In this drama, at least after watching it, I learned some things that can be applied in the real life world.
The actors and actresses acted pretty well there. I actually didn’t encounter the main female character acted before? She actually did very well as a main character in this drama. Oh well, looking forward to see her act again in the future, hope she could act more.
Overall, this drama is good, short and simple. Able to meet my desired romance criteria. If you are interested in high romance drama, why not try this? I believe you would like this as well :).
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My first impression was that this was just another confusing time-travel drama. I was right, even after watching the drama untill the very last second I still don't know how the whole time-travel thing works, this part of the plot was handled pretty messily. Maybe I shouldn't give it to much thought because the all story it's pretty paradoxal and could destroit the entire time and space. (I've watch a lot of Doctor Who lately.)
We follow Shi-Woo who have spent the last 10 years in love with his first love. (I never said this drama was realistic). The thing is that they don't see each other since high school, so when they met again it's a very awkward full of resentiment encounter.
But taking the whole time-travel thing off the picture, this drama mix in a bunch of romantic cliche stories in one, we have the first love one, the boy-meets-girl one, the teacher-student one, the noona one and the list goes on. It's not bad per say, but this drama is not for everybody. If you don't like cliche this is not for you.
This drama has also some nostagia value because it take us back to simpler times aka the "thousands" were smartphones weren't heard of and we didn't have wi-fi everywhere we went, and I really liked that about the drama.
Now let's focus a bit on the romance. For some weird reason, the student version of Ji-Soo had more chemistry with the Shin-Woo teacher version than with the student version, and the opposite happened with the doctor version of Ji-Soo who had more chemistry with the Shin-Woo student version than with the teacher version, and that got me really confuse, and I still confused 'till today. The side romances were also really cute and I like that the script gave them some space to develop, even though the focus was almost all the time on the main couple.
A strong point on this dramas was definitely the friendship, the group of friend had a really good dynamic through out the whole drama, and was my favourite part of the show. Even after ten years they still in touch with each other and that just happen if the bound connecting the people is strong enough. Also the "bromance" between the past and present Shin-Woo was great even though they look more like brothers than properly like the same person.
Acting / Cast: The actors did well, this isn't a acting masterpiece but it was good. Lee Jung-Shin was the person that stood out the most for me, I really liked his acting and how he portrayed adult Shin-Woo with is mix between a very adult person who still had something of a child inside. Seo Ji-Hoon also did a great job even though the writers sometimes made his character look like a little kid even though he was almost eighteen. Lee Yeol-Eum was also good, but I found her character a bit lame and annoying at times, but I think that was more about the writing than about the acting. The rest of the cast was also very good and did great supporting the main cast!
The OST of this dramas was good, it fit the mood, but was not memorable for me. The cinematography was also good with some pretty and cute pictures.
Overall I think this drama could have been an hour and a half long movie and the story would still be exactly the same but without the boring moments, I think some things got stretched out what made the drama a bit boring and even more confuse.
Will I watch this drama again? Probably not, for me this is a one-time-watch drama, principally because I'm not into clichê, and this drama has a lot. I recommend this drama for people who really really like cliche, because this will be perfect for you, it has almost every cliche I can think of in dramas, which is not bad, but it's to much for me personally. But if you are into cliche and have some free time you would like to fill with something this dramas is definitely for you.
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STORY
It's a mess and makes no sense at all, but I can say that the concept of it is quite good. If you're of a certain age, you've probably looked back on your high school self and thought "What an idiot. Wish I could fix some things." Well, that's the story here. There's a time slip and the MC meets his younger self and very aggressively meddles in his life, leading to the majority of the comedy here. It's fun and cute! However, their are never really any "rules" established for the time slip, which is bad form, nor is there even a hint of an explanation. So don't think too hard about what's going on or you'll get really annoyed. As the show progresses, it becomes less and less funny. And since that's the real strength of the show, that means it gets worse and worse. But once you get to Episode 10, it will all start to come together, so stick with it.
