MistyMaid

I just want to say how proud and amazed I am to see a veteran actor such as Jung Woong In survive through all the drama trends and ups and downs, in the past two decades. I first saw him in "Rude Women" which was during the rise of Korean dramas and the beginning of the hallyu wave. There are many actors/actresses that fell "out of style" as the trends changed sharply. But there are a few veteran actors/actresses that continued to survive through the ever changing trends and still stay relevant in the public's eyes. Some examples are Kim Jung Eun, Son Hyun Joo, and the famous Lee Dong Wook.

They've all, including Jung Woong In, had roles in major dramas in the late 90's/early 2000's and continued to stay in the spotlight through their grit, talent, and perseverance. I'm saying all this because it was not easy to stay in the spotlight during these times because it was during these times, the classic "korean drama" plot trends were changing, younger and "fresher" actors/actresses were being hired and older actors/actresses were starting to be considered as "outdated" and a part of an old era of Korean dramas.

There are many more talented others that survived through as well but I just wanted to note Jung Woong In's talent and dedication. He's taken on a wide variety of characters from bad, good and complicated roles. He's a talent I can imagine in almost any type of role because of his ability to be diverse in any position. He can be a gangster thug to a rotten politician. He can be a misunderstood good guy for the wrong reasons. And he's always had a skill for playing his characters through emotions and subtle nuances.

Jung Woong In. You are a great talented actor! I hope to see more of you in years to come. P.S. your children are absolutely adorable and beautiful!

This really frustrates me too but unfortunately, bullying, cyber-bullying, and gossiping is are some Koreans bread and butter. I think it's really annoying to stick your head into other people's business. I'm Korean but I grew up here in the States, so I grew up with the more American individualistic culture but I've been to Korea several times. But the closest way I can explain why bullying is so bad in Korea is because it's fun. It's kind of like a source of entertainment at someone else's expense. Also, people often feel better about themselves and their inferiority seem less inferior. Unfortunately, this has always been part of Korea's culture. But Korean people are slowly realizing the detriment bullying has on the mental health. I just wish it was faster and more widespread in its awareness. Cyber-bullying is especially bad because of the anonymity given being online. Netizens are the term given for people who communicate and socialize online. Lot of gossip and bullying online more nowadays than in person, though I'm sure it still happens though.

But what I've noticed is usually the middle-age women/neighborhood wives like to gossip while the younger kids like to bully.

As for the first love privileges, it could be more to salvage their own hurt pride and emotions than to consider the feelings of the one you broke up with. Sometimes, it can make you feel like you weren't good enough to continue to be with and it can hurt your pride. It's more for the benefit for themselves to save face rather than to get back with your ex.

But I totally agree, it's really annoying when I see these kinds of things happening in kdramas. I almost want to jump on a plane to Korea and slap everyone's face. Especially the older generation who love to gossip. It's really belittling to see grown ass adults enjoy watching a spectacle play out in front of them like TV.

I definitely get what you're saying but it sounds like the FL doesn't make enough money to move out on her own, though I'm sure she really wants to. The reason why so many children still live with their parents in Korea is because the cost of living in Seoul is extraordinarily expensive. It's more cost-effective to stay with your parents while you save up enough money to move out on your own. She may not have much choice but to live with her aunt or else she'll be homeless. But I'm getting the feeling she may not live with aunt for long. Just a hunch haha.

Just to get an idea of how difficult it is for people to move out. I'm Korean but live in the states but my cousin who lives in Korea, just got married, but still lives with her parents. Her and her husband live apart because he works in a different location. He can't afford to lose or quit his job though to be closer to Seoul because the job market in Korea is VERY competitive and there would be no knowing when he might get another job if he quit. They are trying to save up money so that they can get a place of their own.

And yea, it's frustrating sometimes seeing the FL always take on the victim status but she might feel guilty for having to need her aunt's support (food, clothes, housing) while growing up. From her perspective, she could feel like she can't talk back because all she's done is take from her aunt. You also have to keep in mind that she grew up with her aunt since her mom left when she was young so she might be used to being treated like that too. Not saying any of that is right but it is what it is sometimes.

