Once Again (2020)

Best KBS drama ever!

Once Again. That's the drama name. Once Again consists of 100 episodes. Once Again deals with real-life problems in the society/family. Everything single episode is worth watching. No lies. Each episode keeps you so hooked up and curious, the story is so good. I love how the story is not so draggy, considering it's a makjang with 100 episodes. It's just too perfect.

In this drama, we can see the Song Family. A frugal dad and a nagging mother with 4 adult kids. The Song family goes through one hell of rollercoaster problems, not just within the family but with neighbors in Yongju Market. A lot of heart-warming romances, so it's not just family drama. The Song family has three daughters, Song Na hee (Lee Min Jung), Song Ga Hee (Oh Yoon Ah), Song Da Hee (Lee Cho Hee), and a son, Song Joon Sun (Oh Dae Hwan). Each one of them has their own problems, The romance between Gyujin (Lee Sang Yeob) and Song Na hee (Lee Min Jung) is so heartwarming and then there are other sisters. Just so cute.

The drama goes and the hype starts building up as characters begin to break and re-join and it gets even better when mysterious kimbap restaurant owner Kang Cho Yeon joins the fray and opens up shop in the Yongju Market. Her appearance and other new characters add a new flavor to drama. The mysterious woman is none other than the great Lee Jung Eun. Her character is flawless.

I am not joking, every single episode is beautiful and worth the worth. It's not just entertainment but life lessons are being taught.

Thank you, KBS for this amazing drama

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Loved It

Three things you should know about me: (a) I don't cry while watching movies and tv shows.; (b) I don't clap at the end of the last episode of a tv show; and (c) I rarely ever re-watch a drama. Once Again nearly made a liar out of me with (a) and did with (b). I thought, 'Why am I clapping? I don't clap at the end of dramas.' smh As for (c), well, I could start re-watching right now and I just finished the last episode 5 minutes ago. In other words I truly enjoyed Once Again.

This is a great family drama. The storylines are nothing new. If you even watched soap operas, there's definitely nothing new. The writing had heart though. Lots and lots of heart. It was funny. It was sad. It was annoying and even made me angry from time to time. The writer did a good job with character development. At approx 35 minutes per episode the story moves quickly. The production team did an excellent job at keeping the story fluid.

The cast is fantastic. Honestly, I started the drama because I really like Lee Sang Yeob. Of course I was happy to see a few faces I recognized not just because they've been in dramas I've watched, but because they stood out in dramas I've watched. I loved the bromance(s) between the stunt guys. The 3 child actors were very good as well. Everyone pulled their weight. At no point did it feel like any one actor was being supported by the other actors in the scene. It was truly an ensemble in every sense of the word.

The music was pretty good. I tend not to pay attention to the music unless it annoys me, but I actually liked the themes. I liked everything (ok almost everything) about Once Again, which is why it has a high re-watch value.

In all fairness here are a few cons: (1) continuity. (Oh boy there are some glaring continuity issues, mostly surrounding scenes with food. A sausage re-grew itself. It was almost gone and 2 seconds later it was back. Personally, I wouldn't mind a neverending sausage. ) ; (2) relationship between Ga Hee and Hyo Sin (most probably ship them, but not me. I was happy to see an older women with a younger man as we ALWAYS see the other way. However, it's obvious that she was just lonely and he saw her as the caring mother he wished he had. It would have been more honest if while separated they realized they should just be friends and dated other people.); (3) Jae Seok's fake laugh. (JS is such a great character. I loved him. But that fake laugh was just awkward and annoying.); and (4) food. (OMG will Once Again make you hungry. I wanted fried chicken with every episode. I'm thinking about getting delivery from a Korean place now. Watch it with snacks. Seriously. ) I've tried to think up a 5th con, but I can't.

Obviously my cons don't outweigh the pros. I enjoyed Once Again from episode 1-100 (or 50 as it shows on streaming sites). If you like family dramas, a little mischief, a bit of heartbreak, I think you'd enjoy, too.

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This is a once in a lifetime drama.

I never write reviews so bear with me but I am struggling to put into words just how beautiful this show is. Before this show I never got when people would say 'my lifes drama' but I think I get it now. When I started I was scared because 100 episodes is quite a lot and figured I would drop it halfway or I would find it boring the way I did with father is strange and makjangs ive tried. I was completely wrong. this drama was perfect in every sense of the word; casting, pacing, dialogue its hard for me to find things to hate about this drama after completing it its genuinely perfect.

