First, I will start by saying this drama is not good. It's pretty terrible honestly, but it was somehow still amusing enough for me to want to keep watching. This is a romance with an unconvincing love story. It's a good concept with a weak plot. What kept me watching? The characters and the promise of a funny love story kept me wanting to watch each new episode, and I really hoped that the romance would eventually get better. It doesn't. It's like they threw a bunch of my favorite ingredients into a pot but the final dish was at best... just edible.

The first issue I had is with the leads. I love Kim Ji Suk & Jung So Min individually. Both are in kdramas that I consider my all-time favorites, and both are a part of couples that are among my favorite kdrama couples of all time. The problem I have is that they just didn't seem to pair well with each other. Kim Ji Suk is comedic and ridiculous, which is what I loved about him in "Oh Hae Young Again", and Jung So Min is great when it comes to emotion, which is why I loved her in "The Smile has Left Your Eyes". The problem here is that "Monthly Magazine Home" is a pretty silly comedy, not a serious drama, and it really seemed like they were acting in 2 different kinds of dramas at times. I think Kim Ji Suk was well cast as Yoo Ja Sung because of his over-the-top personality, but I could not take him seriously in any of the more dramatic, romantic, or emotional moments. Jung So Min is great and relatable as determined Editor Na and does have some funny moments, but she just doesn’t match the complete silliness of the rest of the cast and spends too much of this drama looking upset, apologetic, and out of place. They did have some good banter in the early episodes, and I liked their initial awkward scenes together, and Ja Sung's random motivational moments, so I thought they would have better chemistry but their dynamic becomes more cringy than cute over time. Ja Sung's weird “in love” smile and Editor Na looking like a confused hostage in their most romantic moments was a huge disappointment. I liked their characters individually but not together. I wasn't even convinced they really liked each other.

The rest of the cast was amusing, but definitely playing more for laughs than depth. The feel was a little (ok a lot-tle lol) like “The Office”, finding humor in the dynamics between these quirky work characters, lead by an egotistical boss who never quite gets it. These are the pettiest coworkers on earth, and how they support and then quickly turn on each other is the main joke. That gets pretty repetitive, and sometimes annoying, but I did grow to like them enough that I still found it mostly funny. What didn't work as well for me were the more serious moments between these characters, which included some pretty bad acting moments, especially Chae Jung An. I adore "Coffee Prince" but her acting here is really not on everyone else's level. Meanwhile, Kim Won Hae is always funny in any drama he's in, including this one, and Ahn Chang Hwan was a comedy standout as well. Sometimes his antics went overboard, but he was consistently good in his role.

I also feel the need to shout out Jung Gun Joo as Shin Gyeom, the obligatory 2nd lead. He's everything you could want in a 2nd lead... cute, understanding, rich, dimples... but boring. It's not his fault, his acting is fine, but it's like they gave up on his character midway and just had him react to the two leads instead of having a strong character of his own. He's a metaphor for the rest of this drama, It's like they gave up on everything midway.

Would I watch this again? No. It was fine for one viewing, but the story just kept getting worse. By the last episode, I kept pausing out of frustration and the better scenes did not involve the leads. There weren’t enough good moments in this drama to make me want to sit through this ever again, although I did appreciate the episode that paid homage to “Parasite”. Plus the ending was a complete letdown and included one of THE MOST frustrating final episode tropes. They definitely tried to rush to tie loose ends, but the story still felt unfinished. I didn’t care enough to want it to continue. In fact, it took me longer to finish this drama because I forgot I was watching it.

The soundtrack is kinda cute. Also forgettable, but cute.

Overall, this is not a horrible drama but it’s definitely a skippable one. I liked hearing the realistic savings and real estate tips, and getting a tour of some amazing Korean homes, and I appreciated Na Young Won’s determination to own a home of her own, but as a romance this just isn’t up to par. I don’t even mind the date your boss cliché, but at least do the cliché justice. As an office comedy it’s decent, but not LOL funny. The theme about what makes a home and the frustrations that come with securing a home was a good concept, but these stories didn’t get me to invest emotionally into it. This was definitely a dish that looked good on the menu but was unimpressive once I took a bite. I wouldn’t order it again or recommend anyone else eat it, unless you’re just hungry for anything, then his may assuage your hunger in the meantime. I guess I should have use a "home" analogy... umm... This drama is a home in a nice neighborhood that seems perfect for you initially but once you move in you realize how in desperate need of repairs it is, but you will make the best out of it for now until you can find a better place to live and can finally move on.
I’m ready to move to a better drama home.