An uplifting and positive story throughout, one of my favourite aspects of this story is how the ML and FL first become genuinely good friends without any pretense towards romance, it was fun to watch them being completely themselves around each other, playfully kicking each other or all those other things that you do with your mates but probably not with your boy or girlfriend.
Kim Bok Joo is a very talented weight lifter and one of the storylines is following her progression through and beyond university. There's less focus on the ML's sporting career which is reasonable - his name isn't even in the title at all :) But he does have his own story to tell.
Actually the ML's story was the one I felt had the least well executed conclusion, he gets a kind of blackout when he's about to launch to the pool in competitions and it has caused him lots of problems with late starts or early starts and disqualifications. He seeks psychiatric help and then just one day without any kind of revelation, it's just not there anymore, it just goes away. I was really hoping to see some kind of attack start, and then dissipate (perhaps on seeing Kim Bok Joo in the crowd) and that then be the transition to a better life, but it didn't work out that way. Not a huge deal but just something I was waiting for that didn't feel satisfying enough.
I loved the characters in this and the way the trio of girls acted together was fantastic, including their "Swaaaaaag" expressions. The chemistry among friends was spot on, and the later chemistry among the two leads was right on too.
It was really interesting to see this sport covered too, usually it'd be one of the more mainstream ones like running, swimming and that kind of thing - but seeing the weight lifting side of things was really interesting for a change and does give a small insight into the challenges that these athletes face in contrast to many other sports.
There's no bad bits, there's no stupid breakups, there are some tough topics covered including one of the gymnasts having her own serious issues that are then dealt with, but overall this one is just light, fluffy and wonderful!
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This review may contain spoilers
One of My Ver Favorite Romances
0/10 is my rating on this one. This was a 2016/2017 South Korean television drama that ran for 16 episodes (~60 minutes/episode). The female lead character, Kim Bok-joo (Lee Sung-kyung) is a weightlifter and Olympic hopeful. She suffers the discrimination of a child with a larger figure in a setting where being svelte is prized. The weightlifters tend to stick together and socialize mainly within their group even more so than other athletes. She is strong and relatively tall for a woman and is often viewed and treated as something other than feminine. She professes no interest in dating and her focus is mostly on her sport. The male lead character, Jung Joon-hyung is a swimmer who also aspires to medal but has a serious handicap in that the stress of the start causes panic or migraine like symptoms that have caused him to make critical mistakes and ultimately lose races. Bok-joo and Sung-kyung's paths cross by happenstance and they slowly discover that they knew each other in grade school and had a friendly relationship.Spoiler 🚨 I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful romantic comedy. Some of the scenes had myself and those I was watching it laughing. It is very lighthearted yet does give you a slice of life look at sports college life. The characters are well developed and you grow to know and like the majority and root for their success.
This is at the top of my watch list. The title threw me as many titles of Asian dramas do I thought it might be silly. It isn't silly in that way at all more comical and amusing at times but in the best of ways.
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Combination of romance and comedy
Good drama for beginners 🤞♥️The cast of the drama performed very nicely and their efforts to make audience nostalgic are appreciabl.
This drama also put some light on the difficulties and challenges faced by the athletes in their journey to achive something. Also highlights the role of our mentors in the passage of success.
Through this drama we came to know about what kind of thought and feeling an athlete such as a weightlifter have .
It also highlights the role of our family and gaurdian, they are the one support us from back stage weather it is financially or emotionally. The athletes should always be encouraged to push their limits and should maintain friendly relations with their colleagues
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I wish he didn't call Kim Bok-Joo "fatty" all the time, though, especially when she was trying to lose weight. I love his goofy character most of the time, but I thought that was a bit too mean. No insults about physical appearance. I loved that he was absolutely smitten from the start, though. He had it bad and he didn't even deny it. He was just considerate and happy and sweet to her all the time and just genuinely adored her. She didn't realize it as soon, which I thought was realistic, too, since all she knew was that she liked being around him. I loved that she came to the realization more that she never wanted to be away from him, more than just the physical romance side of things, y'know? But yeah, I loved the absolute pure joy and comfort they found with each other and how they showed their love. You never forgot that they respected each other, either, because they would always be selfless to each other, and I loved that Kim Bok-Joo made him want to be a lot more selfless and caring to her. I loved that he thought of her as a girl and wanted to treat her as such, too. Goodness gracious, I just can't give enough praise to this show!