ACTING/CAST
This is where the majority of this show's dullness comes from. Not only is it poorly directed, leading to otherwise-talented actors to completely ruin some scenes, but there is a severe lack of chemistry among the entire cast. There are several romantic pairings here and absolutely none of them resonate, not even the OTP. We get one kissing scene and it's incredibly forced, maybe the worst I have seen in 70+ dramas. One of the only characters that really grabbed my attention was Jo Seung Hee's character. She plays a teacher who has some truly hilarious scenes with the MC. Her bold flirting and adorable mannerisms made her a joy to watch, and Seung Hee carried it off with a ton of natural charm. However, she is barely used at all, and her romance arc is absolutely atrocious and lacking even a single redeeming merit. She and the actor they paired her with had absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. Additionally, her being the brightest and best of the characters was ruined by her being paired off with a guy who was, by far, the worst character in the entire show. It was hard to watch.
Do Hee is pretty good, as usual, but even her character is misused. And probably the best pure actor in the show was Kim Sun Young, who really really stood out here. She nailed every scene she had. But yet again, we don't get very much of her. Song Ji Hyun was cute and good at being quirky and moody, but it should be noted that melo is not her strength. Still it was cool seeing a Korean Emily Blunt lookalike. Her distinct look is quite attractive and I'd like to see her start getting a few more roles. My wife also really enjoyed Seo Ji Hoon (but I have no idea why, since to me he was completely unremarkable). The rest of the cast was truly disappointing. Lee Yeol Eum, so good in High School King of Savvy, flops hard here. She needs a better director or a better character to play. She had basically no personality. Lee Jung Shin was charming and funny, but overacted hard at times. Lee Joo Hyung was aggressively unlikable. The rest were totally forgettable.
TBH, the pace of the drama probably hurts this category more than the actual actors. Not only is it short, but a lot of time is wasted. So we don't get to really linger with the characters and get to know them. So the actors, by default then, have a lot less to work with when trying to build their characters.
MUSIC here is decent, with at least one pretty good vocal theme, and the REWATCH VALUE is pretty low, being saved only by the early comedy and the final episode.
OVERALL
Believe everyone who says that Longing Heart could have been even shorter than it already is and not have lost anything. While the show is sweet and simple, it's also mostly dull and really spends an awful lot of time in flashbacks of things we've seen, sometimes as recently as 60 seconds prior. This, though, is balanced by some really good humor and a few nice plot twists and surprises, making it a quick watch that shouldn't bring too much regret with it.
FINAL SCORE: 7/10
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The drama was funny in some parts and sad in other parts. But the most important point was the awareness development of the main roles about their errors in the past and how they wanted to resolve these errors. Time slipping was the point that give funniness to the drama and made the story a little more enjoyable to see how the principal character tried to find a solution to his situation.
I liked the actors selected for the casting, but personally, I could not be happy with the main female - Lee Yeol Eum. I do not know why but from her other projects, I am not so happy and impressed with her acting. It is not that I do not like her or she is not good at acting, but I feel strange when she is in the roles, maybe I did not see yet any projects where she delivers the character persona in a way to convince me.
On the other hand, Lee Jung shin was really funny and able to involve the viewers in trying to understand what would be his next move.
I would suggest this drama for everyone that wants to exit daily life and see something romantic, funny and time-traveling, particularly because it is a short drama and has only 10 episodes. Enjoy!
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This review may contain spoilers
Ending Explained
●Story- a time travel romantic comedy where a man from future travels back in time. But then again while returning to future time, the past younger version of himself follows him to future. And that is something quite interesting. Both of them try to dig in to some truths and save their love.it has flaws but still executed nicely with sweet moments with No annoying characters.●Acting- everyone performance was good making this story worthy of watching. Seo ji hoon as Kang shin woo, younger version was so cute and made the atmosphere more lively. He had chemistry with the doctor while Lee jung shin has chemistry with the student ji-soo
●Music- ost were beautiful, BGM was also nice.
●Rewatch - maybe just the rom-com because most of the time it feels a painful love-story
●Fav scene-Bickering in future while shaving.
