Secret Garden is like an old friend whom you misses when s/he is gone and for whom you speak favourably of to others. It has been a while since this drama ended but the warmth and memories of this drama remained. As I go on with my review of this drama, bear in mind that I very rarely rate any drama or movie with 10/10 because I believe that no matter how excellent the drama/movie is, there is always room for improvement or there will always be people who will not think so favourably of it. Taking that into account, and the fact that I had pretty much "seen it all" that hardly anything impresses or shock me nowadays, let's move on with the review.

Story: This drama has a very simple storyline: rich man falls for poor woman, they were opposed by his parent(s) but they eventually have their "happily ever after". The "Cinderella story" appeals to all the romantics of the world, especially to the female viewers. We have read and watched many movies and dramas along this line. So what is new? Does throwing in a fantasy gimmick such as body swapping makes it new? Not really. Body swapping is not a new idea either. What made SG extraordinary from the ordinary? It was certainly not the story, but rather how it was told. My full brownie points go to the director for his interpretation of this story. By throwing in otherwise "cliche" albeit creative scenes, amusing lines and characters that you cannot help but fall in love with (eg: coffee froth on the lip, the sit up, the coordinated walking-side-by-side, the "New message" ringtone, Joo Won's monologue about how expensive the tracksuit is, the infamous "Is this the best?" line etc), the director turned what was otherwise ordinary to extraordinary. Without these, I believe SG would have ended up in the "Just another fantasy rom-com" pile. What I love about the entire story was the simplicity of it that turned the old into new. SG taught me that one does not need a complicated idea to make a great story; an old idea can be made into a great story if it was told from a different angle. I love the ending and the message it brought to the viewers. Thanks to this brilliant re-telling of the Cinderella story, we can now look forward to future rom-coms that will make use of the "trademark" SG scenes and lines. In this way, we know that SG has been immortalized.

Acting/Cast: I would not be able to find a better cast than the existing one. Hyun Bin successfully portrayed the arrogant and most times childish Joo Won. His acting in this drama was spot on! The fact that he was able to make me shed tears with him when he cried was the pinnacle of acting - the ability to make the viewers feel what the character was feeling. I am not a fan of him per se - he was not too bad in My Name is Kim Sam Soon but he did starred in dramas that were not so succesful either, yet in SG, he totally nailed it! Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im was the perfect choice for Hyun Bin's Kim Joo Won. They had such a natural and perfect chemistry that the pairing was a work of genius. I believe that for many years to come, people will walk pass Ji Won and call her "Gil Ra Im". That is how strong the impression of her character and how succesful she was in protraying Gil Ra Im. Next, I come to my favourite character- Oska, played by Yoon Sang Hyun. Oska's was an amusing and interesting character. I sincerely believe that without the excellent work by Yoon, SG would have fallen flat on its face. Oska may be a supporting character but without Oska, the drama would have lacked the necessary chemistry needed to gel all the other parts and characters together. Thanks to Yoon, Oska was a success and so was SG. The other characters, such as Kim Sung Oh as Secretary Kim, Kim Sa Rang as Yoon Seul and even the lady who played Joo Won's mother (forgotten her name!) were brilliant choices! For the cast, I award the rare 10/10 because without such an excellent cast and wonderful chemistry, SG would have turned out as a flop.

Music: SG has one of the most heartfelt OSTs around - that is if you are into ballads. Some of you may not, hence the 9/10 rating I gave it. Admittedly, I have my favourites and not-so favourites from its OSTs.

Rewatch value: This is where I admit a secret of mine. I had not rewatched SG since it ended, not for lack of disinterest, but rather due to lack of time. I have too many projects on hand now and making the time to watch a drama nowadays takes effort beyond my already busy schedule. Top that with the expectations from others that I write formal reviews of new dramas, I rarely have time to re-watch dramas (no matter how good they were) because I have to move on to the next new drama. So, I became very selective with what I watch. Unlike most drama addicts, I can forgo watching if the drama is not up to my taste. To me, SG has a high rewatch value. It is surely in my list of drama to re-watch when I get the time for it. I remember fondly all those scenes and lines from SG and hope that one day, when I get that break or holiday away from work, I will be able to re-visit it. So, yes, by all means, if you have the time, re-watch SG again. Better yet, go out and buy the whole original set of the drama. It is definitely a collector's item; one you will not regret keeping for years and years to come and one you probably can proudly show to your kids and next generation what "the good ol' Korean dramas were like in the early 21st century".

With this review, I end my thoughts about SG. All I can say, if you haven't watched it, you better do or else you would have missed an excellent drama that may well ended up as the k-drama of the decade!