When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

After hesitation and such, I finally decided to watch this drama.
This drama was epic! The thriller. ROM-COM , cliffhanger, and Twist was amazing!
After watching one episode it makes me want to keep going and watch it all night! The plot and story of this drama were very realistic and it teaches me a very good lesson about life.
This drama is basically about a single mother living in Ongsan where she made a living by making a bar-restaurant.
It may be a simple drama like any other shows but this drama has a special dish that makes you watch and be entertained. The acting of the mains was really impressive. They may have a 10-yrs gap but they still manage to act their characters out. Pil-Gu tho! omgod, He's sooo kyutt!!! His acting was impressive! The crying was so emotional that I wish I can act like him. The other cast was well-done! I like Gyu-tae and Ja Young's relationship. HahAH.
At some point, I do get irritated at certain scenes and characters but that's just how that characters are created
The Ahjummas tho!! Omy! Their scenes are always amusing and DAEBAK!! I love how they show their hates but in reality they love and support them. I will for sure rewatch their scenes again, some point. xD
Anyways. the ending was acceptable. I like how it turned out. The killer was wawwwwshii. And,. ofcourse.. the turning point really turned me on.
I hope to see Kang Ha Neul's future shows since I've been eyeing on him.. creeps haha
tHIS DRAma is like a full-course meal. It has all the emotion that a human being has and it makes me feel related.
In life, it;s your choice of making your own decision, and with the decision that you've made, it is also your problem for making that choice.
I don't know if that makes sense, but ... I believe that people who come to our life will actually make a difference.
It may be bad or good but in the end, we learn lessons from them.
And their lessons was a miracle. And with this....YONGSIK Made a miracle to DONGBAEk! ;))
I wish that Dongbaek and Yongsik has more romance...like ykow.. kiss scene and a very lovely dovey moment.
<3<3<3
1:31am 4/30/20

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Super drama ;)

Bardzo fajna i urzekająca drama ? Zabrałam się za nią po obejrzeniu zwiastunu oraz dlatego że akurat wykupiłam sobie Netflixa i mogłam obejrzeć z polskimi napisami ;)
Historia była bardzo wciągająca, Yong Shik był bardzo urzekającą postacią, którą szybko pokochałam, był taki dobry i kochany, zresztą tak samo Dongbaek była bardzo kochaną postacią? Podobało mi się, że jest tu motyw samotnej matki jako główny wątek, bo jeszcze takiego nie oglądałam więc oglądałam z wielkim zainteresowaniem.
Nie zawiodłam się, z kolejnym odcinkiem byłam bardziej ciekawa jak sytuacja się rozwinie, a ten wątek thrilleru dodał fajnego charakteru tej dramie ❤
Aktorów w większości już znałam z innych produkcji, więc również byłam zadowolona oglądając ich ? Podobała mi się ich gra aktorska, a szczególnie postać Pil Gu, bardzo mądry z niego chłopiec, przyjemnie się go oglądało ?
Poruszono wiele ciekawych tematów między innymi fajnie przedstawiono relację matka-dziecko z różnych perspektyw. Drama miała fajne przesłanie, nie było nic przesadzonego, bardzo mi się podobało ❤
Muzyka również mnie urzekła, kilka utworów zapisałam sobie w swojej playliście ?
Ogólnie polecam, obejrzałabym na pewno ponownie ?

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Heartwarming Life Affirming Drama

This show is truly has a comprehensive storyline for all its important casts. Where most shows revolves usually around the OTP, this one able to provide everyone (at least) a little backstory - an explanation as to why a character behaves the way they do. Whether you're someone struggling in life as a single mother, as a kids whose parents went through a divorce, as someone grew up craving for love, as someone who doesn't know how to express themselves and to keep the emotions bottled up, this show is able to show the strength in being honest - with others, with life, but most importantly with yourself. Though initially the leading lady seems to be in need of being saved, it turns out that with the helps of others, we can all be our own hero and have the courage to save ourselves (if only we let ourselves).
The shows manages to make me root for the OTP but also got me choked up in tears every now and then. It is so refreshingly relatable to reality that it makes us reflect on our own lives.