It's a mis-translation. ST actually said:
"At the river, when I fell through."
He didn't say "pushed" in Korean. The more accurate translation is "when I fell through or went through the water."

When MY asked ST if he has ever hated GT, this may have been the one time when ST hated GT because GT almost left him for dead to drown.

No I made a mistake and thought he was pushed.

Yup, I edited my previous post. I thought he was pushed for some reason haha

Oh you're right, he wasn't pushed Sang Tae just fell through the ice. But I'm talking about when Sang Tae fell through the ice. Gang Tae (younger brother) ran away at first while Sang Tae was struggling in the cold water. But Gang Tae came back and went into the water to push his older brother out of the water.

That's when the Sang Tae (the older brother) ran away, leaving Gang Tae to struggle in the water afterwards. But I was talking about how the guilt of Gang Tae leaving his older brother to drown has been haunting him ever since.

EDIT: My mistake, Sang Tae was not pushed. He fell through the ice when he jumped on it and fell into the water. I corrected my mistake. Sorry guys

I get now why Gang Tae is always so preoccupied with his older brother Sang Tae. That ending just made my heart hurt. The guilt, the pain and regret over the one moment he wished his older brother dead when he fell through the ice into the water. That one moment is the reason why he's so focused on his older brother. Not because he's disabled and autistic. But because he's been wracked with guilt ever since he attempted to leave his older brother to drown. Gang Tae, trying to make up for his past action by taking care of his brother and being as affectionate as possible. Of course, it's also because he loves his older brother but it's a twisted spin of love, guilt and strong denial.

For those who watched ep 9 and read the subtitles at the very end. ST says GT pushed him in the water. This is a mis-translation.
ST actually said:
"At the river, when I fell through."
He didn't say "pushed" in Korean. The more accurate translation is "when I fell through or went through the water."

When MY asked ST if he has ever hated GT, this may have been the one time when ST hated GT because GT almost left him for dead to drown.

Haha, thanks for those kind words :)

I actually don't think the movie was about revenge at all. I think it was more about family and what it meant to each of the "children" and the "parents". I think Il-Young was trying to understand what it truly meant to be a part of a family, despite the twisted and dark world she lived in. She thought that her definition of family was solid in the beginning. Taking care of her family members, helping out, fighting with your siblings, etc. Granted it's a more extreme version of all these things in her world, but more or less the same principle. But when she met Suk-Hyun to collect debt, she starts to question why her family wasn't as warm and inviting, like he was to her. She started to see hope for a different life, one that was kinder. I think it was both hope and feelings that made her want to help him escape. Eventually they got caught and the boy was gone. I don't think she flipped out because her family killed the boy she tried to help but because she was angry that her own family would do that to her knowing how she felt. But anyways, another reason why I think it was about family rather than revenge was because of how it ended. She took up Mother's mantle as head boss and was in the midst of creating her own little "family" and continued to carry out Mother's family traditions of lighting incense for past ancestors.

That's great! I'm glad you found the drama to your liking! I guess because I saw so many highly remarked reviews for this drama at the time, I wanted to give an opposing one. Now I see that there are a mixed bag of rated reviews there and not all 10s but at the time of posting my review there weren't that many rated less than 9. I just wanted to give people a different opinionated review to read. But anyways, I'm glad you really like Dots. Where I found it to be cheesy and (in all honesty) kind of forced, you found it to be enjoyable, gripping and real! One's opinion is one's own and is no less or no more than another's. Maybe one day, there will be a drama we can both agree on in the future! Cheers!

Eh, to each their own. My opinion is my own and whether it sounds idiotic to one person may make sense to another. Don't apologize for your rudeness because it's irrelevant. I gave this drama multiple chances when it aired and tried to like it but just couldn't like it. Although I will say that Kim Eun-Sook has gotten much better at drama scripting. Goblin and Mr. Sunshine are amazing dramas.

FYI, in case people didn't know this. It's based off an American TV show by the same name, starring Timothy Hutton as the insurance investigator.

