If there is one thing that the viewer will hopefully take away from this series, it’s this: never, NEVER let anyone tell you how to live your life. It doesn’t matter who it is—religious people, family, society, or anyone else. As soon as you allow others to dictate how you live your life, you’ve given away your power. And when things don’t work out, you have also lost any right to get angry or resent them for it because YOU allowed it to happen. And the only person who will be dealing with the fallout is you. Those who counseled you won’t be taking the hits. YOU will! Steer your own ship. Don’t let anyone else try to steer it for you.

“One Spring Night” is hardly the most romantic series I’ve ever seen, and it’s not necessarily an easy series to get through. This isn’t necessarily a criticism as the series is very well-steeped in realism about people navigating the minefield of relationships and the problems that arise because of them.

The “Before Sunrise” film series is the most realistic series I’ve ever seen regarding relationships…how they start, where they go, and how two people who were once in love, struggle to find that spark that they once shared when they first met.

Ji Ho meets Jung in one random morning when she comes into his pharmacy to get hangover medicine. It’s easy to see that he’s immediately captivated by her, despite her brusque mannerisms and snippy attitude. However, he quickly finds out that she’s already in a relationship with Ki Seok, a guy he actually plays basketball with on weekends.

It becomes very obvious from the get-go that Jung In doesn’t love Ki Seok, and the viewer is even left to wonder if she ever has. It’s ironic how many people enter relationships out of convenience or simply to use the other person because of money or social status. It doesn’t take long for Jung In to realize that she’s quickly developing feelings for Ji Ho, and soon she breaks up with Ki Seok and begins a relationship with Ji Ho.

Of course, rarely are things so simple. And yet this dynamic is an interesting one because I haven’t really seen it in Korean dramas. Ji Ho has a son, but he’s not married. What I admire about Ji Ho is that he doesn’t try to hide this fact, and he’s very upfront with Jung In about it, letting her decide if it’s a problem or not. We also find that a single father is considered to be quite unappealing, especially if you’re a single woman who’s never been married. Pretty soon, everyone is voicing their opinions and concerns, from his family to hers and even their friends.

Ji Ho is easily the most mature character of the series, with Jung In’s older sister Seo In being right up there with him. Ji Ho is honest and seemingly unafraid. He views his son as a strength and not a weakness, and he makes it apparent right from the start that he won’t allow anyone to hurt his son, even Jung In. He’s also very understanding and considerate, and perhaps his greatest strength is his ability to empathize. He knows the pressures that Jung In will experience, and he gives her the space to figure out whether or not she wants to be in a relationship with him.

Jung In—despite the actress being six years older than her male counterpart—has a number of issues. Don’t get me wrong as all of the characters are a bit flawed, but Ji Ho’s past experience has only made him stronger and more mature. Jung In’s greatest strength is her fierce independence. She has absolutely no problem standing up to anyone, including members of her own family. I LOVE this about her! She proves—at least in that regard—to be the type of companion that I think most men would love—someone who will walk through the fire with you and not look back. However, Jung In is also moody, temperamental, a bit conceited, judgmental, and tends to lack understanding and compassion when push comes to shove. Perhaps her greatest weakness is her inability to empathize. She doesn't smile very much, and it's quite evident that she's not a very happy person. She also has a tendency to be bossy. Ladies, remember this: no real man wants another mother for a wife! One mother is more than enough! That pledge was ridiculous, and if you’re in a relationship to try and change the other person, you’ve already entered into it for the wrong reasons.

In Episode 15, we find Jung In is angry by a “slip of the tongue” from a drunk Ji Ho when he asks her not to leave him or his son. She takes it as a sign that he doesn’t trust her—which is actually understandable to a point. Rather than talking it out and trying to understand why he has those feelings at all, she storms out and then tells him that they need to take a brief break. And then, immaturely, she gets angry when he doesn’t contact her. However, she never once stops to think about his past situation with the woman who left Ji Ho and his son and why that might be a source of fear and insecurity. If nothing else, this should have been a sign to both Ji Ho and Jung In that they needed more time to get to know each other. Relationships aren’t just about sharing happy, quality times. They are also about finding that person with whom you can confide and share your fears and insecurities. Every relationship is flawed and dysfunctional because everyone has those fears and insecurities. It’s how you navigate and BE there for each other during such moments that counts!

I’m not sure I’ve seen two more despicable characters in 45 years of watching shows than Ki Seok and Jung In’s “father.” I use the term “father” very loosely because such a man has no right to call himself one. Any father who uses his children for personal gain is no father. Any father who’s afraid of what people think rather than standing firm with his children is no father. Seo In has been physically and sexually abused by her husband (another deplorable man who won’t allow her to divorce him), and yet her father rants about how wrong divorce is and why she should try and work things out with her husband. That scenario literally made me sick to my stomach! And then we have Jung In’s father trying to marry her off to Ki Seok—without her consent—so that he can get a promotion at work. Utterly pathetic!

Ki Seok is almost as bad. This is a little boy masquerading as a “man.” After Jung In breaks up with him, he still contacts her, demands to see her, and unbelievably still insists that they are going to get married! Now, part of the problem is Jung In herself. She fails to see the obvious: to tell Ki Seok to his face that it’s over and then to break off all communication with him. Teasing him and stringing him along was cruel no matter how despicable he was. Ki Seok is an arrogant boy who views everyone as being beneath him, especially Ji Ho. Right up until the last episode, Ki Seok still believes that Jung In will marry him. Nobody—not even his own father—points out the obvious: that Jung In is in love with Ji Ho, and after all that he’s done, how in the world would he ever believe that she’d marry him?! Supreme delusion and arrogance.

Women are not property to be bargained off and used any way you see fit. This is something that many of the cowardly men in this world still fail to realize, and this series makes a very fine and bold point regarding this.

The series—for the most part—is well done. It’s not afraid to show the flaws, fears, insecurities, and concerns that many people have and why it’s important to find someone who’s strong enough to go through it all with you. The only thing better than being a person who won’t allow others to tell you how to live is finding a companion who lives their life the same way. Such a couple is an “iron couple” who can get through anything. If that doesn’t sound appealing to you, then I’m not sure what does. And, frankly, that was my favorite part of the series—watching Ji Ho and Jung In standing firm together and holding off all of their attackers—and as they did so, they began to help others realize just how powerful and true they are together!

If I have one glaring complaint about the series, it’s the music. My God! I’ve never heard two songs repeated (often 5-6 times per episode!) so much. The songs aren’t bad, they just didn’t quite fit the series. And it was overkill to play them so much. I love the songs from K-dramas. I have a huge list on my iPod from so many shows. Needless to say, I won’t be adding any from this series as too often, they got stuck in my head. It got to the point where I was muting the show when the song came on. I had the subtitles to read the dialogue. I kept going, “Oh, God! Not again!”
This is a series that actually gets better the deeper into the show you get. I know a lot of people stopped after four or five episodes. Believe me, it actually did get quite better. “My Business Proposal” is still my all-time favorite series depicting strong women. Unlike Jung In, the two women in that series were also soft, loving, and romantic. I also love the female lead in “Hometown Cha Cha Cha.” By the time this series ended, I had hopes for Jung In that perhaps she might soften up a bit and not make everything about her. I’m sure that with Ji Ho’s help, she would ultimately allow that to happen.