At a Distance, Spring Is Green (2021)

Youth not being what it's cracked up to be...

The realities of life on a university campus, where the main characters struggle with their individual issues, misconceptions, relationships and futures.
Well acted and a strong cast. There are some very abusive and parasitic 'friends' of character Yeo Joon and I have to say, apart from their personalities, the look of them really added to the level of disgust I felt at times.
However, in some ways, that is stereotypical, as people who use and bully others do not always look the part.
Park Ji Hoon perfectly portrays his role as Yeo Joon; a wealthy background, good looks, a bright personality and model student. However, unbeknown to others, he is estranged from his family and lonely.
This character was really brought to life by PJH ~ his mannerisms and ability to shine brighter than the sun one minute and have the saddest eyes in the most hurt face, the next, was captivating.
The relationship between Yeo Joon and the anxious, unsure Kim So Bin (another worthyy performance, from Kang Min Ah) was very sweet and the actors made it believable. They take a lot of strength from each other, which was so nice to see. I also liked that even though she is a couple of years older, she is happy to be lead as well as lead, and listens to Yeo Joon.
The relationship with his polar opposite, Nam Soo Hyun, was one of my favourite things, as Joon seemed able to relate to his frostiness more easily and I felt was drawn to the fact that his cheerful exterior and money could not buy Soo Hyun's friendship.
There is one sided love, with some friendships bordering on more, but the fear of loss preventing the move forward.
Adult responsibilities having to be taken on too soon, with the onus of providing for family whilst juggling studies, also features.
Jealousy, resentment and low self esteem are in some way part of several characters, with each reacting to these unpleasant traits in different ways and affecting how they perceive and interact with others.
There are some unpleasant and painful scenes in Yeo Joon's childhood and adult life, with the problem of violence in the home being tackled and pretty well, at that.
There are some laugh out loud moments too and some very warm moments, as barriers get dismantled and characters open up.
I also like that abusers didn't always get away with stuff and had to deal with the consequences of their actions.
The title eludes to the fact that youth is supposed to be bright, fun, carefree and happy, but up close, for too many, it is anything but.
When the young are betrayed by those who are supposed to nurture them, or forced to take on far more than they are mentally capable of dealing with, youth is in fact hell.
The drama also highlighted how wealth does not necessarily equal happiness.
The only aspect I found irritating, was how slllllllowly So Bin walks in it! Honestly it drove me nuts and once noticed, I couldn't un-see it, almost every time; and, whilst I liked the pop music score, I didn't like the mismatched violin and harmonica pieces. I love both instruments, but I felt that the pieces picked were too old fashioned sounding, for a drama of this era.
All in all worth watching.

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In the end, I loved this show

This show might not be a 9/10, but in my heart it is. It's probably the first time my overall rating is higher than the individual ones for story, acting, etc. I have been quite active in the comment section, admittedly often criticizing the show. But honestly? This show was amazing. I don't know why. Maybe part of the magic was that I saw it while it aired, as I tend to fall harder for shows while they're airing.

Good things first: All the actors did amazing jobs and I loved all of the characters. I mean it, I felt sympathy for all characters because they just did such good jobs. Especially Park Jihoon and Bae In Hyuk! Their characters captured me so wildly and were probably my main interest point for this show's story. But honestly? Even the romance had my heart fluttering in the end. As we went further into the show, I loved that we got to know every character and their past. Every character had an interesting story, and we got to see them "grow up" in this stunning coming-of-age setting. The music was also amazing, all the songs from the OST are on my playlist!

The show honestly did have a lot of things I didn't enjoy. One of the things I often criticized was the romance. Does it feel incredibly rushed? I'd say yes, but it depends on who you ask. For me, who had prior knowledge about the Webtoon, felt that they made Sobin too much of a character who needed to be saved. Who needed a "strong man" to have as her boyfriend and protect her. To begin with, I was quite against how Joon and Sobin's relationship developed, but I knew they were obviously gonna start dating because they were pretty clearly advertised to be a couple. But as I mentioned, the two of them started warming up to me a lot. Another thing that bothered me was how dependant the female characters were to the male characters. I still loved the girls so much, but the writers really made their only personality to be the boys they were in love with. Probably the thing I disliked the most was how overshadowed Soo Hyun and Jun's relationship to each other was by the romantic relationships. They advertised this show too much as "showing the development of Soo Hyun and Jun's friendship" when it honestly... didn't.

But still, overall, this show was thrilling to me. Is this a nine out of ten? No, but yes. I loved this show so much and I'm gonna miss Mondays and Tuesdays now that it doesn't air anymore. Even if you're skeptical because of the romance, I think you should watch it. It brought me a lot of joy, and maybe it will bring to you too!

