When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

A poignant tale of parenthood & unconventional strength with a side of heart-meltingly sweet romance

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

A story of a child abandoned by her mother, who becomes a single parent, raising the child without the knowledge of her ex-boyfriend; a woman who falls in love with a happy-go-lucky policeman, all while being hunted by a merciless serial killer. Is it a slice of life? Is it a thriller? Is it a rom-com? The truth is, it's a little bit of each. But not the usual mish-mash of tropes one would expect from a drama of multiple genres. Its whimsical storytelling manages to warm the cockles of the heart but also makes it race with adrenaline. Indeed, the leitmotif is parenthood, or more specifically the relationship between a parent and child, the sacrifices, devotion and regrets that come with being a parent and the even the stigma around single parenthood. As saccharine as the romance was, it managed to take a backseat to the heart-warming parent-child relationship between the characters. If none of this tickles your fancy, watch it for the laughs, for there's plenty.

The drama doesn't solely focus on the lives of the main leads, but an array of uncanny characters in the equally uncanny little town of Ongsan. The norm for dramas that focus on multiple characters, is that they tend to neglect the main leads and over fixate on a bunch of incredibly banal secondary characters. However, I did not meet a single character in When the Camellias Bloom that I did not fall for. The characters are of varying levels of eccentricity, a truly delightful pack. They're not extraordinary. They're not perfect. Rather, they're all very flawed, very realistic characters, just like regular humans. Isn't it human nature, after all? No one is blameless. No one is impeccable- we may do erroneous things sometimes, but we're not bad by nature. Yong Shik's mother boasts of being tolerant when she's under the impression that her son is in love with a lawyer, but quickly recoils when she realises that it was, in fact, Dong Baek- an orphaned, single mother. She crosses the line by calling Pil Gu a burden, after which she swiftly realises her hypocrisy and changes her ways. The neighbourhood ladies pester and poke at Dong Baek with their prejudice, but come to care for her with sisterly fondness.

Gyu Tae starts as a flirty, obnoxious wannabe social figure, with an inferiority complex, but grows to comprehend his love for his wife and grows out of his immature ways. Ja Young, a highly educated lawyer and self-made woman, slut shames Dong Baek but later befriends her. Dong Baek's mother abandons her not because of the lack of love, but because of the abundance of it. Hyang Mi is a kleptomaniac due to her arduous childhood. She suffers silently and toils selflessly for her brother, despite his thanklessness. I liked that. I liked that no matter how horrendous the characters may have been, they had redeeming qualities. Even the serial killer was difficult to hate.

Dong Baek would have to be one of my favourite female leads that I've watched in a very long time. Often people complain of female leads being weepy, dependant beings whose badassery evaporates as soon as they fall in love. We identify crying with weakness. I'm not faultless either. I would rather cease to exist then let someone see me at my worst. Dong Baek is a paradox. She starts off as a clement, compassionate and timid character, who harbours pain from a motherless childhood and as a result feels scared to fill space. She tearlessly suffers as the resident doormat, blamed for every mishap that happens in Ongsan. Yet, she's not entirely diffident from the get-go. She's someone you would feel like protecting but is, in actuality, entirely capable of defending herself. Her often unexpected zingers and moments of blind fearlessness is testament. As the drama progresses, she learns to let down her iron-clad walls and learns that she's not as alone as she thought she was. Her strength is not necessarily physical. She cannot beat up 50 thugs like Bong Soon or outsmart obnoxious chaebol heirs like Yi Seo. Rather, it's her quiet fortitude, her resilience and her boundless heart that makes her strong. Her slow yet steady character development is a show-stealer.

