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first of all 20 episode was too much for this drama and make it slowbut not slow enough to make me get bored or dropping it
the usual 16 was more than enough and reduce all these unnecessary details
the last five eps. was all about Son Dam bi and investigations more
the acting was great specially son dam bi
and Kang han neul although he is not handsome but really he was brilliant and amazing actor
i've to say the directing was great and made the drama rich
i hated so much the FL character i found it annoying many times and i saw her weak, selfish towards the ML
every time she concedes easily and said let's break-up
even when she had the choice, she conceded him easily without trying to convince her son by time
i liked the ML character so much and i saw what happened to him really unfair from the FL
and they kept telling the ML stick to her
don't leave her
bear her ..... what about her guys ??? isn't she had to do the same ???
And she Deprived him from being a father
for the first time i supported what the ML's mother did to her
she was really unfair and selfish
i saw the psychological part wasn't convincing
because the killer was insisting to hurt the FL although she didn't humiliate him once
and told her i'll kill every one around you with no logical reason
and at the end, he just left her ???????????????????
for me the end was a little flimsy and lukewarm
but the ML's romance was really amazing and delightful which made me keep going on watching ^_^
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The drama had, first of all, great performances, especially from the three main actors and actress. The characters were pretty interesting too. Another thing that worked for them was the mystery. Although the episode before the last on seemed like it had wrapped up everything, the last one was pretty intense and had a nice, unpredictable twist. The romance, in addition, was good at first, but, honestly, it got a bit boring towards the ending. But the family drama was just right.
So, overall, eight out of ten.
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The plot is quite realistic and the whole story strongly emphasizes how important mothers are and that they can do anything for their children. This drama teaches you that family and relationships are very important and that you can get through any obstacles thrown at you by helping each other. When the Camellia Blooms is an incredibly funny, heartwarming, and at the same time heartbreaking drama coming from the relationships of the characters and their backstories.
The acting/cast of this drama was also perfect, each role given was perfectly suited to them. While all of them seriously portrayed their characters perfectly, I'd have to praise Kang Ha Neul for totally nailing everything! He did such a great job acting as some kind of over-the-top, straightforward, a bit idiotic character. Much love for you Kang Ha Neul!
Overall, this drama was an absolute treat! This is a must-watch drama! I wouldn't have ended the drama any other way; no loose ends, just perfect!
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Female lead ruined drama
The cast was great. Every actor was great except the lead. Her role was written as meek but the actress did not pull it off. FL and her son were so grating I had to forward many of their scenes.The FL was self centered, selfish, prideful, annoying, etc. I was over her woe is me I’m a poor orphan shtick after the 3 episode. She was she was absolutely insufferable.
But everyone else was great. Story was good but the FL character really soured the whole drama.
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One of the best 2019 series!
If you're looking for a heart-warming rom-com with touch of suspense, this is it! It touches the hearts of every soul, both viewers and the characters. Having completed the series yesterday, I can't help but still feeling attached to Dongbaek shi. I will really miss her and Yong Sik's endearing characters. They are the epitome of what a perfect couple would look like. If you're looking for thriller, it has enough mystery to keep you guessing till the very last episode! All characters are well thought out and have their proper closure. It feels really nice to reach a perfect ending like this! I wonder if I will ever watch another show as good as this!Was this review helpful to you?
