KDRAMALOVE KOREAN DRAMA REVIEWS



What In The World Happened?
  도대체 무슨 일이야
7VN Web Drama (Dec 2015) 3 Episodes

Added to Instant
Netflix Summer 2017
Romantic Comedy / Fantasy
Grade: B, Korean Drama Review by Jill, USA

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Well, this was a touching surprise. I had never even heard of this web drama, What In The World Happened? (2015), nor did I know any of the actors or actresses, apart from Jaehyo, boy idol from the musical group Block B. This was his first K-drama and he did a pretty good job making his character seem real. I think the 11 year old (at the time) actress named Eun Hyung Jo stole the show, however; she reminded me very much of a young Kim Yoo Jung, for instance she could cry at the drop of a hat. I hope I see her in more shows in future. Korea has such outstanding child actors!



The Story:

A 25 year old man named Il Woo (Jaehyo) who owns a smoothie - sandwich shop falls in love with a 40 year old woman named Anna (Go Eun Mi) who comes to his aid when he falls off his crutches in a park. He had been injured in a car accident recently which tragically had killed his father. They immediately hit it off personally and spend a lot of time together, and she seems to have excellent nursing skills as well and helps him totally heal from his injuries.

Il Woo decides to propose marriage to Anna, regardless of their 15 year age difference (honestly this actress looked more like 35 to me but I guess I was supposed to use my imagination to make her older). He and his co-worker (Park Kwang Su) put flowers, balloons, and a big banner up in the shop with the words "Will You Marry Me, Anna?" on it.




Another girl, named Ki Hyun (Shin Cha Hyun) who had grown up with him like a sister, but who has always loved him, is dejected that he didn't choose her and goes to confront Anna, insulting her because of her age. Feeling down in the dumps, Anna goes to visit her grandmother in her nursing home, who only sometimes remembers her because she has advancing dementia.

This visit Granny remembers her. She gives her granddaughter a special tarot card and says it's at least 50 years old because her boyfriend whom she had lost had given it to her when she was young and she had always kept it for sentimental value. She tells her granddaughter that it is a special wishing card as well and that it will make her dreams of happiness come true.



Anna takes it back to her apartment, makes a wish on it to be younger, stares at it until she falls asleep at night, but when she wakes up she discovers she is now only 10 years old (Eun Hyung Jo)! She has to convince her best girl friend (Shin Yi) that she is now 10 years old, not 40, and she has to come up with an excuse quickly as to what to tell Il Woo because she knows he wants to propose marriage to her.

So when Anna sees Il Woo again, this time as a child, her best friend provides a quick excuse: this girl is her daughter Hannah! He never knew she had a daughter and is stunned. He asks where Anna is and is told she had to go away on business for a few days. This is all a shock to Il Woo but he tries to recover from it quickly and adapt to reality, sensing this lonely little girl needs him.




Il Woo starts to love the little girl too as time goes on, marveling that when he marries Anna that he will be an instant father of a 10 year old ... at 25 years old! However, as time goes by and Anna does not return he gets more concerned for her and their situation.

Then suddenly his mother, an artist, whom he hadn't seen since he was little due to her bitter divorce from his father, reappears in his life and admits that she had been keeping tabs on him from a distance for years. When the car accident happened that killed his father and injured Il Woo the mother had secretly hired a nurse long distance to care for him .... that nurse was none other than Anna! He had thought their relationship had been based on love and trust, and now to hear Anna had been paid for taking care of him was just too much. Can he ever forgive her, especially if and when Anna re-appears in her adult form?

I liked this drama because it re-emphasizes that true love has nothing to do with age or physical condition, that it can come at any time when you least expect it. Good message for this cynical world today. You can watch this on streaming Netflix for as long as it's there (most K-dramas on Netflix don't last very long so you should check their search engine to see if this is still available. As usual their prints are the best available).