Speaking of show-stealers, Kang Han Eul is undeniably the superlative. His portrayal of the boisterous, moon-eyed cop with a devil-may-care attitude, a mellifluous cachinnation, and a cotton candy heart and a ChungCheong accent that befits him is so spot on, that I don't think anyone else could have played it better. Dong Baek and Yong Shik's romance is not torrid and sultry. There are no heated kisses or sizzling skinship. It's slow-paced - an affection developing over time that builds into a mutually supportive relationship. They don't love with elan, but with sweetness and light. Yong Shik may look one fry shy of a happy meal, but he is anything but unintelligent. His unadulterated support and understanding towards Dong Baek and Pil Gu, delivered in clumsy words with his charming dialect is so lovable that it made my heart melt one too many times.

Pil Gu and Jung Suk are on the two farthest ends of the age spectrum, yet managed to shine equally. Kim Kanghoon's often mardy, but shrewd Pil Gu is so delightful to watch. He has miles and miles to go with his oodles and oodles of talent. This is certainly not my first rodeo with Lee Jung Eun, who is perhaps one of the most talented actresses in the Korean Entertainment industry. After all, she has an Oscar to her name. She delivers what she promises.

Watching Kang Jung Ryul finagle his way in and out of Dong Baek's and Pil Gu's life was perhaps the most grating part of this drama. He's a douchebag through and through. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to hate him. He is, much like the other characters, imperfect but not damnable. He has his shortcomings, but he manages to grow a backbone and make peace with himself and those around him towards the end. His redeemable quality is that he grows as a person and that's more than you could ask of most people.

I went into this with the assumption that it had 16 episodes. At episode 15, I was ready for a conclusion only to find out I had 4 more episodes to go, at which point I found myself losing motivation to finish it- a predicament which lasted only till the beginning of the next episode. However, this drama did not have a single unnecessary minute- no pointless fillers, fights or fallouts. There is a breakup, but it doesn't feel redundant. Initially, I thought that the editing of the episodes was a little confusing, simply because it was hard to ascertain the timeline of events, but as the series progressed, I grew fond of the way it added to the poignant pacing and storytelling. This is where one would say that they would definitely watch 10 more episodes of this and would even wish for another season. But, I dissent. This drama was perfect in its length and had the most satisfactory conclusion. Surely there's no better conclusion than growing old together. Any further elucidation like their married life or Pil Gu's teenhood would be overkill. This drama made me ponder a bit about the meaning of strength. I would rewatch this drama when in need of some reassurance of my own. It's one of it's kind.

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Tear Jerking!!!!! I cried so much!!!!

Such relatable and heartfelt characters. Such a positive message. Such a journey through love and struggle.
I only cried at a handful of dramas and probably only once or twice, but this show had me crying so many times. I emphasised with so many of the characters and many of their backstories really broke me, I generally had to pause because tears were in my eyes.

I understood all the characters and their motivations.

This is such a well written Drama. It was just so human and touching.

And Kang Ha Neul, I love him so much. He made me smile like a fool in every scene I saw him in.
The romance in this drama is just too cute and so real.

The struggles that happened in this drama were just bittersweet. There was so much positivity and love as well. I just loved every second off it. This is definitely one of my favourite dramas!!!! 1000% in my top three.

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When talking about this drama, I could tell that it was soooooo beautiful, that my heart kept aching every minute, throughout watching it, and that it is a dangerous panda eyes zone:), and that for days I kept walking around with a broad smile on my face whenever a really funny scene came back to my mind.
I could praise the actors, the main characters as well as the supporting ones. Because they were brilliant each one of them. (it was real fun watching here Ha Neul as a cute garrulous hillbilly, after seeing him in Moon Lovers, as an intellectual politician. Even his voice was different).
So no big deal, since many of the Kdramas have those attributes.

