WATCH THIS SHOW, NOW!
Dali and the Cocky Prince was an absolute treat from start to finish. I don’t give 10’s easily, but this show grabbed me almost from the first moment and took me along on a journey that was special and, frankly, just almost more fun than I could stand. I found myself smiling through most of this, but there was also enough mystery and drama to balance it out. Overall, it’s a light, bubbly, sunshine-y show, juxtaposed with the seedy underbelly of greed and corruption. I’m not going to retell what the show is about, you can read the synopsis for that. I can’t say that the story is completely original, but the way it was handled was very original. The storyline was always interesting, with no lag, and the writers/director were clever in the way that they used flashbacks to reveal missing scenes that tied everything together.ACTING: Everyone was excellent. The woman playing Moo Hak’s stepmom was very over-the-top, but I believe that’s the way she was supposed to be portrayed. She brought a lot of humor to her character. I won’t bore you with my thoughts on the whole cast, but I would like to address three of the actors/characters.
Park Gyu Young as Kim Da Li – she was wonderful. First, she had an ethereal kind of beauty, and her character was very, umm, “contained” for lack of a better word. Her voice was quiet and well-modulated. She didn’t often show a lot of emotion, but you could tell that she was honestly a nice person. A retro flapper-like haircut, with pin curls surrounding her face, was something you don’t see in Asian dramas and was a brilliant call. Her beauty, along with her demeaner could lead you to believe that she was a pushover, but that belief was eradicated right away. She was no one’s fool. Her character, at the beginning, had so much, but she was such a lovely person you couldn’t be jealous of her, then when things started to go bad for her, it was heartbreaking to watch.
Kim Min Jae as Jin Moo Hak - I’ve seen him in some other dramas and have always enjoyed him, but the character he portrays in this show was so special! First, Moo Hak doesn’t appear to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. He knows business, but completely messes up phrases and is always saying the wrong things. He starts out being ONLY about money, and he’s not apologetic at all about that fact. He’s loud, tacky and uncouth. As time goes along, we get to see his priorities change. His facial expressions were spot-on here, from cold businessman, to wonder when he first sees Da Li, to love, to happiness. He has dimples that you could literally land a plane in, so when he smiles, you’ve got that treat to enjoy.
Hwang Bo Ra as Moo Hak’s secretary – This character was fabulous. Men usually have male secretaries in Asian dramas, so it was a treat to see a woman in this role. They put her in boxy, oversized suits with dress shirts and ties and her hair was short and slicked back, almost as if to make her androgenous. Bo Ra, in the other shows I’ve seen her in, tends to play a wacky character, with exaggerated facial expressions (think Lucille Ball), playing strictly for laughs. She did provide a lot of comedic relief here, as well, but there were times that she just faded into the background of the story, not taking us away from the main storyline. I loved the respect that Moo Hak had for his secretary and their working relationship.
CHEMISTRY: I’d like to address the powerful chemistry between Gyu Young and Min Jae. They played so well off of one another throughout the whole show. Min Jae’s character fell before Gyu Young did, and that was wonderful to watch. There were times when he was looking at her that his gaze was so intense, I felt kind of like a voyeur. The first kiss was, unfortunately, very awkward, but we were treated to many more opportunities for skinship that were way up there on the hotness scale. The relationship between the characters was so lovely. There was sweetness, protection, as well as a good amount of playfulness, which, unfortunately, doesn’t normally get included in dramas. They spent time laughing together, and I loved that they didn’t continue to call one another by their last names throughout the whole show. We actually got to be with them as they got to know one another, and I could totally understand why they started liking one another.
I also loved the chemistry between Moo Hak, Da Li, and her cop friend, Won Tak. I was watching a behind-the-scenes about this show and Min Jae came up with the idea to call him “Our Won Tak”, so we got to see Moo Hak be jealous every time Da Li called him Our Won Tak. But Moo Hak even called him that! I loved the direction the writers took with the character of Won Tak and the fact that they didn’t try to make him be competition for Moo Hak.
