'30 but 17' is a lovely drama about self-growth, love, friendship, overcoming hardships, family beyond blood. It talks about so many deep topics with such a pure and innocent approach that melts your heart every episode. The core and root of this drama are sad, a sorrowful story with so many sad parts, but the drama is so beautiful that I watched it with a smile on my face, I laughed out loud so many times, I cried, I felt related to the characters, I felt empowered. I don't have enough words to express how much I loved this drama. Every little thing about this was amazing, every character, the story, the acting, chemistry, music. Everything was simply perfect.

Woo Seo Ri is absolutely one of my favorite female characters. She was strong without trying too hard, she was determined, optimistic, happy. What I loved the most about her character is that she had such a sad life, she lost 13 years of her life, the most important time for most people, she lost her friends, lost contact with her family. She was abandoned in this world and yet she maintained her cheerful and hard-working attitude. The scene where she's seen in the playground sheltering herself from the rain hit so many spots, it was so sad. She went through so much but she didn't let any of her hardships take away what she believed in, who she was. I loved that she didn't have to be a tough character to be strong, and that shows that women don't need to be tough or 'femme fatale' to be considered strong, we can be feminine, girly, innocent, cheerful, and still be strong. I also loved the way she grew as a person as well, a 17-year-old was forced to be 30 and act like an adult, but with the help of her boyfriend, family and friends she was able to grow so much to the point that she even changed her dream, because she was not a young girl who loved to play the violin anymore, but she was an adult who now had different, yet highly meaningful things in her life.

Gong Woo Jin automatically became one of my favorite all-time male characters because of how much he grew as a person, as a man in all of his ways. He was a man who lived his life blaming himself for the death of a girl he didn't even know, until one day he meets someone that opens all the doors for him to find happiness again. He overcomes all of his complexes before knowing who Seo Ri was, which shows that he didn't just grow because of the girl in the past (the one he thought it was, at least), but because he opened the door for who seemed to be a new person in his life. He let himself be happy, and eventually even found forgiveness to himself after clearing up the misunderstanding. The moment when I sobbed with this drama was when he confessed his feelings to Seo Ri after he said he would leave, when he told her that he was sorry for loving her after taking her life away. "I am the one who stole 13 years of your life, but I can't live without you," I loved this scene just so much. Also, when he first told her that he would never leave, that they should be honest to each other and never hide anything, tell things just like they are. The growth he experienced was unmatched. I just wish relationships in real life were this beautiful.

The romance was just so lovely! Gong Woo Jin and Woo Seo Ri loved each other like crazy, they relied on each other every time, they trusted each other with their lives. When Woo Jin first opened up to her at the beach was so beautiful because he was slowly letting her in his life and that was the beginning of his forgiveness. I had to repeat some parts of the romance because of how beautiful it was, the way they interacted with each other, when he held her hand, the way they looked at each other... Sometimes I wonder how can actors and actresses not fall in love for each other when playing such lovely roles. These two ar totally one of my favorite couples as well.

I loved every side character of this story. Yoo Chan was the purest boy ever and I loved his realization of his feelings, how caring he was, the way he struggled to accept that he loved someone so much older, and the way he decided to put an end to those feelings as well. He was so mature and didn't whine nor complain to his uncle because he knew his feelings were just a crush from a teenager. I liked that he was eager to grow faster just to be with Seo Ri, but then he knew that he didn't have to rush things in his life and just live the best way for him to his age. I loved this boy so much. And his friends were just as lovely, I loved their friendship and how they were always there for each other.

