Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo (2016–2017) User Reviews (72)

A fun rom-com sports Kdrama

[hazidil · 9/10 · 12 February 2017]

This is one of the best rom-com Kdramas in 2016. The leading couple Lee Sung-Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk is like eye candy to watch. Such a well matched on screen couple and the chemistry between the two are so good that their acting appears to be flawless.

The flow of the story is great. Unlike in most Korean dramas where the plot makes a twist in the last 1-2 episode, this drama gradually develops to a predictable, yet well-suited ending.

The drama tries to portray real hardships and situations faced by athletes who are majoring various sports like weightlifting, swimming and gymnastics in Sports Universities.

This drama is definitely recommended as a stress reliever and fun to watch.

Charming characters and lovely story

[phd_travel · 9/10 · 8 March 2021]

Enjoyable from start to finish this series features extremely likeable actors and characters and laugh out loud funny dialogue. Set in a sports college, the romance and struggles of athletes in weightlifting gymnastics and swimming is quite enjoyable to watch. Lee Sung-kyung is obviously too slim to be a weightlifter but her performance is so charming that it doesn't matter that physically she is too pretty. She makes this character a gem and you feel her insecurities about her physical appearance and her struggles as an athlete. Nam Joo Hyuk acts well with more range than in Start Up and is suited looks wise to his role as a swimmer in love with her. They have funny banter and great chemistry. An enjoyable aspect here is the good people that surround them. His family including his nice brother is supportive and hers is too. There are some serious issues too like eating disorders and stuff but overall it's a light hearted show. Highly recommended.

Fabulous show!

[misswritercreates · 8/10 · 8 April 2019]

This show was so good! I watched it after strong woman bong soon and fight my way. Loved this!! Entertaining and the actors did such a great job! You won't be disappointed. I highly recommend it!

The cutest couple I've seen so far

[Ceck · 10/10 · 7 January 2017]

I'm not a long time k-drama fan, so perhaps I have a small sample size to identify this couple as one of the best ones I've seen so far (this marks my 24th k-drama). I've been following Joo- Hyuk Nam since Cheese in the Trap and was very glad to see him at Scarlet Heart. Needless to say that I was programmed to watch this series.

Bok Joo is one of the female characters that I came to like right away, in HIGH contrast with the crazy Baek In-Ha which was a bit annoying. Sung-Kyung was a real and wonderful surprise in this simple character about a weight lifting athlete who is supposed to be "big" and not so pretty.

Jung Joon-Hyung is the swimmer who recognizes her (actually her first love) and becomes very close to her in a friendly way. What happens after is the best.

A beautiful couple relationship develops after Bok Joo has her a broken heart after her first crush. And this is where the bar for a boyfriend raises to a new level. Joon Hyung becomes the dream boyfriend any woman should aim for.

All their scenes together look so natural and yes, that look that Bok Joo receives will be always remembered. The rest is also naive and sweet. Such a massive change from the all violence/sex/boring US shows.

I've laughed like I haven't done in years of US/European shows. And probably I've re-discovered the tenderness a TV program can portray (with other values as friendship, family value, commitment to achieve a goal, overcoming obstacles) without the need to use all the clichés I've mentioned.

Watch it and relax, you'll come to treasure this couple.

The best ever

[shreyachugh · 10/10 · 27 November 2019]

This is by far the best kdrama I have seen till now. It's soooooooo awesome. Just watch it and njoy every second of it...Complete SWAG!!

Must watch

[rahayuabubakar · 10/10 · 21 February 2019]

An inspiring sports drama. Funny, cute and motivating genre. This drama make me want to go swimming! SWAG!

quirky and cute

[tashrimac · 10/10 · 22 March 2019]

This is one of my favorite shows of all time. The main couple is so lovey dovey and adorable. The entire cast is so good. I love this because of the simplicity of the plot. It's nothing complex. It's about college kids and their everyday situations. I've always liked Nam Joo Hyuk, he is so charming here. The chemistry between the main couple would definitely make you ship them. I watch this drama whenever I'm having a bad day or hard time. It cheers me up every time. Anyone wondering whether to start this or not, I 100% recommend that you won't regret your time.

Lee Sung Kyung's biggest break

[lmerana · 10/10 · 9 August 2019]

I really got hooked at kdrama more after watching this. I love the soundtrack and the plot is so simple but its unique though I know that this is based on a true story. I love the chemistry between the leads ( so sad they broken up), the friends, the teachers and the uncle is so funny. The female lead has always been casted as a villain or a bad girl. It is so refreshing that she did this role. It truly suits her and her acting is good.

thumbs up

[Moviebility · 10/10 · 14 June 2017]

I love nam joo hyuk and lee song-kyoung's chemistry they look so good together you just want them to end up in real life because OTP. I love the flow of the story because it's not really that complicated it's like something that is just happening in real life which is really good. I recommend this you won't regret.

