Kang Doo and Moon Soo come as strong leads, always being by each other's side, supporting each other and bringing out the best of each other. They are the ultimate relationship goal for me. Simply because, they are mature and wise. They talk about things that worry them, instead of creating misunderstandings and heartbreaks. They don't try to get the other person jealous for stupid reasons. They understand each other. They give each other space.
What I loved the most was even with the hint of a love triangle, they didn't go too much into it. I HATE triangles. Here, what I liked was that no false hopes were given and the triangle was broken as soon as it got made.
Now onto characters :
What I love in Moon Soo is that she isn't like the normal female leads. She doesn't get jealous, doesn't create unnecessary drama and isn't a damsel in distress. Rather, she's strong, opinionated and support for so many characters in the drama!
Special shoutout out to the Grandma! Her, Sang Man, and Kang Doo! Always look out for their dialogues if you watch this drama. They'd teach you so much about life with their simple sentences, it's crazy!
Another good point is that no character is angel and none is the devil. Everyone has their set of negative and positive points. And, I really loved that cuz that made them more human.
Also, this drama isn't for you if you like fluffs. However, if you like to see a relationship where feelings feel real, monologues that pierce through your heart, and characters you can see yourself in, give Just Between Lovers a try.
But, warning, it's angst. You'd keep on crying till the last episode. So keep the tissues near!
I wanna write more but it's almost 2K words lmao! (Also, not grammar checking it,so forgive the mistakes)
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He did it again!
Lee Junho, this actor, OMG, now has me trying to watch all his dramas and everything else he does. Man, he played the part wholeheartedly. What an awesome actor he is. Had me crying! The storyline was incredible to see. The screenwriters got this one right. I applaud them! Won Jin Ah played her part of HanMan Soo ( I love that name). For both main leads to play the part in a tragedy and how they lived through it was like me watching the news in real-time. What an incredible story! This story had to be told by the other main leads and support actors and actresses. The visuals look so real, I love the town. In real-time, this happened in the United States, didn't involve architecture but a bombing. I am so glad they brought awareness to organ transplants. Thank you so much for this storyline.Was this review helpful to you?
Beautiful, underrated drama
This drama is one of the toughest and most beautiful ones I have watched.It revolves around love, not just about a couple, but about love in general. Family, friends, people you meet in the street, your coworkers, neighbours...
This drama is about survival, humanity, reconstruction, forgiveness but also simply about living.
The beautiful acting, delicate feelings expressed throughout the details and the writing, everything about this drama is well done.
The relationships between all the main characters made my heart weep. Every episode was a confusing mix of joy and sorrow for me, like an event that hurts everything in you but that you cannot stop watching.
I will not watch it again because my heart won't be able to bear it, but please do take a minute to stop by this drama. It will make you love life, it will make you rejoice in the things you have, no matter how small.
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This review may contain spoilers
Miserable and boring
Don't get fooled by this drama's promising start - overcoming past trauma, a touch of intrigue, a promise of a bright future. After just a few episodes, the show turns into a endless loop of misery with characters doing stupid things and refusing to be happy.Instead of telling a heartwarming story about healing, personal growth, and finding happiness, the plot gets high-jacked by filler arcs, side characters, and the main couple's constant "woe on me" whining. The writers milk the past trauma trope until there is nothing more to milk and completely abuse the use of flashbacks. In the second half, the show turns into a cheesy melodrama full of overused cliches. He breaks up with her and runs away because he loves her. They spend time with rival love interests and avoid each other when they shouldn't. There is no hope and nothing to look forward to because everyone always falls back on being miserable no matter how much they accomplish. The atrocious storytelling culminates with Lee Kang Doo's liver failure due to nose bleeds and fainting all the while he sees ghosts and hears voices.
Moon Soo is unbelievably frustrating and unlikable. She is portrayed as a typical innocent female who is supposed to be extraordinary in her simplicity. In reality, she is selfish, clueless, and has the emotional maturity of a middle schooler. Although, she eventually starts acting her age and dressing like an adult, that doesn't help her character development. She continues living in her little bubble and playing a martyr when it suits her. When she wants Lee Kang Doo to give her attention, she relentlessly pursuits him. But as soon as she is uncomfortable, she gives up and disregards him when he needs her the most. Her ignoring him when he begged for her attention before fainting really highlighted the awfulness of her character.
