Romance in the House (2024)

Average drama with an unlikely premise and a dumbfounding conclusion.

This drama had a lot going for it--strong cast, good production values, "romance" in the title--except a script. FL Son Na Eun with her glorious scowl/RBF and mom Kim Jee Soo were the most engaging characters, but they didn't have much to work with.

Most of the other (negative) reviews focus on the absurd premise of a hapless father abandoning his wife and two small children after going bankrupt and leaving them destitute, only to return 10 years (or more?) later with a pile of sketchy money and a not very well thought out plan to win their hearts back. But as bad as that is, it isn't even the worst aspect of the plot, which is the almost stupifying "I don't need no man to make me happy" conclusion. But who could blame them? In the almost complete absence of any redeemable male characters in the whole drama, the two principal female characters decide that they are better off/happy living alone. The icing on the cake comes when the young FL asserts she is happy continuing to live her celibate lifestyle and has absolutely no intention of ever getting married--despite her supposedly wonderful relationship with her nice guy boyfriend. (I wonder if she consulted him about this...) The writer even had the temerity to throw in a reference to South Korea's lowest in the world .78 birth rate in the same scene. And this was a "romance"? Mind blown.

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Like watching paint dry

This series was a chore for me to finish and if it wasn't because of being a completionist and because I had nothing else to watch I would have dropped it a long time ago. It simply never gets better.

The original premise was interesting enough but this kept me entertained for a couple of episodes tops due mostly to the daughter's character. She was very annoying and immature and as the show went on it became a struggle to watch her scenes (and she's more of a main character than any of the others).

The only element in this drama that is interesting enough was the character of the father as a flawed character that has done very questionable things, but it's almost like they didn't want to commit to anything too in-depth for his past story and how he got where he is now and they just made up a very silly backstory that wasn't even funny. I almost would have preferred he simply won the lottery or something.
The relationship of the parents is more interesting but it doesn't develop in a very engaging way, it becomes stagnant at some point and doesn't pass much farther than that (either in a positive or negative way, I mean). I didn't personally like the mother much at all so I wasn't that invested in them even if their relationship was certainly better than the daughter's for having more nuance. Their acting was overall better as well.
Obviously there could be a long debate about if the father should be accepted in the family again and personally I think that realistically no. But as the episodes passed they wanted so hard for the audience to forget what he had done. I could maybe understand the mother forgiving him as she's the masochist/enabler type (you only have to see the son to see this as well), but when it comes to their children I would expect them more likely to go no contact or maximum forgiving but not forgetting and having just a polite relationship but not one of affection or love, especially the daughter.

I would have preferred they didn't have children or they would have been very background characters because they're both very insufferable though. I get they didn't get very good parental education but it's not entertaining to watch.
Mi Rae is just extremely annoying at times and her rivalry and fights with his father got old extremely quickly. It took way too long for the mother to remind her that she's an adult and that it's ultimately her prerogative. On the other hand I think the way her mother handled kicking the daughter out of the house was very rude and wrong on so many levels but they try to sell it to me like it was the best course of action because they decided that it would work.

The son/brother is such a piece of spoiled work and they simply don't solve anything nor they dwell enough in his character, he's just background annoyance and I don't think he brings anything to the plot other than, if anything, proving once more how terrible parents the main characters are. In the end somehow he manages out of the blue and everything is fine, it was so weak and absurd. He is an inconsistent character and him saying that he's always in the dark and no one cares for him but also siding with his father from the beginning are contradictory to me. Even if the mother didn't explicitly tell him at the time the father had gone I'm sure he would have worked it all out eventually on his own when the father never came home, so it doesn't make sense that he doesn't have any resentment towards the father, unless he blamed the mother for it, but c'mon, he wasn't that young when the father left to not have seen anything of what was going on. It's simply bad writing, the end.

The relationship between Mi Rae and Tae Pyeong was so plain and boring. Chemistry where? I didn't see any whatsoever.
Generally speaking I didn't like their acting much either, especially hers. I think Min Ho tried, although I've seen him acting better in other dramas than in this one. I had never seen Son Na Eun in anything before and I don't know her, but her acting was pretty bad, communicated the bare minimum and so many times it was so stiff, especially when she had to convey emotions and especially when it was a romantic scene. It was not enjoyable.
Tae Pyeong as a character was just so stereotypical. Son of a CEO but he doesn't care and tries to do something else but OH LA LA he falls in "love" (if we can call it that because it's left very superficial) with the FL. He would have been more interesting if he had been only a taekwondo teacher. Him being the CEO's son added nothing and was only used for that office drama at the end, and his father being in fact his brother also added nothing to the plot. It's almost like they wanted to add there a cinderella story or something but they didn't commit enough to it so they just kept it as her scoring the jackpot in meeting him.