Despite some of its established tropes, Weightligfting Kim Bok Joo delivers a pleasant kdrama with an interesting premise and enough romantic excitement to keep it interesting

[CasuallViewer · 7/10 · 18 May 2020]

Kim Bok Joo is a female weightlifter in a sports university who aspires to go pro doing the thing she loves to do, weightlifting, which she and her father shared when she was still young. A series of events brings her to several other people who will make make her stay in her sports university more romantically eventful.

Let me start with some of the issues I personally had with this series. First, it makes use of tropes you've probably seen a couple of times before, where emotions flare up to stir some drama and compel one character or another to be driven by jealousy or passion for his/her love interest to take notice. Second, chance encounters or '"leaving it up to fate" is a crutch that is used for the plot to progress. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, but overuse ruins the uniqueness of the show. Last, the plot can get a bit confusing due to several things happening at once aside from the main story.

For the positives, there a lot more good things the show has than the issues I mentioned. I very much enjoyed how they made use of Bok Joo as an enjoyable female protagonist as someone who's pretty much independent and capable enough as a character to do whatever she wants, plus the trio she has along with her father and uncle provides warm and lovable characters who serve as Bok Joo's financial and emotional support. Side characters are utilized pretty well and not just tossed aside after they have fulfilled their roles, where the cast does a good job of portraying their roles well enough to support one another and display an entertaining performance. This makes it nice to see actual characters develop along with their own resolution aside from the main plot progression.

Overall, despite the tropes presented, this show has a lot going for it. Acting performance, character development, and great use of side characters / sidekicks, and a pretty vibrant or cutesy soundtrack to match the scenes, make this a decent and romantically exciting kdrama series.

Glad I watched this

[seveneleven-44269 · 10/10 · 1 June 2019]

One of the best thing I have ever seen,well written and executed,great performances from the female lead and very good supporting casts ,one best of quality works south korea has to offer.

Still laugh

[Mr_Avenger · 6/10 · 17 June 2021]

One of the funniest kdrama. Great skills from the leading actors . The leading actress is so cute and unique in her role. There are also great chemistry between the main couple.

Beautiful and unusual plot makes the whole drama so enjoyable.

The only negative for me , was the story of the gymnastic girl who was really boring and I think it was unnecessary too.

Absolutely a must watch ,especially if you look for something funny and romantic.

A little uncomfortable but not too bad

[diorful · 5/10 · 6 September 2022]

The drama itself is okay, the main couple does have chemistry and it didn't look forced. However, so many aspects of the show are questionable. The main character is supposed to be a weight lifter with an impressive body, yet the physique is nothing like it. She's just a typicall, thin young woman - why are they acting like she's super athletic and "chubby"? The constant bullying and comments about her weight were just disturbing. She's literally a skinny girl, what narrative were they trying to push by implying that she's "big"? This part made me very uncomfortable. Also the hyperfixation on shallow looks, body weight, and fashion was too severe. 80% of the things that the main male lead says is purely toxic and just downright disrespectful. The overall obsession with appealing to men and being in a relationship seemed strange and severely outdated. Also, very childish and immature characters. They're supposed to be in college yet they're acting like middle schoolers, just a little weird. Also, the storyline of the gymnast roomate was more realistic yet very embarassing to watch. It's not too bad overall, I liked the sport commentary and I absolutely love the actor Kang Kiyoung. He did an amazing job with his role. But I find the promotion of toxic beauty standards and appeal to men a bit ironic. The show was supposed to reject that trope, yet it pushed it to an uncomfortable degree.

THIS IS SO GOOD!

[alfianofong · 10/10 · 21 December 2018]

THIS DRAMA IS SO FUNNY, HEARTWARMING, BUBBLY, CUTE AND SO WHOLESOME! WATCH IT, YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

This is exactly why I love kdrama

[thejassivakumar · 9/10 · 2 September 2021]

This is one of the best feel good shows that I've watched. This show made me laugh so hard and then began to make my heart so warm, it's so cheerful and lifts up your mood. If you're feeling this is definitely an energy booster. There is comedy love and emotional content also that is perfectly packed altogether. This show tells the story of Kim Bok Joo, who is a weightlifter who aspires to get on the national team, her friends and love life is perfectly depicted in this. The different stages she has to go through and the development of their life and. The different stages she has to go through and the development of their life and personalities is something relatable to all of us. Their passion and the effort they put into it inspires all of us.