▪︎Many reviews said that they were confused with ending so I went a bit slow on last episode to understand it more better. The younger version after returning to his time i.e. 2007, plans his future to not mess with the things for future self, and believes that he is together with ji-soo and all misunderstanding has been cleared. In 2009, He goes to college where ji soo studies but doesnt meet her. 2013, A blind date also they don’t meet, because he still love ji-soo. 2017, he finally meets her where the story has started. Its like one full circle.
Am not very good at explaining but still I tried to explain the ending which is in respects to younger Kang shin woo.
And for clearance he doesn’t travel back in time when he finally is in 2017, the drama ends there itself when he meets jisoo that is the time travelling day.
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This review may contain spoilers
Why I'd recommend this hidden gem to anyone who loves a good romance and hates love-triangles
Since this is my very first review I apologize if it's a bit out of order and while I try to remain spoiler free in the beginning as good as I can as I'll continue I'd also like to add spoiler for those of you who watched the drama or want to go back to this review and know why I ranked it so highly.[SPOILER FREE PART] I watched "Longing Heart" first some years ago (I think around 2019) and I absolutely loved it from the beginning. It became one of my favorites and let me just say: it never gets boring and every episode is absolute perfection. To me this is how a drama should be. From the cast (or most of them, although many are not that well-known which is a shame imo) to the OST which is absolutely amazing! (Especially "엇갈린 사랑" by Lim Ha Young is so inspiring and beautiful, everytime it played I was captivated ♥).
The story is about a 28-year old teacher Kang Shin Woo who never got to confess to his first love Jisoo but he also could never forget her. When he meets her 10 years later it doesn't go quite well. He soon finds himself back in the past 10 years ago in the year 2007 where he meets his younger self to whom I simply refer as Shin Woo from now on to avoid confusion while I'll refer to his older version as Kang Shin Woo. But of course time travel always involves much confusion and everything is turned upside down when he becomes his own enemy and he has to compete against himself?
Simply the idea of it fascinated me back then. I went into this with zero expectations after stumbling across some recommendations. I had never heard about it before and I couldn't find out much bout it except for the synopsis and some negative reviews. But since it sounded interesting I wanted to give it a try and I didn't regret it! It was different from any time travel drama I have heard of before in the sense it was unique Kang Shin Woo was send back in time as his present-self, being confronted with his younger version. This is not the approach I was used to from other series, movies or books because it would not only mean he could change his own actions but rather have an impact on them by the way he acted (which he wouldn't have done if he didn't go back in time but I will get there). It seemed to be a rather simple drama in terms of production and setting but it was perfect for its purpose and it caught the atmosphere perfectly. And can I just mention how much I love the vibe it gave of the year 2007? I'd have loved to visit South Korea during that time!
As for the cast I was sceptical about Lee Jung Shin as Kang Shin Woo. I didn't know the actor but I though he looked a bit strange but this changed as I kept watching and he is such a great actor that he really managed to win me over. From beginning to the end he did a perfect job and that's all I can say about him. And I know this might be an unpopular opinion but I really don't know why they choose Seo Ji Hoon as his younger version. don't get me wrong, he is a great actor but they could have found someone who resembled him more imo. That's the only kind of criticism I have on this drama if it could be called this at all. Because his acting made totally up for this little discrepancy in terms of looks and I appreciate they didn't cast one actor for both versions since then it really would have messed up this whole story (and others around him not noticing). There wa,s however, a very questionable choice among one of the students who looked even older than Kang Shin Woo and I kow he was supposed to look a little bit more rough but the way he even looked older than Kang Shin Woo made it even more unbeliveable he was in High School. And now to Jisoo who to me stood out as a female lead. I can't explain why but maybe it's because we got to know her more as Kang Shin Woo returned to the past.
