Just Between Lovers (2017)

Might change the rating to 10 stars

I've been wanting to watch this show for a very long time. The plot seemed really interesting but a bit depressing so I kept putting it off. I finally made myself watch this show this week and I was hooked since the first scene. I guess my type of drama really is the heartbreaking type of story? haha! There's not a lot I can say about this story because I feel like it's one of those dramas you can only truly understand while watching it and receiving the feelings it provokes on the viewers. It's so good I might even change this rating to 10 stars, depending on how I digest the whole thing, but I couldn't give it less than 9.5 stars.

The characters are sooo well written! As someone who loves complex characters more than a complex plot, I was really happy with how they managed to make me interested in every character's story. The protagonists (I would say there are 4 protagonists, right??) are all amazing and likeable, even if frustrating at times. Kang Doo hecame one of my favorite characters ever because of how simple he was in everything that he did (by the way, simple doesn't mean not complex! ...right?). I was just very in tune with him and could understand his emotions and choices very clearly, even if I've never been through anything similar to his situation. Jun Ho did a fantastic job with his character. Now I want to watch more dramas with him! And then we have Moon Soo, who was just so likeable (although not perfect) since the beginning. I love how we also got to see her parents and their relationship and how their family dealt with such a tragic loss. Seo Joo Won... I felt so sorry for him. He just had all that pain in his eyes!! I loved that he was a warm-hearted and kind person who was struggling to deal with his own demons. And Yoo Jin... I just loved her character, even if at first I couldn't care less about her... she definitely grew on me!
I cried so much in the last episode. I was scared (I literally paused the episode and calmed down hahaha if you've watched it, you know what I mean) and then I was sad because it was over. I wish we had more time with these characters (not only the main ones but also Moon Soon's friend, as well as our dear Sang Man and the others) because even though the plot isn't anything crazy and fast-paced, it was never boring. Not even a single scene! And the ending was so satisfying... because it made sense and it wasn't forced.

More than a story about a tragedy, this show is about the story of those who live on and have to deal with the consequences of said tragedy. I feel like I learned a lot while watching this show. I'm not sure what but I know I did. It made me think about life and death and put me in all these characters' shoes. I wish I had watched it sooner because this is one of those dramas that make me happy I started watching dramas in the first place and reassure me I'm not just wasting my time.
Unforgettable.

Leggi di Più

lil boring to watch.

Very nice and sweet drama. I like the build up of the relationship between Moon Soo and Kang Doo. Lots of sad and crying moments. Only thing I didn't like was the character Jung Yoo Taek - found him and his storyline rather annoying. Also all the politics storyline I found rather boring and skipped most of it. The romance between the second leads was also meh. For the ending I would have liked to see all of them attend the opening of the memorial park. It would have been nice to see the actual thing after all the hard work and effort put in. (Don't worry... not a sad ending ;))

Leggi di Più

I just finished the drama an hour ago and since then, my heart has this indescribable feeling of longing and emptiness and looks like I need to find a rebound drama after writing this review.

Honestly, I tend to ignore dramas where not a lot of people are talking about, thus, I only watched JBL months after it had finished. And it's a shame that I went pass this when it was still airing months ago.

What I loved the most about this one is although some may say that it lacked the usual pace of a Korean drama, the thorough story telling made us feel the depth of its plot and characters as they unravel right before our eyes. They also molded everyone as real people. And what I meant by 'real' is the capability of the characters to convey their thoughts and feelings, making our emotions bind with them as we go on a journey in each episode. Despite the fact that some characters were kind of annoying at some point of the story, they made sense. They were annoying for some of us but on the other hand, we as audience agonized with them for we felt their hearts. Moreover, the love that Moon Soo and Gang Doo shared was clearly seen through Won Jin Ah's and Lee Junho's eyes (kudos to these two actors.) Their chemistry was no joke.

On this note, I have to commend the casting director for choosing these actors. Such a refreshing feeling to see new faces with such potentials. They did a great job for portarying their characters absolutely well.

All in all, I cried and laugh and felt the warmness. Not all dramas that were highly rated mean they were really good, and with this, we could also say that not all underrated dramas were bad. They were what we call "undiscovered gems".

