Sweet 18 (2004)

I love contract marriage troupes. I came upon this drama and randomly decided to watch it and. . . It was very good. It's very cute, sweet and cheesy drama.

Story: 8/10 because we have the normal troupes arrange marriage, cunning 2nd female lead & jerky male lead & spunky, native female leads. But it was done kind of refreshing despite the drama being 11 years old!!!

Acting: 9/10 because I felt the chemistry between the leads. Lee Dong Gun did fantastic job in this drama. I like that they solve their conflicts quickly. Lee Da Hae did fantastic as the cunning, mean second lead. Even though some of the scenes were cheesy, the couple were cute together!! The leads have amazing chemistry. Their love was believable.

Music: 7/10 because it was cute, but not enough to make me listen to over and over. Some BGMs fit the scenes.

Re-watch value: 9/10 because it's very sweet and has so much humor despite being cheesy.

Overall, if you like older dramas, romantic-comedies, cheesy lines, marriage hijinks, the actors/actresses & seeing Lee Da Hae as the second lead, then this drama is for you.

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If you're looking for something cute and easy to watch that requires low-commitment, then this is a good drama for you.

Yoon Jeong Sook is feisty, brave, opinionated, and doesn’t let Kwon Hyuk Joon boss her around. I loved everything about her, even if she mellowed a bit towards the end. Hyuk Joon is a genuinely stand up guy. He definitely has a, ‘I’m a man. You’re a woman. We should fulfill those roles' attitude, but there’s a sense of decency about him that makes you like him. I hated most of the members of Kwon Hyuk Joon’s family (except for precious grandpa, even if he went on about Ji Hye fulfilling her duties as a wife a little too much) as there was always a lot of talk about being a ‘good wife’ and having lots of babies, etc., and Yoon Jeong Sook definitely gets put through the ringer a couple times, but there whining and complaining and trying to manipulate from behind the scenes has no impact on our main characters and their lives, so it's easy to tune out.

What makes this drama so easy to watch, at least for me, is that from the get go, I wanted our leads together. They just made sense as a couple. There’s some really great chemistry between them, enough chemistry in fact, that our leads eventually got married to each other in real life. Granted, they got divorced later on in real life too, but I don’t think that has any bearing on the future of our dramas characters.

Right?

Overall, it was an adorable drama. It wasn't perfect, but it kept me coming back. So if you're looking for something fun that you can watch without too much stress or aggravation, I would definitely recommend this one. I don’t consider this one of my favorites, but I definitely think it was worth the watch.


Super short review coming through!

Fluffy and cute, and I wouldn't rewatch it even if I rewatched dramas, because his family drove me insane.

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I watched this drama because of the marry first/ love second storyline. It was a cute story and did not disappoint. The female lead was cute and did a great job. The male lead wasn't as strong of a choice, but did a fine job. This sort of reminded me of the movie My Little Bride, if you have seen that. I enjoyed seeing the relationship bloom between this married couple. Watching Jung-Soon mature and fight for the man she loves - even though he is her husband is very touching. She's a very likable character. The sister in law becomes very irritating after a while, trying to keep this couple apart.

Overall, the story was solid, the romance was cute and fun.

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*SPOILER* Does the FL ever get better?

this was my question when I first started this drama with NO EXPECTATIONS whatsoever.
This is another arranged marriage drama and I watched this right after "delightful girl choon hyang " which both have arranged marriage elements. But even though both these dramas felt similar in a way, I think DGCH is a bit better, but this one a bit less annoying..

First Impression:
I like the ML. He's a mature man who cares about his work and not really anything else. He's 28.
The FL on the other hand is so annoying!! especially in the first few eps. at around ep 8 or so she maybe calms down a lot but towards the end of the drama, she drifts back to her old self again. She's very immature and yells so much at people, even strangers and I just kept thinking "would anyone ever do or say any of this irl?" Also whenever she has conflicts with the ML almost always got angry and ran away. She's supposed to be 18, but she felt more like she was still 14 or 15 tbh. In the end of the drama she's probably 20 or so and she doesn't change. But she's made the ML show more of his immature side too.

But instead of talking of all the bad points, I'll tell you about some good ones:

Secondary Characters:
the ML's ex girlfriend comes back and she is a real bit* in the beginning and I dislike her attitude, but at the same time..honestly there were times I thought she would be a better match for the ML. and. towards the end of the drama, she becomes a character I actually liked.

The ML's sister who somehow think she has a say in her brother's marriage is quite annoying at first, but towards the end she finally accepts the FL as her sister in law and she has a cute romance with the ML's friend. He was funny I thought.

The ML's grandfather is even better than the ML in this drama! he's a cute grandfather and looks like he walked right out of a sageuk drama :)

I'm still wondering how the FL's quite nice mother could've raised such an annoying, immature daughter..like did she not teach her anything? I really wonder that..

