Marriage, Not Dating (2014)

Charming RomCom

This drama was such a roller-coaster of emotions, in the best way possible. There are sweet endearing moments, funny moments, moments that might have made me tear up, enraging moments and overall a feeling of relating to the characters and what they are going through.

It has plenty of romantic comedy tropes, but handled in a good and realistic way, which made the drama feel fresh (despite it already being so old as of the time I have watched it). Both the ML and FL are relatable and they work together so well you can't help but root for them from the very beginning.

I have to say the format the story is told in is very anxiety inducing (there is always a scene that preludes to something at the beginning of each episode) and both the second FL and second ML are so infuriating it was hard to watch without getting angry at them. However, it doesn't take away from the overall sweetness and charm of the show.

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What a refreshing drama this was! Honestly, very funny and quirky!

So start things of, yes, this is a ridiculous drama so people who are interested in serious dramas with a deep meaning should dodge it. I've seen so many comments saying how unrealistic and dumb the plot and the characters are, but this is the whole point of this series - to sit back, relax and enjoy something called "escaping the reality".  First off, the story is kind of like a jumbled up version of both Korean drama and American television cliches: the love-hate relationship, the evil mother, love triangles etc. Somehow, all of these story elements are what make this drama so good and entertaining. Secondly, the characters now to me feel like someone I know already. Not to sound crazy or anything, they feel so real and you actually want to have them in your life. In the first episodes, I didn't really like the female lead, but as the story progressed, I began to see her charms and how talented and pretty the actress is. Also, a huge shout-out to the second lead, who I feel like is so unappreciated.  Damn, Jung Jin Woon is smokin' hot and super talented! I don't get why people didn't like his character. I mean, he was like a supportive friend, a super realistic fling, an obnoxious youngster so he definitely deserves my best character award for this drama! Number three is the music. Honestly, this OST is basically made up of unicorns, candy and rainbow sprinkles - so adorable! The songs made me fuzzy and pumped up inside, hence a great sign of a good drama. And last but not least, would I re-watch it? Hell yeah, with a friend or two!

Overall, an amazing drama that let's you pleasantly enjoy the messed up but fun lives of the heroes in this drama! If you're looking for a com-rom that is a must-see classic, this is it!

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This was oddly addictive

Marriage, not dating, is one of these trash dramas. The story is not very original, the acting average, and the budged rather little. But god, that was addictive. I couldn't stop watching the series and finished it in an unhealthy amount of time.
I think this is mostly due to the cliffhangers in the ending of each episode and the insanely funny story line.

The story:
Joo Jang Mi (Han Groo) is madly in love with her boyfriends she has been dating over a year now and wants to get married. Since her boyfriend Lee Hoon Dong does not show any motion to propose, she decides to do it herself. Lee Hoon Dong owns a restaurant and loves being a playboy. The last thing he wants is getting married, and he wants to break up with his girlfriend. However, he is a sissy, not able to speak up right away and instead of telling Joo Jang Mi that he is not interested any more, he gets his best friend Gong Ki Tae (Yeon Woo Jin) to distract her. Lee Hoon Dong starts ghosting Joo Jang Mi and tells inaccurate stories about her stalking him. Joo Jang Mi first does not understand that her boyfriend broke up with her, because he simply didn't, but as she realizes she gets furious and wants Lee Hoon Dong to act like a grown man. Gong Ki Tae gets over time involved in their fights and ends up making a deal with Joo Jang Mi. Gong Ki Tae also does not want to get married, but his mother pressures him to do so. Joo Jang Mi is supposed to pretend to be his girlfriend and misbehave at her home to terrorize his mother. On the other hand, she gets the chance to make her ex-boyfriend jealous.

The characters:
Joo Jang Mi is your typical poor drama girl who likes to drink, is clumsy and speaks without thinking beforehand, but she was quite likeable.
Gong Ki Tae is a rich plastic surgeon from a good family, rather cold-hearted and bored from life.
Both of course with a childhood trauma. They are making a good pair, tho.
The side characters all evolve around making the main couple "break up". We have the ex-boyfriend, an ex-girlfriend, a second lead and a best friend... that yeah, see yourself :D.