I would say Jennifer was my favorite character but everyone in this drama is so perfect and I loved the leads so much that I can't really say I love any side character more than them, but Jennifer was such a beautiful character! Her story was so sad but she still took such good care about all the boys and Seo Ri, she truly loved them all as if they were her own children. When Woo Jin told her that he also once thought he didn't deserve to have good things in his life but that he was wrong and that she also deserved to find those beautiful things, I teared up some bits. I love that this drama shows how depression can affect different people in different ways, but ultimately all of us can overcome those things in our own ways. When Seo Ri hugged her and told her that it was okay not to be okay today, that moment was so emotional. I love that the writers gave Jennifer importance and closure to her sadness even though she did not affect the plot, so I was so happy to see her saying that she would now find beautiful things that she deserves, and then she came back looking completely different and happier; it was so refreshing.

I liked the fact that this drama didn't need a villain to be good or keep you interested in the story. It was about overcoming your hardships, growing as a person and loving the people around you. I thought Director Rim Kim would be a possessive bitch at some points when she was first introduced, that she would fall for Woo Jin and usual kdrama stuff, then I thought she would do bad things to Seo Ri and block her from growing, just other usual kdrama stuff. But I was actually relieved to find that she was simply an insecure woman who despite having it all didn't enjoy the things she had due to the pressure of her family, and finding Seo Ri made her appreciate things better and grow as well. She wasn't a main character but she still had such good character development.

I also thought Kim Hyun Tae would start some drama and try to take Seo Ri away from Woo Jin and the family, that she would go with him and bring unnecessary drama, but I was so glad again to see how Seo Ri put her family first, how she said she was okay where she was now. Also, loved the confidence with which Woo Jin talked to him and reassured Hyun Tae that Seo Ri was okay, that he was glad Seo Ri had someone who took care of her all these years and that it was okay now; when he said that you're calm when you're not anxious about your feelings! Boy, I love you just too much. The character development of every character in this drama is just so beautiful.

Some bonus parts of this drama that were maybe not that important to others but I noticed and loved (again) is that when Seo Ri was at the airport, she saved Chan without knowing who he was and it's never given importance because it was about Seo Ri and Woo Jin, but then Chan saves Min Kyu, Seo Ri's cousin and I just like that this was such an unimportant small detail that warmed my heart.

This drama was just so perfect to me. There were some little details that I didn't like and which were actually poorly done, like some continuation errors in certain scenes, the editing several times cut the emotions because they kept throwing some unrelated scenes that cut the moments, or the fact that an entire episode could've been cut off if they didn't put so many flashbacks all the time! But these are just some production errors that don't bother me enough to remove the 10/10 that this drama is for me. It's definitely my favorite feel good drama so far and I can't express how much I loved it enough.

I also loved some quotes from Jennifer and one from Woo Jin that I wrote down to include in this review, so I'll leave them below and simply recommend you this drama so much!

"Even if you want to hold onto it or you want it to pass quickly, time is the only thing that will eventually go by. Even the painful times that make people think that it'd be okay to just die now pass eventually. There will come a day when even the painful memories that seemed like they'd never be erased will pass. But if you ignore the time even before this day comes, the important moments will simply be washed away. Even if you regret it, it'd be too late for them." - Jennifer

"Time not only does fly by, but at the same time it's something you can never get back. Anyone's capable of feeling sad about what's already gone. But whether you make that sadness into something regretful or a wonderful memory is entirely up to you." - Jennifer

"Some things just get better as time goes by, but that's not the case when it comes to resolving uncomfortable feelings you have for another person. People mostly fall apart because they don't say enough; they stop themselves from saying the one thing that matters. It's better to put things back to normal before things get worse because of that one thing you didn't say." - Jennifer

"They say, 'When one door to happiness closes, another door to happiness opens up for you.' But many of us are only focused on the closed door and don't even realize that another door has opened up. Perhaps, the other door to happiness might not be something grand or special. Perhaps, the small and trivial things that look insignificant are the other doors to happiness. The small roof window in my room had always been closed since I didn't know it could be opened. She taught me how to open it and then it became another door to happiness. If you don't flop down in front of a closed door, if you take a look at the other door to happiness before it's too late, if you muster up the courage and walk towards it, then perhaps you might be able to find the happiness that you didn't even realize existed." - Gong Woo Jin