The neighbours are so annoying as well, why are there so many as background characters and what do they add to the plot? none of them is even that close to the main family, it's pure filler. I didn't care for any of them, not even the hairdresser friend, that becomes extremely background once her connection to the ML is revealed and she's just there for that lackluster relationship with ML's tax accountant.

The general plot is extremely basic other than the father's unknown past, and at the same time I feel like they didn't explain properly many things or they just forgot about them what is an achievement with such a thin plot and that many episodes. Office scenes are generally boring and nothing out of stereotypes happen. The last minute office drama because of their relationship is such a overused trope, I couldn't care less. You can have a linear overused plot if your characters are making up for it, but here the characters just made it so much worse. The last two episodes are fillers as well, once the anticlimactic backstory of the father is revealed they just did scenes here and there trying to close a bit things but nothing in an interesting way, I found myself fast-forwarding bits here and there. It was boring and also quite slow many times, with scenes that added nothing. At some points I had it at 1.5 speed and I couldn't even tell. This is a lot coming from someone that likes both slice of life dramas and mumblecore films and doesn't mind at all the slowness as long as it's meaningful.
Instead of spending so many episodes with the raging of the daughter for the father like a spoiled brat I would have preferred they had moved on from that a lot earlier and we got to see more of the new mother's career as a model for example, it was more entertaining and not something you see as often for a middle aged character.

Product placement is on the face at times, and that one in the last couple of episodes with the freckles removal was one of the worsts sponsorships I've seen in a drama. I know, I know, they hate freckles! But it was so cringe and such a bad taste to me that I can't help it.

I personally can't recommend it.
- Comedy? no, I didn't laugh once.
- Romance? not much and quite dry.
- Complete characters? not at all.
- Likeable characters? If you like plain characters then maybe Tae Pyeong and not much else.
- Interesting plot? no, it doesn't know what it wants to focus in and it's left at very superficial and everything is forgiven because blood and past relationship.
- Melodrama? Not sure, the most melodrama here is the daughter being a childish brat instead of dealing with the problem in a more mature and rational way.

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Not your cliche fairytale dramas

The drama from the start has been chaotic and funny but at the same time does well with the emotional moments too. The chemistry between the leads isn't fiery and passionate but kept subtle and fluffy. There are many funny moments and twists in every episode but it never overpowers the core of the story. The drama isn't your fairytale ones but a mature approach to such topics.

The dynamics between the family be it that of husband - wife or father- daughter are complicated because of their painful past and struggles. Every character be it the family members or other characters have their own inner struggles that slowly comes out and is healed with the help of their loved ones.

Ji Jin Hee nailed it with his role as Mu Jin. Till now I have only seen him in serious roles but he knows how to pull off both emotional and funny moments well. Kim Jee Soo as a mother and wife showed her conflicting emotions really well. Na Eun and Min Ho too have done good with their part, they are not great but not bad too.

It is one good drama if you are looking for something more than the average cute fluffy dramas that are going on right now.

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Interesting Family ?

The series depicts the story of Byeon Moo-jin, who went bankrupt a dozen years ago and got divorced, and who appears in front of his daughter Byeon Mi-rae and wife Geum Ae-yeon 14 years later as a multi-billionaire.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Romance in the House. I just finished episode 12 . The character development has been great. It does see, slow at times, but that is because the actors and producers have worked hard to create real or authentic relationships between the characters.

So as not to give spoilers, I will say the story line with the slowly developed over time with gestures and actions has been my favorite part. It has made their story that much sweeter and long lasting

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Easy and fun :)

This show was a definite rollercoaster ride for me. There were instances I absolutely laughed my heart out and enjoyed but then there were times when I hated it so much.

What I did not like:
1. The gaslighting of the daughter's feelings. It feels like although the family and society were largely accepting of her feelings, they did overlook them under the garb of "too much pressure/responsibility" or whatever that nonsense was invalidating her feelings.
2. Too much interference in relationships - while the daughter's feelings were valid, her babying her mother so much as to interfere in her relationships was just a pain to watch.
3. How bad they did to Sanha's character. He's been so poorly written when in fact it could have been a strong storyline. We see that in the last 2-3 episodes. Way too much emphasis on the same old "how did he make the money" mystery. It gets old after a point of time.

