A Love So Beautiful (2020)

Crash and burn

I finished this series feeling that the MC's aren't going to have a happy life together, which made the time spent watching it a waste. The title should have been "A Lonely Love", because that's what I see in the FL's future.

The good:
I found the story, while the characters were still at school, to be cute and enjoyable. The secondary characters were also sweet and kept me engaged. To me, this story has a manga feel to it for the most of the series and it has the normal absurdities I enjoy in reading Slice Of Life manga.

The bad:
As a romance this story fell apart for me when the characters started facing real problems in the adult world. The problems are never addressed and the story ends without the couple realizing that the future of their relationship is in serious jeopardy. There are 24 episodes, so surely there was time to show the viewer that the couple is dealing with and found solutions to their problems.

In the original Chinese version the love the ML had as an adult for the FL came across much better and I believed they could make it work. In this remake it's difficult not to think the FL should have ended up with the secondary male. None of this is the fault of the actors - it's a crappy script.

Lastly, eventually the male lead became to youthful looking for his age. The same actors played the characters from age 14 to 30 and only the FL could really pull 30 off. The male lead looked 24 max and not enough was done to differentiate his character at different ages.

There was a lot to like about this story, but in the end it was disappointing. I don't want to spend hours of my life watching a show that ends with a couple with a dim future.

Will I re-watch it? No. Am I furious that I watched it? Also no.

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I don't know how to start my review on this but I want to establish first that I loved the Chinese version of this. That being said, I will be writing many comparisons between this remake and the original in my review.

I did enjoy this one but it didn't give me the same level of butterflies than the original. Probably part of the reason is that Shen Yu and Hu Yi Tian have explosive chemistry. In this version, it was kinda lacking. And since this was shorter in duration, it didn't give much in-depth look at the characters. I feel like people who didn't watch the original will not really appreciate the phasing of this one. I was crying on Jin Hwan's story arc but that's because I was so attached to his character in the C-version, this version didn't give my Philae & Rosetta justice.

Now what I loved in this version is that the male lead is so squishy, fluffy, kind and overall a better person than the original. As I said, I wasn't much into the chemistry of the leads but I still wanna give this a high rating because of Cha Heon's character. I didn't know it was the actor's first role. Sol-i though was the opposite. I didn't like how the actress portrayed her. I don't remember the original version to be squeaky.

If you want to watch this one but haven't watched the original, I recommend you watch the original first. It will make you comprehend more and understand each character better and will give you an enjoyable experience in watching this just like I did.

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Chill, cute, fluffly, and extremely bingeable

I never really got into chinese dramas so I haven't seen the chinese version, but what I have to say about this one is: I LOVED IT

so, I had just finished Navillera and I *needed* something chill and cute and fluffy yo watch, and that's exactly what that it. It's reeeally bingeable, I think I might have seen 22 of the 24 episodes in a day (I really wasn't feeling like studying today)

The only thing that slighly bothered me was the age difference, I knew the actress so I knew her age and the boy can't look over his age, no matter how hard they try, so it did look a bit awkward in the last few episodes lol

But overall this drama made me smile sooooo much. The first half (or the part that they were in high school) was sooo good, it felt like a sitcom, and I think I could watch dozens more episodes of those. When they grow up it starts to get a lot more serious, but I didn't mind it that much cause it feel a bit more realistic that way.

The love triangle was okay in the beginning, but after a while (when they're grown ups) I'm just like "dude, she doesn't like you, it's been teen years, go find someone else". But he was really nice nevertheless.

At first I though the main character acting was really bad then I let it passed cause I realized this not only was his first time acting but also it might have been the characters / writing fault, since they even joke sometimes about how little he speaks or how long it takes for him to make a decision.

(this review became a lot longer than I expected so I'm stopping here hehe)

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There is nothing truly wrong about it… but it’s not right either.

This should not have 24 episodes… but it also should have more. It makes sense in my brain, truly. On one hand, the show was simply boring because of the lackluster storytelling and constant time jumps - nothing was established well, which resulted in me not caring about anything, so why make it so long? On the other hand, giving it more episodes could potentially make the show better - making the pacing more even, not skipping a few years every 5 minutes of screen time.

