Wonderful World (2024)

Melancholic Drama

Wonderful world started wonderfully but heartbreakingly. It exhibited a saddening aura right from the very first episode.

Wonderful world is what I'd refer to as a "saddening drama"! This is one of the most saddening kdramas I've watched. I mean, the first two episodes completely changed my mood from cheerful to sad.
Eun Soo hyun and Gwon Seon Yul suffered greatly. Soo hyun lost her son, and during those time she almost lost the will to live. Seon Yul lost his father, making his family fall into ruins. The first two leads character are one of the most melancholy characters I've seen.

But it's a good thing justice was served in the end, and the villain was punished. Furthermore, the best of of it all was that soo hyun and seol hyun rose again, and finally got their lives back. And though the ending was a kind of rushed, and it wasn't exactly what I expected, I'd like to commend the actors of wonderful world, they were awesome in their respective roles.
All the actors portrayed their roles wonderfully, especially the first leads.

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Vengeance can give Justice, but real peace comes from forgiveness!

⭐PROS:
The story's main theme is vengeance by a mother who lost a child and a child who lost a parent - who make questionable decisions while blinded by anger & grief, unaware that there is a bigger mastermind behind the injustice they are going through. As the drama progresses & unravels the mystery - it beautifully showcases characters coming to terms with their loss, grief, loneliness & finally peace - in varying degrees.

The latter is a great point shown in the drama - cause while the incident (loss of a dear one) may have been a common point for many characters involved, each of them has their own way of coping with it. And in doing so it shows the growth and strength of that character. Love the ending - I like how realistic they kept it without making it flowery in the end, cause such stories are raw emotions throughout which you cannot tie the ends with a flower and bow. Really likes how each character comes to together in the hour of need - in spite of the bad blood they had before.

⭐CONS:
The story is not new - and while the actors are all great names of the industry and deliver their role well, it was not remarkable/memorable for me. I have seen all the actors in other dramas and know how powerful they can be - here they felt weak in comparison. Not that they are bad - just that they are doing this for the sake of it - they are actors here, they did not live the characters - as per me.

Also, the pacing of this drama was a con for me, and this is a personal opinion. I'm someone who enjoys dramas having breakneck speed, but I believe while this drama maybe tagged as thriller, mystery - it was that but also healing and wholesome, hence for many the pacing would not be an issue but rather a very emotional ride.

⭐OVERALL:
Hence, rating this is a 7 - which in my books is a good drama. Not a masterpiece or something I'll watch again, or recommend greatly to anyone. But rather it is a good watch one time watch if these are the themes that interest you.


⭐ MILD SPOILER - to highlight some great work / small things but went a long way:

- Love how the son-in-law comes to take care of the mother-in-law. And even before that while his mother was earlier a cold character, it is amazing to see how in her heart she actually a warm person and is just looking out for her family - immediate and in-laws too.
- The sisters, tbh, it would not work the way it did in real life; but it was a beautiful relationship and very well done by both the actresses.
- The brother-in-law had a very minimal screentime, but still was so crucial at important change of scenes. Usually in dramas crucial information is lost because main characters "miss" each other and then cause a lot frustrating misunderstandings. I like how here the brother-in-law was the narrator in a way who kept the information flowing from one character to another. Eg: how he tells his sister-in-law about the reality of Cha Eun Woo's character. Also how in the end - he tells his sister-in-law about Eun Woo's mother etc. Also his mother acted as a conduit to relay the information to her elder son about his mother-in-law 's dementia.

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IN SEARCH OF THE WONDERFUL WORLD...

I think the best way to praise this drama is to say that it was a competent and well-built drama. None of the episodes were irrelevant or unimportant; all episodes were complementary to each other. In other words, we had an excellent execution here.

The conclusion was very conclusive and without loopholes. My last doubt was regarding the gate video and what an irony of fate, it was the controversial Soo Ho protecting his wife from the certainty that he had closed the gate. I found this explanation excellent and very consistent.

I will praise Cha EunWoo for accepting to play a character completely outside of his comfort zone and I confess that I saw positive acting points in the last episodes. I hope he continues on this path and challenges himself as an actor.

In a final analysis, the drama taught that the WONDERFUL WORLD is built daily and with small achievements. After all, life is not built only of victories and happiness.

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Will Justice prevail?

Nowadays, Korean dramas are centering around heartbreaks and hardships. The latest installment is Cha Eun Woo starrer Wonderful World. The story explores the pain of a parent after losing a child.

The story starts with a happy chapter, unfurling the wonderful world of Soo Hyun who is busy adoring her miracle child Geon Woo, and her supportive husband Kang Su Ho. She is a psychologist and also is busy warming up to the success of her new book. But her wonderful world crashes as her son dies in a hit-run accident. Immersed in grief and guilt the mother ends up killing the perpetrator as he was spared of punishment. As Soo Hyun is convicted of murder., she secludes herself from her remaining life and drives her husband away.
Enters another chapter of the story, Seon Yul who works multiple part-time jobs to make a living. He encounters Soo Hyun in jail where he offers voluntary service. His character builds the suspense that is responsible for the smooth running of the story.

The story was built on a strong plot. However, the director failed to hold the narrative. The inclusion of impossible coincidences and pathetic twists is responsible for ruining the story of 5th episode. The addition of political villains seemed unnecessary as it dragged the title away from its theme. The caricatured villains do nothing but spoil the game of every commoner like they have been doing for every drama. Constant flashbacks and a prolonged '90s scene seemed to have been elongated without any entail. Creating obvious villains is responsible for sprawling the game.

Kim Nam Joo's portrayal of a bereaving mother- oscillating between fury and numbness is the sole survivor of the tale. Her journey from a happy mother to immersed in pain got lost behind a thin plotline. The series failed to decipher her acting spree. Cha Eun Woo - it is good to see the beautiful face of K-pop trying a new genre this time. After his venture into the Island, his enactment of Seon Yul was quite a challenge. He delivered his best shot to date but it seemed luck was not in his favour.

It is really disappointing to watch such a solid cast show drifting apart due to poor direction and cinematography. It is just another series embroiled in a loose storyline and loose narrative.

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Well Written Story

This is the kind of drama that keeps you seated wanting badly for the next episodes to drop. The urge to know the secrets behind the the events that take place and the stories behind the main characters will keep you guessing. I love how every succeeding episode answers questions I have in the previous ones. The story steadily escalates , diving into the mysteries of the characters' lives while the actors play their parts very well. This is worth everyone's time. After all that has happened, the people you choose to surround yourself with will help you realize that it is still a wonderful world.

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Captivating & Heeling

i started watching it because of it was mbc friday & saturday drama not because i’m any of the leads fan or the genre fan (not a biased review). i came to find this drama very healing. it really teaches you how to forgive and move on for better. it has a revenge and revealing truth aspect too but it’s not really like a revenge drama it would be. it focuses more on the process of leads healing, finding peace and living a better life.

this drama is also quite sad so be ready to cry. i cried a lot throughout the acting of everyone is amazing you will be able to feel their emotions.

each of the character learned something and had a good growth.

there is so many little things about this drama i appreciate such as, background music and cinematography.

I liked it a lot definitely worth a watch. i loved the last episode the ending did not disappointed me. last 20 minutes of ep 16 ??

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