This is not just a rom-com there's definitely more to it. After watching it, I found what we are missing in our lives, the carefree life of the youth and the passion in our heart. This is definitely a must watch for all.

Weird title for an amazing drama,

[leahcubed · 10/10 · 20 January 2020]

The female lead character, Kim Bok-joo (Lee Sung-kyung) is a weightlifter and Olympic hopeful. She suffers the discrimination of a child with a larger figure in a setting where being svelte is prized. The weightlifters tend to stick together and socialize mainly within their group even more so than other athletes. She is strong and relatively tall for a woman and is often viewed and treated as something other than feminine. She professes no interest in dating and her focus is mostly on her sport. The male lead character, Jung Joon-hyung is a swimmer who also aspires to medal but has a serious handicap in that the stress of the start causes panic or migraine like symptoms that have caused him to make critical mistakes and ultimately lose races. Bok-joo and Sung-kyung's paths cross by happenstance and they slowly discover that they knew each other in grade school and had a friendly relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful romantic comedy. Some of the scenes had myself and those I was watching it laughing. It is very lighthearted yet does give you a slice of life look at sports college life. The characters are well developed and you grow to know and like the majority and root for their success.

This is at the top of my watch list. The title threw me as many titles of Asian dramas do I thought it might be silly. It isn't silly in that way at all more comical and amusing at times but in the best of ways.

Unrealistic but cute

[ninchenbienchen · 8/10 · 3 October 2020]

First off: I liked this show. I really did. But at the same time I couldn't help but think how unrealistic and a little too optimistic this show is. But let's see:

The plot: It's about a young woman in her early twenties who majors in weightlifting at a sports university. While pursuing her dream of becoming a professional weightlifter she runs into a guy, Jung Jun-hyung, whom she was good friends with in school until he suddenly moved away. So they finally meet again in university and start their friendship anew.

Apparently the plot is loosely based on the real life story of professional weightlifter Jang Mi-ran. All good so far, right?

Wrong. Because let's take a very shallow look at professional female weightlifters like Jang Mi-ran and then put Lee Sung-kyung next to them as she represents those weightlifters in this show as the lead role Kim Bok-joo. And what you see is a big fat difference in their physiques. While female weightlifters even in lower weight classes are strongly build, Lee Sung-kyung has a model-like figure and face - because she IS a model, duh. And though they tried to make her more unattractive (sarcasm) by giving her a bob, making her walk weirdly and wear loose clothes, she still is Lee Sung-kyung with an angel face and a top physique. A weightlifter? Not really.

The hardships: This show is obviously a comedy and maintained its happy go lucky bubbly image most of the time. In between there were a few hardships the leads and supporting characters had to deal with. And I think it's great they added topics like depression, bulimia or family problems to the mix. I do like a bit of realistic content in shows. But here's also the problem: while they displayed those hardships quite well at their peak, ALL of them were kind of sweeped under the rug pretty quickly. The hardship was there and just like that everything got better - in one episode. Which is kind of fatal in my opinion. If you bring awareness to subjects like depression, don't make it seem like it just goes away by starting a bucket list. Because that's just not how it works and makes it seem like people who are depressed get out of it easily.

Keep in mind, this is just one of the hardships of the characters which was dealt with in a too optimistic and realistic way. In another case, the character just runs away from its family and just like that all family problems are gone. Right, because that's how it works.

The only hardship they did picture quite realistic without sweeping it under the rug in just one or two episodes was the bulimia case. But see for yourself.

So after all this, why do I still give this show an eight out of ten?

The cast and the characters one by one. All of them did an amazing job. They played their roles so well, you tend to to forget about the show's faults. Specifically Lee Sung-kyung and Nam Joo-hyuk are real talents and masters of facial expressions and putting several emotions into them.

Also, the characters were all adorable as hell, you just couldn't help but love them with all your heart. And even though their behavior was often teen-love-like, the main couple just steals your heart because they're SO GODDAMN ADORABLE!

The characters make you wish you had a friendship like them and a romantic relationship like them.

They honestly do.

S-way!

[mrsjanicedrew · 8/10 · 4 May 2021]

Kdrama at its dependable; romantic, cute, uplifting.