STORY
While the story looks really simple and boring the way its written is so incredibly well done, there's a great blend of romance, comedy and drama that get you to become emotionally attached to every character down to the two episode cameos. The main plot focuses on the song family which includes the mother and father and their four children who each have trouble within their love lives. This is a really simplistic breakdown but the writing is extraordinary, its very deft in the way that it helps you empathize with characters, even when they're in the wrong you want to root for them and for their happiness. The truly annoying 'makjang' bits never go on very long and are always resolved amazingly. The characters see genuine growth which is very rare.. by the end of the show each and every character feels like a real person you can relate to and love. Characters in Once Again all seem human, they focus in on each and every person you see and give them real motivations and traits, the writer is extremely talented and im so thankful to her for this show. It tackles a lot of issues that you wouldn't expect at first glance and it teaches you to never be stuck in your assumptions on people (or even on the characters in the show) because everyone is capable of change for the better. At times I found myself jumping around like an 8 yr old and in others I was crying out of genuine heartache for these characters. Yang HeeSeung took a simple premise and made a masterpiece out of it.

ACTING
Stellar. literally perfect casting to the point its almost funny like I genuinely cannot imagine anyone else having played these roles. Lee Minjung and Lee Sangyeob absolutely nailed their roles and nahee has become my favourite kdrama character of all time. Lee Chohee and Lee Sangyi won everyones hearts in this show. Oh Yoonah showed amazing skill as a divorced single mother taking care of her kid while trying to find a way back onto her own feet. Oh Daehwan played his role beautifully and nailed the big brother vibe to a T... I could go on and on because everyones performances here was truly astounding it felt like watching real people and how they live their lives. Some of the older actors overacted (because this IS a weekend drama after all) but it just added to the charm because it was almost a physical generation gap and only highlighted everything beautiful about the show. the side characters were all acted PERFECTLY my personal favourites being hyosin and seoyoung~

MUSIC & REWATCH VALUE
These two aren't as important imo but nevertheless the music was so cute and all the osts make your heart feel like its about to burst with sunshine plus I just finished this show a few days ago and im already rewatching. It makes u happy seeing this family (that while I watched almost felt like my family) grow and become their best selves.

CONCLUSION
This is a really special show, Ive forced like 10 people to watch it and every single person has loved it to no end. It makes you happy and it comforts you, its the ray of sun on a cloudy day. if you're wondering if you should watch I say go right for it!! its a must watch in my books and probably one of my favorites, if not my number one kdrama of all time. The 100 episodes will fly past and by the end you'll be wondering where on earth you'll find another show as great as this one.

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Who needs sleep when you can have Kdramas?!

So….I binge-watched it for 12h straight…Do I regret it?No….not at all.(But I do need to make smarter life choices )
I didn’t expect to like this,at all. But I did! Usually I don’t like long dramas( more than 32 episodes), because it can feel really forced after some time. This was such a beautiful(and hilarious)story of family and relationships .Loved the plot ,all of the story arcs were really thought thru ,well directed and the acting was amazing! I really recommend you to go in blind because that’s how I did it and didn’t regret it. Overall an amazing drama,would highly recommend for you to check it out .

(If you are a Got7 fan it’s your lucky day,they are mentioned throughout the drama)

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A drama that talks about hope

I've always been a fan of long family tv series, so when I saw once again, I definitely knew I was watching it. I had so much hope for this drama mainly because of the cast and so also the storyline. This drama kept me wanting more, seriously, on a norms I'm the kind of person that chills and wait for them to release all episodes before binge watching, but I kept on going from March down to September. 100 episodes of family bonding, heartbreak, fun , learning from past mistakes and trying to be a better person. This drama taught me that definitely life is not just a walk in the park on a warm afternoon, but also a rollercoaster of disappointments and dissatisfaction. I loved this drama so much because I literally felt like a part of the cast and also enjoyed how the casts did so much to portray their characters to the very best. The storyline wasn't a smooth sailing but at the same time that was the unique thing that intrigued me. I hope this review will be helpful and I advise you all to forget about the number of episodes and don't miss out of a good show😊.

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Casual, entertaining, family drama - not heavy with melodrama

I feel really torn as how to rate this drama because there were characters that I really adored and then parts of the story that I simply did not enjoy and could have done without. With the drama being 100 episodes (50+ hours!), it makes it even more difficult to give it a fair rating reflective of the overall drama. I have settled on a 7.5, not because it wasn't very enjoyable, but because it simply wasn't perfect - if I were to rewatch this drama, I would only watch for the characters/parts of the story I liked and skip through the rest.

My absolute favorite thing from this entire drama was the relationship between the Yoon doctor brothers - Yoon Gyu Jin and Yoon Jae Suk. These brothers are the epitome of what it is to be a sibling; you love each other, but show it in the oddest ways, bickering like children every chance you can. If you are a sibling, you will definitely associate with these siblings. They cracked me up with their antics, while simultaneously leaving me full and happy with the authenticity of their sibling relationship. The way the writers wrote their relationship dynamics were perfect. I could watch a drama just about them and their lives and be so very happy and entertained.