Fluff factor: so sweet it could give you a cavity
Overall, I really enjoyed the fluffiness and lightheartedness of the show! And I'm always a sucker for fluff. I liked the acting well enough, and I absolutely loved all of Jung Joon-hyung's lovesick faces. I just can't emphasize how good he was at being so super smitten! 10/10 will probably rewatch like 8 times
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One of the best and cutest kdramas out there
It's honestly embarrassing how many times I have watched and re-watched this show; the actors are amazing and their haters to lovers plot is executed so well. They have great chemistry and they really do just feel like two university students which I think a lot of kdramas can exaggerate sometimes. This drama came out in 2016 but nearly everyone I ask that is into kdramas has watched it and loved it. Simply put, its a really comforting show to watch and they deal with some difficult topics as well.I think my favourite part about the show is that Kim Bok Joo never has a "glow-up" moment where she miraculously becomes this gorgeous girl but she just is herself throughout the entire show and she is loved for that. A lot of other kdramas can't say the same.
Be warned, you will want a significant other after watching this.
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i loved it but you may not
this kdrama has remained a comfort show of mine for a while and i love it with my whole heart. however if you have watched a lot of kdramas before, you probably wont find this that special and i agree that it can seem majorly overrated to some. the demographic for this show is definitely young people and teenagers so keep that in mind (not that older people cant enjoy this ofc)Firstly, the plot was not bad imo but kind of messy looking back on it. For example, I feel like the whole clinic thing with the ML's brother was too much and they could've presented her unrequited love in a much simpler and less time consuming way because it took up a large part of the plot, becoming an obstacle later. I wish they would've added more depth to the idea of them being athletes and have the plot be more focused on uni. But just because the story was objectively a bit 'bad' doesnt make it any less enjoyable for me on the whole apart from deducting points from rewatch value
Secondly, the romance was super sweet, cheesy and comforting hence having great rewatch value and being a comfort show of mine. Im sure it isnt for everyone but it is for me! so if that sounds like something you'd like, give it a go. also the ML was such a good character, i love him.
So do i recommend wfkbj? probably yes. But if you are older, have tons of kdramas under your belt or prefer a very well written plot, dont be surprised if you dont get the hype.
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a highly overrated drama
i started this drama with high hopes, i was happy and at first i did enjoy it. when episode 9 started i got a little bit bored and by episode 11 i couldn't take it anymore. the only reason why i made it to episode 12 was because joonhyung was my favourite character, he was really cute and funny but i didn't enjoy a lot of things of this drama, which was why i dropped it.one of the things that i hated about it was the mention of eating disorders and the way bokjoo and her team talked about the other girls and the other girls talked about them, body shaming each other constantly, which in my opinion it was really uncomfortable and weird. it is good that topics like these are mentioned in dramas but it was way too much, specially for someone who is in recovery of an eating disorder, it was really hard to watch. connecting with this, i will now talk about joonhyung's ex, she was the most annoying character and i hated her a lot. i felt like there were a lot of things that were added unnecessarily.
the cast was great tho and it sure did have a lot of cute scenes, i think thats the main reason why people like this drama so much but i dont think its worth watching.
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Ridiculous and cartoonish acting destroyed a cute story
This show was so painful to watch. It could've been cute, and there were a lot of elements that I liked, but GOD. THE ACTING!!! The acting was so annoying that it made me drop the show. I gave up.~~The Worst Part: the Acting~~
Most characters were incredibly annoying. They yelled, stomped around, flailed their arms, made ridiculous faces.... And I'd be okay with that, if it happened occasionally. But no. They do it ALL. THE. TIME.
Literally. The FL is always pouting and making "funny eyebrow faces". She's gorgeous, but I've never been so annoyed looking at someone's face. She pouts while eating. She pouts while walking. She pouts when she's happy, sad, surprised. Sometimes people are telling her serious and important stuff, and everyone is reacting appropriately, and then it pans to the FL and BOOM. *Funny eyebrow pouty face.* It's RIDICULOUS and so infuriating to watch.
Most side characters are like this too. FL's friends, their coach, ML's best friend... All of them were constantly screaming and flailing and being annoying. It was supposed to be funny, but it was literally just obnoxious. I could not take any of them seriously because they were too over-the-top and cartoonish. It felt like I was watching a show aimed at toddlers ages 4 and below.
The only decently acted characters were the ML and his brother and ex-girlfriend. I didn't care much about any of them (and I actually disliked the ex) but at least they were 3-dimensional characters that acted like real human beings and not Troom-Troom actors who need to exaggerate, yell and overact everything in order to make toddlers laugh.
~~Other Things I Didn't Like~~
- There's a lot of "telling" instead of "showing". I hate how they always say out loud everything that they're feeling or thinking. Instead of conveying their emotions or letting the audience pick up on what they're thinking, the characters will just be alone and then start stating all of their thoughts out loud. It's so unnatural, and also really lazy.
