MarkWasHere

If its true that a person can only get married in Korea with their parent's consent, then that is fucked up beyond belief. I just Googled it, and provided the person is at least 20 years old, they don't need their parent's permission to marry. I wish just once in a Kdrama when an interfering parent tries to control their adult children's marriage intentions, that adult child tells them to fuck off and mind their own business. I guess that probably woulnd't go down well with many Korean viewers, so I don't think I'll ever see it.

A beautiful conclusion to a very enjoyable drama. I'm not one to normally shed a tear watching a drama, but this special episode hit me right in the feels.

I just finished this drama and it was really good. I'd put it in my top 5 dramas for 2024. I've seen a few dramas where the MDL score really doesn't accurately reflect the quality of drama, and this is one of them. I guess some people just don't like slow burn romance, which makes we wonder why they watch that type of drama.
A few things about this drama I really liked:
1.) A believable breakup - not the usual contrived bullshit breakup due to some easily avoided (and usually very stupid) misunderstanding.
2.) A mature couple who when they start dating seriously, actually live together and (gasp) have sex.
3.) The special episode was well done, and even extracted a tear from this cynical old bastard.
4.) The chemistry between the leads was palpable.
My score is 9/10, and I was very close to giving it 9.5 - and as you can see from my list, I'm not one of these viewers who gives every second drama they watch a perfect 10.

I'm pretty sure Pin doesn't really understand the concept of punishment.

Then watch something else. There are thousands of dramas you can watch if this one isn't to your taste.

... a breakup between the leads in a drama that is believable. Far too many dramas have the leads break up over a silly misunderstanding, one that could have been clarified if one of the leads spoke a single sentence. I find those silly misunderstanding plots that result in a breakup almost always unsatisfying as a viewer, and reflects (in my judgement) a lack of creative skill by the scriptwriters in giving us a believable breakup. But in this drama, I personally found the breakup to be entirely believable. I'm not commenting on their decisions and whether or not I agree with them, but simply that I found the breakup itself to be believable, given the situation and their personalities.

Finally ...

I'm wondering just how detailed those visions of hers are.

But at least she tried, something that he WASN'T prepared to do. And she should never have had to try in the first place. It's her money. She should be able to spend it how she wants, when she wants without asking his permission or worrying about his insecurity. He's the one demanding that she change. She never asked him to change - all she wants is for him to not demand that she change. Why should he control how she spends her money? And if she does change as he demands, she actually suffers with a lower lifestyle. If he compromises, he benefits with a more comfortable lifestyle, but his pride is hurt. Lifestyle is a real and measurable thing. Pride is entirely in a person's head. If he could just let go of his insecurity and pride, he could have had a stunningly gorgeous girlfriend and potentially wife, and lived a comfortable lifestyle - but he will miss out on all of that simply due to his pride.

But Ling Wei Yi DID compromise completely with Qi Yi for a period of time - she DID accomodate Qi Yi. Qi Yi's pride repeatedly preventing him compromising even slightly. Also, it is not pride that causes someone to not want to have their lifestyle dramatically slashed - it is comfort. But it IS pride that causes someone to reject a more comfortable lifestyle because it is being funded by their partner. I agree they both deserve to be happy - and they COULD have been happy if Qi Yi let go of his pride and compromised, just as he expected Ling Wei Yi to do.

I just watched episode 13 and HT insulted JX 3 times by calling her (or implying that she was) stupid. If I was a betting person, I'd bet a few dollars that he will insult her in episode 14 as well.
I just watched episode 14 and I would have lost that bet. No insults, and in fact, he even complimented her once. I'm hoping he continues to act decently towards her going forward.

I don't dispute that Han Ting has vastly more experience than Ji Xing - that is obvious. My issue is the WAY he interacts to her. He scolds her like a child and talks down to her. He sometimes bullies her by getting into her personal space to intimidate her. He gives her orders rather than asking her to do something. He appears to want to control her rather than cooperate with her. His emotional intelligence is close to zero. If he treats her like this after they get together, I hope she doesn't just become a doormat and accept it.

Even though his motives may be good, I'm finding Han Ting's interactions with Ji Xing to be quite sexist (as of episode 11). He often talks down to her like she's a child. I'm not seeing the respect I would expect from a (decent) man who was interested in a woman, unless of course the attraction was purely physical. I fear the patriarchal Asian mentality has once again influenced the writer to portray the man as smarter, more successful, more dominant etc than the woman.

I doubt I'll end up watching even half of those. Whenever I see a drama listed somewhere that even slightly interests me, I just add it to "Plan to Watch". Then, when I have time, I can check it out more thoroughly. I need to give that list a clean out, because I haven't done it for months. There are probably a couple of dozen dramas I could remove from the list right now. But you're right about one thing, I'm certainly not short of dramas to watch.

https://www.viki.com/tv/36741c-takane-and-hana

You can watch a LOT of free content on Viki - but you're not going to be able to watch the latest dramas for free. Here's all the free dramas on Viki: https://www.viki.com/categories/watch-free/genre/all
Viki is cheap - it costs less than half of a Netflix subscription.
There are also lots of Chinese dramas on YouTube, but in my expience, the subtitles are often not that great, whereas on Viki, they are always excellent.

I understand. It took me quite a while to get used to Manderin after listening to only Korean for a couple of years.

All I can suggest is check out the titles in the "Recommendations" box on each drama page. Read the synopsis and consider the MDL score. Then give the show a try. If you're enjoying the first few episodes, keep watching it, otherwise drop it and try again. My other suggestion is to watch some videos on YouTube that list dramas. Look for videos with titles like "Top 10 Chinese Dramas" - perhaps add the word "youth" or "romance" to your search. That's how I've found quite a few of the dramas I've watched or intend to watch. One more option is to look through my List and see what I've watched, and also check out my extensive "Plan to Watch" list - as I've got a lot of Chinese dramas in there. Good luck searching - I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.

It's on Viki and is subtitled in 11 languages.

I'm finding Qi Yu's pride so profoundly stupid. To suggest that by moving into Ling Wei Yi's house (larger and more convenient to each of their workplaces) would make him a "prostitute" is ... I don't even have the words. He can't claim to love Ling Wei Yi while insisting that she dramatically reduce her lifestyle, while he is entirely unwilling to make any compromises himself. Why should it be up to him how SHE spends HER money? Yes both of their parents are obnoxious, self-righteous fucks, but the problem between Qi Yu and Ling Wei Yi is due entirely to Qi Yu's unwillingness to let go of his pride and compromise with the woman he claims he loves. I guess its in part that Asian patriarchal mentality that the man is the boss and the women should be subservient to him. I agree with Qi Yu's own conclusion in episode 32, Ling Wei Yi does deserve someone better - someone who doesn't put their pride before her happiness.