My Fav serie

[ncnarit · 9/10 · 15 February 2021]

It's a genre that looks so relaxed. If anyone who does not like to watch a series that is really stressful, has a lot of clues or is very violent. Look at this story, you will like it. There is a lot of cuteness of the characters, the hero and the heroine Chemistry got along very well. The villain of this story is not too bad, unlike Thai dramas. Or a Korean drama that has been organized Because real life Everyone is evil, but evil always has a hidden good. Choosing an actor to play is a very good match. See and believe and be in with it, always smiling with this story. There are some episodes that secretly shed tears. There are many emotions in this story, there will be sports matters. Which is interesting As for the love scene, the first part might not be much because according to the age, the characters that hope when she will love each other.

Fun, quirky, and cute sports drama

[11ovz11 · 7/10 · 2 September 2021]

One of the cutest kdrama's I've seen. The plot is simple but feel good. The acting can be improved (but they were all kind of new so this is passable). The chemistry between the two main leads are great as well.

Watch this if you like lighthearted comedy with a good message and a story behind. The main couple is a bonus!

Amazing work

[ayoub-kira-boogeyman · 9/10 · 16 December 2021]

Thank you for this piece of Art 💝 i really enjoyed every moment of it. I'm going to rewatched again .

This story is really amazing and funny ...

This drama contains love, action and a lot of funny moments.

I wish if the could add more episodes of this show.. or make another season of it.

Good enough

[PennyReviews · 7/10 · 13 January 2017]

Honestly, the title is a bit odd and rather than creating interest, it might stop you from watching this drama. Which would be a mistake. Sure, the story is very simple and maybe I'm giving it 7 out of 10 because: 1 I love Nam Joon Hyun, he is a really good actor and played in many hit dramas of 2016, like Scarlet heart and Cheese in the trap 2 My favourite theme is school life But, part from those two, this drama has one thing that many others lack; a strong couple. The chemistry between them was amazingly powerful, even though their romance didn't start till probably the tenth episode. But even so, the dynamics were great! Cute and romantic, they were the it couple!! The story is nice too: a girl, who's a weightlifter, falls for a doctor who owns a weight lose clinic. In order to be close to him, she signs up for a weight control program in his clinic, but lies about her college major, as well as lying to her fellow students, family, friends and her trainers. The only one who knows the truth is her childhood friend, who's also the doctor's brother and the eye candy of their college. Because of that, they become close friends. THe performances were nice and the soundtrack was great. One thing that maybe wasn't that good, was that the leading lady supposed to be overweight, or at least not skinny to be able to do weightlifting, but the drama only had her wearing buggy clothes and she not even looked strong enough. But other than that it was a quite enjoyable drama.

Immature, Annoying Characters, and SLOW Story I Hated It

[fake_moviestar · 2/10 · 25 December 2020]

I really cannot believe how high this is rated!! I hated 80% of this show. The story is so slow and boring, 2/3 of the show focus on Bok Joo's one-sided crush - with the ML's brother no less!! The main couple don't even start to get together until the end of episode 11! This show was SO frustrating to watch because the main couple are so cute and have really great chemistry together. The story plods along, focusing on pretty much everything BUT the main couple; side stories, side characters, other couples, you name it. And there was so much focus on the sports too... ugh, we get it already, they are athletes! Bok Joo's father was the worst, presenting as a nice and doting father, but then suddenly when Bok Joo has a small misunderstanding he wants to beat her?? What?? Even her coach, who she clearly sees as a mother figure, beats her because she won't explain why she went to the weight-loss clinic, which WHY is that such a big deal anyway? Also Lee Song-Kyoung was a great actor in this but she definitely didn't have the body of a professional weightlifter. And everyone was SO immature!! I get that they are supposed to be young students, but they are in COLLEGE, not middle school! Oh and what on earth happened with Joon Hyung's mother? What is she presented as a poor, pitiable woman on any level - she ABANDONED her son because she got married?? Why couldn't she take him with her? Am I missing something about Korean culture? No, Joon Hyung, you definitely should NOT forgive her!

I don't think I have ever had such a frustrating experience in watching a show before. I'm only giving this two stars for the cute leads and the last 3 episodes which were the only ones even kind of worth watching. I can't believe I wasted 16 hours of my life on this. WHAT are y'all talking about with your 10 ratings??

Amazing, must watch and keep re-watching!

[jksingh-76132 · 10/10 · 16 December 2020]

MUST WATCH AND THE KEEP RE-WATCHING! This is the BEST drama that I have ever seen. Nam Jook and Lee Sung are AMAZING with terrific chemistry! The rest of the cast is spot on! Even while re-watching, I didn't have to fast forward any part of this drama. Not even a second of dull moment!

My Favorite drama

[dersqabg · 9/10 · 4 October 2020]

It's cuteeeeeeeee and coool Perfect Nammmm jo huyk