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This is a noona romance, pure and simple. There’s some exposition on what it’s like to be a reporter for a magazine, what it’s like to be an odd job man, what it’s like not to earn a steady living, and what it’s like to Earn a steady living, but all of that really comes in second to the noona romance. And the noona romance…is gooooood. The writers really got what real romance is about. Mutual respect, compatibility, excitement, passion, Actually Spending Time Together. Freakin’ real-deal romance. (And Zero asshole behavior, for which I am always grateful.)Unfortunately, the drama did the romance So well, that it was all the more disappointing when same said romance faltered in the final quarter.
I'm talking about the Love Octopus (my name for love triangles).
I know they're common in older dramas, and it’s honestly very short-lived here (about two or three episodes), and yet I hated everything about it.
Almost from the moment he appeared on screen, I was ready for Shi Hoon to leave. From being angry at Ji Yeon for believing his secretary’s lie (don't even get me started on the stupidity of that whole plotline) to expecting everything to go back to exactly the way it had been six years earlier (because obviously, nothing could have changed within those six years; neither of them were different people or anything) to ‘pretending’ to be a ‘noble idiot’ and ‘pushing’ Ji Yeon away. (I didn’t even realize he was being a Noble Idiot until Ji Yeon pointed it out. That’s how good he was at just being an ass.) He literally got more and more annoying as the show went on, and by the end, I just wanted him dead.
As for Ji Yeon, she proved to be frustrating in a different, but all too familiar way to seasoned drama watchers. Leading up to the Love Octopus, she was a fabulous female lead. She’s feisty, she’s driven, she’s smart, she’s no-nonsense, SHE'S BLOODY CONSISTENT! Then Mr. Ex showed up, and Ji Yeon went from feisty and driven to timid and indecisive. She lost all sense of personality, spunk, spark, passion, fire, confidence, independence, and I HATED IT.
I’m not saying I don’t understand why it happened. She had been in a relationship with Shi Hoon for a long time, she’d clearly been pretending to be someone she wasn’t when she was with him, and the end of their relationship had devastated her. But we didn’t get nearly enough exposition into their past relationship for her sudden change in demeanor to feel realistic. I just didn’t believe that a woman so self-possessed would fall apart that easily at the sight of her ex.
But here’s where I sing Dong Ha’s praises as he was the only part of the Love Octopus that wasn't terrible. I love him. I love every single thing about him. He’s perfect. He’s wonderful. He’s kind. He’s caring. He’s giving. He’s hard working. He’s all the good things.
He literally saved this drama.
I will admit here that I might be too harsh in my assessment of this part of the story, but I honestly hated watching our female lead go from feisty and self-assured to a complete doormat within the span of seconds. And what made it so much worse is that all of the sexy, romantic, cuteness between our leads all but disappeared once the story hit the 'My ex fiancé is back, and for some unexplainable reason, I feel obligated to go back to him' arc. We were left with this open-ended, will they-won't they ending between our leads, and neither of them deserved that.
I don’t regret sticking this drama out, but I don’t Not regret it either. I mostly just wish we had gotten a less open ended ending. (Would have gone a long way in making up for the ex fiancé subplot.) I still totally recommend this drama to anyone who likes noona romances. Or just anyone who likes romances where there’s actually a compelling reason for the main couple to Be the main couple. Or just anyone who likes nice guys. Because as much as I hate Shi Hoon and feel like the drama really dragged it’s way to the finish after he showed up, I also think this drama was really, really, really well written and really, really, really, Really well acted and has a Fabulous romance between two people who are Actually compatible. If you can put up with two to three episodes of ex-significant-other drama (which is probably perfectly bearable as long as you’re not me) and a pretty open ended ending, this noona romance is killer.
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Se você está pensando que esse dorama possa ser clichê, você está enganado. Normalmente estamos esperando aquele dorama calmo, com uns beijos no último episódio, algo bem família coreana, mas aí somos surpreendidos, logo no início já rola uns beijos e bastante pegação, claro que depois continuamos sendo enrolados por muitos episódios, mas a química dos protagonistas é tão boa que você esquece de tudo e fica satisfeita. O que eu mais gostei nesse drama é que ninguém recriminou a Ban Ji Yeon de namorar um cara mais novo, o que acontece em vários dramas, os pais de ambos protagonistas foram uns amores. O casal de amigos da Ji Yeon foram uma graça a parte, sempre levando humor. Soo Cheo, amigo do nosso protagonista, foi o personagem responsável por boa parte do humor da história, tinha horas que achava que ele gostava do Dong Ha mais do que um amigo, (hahaha) um dos melhores bromance. É realmente impressionante ver como o Hyun Min consegue fazer personagens completamente diferentes e se encaixar em todos eles.
