Comforting

Ah, this was such a nice drama. I really liked the visual representation of the different mental illnesses: how panic disorder can feel like drowning, or social anxiety making you feel watched and trapped in a box at the same time. How depression can feel dark and lonely, and like you’re moving in quicksand, slowly drowning. I loved Go Yoon’s patience and overall sweet and goofy personality a lot, but also Da Eun’s friendship with Yu Chan. The bond shared by the nurses was also so heartwarming, it was really nice to see how they have each other’s back without prejudice. It was also super interesting to see Da Eun becoming a patient herself, being in denial about her illness, but also getting back on her feet thanks to her strong support system. The show felt very comforting despite the heavy subject matter, I had a great time watching it!??

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Cute show!

This was a fun and light-hearted, not too serious show – I really liked it. I liked how the female lead matured over the show, but she didn’t entirely lose her playful side either. KYD has proven again that his comedic timing is really good, he also plays the infatuated simp really well. Deeper, more emotional scenes are sometimes a little eh from his part, but I enjoyed the overall chemistry he had with the female lead as well as his general performance in the drama. The ending was also super satisfying – the bad guys were sufficiently punished and the main couple got to be happy! All in all, cute watch with the right length!?

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Okay, but nothing more

This was okay. I wish romcoms were still romcoms though. Who thought it was a good idea to add TWO unnecessary antagonist sub-plots into the show? So dumb, to be honest – I just skipped them??. The old lady had one-sided beef because the male lead didn’t want her to be his sugar mommy?? And the other dude was some anti-fan?? Don’t even ask, I skipped all that. The secondary couples, and romance in general, were super cute though. In my opinion, Kim Young Dae shined well in this show. He had good comedic timing and his chemistry with Lee Sung Kyung was also great. He was a lot more expressive here than he was in “Moon in the Day” (granted, those shows have … nothing in common really lmao). We could have all lived without the Africa storyline though… right? They represented a CONTINENT as some kind of entity (country) that needs saving as a whole from… a South Korean actor?? Weird. This was really… not needed at all (also, what was that yellow filter?? that’s like American shows putting a yellow filter to show that they’re in Mexico… who told the director/editors that this was the way to go??). The romance and comedy were cute enough, but I’m sure that there are better (and more consistent) shows out there.?

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Cute!

Giving this show a cute 7 stars because Ying Luo made me cry at the end. She didn't want to let go of her daughter?? Anyway, this was not as sharp as the parent story, and the plot and characters felt quite juvenile - no surprise since the characters are younger -, but this was nonetheless nice. I think I enjoyed this even more because I loved SOYP so much, it's literally my Roman Empire; saying goodbye to Ying Luo and co for a second time is just cruel. Her scenes ate as always, she literally mothered. I loved that we got to see her playful and scheming side, and how she let Zhao Hua do her own things after gently getting her on the right track. The story itself is honestly kind of crazy (ha!), but it's a cute little 6-episode show that won't hurt you. It's nothing extraordinary, but it delivers nice sets, costumes, decent acting, nice music and a dash of madness. Overall, cute show with some of my favorite characters?.

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Utterly destroyed

I actually died with them. Yes, I did. I am utterly destroyed and can only feel agony, my head hurts. This was absolutely amazing. I liked how this show gave us different angles on how each character questions their own identity and nationality, where they belong to or not. I loved how Ae Sin represented Korea, and how Hui Seong, Eugene and Dong Mae stood for the different relationships they have with their country. The cinematography, OST, acting – it was all so splendid and rich, an absolute delight to watch this show. The simple, quiet things between Eugene and Ae Sin, how their actions spoke louder than words. Their relationship was always at its best when it was just the two, enjoying mundane things. Sometimes, the show could be a little slow, and I also didn’t quite understand Kudo Hina as a character to be honest. But overall, this was amazing. But I still have a headache…

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Finding your own happiness

Kang Ji Won taking her revenge, growing and finding her own peace and happiness is all very dear to me. Her character was just so wonderful and wholesome, I am so happy she found her happiness and took back control of her own life. This show was really good from start to finish, even if episode 12 was maybe a little rough for our couple – I didn’t care and it wasn’t even as bad as people said, honestly, some were incredibly dramatic lmao.

