Guess which first episode I just watched and liked? Here is a hint:
I genuinely enjoyed the first episode of Dr. Jin, thus (if the blogs are anything to go by) placing me in a solid minority of one. But I very much enjoyed it and I stand by my opinion.
This is not drama-as-art the way the Japanese JIN (at least first season, I never did watch the sequel) was. And this is undoubtedly cheesy. But it is also entertaining and, let's face it, I think at least 80% of dramas are made of enough cheese to double as a dairy farm in Wisconsin. (Frex - King 2 Heart and Rooftop Prince, very entertaining, pure cheese).
Part of my fondness is that fusion sageuks are my favorite genre and time-travel my favorite device. Part of it is my enormous fondness for Song Seung Heon, Park Min Young (who has gorgeous chemistry with SSH), Lee Bum Soo (who is stealing the show), Jaejoong et. al. But a lot of it is that it's just cheesy yummy fun. If I want a fusion sageuk I consider genuine quality, this will never be it (that crown would probably go to Chuno) but as far as a great way to spend a couple of hours - oh yes, sign me up right here!
In conclusion - I was very pleased to note that Edward Cullen is alive and well in Joseon Korea:
Here he is, minutes before his even eviller Daddy randomly shoots a horse. Just because. Evil.