A great storyline, with great delivery from the actors and actresses. Kudos to everyone involved!

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this is a long one but theres a LOT to unpack here

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.

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My first completed drama this 2021. “When The Camellia Blooms” is a very heartwarming drama. It has mix of fun, sad, and mystery elements. Generally, I really like dramas that I get attached with specially when I easily sympathize with the characters. Gong Hyojin as usual played her role really well. The only problem I got with her character is how weak she looked like in the beginning, I'm just tired of female leads who can't fight for themselves. As for Hwang Yong Sik (Kang Haneul's character), he really is a cute ball of sunshine. Although at times, I get frustrated when he's too protective of Dongbaek (Gong Hyojin). That's one of my problems in the drama, they were too cheesy sometimes lol. Another problem that I had was the dragging of the mystery part, like we got that moment when they introduced a lot of “possible” killers and they were constantly and unnecessarily confusing us (which is unsuccessful to me because I felt like it was too obvious that they're not). Aside from those, I could overlook small problems I came across (like how annoying Dongbaek's child was at times and also her ex boyfriend). One thing I also like is the Ongsan neighborhood, it slowly grew to me, the people there really looked like a big family. Overall, I like this drama. It taught me a lot about life and it brought me a pinch of inspiration to go on.

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A great story with lots of layers to the plot

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 South Korean television series with 20, 1 hr. episodes.

Oh Dong-baek (Gong Hyo-Jin) has always considered her life to be unlucky. Most people would consider single motherhood to be the unlucky part of her life but Dongbaek considers her son, Kang Pil-gu to be one of the few happy events of her life. Dongbaek opens a bar named Camellia in the small fictitious town called Ongsan. Being very beautiful and sweet Dongbaek quickly has many male regular customers who hope she is selling more than alcohol. The attention Dongbaek gets for her beauty makes the women of the town jealous and initially sets them against her. Despite the hardships created from being an outcast, Dongbaek manages to run her business successfully. Though not a place he would normally go one of the town sons and a very eligible bachelor, Hwang Yong-sik (Kang Ha-neul) reluctantly visits the Camellia with his work colleagues and falls in love at first sight with Dongbaek. He starts to frequent the Camellia to be near Dongbaek. Dongbaek is too busy raising her young son to give any thoughts to romance and the sometimes awkward but kind and gentle Yong-sik is not her normal type. Yong-ski is slowly winning his way into the hearts of mother and son when Pil-gu’s father shows up, does the math, and realizes that Pil-gu is his son. Dongbaek had been secretly wishing her ex boyfriend, now a wealthy baseball star, would find her. Kang Jon-ryul is surprised to discover that the girl he never quit loving gave birth to his son and vows to win her back over and gain a spot in his son’s life. Can the love that died be rekindled or is this new love what Dongbaek and her son need? Amidst this love triangle is a serial killer who went dormant for a time but is back determined to kill the one living witness Dongbaek. The mother who abandoned Dongbaek as a child suddenly reappears. And Yong-ski’s motherwho was formerly Donbaek‘s one friend and ally becomes her anti-fan when she learns of her son’s romantic interest. Pil-gu is also not keen on sharing his mother with any other man whether it be the biological father he just discovered or Yong-ski, the local police officer who is his mom’s best defense against the serial killer who wants her dead. Which love can overcome all obstacles?

Spoiler ? I really liked this series. Gong Hyo-jin is a very talented actress and I have enjoyed her performances in “Master’s Sun” and ”It’s okay That’s Love” to name a few. The young actor stole the show multiple times with his vigorous defense of his mom. I loved Yong-sik he was everything a nice man should be. I enjoyed seeing Hyo-jin’s life improve and flourish as she gained friends and experienced love. Trying to solve the mystery of who “The Joker“ serial killer was added a very exciting element. I loved how the community was cautious of outsiders but had each other’s backs. It was entertaining and heartwarming. There were some sad moments but the balance was happy. It ended well wrapped up and happily. Highly recommend this one.

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Keep your boxes of tissue ready! Otherwise tear tsunami in your house!