Yoon Dong Ha, nosso protagonista, com apenas 25 anos demonstrou ser uma pessoa responsável e madura apesar da pouca idade. Ele é aquele homem perfeito que toda brasileira quer: trabalhador, honesto, maduro, responsável, fiel, amigo, romântico e com o bônus de ser bonito e rico, ou seja, perfeito. O personagem e a atuação extraordinária do ator, me deixou apaixonada por Park Seo Joon (se vier ao Brasil estamos aê!) e ele, sem dúvidas, foi o motivo de ter retornado a assistir o drama. O final como já era de se esperar não foi lá grandes coisas, mas foi bonito. Super recomendo o drama.
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Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
Perfect nona romance at least for me
the story is very light, soft & smooth
very lovely one
especially Park seo joon i fall for him definitely at this show
i really got sad for both men main leads but i was definitely Biased towards park seo :*
the only thing that really bothered me so was (Uhm Jung Hwa)
from my opinion she doesn't fit the role
she looked older than 39 as if she was his mom not just nona
she ruined her face by the plastic surgery
she appears older than her real age
this drama needs someone like (Gong Hyo Jin) or (kim So Yeon)
they were going to be brilliant & fit with the right age & place
the positive thing at this drama although i felt it didn't has much events but definitely not boring it's smooth & u forget the time while watching & u suddenly reached the end
i didn't like the odd joking between park seo & Yoon Hyun it was really v.weird & unnecessary at all like the sexual part when yoon hyun opened his robe to park seo
sometimes i felt yoon hyun acting as if they were couple
SPOILER
AS USUAL
the HUGE weak point at most of KD ( THE END ) ....
the most thing i hate after sad endings ... OPEN ones
as if the writer says : just put the one u love (HELL)
i love clear endings :(
& sometimes i found park seo attitude & the face expression towards marring uhm jung was strange as if this idea didn't cross his mind
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I had seen him in Kill me, heal me and fallen in love with him, and I was ready for a deeper crush. Needless to say that I ended up head over heels in love with him even more.
He steals the show for me: he's cute, he's intense, he's fresh... He can make you blush with a gaze or a smile, or break your heart when he cries.
I read somewhere that there was something about him that reminded of a younger Gong Yoo, and I agree. They're both so natural in front of the camera, so endearing and adorable that you wish their characters were real and you could meet them... or date them.
Even my age range is closer to Uhm Jung Hwa's character, so I understand her completely.
She was the other reason why I watched this. I like her as an actress: she's sexy, she has charisma and she's an icon in the Korean entertainment industry. I prefer her in more badass roles, but OK.
Yang Hee Kyung was fantastic as Uhm Jung Hwa's mom, and I loved Yoon Hyun Min's character, his sassiness, his flowery suits and polka dot shirts. And the cartoonesque sound effects when he poses were funny.
As for the rest, well it's a noona romance and I like noona romances, but the story was above all saved by both main performances. It's not just about the attraction and the age gap, but all the personal things they have to get over with before their romance flourishes. That part was pretty good.
I could have done with a little too much cheesiness, in my opinion, but fortunately that was only in a few episodes.
Summing up, I didn't end up being a huge fan of this, but it was nice watching it.
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Campy
This was another show I started watching hoping for lighthearted romantic comedy but found the FL to be unwatchable. I had not seen this actress in anything before and will avoid anything with her in the future. Her acting is terrible, she just annoyed me because she overacted and used too much physical comedy to try to make up for her bad acting skills. Park Seo-Joon cannot save this show for me. I really just want a show that has some lighthearted romantic comedy - easy on the drama, light on the physical campy comedy, pretty people.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Couldn’t Finish First Eoisode
Such a difference in production quality, pacing and storyline from 8 years ago to today. I wanted to watch this series because it had a young Park Seo-Jun, and it had some tempting clips on youtube. But the first episode had the longest slowest and boring bike ride (pacing!). Sorry, I couldn’t finish it.I was hesitant to start watching K-Dramas at first but they have improved so much in the last decade. I feel the current dramas are better than even US TV. Now I am addicted.
Better use of my time to rewatch Itaewon Class or What’s Wrong with Secretary Woo.
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