intimacy in the face of the storm

i can't stress enough how important this story is in today's world. besides the beautiful romance, it deals with the taboos of korean society, but in a way that imbeds them to the story, not merely checking things off a list

1. romance:
No one suspects they're a couple because of the many differences between them: income, age, social class. still, they fit like two pieces of a puzzle. there are no over the top declarations, but a genuine, all encompassing love that can be seen in the smallest actions, like drying each other's hair and bringing coffee after an exhausting day at the office. their intimacy shines like no other kdrama, you truly believe they are a couple. no other people are more tethered to each other

2. Acting:
exceptional and subdued. the characters show their full range of emotions, from crying to laughing to being adorably cranky. it features both seasoned actors and relatively new ones like the main male lead that can play off each other naturally.

3. story
besides the love arc, there is a story about sexual discrimination in the work place. it's not presented lightly or get wrapped up with a bow. it's a serious issue that the main lead faces and the enemy isn't a single person, but society's attitudes that benefit men. she's not a crusader, but she's a fighter. things don't come easy to her, but that's what women face in the workplace. it's important to see that. for me, that's what makes the ending the perfect conclusion

4. music
you will both hate and love Carla Bruni

5. ending
fitting. that's all I can say. many people don't like it, but it's very consistent with the show and hopeful.

TL;DR a must-watch for every woman

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Slow burn, full of intrigue, the payback is worth it

it's not a student/ teacher romance, let's start with that. there is romance, but it burns slowly and it is originated from mutual passion for mathematics and them both knowing the weight of true talent. together, they face school politics and go against all the corruption, from the headmistress, to parents, politicians, priviledged kids etc, showing how much responsibility each has. throughout all, they are connected by their cause and romance blossoms after.

the acting is superb, especially the main couple, they emote subtly but in the way that makes you feel their pain and hope. i even liked the girl antagonist, she goes through a journey as well and we are given reasons for her behaviour.

overall, i loved it and i can recommend it to everyone

the purest kdrama

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The devil is not the sister you think!

Heartwarming drama that doesn't shy away from portraying what people find unlikable in a woman. It presents us the lead who's supposed to be cold and work- focused, but she has the biggest heart which only male lead sees. I totally get why he likes her so much, he SEES her, the real her.

As for what she likes in him, it's obvious and cute. whatever challenges she faces, he's there to support her. he doesn't fight her battles for her, like many toxic thai drama heroes. he's there for her emotionally and doesn't let anyone mess with her, defending her from her own family.

Her family sucks, but in an interesting way: you have one patriarch that uses his offspring as pawns and hurts them, a sister that feels victimised and acts horribly and the main sister that sacrifices to keep her family together and get the family business to thrive.

The message of the series is so good: that family isn't made by blood, but love and respect and that there's always going to be one person that understands and loves you. you have to keep them close

TL;DR: watch it if you want a more mature approach to romance and layered family drama

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More sinister that the outwardly homophophic dramas, the love story was okay

You can't advertise your drama as having as gay protagonist when you make him completely irrelevant to the story!

STORY: there are actually two stories that the show fails to connect meaningfully
1. a closeted gay chaebol hires his actress friend to be his pretend wife so that the society and his family won't cast him out
2. a man falls in love with his brother's fiancee, and in trying to seduce her to leave the brother, he falls for her.

PROBLEM: while storyline 2 was adequate, and often cute, n.1 was competely erased, serving only to up the stakes of the illicit love. a skilled writer would have taken this amazing opportunity to compare and contrast the two kinds of forbidden relationships: brother x sister in law vs two gay men, pulling out heartstrings and teaching us about love in the process.

