Recommendations

Once We Were Us is a Korean remake of Us and Them. If you liked Us and Them, you can give Once We Were Us a try, but it won’t give you quite the same feeling. On the other hand, if you enjoyed Once We Were Us, then Us and Them is a must-watch. You’re in for an emotional ride.

I originally thought the Korean remake would be exactly the same as the Chinese version, but I was wrong. While the overall plot is similar, I found the Chinese version more heart-wrenching and cinematic. What I loved most about Us and Them were the scenes with the male lead’s dad. I actually only cried during the part where his dad writes the letter for the female lead, and again during the ending credits when the male lead returns to visit his old home. The dialogue in the Chinese version is also much more thought-provoking. The scene that haunts me the most is when they’re sitting in the car and the female lead says, “I missed you.” I also appreciated how the Chinese version showed different years and how the characters grew and changed over time.

I also really love the OSTs in the Chinese version, they added so much more depth and meaning to the entire film. And of course, we can’t forget the main song, “Later” by Rene Liu. That song was actually the inspiration behind Us and Them, which makes it even more special and emotionally powerful.

In comparison, the Korean remake, Once We Were Us, felt like it was lacking in that area. The OSTs didn’t stand out to me at all, and they didn’t leave the same lasting impression. The Chinese version’s music truly elevated the story, while the Korean version’s soundtrack was whatever.

That said, I want to give credit to the Korean version for two things. First, in the Chinese version, there’s a scene where the male and female leads hold hands and run back to the hotel…even though the male lead already has a family. The Korean version removed that scene, which I think was a good choice, because imagine finding out your husband is still in love with his first love. Second, the Korean version made the female lead a successful architect, and I loved seeing that she built a stable career in Seoul. In the Chinese version, she’s still struggling and doesn’t have a stable job.

same vibes, the only difference is the FL have confessed to the ML before he came to their school as new student.

- Friends to lovers
-ml and fl are neighbours
- fm also cellist NOT professionally
- group of friends
- fl's mother died in past in TYTL where in SFY fl's father died in past and cello is related to their deceased.
It's also funny and warm youth drama , with good humour if you like TYTL then you can try SFY...!!

It almost has the same storyline and the female leads were both villains in their past lives who took a different path in their second chance. The real difference is the male lead in Story of Kunning Palace is the wary/ruthless/obssesive black cat and the ML here is the loyal golden retriever. They are both devoted to the female leads in different ways. If you want a longer more in depth story then Story of Kunning Palace will give you the same feeling

A beautiful female character spins off the main characters arcs ..
a move from a small town to bigh cities,
building futures,
friendships suffer and
secrets are revealed

The CENTRAL ML holds things together in the face of adversity
A central FL supports the ML as well has her own arcs she makes

I like the way the story flows in the Thai version, but I would argue that the Japanese ver. has slightly better relationship and NSFW chemistry (All Hail BL King Nagumo Shoma). The NC scenes had me looking away in the Japanese version while, in the Thai version, I wasn't embarrassed to be an onlooker. However, I'm still glad I watched the Thai ver. first bc the Japanese ver. has way more plot holes/unexplained moments/loose timeline.

Connect is the prequel of Cross Link, so is better to watch Connect first and then Cross Link. They have the same actors and similar stories.

Very similar soothing cinematography. Characters growing over their traumatic pasts and finding hope in small, simple ways. Wholesome town

Same actress playing the main character, the FL is cunning and lets herself be used as a pawn in the power plays that the ML creates

Mother of karma, revenge, polygamy, harem intricacies, and an annoying male lead.

The Story of Ming Lan and Story of Yanxi Palace basically focuses on how suffocating it is to be a woman during each drama’s respective time period.

I think there are a lot of great recommendations such as love of Nirvana and Blossom and Coronary Diaries.

I really got the same kind of vibe as Who rules the World while watching Melody of Golden age. There are obvious divergences. But the MF lead has a similar bubbliness, and the main leads are working together as detectives to solve conspiracies.

One could also recommend The Double and The Princess Gambit.

It's basically the continuation story of Second Couple, Yangmeng & You Qi(you ki) Couple. Idk it's following the same book of Addicted or not(i guess not bc this couple is rarely have story in novel) but it's continuation of that character (even the actor is the same in Addicted the series)

Both male leads marry the female lead because their moms want them to. In each story, the female lead has secretly had a crush on the male lead for a long time. In both dramas, the woman pursues the man first, and each female lead also has a hidden side to her personality.

It's similar in many ways, such as the fake siblings trope, bad boy x good girl and many other things. The male lead is a police spy for a big case, which causes some misunderstandings, which is also one of the similar parts. The 6 years of parting before meeting again and realising that they never stopped loving each other. If you loved this, you might also love speed and love and vice versa.

These two titles are similar in their idea of time messages and failing marriages. Love that both touch on these matters in such a way that really makes you think about the consequences of every choice a person makes.