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Dropped halfway through the series. I'm struggling with this drama, not because it isn't good. But I have never wanted to take so many knives out of my cupboard because of so many characters. Typical dramas have one or 2 hateful characters (usually a spiteful mother-in-law or an annoying SFL). But this!!!!! I wanted to smash the heads of Yeo Joon's so-called-friends who accuse others of leeching when it fact they are the worst ones do so. If there is an award for the worst family, Yeo Joon's parents take the cake. (Maybe tied with the psychotic mother in IOTBO).
And all those girls who are just jelly and abusive toward So Bin because Yeo Joon didn't choose them should just go to hell. Even though they are kids, those who made fun of So Bin for not having a mother are just plain mean. The professor who pilfers her student's work without crediting them, as if it was her privilege shouldn't be teaching. It's like they put every scumbag in one drama and it is making my blood boil!!!!

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Life, Youth, Living

Friendship, youth, and school dramas are my cup of tea. The story’s plot and flow is just the right pace and direction but I would want to see more of the two male main leads’ friendship/bromance than the romance part of Yeo Jun and So Bin, so there are times that I skip the couple’s romance parts because their chemistry isn’t my cup of tea. Nevertheless, the story is realistic and tackles real life issues that relates with youth, school, adulting, harsh truths of life, and the nature of friendship. (Park Ji Hoon’s acting is wayyyy too good he deserves more lead roles, his back must be heavy after carrying the heavy load of acting in this drama)

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Great story to tell, bad execution

⭐⭐⭐
I had quite a few problems with this show while I was watching and I almost dropped it at one point.
(There might be spoilers).
Here are my main points:

THE STORY (4.5⭐)
At the start, everything seemed to be set up perfectly. The first episode was very engaging, a rich kid goes to an university and everybody knows him, takes photos of him and tries to be friends with him for his money, but he only wants to get to know the quiet kid who ignores him and frowns at him for "being the school's ATM". As the story goes on, we learn that the rich kid (Yeojun) is very insecure (due to something that happened to him during his childhood) and doesn't have any real friends, that's why he resorts to buying his way into people's social groups and friend groups. The thought of someone not being interested in his money for once intrigues him and he tries to get the guy(Soohyun)'s attention in every way he can and in the process he meets another candidate for his group of "real friends" - a senior student girl named Sobin. All three's relationships with each other grow supposedly stronger as the episodes go on - but that's the first problem, they just don't "grow".
Apart from Yeojun and Soohyun's slow, but steady progress from hating each other to being each other's only shoulder to lean on, to being inseparable - every other relationship in this kdrama is absolute garbage.
Sobin and Yeojun's romance feels awkward and forced. Maybe it's the actress' sub par performance, but you just don't see much emotion between the two and you really just can't fall for the obvious lie that this relationship is anything but trash.
The love triangle that was attempted between Yeojun, Sobin and the other guy, who was so underdeveloped as a character that I can't even remember his name was a complete waste of time and an utter disappointment.
The romance between Miju and Soohyun felt unreal and more like a little girl crushing on the ice creme guy, just because he gave her an extra napkin. Like... NO. The set up for the relationship was good, but the execution... ohhhh brother.
Another ick I had with the story was the sudden abandonment of the original idea of Yeojun being a weirdo who only knows how to spend money and nothing about being friends with someone to him being a super nice guy who knows exactly how to act in every situaton. I understand that it was supposed to be character development, but it didn't feel real, nor did it feel good to watch. I felt like I wasted my time on a show that seemed to be promising, but got ruined by the writers' bipolar disorder and storyline that changes with the weather. The serious moments were sacrificed in favor of bad "comedic moments".
Miju, Sobin, taekwondo girl and funny guy were horribly developed as characters every time I saw them on screen I just felt like skipping the scene entirely, because I knew it was going to be pointless dialogue that wasn't going to affect any part of the main story. The struggles of the main character were pushed away in favor of these interactions between the irrelevant side characters. A lot of, what was supposed to serious, moments were pushed aside and never spoken of again like they didn't happen. It felt like I was watching Naruto filler.

THE ACTING (6.5⭐)
1. The main character, Yeo Yeojun, played by Park Jihoon.
The main actor was a great pick though, regardless of the story's shortcomings, watching Park Jihoon do his absolute very best throughout the entire show with what he was given was immensely satisfying. The emotion felt raw and unfiltered, the little actions the actor made added so much to the character and I truly believe that he did stunningly on account of the background that is the plot for most of the show ( burning trash). I had deeply touched by his performance in Weak Hero Class 1, which was the reason I watched this particular drama in the first place.

2. The female lead, Kim Sobin, played by Kang Minah.
Maybe it was just the poorly written character, but I found this actress to be very unlikable for no reason. I believe that in contrast to Park Jihoon who added quite a lot to a one dimensional character, Kang Minah couldn't quite add anything to her portrayal of Kim Sobin. The performance felt lack luster and like the actress only did the minimum when it came to acting. The emotion just wasn't there. The character herself is supposed to be quite awkward and shy, but Kang Minah gave more of an impression that Sobin was supposed to be slow and mentally retarded (I don't believe in using euphemisms to soften a word's meaning and I also believe that I am using the correct word to portray my own observation).