MY POINT: but Korean TV is not willing to earnestly explore what's wrong with korean society, they have no interest in looking inward, showing WHY the brother needed to be quiet and closeted, so they added a hetero love story to placate us like we're children. The gay man was used solely for PR, to pat their backs over being so liberal, while he was treated as less than in the whole show. if that's not a microcosm of korean society, i don't know what is

WORTH THE WATCH? barely

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the romantic equivalent of having your teeth pulled

it's one of these dramas that I genuinely cannot understand how they are so popular here. the premise is nice enough: two young people entering a white marriage to afford life, and falling in love in the process. good, right? wrong. what follows is a cringe worthy attempt at a relationship but the problem is that you can't root for either character! the female lead is bland and the male lead is the stereotypical cold boss that because the standards for men are so low, he passes as decent. plus, the actor doesn't exhibit the charisma and to pull it off. and I've seen more chemistry between kindergarten kids

as for the two side stories, nothing interesting except Esom's character. she's so damn captivating and real, I was rooting for her all the way. unfortunately, she's been paired with a middle aged bore, when all my girl wanted was some no strings attached fun! god, they did her dirty.

overall, I don't see what other people see in this draft of a story, but if you enjoyed it, good for you

what you can watch instead: Something In The Rain, Forecasting Love and Weather, School 2017

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Gave it a 2nd chance after dropping it, turns out it's great & I love the 2nd couple!

the first 12 episodes are couple goals: we have a pair that is modern and playful and sexy. they progress quickly without misunderstandsings and drama

I dropped it there because the fl did something to a secondary character that made me mad.

But I was waiting for the 2nd lead romance and decided to pick it up again and they don't dissapoint! The best friend who is recently divorced in the worst way and has a kid struggles to pick up her life without the priviledge her ex's money afforded her. She focuses on her flower business, where she meets a delivery boy who's a little grumpy but always there for her. plus he's very hot, his eyes are crazy expressive. so they have a romance that makes up for the slow romance of the first couple in the second half. i always find the found family trope heartwarming and this was no exception.

Themes explored in the show: violence towards women, victim blaming, celebrity culture, the perilous choice of being a housewife, cheating and our attitudes towards it. basically, a lot of societal issues modern women (mostly) face and there were treated with more respect i've seen in any cdrama.

TL;DR don't be discouraged by the midway slump, it picks up! a show for modern women

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Ambitious story that gets dragged too long, lacks intimacy

STORY:
epic in its conception. it involves a man who tries to dins the cure for cancer and is killed when he gets it, only for his soul to get in a young man's body, trying to get his memories back along with his love who hasn't moved on from him. the couple and their now adult son try to uncover the mystery of his death

FEMALE LEAD & MAIN COUPLE
they had more chemistry when he was 23 than when they were in the same age in the past. sounds confusing i know. the female lead is strong in both timelines, in the present she's hardened and dedicated to her work as a pilot, to her son and her late husband's memory. i liked her with the young version more. they were both carrying the show, the stakes were through the roof. in the first episode they barely meet but you have the sense that their lives are about to change. epic stuff.
still, the kisses were lackluster and though i want to blame thai television, i have seen how the man can kiss and it's a waste. better physical chemistry would push the story to another level, since everything is guided by their love.

PRODUCTION
normally i don't complain about the poor quality but in this one it affected my viewing because special effects were needed to stage the afterlife and many special moments. sadly the budget was the equivalent of a sandwich and the whole thing ended up looking like a 90's video game

LENGTH
at about 2h per episode (minus the 30 minutes of pure ads), the thing gets draggy and repetitive soon. more fights, more life and death situations, more cattiness. it should be a 10-ep, 50-minute drama for it to keep us hooked and make it interesting throughout. i skipped a lot after the fifth episode

OVERALL
though it didn't deliver greatly on the older woman/ younger man romance i was looking for, it was a high stakes thrill ride and a heartwarming story

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I came for the convoluted revenge, stayed for Risa and Pong

I would recommend it to anyone who wants a standard production lakorn with a very cute couple.