All this sounds pretty generic, but the show has good jokes, funny and heart-warming scenes and many clichés. As a change up, I really loved it, and I will definitely rewatch it sometime. The show had a lot of twists and cliffhangers which will keep you going even if you cringe sometimes.
I recommend it to you if you something light-hearted for in-between. From the vibe it gives you, I would compare it to the heirs, maybe. Not from the storyline or anything, just from the feeling.

If you have further questions, I'm here to answer them :)

What bothered me was that they slept in their street cloth quite often, like eww.

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A wonderful romantic romp like the screwball comedies from Hollywood's heyday.

Before deciding whether to watch this drama, I looked the reviews to see what others thought. I rarely rely on the overall "score" a reviewer gives, and instead focus more on what they actually say about it in their comments. The first two reviews I read started with this: "I think this is one of those dramas where you sit back and say 'Wow, so this is also a way a Korean Drama can be made'." and "Honestly I did not expect anything about this drama, I just randomly clicked the first two episodes and it got me hooked." Honestly, I couldn't agree more with either of them. Marriage, Not Dating is a wonderful romantic romp and is a definite must see.

The excellent fast-paced script reminded me early on of those screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s like You Can't Take It With You and His Girl Friday. The dialog flies by so fast in places that it is almost hard to follow the translation. The many threads of the plot weave in, out, and through each other like commuters in fast traffic, with regular laugh-out-loud fender benders and pileups. But despite the pace and complexity of the story in places, the writer and director somehow manage to keep the story all together and moving. Each episode is told in flashback, with the cliff-hanger presented at the very beginning followed by the details that led up to it. It is a clever plot device (more reliable in places than others) that keeps the viewer guessing and yearning to see more.

The cast is excellent too. Han Groo is absolutely perfect as the loveable, well-intentioned Jang Mi who, despite her propensity for calamity, manages to make the lives brighter of everyone around her. Yeon Woo Jin as Ki Tae offers the perfect foil for Jang Mi. The walls he's built up around his life and his heart prove to be no match for the whirlwind Jang Mi after he convinces her to enter into a contract relationship to stave off an arranged marriage at the hands of his domineering mother, wonderfully played by Kim Hae Sook. (Have you ever watched a show with performance so good that you simply could not imagine any other actor playing it? Kim Hae Sook as Gi Tae's mom would be Exhibit A.)

This is an excellent and very entertaining show, and one that I look forward to rewatching.

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I really enjoyed this drama!

The script was nice, with a variety of characters, who had a believable development through the episodes. I also really liked the small plot twists that occurred at almost every episode. It was fun and easy to watch. (In the first episodes I thought some behaviors were quite unreasonable, but as the series developed everything manage to find their way)

The main couple had chemistry and quite a lot of skinship, and the other couples were interesting to watch.

I was also pleasantly surprised with the acting… Especially with Jin Woon and Han Sun Hwa, as their main occupation is singing and I have been unsatisfied with kpop idols and their acting skills in the past. But here everyone was above the average for sure.

The music was nothing special, in my opinion, and there were also some sound effects, that again weren’t my style but I didn’t find them annoying or anything…

The only thing left for me to say is that I recommend watching it :P

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The most complicated love triangle is between a mother and her son, and his girlfriend.

I really enjoyed this drama,
The story is nothing new in Dramaland but it's done in a refreshing way, the angst is super minimal and the second leads though quite irritating at some point, soon fade into nothingness.

I love the casting of the main leads, the OTP is perfection, the evolution of their relationship feels real and when we get to the end of the drama I felt their happy ending was so well earned. they portray a mature and realistic relationship and one of the best things about this drama is that nobody had to get a major personality transplant in order to earn their happy ending, instead each character evolved into a better version of themselves.