3. The other male lead, Nam Soohyun, played by Bae Inhyuk.
The character was one dimensional and just like Kang Minah, it felt like the actor didn't go above the minimum of acting necessary for the role. I really don't have much to say about the actor himself, because... there is just nothing to say, neither good nor bad. The performance was ok, but it was just that - ok. Nothing more, nothing less. It stood out with absolutely nothing.

4. Supporting roles, Kwon Eunbin as Wang Youngran, Choi Jungwoo as Hong Chanki and Woo Davi as Gong Miju.
Starting of with the first actress on the list, Kwon Eunbin, who played the role of Wang Youngran - the character wasn't special at all, although at the end the plot tries to shove her and Gong Miju in your face with a pointless love triangle between them and Nam Soohyun. Her character was used as simply a comedic element for the most part, so I can't really say much about the actress herself. It almost teh exact same for Woo Davi, her character was also quite sidelined for most of the show and I can't really just her that much, but I did like her quite a bit. Hong Chanki was a comic relief character from the start and although he didn't have much screen time, the actor did pretty well with what he was given.

THE MUSIC (7.0 ⭐)
The songs were bangers, I have a particular one stuck in my head right now and I plan on putting it on loop after I write this.

THE REWATCH VALUE AND OVERALL
For me, rewatch value is 2.5 ⭐, because this show just isn't anything special. It's fun to watch if you have nothing else to do, but I just would recommend you watch it again after you watched it all. It will probably be very boring.
Overall, I'd give this kdrama a 5.0/10 ⭐

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Friendship and relationship are equally important!!!

This drama was a descent drama. Both friendship and relationship can be managed properly.. This message was beautifully conveyed in the drama. Mistakes will be done by everybody but reflecting upon it and correcting yourself is very much important. Speak out and clear the misunderstanding then and there rather than hating the person not knowing why they did so ...... The ost were very good. Together everything can be achieved. Somewhere I felt something was missing, not all character's fast was shown so I had question mark at some times. It would have been even better if a glimpse were shown. Overall a good drama.

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Pain

The story was so soulless and shallow it made the 12 episodes runtime so damn dreadful. The whole trio main cast were lackluster from all angles, both the actors and their characters. This drama was nothing but a cheap BL bait anyway. It should have been a short drama thrown on some random streaming services instead of being a full TV broadcast.

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I love it!

I'm not really sure why the ratings are lower thank a 8.5 but this drama is really good. There are some clichés here and there but as far as I can tell this drama is really good. One of the few coming of age dramas that focuses on the stories of the characters rather than romance. The three main leads are different in their own way and really make the plot interesting. It's a good drama to watch as it's something most people can relate to. Having a hard time with school, being poor, or being rich and not knowing how to fit in without allowing others to use you for your money. Any one in school can easily relate to this and older people can look back on their youth and reminisce on how things used to be.

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onverwachte vriendschap ?? traumaverwerking

Ik zal er niet omheen draaien: de vriendschap die opbloeide tussen Yeojoon en Soohyun was zo mooi om te zien en een van de hoofdredenen om verder te blijven kijken, van hoe ze tegenover elkaar opwarmden en de eerste glimlach tot kameraden die elkaar steunden met elkaars trauma's en moeilijkheden. Woordkeuzes, subtiele details waren aspecten die de relatie tussen deze twee verder samensmeltten.

Ook de relatie tussen Yeojoon en Sobin werd rustig maar solide opgebouwd, wederom met een warme band, maar ook elkaars grenzen respecteren en elkaar steunen op moeilijke momenten. Props to de schrijvers dat ze niet de usual breakup vlak voor de laatste aflevering als plottwist gebruikten om de serie te verlengen, maar een gezonde, stabiele band portretteerden.

Tot slot zonder te veel te spoilen: Yeojoon en zn broer. that's it.

*tw: huiselijk geweld

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Me gusta mucho ver dramas que tocan temas fuertes como este que habla sobre la mochila de problemas que todos llevamos, algunos tienen más cargas que otros pero todos tenemos problemas que queremos dejar en el pasado o que nos siguen atormentando en el presente.
Los 3 actores principales me encantaron porque expresaron a al perfección todos los problemas que sus personajes cargaban, ademas de que a medida que la historia avanzan ellos empiezan a poder expresarlos, confiar y no dejar que estos afecten negativamente sus vidas. Mi único problema es con soo hyun que no se quedo con ninguna de las 2 chicas que lo pretendían pero esto es algo muy personal y que no afecta en nada a la historia.
En general es un muy buen drama donde los personajes encuentran el apoyo en relaciones humanas para sanar.

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