To me it was recognizable in the sense that I am married to a man with whom I have quite an age difference. Although, to my surprise, the age difference was not such a big problem to the parents as expected, I could fully understand the love couple's feelings and struggles. I have been in a similar situation. Being in love, having a joyful time together, but always having to face trouble returning home to my parents. It was really a difficult time and to be honest also something I do not forget. It was a time where you decide to break up, ... not...
So to me this was a special kdrama and I just the right actors to play the couple. I am anyway a fan of Son Ye Jin and the chemistry with Jung Hae In was super, although her chemistry with Kim Hee Ju in Personal Taste was also great.
I love almost all the music. It fits perfectly, although sometimes I had enough of listening to "Stand by your man" over and over again...
Before having registered at MDL, I had my own grading system. These are the grades which I applied and which have contributed to the overall score I gave to this drama.
acting M: 10
acting F: 9.5
couple match: 10
romance: 9
emotions: 10
story line: 9
watch back: yes
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Alot of people are real worried about focusing on the wrong things in this drama. I also think you have to be at a certain point in your life to enjoy this drama. I thi k that particular audience is who the drama is for.
That being said, it has been a hot minute since you've seen a review from me so here goes :
Story: as we age, we don't all fit into a particular cookie cutter life. That is the one depicted here. Pretty Noona is now attracted to what she loves in a man and it happens to be in a younger man. Younger man is mature enough to go back yond cultural, familial and societal pressures to be with her. Will she be able to handle it? Watch and see.
Acting/cast: they did the right thing and found two beautiful people who honestly were attracted to one another and it showed theough their acting. This made the drama unbelievably real and very easy to watch.
Music: as an American, I had enough of "stand by your man" to fill my life. Bad choice. However, the sweet melody song made me cry ecerytime it was played. So, excellent choice.
Rewatch: the drama is light and sweet enough to play at night while sleeping but I doubt I'd sit through the whole thing again.
Overall: 10. This is one of my new favorites. These characters walked right into my heart and I know I will be thinking of them for a very long time. A++
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This review may contain spoilers
Something in my heart
It’s official- I have a crush on the lead actor. Omg where do I start. I cried a lot during at least 2 episodes. I got very mad at some of the characters. I refuse REFUSE to watch episode 15. Rewatched this drama a few times and still haven’t watched it to this day. Very much disliked the ending. Laughed a few times. What can I say this drama was a roller coaster of emotions lol. Overall I love the show. I wasn’t crazy about the music. I liked them until they kept repeating the same songs over and over. I think the soundtrack only had 2 songsWas this review helpful to you?
The mundane and trivial conversations of the characters makes the show easy to watch. I did not find any of the episodes tedious because of the palpable chemistry between the leads. It was a relief that the story didn't introduce new characters that will meddle the already complicated lives of Jin Ah and Joon Hee.
On the other hand, I'm beyond impressed with the show's prowess to shed light on the lesser known culture of South Korea such as dating taboos and the ordeal of going through a sexual assault trial. This series is poignant and compelling behind its frivolous romance and toxic in-laws.
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Good, but...
Okay, so. How can I put this gently? The series started great, the characters were presented and you immediately knew what you had to cheer for, right? But then the curse of a couple getting together anytime before the middle of the seriesn comes true and it all goes downhill. What helped me the most here was the fact that I am a huge Son Ye Jin fan and Mr. Jung Hae absolutely delivers. Chemistry and acting were very good, but what messed it up for me was the mom, seriously. That arc and eventually the whole family storyline was beaten into us until an inch of its life. It got tiring. And then, for the last episode, we get a resolution on the last five minutes. Felt rushed and sloppy.This may seem like a bad review, but don't get me wrong: the series is really, really good and captivating. It's not perfect or anything, but very worth the watch at least so you could get to watch the main couples faces.
