Love Next Door (2024)

Missed the mark: a rom-com turned melodrama with failed comedy and messy storylines

Despite its popularity, ‘Love Next Door’ feels like a failed attempt at narrating an already messy plot, lacking in many aspects that make a show captivating and overall underwhelming in terms of production. I found the series unmemorable, and was especially disappointed by the lacklustre chemistry between leads, slow-moving storylines, and jokes that felt uncomfortable from being misplaced. As a result of these flaws, the romance the main leads shared felt bland, and its comedic scenes would most-likely only appeal to those with an eccentric sense of humour. Its comedy and romance were insufficient to carry the series from its start to its end, which is why it makes sense as to why it progressively leaned more and more into melodrama territory rather than the rom-com that it had promised viewers ahead of its release.

The many tropes that have come together to bring the characters’ stories to life—such as childhood friends to lovers, the discovery of oneself, reconciliation between family, the annoying banter and quarrelling of siblings, and obviously, as the title suggests; a lover next door—are carried by a unique mix of emotion that highlights the series’ authenticity. Although it often shifts between the lives of different characters, the lead’s pure affection towards one-another threads the episodes with a consistent warmth, stopping viewers from getting lost in these constant changes. Their ever-deepening relationship blossomed slowly over time, navigating them through the incessant waves of trial and error faced by young adults while going through their period of self-discovery. This enabled the series to deliver a slow-burnesque type of love story with its leads, taking away from all the other aspects of their relationship, such as its simplicity, softness, and juvenile innocence. Not only did the romance fail in bringing a smile to my face mostly because of its painfully slow progress, but so did the comedic moments, heavy from the serious matters brought to light. Though the series's depth brought meaning to even the most lighthearted interactions shared between characters, it ultimately stole the show from its playful and humorous nature. If anything, the only good this did was bring out their rawest sides by presenting them using an approach that highlighted their faults and flaws. This tactic gave a realistic and emotional face to the characters, but also contributed to my disliking towards them.

The characters have each endured countless struggles, of which the worst have been Dong-jin’s early heart surgery, Mi-suk’s childhood in poverty, Seok-ryu’s cancer and depression, Seung-hyo’s near death experience and past car accident, and Dan-ho’s loss of family members. These dark times that have been presented shows that the series relies on tragedy to highlight the fragility of life as well as the preciousness of love. This deepens the bond shared between characters, and gives room for forgiveness and reconciliation. The technique used in bringing the story to life with strong emotions also worked in accordance to the viewers’ desires, because not only did it fortify the bonds between the families presented, but it also helped bloom the flawed but precious relationship that Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo shared in the last episodes of the series. Through living and reminiscing encounters that each held the possibility of a sad fate, the characters realised the importance of these relationships that may seem trivial, but of which are a necessity in overcoming trauma and accepting oneself. This vulnerability from fear and uncertainty, combined with exasperating hope for fulfilment of dreams, blurred the line between hidden secrets and spoken words. This combination of emotion created intimate scenes of verbal communication where love danced and pent-up emotion spilled.

From the very beginning, the series started on a rather serious note, rendering its advertising misleading, especially with the poster’s fun and colourful vibes. Its viewership ratings, of which have dropped exponentially since the airing of the first few episodes, only serve as confirmation to this claim. The concept photos put an emphasis on hopefulness, and contentment, though these themes are only truly present in the last episodes of the series. It introduced viewers to its main message with the first emotional moment shared between the main leads, which is the importance of having a shoulder to lean on. After this emotionally heavy moment came a pause in the unfolding of secrets. The series circled around the series’ main event—which was Seok-ryu’s stomach cancer—with little bits of comedy and metaphorical insight before cutting through the main storyline with angst, denial, loss, and other strong emotions that contradict the series’ overall image of light-heartedness.

