Always

both MLs are broken on some level, fall in love with FLs by chance encounter, try to find solace in relationship

You'll need a thousand box of tissue. :-) Both are emotion-packed movies.

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Drama
Tags: Visually Impaired Female Lead, Secret, Death, Blindness, Murder, Adapted From A Novel, Orphan Female Lead, Death Of A Mother, Death Of A Father, Investigation

Similarities
- Mr. Gu and Jang Chul Min have similar personalities, and that is the same with Ha Jung Hwa and Yeom Mi Jung.
-Both film/show can be a SLOW burn
-Both stories are focused on the mundane parts of life
Differences
- Ha Jung Hwa is blind and has a positive outlook on life. Jang Chul Min is tired of her mundane life, and is a bit of a nihilist. (Still love her tho)
-My Liberation Notes is focused on family, and Always is focused on romance
-My Liberation Notes has a happier ending than Always
If you like My Liberation Notes, you'll probably enjoys Always and vise versa!!

Both stories center on a relationship where love grows in the shadow of something unspoken, and the connection becomes a rare place of gentleness in an otherwise harsh life. Always shows this through two people who find comfort in each other despite their pasts, while Had I Not Seen the Sun shows it through a girl who discovers a moment of softness in a world that has been anything but. In both, the relationship matters because it’s the first time the character feels safe enough to breathe.

Nao Saeki is happy with her life. She has a great job as a stylist and also has a very sincere and loving fiancé, Kazuya Yuki. But one day, her sister Miho gets caught up in an incident overseas in which she is tragically killed. The shock of Miho's sudden death causes her husband Mitsuhiko to lose his memory. As a result of all that has taken place, Nao has to look after Mitsuhiko and his son Yusuke. At first, Nao is just trying to help the two, but living together and watching Mitsuhiko try to start a new life plants the seeds of a "new emotion" within her heart. It doesn't take long for those feelings to turn into love.
What Nao doesn't know is that her colleague Chihiro Tomita has feelings for Kazuya, as her own feelings waver back and forth between her brother-in-law and fiancé. When Mitsuhiko's memory comes back, the realization that he has lost his wife is more than he can bear - causing him great anguish. Later, Kazuya finds out about Nao's feelings for Mitsuhiko and is torn by jealousy. And as the story reaches its final stage, we learn the real reason behind Miho's death.

Always is similar to Christmas in August less because of the plot and more because of the emotional themes. Both films are about ordinary people who find love at a time when life is about to take it away from them. In Christmas in August, Jung-won quietly faces his terminal illness while falling for Da-rim, knowing their future together is impossible. In Always, Cheol-min falls in love with the blind Jung-hwa and ultimately sacrifices his own happiness and well-being for her future. Both movies emphasize selfless love, where the main character chooses the other person’s happiness over their own desires. They also share a gentle, understated approach to romance, focusing on everyday moments—conversations, small acts of kindness, and quiet companionship—rather than dramatic declarations of love.

The biggest difference is tone. Christmas in August is much more subtle and contemplative, almost like a slice-of-life film about accepting mortality, while Always is more melodramatic and emotional, with action, tragedy, and larger sacrifices. However, if what moved you about Christmas in August was watching two lonely people connect deeply while knowing their time together is limited, then Always captures a very similar feeling of tenderness, loss, and unconditional love. In both films, love is meaningful not because it lasts forever, but because it changes the lives of the people involved.

The same chemistry. Both of their romance touch your heart in a natural, gentle, sweet and deep way.

Both movies have a taciturn lead whose armor gets stripped down by the girl.
Both movies are the story of two jaded people falling in love...

Both movies have the same actress for the female Lead, both deal about a romance story where one of the pair has to deal with a disability/condition.
Always is more dramatic than The Beauty Inside.

No matter where the male lead hide or trying to escape, the female lead will find him.their love were strong. The misfortune of female lead on both movie did not change their destiny. Both male leads in these movie, love the FL heartedly but left her thought for her good. However, fate brought them back together. Long journey and life struggle do them apart, together is the happiness in life

Sato Hokomi is a 29-year-old single woman with a sincere and honest personality. On her presumed wedding day, her boyfriend runs away and they break up. She finds out that her ex-boyfriend was cheating on her. Sato Hokomi decides to avoid men who are trashy and will make her cry. At that time, she meets Kuzuya Kairi, who is kind and friendly. She feels like it is fate to meet him. Kuzuya Kairi works as a photographer by day and a bartender at night. He is a mysterious person, who experienced big trauma in his past. Being influenced by Kairi Kuzuya and also determined that she wants to change herself, Sato Hokomi takes up boxing.

Both movies main male lead are boxer.
Both movie are quite romantic.
Sport related. Tough male lead
There is soft side of tough sport

In both shows the leads are socially awkward outcasts. They also idolize their popular love interest.

No matter where the male lead hide or trying to escape, the female lead will find him.their love were strong. The misfortune of female lead on both movie did not change their destiny. Both male leads in these movie, love the FL heartedly but left her thought for her good. However, fate brought them back together. Long journey and life struggle do them apart, together is the happiness in life