Story Broken Down:
1.) ML & FL's grandfathers were best friends and kind of like in "Goong" they arranged for their grandchildren to get married some day.
2.) ML & FL have a bad first encounter
3.) ML & FL find out about the marriage, when his grandfather (who lives in Andong) finally finds the FL's family again. ML doesn't want to marry an immature child and I can agree with him. they both strike a marriage contract plan and decide to marry.
4.) at ep 8 or 9 they have their first kiss
5.) at ep 11 ML tells FML he loves her first and ep 12 she admits she loves him too
6. ) ep 12/13 they become real husband and wife
7.) ep 14 or so she finds out she's pregnant
8. ) some dumb conflicts come up
9.) time skip to when the couple have twins and are going on a honeymoon. there are some cute voiceovers and then it just kinda ends there.

Music:
It used some englisch songs and had some of it's own OST, but it wasn't that memorable.

Conclusion:
One thing this drama does have is some cute couple moments which made me squeal from time to time and that's what makes this drama still enjoyable: the main couple.
But I do think this drama is a bit long and doesn't have that much stuff going on.
Also there are some plot holes:
- FL in the end of the drama wants to find her dream and in the end it's hinted that she becomes a seamstress, but it isn't clear if she does or not.
- *spoiler I'm sorry* the grandfather dies and after his quick funeral it shows the ML crying and then there's a time skip.

I'll give it 7.5/10 because of the couple, but the FL can really get on your nerves and don't really expect much character development.

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Sweet but light romance

Well, I sort of enjoyed watching it. I think it is way too long.
Some parts could be more deepended and some were unnecessary for me. 10 episodes should be more than enough.
Although the secondary cast was good, the story revolves mostly in the main couple.
I think FL was a strong woman but she looses some of her strength because of the responsibilities of marriage a first born.
He seems more immature then 18 old Fl, but I think that man, in general, are more childish.
The relationship between the couple and grandfather were great.

There were lots of funny and fluffy scenes.

REWATCH - there are few shows that I want and have rewatched, but this will not be one of them.

Overall - I enjoyed it. For me it it was too long and sometimes hard do follow...
The End - As always, after dragging for so long it ends abruptly, with a nice touch but could be longer.

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Tradição e Romance com Toque de Comédia

Transmitido pela KBS2, Sweet 18 (2004) é um dorama que equilibra romance, comédia e o choque entre o antigo e o novo. A história segue a vida de uma jovem de 18 anos, cuja personalidade vibrante e independente é colocada à prova quando ela é forçada a se casar com um promotor de justiça mais velho, em um acordo entre suas famílias que remonta às gerações passadas. Esse arranjo, embora inicialmente indesejado, dá origem a uma série de momentos cômicos e doces, enquanto ambos os protagonistas descobrem o verdadeiro significado do amor e do companheirismo.

A força de Sweet 18 está na leveza e no charme de seus personagens, que, apesar das circunstâncias adversas, conseguem fazer o público rir e se emocionar. A química entre o casal principal é envolvente, e o contraste entre a juventude impulsiva da protagonista e a seriedade do marido mais maduro oferece uma dinâmica interessante que mantém o público cativado. Embora o dorama siga uma fórmula clássica, seu toque de humor e calor humano o diferencia dos demais.

Com uma narrativa descontraída e uma pitada de tradição, Sweet 18 é uma história encantadora que continua a atrair fãs, especialmente aqueles que apreciam romances leves e divertidos. Ele oferece uma reflexão sobre o casamento e o amor em meio às tradições familiares, mas com uma abordagem moderna e repleta de charme juvenil.

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Classique (familial et romantique) à avoir vu au moins une fois

Drama familial et romantique vieux (2004 - ne soyez pas trop exigeant sur la qualité des images) mais culte !

Le plot est intrigant : mariage arrangé dans l'enfance par 2 grands-pères traditionalistes, entre 1 procureur de 28 ans et 1 lycéenne de 18, immature et qui se cherche. L'histoire suit le parcours de cette jeune fille, son évolution et son intégration (difficile) dans cette "tribu".

Les acteurs sont extraordinaires !
- la FL est immature à souhait (parfois un peu too much) mais évolue tout au long du drama. Juste une remarque : je sais que la mode a changé, mais ses tenues sont :( :( :(
- Le ML est adorable. Qui ne souhaite pas un mari aussi compréhensif, attentif, empathique ? (et beau :)
- Les autres personnages sont tous attachants (sauf la FL2 que je n'arrive pas à trouver sympathique, même à la fin). Et bien sûr, le personnage du grand-père !!!

La réalisation est parfaite, on est accroché dès le 1e épisode et le rythme nous tient en haleine. La musique est "d'époque"... BOF.

En bref, un drama culte, à voir absolument par le talent des acteurs et une meilleure connaissance des traditions coréennes.

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