Because of its heavy themes, the entirety of the show’s lightness seemed to revolve around its aspect of comedy, and yet, even the laughing matters were arguably put in inappropriate context, leaving some viewers uncomfortable with their watch. Moments like these included Seok-ryu’s Mom, whose physical actions such as hitting to express her anger and displeasure were overused and could be seen as abuse. Secondly, they tried to make out comedy of an awkward moment between Seung-hyo’s parents where the couple was together with one of the wife’s higher-ups, who was forced into his confession of being gay. The series brings attention to this moment being the first time he openly stated his sexuality to an individual he wasn’t close with because of the homophobia present in South Korea. There were also a few times where Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo’s fathers were out for a drink, both talking about how they felt miserable and hopeless for their lives, and yet each time ended up turning into a laughing matter because of their particular drinking habits. So, overall, the series’ comedic aspect was a let-down, save for Seung-hyo’s Dad’s hidden hilarious personality that overshadowed the series’ other comedic moments that landed flat in failed attempts at being funny.

The plot development was overall mediocre, with significant parts lacking between the journey Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo took to get from being friends, to lovers. Though its structure was evidently present due to the outcome of their relationship, the plot itself was messy and hid behind characters that distracted all else with their unserious dialogue, consistent personalities, and strong feelings. The series’ flow wasn’t very structured, and the episodes delved into different ideas that branched off without intersecting or building on each other and of which didn’t end up anywhere or support any of the series’ main ideas. For example, it didn't delve into an exploration of the pressure to become successful and start families in South Korea, like the first few episodes suggested it would. Instead, it skimmed the side with a mere generalisation and brought it to life using the toxicity of Moms that loved to brag of their childs and childs that competed against each other.

As for the acting, although Jung So-min and Jung Hae-in succeeded in bringing the story to life, their facial expressions were unvaried and at times lifeless. With chemistry that fell short and the lack of focus on the female lead’s backstory in falling in love with her partner, their relationship seemed forced. Despite this, something I was able to appreciate in the development of their relationship was Seung-hyo’s confession of love. It was nothing grand, and took place in a familiar setting, which mirrored his feelings that were hiding subtly in their almost-30-year-old friendship. These hidden feelings of his simply yet slowly installed themselves in his heart, allowing him to accept them and let them grow before being certain in his action to confess to her. The lead couple was accompanied with a second romance that, although wholesome, got messed up by the confusing relationship between Dan-ho and Yeon-du, and insensitivity on Mo-eum’s side. When viewers learn of Dan-ho’s ‘daughter’ in the beginning, it is assumed he has a wife, so the scenes he shares with Mo-eum before the revelation of his relation with Yeon-du seem inappropriate. There also could have been reconsideration on Mo-eum’s side regarding the way she chose to act in Dan-ho’s presence. For example, her questionable choice to kiss him during a conversation they shared where Dan-ho expressed his sadness for the loss of Yeon-du’s Mom, and her persistence in making her feelings for him known even though they made him uncomfortable.

Another notable aspect of the show worth mentioning is the abundant amount of product placement. ‘Love Next Door’ advertised a wide variety of brands, dedicating multiple scenes per episode to product advertising. Its constant habit of veering off into commercial territory was distracting, and combined with its poor-production qualities and mediocre acting, it really decreased my level of appreciation for the show.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Love Next Door '' is a romantic melodrama with a healing story as the main theme.

The drama is pretty relaxing in pace, with a focus on the healing process and the family dynamics being its strongest part. The romance was, in that light, a slow burn with the final episodes being, however, just fillers as the story was pretty much done in the previous ones.

Still, the drama has a sweetness to it, as the characters overcome their difficulties and rise above them. So, yes, the romance was sweet too, but inferior compared to the core of the drama.

Finally, the performances were all great by everyone in the cast.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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‘chase your dreams’ ahh k-drama

I don’t know what I was expecting from this show but half of the things that happened seemed so out of place…?

I think love next door and no gain no love started streaming around the same time, and somehow the first few episodes of love next door were so positively received and talked about that I HAD to check it out.