From beginning to the end this drama was well written. Was I confused at times? Yes! Did it take me longer to figure out how complex it is and it what sense the events and time line added up? of course but that what makes every good time travel story. Did I find plot holes at my first watch? Yes, but I do have to take this back after my last re-watch and if you finished watching I can also explain why so just return to my comment then. Because I'd definitely recommend this sweet and yet dramatic love story to anyone who is a hopeless romantic and who doesn't like love triangles since this drama is the counteract (at least in my opinion). And now to the SPOILERS!!!!!:
[SPOILER FROM HERE] Some people take issues with the fact it's kind of a romance between a student and her teacher but it's not. Keep in mind that Kang Shin Woo (while a teacher and even becoming her teacher) experienced this time already and he fell in love with her as a teenager. And I know this might be another unpopular opinion but I can't even blame her for falling for him. Think about it: she had fallen for him the first time when both of them didn't know any better but the second time he did and all he wanted was to try to help his younger self and Jisoo to make it better. Not even once did he think about the time he would miss out with her, being aware it would be him and their experiences together. And while Kang Shin Woo and Shin Woo BOTH (or rather one) got jealous of each other at times they are still the same person and Kang Shin Woo was aware of that and therefore when thinking about returning to the present he didn't take any issue with it since it was what he wanted to begin with. Jisoo's feelings complicated things. The way he acted was not to blame because he hold back himself a lot. And remember: for him they were both aroung the same age so now try to imagine you'd suddenly consider your friend or even your first love as so much younger than you. Even the way he turned out her confession when it was the least thing he wanted to do and as he said in the end... for him it has always been her. He waited for her for ten years and then again when he knew it wasn't his time and even more complicated due to his position. There were moment of affections they shared but I think they were on a deeper level and while yes, it wouldn't be normal between a teacher and his student, it never went too far.
I could probably write tons of stuff about each and every episode and analyze it but I don't want this to be to long so I will stick to the parts that could considered to be a plot hole. One main issue I had after watching it for the first time was: why did his mom go on the ferry although she knew she would be going to die? And I'm still certain she knew the moment she found out who Kang Shin Woo really was. She could have simply got the ticket from Jisoo but not entering the ferry. Well, when Kang Shin Woo asked her not to visit her sister when she would call her his mother didn't know what would happen. If it would be a ferry sinking or maybe any other accident that could happen on her way or even while being with her sister. It could have been anything (even choking on somehing). Of course the fact she took Jisoo's ticket kind of goes to show that she at least figured it had to do with the ferry or leaving the island and maybe it was her intuition wanting to keep Jisoo from being there and maybe dying (both times but the second time she knew because of Kang Shin Woo). Now remember she had met Kang Shin Woo as her son's teacher and all the events prior to it, how he proved Shin Woo's innocence over the fire (which happend in his past too except for he took the blame - we could argue about the reason but he was self-aware but even then capable of doing of what he thought was right). If his mother figured he came into the past and it had to do with her and now even Jisoo came into the play maybe she thoght her not dying could have an impact on their future or Kang Shin Woo never coming to the past because it would change his future too. I'm not sure about the reason she had the first time but given the fact it's a time travel story and how Shin Woo changed some thing later on we don't know what parallel it was or if his mother had experienced something similar in her past, maybe connected with her husband. Because while she was surprised when she found out she then took it as natural. She would not have expected it but she also didn't deny it which every other person could have done. Leading me to the conclusion maybe she knew more. And she also was aware of what kind of man he had grown up to be and thought since it had already happened to him she had to let it happen again. Which would be sad and not necessarily true but the more I thought about it the more I was convinced there was more to his mother and her figuring out.
Now to the anti love-triangle which is the part I love most about this series. I'm usually very irritated when a female lead acts as if she doesn't know her feelings and is torn between two men (really, I dislike love triangles and to me they are not romantic at all). Except this isn't one and Jisoo was never confused about her feelings. She didn't know who Kang Shin Woo was when she fell in love with her teacher and also she didn't know Shin Woo when he came into the future/presence. Yet it was as if her heart would always tell her the right thing too. And maybe Kang Shin Woo changed the way she fell for him because he met her first and he didn't (recalling the cliche bus scene :D). But it never really mattered: because they were the same. Shin Woo complained about how she would always fall for Kang Shin Woo and he did the other way around once they were together. Looking back it might not only be a time travel story but also a story about people loving each other in different phases of their lifes and simply knowing them well enough to always recognize them deep down even if it leads to confusion. Once Kang Shin Woo retunred to his time Jisoo was aware he was the one she loved but she also never stopped to love her teacher. They are the same person, there's no difference except for the phase they are in. It was mind-blowing the first time but the second time even more because I realized... when Kang Shin Woo and Jisoo were locked in the school at night and she asked him about his first love and he said he couldn't tell her now (which he did at the end) it was the same when Shin Woo revealed his real name before leaving back to 2007 but mirrored. Which means Kag Shi Woo from the future fordeshadowed in the past how she would be his first love. Also the way she could not be with him until the final truth about what had happened to his mom was revealed and she felt guilty... although even if his mother didn't know I think it wouldn't have been her fault and I'm sure Kang Shin Woo realized it too but he didn't want to burden her. He never blamed it on her. And he was always kind and loving to her from start until the end.