Leggi di Più

Building's did collapse

I found the premise of this movie very interesting, but because I knew it would be an emotional rollercoaster I put off watching it. It was a rollercoaster emotionally, but I found Lee Jun-ho carried this film. The romantic scenes with Won Jin-ah were forced at best. Won Jin-ah looked like she was a wooden statue & Lee Jun-ho was doing his normal kissy self. Now I know he excels in this area but his romantic partner made it painful to watch. I find it silly that they portray adults as virgins, it just doesn't fit. I am not all about romantic scenes I could take them or leave them but if they take them make them believable. Lee Ki-Woo brought nothing to this film except a wonderful walk. The part could have been played by anyone. On the other hand all the older actors in this film were fantastic & since that was a central part of the film, it really made it what it was again an emotional rollercoaster.

Leggi di Più

fkn cried

all i can say is i fkn cried so much, it hurts but it hurts so good u get me they directed it such that.... it hurts but it hurts so good oh my pls watch it 10/10

heres more to match the 500 characters limit - yeah the start was cliche but the overarching story to me, wasnt. there wasnt a final boss the characters had to deal with, they showed the human side of everyone - from an endearing side of jeong yoo taek, to a rather selfish side of seo joo won. i really liked each and every character, and especially the final story trope pierced my heart like maybe 4 times..... oh man alright pls watch it i love it also rec me some more dramas like this bc they dont do them like JBL anymore ㅠㅠ

Leggi di Più

Draggy towards end

JBL is very popular, and I guess it can be appealing if you like melodramas.

I'm watching Red Sleeve and was impressed by Junho so started JBL. The first few episodes were fun, but the middle started dragging. And I really didn't appreciate the noble idiocy by practically all four leads. Pace is rather slow as well after the sixth episode. Not sure if the writers ran out of ideas. On the bright side, I liked the side characters. They had good stories which wrapped up well in the finale.

Good drama but not a standout. I won't rewatch. I can live without a second round of angst and noble idiocy.

Leggi di Più

SUCH A HIDDEN GEM!

Now before I get into this review I would like to make it clear that although I finished the series and have given it 8.5/10 overall, I did skip a significant amount of scenes in the middle of it. There is a reason behind why I skipped and why I still gave it such a high rating, but I'll explain that in the review.

I watch kdramas on netflix. So when I saw that one I’d never heard of was coming the following week I just had to check it out. I found the idea behind the kdrama interesting, especially the story behind the two lead characters. As soon as this drama came onto netflix I began to watch it straight away.

The first few episodes had me hooked. I loved how real the characters felt. I immediately connected with the two main leads and I loved watching the story blossom and bloom around them.

However, as the series progressed I found that I was only watching it for the two leads and their story. I realised I wasn’t really fussed about many of the other characters or the overarching story line about building on the site where the crash happened. This is what led to my skipping quite a bit in the middle. I still understood the main story line and the milestones in it still made sense and were just as emotional. I just felt like there were lots of filler scenes (not necessarily episodes) that just didn’t add anything to my experience.

On the other hand, the romance and story surrounding the male and female leads was just beautiful! I was 100% invested in their story the whole way through the series, it was the only thing that stopped me from dropping the series to be honest. Their relationship and how it developed (and its ups and downs) felt so real.

Overall, I recommend watching this drama, but you might find it easier to get through by skipping some parts you find less interesting. I totally recommended watching this just for the leads if you really can’t push through the other parts. <3

Leggi di Più

I have to say this was the most heartfealt drama i ever watched and the lead couple acted flawlessly.
I never cried so much in a drama before and i still loved it to bits, flaws and all. This drama hits you 100% in the feels!

It has such a strong message and a true love story. I'm always a sucker for a good love story that you can relate and find a piece of you in it and this one really caught my heart good.

It's a drama that goes around a very deep and sad background story but i liked the way they did it, how they performed to really make us empathise with the main characters and feel the pain they went through,
I felt super attached to them by the end. I experienced every emotin deeply in this drama and i cried my eyes out too T_T

Would recomend everyone to watch it and give it a chance, it's so worth to watch!
And also watch it with a friend because you will need a lot of tissues and confort too XD
But you will love this drama by the end of it!

