52
184
8
1
1
1
6
1
6
6
2
8
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5
6
8
A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Spring Hills' Dream
1 people found this review helpful
by virgievirgie
Feels like watching a Stage Play on screen......with a lot of uncomfortable silence
Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75
About ⅓ of the drama, a sudden thought came to me….I feel like I am watching a stage play on screen.
This might explain why I didn’t quite connect with this Director’s style. I also didn’t love “Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island” as much as many viewers.
I came in with high expectations as everyone is raving about “A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Springs Hill’s Dream” (this is a mouthful and I’ll just call it A Winter Sun), and you can see it from the high ratings. Not loving this drama is definitely a “me” problem and my review is very subjective and you might disagree with everything I say.
The reason why I felt I was watching a stage play is because of the large amount of silence, and the choppy and disconnected scene transition. Silence when used well, is impactful and gives viewers a chance to feel what the characters are feeling. J-dramas do a very good job with silence. But for “A Winter Sun”, I feel prolonged discomfort and a lack of action and plot. But then, once in a while, it would play some funny sound bites. The sound editing in this drama is weird to me. It really feels like I am watching a stage play. Additionally, the scene transition sometimes feels all over the place. It doesn’t flow very well, and this affected the storylines for me. But this drama has some interesting music. It feels like I am watching a wuxia drama. LOL
However, I enjoy the cinematography. I love that we explore the village, the forest, scenes of the ocean and cliffs. I love that the drama explores nature in such a realistic yet beautiful way. I also really like the lack of dubbing. You can hear the actors speaking their own lines, and often recorded live (of course I could be totally wrong). No dubbing is always better than dubbing to me. But, I do need to point out the volume is inconsistent. Some lines are spoken louder than others, and not all actors enunciate clearly.
What about the plot itself? I think the story is good. There’s enough interesting stories happening within these 16 episodes. Do I think they are all equally good? Not at all. I dislike the secondary couple very much. I don’t like their storyline, their acting and adding to my dislike of the filming style, it’s not enjoyable at all.
I do like that both male leads have love brains. One can scheme for years for a chance or planned encounter. One can drop everything at the drop of a hat and fly to his lover’s side. They are made for each other. They are obsessed with each other. It took me a while to buy into their love story, but once I am in, I am all for it. Execution may not be perfect, but I love seeing the lovebirds together. Their chemistry is great. And did you see their kisses? Best in CBLs. Both are actively participating, passionate and loving, hungry and gentle. Oh, if you love kisses, you gotta check out the other ‘theater series’ on Gagaoolala and I heard they are also behind YouTube’s paywall. There are soooo many more passionate kisses that were not included in the drama. I guess that’s how they make money.
I have another ship, but that didn’t sail. In fact, that ship gave us some of the most emotional scenes. I was hoping for a different ending, but the drama definitely gives us a very memorable one.
The acting is OK to me. The leads aren’t bad, but not excellent. The supporting cast isn’t that great. Kuma is the most experienced of the bunch. For a few of them, this is their first drama, so I wasn’t expecting much. But I do have to say, even the veteran actors aren’t that impressive.
Despite liking some elements of “A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Spring Hill's Dream”, I can’t say I had an excellent time watching it (it was an OK time). I do enjoy the later episodes more than the early ones. Maybe I got used to the style, or maybe there are more engaging storylines. As I said, I fully acknowledge this could be a “me” problem, as apparently, many viewers are rating this a high 9-10. I just don’t vibe with this style very much. If I try to recall how I feel about “Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island”, my gut feeling was more positive then. Therefore, I am going to rate this a 7.75 based on my enjoyable level.
Drama Completed: 8/20/2026 Review #715
About ⅓ of the drama, a sudden thought came to me….I feel like I am watching a stage play on screen.
This might explain why I didn’t quite connect with this Director’s style. I also didn’t love “Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island” as much as many viewers.
I came in with high expectations as everyone is raving about “A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Springs Hill’s Dream” (this is a mouthful and I’ll just call it A Winter Sun), and you can see it from the high ratings. Not loving this drama is definitely a “me” problem and my review is very subjective and you might disagree with everything I say.
The reason why I felt I was watching a stage play is because of the large amount of silence, and the choppy and disconnected scene transition. Silence when used well, is impactful and gives viewers a chance to feel what the characters are feeling. J-dramas do a very good job with silence. But for “A Winter Sun”, I feel prolonged discomfort and a lack of action and plot. But then, once in a while, it would play some funny sound bites. The sound editing in this drama is weird to me. It really feels like I am watching a stage play. Additionally, the scene transition sometimes feels all over the place. It doesn’t flow very well, and this affected the storylines for me. But this drama has some interesting music. It feels like I am watching a wuxia drama. LOL
However, I enjoy the cinematography. I love that we explore the village, the forest, scenes of the ocean and cliffs. I love that the drama explores nature in such a realistic yet beautiful way. I also really like the lack of dubbing. You can hear the actors speaking their own lines, and often recorded live (of course I could be totally wrong). No dubbing is always better than dubbing to me. But, I do need to point out the volume is inconsistent. Some lines are spoken louder than others, and not all actors enunciate clearly.
What about the plot itself? I think the story is good. There’s enough interesting stories happening within these 16 episodes. Do I think they are all equally good? Not at all. I dislike the secondary couple very much. I don’t like their storyline, their acting and adding to my dislike of the filming style, it’s not enjoyable at all.
I do like that both male leads have love brains. One can scheme for years for a chance or planned encounter. One can drop everything at the drop of a hat and fly to his lover’s side. They are made for each other. They are obsessed with each other. It took me a while to buy into their love story, but once I am in, I am all for it. Execution may not be perfect, but I love seeing the lovebirds together. Their chemistry is great. And did you see their kisses? Best in CBLs. Both are actively participating, passionate and loving, hungry and gentle. Oh, if you love kisses, you gotta check out the other ‘theater series’ on Gagaoolala and I heard they are also behind YouTube’s paywall. There are soooo many more passionate kisses that were not included in the drama. I guess that’s how they make money.
I have another ship, but that didn’t sail. In fact, that ship gave us some of the most emotional scenes. I was hoping for a different ending, but the drama definitely gives us a very memorable one.
The acting is OK to me. The leads aren’t bad, but not excellent. The supporting cast isn’t that great. Kuma is the most experienced of the bunch. For a few of them, this is their first drama, so I wasn’t expecting much. But I do have to say, even the veteran actors aren’t that impressive.
Despite liking some elements of “A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Spring Hill's Dream”, I can’t say I had an excellent time watching it (it was an OK time). I do enjoy the later episodes more than the early ones. Maybe I got used to the style, or maybe there are more engaging storylines. As I said, I fully acknowledge this could be a “me” problem, as apparently, many viewers are rating this a high 9-10. I just don’t vibe with this style very much. If I try to recall how I feel about “Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island”, my gut feeling was more positive then. Therefore, I am going to rate this a 7.75 based on my enjoyable level.
Drama Completed: 8/20/2026 Review #715
Was this review helpful to you?
