Second to Last Love (2016)

Mature romance, yet balanced with the eternal youth residing in the feeling of falling in love.

"Second to Last Love" is processing the topic 'getting old in South Korea' in a playful, sometimes profound, sometimes tender way. 'Old' means having exceeded 40. An 'Ahjumma' can be a swear word for a South Korean woman. Also ´Ahjussi´ for a man. In German it would probably be comparable if the casual 'Du' among around +/- 30 year old people suddenly became a 'Sie' - then you know: now I've fallen out of the '+/- same age'...

In South Korea, a large percentage of life revolves around looking good and looking young. Marriage is also a big topic - wedding photos are always placed accordingly large and dominant in the house or apartment. The family ultimately forms the meaning of life, so to speak, if you follow in the footsteps of tradition. In case you stick to this standard - look good, marry well and take care of an honorable family - then everything is fine. Just one step to the right or left of the path creates social turbulence. Women (and men too) must be prepared and able to stand this. The issue will come up more or less confrontationally on every occasion.

This South Korean peculiarity is the starting point for many a KDrama. In "Second to Last Love" as well. However, this story chooses its own fine style and an almost progressive approach to it. Age and age differences in partnership are brought up again and again in several respects. Likewise, married vs. unmarried. Not only the conservative, but also somewhat more free-spirited perspectives and opinions are interspersed in a refreshingly good mood.

While the female protagonist is a career woman and single, the male protagonist lives as the head of a patchwork family. His wife died long ago, as did her fiancé. (Not that they didn't want a partner...) They've both been living their particular single life-style for decades by now and have gotten used to it. They no longer expect anything to change. This is where the KDrama comes in and tweaks a few dramaturgical adjustments in order to shake them both up and question their lives, their life plans, their longings and decisions. They may be 'old' in the eyes of society, but their lives are far from over. And THAT is the key point! There is still time and space for new decisions, for change, even for a second love in the last half of their life. Apart from aging, "Second to Last Love" is also about taking responsibility for one's own life and one's own decisions, including new ones. Despite all the depth, which it doesn't shy away from, the KDrama also has a touch of humor overall.

The protagonists´ 'grown-up' relationship is so delightfully mature and refreshingly grounded. Kim Hee-ae and Ji Jin-hee embody this adult maturity successfully balanced with the magic of eternal youth that resides in the feeling of falling in love. Their rapprochement, their feelings for each other and their attitude towards the other form a pleasant contrast to the more enthusiastic youthful forms that the protagonists are also confronted with...

The story is embedded in a picturesque, idyllic landscape and also allows a look behind the curtains of KDrama industry. The plot and its difficult issues - 'aging' and 'taking responsibility' - are rounded off by a few secondary plots within the patchwork family and work colleagues. A bit of intrigue should not be missing either. Last but not least, and above all, there is the romance, which despite the obstacle-filled terrain unerringly and sensitively paves the way between the two protagonists...

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Second to last love...

The drama itself is good, I loved the leads because personally I'm a hard fan of Kim Hee-Ae. Is a familiar drama condensed in 20 episodes and well carried but I have to say sometimes it was a bit long to me.
Where I should to start? If you are searching an adult drama without these childish moments in others of the same genre this is your drama.
Mature actor/actresses portraying mature characters. Good!

To point:
- The plot is very common, but the secondary characters personal stories add salt to the drama.
- The locations are beautiful or at least to me! A way to meet new cities or landscapes in korea.
- The family theme is cute, and probably one of my favorite things in this drama maybe because my family is very similar to them and I love these kind of bonds.

To REMARK:
If you like Kim seulgi.. Just watch this drama, I dont know why but this girl has charisma as actress and I think she could make easily others roles apart of romcom.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand I wanna add one thing more, I finished this drama because I I got so used to the stories of the others couples. Don't disappointed *thumb up*

Personal opinion:
No my favorite drama, maybe it will go to that '' re watch some parts'' list. But if you are bored give to this a try!