As I said there might be more to say about this amazing drama but I will leave it at that. In my opinionit's an underrated drama and it deserves so much more love ♥. When I first watched it I gave it a 9.5/10 but I think it's a 10/10 for being a masterpiece and so complex you can still think about the events and they all make sense. It's a drama that could give you a headache thinking about it. But it's so well-done you can overlook this because it's simply beautiful. It had suuch an impact on me to see this strong love that endured time and trauma. And on top of that both protagonists were not perfect and you could really understand the reasons why they fell for each other and even how difficult relationships can be at times. It was full of cliches and sometimes even cheesy. But it fitted in there so perfectly and was so well done. I'd recommend, I'd rewatch and while it used to be my second favorite drama of all time I think it deserves a special place in my heart too, catching up with my other number 1 spot (which is more or less there because of nostalgia). I love "Longing Heart" and I'm grateful someone came up with this amazing idea. And I'm happy they casted it so perfectly ♥
Edit: Another additional thought I had on why Jisoo fell for Kang Shin Woo the second time but the teacher. We know why in the future she uses these harsh words on him, telling him that if they were supposed to meet it was for a bad reason which would naturally lead to conclude she doesn't have feelings for him anymore (until we learn the truth about her ring) but the fact Kang Shin Woo could not let go of her for 10 years is then reflected on young Jisoo who without knowing falls for him as he would be in the future. I was thinking it would make their love story full circle because if not she would have fallen for Shin Woo with the same outcome and the reason why Hang Shin Woo travelled back in time. It also amazes me every time how strong her feelings are in all cases.
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I think for many drama lovers the whole time travel plot is already getting old and overused. Longing Heart being no exception to the rule. However, even if unoriginal, LH deals with something we don't see that often: when past and present clash. That's maybe the only thing that dicerns this drama from many others with the same theme.
As a time travel drama, I wasn't convinced at all. The time issue was handled pretty messily, with many plot holes and certain issues I couldn't forget, for example I never really understood it's concept. It was like they ended up creating two timelines, but nothing was really explained or handled neatly. Also, how the characters reacted to all the time travel thing was...offputting to say the least. I don't think anybody would think something like: "Oh, I time traveled. How strange. Now let's get back to business".
However, the funny part about the whole thing is that the drama is, at times, self aware of it's own wackiness. Kudos for them to make some gags like that, but it doesn't totally excuse because the drama can't seem to either go into self parody territory nor a serious, heartwrenching plot.
As a romance, I was at the same time satisfied and slightly disappointed. Like I stated on the beginning of my review, it could've been shorter. Why? Because let's be honest. a lot of the real drama that happened only happened because two people couldn't get over themselves and talk about how they feel or have felt. Geez, actually while heartbreaking, it sometimes takes pathetic levels. I think some of the angst could be avoided, and the plot condensed a little bit.
But I will admit the drama has it's cute, fluffy and light parts. They tried to sell a friendship and they did. The group of friends is one of the most endearing parts of the drama. Their bond is believable, every character, althought not so well developed, had at least something that one could empathize and cheer for them. Not only that but their future counterparts adressed some pretty interesting topics that scare us while we grow up. Although the way some plots we simply solved, it was still good to have them addressed.
Also the side romances were cute too, each one ended with their destined one. A bit too fairy tale like for those more realistic, but an endearing add to the plot.
Another thing I liked was the chemistry between the MCs' past and current self. They could go from bash brothers to two dorks too pure for this world in a matter of seconds. I just wished there were more interactions between them. They had this strange father-son or older brother-younger one even though they were exactly the same person in different times.
