IF YOU HAVE HIGH EXPECTATION OF THIS DRAMA...THE DRAMA WILL STILL EXCEED THEM
Its only been 5 mins since I have re-watched the drama...Yeah it was go good I re watched it, I don't know how to explain my feelings, Its in my TOP 3 dramas for sure....I don;t know if it is weird coming form a guy but this drama has my fav kissing scene!!! I mean the kissing has a actual plot development...It has a meaning to it...K dramas has very memorable romantic scenes but this one takes the win for me...I think I should stop hereAbout the story- I don;t know where to start...Its show is about marriage if I have to simplify it...this show asks questions that I know I have to ask myself when I get married...If 2 people love each other is marriage the last option or is it a beginning!! This Drama also tackles some social topics...I can't name all of them but the show handled them very well...but the strongest part of the drama for me was the overall message I got form the show...I used to think that actions are enough for someone to understand but as I am getting to older and will soon enters my 20's, I understood the meaning of words and telling how I actually feel...This drama has many lines that will fill your heart
The characters grow as we progress with the story ...This is not a type of drama where you can shut your mind and relax...for me this this drama had some value in my life...Hope you like it too...Thank You
And a message for myself if I ever read this review in the future...and anyone who will read It guess...We all know its okay to make mistakes but people expect us to make no mistakes as we get older...Yes we get mature and have some understanding but why the world expects us to feel nothing as we get older...I am not even 20 but I have experienced it...Its okay to cry, make mistakes, be embarrassed...it does not matter if you are 20,30,40 because we all are living for the first time
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This review may contain spoilers
A heartfelt drama that starts out as a contractual marriage that blossoms into everything and anything. So sweet and follows several couples navigating the social norms of people in their 30's in Korea. -- Spoilers Below --
Yoon Ji Ho is a single, drama writer who is trying to live out her dream as becoming a lead writer on a show. She has worked and written for several, but hasn't gotten her big start in the scene yet. While working on one of her dramas, she's needing a cheap place to rent but cannot find any within her price range. Eventually, she's set up with someone else who is looking for a roommate to help pay for his apartment. She moves in, not knowing that she is sharing her now apartment with a man, and enjoys the space she now has. They run into each other and start becoming somewhat closer due to their shared liking of several things and her being an easy roommate. This leads to them starting a contractual marriage between the two because of his parents constant pressure due to him being older than 30. It's awkward and new, but new feelings begin to blossom between the two and Ji Ho slowly falls in love with the enigma of a man. Everything is going great, minus Nam Se Hee never speaking his mind or true feelings, but she gets put through the ringer several times. She quits writing because of one of her coworkers attempting to rape her one night while she was staying late. She gets offered a new job with amazing pay, but her boss is Se Hee's ex-girlfriend that took him forever to get over, and last but not least... Se Hee's parents try to bribe her with money to get her to stay home and have his children. They overcome all of this though, officially filing for their marriage and creating a new contract just for them. She ends up following her dream and writes her first big drama: Because This is My First Life.
Nam Se Hee's character is exactly like I said - an enigma. He is quiet, mild-tempered, and keeps to himself. His goal in life is to live peacefully with his home and cat. Se Hee finds it hard to find roommates that fit his exact needs and likes, but settles on Ji Ho after looking at all the pros and cons. They eventually contract marry and begin living together as such. He slowly realizes that he loves her, but finds it hard to truly accept that fact due to his past relationship. Se Hee and Go Jung Min were lovers who had moved in together during college. Jung Min eventually falls pregnant and the two promise to marry and live together as a family. Due to their age and See Hee's overall maturity and selfishness, they lose the baby and Jung Min leaves him. She curses that he'll never love again and doesn't deserve to, and he truly takes this to heart and blames himself. Slowly overtime, he overcomes those feelings and realizes that he does deserve love and that he truly loves Ji Ho. After she leaves him due to his parents giving her money for a baby, he finds himself in the same spot after Jung Min left. He sells his apartment they once shared and moves into her friends place not being able to be in the space him and Ji Ho once shared. They eventually make amends and confess their feelings to one another, officially becoming married and living happily together. He lets her pursue her writing job, just as he promised.
This drama also follows 2 sets of Ji Ho's friends. Ho Rang and Won Seok have been together for 7 years and are school sweethearts. The only problem in their relationship is Ho Rang's constant need for marriage and more. The first conflict is with her wanting a couple's couch that all the newlywed's are buying. Won Seok plans a huge thing with their friend Soo Ji, which Ho Rang see's and believes he's planning a proposal, to buy her the couch she wanted. When she gets home to see the surprise, she's devastated that it's not what she was expecting. This leads to more feelings of pressure on Won Seok and the immense feeling that he is constantly making Ho Rang unhappy. Se Hee tells him that he needs to be more honest with his feelings towards her. The two have a romantic dinner, Won Seok beginning the conversation with that he would love to get married, but doesn't see the difference between love and marriage at the moment. He also adds that he wouldn't want to get married until 5 years later. With this news, Ho Rang is devastated again (I really did not like her character at all) and tells him that she doesn't want to date for 12 years. While at play together after the dinner, her phone goes off when she's in the bathroom, and Won Seok finds that she had downloaded a dating app and was talking to a man on there. This leads to their actual breakup, which begins Ho Rang seeing the guy that she met on the app. The two realize that they are actually meant for and love each other and get back together, eventually marrying and having a baby.