MUSIC: Oh, my goodness, the music was exceptional. There was a song that sounded like something you would dance the Charleston to, it was fun, peppy and upbeat. There were multiple other songs that I enjoyed as well. My favorite, however, was them weaving classical music into the soundtrack. Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major/Memories was used, and Carmen’s Habanera, especially when it was used during tense scenes, with no instruments, only using whistling, was so clever. The music fit in so well with the feeling of the museum and the world of art.
CINEMATOGRAPHY/COSTUMING/SET DESIGN: Exemplary. Buildings painted in bright colors, with Da Li riding her bike. The beautiful artwork in the museum. The clothing everyone wore. There were a few instances where I especially appreciated the camera work: 1) Side-by-side shots of Moo Hak and Da Li when they were sitting across from one another at a table. In one instance, they were both wearing white and I loved being able to see the interplay of their emotions happening “in real time” as opposed to cutting back and forth. There was also a scene in the museum where both Moo Hak and Da Li were in their own worlds, walking through fog and laser lights, lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling, and when they got close to each light bulb, there was a scene from earlier in the show, reviewing all of their interactions with one another. The scene at the museum at the end with artwork full of color and movement. This show was definitely a treat for the senses.
RE-WATCH VALUE: Absolutely! It’s one of those shows that, now that I know what is going to happen, I want to go back and re-visit, watching for clues and nuances that I missed the first time around.
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Sure cure for insomnia!
Oh my gosh, what an absolute waste of time!!SCRIPT: The dialogue is stilted, there is nothing happening throughout the whole show, there are numerous unlikeable characters (including the two leads, unfortunately), I didn't care if they were breaking up because I don't know why they were together in the first place, the "villain" just made no sense and I felt that they put her in there because every show has to have a villain, doesn't it? And the ending made me want to throw something at the tv. I LITERALLY said, "That's time I'll never get back!" The way the main characters were written was really bad. I was looking forward to seeing Jang Ki Yong - they did put some great clothes on him, but he was a very unlikeable (borderline creepy) character. Call me crazy, but falling in love with your dead brother's girlfriend is just not right. There was something kind of obsessive about him. And her? Just so many things. You're a complete witch to this guy, going on and on about how important your career is, and you let people walk all over you? You have a one-night stand with a random guy and when he approaches you later, you're mad at him?
ACTING: Jang Ki Yong. I loved him in My Roommate is a Gumiho, and his acting in Born Again was amazing. In this show he had no expression throughout most of the show. I kind of felt that he even knew the script was bad, and wasn't making much of an effort. Song Hye Kyo - is she the same in absolutely everything she is in? Speaking of no expression - her face always had the same expression, as did her voice. When I watch her, I always think that maybe she doesn't smile because she doesn't want to wrinkle or something. I think the lack of emotion she displays when she acts contributes to you not liking the characters she portrays. I've never watched a show where there is so much staring going on. Staring into space, staring at each other, staring at a door.
CHEMISTRY: None.
REWATCH VALUE: Not on a dare!
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Toxic message and bullying abound
The story was okay, but Im Soo Hyang looked totally plastic. I think it was to emphasized all the reconstructive work she had had done, but as her expression hardly ever changed, it reminded me of a bad botox job. Cha Eun Woo had absolutely no facial expressions and his voice inflections never changed. Both characters were just bland.So much emphasis was put on her completely making herself over, and her resultant self-esteem problems, I couldn't feel for her character at all. Was the message that you should be happy with who you are? Or was the message that you should consider plastic surgery? It was hard to tell. I didn't feel that the characters were fleshed out enough.
The body shaming in this drama was way over-the-top. A recurring question I have about Asian culture - do people just say whatever they think in front of people or is this just a cliche? ("He's so handsome" "She's so ugly") I can't imagine taking pictures of a man because he's handsome and talking to my friends about it with him standing there.
The last episode was cute though. Happy ending.
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This review may contain spoilers
Disappointed
Just my personal opinion, but here's what I liked and what I didn't:LIKED:
-Music, especially when the cast of HP was singing
-the cameos
-Lee Bong Ryun as Professor Seo. She had a commanding presence, but could be supportive when need be. I think she was my favorite character.
