worldkdramafan2025

So many shows attempt to build a love triangle well down the path of the drama to bring in new tension, and it fails badly. In this drama it was purpose built from the outset. Resulting in a more coherent plot for it.

I agree it is a classic. It helped bring kdrama into the wider limelight. People who like this show get the goals and those who get lost in the minutia of their dislikes for various actors miss the big picture completely.

Great news. It is sad how the Chinese stars who have good international followings are subject to so much hate in their local region. Esther, Bai Lu and Zhao Lu Si have been fighting back but the incels attack them for holding their ground. And on this forum and others we still view so many hate attacks but they are getting more clever in how they approach their wording.

It does seem the Chinese authorities are a bit concerned about the anti-fan activities and are starting to take it seriously.

Congrats to Esther for displaying the exact same gumption in real life as she did in The Road to Success - tackling misogynists and incels and putting them in their place.

While I completely disagree with your characterization of the acting in Road to Success and think Esther Yu gave a mature, nuanced performance the rating I gave to Road to Success was in part to offset the anti-fan attack that hit that drama the moment the rating system went live for it. The drama was hit by a co-ordinated downvote attack - maybe you were part of it? Seems like you carry a lot of hate on your plate.

When the dust settles I will re-rate it to where I think it belongs. If MDL allowed a finer grading system I would grade Road to Success 8.3/8.4 ish. So I will adjust to 8.5 eventually.

The 2 dramas are also very different and not good comparables. Road to Success is foremost a slice of life drama with sport and psychology at the forefront. The romance is a minor subplot that only enters into the picture very late on in the drama. Love Between Lines is a romance first drama and everything else is built to support and move forward the romance plot.

When I rate I am mainly considering other similar dramas that I have viewed, not the entirety of all tv shows. My daughters also use this id so they may have rated some shows as well.

Ha Young and Xu Ruo Han remind me so much of each other. Very pretty, feminine actresses who are slowly working their way up the ladder into main roles. Xu Ruo Han had her big break after 6 yrs in The Best Thing and perhaps for Ha Young her role in Our Sticky Love will do the trick.

Some korean fandom are already engaged in negative media as they don't like the fact her co-star Jung Hae In was supportive of another actor who has been under a cloud in Korea but outside of Korea no one cares about that stuff at all. They know Jung Hae In from a strong of really successful romcoms of which the last one Love Next Door was a huge success on NetFlix.

Our Sticky Love is a NetFlix exclusive property and internationally I think this drama is going to do very well and likely be present in the NetFlix Global Top 10 show for most of its run. And that is the outcome Ha Young needs.

oh darn. the comment section is being overwhelmed by anti-fans again, this time because the lead actor stood by a friend that some believe is a pedophile although said person was investigated and cleared.

I am going to judge the drama on the drama when it comes out. Jung Hae In has an excellent track record in romantic drama and rom com. For Ha Young this is a great main role opportunity which she hopes will permanently elevate her out of supporting and guest roles.

Its a year now since production finished. No updates about the drama on Xing Fei's weibo or insta.

Someone among the showrunners & writing crew either pissed of someone in government or did not pay a bribe. That is why dramas get delayed.

This appears to be a low budget short drama and I am wondering what motivated Xing Fei to take it on?

I just noticed now that He Qui and Lu Yu Xiao appear together in 3 dramas since 2025: Serendipity, Love Between Lines and Dancing With The Tide. Same agency booking both of them.

He Qui is doing great since her initial casting in The Princess Royal. Good for her. Given how pretty she is we will be seeing lots of her in the future.

This is the 2nd drama Lu Yu Xiao and He Qiu appeared in together. They also are in Love Between Lines in 2026 where LUX is the lead and He Qiu has a guest role (and looks smoking hot in the appearance). They are also both appearing in the forthcoming drama Dancing With The Tide.

It starts in earnest in Ep 25. As the others stated in reply to you the romance aspect of this drama is not at the forefront for most of it. Much of the drama is spent on they getting to know each other as co-workers and later confidants and then it gradually grows into something greater - more from his side in the early indicators.

I think you and I viewed a different drama.