I don't think people realize how LONG I've waited for Shin Sung Rok to be a LEAD in a 16/20 episode drama series!! Where HE gets the girl and he's NOT the villain or SIDE main lead. Though he makes a GREAT villain, haha. He's technically been a LEAD male in three other dramas, but Last Empress was crap in my opinion and was NOT a good demonstration of his acting skills. All About My Family was a 50 eps family drama, pfft. And The Art of Seduction.......never heard of it until I actually did a little research.

Anyways, I'm so excited to see his romantic and comedic acting skills shine through because I really believe he's an AMAZING actor with a varied set of expressions and skills!

Without spoiling anything, this is all I can say. This won't be like your typical two-people-fall-in-love-and-one-gets-left-out, kind of drama. Knowing that, I think it's something to look forward to when watching because then you won't know how it ends. Sometimes dramas that are predictable are kind of boring to watch.

I've been waiting for this drama to be made for SO LONG! I watched the original Japanese manga adapted drama and loved it! Still do but now, probably have more critical opinion on how it was written. But it did also air in 2008 which is pretty much a lifetime ago in dramaland, haha! The Taiwanese adaption was a huge let down though, in my opinion. But this story setup has SO much potential to create a great drama with real moments of human emotion and complexity, especially when it comes to love. I've never heard of the screenwriter, but I'm really hoping he did a good job with it! Ever since watching the Japanese drama, Absolute Boyfriend, I knew that Korea would eventually do a remake of this too. I just hope it doesn't end up being a bad remake like Boys Over Flowers -__- People may criticize me for this but it didn't come across as a good adaption. But anyways, so far, I'm really enjoying the interactions, embarrassing comedy, and the hint of foreshadowing.

This Korean remake has been "in the making" for over a year now!! When is it going to be "in the playing"!!! Haha XD I have been waiting FOREVER and they keep changing the date!

At first, I really hated Jin Woo's character because he came off as super arrogant and had no regard for others feelings or situation. Now, I don't hate him but think he still has some room for improvement, but I guess he's a work in progress as the drama continues, haha! But after watching ep 10, I felt really bad for him because after he realized that Jung Hoon (the secretary) is a player turned NPC, he now has to live with seeing his frenemy, Hyun Suk, who he killed in real life without realizing it, come after him time and again to kill him but also see his friend and ally, who helped and protected him in real life and died because he got involved, come back and protect him again and again.

If I were Jin Woo, I'd probably be fraught with grief and guilt knowing that the person I inadvertently killed keeps coming back to kill me and the friend that helped to protect me continues to protect me even after death. Damn.

I'm very excited for this remake and I really hope that it doesn't end up becoming a remake fail like Boys Over Flowers, which honestly, IMO was the worst remake I've started. Couldn't even finish it because Jan-Di annoyed me to no end, haha!
Have high hopes that the plot is not over-exaggerated and created with a more realistically whimsical touch of fantasy.

Dropped after first episode. Way too dramatic and didn't really adapt to the low-key atmosphere the original gave off. I think the problem with the Korean adaption is that most dramas revolve around one or two main characters, whereas the American version was definitely centered around a group.

I understand that the American version can get away with that because it spans over several seasons whereas Korean dramas have to adapt to focusing on one or two because of it's short span. Which is why I found that it would be hard to really live up to the original American version.

Character development will be lacking, and from what I've seen, written waaaaay too dramatically for my taste. Writers were having Kim Hyun Joon was just pulling his gun out at unarmed citizens without even blinking. A police officer should understand how to handle themselves under pressure and not let their emotions get the better of them. Kim Hyun Joon's character is wildly un-natural and way too flamboyant. Always letting his emotions get the better of him in every situation. Disrespecting his co-workers so blatantly and in public in front of others. I find Kim Hyun Joon's character super annoying and disrespectful. I get that he lost someone, and I can understand the magnitude of that kind of loss but there are other ways of dealing with your anger rather than in such a childish manner. I blame the writers, not the actors.

Also, the writing was not as natural as I had hoped either. Sorry, don't think this will be as good as the original. I don't root for any country, I root for the original because most of the time, the originals are the best versions of themselves!