NOT SO MUCH:
-FL. Pouty, threatening to quit, even as late as the last episode. Being a doctor isn't something you just "put up with". Plus, she wasn't a true first-year, so she should have known a lot more than she did.
-The other first-years. He was an idiot, one was a robot, and the other seemed like she wanted to be some kind of influencer or something.
-The leads were all unlikeable and didn't gel with one another. I will say things got better after episode 10.
-The stories weren't that interesting.
Now, I'm not saying not to watch it. Please do, since I tend to be harder on shows than others.
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Don't go by my review
I'm apparently the only person in existence that didn't love this drama. This review is not intended to change anyone's mind, it's to remind me that I've seen the show and didn't like it. This show kind of creeped me out. A high schooler with an adult woman. Not just a young adult woman, but one that's old enough to have become an attorney! She was very immature and he was immature as well, but again, he was a high schooler! I loved the cast of this drama, and normally I'm tolerant of age disparity, but I couldn't get past it in this one. Because, in addition to the fact that there was such an age different, she was completely immature, which I found very irritating. I really have to be able to relate to certain characters in some fashion to get invested in a drama, and I wasn't able to do that with this show.Was this review helpful to you?
Movie-length commercial for MSC Cruises
This movie was literally the middle of the road for me. To me, it had more wrong than right, but I'll just give it a 5 and move on.I really struggled with this movie, as it didn't seem to know what it wanted to be. Was it a comedy? A mystery? A farce? Except for the main characters, everyone else's hair, makeup and clothing were WAY over the top. A lot of the characters just seemed like caricatures of real people - that makes it hard for me to feel like I'm getting to know them and to feel empathy for them. Most of the characters were a little creepy, including the children. Was that so that we couldn't figure out who the "bad guy" was?
I think the biggest question I had while I was watching it, how did the FL get on board the ship without a ticket, how was she able to remain on board once the ship left (the ML knew she didn't have a ticket), where did she get her wardrobe since she didn't have luggage? And I could be mistaken, but when we first meet her, I don't think she even had a purse on her.
All-in-all, for me this movie was too "campy" and difficult to take seriously.
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Personal opinion
If you love bloody fight scenes, bad language and a plethora of bad guys, you'll probably enjoy this.What I liked:
-The dynamic between the two male leads. I liked watching their friendship/camaraderie build. The scene in the barbeque restaurant when they were just getting acquainted as good, and I laughed at Do Hwan's character switching to honorifics when he realized he was the younger of the two.
-The workout exercising scenes. Superficial, I know.
-Woo Do Hwan. I felt that he did a good job with this part. He was being forced into something to stay alive, to a certain degree. I liked how he never lost that side of gentleness that he had. The last episode when he sees his mom, very touching. And don't get me started on his deep voice!
-Si Won. I enjoy him as an actor, and in this role he wasn't his quirky/odd self.
What I didn't care for:
-I felt that a lot of the fights were very over the top and unrealistic. I mean, you practically get beat to a bloody pulp, but then a couple of scenes later you're fine. And the main bad guy, when he was fighting the ML at the end? The guy was in his 50's to begin with. He's fighting against a trained fighter, but almost gets the better of the ML?
-The disappearing girlfriend. What happened?
-Bloody, bloody, bloody. I know, they're fighting, but wow!
-The cursing. Personal pet peeve of mine.
My bottom line would be that if you are totally into action shows, give this a try.
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I just couldn't like it
I'm not trying to change anyone's mind. Try it, you may like it. I, however, just couldn't get on board with this for numerous reasons.1) This show struggled with tone. It started out pretty slapstick and I was amused by it, but then it would turn very serious, and then back to comedy. It didn't know what it wanted to be.
2) FL. Oh my gosh, I didn't like her, from beginning to end. She was supposed to be a strong woman maybe, but she just came off as a shrew. She yelled, A LOT, at everyone. I found nothing to root for where she was concerned.
3) ML. I find it interesting that Kang Tae Oh loved someone neurodivergent in Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and WAS neurodivergent here. Think gorgeous, unfeeling robot.
4) Relationship. They hated each other, then suddenly they loved each other. Did I miss an episode? There was no rhyme or reason to their relationship. She continued to yell, he continued to be a robot.