PROS
-Risa and Pong as a couple: lovely chemistry, even if they had nefarious motives in the beginning, once they commited to each other they both showed maturity and love
-They don't hide their age difference, instead because of it they fit each other, Risa with her giving nature and Pong with his smile and efforts to please her
-Pong's grandmother, the most forward thinking elder i've seen in thai dramas, she supports Pong and Risa's love even if it's not accepted by society. she only wants what's best for him
-Risa's supportive bff who gave her a place to live, emotional support and was the official administrator of her love life
-The female villain had some great lines, like calling the husband a cheater
-the couple's hugs were so cute
-Risa faces many difficulties, but doesn't just go back to the man who hurt her. she has her own mind

CONS
-fake kiss scenes that blemish the couple's otherwise perfect chemistry
-Madonna/whore complex on full display: the main lead is portrayed as saint, enduring all the abuse and keeping herself down (and she's a nurse) while the villain is a woman who enjoys sex and is independent. all the while the real villain is the husband, the only one who really cheats on their spouse
-the main ending is atrocious and negates the whole message of the series, watch the alternative instead

OVERALL
enjoyable series ( would benefit from more hotness in the couple) that shows stereotypes but doesn't settle for them

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Miles ahead of season 1, much more interesting and hot

I was not sold on season 1, when i watched i thought Yu Mi was a pitiful character that only cared about men's approval. this couldn't have been further from the truth, i realised as i was watching. She undergoes an amazing character development and she gets you to root for her with all your heart.

Story
her personal story is tied with her relationships. i didn't care for woong last season, but i'm glad i gave it anothe rechance, cause in this one she gets together with Babi and they have a mature, loving relationship full of respect and trust. i loved their romantic moments as well as Babi's unwavering support of Yumi' s dreams that helped her be a writer.

overall
it was a delight. i never thought i'd be so invested in a female lead with such a bad haircut, but kim yu mi won me over with her spark and personality

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big fat piece of nothing, with the occasional sexist remarks

I am baffled with how this drama has such a high score here, let me explain

THE ROMANCE
The romance on the center is between an emotionally stunted manchild who fails to pull off eyeliner and a carbon copy of every naive virginal female lead who is Not Like Other Girls and suddenly becomes pretty by wearing heels.

THE BOYS
I see people praising the gang of men, four middle aged men who have nothing to do but critise women, cheat on them, negging a 20-year-old girl, and being typical uninspiring assholes.

THEY KNOCKED A GIRL UP
It has a 'plot twist' when kim woo bin's character is introduced, which is cliche and entirely predictable

THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN ACT
i like kim ha neul even here , she is so charming that it almost makes it worth it. ALMOST. if you also like her i'd recommend 18 again, Blind and my personal favourite, Misbehavior

ENDING REMARKS
i'm taking into consideration the year it was released, so i'm giving it some slack. but really, don't waste your time on this polished turd when there are dozens of unique and inspiring kdramas out there

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boring, but second lead romance is cute

first of all, she doesn't need braces. let's get that out of the way. FL has great teeth only cdrama fame can buy. okay

as for the rest, painfully average love story. there's nothing wrong or toxic in it, thankfully. but it's backround-while-you're-cleaning-your-kitchen stuff.

BUT it has a second lead noona romance that makes it all worth it, believe me. the medical student brings her healthy food while she's working as a doctor cause he doesn't want her to rely on can noodles. is it groundbreaking, no. but it's a story with a wonderful progression and goo acting that makes you forget who the main leads are

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Emotionally mature and swoony romance within the workplace

I loved this show when I watched it but what kept me from forgetting it, like I do with many dramas is the emotional maturity, the leads weren't paying games with each other or had stupid misunderstandings, all the conflicts came from people at work.

The pairing of a very straight-laced and respectful man with a woman who knows exactly what she wants and doesn't expect to attract many people for that (but those she does are the right one) is ingenius. The story isn't new, but the excecution was more layered that expected.

The realism and the not shying away from difficult topics like being a working woman and how superiors treat employees in big companies, made their soft moments feel earned, like the won them from not letting the toxic environment break them.

And I can't forget the sweetness of the bench kiss!

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