Ji Won finding two new girl-friends was just so pure and beautiful, and all three of them being happy in the end fulfilled me too! I wish we would have gotten more of Eun Ho x Hee Yeon and Mr. Lee x Mrs. Yang because they were all so cute in their own way, but the show didn’t give them as much room ?. I also think that BoA is not very suitable as an actress for this role, her acting was really bland compared to Song Ha Yoon and Park Min Young, who acted like rent was due. Overall, very satisfied with this show, I am happy to know that it was successful and that we got the most beautiful K-Drama wedding ever!❣️

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This rant is from a couple weeks ago lol, anyway:

One thing that has bothered me a lot while reading the comments on this page, is that people seem to be too focused on the "taking revenge" part of the story. In my opinion this show isn't about revenge, it's about self-discovery and self-growth. It's about finding peace, and getting rid of something that has ruined you before but that you won't let define you this time. In her previous life, Ji Won put herself last, not even second or third, but last. She was never her own priority, people walked all over her, she got sick and then she was accidentally killed (but how much longer until MH and SM actually killed her?). In her second life she gets a new chance. She gets to get rid of SM and MH, yes, but she also gets to change her appearance, she gets to learn and do new things, she gets to enjoy life, she gets to meet new people who truly appreciate her, she gets to find her inner peace without needing anyone's apology in order to get it.

Her newly found self isn't perfect, and we see how it's a slow progress because she was abused (twice) after all. People complaining why she didn't leave MH once she travelled back are so... annoying? Are you watching the show? Do you understand the characters? SM is a scumbag because she likes taking things and people away from Ji Won. It happened with Eun Ho in highschool and it happened again when she stole her "other half's" husband. If MH isn't Ji Won's, there is no fun is stealing him from Ji Won. Because THAT is the catch. SM is truly a deranged and nasty woman because she does everything in her power to isolate JW from anyone so that she is the only person ever (which is, surprise, pretty abusive).

Ji Won is playing mind games, planting insecurity and at the same time a sense of superiority into SM and MH's minds. They THINK she has no idea, but of course she does. That's the whole plan. Ji Won is not a weak woman here, she's a victim of abuse - several kinds of abuse actually: domestic, emotional, physical. Like, she's BEEN through it. And you want her to be normal about it? Do you think she's healed in 2 seconds just because she took revenge and found a decent man? You don't heal from stuff like this that quickly. Sometimes, it comes back. And we get to see that from time to time.

That's it, anyway, the show is great. I like the visuals and the acting as well as the OST! The cinematography is also great, especially in E11 when JW and JH went to the beach ?? I'll go more in depth once the show is over.

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A FEAST

A feast for my eyes, a 5-course meal, a visual experience. The acting, the sets, hair and make-up, the costumes, the colors/atmosphere, the characters, the fight scenes, the cinematography, the music, the CGI!!!!! Everything was visually SO pleasing. What a stunner! I saw this was made by the same director as “My Journey to You”, so I expected greatness, and I got greatness. If censorship wasn’t real, they would have kissed by the way. Also, Shou Ye served massive cunt as a snake, I’m sorry, it had to be said. Now, if only Deng Lun had paid his taxes… We will never see the sequel? I need this visual feast again…!!!!

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comforting and depressing

“You missed me too much. So, it was your imagination.”

When grandpa called his wife Xiao Xiao… but his wife isn’t Xiao Xiao…

Grandpa’s letter… I almost made it through the whole movie without crying, but then the letter came… I’m very upset now.

This was beautiful yet heartbreaking and the actors played their characters so naturally and masterfully. Time moved so quickly while watching this movie, which means a lot in my book because I'm not a movie person at all. This felt comforting and depressing at the same time, and I liked how his game was represented in the present timeline. The scenes were in black and white because they didn't end up together. I guess the end becoming colorful meant they found peace in their breakup because their love for each other still persisted even if they aren't together? Whatever it is, this movie was beautiful, but I will NOT watch it again??