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Seo Joon Hee was a very likeable character. He acted very mature for his age. The way he showed affection towards Yoon Jin Ah was cute, especially when he would give her hugs lol...i can see why women would fall for him. Yoon Jin Ah was very childish IMO for someone that's in her 30s
I don't know much about Asian culture, but Jin Ah's mom was just over the top.....i didn't like her, she was very judgemental. i was shocked they way she acted towards her supposedly "family members Seo Joon Hee and Seo Kyung Sun"
all in all i really liked this movie
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Where to begin... The good parts. The actors were full of emotions. You could feel the pain or love eith your whole heart. The romance was cute on its special way. The age gap wasn't talked or pointed out that much so that it would steal the light. I think that it was also important that different daily scenes of the society were shown. For example the SH of the main fem leader on the work environment or the status stereotypes inside a family that still exist. On the other side now. The slow burn tired me fr so much. I think that 12 eps would've been enough to complete the whole story. The mother made me yell on my screen many time and pause the ep to stop my rage and understand this aspect of culture.
The couple had many communication probs. They wouldn't discuss the important issues. Like how can they say to each other to be by their side when they don't share their inner thoughts at all. That's absurd! A big WHY was written in my face all the time of how they both acted.
As for the fem leader, she overstepped many times on the personal life of her bf (and behind his back) and just said an "I'm sorry, I made a mistake again it won't happen again". Uhm why would it happen on the first place! Why not think about the feelings of your partner above something.
Considering everything though, this series was both enjoyable and a little tiring. I liked that they made peace with their feelings and ended together. I melted with the cuteness and the chemistry they had. I'm not a person that rewatches series but if I was I wouldn't do it. Once is enough.
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Nevertheless, I liked really much the first half, and I totally agree with some comments above saying that you could skip the second half of the drama, watch the ending and still be satisfied.
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anyways to start it off, this drama needs patience. the love and romance develop through time and struggle. and the drama really gives u the reality of Korean drama love but in a more realistic aspect. as in emphasizing the emotions of trust and worth. family, and friends. work and colleagues. the struggle is talked about. its a slow drama but it really keeps you on your toes when you fall for the two characters.
to summarize the story, two people fall in love. first, they have a large age gap. and second, they meet MANY obstacles in the way.
but there is a lot more meaning behind it than a cliche storyline. the drama really makes you hate some characters especially the mom, and the main girl is not telling her mother ( who is the one who rejects the relationship the most) everything and standing up for what she wants, gets your blood boiling, but at the same time you kind off understand that she is about to turn 40 and is struggling at work and is not bothered to tell her mother everything going on.
the main guy is really boyfriend material, but we also get a deep touch of his family and his own struggles, and the show really emphasizes on what really is the divine meaning of love. how two partners try to understand the meaning of love, and how they try to define it to the members around them.
i would recommend this show to anyone looking for a nice drama to sit and enjoy and give all your time too, because it is slow, and it got this nice love to it. and it needs patience. it can be boring in the first episode because dramas are all about strong impacts and fast reactions, but it gets better when the chemistry starts and the characters get closer. so dont worry.
i didn't? give it a high score for rewatching as it is one of my favorites now and it will take some time for its impact on me to wear off. the music is amazing and really plays a strong role in the show. the story is also really good, but it is different from anything I've watched. the cast is amazing really, especially the dads.
good luck.
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A beautiful drama that will make you laugh and cry
The story is nothing new. It's probably been told a lot of times and may be even cliche, but what makes this drama work are the characters, especially the main leads.I love the chemistry of the main lead. The two are undeniably look good together. I know that there's meant to be a big age gap between the two, but honestly, aesthetic wise, the age don't seem to be off - it's just that at first glance the male lead has a baby face and look young. Personality wise and how they handle relationship don't show the age gap. At first they made a point of showing how young the male lead is by giving him a job with video games and playing toy guns with co-workers, but that don't really change much of how you see him when he is with Jin-A. The thing is, when it comes to relationship, the two seems to have similar approach. They lie and deal things on themselves because they don't want to cause pain or inconvenience to their partners. That's one thing I really did not like with this drama, the male leads did not evolve leading up to the end of the series to communicate well. They always end up patching things up with a cuddle and not really have an adult talk about issues - hence the break up and big fight. Moving forward, this probably is one thing the story should lead into, had there been more stories to tell.
