Can we take a moment and talk about the adorableness of the posters for “Dali and Cocky Prince”? Because I love everything about it.
From the whimsical colors to the outfits to the tie that is somehow blowing in the wind even as not one strand of hair on anyone’s head is out of place…
Of course, this intrigued me at once.
But let us also take a firm pause to appreciate the character posters (below). All of the posters are reenactments of famous paintings… which, dare I say, might have caused me to fall out of my chair to find out more about this drama. The Internet! Give me the info!
After I slid back into my seat, I happily ascertained that “Dali and Cocky Prince” just might be the sort of show to get me out of my summer drama slump with the kind of quirky, clumsy characters I live for.
Let’s learn a bit more about them, shall we?!
PREMISE
At its heart of hearts, “Dali and Cocky Prince” is a romantic comedy about two people from opposite socio-economic groups who meet at an art museum about to go bankrupt. They are immediately smitten with each other over their common life struggles, despite their class differences.
Basically, everything we’ve come to love and expect from a K-drama, blended in a Vitamix, and served extra sweet.
CHARACTERS
Kim Dali – late 20s (played by Park Gyu Young)
Dali is basically a modern-day princess (of the chaebol variety) who is born into a wealthy family. But not just your run-of-the-mill wealthy family, oh no, Dali’s family is the tippity top of the top family you want to know, nay, you must know!
In fact, if you aren’t invited to their end-of-the-year party, then you may as well hang your head in not-good-enough disgrace because that means you aren’t part of Korea’s real high-class society no matter how much money you have.
However, disaster strikes when the patriarch of the family dies suddenly. The Kim family spins into bankruptcy, and Dali is suddenly flung into the world of the – gasp – normal! Only, she has no life skills. Sure, she can speak seven languages and used to be an external researcher for an art gallery, but can she buy groceries? Cook her own food? Ride the subway? Wake up on time?
The jury is not out on this, it has deliberated, and the answer is no.
Thankfully, she has a job as the curator of the Chung Sung art gallery. If only it weren’t going bankrupt.
Jin Woo Hak – late 20s (played by Kim Min Jae)
In stark contrast to Dali, Woo Hak is a top sales executive of Money Money FMB (which could also mean Pig Pig FMB as in piggy bank FMB). He was born into a lower-class family and is not well educated, but he has a knack for money.
Not only does he have a knack for money – he can practically smell it in the air and can tell when a person is pretending to have money when they actually don’t. To make him even weirder, he counts the value of things in soup bowls. Brand new sports car? That’s about…6,124 soup bowls.
His instinct for money combined with his smooth-talking tongue, survival-at-all-cost nature, and drive for success has led him to climb the ranks of the wealthy.
The only problem is, he has left all the fun behind! If something doesn’t make money, like looking at paintings, then he isn’t interested in it at all.
That is until he meets Dali at an art gallery. Suddenly he starts to see the error of his ways and learns to appreciate the arts, especially if it leads to Dali’s heart.
(Our boy is going to be crying over paintings and everything, y’all. This is going to be fun!)
However, the road to Dali’s heart is not empty. It practically has a traffic jam with the amount of men vying for her.
Jang Tae Jin – early 30s (Kwon Yul)
Enter Tae Jin, a top executive at a Fortune 500 company and Dali’s first love.
As a charming gentleman born into a wealthy family, Tae Jin is the total opposite of Woo Hak. He might also be a bit snootier because, despite his polite nature, it is nearly impossible to get to know him.
Tae Jin blames himself for not helping out Dali when disaster struck her family, so to make amends, he purchases all his companies’ art needs through Dali’s art gallery and supports all the art galleries’ events.
You could technically call him a Sugar Daddy, but in K-drama land, he’s called a Daddy Long Legs.
Joo Won Tak – late 20s (Hwang Hee)
Rounding out the love square is Won Tak. Won Tak is a detective who grew up in an orphanage that just so happened to be sponsored by Dali’s father. So, Won Tak grew up in great admiration of Mr. Kim.
Quite different from the other two men, Won Tak is a man’s man who does not talk much, though he carries a lot of emotion in his heart, as one does. This leads him to be a puppy dog in front of Dali, but he gives in to no one else (so don’t even try him, ya dig).
Won Tak has loved Dali for a long time, but they grew up in different worlds, so he drew a firm line that he has never crossed.
His greatest regret is not fulfilling his promise to visit Dali’s father more often.
Ahn Chak Hee – early 20s (Yeonwoo)
Last but not least is gallerist Chak Hee who is the daughter of a small-time politician. Chak Hee is bound to bring in the laughs because she is a woman whose mind is always set on marrying a chaebol.
The problem is, her father is too small of a politician for chaebols to take her seriously as a marriage candidate. Plus, her father is a labor activist, which stands in stark contrast to the agenda of most chaebols… le sigh.
This might not be a big problem for her because the person she really wants to marry is Moo Hak. He ticks off all the checkmarks in what she wants in a husband… if only he were a tiny bit more educated. But she’s willing to work with that.
See, what did I tell you? Quirky characters galore! Plus, with Lee Jung Sub Directing (“Angel’s Last Mission, Love;” “Queen for Seven Days;” “Healer”), you know we are in for a visual treat!
“Dali and Cocky Prince” will premiere on September 22nd and streams exclusively on KOCOWA. If you are in the mood for a fun, romantic-comedy set in the art & chaebol world, then you must give this drama a try!
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