What was that “each episode starts a few months later” deal. They literally kept starting from new moments in lives, with no closure to the previous ones. You will literally have to write 80% of the plot in your head yourself, fill all the gaps. It's literally like a YouTube compilation of the drama highlights... but it's actually the whole drama.

The thing is, I would rather watch 24 episodes of behind the scenes, than the show itself. Last few minutes of the last episode, showing some NGs, was truly the best part and I could not stop smiling and laughing.

The characters? I don’t even know. Heon was all over the place, but I blame it on Yo Han’s delivery. At the same time, there were few moments that truly made the character awful… But Sol-i? At some point she is 30 in the show, but acts like a middle schooler. There is no development nor maturing with her character. She acts exactly the same in the opening episode in high school, and fully grown up in the last episode.

Who I liked? Ha Young and Jin Hwan. They were so adorable and entertaining to watch. Seo Ji Soo also did not get enough screen time. I would not mind her becoming part of the friend’s group. She would fit perfectly.

Onto the acting. People think playing an emotionless, cold male lead is easy, but it’s not - it’s an art of its own, and sadly Yohan did not master it. I guess one could say the acting is actually quite balanced - So Ju Yeon was overacting…and Yohan was not acting at all, barely reading the script.

OST wise, except for the intro cover, which was loveable, great and always made me happy, I don't remember even one song.

Overall, it’s just painfully mediocre. It’s basically fast food entertainment.

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A very summarized version.

If you have watched the Chinese version, I would strongly advise that you do not watch this version. (Do watch the wedding dance scene though it’s probably the best scene.) However this version does have some good points to it..

Pros:
-second ML’s looks (TBH I think swimmer guy in this version is more attractive) and his acting is on par with the actor of the original version.
-the cute relationship between FL and her dad
-making tweaks to the story to make it fit into a korean context
-second FL and third ML relationship

Cons:
-ML is not cold enough. He has a pretty boy face and really is obvious with his feelings. He smiles way more than ML in the original version which makes it not suit the character.
-the transition between scenes tend to be very abrupt. With the time limitations, a lot of things need to be cut but it became that a lot of details were not shown making it especially hard to connect.
-FL’s tone. I have watched FL in dr romantic 2 and u actually liked her acting there and never felt that she was forcing herself into the character. But in this drama, her tone just irritates me, it’s so exaggerated that I just cringe every time she says “cha heon”. She also ruined the famous opening scene :( Note: in the original version the FL never ever speaks in a cutesy voice so she’s definitely not modeling the original version.
-ML can be more expressive with his emotions. Granted it’s his first time acting so he probably doesn’t know exactly how to yet? But in the original version, It was also FL’s first time acting.
-The missing height difference (there is but not as significant)

The Chinese version had 24-one hour-episodes while this version has 24-twenty minutes-episodes. From this you can already know that they probably cut out many details and events.

A few important details that I felt they really neglected are:
-ML and his mom’s relationship
-the dedication of the teacher
-how ML became warmer to FL
-second FL’s love for the doctor
-the seriousness of second ML’s injury

Overall, I must say I’m pretty disappointed as I had high hopes. I think the production team really made a mistake when they decided 20 minute episodes would be sufficient.

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this remake is different than the original one but still beautiful in its own way.

im not usually write a review in here but here i am. i just finished watching this show last night and i cant stop thinking about it since. many people compared this show to the chinese one but i love both show, i think they have their own way beautifulness. but in the other side i love this show more, the korea version bc i think this show is so on point without anything that makes this show too much, i finish it just in 3 or 4 days bc usually the other show took me longer to finish them. and i love kim yohan so much after watching this, the way i know this is his first time and he really nailed it!

so for people who throw hate to this show i hope you guys reconsider it! think about it, bc remake show doesnt always have to be exact same to the original one. and for those who havent watch it, i told you, just give it a try! youll like it just like i do.

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A nice story for in-between and short days

First of all, I have not seen the original story, but I am sure the C-Drama is better. It also has a different genre, has more deepening and is more emotional.

The Korean adaption, on the other side, is a short drama with 24 episodes, each around 20 minutes long. It is colorful, cute and lighthearted. One of these dramas where you just can sit back and not be emotionally involved or stressed.
I personally need something like that after an intense drama.