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Uhhhh finally finished this show and it was so much fun. I started this all the way back in April and never continued buuuuut I'm watching >My Dearest< right now, and waiting for new episodes every week is excruciating to say the least. Therefore, I decided to pick up this show again since it also stars Namkoong Min and what can I say: This man is a gem on screen. This show as a silly little treat to be honest, and I did not expect to cry at all ... but I did lmao. His backstory is quite sad but I really liked the way they introduced it to us. I loved the fashion in this show as well as the acting, it was over the top but very fitting and I loved the chemistry between everyone! I also loved Lee Je Hoon's little cameo with the >Taxi Driver< OST haha! Can't wait to see Namkoong Min in season 2 of that show since he made a cameo there - bless their friendship. The last couple of episodes were really good even though I found the one where Mu Jang got scammed a bit *too* goofy, it served much more as a plot device but to be honest it was still super funny and the show made me genuinely laugh out loud many times.

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Gripping and intense

I finally found the time to watch the show, and wow. This was intense but so good! It's only six episodes, so it can be watched in one go, or at least very quickly, but the subject matter is heavy and it stays on your mind for a while. The acting performances were astounding, especially Koo Kyo Hwan and Jo Hyun Chul impressed me a LOT. This show shows how harsh and abusive the Korean military is (can be), how normalized bullying, harassment and physical/emotional abuse is, and how everyone takes advantage of their superiority in rank. Hierarchy always played a big part in why the system didn't get broken and the victims kept on suffering. The last 10 minutes really got to me... I was thinking "Either Seok Bong will get killed, or he will commit suicide", and the latter happened. Maybe shows like "The Glory" have already portrayed gruesome abuse and bullying cases that what was shown in "D.P." didn't shock me too much, but the scene when Seok Bong was surrounded by the SDT really made me shed some tears. Because in the end, the military will just bury his death and make him the problem and culprit to save face. Overall, the show is gripping and intense, but I really liked it. Buuut I will watch something lighthearted before starting season 2, but I am excited to see what challenged Jun Ho and Ho Yul will face together. I quite liked the trio of the two soldiers with Bum Goo, an unlikely group of guys.

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Some infuriating relationships but overall a sweet "older" drama

This was my second "older" kdrama after "Boys Over Flowers", and I have to say this aged rather well in comparison. The acting from all of the actors was convincing and touching, the story progressive for its time and the execution was good too.

What I liked:

- As I said, the acting was good. It felt natural, everyone had great chemistry with each other and the interactions were very fun. Yoon Eun Hye did a really good job playing a girl pretending to be a boy and Gong Yoo was very fun as Han Gyul too, even though his character could be a little mean sometimes.
- While I don't have a standout song from the OST, I find the music perfectly fitting for the series. It was feel-good vibes and very chill, perfect to be played in the background!
- The romance was nice too. We got some nice kiss scenes, the intimacy felt natural and the main couple looked very very pretty together. It was nice seeing Han Gyul accept his own feelings after struggling for such a long time, he fully embraced them and was ready to just openly love Eun Chan. Even after he found out and they made up, both of them were so perfectly in tune with their feelings, which I really loved seeing.
- Eun Chan's relationship with her little sister. While Eun Sae is a more of a girly girl, I loved how she didn't make fun of her older sister for being the opposite. I liked how both girls could openly talk about boys, love and their feelings. This showed that Eun Chan may "look" like a boy, but at heart, she's just as girly as her sister and capable of having a crush and daydreaming. I also liked that Eun Sae hat Eun Chan's back and never threatened to expose the big secret. I don't know why... I did not expect the sisters to be rivals, but it was nonetheless nice to see their sisterly bond.

What I didn't like:

- Yoo Joo. This woman was so confusing. I feel like she treated her relationship with Han Sung like an experiment, especially in the last couple of episodes. What do you mean you want to "try out" marriage and then just get divorced if it doesn't work out? She said that while pregnant...?? It seems that she had a miscarriage in the end and that the couple wasn't able to have kids, but it is nonetheless to messed up in my opinion. To make your kid a child of divorce just because.... Also, her not seeing the problem with staying up all night with a bunch of dudes, DRINKING after JUST getting married and finding out you're PREGNANT? Oh, but Han Sung was the bad guy for trying to hold her accountable that she was not taking care of herself properly?? I also did not like the way she literally threw away a 9-year relationship (after cheating for one year during it) because her feelings are so fleeting or whatever... only to break up with that guy two years later and crawl back to Han Sung. AND HE LET HER?! THEN she was mad that his world did not revolve around her anymore because he had this temporary crush on Eun Chan. I don't know if I missed that part, but when Han Sung kissed Eun Chan, she said that he "cheated" on her. Girl, did you ever bother putting a label on your relationship, or communicating your needs to the man? She was jealous while still having contact to her ex-boyfriend whom she left Han Sung for. The audacity I swear to God. Telling Han Sung that he has a victim complex when hers is even bigger?! I also did not like how Han Gyul said that she kept their relationship purely friendly but... that is not true in the slightest. She never drew the line with him. "Hey, I'm you cousin's girlfriend, please stop coming over and flirting with me. It's not okay", THAT is what she should have said. Instead, she was basically enabling his crush on her, calling it friendship or whatever. I think she really liked having the attention, but girl, don't get mad when your "man" (Han Sung) is doing the same then.

