the whole drama was built on 7 years of misunderstandings and miscommunication that by the last ep everyone was crying "I'm sorry I didn't say it before" and it was over ;/
their 1st meeting he was walking around with a bag of underwear (becasue he's a ceo in an underwear company) and the fl thought "omg pervert" ;/
what I hated the worse was how dumb they made the fl be like "omg you have a twin that sounds just like you" because the ml wore suits at work and sweats at home ;/
and it got worse when the ml thought that dumb conclusion made the fl "pure" and he liked her more for it ;/
then they added the 2nd guy and his pathetic love line built on -you guessed it- misunderstandings. he didn't hear the girl and he went on a one man pity party until later he found out he was wrong ;/
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This was the most devastating, realistic, hopeful, peaceful yet so full of tension, dread and fear.It felt as real as the event itself. Sure actingwise only a couple of the kids had talent, like teil and mark felt like they were the kids they played. But the awkwardness of the others actually carried the realism of normal kids stuck at a cave. It almost felt awkward seeing the real pictures at the end cuz to me they were them
The world is a horrible cruel place but to think of how one disaster untied so many different countries, cultures, social standings, a governor, a weather analysts, a ranger, a diver and so many different people became one. each and every one of them is a hero and may the one that passed away saving those kids rest peace as well.
Trash like squid games don't deserve hype, this drama does. I do remember hearing about the incident, I actually hate the news so I stopped my mom whenever she talked about it until she told me they were all saved, so I never knew how long and how difficult the whole ordeal was
Like beside it being a real fresh global news, the filming was able to look beautiful, charming and devastating at the same time. I do think the time the kids stayed in the cave before food came was glossed over too fasd, even the final rescues, 5 hours for the 1st kid, 12hours for 8. Though understandably this wasn't a documentary
I sincerely hope everyone got paid well while the rescues got medals and idk superhero capes with golden planks that has their name on it
You can't rate the story low cuz it's literally based on a new worldwide disaster, tho directing, it wasn't bad also. It balanced well between each event the only shortcomings was the newbie acting
Also, this might fall under "music" but I watched this dub, I'm not used to thai and this was a heavy drama, but I do think the English voice actors did a better job at delivering the emotions. Their tones moved well with every tension, hope, sadness and anger.
The korean dubs sounded like news and the thai was flat
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and what's worse is when the 1st one out is a tone deaf so it's just a 1/4 percentage till the end and the more talents get eliminated the easier it gets to realize the last stage's results ;(
also, I preferred when they showed the 2 stories in the first part, the keywords now aren't that catchy and by the time they reveal the "what if" of each contestant there's no need to even consider it becasue it's over they're eliminated
I also never liked the last part, the last questioning session was never useful and the panel always likes to create doubt, they don't care whether they're right, they just want to confuse the guests
I did love several of the stages and the writers indeed work hard to make up believable stories, though they don't need to make all the women possible makeup artists
and I feel like they're very prejudice against women and "pretty" people, they'd be like "you're too pretty to sing", "with that face you'd have succeeded already", but overall they can't really feel the "vibes". and the detectives just want to create confusion rather than find out the truth so I wish 1- they'd change the old ones and 2- make them only talk when they ask them
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Se Kyung was my favorite, and that might have had something to do with her "youthfulness", she was trusting but don't dumb, and the rest of the characters lived longer so they had more time to get jaded and "secretive"..this was like The World of the Married's dinner party xD if those characters sat down and talked about the things they've done it'd have created a mess like this ;p
the overall story was that people have "3 lives", and how everyone has a secret life they try to hide, and it's true that no matter how honest we are with our friends and families there must be things we just don't share with every single one in our "circle", but tbh this was kinda over dramatic since it's a movie.
also, they pulled something I hate and get confused over, the "it never happened"... so which part did not happen? the secret reveals, or the ending part?
though they did use the move well to show us not a "what if", but it showed us a true exposition of each character's real nature and story.
like, they could've had a normal dinner party and each would pick up their phones so we could see the secrets, but we wouldn't get the full impact of the weight of those secrets..
but was the end the real truth or was that the "what if" part?