5) Chemistry. Nope. There were some technically good kisses, but I couldn't feel them as a couple.
6) Story. This could have been about anything. I don't know why she loved potatoes, etc. It also felt like they threw in things to make the story longer. Her ex lied. Then we find out that the ML lied. Then we find out that the best friend lied.
7) About the best friend. Oh my gosh, she was SO irritating!
8) Music. The theme song was like a buzz in my head that wouldn't go away. ugh.
9) Costuming. The FL dressed like a sack of potatoes. There was nothing remotely attractive about anything she wore. However, ML wore some fabulous suits.
10) Hair - FL had the worst hairstyle! Did they not have the budget for a hair stylist? ML hair was entirely too dark.
11) Makeup - ML makeup apparently was applied with a trowel, and boy did he look plastic. However, the four times he smiled were wonderful. In some of the scenes the ML looked like he had a bad case of pink eye.
12) Though it was only 12 episodes, it felt like 45 and I didn't think I'd EVER finish it.
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I wish they'd been able to keep the location secret
Watching them cook was just as hypnotizing for me as the first season. I loved their interactions with one another (I wish there had been more of it), and seeing and learning a little about Iceland was interesting. I'd love to see the Northern Lights. However, there were a couple of reasons I didn't like it as much as season 1.1) It would have been nice if they had been able to keep the location secret. It was blatantly obvious that most of the guests were there because it was Jinny's Kitchen, not because there was a random pop-up kitchen opening.
2) In season one they had a day off and we got to see more of the area that they were in. We didn't get any of that this time.
3) They were such a well-oiled machine that we didn't get a lot of the amusing interactions that we got in season 1.
4) The new "intern" coming in was completely seamless. I was impressed that she did such a good job; however, it didn't make for interesting tv.
That being said, if you enjoy food shows at all, give this one a try.
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Too much going on, but really ultimately, not much is completely fleshed out
I’ll start with what I liked:The acting, in general was very good.
Jung Hyung Ho as Chi Yeol, the man knows how to play quirky but still vulnerable.
Oh Eui Shik as Hae Woo, Haeng Seon’s brother. Eui Shik tends to play kind of over-the-top characters and I thought he did a wonderful job reigning himself in for this role. I found it very believable.
Shin Jae Ha as Ji Dong Hee, Chi Yeol’s secretary. Wow, he had a fantastic character arc.
The teen’s story line – slight romance, triangle, developing friendships.
The show was pretty good until about episode 10-11. Nothing fantastic, but somewhat enjoyable.
What I didn’t like:
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
Terrible name for the show. I’m sorry, if the words “Romance” or “Love” are in the title, that should be where the focus is. It was not the case at all here.
Jeon Do Yeen as Haeng Seon. This actress was very poorly cast for the age she was supposed to represent. She was MUCH older than they talked about her being at the beginning of the show, and I just laughed when multiple people said she looked too young to have a teenage daughter. She looked a lot older than all the other moms.
Why did they dress her like a grandmother?!? She had the most awful wardrobe I’ve seen in a while and everything made her look even older.
Lack of chemistry between the leads. Why did they like each other? The writers told us they were supposed to like each other, but I certainly didn’t feel it at all.
Then there was the over-abundance of story lines-
Despicable, power hungry, gossiping moms – every one of them, other than Haeng Seon. I guess that was to make her look good, but how many terrible moms do you need in one place?
The pressure on the kids to excel. I understand that’s a thing, but though it was pretty much a main focus of the drama, there was no positive resolution in sight. Then to have the teachers blame everything on the fact that the kids are drinking power drinks and eating sugar.
Student Suh Ah. I get that her mother pretty much made her the way she was, but she was over the edge, having hallucinations, anger issues, etc. and seriously needed counseling, and then suddenly at the end of the show she’s going to med school!?!?!
Ji Dong Hee’s storyline – I loved his portrayal but was so disappointed in the direction they took him and the total cop-out with the suicide. I was also disappointed in the fact that they didn’t address the trauma that Chi Yeol MUST have experienced to be betrayed like that. He had an eating disorder because of prior trauma, but this whole thing was just glossed over. They could have done a good job of addressing this without all the extra people showing up.