Best Ending in Kdramas. Soooo heartwarming
It is slow pacing because this was intended as slice-of-life drama. The DongBaek character is irritating to international viewers because of her weak resolves but please do note that she was an outcast. No one can live as optimistic as she is if you are abandoned. That's why HyangMi is there to compare what could be the two paths of the outcast. Either to be a DongBaek or to be HyangMi. I watched the shows of Baeksang Best Actor Nominees. I must say that Nam GongMin in Stove League deserves also the award. But in Korea, the character of Hwang Yong Sik is so unique to regular lead roles. Kang Ha Neul played it well that I believed people must have Yong Sik in their lives. Who motivates you. Who compliments you. Ang won't hide his emotion in from of you. Yong Sik communicated well and that is needed in all forms of relationships. Nowadays, girls blindly ignored that kind of suitor. I feel sad about it. Many people says that PilGu's dad has a point and have to be part of his son's life. For me, if DongBaek revealed to him that they have a child in a first place, their relationship would be a mess. JongRyeol only thinks himself. He demand things but not return the favor. That's why DongBaek should be with someone who will motivate her. Who will empower her. Because taking advantage of outcast's kindness will make her stagnant and boring.Ending is the best. It shows the product of all the encouragement of Yong Sik to Dong Baek. It shows how the community responds to threat. How the community helps each other. How mothers thought about life. How a person can be a miracle to somebody else. The reconciliation. The reincarnation and heartwarming thought. It explodes and wrap the slow pacing drama to a full circle.
Overall, this will be placed as second to my top 5.
#1Reply1988
#2When The Camellia Blooms
#3Another Oh Hae Young
#4My Daughter, Seo Young
#5Misaeng: Incomplete Life
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This drama was epic! The thriller. ROM-COM , cliffhanger, and Twist was amazing!
After watching one episode it makes me want to keep going and watch it all night! The plot and story of this drama were very realistic and it teaches me a very good lesson about life.
This drama is basically about a single mother living in Ongsan where she made a living by making a bar-restaurant.
It may be a simple drama like any other shows but this drama has a special dish that makes you watch and be entertained. The acting of the mains was really impressive. They may have a 10-yrs gap but they still manage to act their characters out. Pil-Gu tho! omgod, He's sooo kyutt!!! His acting was impressive! The crying was so emotional that I wish I can act like him. The other cast was well-done! I like Gyu-tae and Ja Young's relationship. HahAH.
At some point, I do get irritated at certain scenes and characters but that's just how that characters are created
The Ahjummas tho!! Omy! Their scenes are always amusing and DAEBAK!! I love how they show their hates but in reality they love and support them. I will for sure rewatch their scenes again, some point. xD
Anyways. the ending was acceptable. I like how it turned out. The killer was wawwwwshii. And,. ofcourse.. the turning point really turned me on.
I hope to see Kang Ha Neul's future shows since I've been eyeing on him.. creeps haha
tHIS DRAma is like a full-course meal. It has all the emotion that a human being has and it makes me feel related.
In life, it;s your choice of making your own decision, and with the decision that you've made, it is also your problem for making that choice.
I don't know if that makes sense, but ... I believe that people who come to our life will actually make a difference.
It may be bad or good but in the end, we learn lessons from them.
And their lessons was a miracle. And with this....YONGSIK Made a miracle to DONGBAEk! ;))
I wish that Dongbaek and Yongsik has more romance...like ykow.. kiss scene and a very lovely dovey moment.
<3<3<3
1:31am 4/30/20
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Heartwarming Life Affirming Drama
This show is truly has a comprehensive storyline for all its important casts. Where most shows revolves usually around the OTP, this one able to provide everyone (at least) a little backstory - an explanation as to why a character behaves the way they do. Whether you're someone struggling in life as a single mother, as a kids whose parents went through a divorce, as someone grew up craving for love, as someone who doesn't know how to express themselves and to keep the emotions bottled up, this show is able to show the strength in being honest - with others, with life, but most importantly with yourself. Though initially the leading lady seems to be in need of being saved, it turns out that with the helps of others, we can all be our own hero and have the courage to save ourselves (if only we let ourselves).The shows manages to make me root for the OTP but also got me choked up in tears every now and then. It is so refreshingly relatable to reality that it makes us reflect on our own lives.
A great storyline, with great delivery from the actors and actresses. Kudos to everyone involved!