What I liked:
They addressed most if not all the issues I have which I like. The dislikes 1 and 2 are more like character flaws, which we have to accept considering character development is the entire point of watching the drama. I like how Mi-rae grows as a person and her mother grows as an independent woman. I like how they made these characters human, who though wrong, learn from it over time and do better. I also found many instances to be funny. It was a light and easy watch for me that I thoroughly enjoyed. Also, as a Minho fan, it was so endearing to watch him in this role. He's super cute and I'm all for it. The man is fine af. Also, the acting by Jin Hee is top-notch. He's just as good as one would expect him to be. I also like how they have given equal weightage to both relationships and given so much time to a rather mature couple, which we rarely see. It's been a fun ride.

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Potemkin Family Villa

"There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me. Only an entity. Something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours, and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simply am not there." -from the opening monologue of "American Psycho"

While no one in "Romance in the House" is chopping unsuspecting victims to bits with an axe while jamming to Huey Lewis and the News, this drama is not hip nor square nor a shape of really any kind. It's an amalgamation of scenes and characters and workplaces and drinking scenes and backstories that not merely don't add up, but don't make any semblance of an impression at any point.

No actor and character, whether lead or supporting or guest, connects convincingly with any other. Perhaps it's a function of how stock the roles are - the driven, young, humorless corporate salarywoman, her flippant younger brother, the cute boyfriend that's both connected to power & money and with a tragic family backstory, the collection of stereotypically nosy supporting characters, the office gossipers and the former hero athlete. To his credit, Ji Jin Hee goes full tilt to bringing Mu Jin to life, but there's nothing to connect him to. Kim Jee Soo's Ae Yeon is so busy being resigned to her fate that their rekindling romance never feels credible. Meanwhile, Son Na Eun thankfully gets a role that isn't the petulant pretty girl but she overcompensates by being so grim and cranky that she comes across as an unpleasant scold. And Choi Min Ho is simply not a lead actor. He's a cute and chipper supporting gem, but he simply can't express any emotion other than wide-eyed aw shucks surprise. Even when he's acting out a scene where he's supposed to be in a rage or inconsolably sad, he looks like, on the inside, he's just jazzed about the mint chocolate chip ice cream cone with extra sprinkles on top that he'll get as soon as the director yells "CUT!"

The plot attempts to gin up tension by concealing the mystery of Mu Jin's whereabouts for years, his reason for suddenly returning and how he acquired new wealthy status during his absence. The issue is that the tone of the production makes it impossible to imagine that all the hints and speculation of possible illicit means being involved could be true. With no believable mystery of whether Mu Jin has a dark side, there's just a lot of aimless and circular meanderings until the inevitable pairings and reunifications conclude.

The result is much like Patrick Bateman's description of himself - an empty shell - only without the catchy 80's pop tunes and exquisitely crafted business cards.

Not recommended.

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Even though i was expecting it, i am mad at the ending

So there seems to be a bit of bad blood between fans of the dad's actor and the fans of the young leads, not sure why, apart from complaints about him not being in enough scenes. Personally i think all the lead actors are pretty good.
The show itself is shot pretty well and overall solid execution.

Spoilers (rant) ahead:
Personally though i just hate the dad character and from the first episode i knew that the "happy ending" was gonna be him being accepted by the family. I have seen some people mention how its nice that the family is healing and stuff, but like how? He was gone for over a decade then he came back and just forced himself into their lives. They were strugling for so long without him, the daughter basically had no life trying to help with the family. Then he comes in after he has money and tries to win them over. But like he didnt do anything, besides flaunt his money, to make them like him. They tried to redeem him by showing that he got scammed and then he tracked down the scammer and beat him up and then got money from a family member of another scam victim. Like ok, so what? He did that while his family was alone for over a decade. He could have spent that time working and sending them money at least, but he just needed to heal his ego. Like there was zero redeeming qualities about him,
The mom still loves him, ok, thats fine i guess, she knew him before he became a fuck up. But the way the son acted clingy to the dad was pretty annoying, though maybe a bit understandable, since he was small when the dad left and didnt know much.
But the daughter accepting him being back towards the end was so terrible IMO, there was no redeeming actions from him. If anything he acted so smug with her, if he at least was humble and apologetic (there were a few scenes, but too few and too little) there might be something, but as it was he should have been kicked out. And the last scene of them eating together all happy was like a slap in the face.
Also the gossipy neighbours were annoying.
Her love interest being the CEO's "son" was unnecessary IMO and didnt really lead to much of anything"

The show is watchable for the relationship of the young couple and the relationship between the mom and daughter, but IMO anything to do with the dad is very disappointing.