Joon Mo was the worst, plus Ye Jin ;/ everyone else had basic stories, and though it looked big and devastating to them, it felt more like a privileged secrets, things you just don't want to share, not things you want to hide..
but he was cheating on 3 women, and one was his best friend's wife! that was something that pissed me off, Se Kyung acted really well with the way she just walked away and removed herself from the toxic environment, but if the ending was the true story then that means the poor thing has to live with a scumbag like Joon Mo ;( and at the end she'd be the only one hurt becasue at the end of the day the pregnant mistress would appear and no one else's secret would hurt them as much...
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a really really unique drama, I guess in some ways drama writers take their products too lightly, and maybe since webtoon writers how a bigger deadline and medium they work harder on building their world, that's why this was perfectfor me the best part was the characters, each one was different, each one had their good and bad qualities, and each had a worth and a purpose for the story lines.
for me, Kim Nam Hee, Lee Shi Young, Park Gyu Young, Lee Do Hyun had the best acting performance, the rest of course did a great job, but these 4 really outdid their past works and it was a pleasure to watch them.
personally, I think Song Kang and Go Yoon Jung were their weakest links acting-wise, their characters were great (especially those bows, and the last fight) but their acting had a flat side, especially with the delivery of their dialogues.
my top 2 characters were Jae Heon and Yi Kyung.. I'll never forgive the director for killing my favorite characters ;( I get that he was too perfect for them, in the last 2eps things would've been different if he was still around, he was rational, calm but he was a man of action especially if his friends were involved...
I wish his death was a little more dramatic but agh the director was enjoying it so much that he went back and punch me one last time with the start of ep9 TT_TT
the cgi was HORRIBLE, the gore was ridiculous -those waterfall bloods were funny- the sounds were infuriating and they didn't only make a character chew gum and talk but they highlighted the sound so much, I HATE that ;)
aannnyyway, the OSTs were nice, the filmography and the scenery was beautiful but the best part was jaeheon's fighting scenes, I wish they were longer..
I never rewatch stuff but I'll wait for the 2nd season~ they better make it!
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+ the ost, it was beautiful
+ the bromance/friendship
+ the past outfits and past Yoo Ah In's hair
+ Yoo Jin O
+ the past story before the end
what I hated;
- the romance.. it was creepy how she was a "fan" and she'd always made excuses for him when he yelled at her ;/
- the not real love triangle and their fights
- Han Se Joo. he was loud, rude, selfish, he'd always yell, and sure some of it was really directed at Yoo Jin O but he never learned from it ;/
- Jeon Seol... she fainted in the 1st eps, she always cried. she was too obsessed with Han Se Joo that she was ok with how he treated her, and she cried when she thought he'd leave her.
- they randomly added that driver as conflict and JS was always the damsel in distress
- the future story was worthless they should've focused on the past
- Ma Bang Jin was another annoying character
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If one looks at this as a historical, it follows the basic pattern for that genre; the lonely paranoid king, the birth secret, the "we can't be together for so and so reasons" and the desire for the crown.
But this drama actually dealt with those cliches really well. I could say it was the "model" way of dealing with it. for one, Dong Joo was actually used to her full potential as a female lead, she was stubborn, jaded and "too careful of attachments", but she was independent, she worked hard to hone her "fighting skills" and they actually USED those skills for the greater good of the plot! also she had a great balance of when to be "cold" vs "cute" during the development of the romance.
Nokdu, well what can I say about dear sweet Nokdu... for starters, he is now my num1 favorite male lead character ever! I love the "sweet" kind, but I don't think they are as widely written as the "Nice Male Lead" tag says they are :)
if one is not as sweet, cute, playful, and easily sulky as Nokdu then they are not the "nice" type..
I can go on and on about his characteristics, but I'll talk about Lady Kim instead ;p
SHE was the main point of this drama, "the wind that carried the plot?", I wish they used her more but seeing her again at the end really made my day (and the decision to give this a 10 easier ;p )
overall I think this great a "Newbie Friendly" drama one can suggest to friends that want to start kdramas, especially for historical genres that might seem too heavy for a newbie.
