THE JOYS and SORROWS of LOVE
The age of “Love Rain” (2012), almost made me miss a great, romantic story. In spite of ruminating about its age, I gave in and watched. From the very beginning, it captured my attention, and was without a lot of fluff. The characters were relatable, and each had a significant storyline. The transition of characters into future years was uniquely done, and well performed, by the actors. One must pay close attention, as dates are not shown, to reflect the period. I liked the love between both sets of lead characters. I found Sun Ho’s role as wanting, and Jo Won’s to be insignificant. Overall, a great love story: lots of hugs, but lacking in romance; a few delusional characters, in quest for love. I liked how the story ended, but wanted more visual closure to the adult, In Ha and Ha Na’s plight. Some reviews are useful, but some appeared to be related to a different story. It’s all contingent upon one’s life experiences, discernment, and tastes, I guess.Was this review helpful to you?
What took me so long to watch this?!
There was so much to love about this show. I have literally skipped over this show dozens of times, strictly because of the picture that goes along with the synopsis. I'm so glad I finally gave it a chance. It is a slow-moving drama, but the characters are developed very well, and because of the slow pace, you feel like you are coming to know them and learning to care for them at the same time.The first four episodes set in the 70's at University - there was a sort of yellowish tinge to the film quality that I really liked, giving evidence to the time period. I loved the 70's fashions (which at the time we thought we were rocking!), and hairstyles and the overall feel. I also appreciated that they did a jump forward into the present time, rather than the endless flashbacks, which really take you out of the story.
The current time was filled with beautiful scenery, comedy, drama, and the usual K-drama angst. I did lower my score one point due to the fact that there were multiple episodes where the main couple broke up and made up over and over again. That, to me, said the show could have been edited a little more tightly and made shorter.
I thought it was well acted for the most part, but I must especially give shouts out to Im Yoon-Ah and Jang Geun Suk. Im Yoon-Ah played the shy female lead in the 70's, and her daughter in the current time. In the 70's her character seemed a little one-dimensional to me, but I think that was to contrast with the vivacious person she was in the current time. Her character was sweet and likeable and not a complete doormat (though when she kept lowering her eyes in front of his nightmare of a mother, I wanted to smack her).
Jang Geun Suk - oh my goodness, his performance was impressive! Since I hadn't read much about this show before I watched it, I was quite a way into the show before I realized that he played two parts as well! In the 70's he was a shy artist. He falls in love in three seconds and this is basically the story of that love. His character was sweet and tender in the 70's, contrasted by his character of the son, who was bitter, cynical, and didn't believe in love. His hair and his costumes in the present time were ridiculous, but he was wonderful. I loved watching him becoming aware of someone other than himself, especially since he came out and said he didn't believe in love. The voice-over work he did, especially during the 70's time frame, was lovely. He has the perfect voice for it. Add to that the Love Rain song that he sings throughout the show, and he just gave me all the feels.
For Seo In-Guk fans, he plays two unusual characters in this show. They really downplayed his attractiveness.
The relationship between the two leads was wonderful to watch. It was especially fun since they started out so antagonistically toward each other. For those enquiring minds, there are a couple of lame kisses, and a couple of very good kisses, that make you think that they actually like each other. Also, I understand that the Koreans say they "like" each other rather than using the word "love", which I'll admit can be overused. So, when they said they loved each other, it was so wonderful. The show has a happy ending, but I would have liked the ending to be a little bit longer.
Another storyline that I really liked was in the current time between the female lead and the young doctor. He really put himself out there to be her friend and stuck with her throughout, even though he was in love with her himself. He only made a couple of vague references to it, and she was completely clueless.
Other than the multiple episodes toward the end that had the "will they/won't they be together" thing, this show was a slow, calm, peaceful view into two different developing relationships, and the effects that others' decisions can make on those relationships. It showed the power of friendships in both eras, and I think that applies to the main leads as well. In addition to being in love, I think friendship and maturity played important roles in them sticking together and not letting others tear them apart.