Haeng Seon’s niece’s kidnapping – again a traumatic experience that was just glossed over.
Haeng Seon’s brother and her best friend – just no. It was thrown in at the end like they needed to fill some time. It was off-putting and fake.
The real mom coming back – again, filler. She was a terrible person and we already suffered through a bunch of episodes with OTHER terrible people! She left a bad taste in my mouth (which was probably the writer’s intention, but it was pointless)
I didn’t really feel that the mom’s learned much through what they put everyone through, especially the lawyer mom. She was a liar, a cheater, she treated her kids terrible and then made her son sound like a nutjob to get him out of jail, when she actually thought he was guilty.
Then there was an ex that showed up for three minutes in the last episode, just long enough to start rampant rumors.
Two-year time jump. PLEASE, this is used all the time, but it got on my nerves here, a lot. Haeng Seon has tried multiple times to get her physical fitness certification and failed. What’s the deal, does she not study, are the writers intimating that she’s stupid? I don’t know. Then, I hated the lack of closure/end for the teen couple. He asked her over two years ago if she would go out with him. He’s waited all this time and then she just gives him a peck on the cheek and walks off?!?!?
I realize that a lot of people enjoyed this show, but for me it was over-scheduled and under-developed.
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This show was brilliant!
As a die-hard rom-com fanatic, I decided to watch this show after watching a few "average" rom-com's with the hopes that there would be a good one for me to watch after this. OH MY GOSH!Story: The story was very original, to say the least. I was struck by the sadness, feelings of being unsure, yet the hope and friendships that were developed in the village. The beauty of the village stood in stark contrast to the dark underbelly of what was happening in the world. I'm not going to reiterate what's already been mentioned in the synopsis, but when I first started watching, it was a typical con man scenario that I didn't think I was going to care for. I love when the writers do a good job of "found family" - people not being related by blood, but bonding, nonetheless. It was done on multiple levels here, with the people in the village, with Kim Wook and his partners in the pawn shop, and even with Kim Wook and Joon Ho. There was humor, drama, love, and oh my goodness, the mysteries. I felt the writers did an excellent job with this show. There was so much going on and there were so many moving parts, I was glued to the screen - I watched all 12 episodes in two days! I really wish that I knew someone that was watching it with me, because I would have loved to be able to discuss what was going on.
A LITTLE SPOILER-Y
Acting: Everyone did an excellent job. Go Soo as Kim Wook was able to move seamlessly from cocky to emotional without any difficulty. His emotions just tugged at me. Ha Joon as Shin Joon Ho was heartbreaking. All I can say is WOW! I had hoped against hope that his storyline would turn out differently, but in my heart, I know it couldn't have. Episode 10 just about killed me! Song Geon Hee as Thomas - at first, the blond hair was a little distracting, but I found him mesmerizing as the cement that held the village together. I was glad he got his closure, but sad for us as viewers that we won't see him in season 2.
FINISHED WITH THE SPOILERS.
Music: I thought the music was good and unobtrusive.
Rewatch: Since I know what will happen, I probably won't rewatch this, but I'm going to start on Season 2 immediately!
My bottom line: I thought everything about this was wonderful. I can't believe I'm going to stay this, but I'm so glad they didn't try to bring a romance storyline into this. Usually, my giving something a rating of 10 is for something I can rewatch. In this case, I had to give it a 10 just because it was so good. And, add to that, I didn't fast forward through anything - for me, that's saying a lot!
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Unpopular opinion
What is all the hype about? The main female was airhead and a stalker. I don't find anything cute or charming about someone stalking someone else. I felt so sorry for her, because she comes off as not being very bright (combination of poor grades and not getting a clue that the guy has no interest in her), and the stalking aspect made me feel like she must have had no pride or self esteem. The main male was cold. I did like the friendships represented during their high school years. However, once they graduated, the script took a turn for the worse. It was just boring.Was this review helpful to you?