Music is one thing annoys me in this series. The repetitive and at some point unnecessary 'what makes a woman'. I don't mind the other soundtrack, it was just this music trying to put the whole show's vibe into some 1960s, yet trying and poorly attempt to remind audience that the female lead is old.
I know some people hate the slow pace and repetitiveness. True, that some of the plots are repetitive. But I do enjoy the slow pace. The few extra clippings of them together, the look at each other, the artistic shots, they are beautiful - it brings the right atmosphere and to the world of the two leads. It makes everything realistic too.
As much as I like the ending, the happy ending felt like should be a lot longer.
I think all the characters did a great job, especially the supporting ones to build around the main leads. I know a lot of people hate the mother, but being asian, I understand the ridiculous POV. Im glad that the dad somewhat is on Jin-A's side to counter this.
It's worth a watch. Once you get to invest on the character, I can guarantee you will binge watch it to the end.
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slow paced story with enormous romance
I am huge Jung Hae In fan, so I simply watched this drama to get enormous energy from him. You know he just soooo cute and excellent as an actor.
STORY
A young guy falls for an older woman whom he had a crush on since he was kid. They grew up as family as the FL has a bestie and ML is the brother of her bestie. FL brother is also best friend with the ML. FL is also suffering from work place harassment and ex-boyfriend problem.
PLOT VIEW
I understand that joon hee had crush on jin ah so he falls for her instantly. I felt that jin ah was going through a BREAKUP and while joon hee tries to protect and her, she falls for him. Joon hee woos her with his energetic and polite ways asking her NOONA BUY ME A MEAL. Its really interesting, they bond over food and rain and thats why its something in the rain.
The ex boyfriend is more of like a stalker, why didn’t the FL family get to know what jin ah is going through.
While the romantic scenes were awesome but you know too much of anything spoils the mood. they romance was everywhere and the story didnt seem progressing.
jin ah mother was a total nightmare, she is not concerned with age but the social status, really she was the most stubborn mother of kdramas and super annoying, and until the end she thinks that what she did was right.
I was disappointed with the overall ending of the stories. Workplace matter was shown as secondary story of series but didn’t give a proper ending, WHY.
The second chance was not given enough time, initially the episodes were lengthy but very slow. I felt like skipping but JHI is a savior.
ACTING
Son ye jin awesome, her portrayal of an older working woman was apt. The falling in love with younger guy is also done nicely as she denies it many a times, her thoughts that joon hee is the brother of best friend fits to the societal values but the way she falls for him is really feel good, slowly and charmingly. She has her values but she gives in to the situation is so not right
Jung Hae In my super cute crush. He is amazing and natural. His face does all the work and he is the most perfect choice for Joon hee. The way he woos and protects jin ah, the way he has grown up with his sister without parents is so natural.
Jang se yeon was the bestie I would ask for. She is there for jin ah every time. She is also a good sister and parent to joon hee as she raised him to be a good man.
Wi ha joon was super excellent brother and friend. He was the most thoughtful person. He protected his sister, helped his friend, took a stand infront of the mother. I just loved him.
MUSIC
The most catchy song was save the last dance for me, The classic song by The Drifters. Bruce wills have voiced it perfectly and made a great cover for the series.
Another song I liked was stand your man, another classic by Tammy wynette
Other ost were also nice and worth listening.
REWATCH
The show was kind of slow paced so I would consider just watching the JHI parts. Rather than secondary stories just the main couple.
APPRECIATION
Even though there is age gap between the leads which is also the theme of drama the chemistry is touching. Not for an instance I felt that they were acting, it was so concrete.
The color palette was wow, the snowy white background, the red and green umbrella while walking in the rain.
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Not for everyone
The drama I guess is not for everyone but I personally loved it it is depiction of reality that real life is not a fairytale with happy ending we have to overcome obstacles in love I personally like the story beautifully presented by the director I love her stories..and the chemistry was wow I enjoyed it personally ?......I recommend it to those who love stories with little bit of melodrama but it was totally worth it.. it gives me so many butterflies..I preferly love the music it was so soothing..and the story to this type of stories usually give the feeling of how hard life has been for a woman..
Recommend watch!!
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