And it was hyped up for a reason. The first few episodes were SO good, dragged me in like a mouse chasing a cheese in the trap. The actors were amazing and showcased their chemistry with each other from the get go. Not only were they likable but so were the side characters.

I enjoyed it a lot and was excited to see the ‘best friends to lovers’ trope bloom throughout the episodes.

But then…the cancer stomach thing happened. Listen I know K-Dramas love to add the most insane plotwists to their shows to catch you offguard but…I don’t know, it seemed to be so…out of place? I don’t know how to describe it. How the hell does someone even hide that big of an illness from everyone? And why even do that? It just honestly made me frustrated more than anything.

Besides that, I also think they could’ve made their reactions a little less dramatic. I would understand being upset but they went out of their ways to make her feel guilty for having it and blaming everything on her.

I don’t know, I just didn’t like that part in the K-Drama and after it, it just sorta started going downhill from there. It was going so well but then drama after drama after miscommunication after miscommunication kept happening. Like even the parents?! Nobody there was having a good time anymore.😭

It just became so burdensome and tiring to watch. Plots after that became boring- I mean imagine going from being exposed about hiding a big illness like cancer to trivial stuff like ‘omg my wife received flowers from her coworker she must be cheating on me!!!’ and making that a plot for almost 3 episodes.

It became boring, long story short.

It was really difficult for me to finish it and I was even dreading the last episode because people have been saying the ending didn’t even seem like an ending and then I watched it and they were right CUS WHAT KINDA ENDING WAS THAT?

It just felt like they ended it mid episode. I don’t know, I wasn’t satisfied to say the least. I expected so much more from this K-Drama, especially since Haein is one of my favourite actors. But this could’ve been a lot better imo.

It’s not bad and it’s a cute show sometimes when couples have scenes but other than that, other scenes were so empty and boring. If you like these actors though, it’s worth watching for them. I can’t lie that they really did well. Their chemistry was outstanding and it’s what made me continue the show, same with the second lead couple!! (Although at some point I started preferring the second lead couple more than the main lead couple.)

Pretty good but gets boring really fast, watch at your own risk!

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Thoughts up until ep 9

Current thoughts by ep 10:
The male lead is super whiney most of the time he is on screen with the female lead, seems to me like he was signed onto the project for his emotional acting saying every scene hes in is emontional as hell.
The female lead is either doing a great job playing something who hasnt fully coped with situation or just isnt great at doing emotional scenes. Ive felt in the past two episodes her acting has not matched the story of whats happening to her but again it could be that shes playing the role of someone whos lost and depressed super duper well.
The reporter and paramedic I find a lot more interesting
Idk if you are suppose to hate the ex, but after watching this ep I would argue he hasnt really done anything wrong
The parents hating the cooking thing I still dont understand, im assuming its got something to do with the dad
For most kdramas there is usually one major trope that drives the story, and the one for this was faked out with the stating that one of them cheated but in reality its something else that is introduced halfway thru. I dont have a problem with this but it makes hard to hate/dislike the ex, saying it seemed like he did everything well in regards to the issue.

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ROMCOM???? WHERE?

THIS IS NOT WHAT A ROMCOM IS.
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I wanted fluff, not misery and heartbreak with a dash of fluff!!!!!!!








That's it, that's the review.

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What happened?

So, I made it to episode 8, and I think I'm done. What is this? How is it possible to have quite a great cast, huge names, actors I really liked in the past and to eff this up so much?

I normally love Jung So-min, my most favourite drama ever ('because this is my first life') is with her as the FL. I also liked Jung Hae-in in the past, he was great in 'Snowdrop', in 'one spring night', you name it.

But this? Where to begin? I didn't really like the first episode with all the 'funny' farting intro. Not funny. But I kept watching.
There is no, and I mean none - chemistry between the leads. It all seems so acted and cringe, I can hardly watch it.

