eBlog by: Kacy

What do you get when you have the perfect mixture of Politics, humor, and romance? The smash hit drama, City Hall! The heroine of City Hall is Mi Rae, portrayed by Kim Sun Ah, a hardworking, small-town gal who turns out not to be as simple as she appears. The drama starts out showing Mi Rae in her position working as the lowest level civil servant working in the town's seat of government, City Hall. It is quickly made apparent that Mi Rae's most valuable contribution to the efficient (or rather inefficient as is later revealed in the drama) running of City Hall is her ability to make a delicious cup of coffee. Outside of City Hall, Mi Rae's kindhearted and benevolent spirit is displayed through her numerous acts of charity. She often volunteers to assist the elderly, children, and anyone who is generally less fortunate, and she generously gives away the fruits of her labor to help those in need. As a result of her zealous philanthropy, and some regrettable romantic relationships, Mi Rae does not have a lot of money and has incurred so much debt that she is forced to take on several part-time and temporary jobs to make ends meet. Such is Mi Rae's world until Jo Gook, portrayed by Cha Seung Won enters.

Jo Gook is the exact opposite of Mi Rae in so many ways. Although as a politician, he is considered just as much of a civil servant as Mi Rae, he, nevertheless, is clearly city bred, politically savvy, well educated, rich, and as dramatically revealed, well connected. Jo Gook arrives in town with his mother and his young son to fill the position of deputy mayor in aspirations of launching his own national political campaign. Of course, as deputy mayor, Jo Gook's office is located in City Hall, where he soon meets Mi Rae.

In a style reminiscent of My Lovely Sam Soon, sparks soon begin to fly between Mi Rae and Jo Gook, mostly as a result of Mi Rae's instant attraction to Jo Gook. Things become even more hilarious when the mayor assigns Jo Gook the responsibility of organizing and running the town's first beauty pageant. Although she is the oldest contestant to participate, Mi Rae has the confidence to pull it off. In addition, because of a dire financial need, Mi Rae also desperately seeks the prize money from the pageant. As a result of her participation in the beauty pageant, Jo Gook gains a whole new appreciation for Mi Rae through a series of very humorous and sometimes touching and sentimental circumstances. When a scandal is revealed that results in the forced resignation of the mayor, Jo Gook persuades Mi Rae to run for mayor, and the two grow even closer.
Alongside the two main characters is a host of supporting characters that round out the drama to perfection and add immeasurably to the humor and political intrigue that keeps the viewer fully engrossed in the drama to the very end. One particular humorous aspect of the drama are the frequent references to "Obama." From the first to the last of the twentieth episode, the drama keeps you fully engaged and has an ending that gives the viewer true closure. If you like a romance that is liberally seasoned with humor, then City Hall is a must see.