Romantic chemistry between the main couple is very bland. They hold hands, hug, share a jacket, but as soon as he comes close to her, she recoils like he has the cooties. For a righteous nutjob who exudes unapologetic, raw masculinity, it was rather disappointing to watch Lee Kang Doo share such vanilla and chaste kisses with a woman he was so passionately in love with. Lee Jun Ho is so good he can have chemistry with a potato, but even his talent couldn't save the drama from Won Jin Ah's awful acting.
Overall, the fast-forward button saved me, otherwise, I would've dropped this disaster after episode 5. The pacing is slow and the plot is riddled with side arcs completely irrelevant to the main story. I was looking forward to this drama because of the high ratings, now I want all those hours of my life back.
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must watch
"Just Between Lovers" is a Korean drama that beautifully explores themes of trauma, healing, and love. The series follows the lives of two individuals, Lee Kang-doo (played by Lee Jun-ho) and Ha Moon-soo (played by Won Jin-ah), who are brought together by a tragic accident that alters their lives forever. As they navigate their past traumas and struggles, they find solace and understanding in each other's company. The drama's strength lies in its well-developed characters, genuine emotions, and realistic portrayal of healing processes. The chemistry between the leads is palpable, drawing viewers into their journey of self-discovery and recovery. With its heartfelt storytelling and compelling performances, "Just Between Lovers" is a must-watch for fans of romance and human drama.Was this review helpful to you?
A MUST WATCH
I absolutely loved it! Everything was beautiful, no need for any change because it was perfect.Plot- The plot was so interesting and it kept me on my toes. It wasn't fast paced at all but maybe it was because it had a good amount of episodes.
Actors- Amazing, absolutely amazing. The actors did such a great job! I really felt their emotions especially in the end where they made me cry lol. My favorite character is Lee Gang Doo, I felt such pain and love seeing him. You will understand once you see him.
This series is such a masterpiece, the best K-drama I've ever seen. If you haven't seen it yet then what are you doing? Go watch it! You will feel ALL the emotions, the bad and the good.
Hope this review helps you, have a lovely day!
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Totally boring
This series is very boring. Totally overrated! I felt like stopping it few times and I watched it over several months! I watched along side it many other series and completed them. This series is really not worth it! I completed it because I wanted to know why such a high rating but sadly I was completely disappointed. I also really did not like the female lead and her acting. Many other unnecessary characters with also really boring stories. It is really all over the place.This series could have ended in the 10th episode really, Why add another 6 hours of this nonsense. Would never recommend it!
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I don't understand HOW this drama got the rating it did...
IDK How it got the ratings it got... ABSOULUTELY BORING.Literally the chemistry was sooo MEH between the two main leads.
I also think the casting was absolutely so poor.
I get the type of characters they had to play too - the rough male lead and the kind hard working female but for some reason they just didn't really mesh well together...
The storyline could have been good but basically just felt like a trauma bond was formed and there wasn't really much pulling and pushing... it just sort of happened?
I think the concept could have been used better but overall it was so heavily revolved around the incident - which makes sense and understandable but I just couldn't really grasp and fall in love with it.
Love the 2nd lead and how the romance COULD have occurred but just sort of flat out died LOL...
I wouldn't really recommend but I mean at least I was able to watch it and have an opinion on it :(
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The chemistry between the main leads is one of the slam-dunks of the show. The zeal to follow one's love no matter the circumstances is quite well-written. The transition between episodes is fluid enough to not cause a distraction or end-up in major plot holes.
Although the drama hit many home rums with respect to relationships overall, nonetheless we find a lack of gradual sibling bonding between the male lead and his sister. The final arc of the season, especially the last 2 episodes show major sibling bonding.... which is closer to a real-life scenario..... which is kinda welcome.
Like most romance dramas, the existence of cliched misunderstandings and sacrifices is present, but not to the point of being a hindrance to the overall flow of the story. All-in-all, this is a refreshing portrayal of pain, love, regrets, memories and all of them being the reasons to live.
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I already loved Junho from clips I'd seen of him, but after watching this drama in full, he's definitely become one of my facec actors. You could feel all the anxiety, the emotion, the trauma, sadness, anger...you could feel EVERYTHING that the character was feeling.