So we have two mid-thirty people. One is a rich son, with his own business and for Korean standards he looks super attractive. Yet he steadily acts like a 7-year old boy. We are meant to believe that apart from this one relationship he had in the past with this self-confident but oh so friendly and well-meaning ex (unrealistic to the brim by the way) that is steadily showing up for no real reason, he was a virgin-and childlike boy in the body of this now mid thirty man waiting for his childhood girly to return and otherwise staying abstinent? Common. A guy like him, looking like that, being rich and having his own business? He would have lead a very different life if she had been gone to the US for years, and we all know it.

Same goes for our FL. She acts and dresses like a child. Concerning her relationship with the ML she acts like a clumsy little girl that didn't have her first kiss yet, but we do know she lived in the US, and was engaged and thus had an adult relationship with a man, so she knows how things go. Yet, we have this setting in the house of the FLs parents, who by the way are supposed to be poor, while the very rich son of a doctor and a busniesswoman, somehow has lived across in almost the same house? How? These two families are of completely different financial background and they certainly never lived in the same neighbourhood even, also not in the past?

Next thing? I really don't like ANY of the characters, they all annoy the hell out of me. Jung Hae-in? He is not funny, it's not his area of acting, at least not in such badly written drama, no one could make this seem remotely funny. It seems staged and almost exhausting for him to do these supposedly 'funny'lines, it's so obviously not him and it's unwatchable for me as I know he is a really good actor in other settings.
The FL and her constant screaming and nagging and physically attacking everyone? Not cute, not romantic, not anything, just annoying. Same goes for her mother, screaming all the time and physically attacking people.

Then the storyline, was there any way to make this any more unbelievable. Not only does or ML wait until forever for that girl that steadily beat him up and screamed at him, no, when he finally decides to tell her he likes her (again, like two 12-year-old would act, not like mid-thirties), out of nowhere, in exactly that moment, the even more unlikable ex fiancee stands there blablahing something staged about wanting to get back together with the FL. I laughed out loud at that scene, how ridiculous, who wrote this?

Not enough, our FL, who is screaming and attacking people at random all the time does not say anything to anything. The ML confesses - no reaction, no answer. And no, that milk bag scene with the expiry date was not funny. Why not just talk like adults? It's all Kindergarten. Why? It's not cute, it's so annoying. Same with the even worse situations when both men are 'fighting' over her. The ex-fiancee can just stalk her and show up at any time with this psycho grin and she always lets him talk instead of just finally telling him off. She does not decide anything at any point which contradicts the aggressive and loud character she is otherwise supposed to. And now, to add insult to injury they even come up with a cancer story? Come OOOON!

I think this is the worst drama I tried to watch in a longer time, and there were several bad dramas in the past two years as my impression is the quality of storytelling and writing has been going down the drain in the past two years compared to years like 2016, 2017, 2018, where there were several brilliant dramas per year.

So, no, please South Korean writers and drama producers, you can do better. Not even generally good actors help anything if it is just unwatchably bad.
I give the 2,5 instaed of 1.0 for the acting of the FL's father, as I think he is really good and actually the only one I find credible in his role.

Dropped, and I mean dropped out of a skyscraper in this case.

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A Drama Propped Up by Fanbase Loyalty, Not Quality

𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜
The only saving grace was the secondary lead couple,𝘠𝘶𝘯 𝘑𝘪 𝘖𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘮 𝘑𝘪 𝘌𝘶𝘯 whose chemistry and dynamic brought fleeting moments of light to an otherwise disappointing drama. They had a better storyline, which made their relationship more engaging and enjoyable to watch compared to the main couple.

𝙒𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨
Despite Jung Hae In’s charm and Jung So Min’s talent, their chemistry as Choi Seung Hyo and Bae Seok Ryu fell flat. The pair lacked emotional connection and depth, making their romantic relationship feel forced. This, combined with the lack of focus on Seok Ryu’s perspective in falling for Seung Hyo, made their love story unconvincing.

𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙇𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚
It’s undeniable that the drama’s initial high ratings were bolstered by the strong fanbases of Jung So Min and Jung Hae In, as well as an aggressive promotional campaign. However, beyond the hype, the series failed to sustain its appeal.