The other friend that was my favorite was Soo Ji. A confident, yet intelligent woman who works amongst men in the corporate world. She navigates the mysogynstic, sexist workplace and never shows that she needs help from anyone. Her and Ma Sang Goo start up a flirt-mance, but she doesn't want to take it to the next level. With time her mind changes and they become more, but she still has a wall up that he cannot get past. While trying to get closer, he believes that she's cheating on him with another man. He races up after her and finds that she truly just lives with and takes care of her disabled mother. He learns that her mother is single and lived working to take care of Soo Ji. The two eventually tell her mom and Soo Ji accepts that she truly loves Sang Goo and doesn't necessarily need him around - but want's him around. I loved their romance so much and the stark difference between their personalities added such good comedic relief between all the heavy storylines that were going on.
A beautiful, well-written story that I could watch over and over.
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Poetry Books made as drama
This drama has the most poetic script and I'm sucker of it. Even the cinematography is poetic. Yet I didn't think this one is for everyone, but I swear if you're part of this semi-niche market, you will love it to the core. This feels very raw, kinda egoistic, also quirky, a very unrealistic way to achieve the most realistic needs. But despite quirkiness, idyllic is also big part of this drama.And for the cast, I think Jung So Min is the perfect one for this. This one is really her vibes.
Ah, and I just realized that I already rewatched it at least 3 times, maybe more. The drama speak deeper to me, I think.
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All for a house? Yes , why not
I was suprised at first , what do you mean , you got married because of house, and have no place to go ?But then , Jiho felt too relatable, she is the every eldest daughter , graduating from big uni and people keep saying that lit / social sciences have no careers . i can understand why her mother was mad , she fought for her daughters's education and her job , so just giving up and marrying feels like a betryal to her . but then i do understand the daughter too , it's hard to meet all the expectations and reach the potiential which everyone thinks of you , you get burned out and tired . but then we see how she stills wants to work , because even though , you got married , got a roof , you still want to work , and it's okay , i agree with it
3rd main couple is deeply suffering from miscommunication , and I find their relationship kinda toxic too. , it tackles topics like why are you still not married even after dating for that long? at first it was misscommunication but then , now that i think of it , i am on the woman side . men really don't want to take responsibilty , what do you mean love and marriage are not the same for you when you both were dating for 6-7 years ?? basturd
The writing of this drama was very well , hoping the writer makes a comeback again
My problem with this show was how last episode was rushed . it felt like the writer wanted to wrap up all fastly .
the love trigangle they tried to make with the cafe guy and then sehee's ex was so unnecessary tho .
also it was frustrating how sehee wasn't able to communicate his feelings until the very last episode
Still i enjoyed watching this show , now it is in one of my favorites
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was way to slow for me!
ok like. i tried so hard to like this one, bcus people SWEAR by it. however, it was so damn slow in the beginning and i literally felt no chemistry between the leads until like the 10th episode. tell me why i was more invested in the second leads. however, the chemistry from like 10-14... woah. WAS AMAZING. like genuinely i was hooked and needed to finish asap. there was soooo much going wrong in the last two episodes though, i do not understand why ji-hoo just dipped and they divorced, was entirely stupid... how about we just talk next time? also... wish we saw more on won-seok and rang's relationship cus girl... it was really destined to end and not sure how they magically made up.Was this review helpful to you?
Still Very Good After Re-Watching
This was one of the first K-dramas I watched (back in 2020) and I liked it so much I re-watched it in 2022. I still like it a lot, and understood a few more words!Starting with the good, and why I think this drama is well worth watching: There are three couples with different types of relationships, the main leads with the fake marriage, the second couple with the casual relationship and the third couple who has been dating for years. All three types of relationships evolve during the course of the show and are portrayed really well. The characters are very likeable and the acting was top-notch. I especially enjoyed Esom as the fiery second female lead.
What I also liked was the depiction of current issues like expensive housing, discrimination at the workplace, a “me too” moment where the girl is just supposed to just let it slide, and the overall problem of living in a patriarchic society as a woman. There is some wry humor, too. The show overall is light-hearted but with some depths as well.
The not-so-good: The show kept a good pace in the first few episodes but then got a bit draggy. Several dialogues went nowhere and I just wanted to yell at the characters to spit it out already. The female lead in particular was a bit vague, which led to misunderstandings, which took a while to clear up and caused the male lead some unnecessary suffering. But this show definitely has so many strong points that it can easily be forgiven when it drags a little. I certainly enjoyed watching it twice.
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This review may contain spoilers
- LOVED the female friendships. - Lots of thoughtful lines about love and sense of self e.g. marriage being a major way one is confronted with what one really wants, or needing to choose how to live on one's own terms rather than looking at other people's lives (at times), or how in final analysis every life is ordinary, or the titular sentiment of how we're all figuring out how to live this life for the first time.