But... and here comes the most important thing, the writer was a genius.
The most meaningful conversations in life are very simple but weighty by their truths. Just think about it, how many times have you been left with the "aha" feeling after a talk with a friend, parent, lover, that wow - he/she is so right, and wow - now I have learnt something? And frankly, you do not meet those weighty words so often in life. The sad truth is, we tend to be superficial and corny. If you talk to old people, and ask them what exactly did life teach them, you will get only a few sentences, as a gist of their life experience. And then I ask myself, this is what you learnt in 70 years?
But in this drama, the dialogues were so lively, touching, witty, very simple and so true at the same time. And those simple dialogues showed us, what is important in life. One can make as much fuss about psychology as one wants, but we humans are very simple. We need reliable loving parents, friends, and a lover that we can lean one. And we need GENUINE ones.
Those dialogues written by Im Sang Choon are in a way similar to the "Dialogues of Platon". He too wanted to teach people using Socrate's conversations, to reveal and explain the truth. Im Sang Choon does the same, teaching us how to live a good, meaningful life. I don't think that anybody can give more valuable advice to another person.

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what a fun ride!

casting gong hyojin and kang haneul is the best decision this drama has made. what I like about the love story of fongbaek and yongshik is that they are simple. just holding hands, trusting each other, encouraging each other, it's just.. warm my heart. yongshik is THE man everyone, ugh my expectations for men, once again, rise because of him. kim kanghoon also did a great job, I cried too when he cried ㅠㅠ. but if you ask me who's my favorite character, then the answer is hyangmi! i didn't really invested in the stalker and killer case tho, this drama has presented quite a lot of conditions that really happened in society like the stereotype of single mothers like dongbaek and jongryul's wife who care more about her popularity than her child.

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A Well-Balanced Romantic Show About Family and Community with a Side of Crime

This show is delightfully unique. At its core, you have a typical Kdrama, featuring a traditional love story that explores family values and community loyalty. And then, the show successfully embellishes these themes with some unconventional twists, such as featuring a single mother and a main plot about a criminal that is surprisingly well-done for a show whose main focus is love.

The main story line and plot is relatively straightforward, yet it had me binging the series until I was done. Basically, you just have a mother who is struggling to carve out a life for herself and her son in a small town where everyone knows each other. And then, you add on some neighbors who ostensibly hate the main female lead, an annoyingly persistent policeman love interest, a former love interest, some side characters, and an unsolved mystery about a killer. Although it sounds like a mess, the pacing is so-on-point and plots are weaved together seamlessly. You may find an episode that is completely focused on one character, and yet all the other relationships and storylines are developed at the same time within that episode. I was really impressed at how clean the overall thematic feel of the show was.

I had some minor gripes that were blips that didn't decrease my enjoyment of the show, but were noticeable flaws for me: there are certain scenes where characters make some obviously dumb choices and walk into clearly dangerous situations that is similar to how a lead in a horror movie might intentionally walk into a dark room for no good reason. I found the male lead to be overly perfect sometimes: he has an unrelenting stubbornness that may be romantic but also took me out of the story sometimes because the characterization was just too perfect and unlike any person you would see in real life. I also found the female lead to be a tad annoying at times: she's struggling to be strong, yet there are a LOT of scenes where she is simply just crying.

However, the pros far outweigh the cons. Definitely give this one a watch: you can see why it won several Baeksang awards, including the grand prize.

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Short: Part thriller, Part fluffy romance. Both excellent. It's got happy bits, funny bits, sad bits, and it's got warm messages throughout. The thriller element works well and is absolutely equal partners with other aspects of the story. Really enjoyed!

Detail:
Picked this one up because it's got Gong Hyo Jin - I've always liked her style and the characters she plays. It's introduced me to Kang Ha Neul though who as the ML was excellent with a wide range in his character from the goofy to the dead serious and it all fit perfectly.

The story features a really good thriller element that literally right from the opening scene will have you puzzling, the story will misdirect, and also present you with straight facts, and you'll need to figure out what's right and what's misdirection, who did it? who's going to do it? I did wonder whether the thriller element might be weak in comparison to the usual romance elements but it gets equal footing in the story and is constantly there being worked on and developed throughout the story. The way it lays out motive for numerous people to take an action over the course of many episodes was really nicely done.

