I originally was inclined to watch Baker King, Kim Takgu because of its lead actor, Yoon Shiyoon. I'd heard some nice things about him and his Bubi-Bubi CF series with T-Ara was uber cute. That is exactly why I didn't really pay much attention to the first few episodes of the drama. But somehow the child actors managed to keep me interested in the setup that I got whisked away by the adventures of this little boy in search of his mother. I won't go into details of the story but there will be spoilers so be warned. 
ShiYoon plays the titular role, a child born as a result of an affair between the Mr. Chairman and his nurse. The twist is that the evil witch in the drama is his wife, Mrs. Chariman who is so desperate to have a son after giving birth to two daughters that she did it with Mr. Chairman's best friend, who by the way is so desperately in love with said Mrs. Chairman. Desperate times those were.. Thus Majun was born. Still with me? Ok. Takgu and his mother managed to live 12 happy years together when eeevil Mrs. Chairman and Mr. Best Friend decided it was too risky to tempt fate, what with Takgu seeming likely to become the successor of Geosung, Mr. Chairman's bread company when Takgu shows that he has abundant talent in bread making due to his extra sensitive nose. LOL, That sounded wrong, but moving on. As fate would have it, Takgu was separated from his mother, left his father and spent the next 10 years looking for her, ending up in a bakery in Incheon called Palbong where the Master who taught his father resides. He was accepted to the bakery and even reunited with his first love, Shin Yugyeong. Majun, under a different name was also accepted to train at Palbong. Takgu, Majun and Misun (Master's granddaughter) all compete for the elusive approval from the Master. Along the way, Takgu gets his heart broken over and over again and was tested with loss of sight, smell, taste and even the Master, facing his fears while looking for his lost mother and still won hearts wih his sincerity and basically triumphed over eeevil.
Being a true makjang drama, there were many dirty little secrets interspersed at the beginning of the story. But I think all the problem stem from the same perception. Sons are better than daughters; especially for rich businessmen who inexplicably need to hand down their empire to a SON. I mean, hello people. Sexist much? Which is why in a way I love the ending where Takgu's sister gets to run the company, as she is already experienced and has the same love for the company as their father. I also think that Majun could've turned out better had Mr. Chairman showed any love towards him or to Mrs. Chairman. Granted, Majun is not his son, but he only knew that after his accident. Mr. Chairman only cared for Takgu and his mother, which naturally gets Mrs. Chairman all riled up at even the mere mention of the two, and also what makes her that much more determined to destroy them.
As for the actors, I can't get enough of Yoon Shiyoon. His voice is definitely a huge plus; a kind of deep manly baritone, and his lisps are too damn cute. And he cries very convincingly though his mouth gets a little weird. And sometimes I get glimpses of young Takgu in Shiyoon, which is totally adorable. I LURVE LOVE WUV the guy, nuff said. Eugene, I feel looks a little old compared with the rest of the cast. And she has this angelic face that makes it difficult to pull off villainnes. But props to her for the effort. Lee Youngah and Joo Won deserves a round of applause for their potrayal of Misun and Majun.
The pairings kinda worked. Takgu and Misun were freaking adorable, especially in later episodes. And I even saw an unaired clip where they had a daughter! How cute is that? Takgu and Yugyeong at the begining was sweet. The first time they held hands were so aww-inducing. It's a shame they never get to go to the vacation after the competition. Another pairing that I absolutely love was the brief bromance between Takgu and Majun. The sequence where they got tied together and at the Chairman office in the last episode were like AWESOME. The drama was seriously lacking in the bromance department. I mean, I got no sense of comraderie at all between the so-called best friends; Mr. Chairman and Mr. Best Friend. But small doses were doled out in the Palbong bakery scenes, but still me diappointed.
This is one of the dramas that I followed in real time, meaning I'll download the raw, usually the day after it airs in Korea, skim through Takgu scenes, read up on the discussion on soompi just to see what happens next. And then I'll wait patiently for the subtitles (By the way, WITHS2 rocks!!). But the real time was only for the second half of the drama. The other drama where I practically haunted soompi was Gildong so in a way this drama definitely had some pulling effect. Not only on me, but on Mama and Huda too. They were totally obsessed with Takgu. The series definitely had its own message, and I think one of its dominant one is that sincerity can move people. Takgu is an ideal example of a positive person. He showed that no matter what life throws at him, he always smiles and move on. And in the last episode, he told Majun that good things and bad things all go away. At the end of the day, you're still alive. So keep smiling. That is how he got through every single day, with hope. Oh, that reminds me; I LOVE one of the OST sang by Kyuhyun of Super Junior titled 희망은 잠들지 않는 꿈; which means 'Hope is a dream that never sleeps'. It's sad but hopeful at the same time. Kinda like Takgu. For me, the drama shows how important family is. Granted, you can't choose your family but therein lies your roots. Geosung family only had wealth in their heart and even when they live in a huge mansion, none of them was really happy. Palbong on the other hand comes together for the family, through thick and thin.
Being centered on baking, it comes as no surprise that there were many times I seriously wanted to go to Incheon to look for Palbong bakery and taste the bread that they make there. They look absolutely delicious! Total food porn I tell you.. Or bread porn to be more precise.. Eheh.. But towards the end, the kitchen scenes were taken over by boardroom scenes, so not so much drooling then.
I read that the baking supplies in Korea rose to 70% while the show was airing, LOL.. I even had few friends who were inspired to bake watching Takgu. And talking about the effects of the drama, the final episode drew in 50% ratings in Korea. That's like half of Korea tuning in to see what happens to Takgu!! So, again I congratulate the cast and crew for that magnificent ending. Too bad the series only ran for 30 episodes as opposed to the original 50. The characters could've been more fleshed out and the ending more satisfying. Still, in my heart Takgu is now living happily with his mother. Working together with Misun to find their own version of the world's happiest bread.