- Han Gyul flirting with his cousin's girlfriend and having an active crush for almost a decade? Get some distance, man. Him kissing Eun Chan against her consent in episode 11 was unsettling to watch, and I hate how the writer made him apologize for the wrong reason. "Sorry for what I said. I said something to hurt you on purpose"... he should have apologized for forcing himself on her, she was literally fighting him off :(

- Grandma was a bit of a misogynist. I don't know who the "harlot" was she kept referring to in the early episodes, but that was just mean lmao. She was also always mean and yelling like damn, calm down. I also don't know how many times everyone had to repeat that Eun Chan might be poor, but also independent only for grandma to say "I worked hard my whole life to be where I am, just like you"... girly, did you need to be told Eun Chan is dirt poor 10x before getting it??

- Sun Gi was a glorified stalker lmao... Kim Jae Work looked beautiful though!

- The conflictS between Eun Chan and Han Gyul in the last 3 episodes were dragged out a little, I would have loved to see them more like a couple instead of them running in circles and always fighting.

- Eun Sae and the mom: Eun Sae was a big brat to Min Yeop, who was just a doormat :( Just like Ha Rim said: she isn't playing hard to get. She was mean and bullying the poor guy just because had a big phat crush on her. The mom not having ANY working experience is wild because she basically let her 16-y-o daughter carry the burden of earning money with crappy jobs and then has the audacity (granted, that was only in like the first episode) to spend that money on shoes she doesn't need lmao. Eun Chan had to give up so much of her youth and in all those years the woman never seemed to have tried to get some job, idk... didn't sit right with me. She was a sweet mother and woman but this particular thing was a little annoying.

Overall, this may be an older drama, but I think it holds up well today. The romance is cute, the characters have flaws but they feel real and the chemistry between everyone felt very real and natural. I had a good time watching the drama :)

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I have literally no thoughts… This was good and made me cry here and there, but I think I prefer other slice of life/slow burn shows more ("My Liberation Notes" for example). I loved the male lead, he was such a soft sweetheart (and his eyes, THE prettiest brown, especially in the sun), the female lead could be a little dull in my opinion. I also really enjoyed Lee Jae Wook's character, it kind of reminded me of a modern version of Jang Uk from "Alchemy of Souls" *sigh*. I found myself skipping a lot in the last couple of episode because I got impatient to finish it, but I did not feel like I missed anything significant to be honest! Overall, a good show that shows that my girl PMY can do more than fun rom-coms with some nice cinematography!

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Ahhh... this was nice. "Summer Strike" gave me the same vibes as "Hometown Cha Cha Cha" and "My Liberation Notes" at times, I really like these small-town stories set at the seaside, they are so calming.

I loved our two introverts, they were so calming and understanding of each other, and I love how we still got some funny scenes of them together, capturing some awkwardness! I also really enjoyed the music and most of the characters. The second female lead got on my last nerve from the very beginning, I did not like her. The way she was pushing Dae Beom into academics without even knowing the consequences, or judging Yeo Reum for calling him "Dae Beom-ssi" instead of Mr. Librarian was just super annoying. Just because she's been friends with him since forever, she thinks she can make decisions for him or judge his relationship with the female lead?? At times, she seemed more like his mom than a friend (in love). I also never warmed up to Geun Ho's mom, I found her terrible. "Countryside attitude" - these countryside people were bullying a young woman for no reason (or rather for something that was not her fault.... did they want her to be homeless??). Their so-called attitude was just bad behavior and rudeness, nothing else.