- The characters were sooooo childish. Not just because of the cartoonish, ridiculous acting, but also because of the things they did. They're constantly nagging each other and act like children, when they're literally GROWN ADULTS IN THEIR 20S!!! Examples:
---- FL thinks ML stole her clothes. He could've just said "Oh, someone just ran by, must've been him you were running after, he went that way." and their stupid rivalry would've been over.
---- ML always calling FL "chubby" despite knowing she doesn't like it??
---- ML steals FL's tray in the cafeteria and then they just start screaming as she tries to get her food back???? My guy you're a GROWN MAN.
---- FL is in her 20s and lies about everything in order to impress a guy. Like..... you really think that will work? Are you 10?
---- The FL grabbed the ML's head and sneezed on his face to make him sick?? WTF? Are you a child??
~~Things I Liked~~
- The slow burn. I appreciate when a romance isn't "love at 1st sight". It's much better and realistic.
- The cinematography (but then again, most kdramas look pretty to me, so that ain't saying much)
- As I already mentioned, the ML, his brother and his ex were decently acted (unlike every other character lol). I didn't love their characters though.... :/
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I almost didn't watch this drama. I don't like sports-themed dramas, so I was like "meh." But, after watching Goblin, I was searching high and low for a well-recommended drama to watch, and there were so many good recommendations for this one.
I'm so glad I finally did watch it! The story is well written and the cast is amazing. The sports theme tied into the drama as a whole, working with people and relationships, and how their lives interact with each other.
I couldn't stop watching this drama, but yet I waited a couple days to finish the last episode...why? Because I didn't want it to end! It was so heartwarming. I cared about each and every character and their relationships with each other. There was perhaps one episode where I felt they were stretching the storyline a little thin because it's 16 episodes, but it wasn't overly frustrating. By the time the last episode rolled around, I wanted MORE than 16 episodes.
So, if you like romance, friendships, family, with a little bit of school and sports thrown in, don't hesitate, START WATCHING!
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The story was not a drag. It was real. The main leads started as friends and you can see all through out how they fell in love. It tackles LOVE, not just romantically, but love for family, friends, colleagues, sports and food (yes, you read that right). Psychological issues are also tackled here, making the story well-rounded. It was heartwarming. Not angsty not really a 'drama', but I cried tons because it is so lovely and I literally loved the characters.
Bok Joo of course is the star of the show. She was a strong independent woman, but some scenes showed she needed someone too. Lee Sung Kyung played it really well. I read an article stating that many turned down this role since they needed to add more weight and I am happy LSK accepted this. I can never see bok joo as not LSK. I loved bok joo's innocence over everything and as she experienced first love. First love can be painful sometimes. Same for bok joo - experiencing first love means experiencing first heartache. She cried 'real' tears that will literally make you cry too. She was hurting, I was hurting. She was ecstatic, I was ecstatic. I loved her here. Along with the messy bangs is a loving friend and a daughter. She loved weightlifting so much and I find her most beautiful when she lifts weight. Kim Bok Joo, swag. You're forever a favorite.
Jung Joon Hyung, played by the ever lovely Nam Joo Hyuk, is literally boyfriend/bestfriend goals. Bok Joo is the star of the show but HE WAS NOT overshadowed. He took care of bok joo and slowly fell in love with her. The transition of the feelings was slow paced but you will love every second of it. He has his funny antics, he gets jealous easily (my favorite parts lol), has playful personality, and he loves bok joo for who she is. He had dark memories in his heart that haunted him but it was not exaggerated. I love Jung Joon Hyung as much as I love Bok Joo.
The supporting characters are literally spices. Without them, the main dish would not be as tasty as it is. Bok Joo's bestfriend, Nan Hee and Seon Ok, are literally best friends. They were supportive, and sometimes, like in real life, conflicts arise, but they make up eventually. Tae Kwon was comical. He was Joon Hyung's bff who keeps dragging him in blind dates. I just hoped that he had more exposure in the end. Abeoji (dad) loves bok joo so much, i can't help but cry at some episodes. The whole weightlifting team's coaches are not just mentors to bok joo and the team, but more like parents that want the best for everyone. Joon Hyung's family is lovely. Despite some issues, they loved Joon Hyung all in all.
The music is A+!!! Listen to it if you want calm and peace.
Rewatch value is 10/10. I'll literally watch it again when I am feeling down.
All in all, the drama is heartwarming. Be ready to laugh and cry at the sam time. Be ready because I tell you, you will love the characters, so much. It's just so unfortunate Korea did not appreciate it. But i think it did well internationally. "BokJoonhyung forever" photo in instagram by skawngur earned 1 million likes already!!!
Swag!!~
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