𝘽𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙐𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚
The drama was marketed as a rom-com, but it veered heavily into melodrama, losing the lighthearted charm it promised. The plot became repetitive and meandering, especially in the second half. By the time the story delved into heavy emotional themes, the pacing felt dragged and unnecessarily stretched. It would have benefited greatly from being condensed into fewer episodes.

𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨
The series leaned heavily on familiar tropes like "childhood friends to lovers," but without innovation or nuance, these clichés felt tired and predictable.

𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: 𝟑/𝟏𝟎
"Love Next Door" had all the ingredients for success but ultimately fell short due to its lackluster chemistry between leads, dragged-out storyline, and failure to deliver on its rom-com premise. The only saving grace was the secondary lead couple.

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The Boy Next Door

While I am not a big fan of the ML, I watched him in "Something in the Rain" and quite enjoyed watching him. He's very easy on the eyes to be sure. :o) I liked FL in "Because this is my First Life" and so, I thought I'd give this drama a shot since I had pretty good impressions of them.

No regrets watching this drama but it doesn't stand out as supremely outstanding for me.

What I Liked:
- ML is definitely easy on the eyes. He's, certainly, a lovely boy to have next door. :o)
- The cast was generally esteemed. The veteran actors really rocked their roles and I especially liked the characters Jae Suk and Hye Suk. They acted so well. At the end of the drama, I remember these two characters the most.
- I also liked the character Myeong U. He managed to stay pleasantly cute in this drama from start to end. I quite enjoyed his moments on screen.
- Because the cast was great, they managed to carry the whole 16 episodes from start to end.
- A happy enough ending while quite rushed.

What I Considered "Meh":
- I didn't like FL's best friend, Mo-Eum. I found her acting stilted and rather unnatural. She came across as trying too hard to perform well. The love-line between her and Mr Mudflat Man wasn't anything exciting or touching IMO. I fast forwarded their moments together.
- I read that another reviewer found the premise that rich ML would be staying next door to very poor FL rather unbelievable and I found that this reviewer had a good point. This part didn't make much sense but I guess we have to suspend disbelief. I also didn't like FL's mother whom I viewed as quite mad and bipolar. Why would someone create such a ruckus in the streets and wallop one's daughter for all and sundry to gossip about? It seemed very illogical. It was also quite odd for her to be drumming her frustrations away.
- The love that FL had with her ex-husband-to-be wasn't romantic or exciting either.

In all, I found this drama just an okay watch. It wasn't full of riveting moments and nail-biting tension. I watched it because of ML. Luckily, the veteran cast carried things through quite nicely from start to finish.

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Disappointment of the year with awful kisses on top

[This was actually a pretty long rant, but I had to remove 2/3 of it because MDL limits reviews to 10 000 characters]

Started well, then turned into a crying fest, then went back to what it should have done from the beginning but in such an unearned, nonsensical and jarring way, that this supposed 'rom com' turned into a parody of its genre : Terribly formulaic, no satisfying closure to any of the conflicts raised and a final cop-out twist in episode 13 that definitely cemented this drama into the mediocre and forgettable category.

Final ratings 4.

My love for both leads saved me from giving less. The show was weak but the performances were strong but alas my frustration level got so HIGH and the over-the-top “fake sweetness” of the last episodes prevented me from giving this a passing grade. In fact given how annoyed I got… had it been other actors, I’d probably would have given less.

When a show is not consistent with itself, that’s were I draw the line.

But let’s start with the good... err 10 000 characters limit so let's forget it, there's plenty of other reviews for that.

Now..

On to the long rant (sigh...)

This show doesn’t know what it wants to do. Is it Melo, Slice of Life, Rom’ Com? Choose what you want to do and stick to it. You want realistic problems with realistic solutions ? Sure. Then follow through with all characters.
Every single problem these characters faced apart from Seok Ryu’s were magically resolved overnight.