The ost was also full of amazing mood makers I need to listen to separately and add to my favorite ost list ;p
my rewatch values are either a 1 or 10, and though I might skip the heavy stuff here, I'd LOVE to watch my favorite couple Nokdu and Dongjoo!❤
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I love love loved this, the simple healing slow winter mood was perfect. the couple dynamics was beautiful, but I think they failed to balance that and the "melo" feel..when the drama started we had a looming dark cloud. Mok Hae Won left the city to "get away" from something traumatizing, and Im Eun Sub had a "dark" past, but as the drama progressed both stories felt too simple?
Mok Hae Won story was that her workplace didn't appreciate/mistreated her and Im Eun Sub's parents weren't his real parents.
also, when we finally reached Im Eun Sub's arc, he just met his uncle and made it seem like he's being forced to leave the village and he had to make a big decision, either he leaves or Mok Hae Won would leave him becasue apparently just becasue she lived in the city for a while it meant that she isn't supposed to be able to choose to stay..
then fast forward to the end, and suddenly she breaks up with him and moves to the city, as if they couldn't keep it long distance until she figured out her own "feelings" with her mom/aunts arc... as if her problems was with him ;/
speaking of the mom/aunt. from the mom's letter in the last ep, it seems like the husband was beating her for atleast 10 years, and yet Mok Hae Won was still upset that he was accidentally killed (also, why couldn't they just talk it out! lay everything on the table), sure she loved her sweet dad, but he was a psychopath, and they didn't mean to kill him...
and this is why I think it gets messy, the writers didn't balance it well, they got greedy for melo and forced breakups..
I loved the book club meetings, but again it felt like most of those characters were just fillers.
Im Hwi was kinda really annoying, she forced her crush on people, that's not normal. of course they'll run away.. she was kinda the opposite of Im Eun Sub who kept his feelings hidden for 10+ years xD
but this is what I liked about Mok Hae Won x Im Eun Sub. sure the long time crush might get weird, but when they met again he was subtle about his care, and Mok Hae Won naturally fell for his sweet caring side.
and she was such a normal person in a relationship while Im Eun Sub was the easily flustered type and they made a sweet couple.
Lee Jang Woo was wasted potential. he was a normal friend not involved in a main love triangle, he had a normal beautiful friendship with Im Eun Sub. he was kinda the outgoing vr of Im Eun Sub. and he also had his own 10+ one sided crush and he was too good for that girl. unlike Mok Hae Won, she knew Lee Jang Woo liked her consistently ever since they were in highschool and she always teased him about that, while never actually looking at him, and it took her 0.1 seconds to suddenly "fall" in love ;/ and then she blamed him for not saying those things the 1st time he confessed ;/
anyway, the ost was nice and I never rewatch stuff :)
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So heartbreaking I couldn’t stop crying
On a light note, the way the movie started with how everyone was so clueless about planes, those simple joys before everything went wrong….I’ll add my comment first then add more on my review
The thing about this is that it’s based on a real story
So the backgrounds of each characters, the pain, the fear, the choices and regret, it was all so raw and heartbreaking
Yongdae wasn’t just a hijacker, he was tortured as a kid by psychos who labeled anyone as a communist
Taein lived through the first hijacking with his choice of letting them pass the boarder, was that the right choice? Or would he choose differently
Everything was just so heartbreaking and the acting honestly they couldn’t have picked better actors, my jingoo, my heart ached for him and being his fan, I could sympathize with that backstory, but his actions of course didn’t make it easier so that’s the whole emotional turmoil, everything was so intense I couldn't stop crying
It’s like a domino effect “what if”
Taein letting the first plane pass which resulted in 11 people being unaccounted for till now, it only means they were imprisoned or murdered or worse, labeled communists
And thus, this time he decided to make sure everyone is safe, and if he died, atleast they’ll know and won’t live in dread
That’s a heartbreaking choice, he literally threw himself on a bomb to save people.
Those times honestly are so confusing for me, were they witch hunting people and calling them communists just because?
Cuz yongdae’s life, he was abandoned by his brother, his town threw hot water on kids, they put false accusations on him, and his mom died…. When “normal” people labeled others so easily, doesn’t it make sense he turned out so messed up?! Who’s to blame?!
And we will never know the truth past that first hijack, did they really give the first hijacker money, did they choose to stay behind cuz they were done with their government
Did they ask for money for returning the hostages? Did they use the plane technology? Did SK refuse to pay more for the government workers that they didn’t return them?
