Dinner Mate

Fantastic kdrama

Actully I watched this drama without any reason and anything make me exiting.but i love it and after that i became a big fan of song seung heon . i started watching his all dramas and movies.he is great .
For me this drama is better than many dramas in 2020 .
Plz watch this drama because it makes you feel happy and thinking about love .
Thank you all dinnermate team . that was great. I hope lead actor and actress play another drama together.
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I loved it... Story was definitely different from any others. It started from lot of coincidents and lead to mature and Lovely Love story. Comedy was good too.
I just loved the Lead couple. Both of them are super awesome. And their Chemistry..Omg... totally Heart fluttering. Song Seung heon was So Good & Perfect. Seo Ji Hye... she was great , this role is totally opposite from Crash Landing in you ... & I love her in this drama. 😍❤️
Music was Beautiful specially ... Would you like OST by Ovan.
It's genre is also food and I'm sure you'll crave for delicious food while watching it. 🤤😂
Without any fanciness it was Simply superb. You should definitely watch it.❤️

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Watch if you are a fan of the actors or if you love Ex-es who won't take No for an answer!

Subjective Rating: 7.75

I read the comments and the reviews, and I am prepared for the battle of annoying ex-es. But even with such expectations, I am still amazed at how much “Dinner Mate” focuses on these two second leads. But for the sexy Song Seung Hun (who I was obsessed with in “Obsessed”), I am willing to continue watching this drama. He’s the main reason why I am even giving this drama a shot.

The tone of the drama in the first ⅓ is quite light and fun. When the deeper issues are finally revealed, the drama becomes a lot more melodramatic. The lightness did not return until the last two episodes.

I quite like the general plot of having a dinner mate. Someone you don’t know personally, sharing and enjoying a meal together without any worry or embarrassment. I think the chemistry between the leads is best during their friendly dinner mate relationship. I wanted to see more of their dinners, their conversations and support for each other. I also enjoy the part when their identities are finally revealed and they are in this awkward but attracted-to-each-other phase. But once they are in a relationship, their relationship isn’t as fun. I think mainly because I feel that Kim Hae Kyung (ML) puts in a lot more effort in the relationship than Woo Do Hee (FL). In the beginning, I really liked Do Hee and found her to be a fun female lead. But she seems to have changed to be a different person in the second half. A quieter, gloomier person that’s not giving me the same energy as Hae Kyung. For Hae Kyung, he was the opposite. He was a man of few words, then he became more outgoing and outspoken. The dynamic between them seems to have switched. I also wanted more PDA and skinship from them. Hae Kyung tried but Do Hee wasn’t giving much, and I was a little surprised. She’s been in two long-term relationships before and she doesn’t seem like a shy woman, but why isn’t she kissing as enthusiastically as Hae Kyung? Also, I appreciate them both being true to themselves and never wavered when their exes came back, but they really need to set some boundaries, esp. physical boundaries.

Let’s talk about the exes. The drama really is not giving viewers a chance to even like Jung Jae Hyuk (2ML) and Jin Noh Eul (2FL). They have the audacity to dump someone out of the blue and then come back to DEMAND to get back with their exes? That’s not a good introduction of these characters. Both of them wouldn’t take NO for an answer and continue to be annoying up until the last couple episodes. If you don’t like love triangle/square with this type of irritating exes, it’s best not to watch this drama. In the second half, it seems like Jae Hyuk has more scenes than the main characters. He dominated ¼ of the drama when we find out his backstory, history, and challenges and road to recovery. Props to actor Lee Ji Hoon for making me feel sad, angry, irritated, pitiful and then rooting for him in the end to be healed.

I initially found the little love story of the older couple quite cute. Then, it dragged on for so long and got too cringey for me. I actually would have liked to see them break up sooner, and then give them a little extra more time in the last episode or two.

Oh, we also have a “Crash Landing On You” sighting!. It’s lovely to see Seo Ji Hye had a brief reunion with Goo Seung Jun. Did you see the other CLOY reference during the meditation scene?

I actually quite like the food + psychiatry theme and enjoy those therapy scenes more than the B-class podcasts. I enjoy the few songs in this drama but also feel that they are too overplayed. For a drama named “Dinner Mate”, I don’t think there are enough delicious food scenes!

Overall, I would recommend this drama if you are a fan of the actors/actresses, or enjoy watching ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends come back and cause havoc.


Completed: 5/4/2023 - Review #304

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This is my first review. Honestly, the only reason I finished this show was because of how good the first half-ish was. It started going downhill at around episode 9/18 (Each episode is cut into two episodes. Episode 1 is episode 1 and 2, etc.) The biggest problem I had with it at this point was that it was a flaming bus of a drama. Nobody knew what was going on. People did things just to do them. The ex-girlfriend and boyfriend coming back to their lovers to cause havoc got old really fast.