So much wasted potential
I didn't particularly care for this one. I didn't feel the attraction between the leads, she seemed so much older than him. The lead male was just too cocky. The story line was okay, but some of the names were so close, it was hard at times to tell who they were talking about. I don't mind slow moving if there is a point to it, but this one needed a good editor. I found myself fast-forwarding through a lot of this, just to finish it. The ending was rushed and lackluster. It's hard to write enough to get my obligatory 500 characters because I was so un-impressed.Was this review helpful to you?
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If you are looking for a healthy relationship, you won't find it here
Let me begin with what I liked – the ending was really cute. I also liked cameo appearances of some of the actors I’ve seen in other dramas. And the music was good. The acting was okay, which I will cover in greater detail under CAST.WRITING: I felt that the growth between the two characters was sorely lacking. The only time they communicated was when they were drunk, and they were drunk A LOT. There were too many unlikeable/pitiful people, and sadly this included the lead characters. There should be someone at the beginning of the story that you want to root for, and I didn’t feel that way about any of the characters. The show was rife with the standard K-drama tropes - wrist grabs, drunk confessions, bullying (sorry, but it’s NEVER acceptable for a man to hit a woman), parent troubles, brother troubles, misunderstandings due to lack of communication, best friends becoming enemies, enemies becoming lovers, crooked CEO’s, tragic medical conditions, love triangles, time jumps, rushed endings. You name it, you’ll find it here!
What stuck out most to me was how dysfunctional the relationships were. Granted, this show is about three years old and was just released, but even three years ago I would hope that writers would start to address the importance of honesty, respect, and communication in a relationship.
MAIN COUPLE: He was a mess, and was not nice to her in any way, shape or form at the beginning. Jumping to conclusions, emotional blackmail, and shutting yourself off from someone that you supposedly love to disappear and handle problems on your own, are not signs of a healthy relationship. Sadly, K-dramas use the time jump in almost every show, and it just doesn’t ring true that when you’ve been desperate to win the love of your life that you’d disappear for months/years at a time to “resolve” things and then just show up out of the blue without having contact with your significant other. In this age of cell phones, texting, social media and FaceTime, this is definitely an overused ploy. She was a mess and a doormat. She was pretty much treated badly by everyone, and she just took it. Get a spine!
SECOND COUPLE: Just no! This was the epitome of a toxic relationship and the police should have gotten involved.
CAST: Choi Tae Joon as idol Hoo Joon. I didn’t feel that he was strong enough to carry the role of male lead. He lacked “presence”. I found myself watching everyone around him in the scenes he was in. I’ve seen him in other things and enjoyed his acting, but this wasn’t a good fit for him.
Choi Soo-young as Lee Geun-Young. I had more problems with the way her character was written, rather than her acting. She is a beautiful woman, and there is an intrinsic sweetness about her that was a positive addition to her character.
Chansung as JJ. As an abusive, possessive, jealous boyfriend, I felt that he was a bit much, but it was the way he was written. However, I will say that toward the end, when something happens to him, that is where his acting really shone. He did a wonderful job of displaying the fear, despair, and vulnerability of his character which actually made you somewhat change the way you thought of him.
Han Ji An as Oh In-hyung. Of all the characters, the writers fell down on the job most with In-hyung. She was spineless and an emotional wreck and I couldn’t believe that anyone would fall for her or that she had the strength to take on being an idol star. Add to that Ji An’s acting, and I felt like it was a bit of a train wreck. Her facial expressions were flat throughout the show and her doe eyes just screamed “poor me”. There were a couple of scenes where she was walking away from the actor she had been talking to, and even her gait was unnatural.
Again, the ending was the saving grace.
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Not for me...
Just my opinion, move on if it bothers you.All of the actors were excellent.
Kind of a slow, slice of life story, but it didn't work for me.
I must say I did love the last episode.
-I didn't like the FL at all. She was so self-absorbed.
-ML was a doormat.
-The haenyeo were constantly bickering and fighting, I could have done without them.
-the makeup on the leads was too brown. So show that they were tanned because it was Jeju?
-too much going back and forth in time.
-there seemed to be many characters that I didn't like, which made it difficult to stick with it.
Almost everyone else in the world loved this, so I'd say give it a try. Don't go by me!
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