Honestly if the ending was that at least the daughter didnt accept the dad i would have scored this show much higher

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every single one of the characters

even though i knew for a moment the drama was about the parents somehow i forgot and kinda started watching it because of minho ??? so i was still pretty sad they didn't come out that much AND I KNOW WHY

looking at my rate y'all would know that i'm gonna say bad things because it's not that i hated it BUT it wasn't my fav drama so far and i have A LOT to say about it

aeyeon and moojin: i didn't root for their relationship lmao it was good that they just decided to live separately but i dont think they should have got back? moojin was kinda like a d*ck, must because he called aeyeon a sl*t the first time he asked her for a second chance and she told him no. aeyeon... i think she was pretty okay but it looked like she didnt know how to be authoritarian and almost let mirae do everything about what aeyeon should do and wasnt the best mom. btw i kinda have a love-hate relationship with the moment she decided to kick out mirae because i understood the reason she did it but also made me feel like wtf was wrong with her but okay

mirae: i kinda hated her. even in the first moment. because i dont think there was a good reason to dislike (hate???) her father. yeah, he was a d*ck and listen, i did relate to her because of my daddy issues but the "reason" she had to dislike him wasnt that deep in my opinion. although i think it was quite stupid to not want her parents to get back ??? like,, why??? its none of her business, even if her father was an assh0le her mom was a mf grown adult- dont you think she was old enough to know what to do or not????

hyunjae: sigh. he stressed me out. A LOT. i think he was SO immature. their parents didnt let him start his own business and he wanted to run away??? how old are you?? one time, he told someone (i cant remember if it was mirae or aeyeon) that nobody asked him what was his opinion when their parents got divorced/separated... he was a mf child, and even if he was old enough, why would his parents even ask him his opinion??? you know nothing, and you dont have any right to give your opinion. yes, he is their child but it was something between his parents. again, as the youngest child, i relate to him but i understood the thing he couldnt at idk, 13??? at least they made him get a job?

taepyeong: the only good thing about this drama was minho <3 his character was so good and full of green flags, he really took care of mirae <3 and also, the relationship between him and mirae was so cute ngl even tho i just said sh*t about her :3

i think the 6 i gave to this drama was because i pretty much cried at some scenes, when mirae and moojin talked after mirae had hurt herself in the bicycle and when mirae and aeyeon talked after her mom kicked her out. its something i could rescue about it

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Unlikely story but with lovely and consistent characters

A friend recently told me "it's not that most men are evil and bad, just that a lot of them somehow become incompetent when they get married"

And while watching this drama, the dad's character Mu Jin reminded me of what my friend is saying. He can have the best intentions, but it has exhausted his family.

This drama is not your typical kdrama, hence it got quite a bit of hate from kdrama lovers that prefers a bit of melo and tragedy in their comedies as is usually expected of com-com kdramas. I really enjoyed every bit of it and am happy they didn't drag on to the usual 16 episodes length. It kep being light and fun throughout while approaching different family dynamics and its long term side effects on its members. My only critism would be that they managed to resolves all issues that usually would take years to unravle without truly diving enough. However, it would've lost its light touch if they did.

There's a lot of critism about the mom character Geum Ae Yeon but she was the one I was able to understand most. Did I condone all her actions? Certainly not! But her actions her consistent with her character. The daughter's character Mi Rae annoyed me numerous times throughout the drama but given her character history, it just made sense. At the end of the day it was a family that had love there, but did not do well in the communication department which caused the damages it did.

The ending was a good as things can get. It might not be to everyone's taste but made sense to me. The only thing preventing me from giving this rama a higher rating is how it all felt synthetic. I just feel like the ideas were there, the conversations reveal a meaningful going into the creation of the characters. It just could have dived a bit more for authenticity.

It's a flawed drama with flawed characters but overall but and worth the watch.

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