lime_pickle

This was one of my first ever kdramas and, while not in the 'objectively good' pot, it didn't put me off the way that some other drivel - almost - did. For a start, the heroine was likeable; the acting was pretty good, too, and the 4 leads all look lovely. I do think it would have benefitted from better writing, a more satisfying story arc, and closer attention to the source material (Les Liaisons dangereuses). For example, Kwon Shi Hyun - the Vicomte de Valmont character - is not much of a cold-blooded seducer; he only manages to seduce the FL, pretty easily and he falls for her almost immediately. There's lots of gratuitous violence to make up for the lack of sexual conquests, though.

K dramas have the very best children, definitely. Ijun, the little boy in HP and the little girl in Marriage Contract. Such lovely, naturalistic acting.

I haven't got to that bit, yet, but I'm happy if its true.

He needs to get the same agent as Kim Young-ok, who often seems to pick winners.

The FL is really nailing 'quirky' and 'independent' - something that Kdrama generally doesn't do well (making them screechy, neurotic, and violent). But it does piss me off that, despite that, she still wants a man to buy her expensive shoes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm big fan of Korean drama, but lot of the stuff (not just the blackout drunk thing, but the casual/comedic approach to domestic and workplace violence, the Confucian/toxic parents thing) would not wash here. Other things - e.g. toxic relationships we have in our own dramas.

I get it's acting (thanks for pointing that out) but she can pass for SO much younger than him that it requires an older man/younger woman tag? Is she meant to be an immortal 19-year-old?

A lot of the 'classics' wouldn't have the same - international - appeal in any case. There are many tropes which, outside Korea and a few other places, wouldn't be considered charming at all, e.g. women getting blackout drunk in the company of men they barely know being considered 'cute' for example.

It's become the 9th most-watched Netflix show . . . in the world: https://www.nme.com/en_asia/news/tv/hometown-cha-cha-cha-netflix-chart-most-watched-ninth-in-the-world-3062837?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=

Because it's nonsensical?

I really that this show is quite old, now, but it's just become available on Netflix and such a gem. Quiet, thoughtful, poignant.

It covers much of the same ground as Youth of May, so it's not going to be an entirely happy ending.

Loving this so far, particularly the cast of quirky side characters, but I hope they dial down the shouting at some point . . .

Or Hello Monster.

Fabulous. Silly, heartfelt, rewarding. Dealt adroitly with issues like depression, anxiety, and the pain of meeting societal expectations with sensitivity and humour. A really, really underrated drama.

I totally wanted Song Joong Ki and Yoo Ah In to get it on.

Hmmm, so an immortal goddess played by a 30-year-old actress is the 'younger' woman to a mid 20s human man? That makes no sense. How old is the male protagonist in the webtoon?

It was actually Choi Suk-bin (played in this version of the story by Han Seung-yeon) who was the wife who came from super-humble beginnings, had no allies etc. I think they've swapped their backgrounds to make Jang Ok Jung (who had family and the backing of the poerful Namins) seem more 'romantic'.

Ooh - I'm watching this now and have just realised that they've given Choi Suk-bin's real, humble beginnings (she really did come from the 'slave' class) to Jang Ok Jung instead.

She didn't really come from a low class (upper middle in reality) and she had lots of extant family and political allies - the drama has created a lot of myths in that respect.