The first half of this show was amazing, though. Two people intertwined by fate and destiny keep meeting over and over to have a meal. It was beautiful. I had the feeling I was seeing one of the best stories, if not overall dramas, I've ever seen. And that thought just crashed and burned in disappointment at the strange turns this drama took. If the second half of this show was a drama by itself, I'd give it a negative score. But the first half was so good like I said that the overall score is above average. Watch the show if you want. It might be different for different people.

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How to Get Over Your Past Relationships? Easy: Make a Better One.

Dinner Mate is a slow-burn romantic TV show that doesn't use a lot of melodrama to build the chemistry between the two leads. It is a purely serendipitous tale of two professionals who find each other at the best time. From the early episodes it is abundantly clear that both Kim Hae Kyung, played by Song Seung Heon, and Woo Do Hee, played by Seo Ji Hye are quite unenthusiastic about romantic relationships. After some comedic situations and a little bit of coincidence to get the ball rolling, the backbone of the show's plot becomes, what I would call, "anonymous intimacy". The two main leads meet for dinner as a means to vent about their personal lives without deep feelings, without the potential anxiety of being boyfriend-girlfriend and without verbal confrontations. They do this by agreeing to eat together when they're hungry and by carefully talking about their lives but never giving their names or professions to each other. If we take the show's premise at face value, this is obviously a way for the show to set-up a lot of complicated social situations, combined with 'secret relationship' antics.

I think, however, we need to take a step back and recognise that Dinner Mate isn't a plot-heavy show. Dinner Mate is very much an emotional and psychological journey where the back-and-forth events at Do Hee's social media job and Hae Kyung's clinic aren't that important. What becomes important over the course of the show are the particularities of how the two leads overcome their relationship woes.

Both leads are coming off of bad break-ups: Do Hee has been ghosted, Hae Kyung viciously dumped. Without spoiling, neither has entirely given up at the start of the series, but they are slightly weary of relationships and the drama that seems to follow their romantic lives around. What is great about Dinner Mate's story is the suggestion that this weariness is exactly the mindset which creates a strong relationship. The rules the "dinner mates" create ensure an ongoing, neutral social outing where they can eat with each other without judgement; this results in them respecting each other's privacy. They resist the temptation to pry into each other's lives and are able to spend time with someone else without emotional pressures.

This respect for the privacy and the emotional boundaries of strangers is the most important takeaway from the scenario of this show.

It might sound like I'm not describing a romantic television show, but that is obviously not the case. It's readily apparent from all the various music cues and slow-motion shots of the actors looking into each other's direction (calmly and with slight smiles on their faces) that the two leads are inevitably going to 'catch feelings' for each other. The dinner rules are meant to fail, which makes the show pretty funny at times. It's almost a recurring meme at the end of every second hour of this show for Seo Ji Hye and Song Seung Heon to be looking at each other across a street (for what seems like an eternity) while soft modern R&B plays in the background. While I did eye-roll during one or two of these slow-mo stares and maybe found them a little tiresome once or twice, I didn't mind Dinner Mate's straight-forward romantic tale. I vastly prefer a romantic story where the plot is driven by warm, non-verbal communication combined with a positive outlook for the relationship. The alternative romantic story (the one most television shows rely on) is a plot driven by betrayal, violence or a type of doomed 'forced contact' between the two leads. For example: boy meets girl after a disaster-like event, or boy meets girl but their families are enemies, or boy meets girl but one of them is a ghost, etc.

You can build a romantic story using unfortunate events that eventually forces the two leads to bond together in order to overcome the negativity of their situation, but this approach is only one particular part of how romance develops. This brings me to the two 'villains', or ex-partners, of the lead characters: Jin Noh Eul and Jung Jae Hyuk. Obviously I want you to watch the show for yourself so I'm not going to spoil much, but through these two characters Dinner Mate explores the transition out of chasing romance and into building romance. It's easy to argue that the two villains, in their persistent chase for romance, eventually start chasing romantic trauma instead. They don't evolve their mindset into their new circumstances whatsoever. Needless to say, the fact that some of the main and supporting characters in this show are psychologists shouldn't be lost on you. It bears repeating: you should not be expecting a lot of interesting twists and turns in this story; nor are the plot twists and 'shock' events in this show at all surprising.

Dinner Mate very much wants show how we can BUILD FROM romantic trauma rather than LAZILY ACCEPT romantic trauma. Yeah, there's some cheesy melodramatic scenarios near the end of the show, but make no mistake: Dinner Mate has a powerful message about the importance of mediated intimacy in romantic relationships rather than an accepted familiarity. We shouldn't take our loved ones for granted.

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Some great, some good and some plain meeh that failed to ignite the spark in me

Some dramas keep you on your toes, others send you off on an amazing roller coaster ride, or a ride thru the alps with beautiful scenery and exitment... This one has some good scenery, and lovely food shots that may make you feel some hunger but its more of a country ride with a stop to eat on the way then a thrilling ride. I did not feel the it factor, you know the whole wow factor igniting my emotions... yes that is it it did not ignite enough emotional reactions from me to get exited about it.