I loved this drama so much! It's family friendly ,heart warming , cute and some thriller . I cried many times while watching this drama cause it's quite relatable?
As i lost my mother 2 years ago , this drama was so.....emotional , this drama not only shows romcom but also shows motherhood , struggles of a single mother , society and many more. Each ep in this drama has a meaning , moral and life lessons.
And the romance is so cute that even i feel shy and start blushing .

About the cast and characters, 10000/10!
Awesome character development !
Gong Hyo Jin as dongbaek was so....good ! I instantly fell in love with her acting and i really felt her feelings cause she made me forget that she was acting . Same goes with Kang Ha Neul as Yong sik ahhhh he is the kinda guys we girls wanted! he is sweet , helpful ,funny , cute , does act up when necessary and most importantly he is a cop who is very genius that he can be a detective !
Pil gu was cute as well , he cries when he sees his mother cry and thats so....sad and wholesome
Other characters were nice too (i can't list everyone here otherwise this will be a long review )
The side stories were great as well.
OST is great and so...sweet to listen to
And...is it rewatchable ?
yeah i think so....i am not a person who rewatches kdramas.....but you can rewatch it as there are many sweet moments .

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A poignant tale of parenthood & unconventional strength with a side of heart-meltingly sweet romance

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

A story of a child abandoned by her mother, who becomes a single parent, raising the child without the knowledge of her ex-boyfriend; a woman who falls in love with a happy-go-lucky policeman, all while being hunted by a merciless serial killer. Is it a slice of life? Is it a thriller? Is it a rom-com? The truth is, it's a little bit of each. But not the usual mish-mash of tropes one would expect from a drama of multiple genres. Its whimsical storytelling manages to warm the cockles of the heart but also makes it race with adrenaline. Indeed, the leitmotif is parenthood, or more specifically the relationship between a parent and child, the sacrifices, devotion and regrets that come with being a parent and the even the stigma around single parenthood. As saccharine as the romance was, it managed to take a backseat to the heart-warming parent-child relationship between the characters. If none of this tickles your fancy, watch it for the laughs, for there's plenty.

The drama doesn't solely focus on the lives of the main leads, but an array of uncanny characters in the equally uncanny little town of Ongsan. The norm for dramas that focus on multiple characters, is that they tend to neglect the main leads and over fixate on a bunch of incredibly banal secondary characters. However, I did not meet a single character in When the Camellias Bloom that I did not fall for. The characters are of varying levels of eccentricity, a truly delightful pack. They're not extraordinary. They're not perfect. Rather, they're all very flawed, very realistic characters, just like regular humans. Isn't it human nature, after all? No one is blameless. No one is impeccable- we may do erroneous things sometimes, but we're not bad by nature. Yong Shik's mother boasts of being tolerant when she's under the impression that her son is in love with a lawyer, but quickly recoils when she realises that it was, in fact, Dong Baek- an orphaned, single mother. She crosses the line by calling Pil Gu a burden, after which she swiftly realises her hypocrisy and changes her ways. The neighbourhood ladies pester and poke at Dong Baek with their prejudice, but come to care for her with sisterly fondness.

Gyu Tae starts as a flirty, obnoxious wannabe social figure, with an inferiority complex, but grows to comprehend his love for his wife and grows out of his immature ways. Ja Young, a highly educated lawyer and self-made woman, slut shames Dong Baek but later befriends her. Dong Baek's mother abandons her not because of the lack of love, but because of the abundance of it. Hyang Mi is a kleptomaniac due to her arduous childhood. She suffers silently and toils selflessly for her brother, despite his thanklessness. I liked that. I liked that no matter how horrendous the characters may have been, they had redeeming qualities. Even the serial killer was difficult to hate.

