A drama that went against most of the conventional cliches and cookie cutter structures that romance dramas these days seem to follow. It was frustrating as much as it was heart warming, and a beautiful ode to the sacrifices and efforts mothers make for their children.

The story of a single mother against the world hit very close to home, as I was in a similar situation to Pil-Gu growing up. Until my stepfather came into my life when I was around his age, I was always asked constant questions about my father just like Pil-Gu. And similarly, many people would maintain this warped perception of my mother. However, she was and still is the toughest and most hardworking woman I've ever met, and despite all her hardships, still manages to be so kind and forgiving, just like Dongbaek. Which is why I came to adore her character almost right off the bat.

I fell in love with the compassion she has for humanity despite the love-hate relationship she has with it. Her character development from meek and vulnerable to fearless and brutally honest came as a surprise to me, but utterly satisfactory. This drama not only was a romance, a mystery, and a story of overcoming all the toughest things life throws at you, but the eventual growth that everyone must go through to truly be at peace with themselves and those around them. Not just for Dongbaek, but for the whole cast as well.

Like most people, I found the romance part of When The Camellia Blooms absolutely ADORABLE. Yong-sik wasn't your typical closed off and partially emotionless male lead, and I loved that so much. We need male leads that are not afraid to express their mind - in ways that are dorky and endearing, not only 'badass' or what classifies as 'harshly honest'. Their love was, in any other terms, the truest form of trust and compassion. Yong-sik never took credit for Dongbaek's growth and always cheered for her despite her constant warning signs. I love how their relationship developed with eventuality, and I found myself invested in rooting for them. Especially when Dongbaek started to reciprocate, too.
A man that is proud of their love for their partner and chooses to express it as much as he pleases feels so much more healthy than the possessive, hard-to-get chaebols of the romance genre. But to each his own, right?

That being said, the whole story seemed to be handled somewhat realistically. I say somewhat due to the murder mystery undertones and the whole debacle between Dongbaek and her mother, but that doesn't mean those aspects of the story were bad or out of place. Almost every character held an important part to the story, let it be from No Gyu Tae to Jessica. Each one of them had their own struggles, just like Dongbaek, and each one of them had to face the societal pressures that came from their situations. None of them (besides the main antagonist) ended up being bad people at the end unlike what we expected, which was a very authentic twist.

Because of this, we end up with the anecdote the drama tells. That while the world is filled with evil and harshness, there is also so much goodness that we should never undermine the world as a whole. There will always be people who are willing to help, someone to express support and compassion towards your situation. I find that so beautiful, and something not only Dongbaek always needed when she struggled the most, but for everyone in similar situations of hopelessness.

However, the only criticism I can place is how, for someone who claims to not want to be pitied by others, Dongbaek would always wallow about how unlucky she is almost every chance she gets (until her eventual epiphany in the end, when she finally says her life was nothing short of a miracle). While I can't blame her for this, it just came off as slightly hypocritical to me.

Now, onto the cast. I absolutely fell in love with Gong Hyo-jin because of this drama. She's so beautiful - if a flower were personified, it would look like her - and she expressed her role perfectly. No one could play Kwak Yong-sik better than Kang Han-eul, and I can't imagine Yong-sik to be anyone else but him. He's the only one who could express his loud and free spirited personality in a way that wasn't overboard or outright annoying. Kim Kang-hoon is such a talented child actor with so much potential - in fact, he's one of the best child actors in Korean media that I've ever seen. What a star!

It came as a surprise to see Oh Jung Se here after watching It's Okay Not To Be Okay, playing a character that is neurotypical. I adored him and his character in that drama. And while his character here was quirky and sometimes just annoying, he had that naive, can't-help-but-pity aura around him just because I like him as an actor. Also, this is just a comment, but his fashion here was lowkey how I dress irl so he gets brownie points for that LOL

All in all, while this drama was definitely slow paced (I had to fast forward some bits because I got a little bored), the premise of the show is inspiring and pulls on your heartstrings. It made me laugh, cry and feel for each and everyone of the characters. It lives up to becoming one of the best dramas of 2019, and if you don't mind slow pacing, I definitely recommend you give When The Camellia Blooms a chance.