I also really enjoyed Kang Cho Yeon. Yes, she was very much a bull-in-a-China-shop, but finding her family really helped mellow her out and she became so much more beautiful because you could really tell she became happy. And while I felt her and Song Young Dal recognizing each other as siblings was a bit drawn out in the plot, it was still wonderful once finally established. Seeing everyone together as a huge happy family was really satisfying.

In regards to the romance in this drama (there were a CRAP TON of pairings) I think the couple that carried this drama was the doctor couple, Song Na Hee and Yoon Gyu Jin. They were a couple with serious issues in the beginning even though they still sincerely loved each other (buried deep beneath all the accumulated miscommunication and resentment). Over the 100 episodes, they grew and changed to take care of each other, learning how to love each other again. It was a really well written evolution between the two of them. Their story was what I really kept watching this drama for. I just needed to know how things unfolded for them.

So, the things I didn't like? Hmm. To keep it brief and general:
I felt like some of the romantic pairings were rushed and therefore had no real substance to their attraction. I also felt like some of the romantic pairings were alluded to, but were never confirmed on screen (which, as you can imagine, is super frustrating when you have invested so much time). And then I felt that some of the romantic pairings were simply all wrong and they shouldn't have been put together at all. There were also some characters that I just didn't like, even if the writers tried to "redeem" them. These might seem like small things, but when there are so many romantic pairings, characters, and episodes, these flaws build up into a larger mass of dissatisfaction. Perhaps I'm being too picky, especially for a family drama?

There's so much more I can say about this drama in regards to specific details, but these were the important parts that really stood out to me. The things I loved, mentioned above, were obviously enough to keep me invested in watching all 100 episodes, regardless of character/relationship/plot flaws. I wouldn't necessarily recommend to binge watch Once Again, but I would recommend watching it with a buddy, as I did. Having someone to bounce thoughts off of while casually watching Once Again was the perfect way to enjoy this drama without taking it too terribly seriously. While my 7.5 rating appears mediocre, please recognize that due to the nature of longer family dramas, it is rather inevitable that the story is a bit messier and therefore, not flawless, but enjoyable all the same. If you enjoy family dramas, I would say, give it a chance - there's nothing too heavy or melodramatic in this family drama, which I think makes it a safe family drama selection.

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Great family drama

This is probably one of the best family dramas I've watched so far. I don't watch them often, but so many times they get a bit draggy or makjang. That didn't happen in this drama. The story was lovely and heartwarming. I really liked all of the main characters for the most part - even the child actors. There were a few annoying side characters, but thankfully those characters didn't stay for the entire length of the drama. My two chief complaints were that the moms occasionally got a little screechy, but that's about par for the course in this type of drama. It never lasted *too* long so it was all forgivable. And the other was the tone down of one of the romances and that one 'romance' was a blip on the radar (wanted to see where that one went!) But overall, I was sorry to see this one end. It was such an enjoyable show (made all the better by buddy watching with a friend).

Lee Sang Yeob as Yoon Kyu Jin was probably the stand-out for me as far as acting goes in this drama. He played so well with all the other characters and went through a lot of emotional stuff. He played best off his on-screen brother, Lee Sang Yi as Yoon Jae Seok. They were hilarious together in the majority of their scenes. And I would be remiss to leave out Lee Jung Eun as Kang Cho Yeon. She was an adorable woman with heart and soul and a lot of great advice.
I enjoyed all the relationship pairings - most of all our doctor couple, Yoon Kyu Jin and Song Na Hee.
They had so many good family relationships in this drama - not just romantic ones.

The music was pretty good - but I'm not much of a music person.
I would absolutely re-watch this - even though it's 100 episodes (50 hours). So that says a lot! :)

If you love family dramas, this is one to add to your list. And if you've always been reluctant to commit to a longer drama but have been curious, then this would be a great one to start with!

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What a family drama should be

Once Again weaves a realistic tale about second chances. Second chances at love, second chances at life, and second chances with family. This is one of the best written and acted family dramas of the last few years. If your looking for evil villains, backstabbing exes and political plot lines, this is not it. This is the story of how parents deal with the problems of their adults kids, how siblings support each other, and how communities work together like a family with a little bit of lost family found thrown in. The cast was just amazing. Lots of veteran actors and actresses and plenty of subject matter for each character to explore. New love, old love, love for different ages, heartbreak, loss, and reconciliation, this drama really had it all. If you don't watch any other 50 episode drama, you won't be disappointed by watching this one.