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This review may contain spoilers
this is a long one but theres a LOT to unpack here
A drama that went against most of the conventional cliches and cookie cutter structures that romance dramas these days seem to follow. It was frustrating as much as it was heart warming, and a beautiful ode to the sacrifices and efforts mothers make for their children.The story of a single mother against the world hit very close to home, as I was in a similar situation to Pil-Gu growing up. Until my stepfather came into my life when I was around his age, I was always asked constant questions about my father just like Pil-Gu. And similarly, many people would maintain this warped perception of my mother. However, she was and still is the toughest and most hardworking woman I've ever met, and despite all her hardships, still manages to be so kind and forgiving, just like Dongbaek. Which is why I came to adore her character almost right off the bat.
I fell in love with the compassion she has for humanity despite the love-hate relationship she has with it. Her character development from meek and vulnerable to fearless and brutally honest came as a surprise to me, but utterly satisfactory. This drama not only was a romance, a mystery, and a story of overcoming all the toughest things life throws at you, but the eventual growth that everyone must go through to truly be at peace with themselves and those around them. Not just for Dongbaek, but for the whole cast as well.
Like most people, I found the romance part of When The Camellia Blooms absolutely ADORABLE. Yong-sik wasn't your typical closed off and partially emotionless male lead, and I loved that so much. We need male leads that are not afraid to express their mind - in ways that are dorky and endearing, not only 'badass' or what classifies as 'harshly honest'. Their love was, in any other terms, the truest form of trust and compassion. Yong-sik never took credit for Dongbaek's growth and always cheered for her despite her constant warning signs. I love how their relationship developed with eventuality, and I found myself invested in rooting for them. Especially when Dongbaek started to reciprocate, too.
A man that is proud of their love for their partner and chooses to express it as much as he pleases feels so much more healthy than the possessive, hard-to-get chaebols of the romance genre. But to each his own, right?
That being said, the whole story seemed to be handled somewhat realistically. I say somewhat due to the murder mystery undertones and the whole debacle between Dongbaek and her mother, but that doesn't mean those aspects of the story were bad or out of place. Almost every character held an important part to the story, let it be from No Gyu Tae to Jessica. Each one of them had their own struggles, just like Dongbaek, and each one of them had to face the societal pressures that came from their situations. None of them (besides the main antagonist) ended up being bad people at the end unlike what we expected, which was a very authentic twist.
Because of this, we end up with the anecdote the drama tells. That while the world is filled with evil and harshness, there is also so much goodness that we should never undermine the world as a whole. There will always be people who are willing to help, someone to express support and compassion towards your situation. I find that so beautiful, and something not only Dongbaek always needed when she struggled the most, but for everyone in similar situations of hopelessness.
However, the only criticism I can place is how, for someone who claims to not want to be pitied by others, Dongbaek would always wallow about how unlucky she is almost every chance she gets (until her eventual epiphany in the end, when she finally says her life was nothing short of a miracle). While I can't blame her for this, it just came off as slightly hypocritical to me.
Now, onto the cast. I absolutely fell in love with Gong Hyo-jin because of this drama. She's so beautiful - if a flower were personified, it would look like her - and she expressed her role perfectly. No one could play Kwak Yong-sik better than Kang Han-eul, and I can't imagine Yong-sik to be anyone else but him. He's the only one who could express his loud and free spirited personality in a way that wasn't overboard or outright annoying. Kim Kang-hoon is such a talented child actor with so much potential - in fact, he's one of the best child actors in Korean media that I've ever seen. What a star!
It came as a surprise to see Oh Jung Se here after watching It's Okay Not To Be Okay, playing a character that is neurotypical. I adored him and his character in that drama. And while his character here was quirky and sometimes just annoying, he had that naive, can't-help-but-pity aura around him just because I like him as an actor. Also, this is just a comment, but his fashion here was lowkey how I dress irl so he gets brownie points for that LOL
All in all, while this drama was definitely slow paced (I had to fast forward some bits because I got a little bored), the premise of the show is inspiring and pulls on your heartstrings. It made me laugh, cry and feel for each and everyone of the characters. It lives up to becoming one of the best dramas of 2019, and if you don't mind slow pacing, I definitely recommend you give When The Camellia Blooms a chance.
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