But all those things fueled taein, to protect them and hide their identities, to return their bodies, or to return them safe
He was a hero, yongdae was a victim, who’s to blame? Atleast things did change, those were really black times for Korea
With this dire action, it also stopped others from trying I guess
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it's also refreshing that the "husband" is the one who ends up hurt while the fl is the one chasing evil
Uhm Ji Won is an amazing actress, she's versatile and totally believable in her role. Jeong Ji So is like a Kyoko, better at dark roles, though she looked more like an idol than her awful drama. Jung Moon Sung is not the "typical" hot tall buff ml but he's 1000% better and totally admirable, as someone who fights with all his strength, someone who doesn't fear the fact that his wife is a total kickass boss and also doesn't mind staying in the sidelines.
it's so so rare to see a happy, alive, married couple in dramaland, honestly I love them~
the revelation, the villain and the end are all predictable, but walking corpses that steal/drive taxis and fall from staircases? scary and a nice enough twist on brainless zombies
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best of 2021, best of "romcom"
tbh I'm not a fan of romcoms, or romance genres in kdramas, and it's not because I look down on them, but they're always so repetitive, and that's why this show was so greatit had a normal meeting, normal relationship, flawed characters, crushes, heartbreaks, goodbyes, new meetings. it was not "destiny", it was not "perfect", there were no evil mother in laws, no orphans, no poor fl/rich ml, no corruption, this was a slice of life romcom~
yumi had a job, she was independent even though she easily let love "change" her values. but as time went on she learned and grew.
the "evil" 2fl was not a random force trying to break them up, there was history, reasons and conclusions
also, woong was not loved by everyone just because he was the ml xD usually the jerkest of the jerks have their own fanbase and no one can complain about their many flaws, but here people accepted it
and, the people who criticized him learned to love him and get heartbroken in the end ;) he was not bad, he was not selfish, he was naive and inexperienced just like everyone else. he had his dreams and he wished for love, he just didn't know how to balance them and that's so relatable
I'm actually sad this ended so fast, I hope s2 comes out fast ;(
I've always wanted a show where the ml wasn't set in stone, and thanks to a spoiler that was thrown at me, I know the 2nd season won't be cut and paste either xD
this, this actually is kinda like How I met Your Mother xD you don't know who the "husband" is and that's fun, not for 7 seasons, but it's fun and new
tbh, since it is seasoned and there needs to be a "finale" the last ep was meh, but I just loved the whole journey. also the ost was lit, it had gaho after all~
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that little girl carried this whole movie! jingoo of course did a great job but the little smiles, the pouts and the tears of that baby were so PRECIOUS! I don't usually applaud the directors but the credit does go to the directors here too. they captured the emotions so well. whenever they zoomed in on her precious little hand trying to find her way, her little precious breathing sounds, the subtle signs of connection between them and the way she gradually opened up and they became a "family", it was all just so beautiful! TT_TT
these kinds of plots happened often. "cold" tortured guy who's after money and the precious lost baby and that can be a cheap plot move, but the vulnerability of them was so loud and clear here
Jae Shik had nothing in his life and Eun Hye had no one, though the money seemed to spark Jae Shik's motivation, from the moment he saw her it was like he saw himself, lost and alone that he couldn't leave her
the journey starts simple, he wants to pretend she's his daughter but the plot moves right away when he finds out she has nothing he can take so he again looks for another option which leads to a different tone of journey when they go to the country side to search for her mother's aunt, and that kinda turns into a cute little camping trip where they meet new people on the way
the movie did end with alot of questions unanswered, I mean he did kinda "kidnap" her, just because she had no one to report her didn't change it.
though they did show that scene with the dad that implied he really didn't want her and was "selling" her away to Jae Shik, I'm even surprised he could walk into the orphanage and give her away when he had no legal right on her.