The story:

Shin Sol Yi (So Ju Yeon) is madly in love with her clever and good-looking neighbor and classmate Cha Heon (Kim Yo Han). However, he ignores her caring for him and is rather cold towards her. She still does not give up and clings onto him. When a new student Woo Dae Sung (Yeo Hoe Hyun) joins the class, he immediately shows interest in the sunshine Shin Sol Yi. This is when Cha Hoen realizes he does indeed care for her and the whole drama begins.

In general, the story takes place over a lager timespan. It starts during their school years and shows different stages of these in ca. 17 episodes. Afterwards, the drama moves on quite quickly, showing some episodes at university and how they deal with job until they are something around 30. The pacing was fine, but towards the end everything was a bit rushed.

The characters:
As you can get a small inside from the description above, you notice that Shin Sol Yi and also Woo Dae Sung appear as true sunshines towards the fevers. Even tho Cha Hoen was portrayed as cold-hearted at first, this description soon won't do him justice anymore.

What I really loved were the supporting actors and the friends group. Shin Sol Yi really has some of the best friends you can get in the entire world, and the bond of her classmates was strong as well.

It is been some time since I watched the drama, but there are scenes which I remember still till that day.
Simply, there is not much to say. I enjoyed the drama and will definitely watch it again if I feel down, and so should you :).

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STREAM OR SKIP?

I have watched both the versions of A Love so Beautiful, the difference between the korean and the chinese version is that the korean version has 24 episodes each being 20 minutes long, where as the chinese versions has 24 episodes with each being 40 mins long and yes this did affect the plot-line a lot as the developed and growth of characters presented in the chinese version were not at all seen in the korean one.

Korean format focused more on the school years of the characters.
The Chinese original version was, on the other hand, more melodramatic and mature, with a larger focus on family problems and the characters’ adult life which helps one grow on the characters and know about them more deeply.
The Korean version is not a step by step adaption of the original, it just takes some plotlines and creates their own story which resulted in the lack of dept and the plot being left shallow. The drama has a very fast pace, and, at times, it’s too fast and makes things feel rushed.
Unfortunately, this remake failed to deliver the sweet cute chemistry and heart that the original C version did.
I liked the C version and was excited for the remake.
I think they really miscast this, there was zero chemistry between the leads and the female lead's acting just looked really cringe and didn't even suit her.
The male lead was just stoic and i didn't feel any connection or likeness towards him to be very honest, the C version had a stoic male lead too but we actually got to see his character growth and how he let down his walla and changed for the sake of his girl.
Now coming to the other characters, the second male lead visually i would say yes, but he left me disappointed as the C version one was really charming, i felt bad for him throughout the drama as i could see how much the girl meant for him. The K version had a nice male lead, yes he did a lot for our female lead as well..its just he didn't leave any mark for me.
The drama is an epitome of bad casting and direction.

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A teenage love story

I did not watch the Chinese series, so I will not (and obviously cannot) make any comparisons. I had no expectations on this drama, so I guess I just loved it as it is. Everything you needed in a high school romance drama was there: hanging out with buddies, falling in love, teenage crushes, good and bad teachers, school assignments, meeting (or not meeting) parents at home and extracurricular activities (sports, theater, singing).

The main leads were nice and cute, and so were the other 3 supporting leads. The male lead was kind of a shy, aloof and awkward guy who didn't know how to express himself and the female lead was cute girl who badly needed attention in a nice way. The friendship dynamics among the five of them was cute. I particularly liked the scene when they went out of town, and lied to their parents about staying overnight at each friend's house, and all sat down watching the evening scenery.

The acting was good. The female lead, Soo Ju Yeon, who is 27 years old, really did well acting as a high school girl. Kim Yo Han was also great, knowing that this was his first drama/film. In the last episode, where they showed behind-the-scenes, you can see how totally different Cha Heon's personality was compared to Yo Han in real life. Yo Han really looked like he enjoyed the dancing scene (at his best friend's wedding) so much, which was not the kind of thing you would expect from the quiet Dr. Cha Heon.

Anyway, I enjoyed this drama. Something nice and sweet, bringing back memories of your youthful days (as also mentioned in the last episode), Would I watch this drama again? Yes, definitely.

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