Dong Baek would have to be one of my favourite female leads that I've watched in a very long time. Often people complain of female leads being weepy, dependant beings whose badassery evaporates as soon as they fall in love. We identify crying with weakness. I'm not faultless either. I would rather cease to exist then let someone see me at my worst. Dong Baek is a paradox. She starts off as a clement, compassionate and timid character, who harbours pain from a motherless childhood and as a result feels scared to fill space. She tearlessly suffers as the resident doormat, blamed for every mishap that happens in Ongsan. Yet, she's not entirely diffident from the get-go. She's someone you would feel like protecting but is, in actuality, entirely capable of defending herself. Her often unexpected zingers and moments of blind fearlessness is testament. As the drama progresses, she learns to let down her iron-clad walls and learns that she's not as alone as she thought she was. Her strength is not necessarily physical. She cannot beat up 50 thugs like Bong Soon or outsmart obnoxious chaebol heirs like Yi Seo. Rather, it's her quiet fortitude, her resilience and her boundless heart that makes her strong. Her slow yet steady character development is a show-stealer.

Speaking of show-stealers, Kang Han Eul is undeniably the superlative. His portrayal of the boisterous, moon-eyed cop with a devil-may-care attitude, a mellifluous cachinnation, and a cotton candy heart and a ChungCheong accent that befits him is so spot on, that I don't think anyone else could have played it better. Dong Baek and Yong Shik's romance is not torrid and sultry. There are no heated kisses or sizzling skinship. It's slow-paced - an affection developing over time that builds into a mutually supportive relationship. They don't love with elan, but with sweetness and light. Yong Shik may look one fry shy of a happy meal, but he is anything but unintelligent. His unadulterated support and understanding towards Dong Baek and Pil Gu, delivered in clumsy words with his charming dialect is so lovable that it made my heart melt one too many times.

Pil Gu and Jung Suk are on the two farthest ends of the age spectrum, yet managed to shine equally. Kim Kanghoon's often mardy, but shrewd Pil Gu is so delightful to watch. He has miles and miles to go with his oodles and oodles of talent. This is certainly not my first rodeo with Lee Jung Eun, who is perhaps one of the most talented actresses in the Korean Entertainment industry. After all, she has an Oscar to her name. She delivers what she promises.

Watching Kang Jung Ryul finagle his way in and out of Dong Baek's and Pil Gu's life was perhaps the most grating part of this drama. He's a douchebag through and through. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to hate him. He is, much like the other characters, imperfect but not damnable. He has his shortcomings, but he manages to grow a backbone and make peace with himself and those around him towards the end. His redeemable quality is that he grows as a person and that's more than you could ask of most people.

I went into this with the assumption that it had 16 episodes. At episode 15, I was ready for a conclusion only to find out I had 4 more episodes to go, at which point I found myself losing motivation to finish it- a predicament which lasted only till the beginning of the next episode. However, this drama did not have a single unnecessary minute- no pointless fillers, fights or fallouts. There is a breakup, but it doesn't feel redundant. Initially, I thought that the editing of the episodes was a little confusing, simply because it was hard to ascertain the timeline of events, but as the series progressed, I grew fond of the way it added to the poignant pacing and storytelling. This is where one would say that they would definitely watch 10 more episodes of this and would even wish for another season. But, I dissent. This drama was perfect in its length and had the most satisfactory conclusion. Surely there's no better conclusion than growing old together. Any further elucidation like their married life or Pil Gu's teenhood would be overkill. This drama made me ponder a bit about the meaning of strength. I would rewatch this drama when in need of some reassurance of my own. It's one of it's kind.

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I have never seen a bad drama of Kang Haneul (Hwang Yong Shik). This drama is 10/10, though I got a little bit bored because of the length of time per episode, and the number of episodes, but I still manage to complete this because the story line is reallly superb for me.

This drama doesn't just focus on the love story of the main leads, or the problem that surrounds Dong Baek. It also talks about the length or measures that the parents, especially the mother will take just to protect their child. I love how ALL the female character here in this drama are portrayed as a strong woman and not those typical drama where they are weak and childish. I also love that all the male character here don't treat females as a fragile or weak type. The fact that their place, Ongsan, is known to be lead and controlled by woman really amazes me. This drama really screams ✨ WOMAN POWER✨.

Even the coloring, and OSTs are wonderful and admirable. 100% worth it to watch and won't waste your time ;)

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