in the end, with the subtle hints of romance with Yeon Joo and the youtube vid, I like to think their bond touched people and they help them out and they might even start a movement to get her illness more noticed. that scene where the center's principle was so detached on the subject of "she can take classes for deaf and blind courses" and he was like but she can't see or hear! and that lady didn't even try to come up with a solution (or ask when his relationship with her was xD)
this is the most wholesome movie I watched in a long time though❣ I went in with no expectations, I mean movies with kids are usually heartwarming and this was so emotinal TT_TT
all in all, I cried, I smiled and I CRIED at that ending scene ;( I wanted more
that little baby looks so much like Kim Hae Sook xD
my favorite parts were, the rain scene! how sweet was that!, when he grabbed her hand! when she smiled knowing his back home but then pouted when he didn't show her that he's home uwu and her crying scene was 100000%
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from 8.5 to a 9.5
the plot is kinda like Kim Young Min's story in Crash Landing on You. Dae Kwon was assigned to spy on Lee Eui Shik so he moves into the house next door with fellow agents Dong Shik and Young Chul. what follows next is a funny, unexpected heartwarming journey.the story isn't original and tbh I still wonder was it really like that? did they control the country and tortured anyone who questioned it?
it kinda feels so easy to say "those people are dictators". why do they have so much power when the public outnumbers them?
the movie was long but it was really well balanced, the 1st half was a funny bromance sequence and the 2nd half became a fight for their rights and it ended nicely too that I really enjoyed it.
the only things I didn't like was 1- the poop jokes, 2- the excessive poop sounds, and the fact that 3- even if their villain seemed to possess ultimate power, it kinda ended too fast. like the fact that they did so much and got away with it and in the end there was no closure for that..
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Jung Yup is unlike the usual "heroes" in a story like this, he was sloppy, he was worried about his own life, at 1st he didn't think about the kids but just his job, so that kinda gave it a nice approach. he wasn't a hotshot smart capable lawyer everyone listened to.he was so sloppy he was the easiest adult the kids could approach ;(
everyone thinks "it's non of my business" or "someone else will interfere" and honestly that's the most heartbreaking part ;(
I thought if child services got involved they'd have the full authority to take the kids away from abusive parents.. if neighbors don't talk, if cops can't arrest abusers, if there's no punishment by law, then who protects those kids!
at the end of the movie they wrote "usually they get off with a warning or a fine", so unless kids DIE, NO ONE helps them!
and honestly only 16 years.. how was that ruled accidental death? it wasn't planned murder, but an adult hitting a 6 year old that severely is a murderer!
if dabinie was younger she'd have died too, her parents were worst than serial killers.. I'm glad they didn't charge Jung Yup with kidnapping ;(
it makes you wonder though, they found evidence, they got lucky, but what if they couldn't prove it? "she's lying", "there's no eyewitnesses", or even worse if the parents were rich or with a psychopathic lawyer, they'd have walked free..
I wish they showed the neighbors stepping in, or anything to say those people were responsible too. sure cops wouldn't do anything, but atleast just call...
what a cruel world we live in.. even if we see parents spanking their kids in public or yell at them we think "it's their kid, we can't do anything"
when I read the synopsis, and saw how her brother was supposedly a "ill-mannered" kid, I thought the sister was going to kill him so the step mom stops getting angry, tbh that'd have been scarier/more heartbreaking.
so even if this was based on a true story, it has been done before but it still made me cry. the directing though felt off.
I wonder what happened though, was she adopted by the lawyer? by his sister? or was she in an orphanage?
oh yeah, Jang Ho was such a charming little boy and a total scene stealer. he looked like any other happy kid but he was really caring, he worried for dabin and he was a big help in everything! such a precious baby!
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the story revolves around a camp made for koreans who grew up outside of korea so they could learn about their heritage and so at the start we just had a bunch of rebels who wanted to party and have fun, ie they were nothing like what "normal" korean kids were.
they wore weird clothes, they talked weird, they didn't respect the rules but as the story went by it was like layer after layer of emotional revelations and honestly the bonds and friendships that came out of this was so pure I kinda wish they made a drama out of this.
for "koreans" the kids were weird, but for those kids they had to adapt to their new homes to survive those cultures and now they were thrown back to yet another culture they didn't understand but the catch was this one is their supposed "real" home
I actually laughed several times and I teared up a few times too overall I think for relatively "unknown" actors and actresses they did really well
I never rewatch stuff and they used several 80s classics so the ost was nice too
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