This drama has all the components to make it great! Showing both social issues, mental illness and bad ass female characters that make you competently fall for them. The side characters are mostly great but mid annoying at worst, but have good character development as well as some really good side characters with some really good lines. My favorit line from the whole dram comes from a mid annoying side character that said: unwanted love is not real love, it is violence! But then he spent most of his screen time trying to push people in to the pit of re living their toxic relationships so I can't really say he is as good as that line.

There is a homeless man that is made human, but still annoying and well does not really represent the social issue of homelessness at all except for maybe one line... This had so much potential but just turned in to meeh...

But the sismance, oh the sismance as well as the mother daughter relationship was great. The way they wrote the female lead was just so good, I loved it! incorporating both self blame, shame, moving on,inner struggles, the exterior vs. the interior, fear, regret.... She really goes thru allot and just handels it like a human being. Her boss is just cool, I love that actress and the way she gets these bad ass quirky fun characters that are just filled with great easy humor that is low without becoming annoying.

But then we have the only fat person in the whole drama who could have been portrayed as a competent fun person but instead is portrayed as a smelly less competent stereotypical fat guy. Come on, this is not nice, please stop. fat people are just as competent, lovable and can even smell really nice and deserve respect and love just the way they are.

I did however like part of the dramas take on stalking, mental illness and the need for help while still showing the consequences for the victims of the actions of the persons actions while being on an episode. This is really important to me, yes we need to raise awareness of people struggling with mental illness as being competent human beings with feelings deserving to be loved and further being punished by societies prejades. But rhe people around them do get hurt and should have the right to put up boundaries as well as distance them slevs. What I a ms saying is that it is complicated and this drama does a pretty okay job showing that it is complicated and I loved that about it.

The male lead is also really cool, I love the way he keeps calm more or less in every situation and well he is both nice to look att and does all these nice things that make ones heart flutter... Even though the main couple seems to lack chemistry the interactions and dialog between them is hilarious at times it just lacks that little spark that many other drama couples have. But both characters are well written and really great.. if they only had that spark.

So all in all worth a watch just don't expect to much of an emotional ride...

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A good story spoiled by dragging it for longer episodes than it needed

Yes, like the title says the story was impressive. Especially the way our couple meet and get to know each other through their anonymous dinner dates is a breath of fresh air. Acting, casting, music all looked spot on except the decision to take it for 16 episodes.

I mean the story is cute and awesome but it isn’t a very long one which requires 16 episodes. I think they should have made it only as 12 episodes drama and removed many scenes which were spent on focusing the violent love of ex lovers. Even if they really needed a 16 episode drama, they should have at least created another capable side plot or office romance with the available characters.

Another complaint is that there were not many sweet moments of our main couple once they got together. It was very annoying when the story’s main pillar is romance. Instead they kept on dragging by the ex lovers to irritate us.

Overall I enjoyed with help of forward button. But this drama will go into my list of capable heart fluttering awesome dramas ruined by writers. I am sad that the drama which started very promising got dragged on and bored me enough to never pay a revisit. Seriously I would have rewatched it a few times if only things were done right since I really loved the story and leads.

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I want a dinner mate too!

Likes
1. Amazing chemistry between the two leads. I love Hae Kyung and Dohee's relationship from being strangers, to dinner mates and to lovers. Of course we should still be careful befriending a random stranger in a foreign place, no matter how handsome they are!
2. I love the thought of food as therapy and providing comfort to people. It is true. We often use food to help us when we are stressed, sad or happy.
3. The food, the beautiful visuals, Seo ji hye's dresses, Song seung hun's biceps.
4. I loved the ost a lot! I thought they weren't the usual songs because they were more rnb /hiphop than ballads and pop. And it fit the show. Yum yum!

Dislikes
1. One crazy ex was enough. Bringing in both toxic exes for the entire run of the drama was too much. Noeul was not very helpful in building the plot. She could have shown up in the first few episodes and left on a good note.
2. Honestly wasn't that interested in Jaehyuk's story. I thought he took away a lot of the bonding times HK and DH could have shared on screen.

Rating: 8.5/10

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It kept me smiling almost all the time!

Not sure why people disliked this drama. This drama was so heartwarming. I always find myself smiling while watching. I like the OST too. The reference to Crash Landing on You was also funny. Sandara Park as guest was a surprise. I like to eat when I am feeling down so I can definitely relate to this. I believe in food therapy and I recommend it to anyone who is needing to lift the spirits up. I have read the webtoon and the story is so different. However, I didn't mind because the webtoon itself is short. In order to make this short webtoon into a drama, the storyline was changed. Overall, I love this drama! Highly recommend to watch!

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A chill storyline

I unexpectedly loved the story as i waited every week, waiting for every week’s episode was fun because the story line was really chill though it involves the couples past relationships. Every episode gives me butterflies in the stomach because of their great chemistry! Their chemistry was really good. The drama also have cameo of some stars which makes it fun to watch. Got to be one of the best drama in 2020. Really recommended if you love chill storylines. I watched this because of Seo Dan and Gu Seong Joon of Crash landing on you but ended up liking Song Seung Heon!

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