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This is basically like 4 regular kdramas in one, 2 really sweet guilty pleasure romcoms, 1 really juvenile show that's somewhat annoying to watch & one that is really boring. Considering that this is a 50 hour family drama targeting families -including children and the elderly- it's the best outcome one can really hope for. All things considered Once Again is possibly the best family kdrama ever produced. The content that was meant for different audiences is bearable. The makjang stays just below my nerve threshold. I'm sure you all know how the typical kdrama recipe is like, where everything goes to shit around episode 14-15 and then we get a happy ending in the last episode. Despite the 50 episodes the ratio of conflict is very similar to a regular kdrama, but while binge watching this the "bad" episodes can be a bit taxing since there are 3 times as many of them due to the overall length of the show.

Overall I'm happy that I watched Once Again, but I ended up skipping many of the annoyances.

edit: My Father is Strange is a very comparable family drama.

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My favorite family drama I've watched

From start to finish this this show is incredibly fun and light-hearted watch and lets every character have their story told in a way that lets you connect with them and not just skip through their scenes to get past the filler parts. Was super nice with there not being aa ultimate revenge plot from a character who has a vendetta that drags out for the entire drama and no clingy exes that stay for way too long or take away from the story by being annoying rather than a twist. A comfy watch that just lets you enjoy the drama and the family as a whole and not deal with the stress from worrying about disaster striking eventually.

I really enjoyed how it showed each character's flaws and let them explain their story about why they have them and how they work towards overcoming them throughout the drama to get to a place where they can accept their flaws and still experience love with their partners who they divorced or with family. Not many dramas would tell the story in sensical way. My only complaint, and it's a small one, is that both moms Ok Boon and Yoon Jung were a bit unbearable for a 5 or so episode stretch in where I was begging for them to have their scenes finish quick. Thankfully it doesn't last long but I wasn't that much of a fan with how the moms handled their kids like complete traitors instead of being logical and understanding instead of just seeing red and not accepting anything other than being angry.

Lots of laughs and cheery moments in this drama with a lot of great characters that will grow on you from the start and look back on! Will definitely rewatch some day!

My first family drama that I give a 10! :D

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Heartwarming Family Drama

My rating on this drama is probably a bit harsh but there were so many parts of the drama that just didn't capture my attention. Don't get me wrong. I was hooked on my seat over certain storylines within the drama, but as with any 100-episode drama, it just gets to be a bit too much at some point (at least for me ... it seems like others thought otherwise). This is why I typically avoid these long dramas because they tend to drag, in my opinion, but I really wanted to watch and see what happened with the main couple (Gyujin and Nahee).

Of course, as I watched, there were definitely parts of the storyline and characters that I grew to like more as the story progressed, but there were also other storylines I still couldn't get behind. As someone who doesn't watch these types of dramas frequently, though, perhaps this is all very normal for a drama of this length. It reminds me a bit of one of those shows that I could put in the background while doing something else, and it's certainly light-hearted and an easy watch. If you need something to fill your time, I would still definitely recommend giving this a try!

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Here goes another drama by the writer of 'Weightlifting Fairy' in my well-rated drama list. This is the very first time as a drama viewer that I picked up a 'Currently Airing' family drama and stuck with it for entire 50 episodes. This drama started of well, got better, got lost for a while and then ended like any other drama. It is not a unique drama but the Song family makes it a delight to watch.

STORY:
What I loved most about this drama was how it focused on fun and less on makjang. There are no crazy birth secrets or illnesses (not that serious anyway). The in-laws are flawed but all the characters grow and become a functional family by the end. You could pick your favourite member or sibling, because all are relatable in their own way. The premise of all siblings getting divorced was a bit weird to me, but they wrapped it up very neatly.

The struggles and emotions were real. It also gave some excellent message for families that fall apart, couples that break-up or in-laws who do not get along. I think there would be at least one plot or character everyone has seen or heard of in real life too.

SUB-PLOTS, ACTING & CHARACTERS:
I have no particular favourite romance plot, but my favourite people were Song mother, Yoon mother-in-law, Ga Hee, Seo Yoon (the eldest brother's daughter) and Jae Seok. These were my favourite characters who kept me most entertained. All the actors did an excellent job of their roles. There was some aspect of myself or my family or my acquaintances that I identified in each story. There were some annoying plots and characters as well but nothing gets too dragged.

OVERALL:
It's a family drama with daily issues. There isn't much to say in my review, but I would say it is worth a watch. It is a nice drama if you are looking for something light to watch because it is less heavier than some of the other dramas I have watched. Just the last 10-12 episodes were low on quality and the ending is a bit random - but at least the major characters received some closure by the end.

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