Leggi di Più

This was a story about healing through connecting with others and learning to grieve properly. Gang Doo is a troubled young man who uses painkillers to deal with the injuries he’s suffered, both psychologically and physically but he is still upbeat and determined to live an honest life whole in living in an dishonest world. Moon Soo is also troubled but in a different way. And the way these two are forced to confront their issues and develop a relationship of their own was brilliant. It’s not light, there is a lot of hardship in their journey - alcoholism, death, illness, etc - but it’s meaningful and necessary for their recovery. The other two leads also suffer from problems with their relationship and work but it's less direct than Gang Doo and Moon Soo. Their relationship breaking down in the fall out to current day. Yoo Jin’s attempts at getting back with Joo Won don’t work out which is against expectations but she is able to grow herself and develop a very loving friendship with Gang Doo in the process - a key highlight of the drama for me.

Lee Jun Ho’s role in this drama was incredibly hard. He had to play someone plagued with drama and hardship but was also resilient. Being the one we, as viewers, follow, he was a brilliant focus point. His chemistry with the rest of the cast was pretty outstanding. Everyone gelled in their role and was able to bring something vital to the drama.

Leggi di Più

Incredible. Bestest one I have ever come across. Every second was worth it!

I didn't really know much about it and this drama was just a wild guess, I made. Believe me, this drama played with every inch of emotion I had. LEE JUNHO and JIN A were absolutely amazing. I cried buckets and buckets, even tho I am not a who cries. Junho is now my absolute favourite. Nothing was overboard and everything was just perfectly balanced. The main lead was just so immersed into the role that I started believing that everything was real. To a point where I literally googled if it was a fiction or not. JUST WATCH IT ONCE and you'll start stanning him too. I BET. <3

Leggi di Più

Just between lovers is an excellent drama, with a lot of emotions. It played completely my heart by showing the tragic events of our protagonist and their connection to the other characters as well. They have approached the love in a realistic manner where a kind of relationship you will fall for. It was delicate where two people grow individually and together.

The storyline hit me for sure, feeling all sorts of sentiments. The cinematography was beautifully combined with alluring OST.

Character-wise, it was deeply developed, never leave any small details to emphasize the intent. There weren’t really any “good or bad” characters. They just simply describe kinds of people struggling with life and their fears and that what makes the story more compelling.

Acting-wise, for both relatively amateur, it was beyond expectation. Their chemistry also was perfect, they just totally killed it emphasizing their vulnerability and sincerity.

A must watch drama, a real melodrama actually. I cried but ended up incredibly in love.

Leggi di Più

Why did I love this drama? Just because. There are no reasons I didn't love this drama. To paraphrase a moment in the script.

This is a story about coping with some of the worst situations and emotions, PTSD, survivors guilt, loss of a child, responsibility guilt to name a few.

When a shopping centre collapses killing 48 people and injuring more, everyone involved has to find a way to deal with their own personal reactions to what happened. 10 years after the collapse, there is a new building going up on the site and old wounds are re opened.

Let's just be clear, this is not a story filled with fluffy moments and joy, I would not recommend this to someone who is having their own troubles particularly, while seeing others work through them may be helpful it could simply add to your pain.

This drama is beautifully written and amazingly acted, some of the scenes in particular are so hard to watch because of the amazing talents of the cast bearing their soul for all. Seeing moon soo break down following a shock or gang doo yelling in frustration to god in the middle of a crowded area are just two, without context they are hard to grasp but suffice to say they stick with you.

This is a hard story, but it is one that brings with it a message of hope, and a warning that wounds whether in the mind or body should not be ignored, they should be treated and recovered from in what ever form that takes.

Picked this one following repeated recommendation from other MDL readers and not disappointed, thanks to you all.

Soundtrack has one stand out for me called Where We, which has borrowed the chord progressions from the Mad World remake by Gary Jules, originally by Tears for Fears. Used well they capture the melancholy feeling of the moments nicely.

Location is a bit different too, most kdrama I have seen tend to be Seoul based, this one appears to be Busan based with some lovely shots of the local bridges and architecture as well as amazing shots from rooftops over the night skyline of the city.

I've marked it low on the rewatch list, I may revise that, it's purely because it's hard and I dont know if I'd want to watch it again, I usually watch the fluffy ones more on repeat than stories like this, but it is one that, if you are in the right mental state to watch it, you absolutely must.

Leggi di Più