I liked the simplicity of the lead's day-to-day encounters, and how committed Dae Beom was to Yeo Reum: knowing when she comes to the library each day, coming for her when he hears that something happened, leaving Seoul to come back to Angok etc. Their relationship didn't need much but I feel their bond was so strong and I like to believe that at one point they got married and moved in together lmao. I also did not mind the turn of events in the last episodes, some people thought it was unnecessary but I think it was fine.

Overall, a really nice little show!

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What a show. Overall, I loved the complexity and flaws of the characters, the OST, the cinematography and whatever filter they used (it made the show look so pretty haha). The relationship of the leads is a true slow burn if I've ever seen one and at times a rollercoaster of emotions.

It took me a very long time to figure out the male lead, and I am actually happy the writers made Zhu Yun describe him because he truly is one of a kind. In a way, he had all the bad things that happened coming for him. He had a tough life, but his strict and cold treatment of others lead to those people disliking him.

Although Gao Jian Hong (GJH) went too far in my opinion. He turned into a monster by the time we came back to the present time, corrupted by money, greed and his hatred for Li Xun. On the one hand, I understand him. The way he was treated wasn't very kind. He had to give up things, he was the second choice and humiliated, but at the same time... that's what life is (or can be) like. Like my mom says: it doesn't matter that you were the best at something where you come from. Once you enter a new stage in life, e.g. college, you will see that there are so many people that are just as good as you, or in Li Xun's case, even better. The thing is... Li Xun was nonchalant about his talent; arrogant and stubborn, cocky and a show-off. Of course people would feel bad, annoyed, and defeated . On the other hand, how many hits did it take until he finally would have stopped? Gao Jian Hong put Li Xun in jail, took his company, changed the company's entire direction, cheated other companies, tried to ruin Li Xun, ... the list goes on. His thirst for revenge went as far as disregarding his health and not caring about his imminent death. I do think it's a bit meh they went that route to be honest, to have him nearly die for everyone to realize that they have strayed far, far away from one another. The eternal trio was no more, instead they were enemies. But whatever, it worked out in the end I guess.

Another thing that bothered me was Xu Li Na. This was woman was shameless; she met Li Xun once over a weekend and POOF she was in love ?? and has the audacity to say she doesn't like Zhu Yun, like girl. This ... isn't it. The leads were loyal to one another by that time, and had obvious crushes and she really thinks she has a chance. And continues to think to a certain point that she still has a chance after Li Xun is out of prison... be so for real. At least she stayed with GJH after his surgery, in a way they kind of deserved each other ...

I don't have the energy to talk about the parents. Zhu Yun's mom can catch my hands.

Lastly, Zhu Yun should have let Li Xun grovel so much more. He should have been on his knees and apologize for the way he hurt her. He literally emotionally damaged her, the way she blamed herself and fell into a deep depression, relying on medication for years because of him ... I know why he did what he did but damn there could have been better ways to do it without hurting her like that. Their relationship in the last couple of episodes was really cute though. Him teasing her lightheartedly was sweet and it should have always been like that. The development of their relationship is slow and complex, which I liked but it really was an up and down.

From rivals, to tolerating each other, to slowly working and understanding each other, to kinda friends, to friends with tight loyalty, to crushes, to lovers, to exes, to strangers, to slowly approaching each other, to another bump in their relationship, to appraoching each other once again, to crushes, to lovers - like WOW. At least, in the end, Zhu Yun finally spoke against her wicked mother in her and Li Xun's defense. That woman was so narrow-minded agh.

Anyway, this show was great overall though. As I said above, the OST, for one, was STUNNING. Always stuck in my head, beautiful melodies and voices, always played at the right moment, it was simply perfect. The leads in the show are quite young (99/00 liner like wow), but so talented. Chen Fei Yu had some good comedic timing and Zhang Jing Yi particularly nailed crying scenes (especially the one in ep. 31), she is also simply sssstunning to be honest (like on top of her great acting). The chemistry between the leads was really great, felt like I could have grabbed it. Also, their hugs looked so comfortable ...
The cinematography was great as well and the overall quality of the drama felt very high! All in all, thumbs up! :)

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