This review may contain spoilers
I seem to misunderstand korean culture
First, the tl;dr:+ acting was good, characters were mostly believable, the main couple had chemistry, and I love Hae-in's smile and short hair in this.
+ story: I loved seeing a woman my age as MC who dates a younger guy. It's exciting and relatable.
++ the side plot about workplace sexual harassment. <3
+/- depending: the music. You get Bruce Willis crooning save the last dance and C Bruni moaning Stand by your man in every episode. Either it sticks with you in a good way bc you like it or it keeps popping up in your nightmares.
- annoying side characters (mother, brother, stalkerexboyfriend), the only plus was him getting slapped repeatedly and that one coworker with the deeper voice that also didn't understand why them dating openly was an issue. I feel you, girl!
- some scenes felt very very long. Many walks, many hugs, many dinner scenes. Repetitive
Now the longer stuff.
The thing that kept bothering me throughout watching this was how a 35 (?)yo keeps living at home and how the parents and the brother seem to have a say in how and who she dates and how she lives her life. Wtaf? Co-worker-girl there spoke right from my heart when she asked Jin-ah wtf the problem was about dating the guy openly.
In fact, how everyone seems to think it's their concern that the two are dating is kinda mindboggling. It's none of your business, sister, brother, parents, coworkers, it's the couple's business. Period. And watching them all be pissy about being left out and lied to like they're entitled to any knowledge at all is making me angry af.
Which brings me to the thorn in this drama's side: the meddling annoying mother of doom. O. M . G. I started skipping scenes with her bc she made me so incredibly angry as well. You've had your youth, mother, now let your kids have theirs and stop complaining!
The dad was a welcome positive antagonist to thr mom, supporting the MC in his own way. Liked him.
I read a lot reviews that said watching beyond ep 9 isn't rec'ed bc of unnecessary heartbreak and they'll get together eventually anyway so I don't know if I'll ever finish this.
I kept watching for the subplot about workplace sekuhara bc it's a real problem and I really wanted to see it resolved, i.e. have the creeps be fired from the firm.
I came at this straight from Crashlanding bc I liked the main actress and sometimes I wished Jin-ah was more like a tough business woman that let's nobody step over her....ah well...
I have to second other reviews here, watch this until you get bored then just drop it and watch sth else.
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I get the hype for this drama because Koreans love their romance dramas but for me I don't get swayed by just a handsome oppa.
It seemed like they're going for a more American style type of drama, the cinematography I liked but that's about it. The plot is so weak and thin that there's nothing I can hold onto to keep my interest awake.
I dropped this after 5 episodes cause I just can't go on anymore with their cheesiness. The only best thing that happened in this drama is at the end of episode one when she was dancing to 2ne1.
I'm sorry but I couldn't recommend this even to the newbies.
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Great minus the mother character
I dropped this due solely to the mother’s character and the way everyone gives into her abuse and manipulation. It was so over the top for me that I got annoyed and just read episode synopses through the end. This mom was bad enough that if she’d been my mom, I would’ve slapped her then disowned her (if a child can disown a parent), because no one treats me that way, especially not someone claiming they love me. And I never hit people, let alone someone I might care about. It could in part be a cultural thing (I’m American, grew up in New England, and whiter than mayonnaise), because I’ve seen more than a few that would’ve made me cuss my parent out for their bad behavior, but those have been mostly c dramas. And even those I didn’t drop because of it. Again, it might be a cultural/parental thing because I was raised a bit differently being taught that respect is earned, not just freely given, no matter how much older that person is or who they are to you them which is more extreme than most of my New England peers. That being said, the writer and director had other, better options to create the tension they needed to create without making a character be emotionally/psychologically abusive, let alone a parent.I really loved everything else about this show. I was actually upset to drop it because the 2 leads are so amazing together, just the mother was enraging me so much I couldn’t enjoy it anymore. I’m glad I dropped it when I did because the episode synopses showed me I was only going to get more annoyed with her and everyone else around her well before it got any better. If the mom doesn’t bother you or you can at least tolerate her, then this might be a great k drama for you. I might eventually try it again and if I can stomach her on the 2nd try, I will be sure to update this review.
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Dropped it as the female lead was unbearable and stupid
My god I signed up just to give this drama 1 star…am so irritated after watching this tedious and unrealistic drama that I have to vent…coming from an Asian background myself I find the female lead to be the most unrealistic portrayal of a mature working woman…she is supposedly good at her job but makes such monumental mistakes that u want to reach thru the screen and bash her….no woman even one from a so called conservative society would react in such a passive manner…show her to be a doormat at work too then a huge failure because no sane person and I stress no sane person whether man woman or any other gender would be capable of functioning in today’s society…terrible script with unlikely scenarios and decisions thrown in just to create tension and continue the tedious plot line….dropped it for the steaming pile of waste that the writer regurgitated !!! And please no excuses about how conservative Korean society is to make up for the wafer thin plot as I too come from a patriarchal ultra conservative society and know that no career woman from a so called educated urban background would make the harebrained choices that the FL makes ….Baah dropped it out of sheer frustration and a savage desire to beat the living daylights out of the FL…crap and lazy writing shame on the author…minus stars if possibleWas this review helpful to you?
Annoying repeated songs
Love the story. But i cringe every time the same soundtrack plays over and over again "YOU CAN DANCE....."OMG >_<
and the "STAND BY YOUR MAN" song. IF I HEAR "SOMETIMES ITS HARD TO BE A WOMAN" one more time....
