Teleute7
Good but not great
Like a lot of Kdramas this was a good show that would have achieved greatness if they dropped the romance altogether. The mental health issues and the professions and industry in general were portrayed really well. The non-romantic aspect of the daily lives of the nurses were also really good, particularly the episode that focused on Lee Sang-hee's character (that story would have had way lesser impact if it wasn't for Sang-hee though, one of South Korea's most criminally underrated great actors). It was funny at times as well and had amazing visual fx.The romance, however, is uh, very problematic. Unacknowledged power-dynamics issues, rich guy-poor girl story, white knighting, coming on a bit too strong that borderlines of creepiness, anchoring one's mental health issue on somebody else entirely (cracking compulsion disappears when girl is around) etc. all tied-up neatly by the big red bow of romcom--a typical kdrama pitfall. If you want a drama that talks about poignant societal issues and also handles romance well with a touch of comedy, this really isn't it. Try Because this is My First Life or Hospital Playlist or Crash Course in Romance instead. If you can stomach the iffy romance, then give this show a try.
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This review may contain spoilers
Not as bad as comments made it out to be
This wasn't that bad, pretty much a standard daily drama. I liked that it didn't have a lot of makjang, and there's only really one antagonist in the series that does all the scheming, the rest are just various characters getting into one antic after another. This was definitely a family drama than an outright soap.I think most of the gripe from the comments come from the "switch" in the main couple. I didn't really mind it all too much though since the initial male love interest wasn't exactly interesting, and story-wise he failed the FL a lot. Nothing malicious about him, but he was just inadequate. Him getting shipped with the lead antagonist was awkward and contrived--even for daily drama standards, however.
The worst part of the drama is the orphan characters suddenly getting rich parents half-way through the thing. Now that's just really lazy writing.
Oh, and the grandpa played a bit too much into the patriarchal family head trope that you end up having no sympathy for him whatsoever even after he died. Good thing he bit the dust a bit earlier than usual.
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It's a Trap!
If you're coming into this thinking it's a weekend family kdrama, then you're going to be blindsided--this show is basically an hour-long makjang.If you're into that kind of thing, then you might enjoy this. As far as makjangs go, this is actually pretty well-constructed narrative-wise. Still, though, there's a reason why makjangs are typically daily, 30-minute affairs--it can be utterly exhausting to watch a heavy soap for a little over an hour, and due to the unusual format, a lot of story-beats also felt a bit too far stretched-out at times.
The stuff revolving around the hanbok crafting was really interesting though, and if the showmakers only leaned well-into that and trimmed a great chunk of the makjang elements, this would have been a top-class weekend drama in the vein of Five Enough, Father is Strange, Glorious Day, All About my Mom, Mama, What Happens to My Family, or Yeah, That's How It Is. As it is, I can only recommend this to those who are into full-blown soaps, the rest might not enjoy this as much.
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A Decent Small-Town Slice of Life Romcom
This is a slice of life drama at its core--not the best of the bunch (that probably goes to Hospital Playlist or Because this is My First Life) but still pretty good. It had its problems, mostly pacing and very abrupt endings to the secondary plot points which is a damn shame since the characters involved would have been more interesting if given enough time to shine. Also did a good job with not going into too much kdrama romcom cutesy tropes which can be grating for viewers who are looking for a more grounded and mature atmosphere in their kdramas.Shin Hye-sun did good carrying the drama though, and this would certainly have been very mediocre without her great performance. Overall, not too shabby of a watch--specially with the beautiful Jeju scenery in the backdrop.
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