Absentee parents ? No problem, let’s all hug, and over 30 years of neglect are swept under the rug. Estranged couple with NO COMMUNICATION whatsoever notably because of the assumption that one is cheating the other ? No problem ! The dude with whom she is supposed to have cheated is gay. So all of these years of not talking disappear overnight after some dramatic night in the forest !
Also the husband who has been shown to always be busy because of his work at the hospital, has now all the time in the world to get drunk literally everyday with Seok Ryu’s dad. Makes no sense, but since these two were the only ones that truly made me genuinely smile/laugh by the end of this drama, I’ll give them a pass.

Children are not stupid, if they see your careers are more important than they are in your eyes, they learn the hard way to become indifferent very early in life. Seung Hyo caring about your divorce?At 34? Seriously? As if! If he even cared about the both of you at that point that would be short of a miracle.

Ah… but it’s a rom com’, why so serious? Why? I don’t know, ask the show. They went into a full cancer nightmare, work harassment, blaming shit, crying fest and so on and so forth for more than 6 episodes, so I feel entitled to get the same amount of care for issues foreshadowed since episode 1. Is that too much to ask?

Wife gas-lighting her husband literally every day ? Let’s put some drama in so that she makes a grand declaration because even if she gaslights him, she’s got his back so everything is forgotten. She doesn’t need to change because « her heart is in the right place ». And I’m not even talking about her hitting literally everything that moves.

Little Brother is spoiled and want easy money. Got scammed one more time, made his parents loose some money AGAIN, but poor dude is crying because he’s just a victim of circumstances. Big sis is doing a small talk and we’re all back on good terms ?
NOPE. Doesn’t work show.

Journalist’s got a daughter so you can see how Mo Eum and him can’t be a couple because of South Korean’s society… BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT NOPE. Plot twist, his daughter is actually his niece so there’s no longer any real obstacle because this show HAS NO BALLS !!!

But we do need to have the mother opposed to it for I don’t know why, because there’s 3 episodes left, and by God do we need to fill the minutes… with these overly long-ass episodes.

As for the romance…. My God, let’s just forget how it started. I don’t even know were to start, and this review is already too long…

The good : Seung Hyo and his ex. That was actually a pretty satisfying and realistic part of the drama. Not overly dramatic just pretty natural and nice. Gotta give praise where it’s due.

The VERY bad: Seok Ryu, her ex and her present


The ex comes to visit South Korea and win Seok Ryu back. At that point, Seung Hyo is not yet going out with Seok Ryu. Yet, he feels entitled to act jealous, is extremely rude to her ex who HE DOESN’T KNOW, acts like he’s got dibs on her when she hasn’t even agreed to be with him.

WHAT.A.TURN.OFF

But it’s Jung Hae In, he’s the male lead so we’re supposed to give him a pass. So Ok. I’ll give a pass to this MAJOR RED FLAG.

Any man acting in such an overbearing way when you’re not even going out together yet is to be fled from immediately. You can be sure it’s gonna be worse once you get together. In fact, you can smell the wife’s beater from miles away.

He’s not like this because he likes you. He’s like this because you’re his thing, and you need to stay in line.

But it’s a K drama so don’t worry, once he gets the girl, he’s gonna turn all nice. And you bet he is going to get her because at some point after having declared his love, he tells her  « I don’t do friendship with you no more » meaning if the dude can’t be her boyfriend… he’s decided he’s going to put an end to their 30+ years of friendship.

Another Minus for the Emotional Blackmail.
Also, INCONSISTENCIES anyone ?

Wasn’t the reason why you didn’t want to say your feelings in the first place was because you were afraid of losing your FRIENDSHIP ??? Why are you so willing to flush it down the toilet now ? Are you 13 ? I don’t mind the childish banter but at some point a 34 years old do need to show the maturity of a 34 years-old WHEN IT COUNTS.

Ultimately Seok Ryu gives up Mister Green Flag for Mister Red Flag because of… K Drama. She cries at the airport and I wonder why.
Either you still have some feelings and you cry because you’re realizing what a gigantic mistake you’re making or you don’t.

