continued on. What I love the drama is that Ah Da Mo and Dan Sa Ran had so much chemistry.

Story: The story was pretty good. The fact that Dan Sa Ran was a foundling and the route she took in her life to supplement this was a bit different from other dramas. People usually try to live their lives better after learning something so shocking; Not sink further down not minimize the damage. I think the idea of using Gisaengs is something that many dramas have not touched upon, it really brought an old world feel to a modern age situation. I do think it was a little cheesy how everyone was connected by the Gisaeng House but it didn't take away anything from the drama. The only thing that people may find fault with about this drama is the fact that it took so long for the secrets to come out and to find out anything really. The other fault would be the story progression in episodes 40-50.

Acting: I absolutely loved the casting for this drama. Im Soo Hyang is perfect for the role of Dan Sa Ran. Dan Sa Ran is wise with classic beauty and a cautious but loving heart. Sa Ran's character was played perfectly, more so than any other character. Ah Da Mo was played by a new actor and while he was shaky in the first couple of episodes, you could see that he loosened up and really embraced his role as the cocky rich son who falls in love and is willing to give everything up. Geum Ra Ra had a lot growth in the drama, going from the spoiled rich girl to someone who really wanted genuine happiness. At first I was not sure how her character could redeem herself because the actress looks arrogant but she pulled it off and I developed a new found respect for Han Hye Rin.

Acting;Other characters: As far as other characters go, for the stepmom I don't think they could have found anyone as annoying as they did, the adoptive father was soft as tissue, and the sister took the family ties further than anyone else in the drama. The hospital director was very stoic and I felt he could have displayed more emotion. The head chef played the bereaved mother perfectly also.

Music: While I think they played the same song too many times, I can't really complain because I loved it. Kim Ye Won/Kim Shin Ah (the Vietnamese girl from Romance Town) sings the ending song for this drama. It is titled Yeonjungga (Song of Passion). It was beautiful and sad and seemed to match the drama perfectly. During happy times they would play a more upbeat song that still conveyed elegance.

Rewatch Value: Well I think that the rewatch value for this drama is pretty high (I've watched it twice already and will watch again) I think that for many of the actors to be old and quite a few of them to be young and new to the acting scene, you realize a lot of the differences between the generations. Watching it over you can discover new things and think of the situations from different perspectives. I know that the number of episodes is a turn-off for a lot of people but the drama really is worth it.

Overall: Overall I think this drama was absolutely brilliant, by far my favorite drama. This isn't just a one dimensional view of the drama. Considering the acting from Im Soo Hyang and Sung Hoon to the unique storyline, to the beautiful ending song that sprang up at best times during the drama I think this drama is a must watch.

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Completed
chachanana
31 people found this review helpful
May 3, 2012
52 of 52 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
Watched it last year but still a great drama! I usually get bored & drop dramas very easily, so i can't believe i watched the 52 episodes !

The beginning is kind of slow, so i found myself skipping most of the family oriented scenes & only wanted to see the relationship between the 2main leads. But after (i'd say around the 10th-15th episodes maybe?) those were my favorites scenes & i couldn't miss one. Indeed the interactions between all the characters (there are a lot!) are very fun to watch, the characters are lovable & really grow on you & it depicts a lot of aspects of Korean culture which i found really interesting.

One of the most important thing for me is that there aren't any frustrating or despicable characters. They're all amazing (especially Ah Damo, his father, Gongjoo & Sonja!). Even the "bad" ones (annoying jealous rara for instance) change & become nice. Characters getting on my nerves & whose behaviours are stupid, irrational to the point I wanna murder them are the main reason why i often cannot finish dramas (especially when they are the main leads). So the fact that the only person i hated in there has a bad ending, god i wanted to hug the writers!

On the romance side, great great great! Even though the story is somewhat far-fetched (well, it's a kdrama we're talking about), their relationship feels real & reaaaally passionate at the same time. Completely fell in love with Ah damo. (I usually don't fall that hard for a character haha) Dan Saran is also great & strong-willed ,of course she isn't perfect & can get kind of irritating sometimes (Not to me though)

=> If you want a mix of warm&hilarious; family-oriented scenes (Andreeeeeee) and a passionate romance, wrapped up in a nice setting (Gisaeng;)!), providing you're patient (52 episodes!) this is the drama for you !

PS:
I rated 7 for the story because it's good but kind of typical, it's actually the humor & the amazing acting that made the drama ! Rewatch value: i usually don't rewatch dramas, & especially not this one since it's so long, but i have found myself rewatching some parts here & there , still laughing.

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Details

  • Drama: New Tales of Gisaeng
  • Country: South Korea
  • Episodes: 52
  • Aired: Jan 23, 2011 - Jul 17, 2011
  • Aired On: Saturday, Sunday
  • Original Network: SBS
  • Duration: 1 hr. 10 min.
  • Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Statistics

  • Score: 7.7 (scored by 1,558 users)
  • Ranked: #4454
  • Popularity: #3030
  • Watchers: 4,526

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