A key element of this story is about mothers, about the FL's mother, about the FL who is herself a mother, about the ML's mother, and about other mothers in the neighborhood, about the mother of the boys father, there's an overarching element in this story about the strength and power of mothers everywhere. I did find that, as a father, the story seemed a bit negative towards fathers - with abusive, ignorant, idle, absent, drunk fathers being pretty much the mainstay of the story but... i'm gonna let that pass because I know some single mums and i'm in constant awe of them, they should be celebrated. The message here is a good one. I particularly liked a quote in the story 'Mums exist because God can't be everywhere", how nice is that?

The romance is nicely done, with the FL showing exactly zero interest in the ML for a while and him goofing around and hanging around her all the time winding her up before things begin to progress. It does have the usual KDrama break-up but it's valid, not stupid, and in fact amusingly at one point the FL's mother does comment that she hates in tv shows when they say they're "breaking up because they love you" and how stupid it is :)

It has a light love triangle, but barely and not enough to annoy those who are turned off by them.

A great story, which keeps you guessing, gets you interested in the characters, rooting for their successes and feeling pains at their losses.

Nice music too, not listened to the OST separately but a few I was humming along to, which is a sign there'll be some nice tracks to listen to there I think.

Definitely recommended, the blend of the thriller and the romance makes it a bit different to the usual.

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Until now, this drama become my top 2 drama alongside with my mister. If i rewatch this drama,i think i would keep crying. I like the countryside setting and it more realistic compare other kdrama setting. All of the lead cast is so good at acting especially kang ha neul.
The writer is really good at make a good quote and there are so many lines in this drama motivates me . This story maybe slow at first but i keep want to watch them. This drama i want them to keep airing and i want to see the cast story because it feel closer to us as viewer. Hope we got to watch many drama like this in the future.

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This drama is about a single mother and her struggles. How society views her and how she changes from a person who accept any insults to a person who stands up for herself.
Our main ML is a police officer. His acting in this drama is just great. Whenever he comes on screen, you will automatically start to smile. He lit up the screen. Everything about him is so perfect. The way he handles the FL when she rejects him in the starting is really mature. He is the main star of this show.
The character of landlord and his wife is also good. The landlord provides comical relief also. Even though he tries to gain attention of FL, we know that he is just naive but not really bad.
The ex BF's character is just a filler. Even if we remove him storyline will not be affected that much. One benefit would be number of episodes might be less.
And what can I say abt Hyang Mi. She is the worst character. She is so so so much annoying.
Storyline is good. Rom com mix with serial killer genre.

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I found the plot very interesting

This is one of those dramas that starts naturally and you think you should go on or not? But as you continue with it, you find yourself in love with it. .
(It's about a single mother who starts out with "Camelia" (the name of the bar she owns). She works hard at the bar and takes care of her son on her own. She wears elegant clothes and does her makeup well. She moves to a new neighborhood that women in the area hate for being single with no husband and there she is. Meanwhile, a young policeman falls in love with her but she hesitates at first due to her complicated situation and there are also murders somehow linked to the serial killer. The series is full of life lessons about the unconditional love of parents, how children feel from parents' words and actions and how people's prejudices affect life, about tolerance Acceptance, self-esteem, kindness, generosity, determination, friendship and marital relationship.
**characters***:!!!!
The Policeman: He is an innocent, well-willed, funny and very lively, a very cute romantic guy who will melt your heart with his kindness. Watching him really lift my mood The heroine's performance was also great, showing her weakness as a single working mother and at the same time her strength while overcoming all obstacles in her life. (No wonder they both won Best Actor Awards).
***My favorite quotes from the drama***:!!!!
If you save your food to eat later, it will taste bad, it is better to eat it all while you are hungry, so be diligent and be happy when you can eat it than to save it for later. / We can be a miracle to others.
****my advice****:!!!!
Remember that no one is weak. We are all just seeds, drifting away and struggling to seed ourselves and take root, hoping that we will eventually blossom and bloom. Give yourself a chance.

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