I got busy with work and life after Ep 22 and won't get to binge the rest until next weekend. I came to read the spoilers while I have a few moments to myself before resuming work.

But really glad to see the rating has now climbed to 8.4 as more real viewers rate the show. I see many comments from users I recognize who probably remember the anti-fan activity that dragged the MDL rating down into the mid-7s within hours of the show releasing. It is great to see the recovery: I did not imagine it could recover from that to the current rating which is far more reflective of the show quality.

I as well. I am on Ep 22 but work and life has kept me busy. My plan is to bing the rest next weekend. I am reading all the comments - I don't mind spoilers at all - it just builds the anticipation for when I view the drama.

I agree. It was solid but not "out of the park". I rated it 8 but were there the option for finer rating I would have rated somewhere between 7.7 and 7.9. The top reviews are a bit over the top and I think the reviewers have fallen into a dream/fantasy land but it seems this is pretty common with a fervent portion of the cdrama fan base.

I would certainly recommend this drama as a watch but I doubt I would rewatch it. I found the dramatic tension modest. The script meandered a bit towards the end. I certainly think the actors and production crew should be satisfied with their output, by no means is it terrible in any context.

I watched the trailer for this and it does appear to have some nice comedic moments in the drama. I have not read the novel - did it have comedy in it?

I think iQIYI has formally annoucned this will be in their 2nd half of 2026 schedule.

For Xu Rou Han her success in The Best Thing has really stage a big career breakout - going from low budget to big budget productions. I think she has 6 dramas appearing in her 2026 &TBD list - that equals the number of dramas she did in 6 yrs prior to The Best Thing. Her physical beauty is going to open doors now and its up to her acting talent to keep them open. I think she has that talent.

She and Wang Xing Yue with his good looks should present some fine visuals together.

Several of the Korean actresses added to the list so far are quite a bit older than Zhang Ling He being in their late 30s and early 40s.

I did see 2-3 names I thought would be a good fit but to me the best actress would be Mun Ka Young. Fantastically attractive and also age appropriate as she is only 18 months older then him. She has the right style, appearance and demeanor to be a great female lead opposite him.

I added her to the list.

As someone who grew up playing team sports I find the lack of coaching by Wang Fa in games very disturbing. I actually have never witnessed a coach passive on the sideline in this matter in 4 decades of participating in team sports, no matter the level of the league.

It stands out as the one glaring error in the writing. I guess it is a tactic designed to raise dramatic tension in the drama but instead I ended up fast forwarding through a substantive part of Ep 19.

I know many here are fans of the sporting aspect of this drama. And the drama has really progresses as a slice of life drama with the "romance" tag only a small sub-plot of the show arc. I personally am here for the adults with Yu Shu Xin (Ester) the main draw. I hope that aspect of the drama can also play out without it feeling rushed.

The introduction of Ju Li also came with a dramatic splash but little has been done with her character since. These are best friends from childhood but almost nothing has been done with the friendship in this drama. I also feel the same way about Wang Fa's sister. She had a "build up" but its been mostly bust since thereafter.

I am watching each episode faithfully. I would like to see an uptick in the relevance of the aforementioned characters and improving development of the secondary plotlines.

On the plus side Ester Yu truly eradicated the old cutesy characterization she was utilized for in past dramas. This is 100% a serious adult role. Her character often uses "dramatic pause" for effect in this drama and her answers to others are often contemplative questions thrown back as the asking party. It is an all adult role. Ester is definitely setting the stage for where she wants her career to go forward.

I did enjoy a moment in Ep 19 where she was coy with Wang Fa. She knows he is interested and wants to make him work for it. He either steps up or he will be stepping out.

With much competition due to the latest slate of releases Road to Success is continuing to do exceptionally well on the Maoyan Daily Popularity Ranking Chart. The July 12 chart is as follows:

1. 9876 points - Key to the Pheonix Heart
2. 9803 points - Blossoms of Power
3. 9057 points - The Eternal Fragrance
4. 9023 points - Road To Success
5. 8523 points - The Nanyang Mystery

This despite the continuing anti-fan derogatory activity that is still being waged against Ester Yu. I sadly read some really ugly posts yesterday and today on X full of lies. It is most unfortunate that some base their life meaning on hating others.