Baker King: Who knew becoming a baker was such an arduos journey?

Baker King: Kim Tak Goo is the first "long" Korean drama that I attempted, and one that I enjoy to date.  Since I was introduced to Asian dramas via Japanese dramas, I welcomed the longer K-dramas which were often 16 to 20 episodes long.  I didn’t feel adventurous enough to watch anything longer, but I am glad that I did.  Quite simply Baker King: Kim Tak Goo is a tale of talent versus ambition.  Set in the 1980s, we are introduced to a chaebol (essentially rich business) family, where the father Goo Il Jung (Jung Kwang-Rhul) desperately wants a son to carry on his family name and business, but his wife continually gives birth to girls.  

Now the inner feminist in me says this is a load of crap, then I remember what time period it is set in, and things make sense.  It’s still a male dominated world, so I will forgive him this once.  The marriage between the husband and wife Seo In Sook (Jun In Hwa) is clearly not a happy one, as it is the typical marriage for business reasons and not love.  At least not love on the part of the husband.  The wife seems pretty head over heels for hubby.  Wifey is so desperate for a son that she heads to a fortune teller to learn of a method to get a son, only to learn that she and her husband are not destined to have a son together.  She is told that she can have a son but only with another man.  The kicker is that before said child is born, her husband will have a son with another woman.  Seriously, a fortune teller can see all of that?  Anyway, wifey to sleep with husband’s assistance Hang Seung-Jae (Jung Sung-Mo), who just happens to be head over heels for her.  Unbeknownst to wifey hubby has already slept with the daughters nanny Kim Mi-Sun (Jun Mi-Sun).   The result is the birth of our two main characters Kim Tak-Goo (Yoon Shi-Yoon) and Goo Ma-Joon (Joo Won). 

Baker King follows Tak Goo through a turbulent childhood, in which Seo In-Sook continually tries to kill him.  From the moment he was born, his mother had to go into hiding to protect him.  But, as is the norm in K-dramaland, young Tak-Goo (Oh Jae-Moo) cannot escape his fate as a baker's son.  He has a remarkable sense of smell, and a perfect palate.  He meets his father, by chance, and ends up living with him.  Young Ma-Joon (Shin Dong-Woo) is pushed into competition with Tak-Goo by his mother In-Sook.  Yet, the more Ma-Joon works to prove he is better that Tak-Goo, the more he falls short, since Tak-Goo has natural talent.  Tak-Goo on the other hand just focuses on being a good hyung to his donsaeng, but Ma-Joon does not give him the time of day. 

Meanwhile, In-Sook, who is furious with Tak-Goo's mother for sending him to live with them, uses Seung-Jae to dispose of her, and Tak-Goo watches as his mother is driven away and lost to him forever.  He chooses to leave his father's home and abandon his place as a baker in search of his mother.

When we finally meet Tak-Goo again, he is now in his 20s and a hooligan.  He has lived a hard and difficult life, but still continues his search for his mother.  This search leads him to Pal Bong bakery, where he believes the man who kidnapped his mother lives.  number of intense difficulties and hardships in order to achieve his destiny which of course is to become a baker.  Tak Goo is gifted with the sense of perfect smell, which in turn gives him a most discerning pallet, a skill that allows him to replicate baked goods simply based on their smell.  It is the idea of destiny that so many K-dramas love to present, but I think Baker King does it rather wells.  

Baker King is a heart breaking journey full of angst, tension and deception.  There is romance and passion, and a journey of growth and self-discovery that is phenomenal.  The friendships and bonds are nothing short of amazing and even our resident baddie Ma Jun pulls at your heart strings, so that you feel pity for him.  Tak Goo’s ability to remain positive despite the horrid experiences he faces in life give such hope and wonder, that in the face of immense misery you can still see the ray of hope.  

Overall, it is a well-rounded, well-developed and coherent tale. I enjoyed that I could watch the drama from beginning to end, and for the most part, it made sense.  All story lines were wrapped up quite well.  My one issue with Tak Goo, lies in the parents story line.  Well, mainly his mother.  I understand his search for her was a necessary part of the tale, but I found his mother's character annoying.  She was the typical weak woman in dramas, and although she got some spunk back towards the end, to me she was always so pitiful and I don't like it when characters are made in that way.

Not only was Baker King: Kim Tak Goo a thrill to watch, it also a temptation with bread being baked in almost every episode.  So prepare to be hungry when watching this drama.  It gets fours stars on the Bel Scale.

According to Bel:  It's a tasty drama.