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This seems like a kind of hybrid between rom-com and family drama. It's refreshing that the main romance/story line is about a couple in their forties, which is a nice break from all the 20-something and 30-something romance dramas. Kim Hee Ae plays Kang Min Joo, a successful television producer, and Ji Jin Hee plays Ko Sang Shik, a safety minded civil servant. Sparks fly when the two of them clash. The extended cast in this drama is delightful and really flesh it out. Unfortunately, the pacing is tedious. I really did like the story, but there were far too many 'if you people would just take five minutes to /talk/ to each other' frustrating moments. It took me almost a full year to watch the show, because the pacing was just so off. Which is really unfortunate, because like I said, the cast was superb.

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Wow.. I really loved this drama!
Personally is one of the best drama i've seen, A adult romantic drama, different from what we usually see with other romantic drama. The writers pulled off the storyline wonderfully for each couple of this drama, throughout the history we see the evolution of each and also the painful past of Kang Min & Ko Sang. Honestly, this is one of the most well acted dramas! The way their relationship grows from beginning to end is so sweet and also for the cute couple Ko Mi Ryeo & Cha Ming. The actors appeared to have great chemistry. I would like to say more but my english is not excellent to continue..

- Acting cast : Perfet choice.
Always a pleasure to watch the cute Kim Seul Gi, she's so funny! and Ji jin oppa is excellent as usual!

- Musics : Very beautiful songs.

I give a big 10/10 for this drama.
I hope to see more adult romance in the futur dramas..

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this is definitely one of the most mature family dramas and not for every one
this age is oppressed in dramas so much
i loved the drama so much but i dislike many points

what i liked about this story that is talked about different types of love and problems we used to face
and how mature people used to get through it


what i dislike about this drama
1st
the ML disappointed me many times specially his action towards (go bo) his employee
his reaction was so fluid and flimsy and annoyed me much and his reaction towards his boss
and he was too coward to take a step towards the FL

2nd
they took too much space from the story on the problems the ML used to face in his work
which make the space for the romance for the second leads so narrow and rush

3rd
the FL's friend (seo jung) bothered me soooooooooooooo much
when she suggested on (kim kwan) to try with her till he found someone else
this is really frustrated me to take her as a guinea pig

4th
i hated that the 2nd ML said to the 2nd FL i think i'll accept your love this is going to be much better than you go to someone else ?????????????????
He has not spared in his effort to express his feelings to the 1st FL so how come this is was his answer for the 2nd
this provoked and frustrated me so much

and i saw what happened to (park sung) was unfair and weak according to his stinky deeds

5th
it was too much to be 20 eps according to the storyline
it should be 16

6th
the most annoying character during the whole drama for me was
the character of (jung soo) so snoopy so stupid so annoying so selfish and no character development at all
i hated her so

the only person that was superior for me and had a great character development was (stephaine lee )
she convinced me much with her acting ^_^

the most two characters i really liked so much were (sung ji & moon hee) were really refreshing

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I think this series up by chance and decided to give it a go. This series with thousand rounds two people that are connected due to a past event and how they meet later in life without knowing that there is a connection between them. This is a very slow pace series. Although it has a few intense moments in it it does not get rid of the slow burn her tight feel of the series. I will say that it is some things that will most certainly evoke Emotions even from the toughest person. It was very complex for me because it really went into the internal conflicts that individuals feel and go through when facing hardship. This is definitely one of those series that you will love and hate at the same time. You will love the characters and the plot however you would absolutely hate the peace in the wicked characters. I did follow through and I will honestly say that the peace remain consistent. So if you’re looking for something fast pace, this one is not for you. Overall it was nice and sweet to watch and very realistic. The only thing I did not like about the series was that the piece was really slow and that it didn’t seem to be any major moments that got you on age or excited it was eventful but it was uneventful.

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