Who the heck chose these songs? It could've been just fine with Korean music. The sound tracks alone is just an example of bad taste in music. It's like my grandpa chose 3 songs to repeatedly play in this.
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A refreshing change
I enjoyed this drama quite a bit as it does something that is not seen in most dramas. Having an older female lead get chased by a younger man is quite different and refreshing from the usual older man chasing a younger woman, it changes the perspective and shows the worries of that kind of relationship.The acting is done very well to portray the innocence of Joon Hee and Yoon Jin Ah does a very good job of showing the struggles of liking a younger man.
The story is quite similar to most romantic dramas but the role reversal keeps it interesting and makes you want to keep on watching to see what happens in this adorable relationship.
If you do not want to stray too far from the usual rom-com but also want a slight change this would be perfect for you :)
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I thought very useful the plot about sexual harassment. The way how they told with so much true really made me think. I never get tired of this kind of theme because I see as a way of the show to other people something there is real. And the closer was also as expected... No spoilers.
About the cast, I like to say that Jung Hae-in is my regular oppa. If we talking about "adult dramas" this is the actor. I love this man, my gosh. I really think his performance deep and believable. I met Son Ye-jin with "Personal taste", and after that on"Crashing land on you", but I think her pretty good in this drama. I thought the chemistry between them amazing. They are so cute! I get myself smiling a lot during the episodes. The story goes slow but you can be involved if you like this kind of show. I get a little upset when I saw how tough some topics are in Korea, maybe because here things are pretty different. But I think dramas like this are a changing in some minds out there (hope so)!
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Also like the OST. It gives a 90s music vibe.
After all these good sides, I find it boring. It was slow for me. I find Yun Jin A falling in love with Seo Jun Hui very quickly. I hated Yun Jin A mother to the core. I wanted to beat her so much. But on the other hand, I liked her father. He was so supporting of her. And took her relationship so well.
I didn't like the ending . It was rush ending. Their separation was unnecessary in the end. Also Yun Jin A case against her employer conclusion wasn't properly shown.
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Love romance.
I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. Son Ye Jin is one of my favorite actresses that I follow. But I actually started to watch this drama because of Jung Hae In. I did feel some anxiety throughout the drama because these characters went thru so much. Jung Hae In was just so adorable in this role. Just his facial expressions and that smile.I felt his pain thru his acting and kept hoping that the couple would end up together, since I am a romanticist. Thank you for such a great drama. Keep that beautiful smile going.
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I totally fell in love with Jung Hae In and Son Ye Jin. Man, can we just say his smile is just so beautiful? I'm totally in love with his character.
The story could have been better since I felt like there were a lot of unnecessary and repetitive conflicts. I felt like as the episodes go on they have little character development to give us besides the hugging and kissing that we've seen so much of already. There was a huge built up to their relationship, but as episodes go on their relationship becomes 2 dimensional. Not really fully fleshed out. I feel like this drama didn't know what it wanted to be in the end. The first half had me really going then it just went downhill. Good acting and nice cinematography can't save the whole show if the characters start feeling boring or the story is not being very smart.
I also love the songs played, it added so much more feels to the scenes.
Also, I've been totally out of the Korean drama loop for a while since none seem to interest me anymore, so this is my first comeback in a while haha.
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Apartment
I have a question please why didn’t the girlfriend tell him she got a apartment? That seems to be the start of the fraction.I have watched this so many times it lingers with you a slow burning affair both actors and cast gave it their all, I didn’t like the parents and the controlling issues.. The age difference wasn’t a big issue but I wonder how it would be like in real life women mature faster then men that’s a known,but they also burn out faster, some will argue but it’s true.
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This review may contain spoilers
STAND BY YOUR MAN
One of the OST is 'Stand by your man' but this girl doesn't stand by her man. Seo Joon-Hui (Jung Hae-in) is the best candidate for sainthood for putting up with alot of s**ts of Yoon Jin-ah (Son Yi-Jin), 4 years his senior that he loves her terribly and deeply, that would protect and care to depth of his heart. The best perfect boyfriend that any girls in this world will go gaga over, his smile would brighten anyone. Both of MLs are very strong chemistry, a handsome cute 31 years old who fallen hard in love with his older sister's bestfriend - his bestfriend's sister, whose family considered them as their own son and daughter for long standing support and friendship between them. Suddenly, they're in relationship - although a secret love affair - afraid to reveal their true feelings to their family.....doubt confessing it to her mother which fairly ending the love story. Ep 10 starts with heartbreaking scenes, as the episodes progress their love puts on the line - the test that will be determined the true love.Read the review and many don't like this drama. I love it, a love story that has depth, hope and love that would not survive when both give up on the relationship like many of us do. About the age different between them as an issue, 4 years age gap isn't bad, I don't understand the reason why her mom against their relationship. They aren't blood brother/sister, although he isn't coming from prestige family background but he adores and loves her....isn't it all matter? Obsessing with background, Mom becomes the most hated character here. Poor Joon-Hui, that guy deserves a noble award for 'best boyfriend' type.
Part of 'Stand by your man' lyric said;
But if you love him, you'll forgive him
Even though he's hard to understand
And if you love him, oh, be proud of him
'Cause after all, he's just a man
Well.....Joon Hui isn't like a type of man described on the lyric....he is the opposite. Probably, I love this drama because I can relate with my personal experience...the best and worst of being loved and in love...and when it's fallen apart.
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