It wouldn’t have been nice for the fiance to say : " I realize you never loved me as much as I did. I supported you through your darkest time, put my career on hold for a year, you threw me away for one dispute, I crossed a whole continent to win you back, only to realize your heart never truly belonged to me. It’s a good thing we broke up. I deserve better".

But it’s a K drama so, we can’t make the FL look like she acted terrible towards a man who’s only crime was to love her so he apologizes for "not helping her the right way" and "realizing she needed other people by her side". And I’m not saying he didn’t make mistakes, but it takes two to tango, and he was the only one who tried to dance.

The truth is, you never loved him enough, you didn’t want to live in the US, you hated your job, you missed a certain someone that wasn’t your fiance. You had plenty of reasons to go back to South Korea, but show decided to put the blame on the break-up YOU initiated instead of on all the elephants in the room.

As far as feelings go, I was never sold on her being with any of them.
It’s difficult to sell a couple when one party was, until recently, engaged with another man who supported her through her cancer ordeal, who she had a five-year intimate relationship with, and who cried crocodile tears when said man left. Obviously you need all these EXTRA SWEETER THAN SWEET scenes to make you believe this relationship is more solid than the one the FL left behind ( THE CRINGE is through the roof)

It was too melo before so by episode 11 it’s in sweet overdrive – to the point of turning the show utterly ridiculous, boring and cringe. As soon as our lead are together they sleep together. As soon as they sleep together, we’re speeding to the marriage proposal??? Girl got engaged after ¾ years of dating with Saint Ex, but not even half a year has passed since she broke off her marriage that she already has another dude’s bracelet around her wrist. .

It would have been good if all that sugar had been peppered throughout the whole show instead of drenching viewers in it for the last episodes... Also since they need to make us feel some empathy for the other characters we get all the conflicts I talked about above, resolved in speedy, unsatisfactory and ridiculous fashion. Even when there was supposed to be legitimate issues, the show treated it as a 'non problem' and I would have given an example if there was no 10 000 characters limit.
This writer needs some fake dramatic plot device such as: husband being scammed by V-tubers, Little bro being scammed by fake protein company, Mother who thinks she’s got Alzheimer and gets lost in forest, Seok Ryu breaking his arm and so on and so forth... in order to get some great empty declaration of love or other BS, so that the conflict is resolved.

The drama concludes with a very neat (and predictable) but dissatisfying little bow. I slugged my way to the end, only managing to finish because I cut each episodes in 4 to 5 parts alternating with more engaging shows or surfing online.


Last but not least… WHY do I have to commit to 3 HOURS EACH WEEK for a ROM COM’ ?!
A FUDGING ROM COM DOESN’T NEED 3 HOURS A WEEK!!!
ARE YOUR DRAMAS ANY BETTER ‘CUZ THEY’RE LONGER?

NOPE. THEY.ARE. NOT!!! WHY TVN WHY?

So please, for the love of all Drama gods Past , Present and Future, STOP THIS INSANITY!

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Failed Imitation: A Lack of Emotional Depth in a Series Losing Its Direction.

It started as a failed attempt at comedy and quickly devolved into melodrama.

From the beginning, I noticed a strong resemblance to screenwriter Kim Eun's ideas, especially since the lead actor starred in two of her successful scripts. The plot appears to focus on a woman's supposed growth, with a secondary romantic element to add interest to an otherwise boring and cliché story of achieving the "American Dream."

In my opinion, the attempt to imitate Kim Eun's script failed, as it looks like a weak copy.


One in eight women on average suffers from some form of cancer, yet this fact has no connection to the beginning of the series. In contrast, Kim Eun's scripts intertwine romance with reflections on a woman's status in conservative Korean society, showing her struggle to break conventions. The romance is essential, woven into the dynamics between partners.

Here, The development feels disconnected and lacks the depth of Kim Eun's approach.

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