The best part about this drama is that it's not just a love story between two people but also between their families; family takes centre stage and it is heartwarming to see how two families gradually let go of their preconceived ideas and come together in understanding and togetherness.

The soundtrack is very well selected and the music does a perfect job of enhancing the story as opposed to distracting from it. The music is quirky and fun.

This drama is definitely worth watching, please give it a go.

PS: I've rewatched this drama countless times, and the more I watch it, the more I love it so I've upgraded its rating to 10 out of 10!

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This is another tvN drama that I've watched which leave a delighful feeling on me. I know there are still cliches here and there but I can forgive them because of the interesting plot and entertaining characters.

I like the female lead, Jang Mi, who'd like to marry someone meanwhile the male lead, Gi Tae, wants to stay single. At first I think the marriage scheme would so boring because this is not the first time when k-drama tells this theme. But after some episodes, I know this is different.

And I especially love the ending. It's kind of happy ending but not in oh-so-perfect-everyone-so-happy.

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Not the usual K-drama

This drama is actually really hilarious. At first it was weird, where the ML+FL relationship was kind of convoluted whereby the FL is fake dating the ML - after gotten dumped by her ex-boyfriend (who refused to get married) - and also going out with the handsome waiter (ML is okay with her dating others); the handsome waiter worked at her ex-boyfriend's cafe; the ML is the best friend of her ex-boyfriend and her ex-boyfriend is trying to get her back, while ex-BF is dating the ML's best friend. And then there is the ex-GF of the ML, who is trying to get pregnant without marriage; she is always around trying to break up the ML + FL relationship.
The ML is asking the FL to be his fake girlfriend in order to stop his domineering mother from pressuring him to get married, and he made a deal with his mother that if she cannot accept the woman he loves, she cannot make him marry others and must give her apartment to him permanent. He knows that his strict mother will never accept the FL as his girlfriend and future wife, because the FL is not the cheebol rich high-class elegant kind of girlfriend. However, in the end, the ML did fall in love with the FL because she is different, exciting and really interesting.
I actually like the ML and FL because they have great chemistry together and their silly constant bickering, hate-like relationship, and funny situations they ended up in. I actually had to rewatch it 2x before I find myself liking the drama. I like the part where the FL trashed the offering trays of the ML's dead father because his extended family dissed and insulted her "low class" parents and status. ... LOL.....
I recommend watching this drama with open mind and just looking for something light and funny to fill your time.

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Refreshing Rom-Com

Having found the drama by accident, I started watching Marriage, Not Dating without any expectations. Maybe it was because of those low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by the drama.

Story: The story was chock-full of cliches, yet the writers managed to make it so refreshing. In most rom-com dramas 90% of the story is so predictable, but in this one, even with all the cliches, the drama was full of twists and turns and managed to write the cliche storyline with surprising plot twists. Marriage, Not Dating was a refreshing story full of all the kdrama cliches we're used to.

Characters/Acting: The acting in this drama was just amazing. I've never cheered and rooted for the main couple this so much. Han Groo managed to perfectly portray the funny, quirky, and cute sides of her character. Yeon Woo Jin beautifully acted his character who had a painful life. And together they were one of the cutest couples I've ever seen. Even though Jung Jin Woon and Han Sun Hwa didn't really appeal to me, I don't think the writers meant for them to do so. I think they were made to be unappealing so we viewers would root so much more for the main couple. Not only that, Heo Jung Min and Yoon So Hee were so great that they made me forget the less than appealing second leads.

Music: Though there wasn't a very memorable song, the reason I gave it a 9 was because of the amazing sound effects that enhanced every scene, making every funny scene so much funnier. Overall, every song and every sound effect match each scene perfectly.

Rewatch Value: I don't know if I'll rewatch this drama, but it was funny and cute enough to maybe rewatch it so I gave it an 8.

Overall: If you like rom-com and easy-to-watch dramas that make you laugh at one moment and cry at another or dramas that have refreshing plots, you will love Marriage, Not Dating.

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