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The worst series I've seen in kdrama that I felt compelled to write a review
This series could have been shortened to at least 14 episodes and that's me being super generous. So much of it was way too slow paced like there were parts that dragged on for way too long or was repetitive especially after around the 13th episode. I started fast forwarding most of the remaining episodes just to get through... literally the same things kept happening. I don't know about you but if you're someone who needs to read the subtitles in your language, you absolutely can not be doing something else esp if you're invested, but with this series I could let it play while I do something else and know I did not miss anything important. Eventually I stopped watching halfway through episode 18 and am still trying to find the will power as i type this to waste another 60-90 mins just to see it end.The story between the older couple - In Ha and Yoon Hee was cute and they were the only reason I tried to keep watching through the end but it ended up being centered mostly around the very naive young couple who lacked any sort of real connection the way the parents did. I was hoping the story between the younger couple Ha Na and Joon would be just as good or get better but that wasn't the case and it's one of the main reasons why I don't like this series.
For the two I assumed to be in their mid to maybe even late twenties, they act like middle schoolers. Joon is so unlikeable yet Ha Na still sees something in him. They go through each episode without ever really knowing each other deeply, they just know that they're attracted to each other. Truly there was no story between them, zero connection. All they did was kiss, hold hands, Ha Na gets talked down to by Joon, they storm off, then grab each other's wrist, rinse and repeat- every episode. I know there are characters similar to Joon in plenty other dramas where the male lead is this stern "bad boy" who always pushes away the female or feigns interest but the way this dude was written was so annoying, always straight up rude and hot and cold for no good reason...basically emotionally immature which I will say is a real life trait of lots of actual real life people but I don't see what is so cute about that. Plus the actor Jang Keun Suk's lack of facial expressions and emotion -other than blank stare and annoyance makes his character even more unbelievable (this is my first time seeing him in anything).
Alsoooo wtf was with his characters outfits? He had the audacity to say Ha Na dressed like a country bumkin yet he's mostly in women's clothes that didn't really go with his character.. but it did give off 2010's f*boy vibes had they just kept the feminine cuts away and stuck with the vneck and rhinestone studded ripped jeans .
Then again nothing made any sense.
Ha Na and Joon were pretty pathetic (as well as a few other characters). Anyone who reviewed saying they liked their dynamic and think the two are so romantic were likely teenagers who watched it thinking their type of relationship is cute. But what's even more annoying is that there was really no reason that each couple couldn't be in their respective relationships.
Very surprised that this had a high rating making me wonder if we all were really watching the same show.
Poorly thought out
Absolutely mediocre.
I would not recommend.
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I thought the story of the parents was sad...but i just did not like her mom. She was so passive it was annoying and oh my god it seemed like some bad thing was always happening to her.
I enjoyed the themes, the colors, and the symbolism.
I pitied the boy's mom.
I did not like the comedic relief/found it to be a drag.
Sometimes it dragged.
My biggest frustration: the writer's obsession with 'purity' in women. The male lead was a player, the female lead could not have sexual bone in her body which felt totally unrealistic of reality. I mean it was like she didn't even entertain a single sexual thought about this man. You can be chaste but still have desires, yeesh. This is why I give it an 8.5--it was delivering a very mature story but at the same time would not acknowledge adult themes that made it realistic. I'm not saying that their needed to be sex/kissing/hugging, but it felt like the female leads were all on pedastals, and the most realistic female of them all was probably the boy's mom who was also the villian.
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This review may contain spoilers
An Emotional Roller Coaster
8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2012 South Korean drama (20 episodes/~60 Minutes per episode) that spans 2 generations and 2 couples. The mom Kim Yoon-hee (Lee Mi-sook) and father Seo In-ha (Jung Jin-young) of the two "main" characters lost their 1st chance at love and wound up marrying other people. The son, Seo Joon (Jang Keun-suk) and daughter Jung Ha-Na (Im Yoon-ah) meet by chance and fall for each other. As fate would have it, the mother and father meet later in life and have their 2nd chance at love. They decide to marry and when they tell their children the young couple must decide if they give up their own love for the love of their parents.Spoiler 🚨 This was an emotional roller coaster and I felt heartbreak for both couples. I felt sad at the end and couldn't quite place why but I think it is because, although it ended well, not everything was tied up in a perfect bow. I had questions about what had happened with some of the characters and it just didn't feel like the happy fair tale I like to escape to. I would still rate this high but would say watch it when you are ready for an emotional roller coaster.
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when I saw chubby Seo In Guk in 70's I said WHAATTT!!! wait!!!! is he really Seo in Guk and when I saw him singing in 2012's I could not help myself but laughing.
