SanaRehmat

I honestly don't know how to rate this drama because I can understand what it was trying to do, and I can appreciate the writing and acting, but at the same time, it was just not for me.

I went into this expecting a thoughtful slice-of-life drama about three siblings trying to find some meaning and happiness in their ordinary lives. The first few episodes actually drew me in, especially the introduction of the three siblings and Mr. Gu. But as the drama went on, I found myself becoming more and more frustrated with it.

The biggest problem for me was how depressing the entire outlook on life was. More than half of the drama is basically them travelling from Seoul to Sanpo, eating, drinking, sitting around with family and friends, and talking about how lonely, dissatisfied and unhappy they are with their lives. I know that this is probably intentional and that the drama is trying to portray that feeling of numbness where life becomes a repetitive cycle and nothing seems to have any real meaning.

But honestly, I was drained watching it.

Maybe that was exactly what the writer wanted me to feel, but I don't think I enjoyed being in that emotional space for so many episodes. My own nature is quite optimistic, so I struggled to understand how none of these people seemed to have anything in their lives that they genuinely enjoyed or looked forward to.

I kept waiting for them to grow. Not necessarily to become completely different people or suddenly have perfect lives, but I wanted some kind of meaningful change. Something that would make me feel that all these conversations and struggles had taken them somewhere.

Instead, by the end, I felt like most of them were still almost the same people they were at the beginning.

I actually liked the three siblings as characters. They all had very different personalities and problems, and I liked seeing how differently they dealt with their dissatisfaction.But I really wanted more from their individual journeys.

Gi-jeong, Chang-hee and Mi-jeong all seemed stuck in their own ways, and I kept hoping each of them would eventually find something that made their life feel worthwhile. Unfortunately, I didn't find any of their romantic storylines particularly satisfying either.

I don't need every character to get a perfect happy ending, but after watching them struggle for so long, I wanted at least something that felt rewarding or hopeful.


I have to talk about Mr. Gu because I came into this drama partly for Son Suk-ku, and I honestly feel like they wasted his character.The first few episodes made him seem so mysterious and interesting. I kept wondering who he was, what happened to him, and what was behind his constant drinking and withdrawn personality.

But eventually I felt like the mystery wasn't worth the buildup.His alcoholism also became increasingly frustrating for me. There is so much drinking throughout this drama, and I really didn't like how casually his drinking problem was treated. People were literally buying alcohol for him as gifts, and I just kept thinking, why is nobody trying to stop this?

I understand that drinking is very normalized in Korean culture, and I know the drama wasn't necessarily trying to present it as something admirable. Still, personally, I found it irritating to watch.

Mi-jeong and Mr. Gu's relationship was probably the part I struggled with the most.I know many people found their relationship beautiful and healing, but I just didn't understand it.

I never really felt the moment when their love developed. I understood that they were both lonely and unhappy and that they recognized something in each other, but for me it felt more like two broken people finding comfort in each other's misery than a romance that I could actually feel.

I also really missed seeing them actually enjoy each other.Mi-jeong kept talking about worshipping Mr. Gu, but I wanted to see that connection instead of mostly being told about it. I wanted more warmth, more genuine happiness, more moments where they seemed excited to be around each other.

Their relationship was interesting as an idea, but it didn't work for me as a romance.


The pacing was probably my biggest issue.I don't mind slow dramas at all. In fact, I can really enjoy a slow slice-of-life drama when the characters and their everyday lives are interesting enough to keep me invested.But here, I found the pacing extremely slow.

There were so many scenes of people staring into space, walking, drinking, sitting silently, or having long conversations about life that eventually I just wanted something to happen.

The dialogue was often beautifully written, and I can see why people love it. But personally, I found a lot of the conversations repetitive. They kept talking about loneliness, dissatisfaction and how difficult life is, but I didn't feel like we were getting somewhere.

At some point I started thinking, okay, I understand that you're unhappy. What are we going to do about it?

The ending was probably another reason I couldn't connect with the drama.

I understand that it was supposed to be metaphorical and that life doesn't always give people neat conclusions. But after spending so much time watching these characters struggle, I really wanted something more satisfying.

I wanted them to have something to hold onto.Something that showed me that their lives were moving forward.Instead, it felt like the drama simply stopped and told us that life continues.

I actually had to look up discussions about the ending because I wasn't deep enough into the drama to understand all the symbolism myself.

Maybe that's partly on me. Maybe I simply wasn't in the right place in life to appreciate what this drama was trying to say.

I can absolutely understand why this drama has such a devoted following. The acting is excellent, the dialogue is thoughtful, the characters feel very human, and the drama has a very specific atmosphere that it maintains from beginning to end.

I also think it probably does a very good job of portraying depression, loneliness and emotional numbness. There is something almost uncomfortable about how ordinary and repetitive their lives feel.But that was also exactly what made it difficult for me to watch.

I am someone who naturally looks for hope in stories. Even when the characters are struggling, I want to see some little reason for them to keep going. I wanted these three siblings to find something that made them genuinely happy or at least satisfied with where they were heading.I didn't get that feeling here.

Maybe I'll watch it again years from now when I'm in a completely different stage of life and connect with it more. Maybe I'll understand Mr. Gu and Mi-jeong better then. But right now, I mostly felt tired and emotionally drained after watching it.

I don't think it's a bad drama. I just think it wasn't the right drama for me.