I literally sobbed through the entire last episode — getting my homework wet and everything — but it was so worth it, and I don't know if I've ever felt that much anxiety over how a drama would end.
Another thing that I appreciate so much about this drama — the disabled characters. I loved MS's best friend SO much, and I loved Sang-Man even more — he was a big reason I cried in the last episode, and he was the most adorable character. The way every character was fleshed out in some way really made it feel like I knew them all, and I became emotionally invested in everyone's stories. The only person who I might have wanted to know more about was the best friend's love interest.
This drama just felt really REALISTIC, all around, and despite it having common kdrama tropes, it didn't bother me at all and it was executed to perfection.
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I got pulled in and didn't want to leave.
I shall be honest; I watched this because I am working my way through all Nam Da Reum's dramas (almost done them all now). It's been on my list for a while and whilst I like the entire cast, for some reason I thought it would be dull or maybe even depressing.How wrong can a person be?!
I ended up absolutely loving it.
The 2 lead characters are very naturally played by actors that feel made for their parts. Their chemistry, projection, expressions, are all excellent. I fell in love with Lee Kang-doo (a very endearing performance from Lee Jun-ho ~ such a good actor).
Supporting parts are very good and well acted too. I did feel the brother/sister company heads were a bit kind of obvious (Jung Yoo-taek's constant angry outbursts, shouting and huge inferiority complex, really got me riled up at times). Both were arrogant and haughty, although Jung Yoo-jin was the typical kind of power woman who treats a subordinate male, better than a female counterpart.
Ha Moon-soo's mother, Yoon Ok, angered me the most. Understandably, any parent who has lost their child will grieve, go through depression, anger and never really get over it. However, she wasn't the only parent to suffer at that time; her husband lost his child too and Moon-soo her sister. She appeared to be addicted to the grief though, wallowing in self-pity, living through a bottle and taking it out on any and every one. She needed a good slap, plus copious amounts of therapy.
My favourite supporting character though, was the street pharmacy Grandma. That actress made that character so real, believable and incredibly warm, even though she was cantankerous, quick tempered and tough as old boots. So wordly wise, intelligent and astute ~ I loved her.
The present day architect, Seo Joo-won, I found a little too good to be true. He carried around the baggage of bitterness and guilt, the latter being misplaced.
Everyone is linked by the one tragic event and those links, and how they have affected the various characters, are uncovered as the story unfolds.
It is not fast paced, but is well paced. The story is revealed perfectly for me.
There are some well used drama aspects, but overall it is well written and directed.
Some may feel the subject matter isn't portrayed seriously enough, but to my mind, being a drama and not a documentary, the screenwriter got it right. It's a romance for entertainment, at the end of the day, and I personally stop watching when something is too depressing or melodramatic ~ that's not escapism to me.
The final episodes did introduce a couple of plot twists that I felt were unnecessary and OTT, but it was all brought together in the end.
I mostly enjoyed the soundtrack, but some of the instrumental music I found a bit depressing sounding, which didn't fit with scenes it accompanied.
I would certainly watch this drama again and recommend it.
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Mixed feelings... Someone really need Patience or Willing to understand the plot
Although this drama breaks the STEREOTYPE of a Normal Kdrama.. But Still the PLOT is AMBIGUOUS...Honestly i was really curious after the end of every episode and liked the Leads and their chemistry as well.. i m satisfied with the ending but i m somewhat confused..
But somewhere it made me rethink about my life, my parents, and goal.. And i started feeling like what i would have done if i was in that conditions....?
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★STORY★
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It started with a plot and then they slowly moved the story to a really different territory..
If you have read the story synopsis then u will get it.. It started with a miserable accident which changed the life of the survivors and victims family as well.. So i thought the story might be about findings about why the accident happened or Who was responsible or about making sure a tragedy like that never happen in future.. But Nothing was like that....
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★CHARACTER★
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If i talk about the characters.. Then i liked all the characters specially the main lead ( Male)- Bcoz he was not portrayed as a rich, wealthy boy from a renowned family... But as a simple, straightforward man who survived with misery And the female lead character was also good.. But All was about Hurt and comfort.. Every Characters have Their own Suffering, dejection and pain....
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