Kim Si Hoo as Lee Dong Wook/Lee Sun Ho did not changed much.. In 2012's it was his time to sacrifice, bury his feelings to his heart..
in 1970's Sun In Ha & Lee Dong Wook ( haah such a coincidence we have an actor who is carrying the same name LDW) & Sun In Ha was in love with her, and he was faster and told his feelings to Kim Yoon Hee, in 2012 it was Suh Joon faster told his feeling to her, Lee Sun Ho kept his feelings hidden for his friends happiness, in 2012 we also have Tae Sung we first know about him when they were in Japan and also his feeling about Ha Na when they were talking about Diamond Snow, he silenced his friend by covering his mouth, as seeing - watching Diamond Snow with a boy / girl means that they'll fall in love. This drama is totally about FATE..
So history repeated itself but in a different way..
I loved that it is a happy ending on both parties everyone have their happy ending.
I do not care about the ratings, I loved the drama, I enjoyed watching it, it is a drama filled with romance without being cheesy I cried on some scenes and still cry on some of the musics played in the drama..
I would go and watch this drama again and again without getting bored.
Do not give importance to negative reviews, this drama does not deserve negative reviews.. It is only you who can decide whether it is good or bad.. Give the decision after watching the first 4 episodes.
If you are not into romance- romantic person, who does not enjoy romanticism, do not even start go and watch something else..
This drama was on my target for the last couple of years but not sure to watch it or not but I gave it a chance and I am happy about it.
Other than jumping immediately to 2012 I would loved to see some the transformation how they got married - children being friends wth each other. Just noticed we don't know anything about LDW wife and we know why Chang Mo never got married
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She's not that good at acting for me yet I like her
The leading man was great ^__^
I just watched few k-dramas but I can tell that he is really a good actor ;O
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Found this by accident - a true "must watch" if you really are addicted to Kdramas
After watching all 20 episodes I definitely recommend it. It has a few flaws like misleading subtitles which cause viewer to lose some the story detail or character development; poor film quality and camera angles in a few scenes also cause some confusion. An excessive use of the melancholy OST music may create emotional overload for highly sensitive viewers (as was case for me).As a slow burn type romance viewers might lose interest when plot bogs down after episode 10 - I myself came close to stop watching.
Actors chosen, do a good job conveying the interior emotional conflicts of their situation. Especially Jang Keun-suk, and Im Yoona who play the youthful lovers in both time periods. The actors playing their much older counterparts were a bit less vibrant and interesting except for Yu Hye-Ri. This actress nails her role as Hye Jung - self-centered, toxic, manipulative yet unable to attain what she craves as a self-destructive and ultimately pathetic human. She is a study in psychology that someone can lose decades of happiness wanting what she can't have by force, only to achieve emotional ruin for those around her.
Thankfully there are lots of funny moments and situations that make you appreciate the foibles of youth. Both the innocent and worldly characters begin to slowly influence each other. And it is a very slow process for Seo Joon once he's bitten by the love bug. His ideology that love doesn't exist slowly derails and is a slow and painful process for him and the innocent Ha Na.
At my viewing, this drama is 13 years old, and I didn't find it too difficult to enjoy. Seo Joon's "styling" as far as wardrobe was a bit much to endure but I got over it.
While there is ambiguity in how the romance is presented in the last episode the story and characters come to a happy and very satisfactory end.
The following is MY personal interpretation from each character's perspective: I could be misguided.
Seo Joon is sexually experienced and becomes careful in his expressions of affection (hugs instead of passionate kisses) due to Ha Na's innocence in this area. You can believe in his respect for her. Ha Na accepts that Seo Joon doesn't believe in marriage because of his family life. Yet with the deep love & physical attraction they have she still feels the need for caution by running away to "cool off". It's her way of never pressuring Seo Joon into a life choice she wants - marriage.
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Long ago...
Love Rain is one of those dramas that stays with you long after you’ve watched it. I first saw it when it was released in 2012, and I still think about it whenever the topic of K-dramas comes up. It left a huge impression on me—even to the point that I stayed up all night to finish it.The drama delivers big emotions, and I absolutely adored the cast. Both generations—the older storyline and the modern one—were equally captivating, which surprised me at the time. Even though I was young and had no real connection to the “old” era, I was completely hooked by both stories.
It’s a beautifully nostalgic drama, full of heartfelt moments and memorable performances—definitely one of the best I’ve ever watched. And don't get me started on the music!
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