Actually, if we think about it, this drama mixes and clashes pretty much many storylines: it has the good ol' boy-meets-girl love story, the student-teacher one, the past lovers one, and even shades of noona romance.
I must admit I didn't pay much attention to the soundtrack, for me it was forgetable to say the least, and I'm being generous on that.
If I would rewatch it? Well, if I have nothing to do, or nothing new and interesting to watch...then it may be an option. This drama, for me at least, is more of a "kill-time" drama.
Overall Longing Heart is VERY far from perfect, but it's still watchable and you'll find yourself liking it if you are one for romance. A good kill-time drama too, you can watch it without really worrying much about all the plot and just enjoy the ride.
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Overall it was an enjoyable drama but I don't think I would re-watch it.
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sweet
this is an extremely sweet drama as the leads even in different circumstances always fall for each other no matter what version it is of theirs . Yeah you could say that as they had memories of the original past and the changed past it got a bit weird i guess it might have been better to show them forget some memories and just make it seem like ya this how time travel works but overall it is a nice and a sweet drama. if you need romance and time travel together in a drama i guess this is it . Their love story is extremely admirable.Was this review helpful to you?
You MUST suspend disbelief!
Let's talk about the elephant in the room - one person at 18 and at 28 being in the same place at the same time. Personally, I really had a hard time getting past that. I'm all for fantasy, but something about that just didn't sit right with me. Plus, the teenager liking "the teacher" and the teacher liking the student put me off.The ML was stuck in a place of regret, of things that he didn't do and didn't say as a teen. If given the chance to change things from your past to rectify your life in the present, would you do things differently? And would you really be able to change things, or is your fate already set? This was an interesting concept and gave a lot of food for thought.
My favorite thing was his relationship with his mother. This was a very sweet and touching story arc.
Interestingly enough, when I saw that it was only 10 episodes, I was glad, because I tend to like shorter shows between the longer, more involved shows. However, 10 episodes was too long for this! It could have been a movie, covered all the pertinent points, and they could have gotten rid of all the time of nothingness.
I thought the actors did a good job, my problem with this was the writing.
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A timetravel drama that actually made some sense.
I actually really liked this drama. At first I didn't really like the FL but that's because we saw the drama from the ML's perspective. Once he finally really sees the FL in the past and present, with the ML as an adult, beyond his crush on her, her character becomes so much more understandable. I also LOVED that the ML and FL always liked each other, it wasn't just the ML pining after the FL for 10 years. If you look closely, the "wedding ring" she's wearing at the start, is the ring the ML bought her for his confession, something that was later confirmed. The only thing I hated about this drama was that the FL took so long to get together with the ML because she was always running.Despite the fact that I felt bad for young Kang Shin Woo because Ji Soo fell for the adult version of him, I LOVED that the present (2017) plot had older Kang Shin Woo be Ji Soo's first love, though it was confirmed that Ji Soo fell for all three version of Shin Woo (originally timeline young Shin Woo, older Shin Woo and alternate timeline young Shin Woo). I still had second lead syndrome of sorts for young, alternate timeline Shin Woo, because he always came second to Ji Soo after the older version of him. He never knew what it felt like for have his (young) love to be reciprocated as it was for the original timeline Shin Woo (AKA older Shin Woo when he was a teen).
Also, despite the fact that Shin Woo couldn't change his own future by going to the past, I loved that he was able to change his fate, he was able to change his present (his future from the point the drama started at). He was also able to change the future of his old class mate, preventing his death and allowing him to have a bright future ahead.
Unlike many other time travel dramas I've seen, this is the only one that had an ending that made sense of sorts. We got to see the original (older) Kang Shin Woo (the ML) get his happy ending by going back in time, figuring everything out, and then changing his present. And we also got to see young Kang Shin Woo (the SML) grow to become the older version of himself (the SML becoming the ML) that meets Ji Soo in 10 years, with several time jumps showing him aging and finally meeting Ji Soo at the time he was meant to. Both leads, though the same person, got their HEA in a way that made sense to the timeline of events, entirely because the SML made it a point to follow the ML's footsteps.
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