- Loved the themes of exploring what marriage and love really mean to a person. The main character's conclusion on marriage at the end was rather cynical, but I suppose they went ahead with it in the end?? Then again, if "marriage" is defined as it is by Korean society (that sort of transactional relationship involving push and pull between in-laws, the toxic indirect communication, etc), then perhaps it's perfectly justifiable to be cynical about it?
- I actually thought that final construct where the two leads end up coming full circle and living in the same space again unexpectedly was very cute. I just think the way they made it happen could have been better done, the moves didn't quite hit authentic to me.
- That said, I get that the final episodes are (I believe) generally meant to represent Ji Ho's maturing into her own person and doing marriage/love her way, and Se Hee's maturing into someone who can be vulnerable. And there are times when a person needs to be pushed and cracked open... it just all felt a little garbled to me? That whole thing about him beating up the assistant director went completely unnoticed by the person he was doing it for. Or was that meant to show that, you can do extremely out of character things like this but you still need to use your words to tell someone you love them?
- LOVED Soo Ji's story, perfectly rounded off with that very natural transition to being the boss of a lingerie company. I also loved that her character growth (and subsequently story arc) was supported and provoked by the people closest to her (as opposed to Ji Ho, who seemed largely driven by her own internal reasoning e.g. it didn't impact her that her mum told her she was talking crap. Good ol' mum.)
- Actually wished Ho Rang had remained broken up!! Or that there had been a better sense of growth in the two of them actually facing the reality of their situation. talking through it and deciding.
- Overall quite a beautiful series, I felt! The beautiful seaside scenes, that lovely poem and other literary references..
- I'm not sure how difficult it was but I appreciate how Jung So Min must've practiced Ji Ho's hometown dialect!
- Crushed hard on Se Hee's ex!!
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2nd half: Drama
Ending: Somewhat Happy
Recommendation: Watch it
This is a slow burn slice of life drama revolving around the main characters' marriage contract plot, included in the story are two other couples (their friends) and their everyday lives and how they go about it. This won't make you laugh or cry, instead this drama will make you think or feel for days to come. Episode 1-3 were fine but episode 4 to episode 10 was really slow (at times boring) and this is where the bulk of the slow burn is at, it got better for me at episode 11 onwards until the end.
I usually finish a drama within a a day or two of binge watching but this one took me around 2 weeks (too slow for my taste hence almost dropped it many times), but I'm glad that I didn't because what kept me around were the stories of the secondary characters which I genuinely enjoyed. Despite the difficulty in watching it, I have no regrets and I have enjoyed it a little bit although this isn't something that I would watch again but is somewhat memorable.
Overall, if you have limited time like me and have to go through dozens of other dramas in your list then I suggest that you skip this one otherwise if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do then I think you should watch this drama and it should have a lasting effect on you.
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It is Relatable
The story plot is relatable in terms of the daily life struggles in finances, relationships, societal issues, and self-improvement. The convenient marriage was a bit much for me that Lee Minki and Jung Somin could've dealt their financial problems in another way but it wouldn't be a thicker plotline. As of the other plots of the story, I really liked the portrayal of Esom and how she dealt with societal issues in her workplace, her relationship, and her self. The way Esom confronted her male co-workers about her no-bra. HELLO!!! For every women, it's a big conflict we face whatever the size is. Later on, she decides to get custom-made bra was great idea that Esom's character's self-improvement in harassments and gender inequality of the society.Was this review helpful to you?
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Highly recommended to watch, and it doesn't even matters what kind of genre you are looking for. Even if you think, you don't feel like watching this, you should watch.
This was one of the best character developments I've seen in Kdrama. the way main leads and the supporting couples transform to their true selves was one to look for.
this base story is typical contract marriage because of conditions and main leads falling in love and of course smb with tragic past. but this is where it stops.
the drama is a bit monotonous at first glance and if you are not in mood for wathcing something about life, inner peace, personal growth, thinking about what is important in life, what is love, friendship, families and what can be called love then this might seem abit dragged as there are many discussions touching this topics. but if you are all for it, then this is for you.
frankly, when I started watching I wanted to watch something light, but without realization I started to get drawn in this drama and was enjoying and relating myself very much. It did manage to deliver the feelings and warmness and harshness of this world.
I would have give 10/10 but would have to take away some ponts because last 3 episodes seemed a bit dragged for me. OST was on spot and well aligned as it would start and stop at the right moment. Everybody working on this drama did good job.
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Blah, blah, blah. I can go on about this drama sounding like an infomercial, but that will be boring. JUST WATCH THIS! YOU'LL SURELY LOVE IT. Come on! It stars Lee Min Ki. LEE MIN KI! Enough said! Muahahahaha...anyone reading this can surely tell I'm a LMK fan. Jung So Min, Esom, Kim Min Seok, and Kim Ga Eun are also awesome actors. AND Kim Min Kyu with his adorable dimples.
Anyway, I really digressed there. This drama is a must-watch.
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