Welcome to Samdal-ri
I really enjoyed this drama, some people might say that it's boring or that the main leads are too childish in their behavior. And of course everyone has their opinions which should be respected.In my opinion, this drama, depicted how easy it is for celebrities in Korea to have their careers crumble and even their lives sometimes all due to rumors or speculation.
I enjoyed all the side stories and main story line on this drama, as it shows the hardship of making it into the world and how difficult it is to succeed sometimes, it also shows us that even if people sometimes don't remember in most cases there is always somewhere we can go back to, there is always a chance to restart and get back up even if it's difficult. That it should never be an option to just stand down and accept such treatment when we are innocent.
I think that in my opinion the main characters on this drama also showed us that in a relationship people don't need to be serious all the time, it's okay to be silly and goofy and even outside a relationship, it's okay to be all of that, people don't need to be silly all the time, it's okay to be childish sometimes no matter the age we have, It's okay to cry if we want to cry, and it's okay to be silly and funny when we want to (of course when it's appropriate as well).
Overall, this was a wonderful drama to watch, it had a sense of nostalgia and all the supporting roles made a great job during this drama as well, this drama had some of my favorite actors, so I was incredibly pleased with everyone present and their performance.
(as mentioned before, everyone's opinion should be respected and everyone had a right to have one as people have different tastes and takes on every situation)
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underrated pearl
the acting and the story is great, even though I was sometimes annoyed at the female lead for not defending herself but the writing was well done and as the episodes went on, her take on the situation and her decision not to do anything made sense.every characters are touching in their own way and the development is delight to watch. each one of them has a story and it's nice to see how they interact with each other.
the way they protect each other, grieve, laugh and cry together is heartwarming.
and as usual, all the actors give a great performance
can't wait for the last episodes and for the karma to catch the Seoul girl.
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This review may contain spoilers
Welcome to Ji Chang-wook!
Fans of small-town dramas will feel right at home here.To be fair, the village based plot doesn't start in earnest until a few episodes in but once in place, all the typical elements are on full display. Bucolic setting, tight knit community and "colourful" locals all slot in seamlessly.
It doesn't mean this drama is all sunshine and sea breezes, quite the contrary. The first few episodes can be titled, "How low can the FL go?". The simple answer is very low. Not only did her professional and personal life collapsed in Seoul but her troubles follow her back to her hometown on Jeju.
To be honest, the first few episodes are hard to watch. Not because of bad acting but it was an endless series of setbacks, angst and tears. There is little concrete reasoning behind her fall from grace other than the A-plot demands it. The problem is that the shouting and crying only got worse when she arrived home because now it involves the whole family unit and sundry other characters. It was surprisingly relentless when you consider this is supposed to be a rom-com.
Fear not, Ji Chang-wook is here! Our ML is the soothing influence, the voice of reason and the mirror for the FL to see the truth behind all the ill feelings and maltreatment she has suffered for years. Members of the 5 Eagles Brotherhood helped as well. They might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but their total dedication to Cho Sam-dal is a sight to behold and woe to anyone who stood in their way.
Thankfully, the feel of the series changes completely once the OTP acknowledge their feelings for each other. There is nothing a united village can't handle and while they still face challenges, we know they are just speed bumps on their road to success.
Speaking of romance, the OTP is always going to be front and centre, but it is relatively uneventful once they clear the air. The shaky romance between the eldest sister and her ex-husband is more engaging. Props to the actor playing the ex-husband. He could have been a typical spoiled heir, but he is so earnest and sweet that you just have to love him, warts and all. The scene with the cockroach is unmissable.
As I mentioned before, the show is angst heavy, but it is not well balanced. This is largely because the antagonist is light weight. There is no dastardly master plan. She got desperate and the fourth estate took care of the rest. She rode the tiger but have no idea how to get off. This also means the resolution, when it came, felt underdone. It closed the chapter but there is not a lot of satisfaction to be had.
The last EP is total fan service. There is a lot of lovely scenes that wrap up the various threads but the best one is probably the photo exhibition. It is a lot more about the ensemble cast of locals than the weather and it was very touching and uplifting.
All in all, it is an uplifting story that ticked a lot of boxes. Fans of JCW will rejoice. He is such a versatile actor nowadays. Honourable mention must go to Kim Mi-kyung. The veteran actor really gave us her all. Bravo!
Is it the best example of this genre, not quite. There are shows which nailed the formula better and/or the ensemble cast turned in better performances but it is good enough to earn my recommendation, for now. Enjoy!
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A Compelling Story About the Meaning of a Home
It is hard to watch this show and not compare it to Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, I would be lying if I said there are not glaring similarities. The story revolves around a female protagonist who leaves Seoul and goes to a small, tight-knit, sea-faring town on Jeju Island; then they meet a hometown hero guy who loves living there and knows all of the ins and outs of the town. I will say, as I kept watching Welcome to Samdal-ri, it began to stand out and become its own show. The two leads worked really well today, and I loved the hopeless romantic aspect that Yong-Pil (Ji CHang-Wook) brought to the story, he never gave up on the one girl he always loved and it was really sweet to see.One of my favorite aspects of this kdrama was the townsfolk, they brought it all to life. Each character had their own backstory, how they had "failed" one way or another and ended back in Samdal-ri. They each had their quirks and that made it very fun to watch. The music was also quite good, and I have only good things to say about everyone's acting. There were certainly some clichés, and the character transformations were predicable, albeit done quite well. Also, the Hae-Yal and Hae-Yeul mother-daughter relationship was brilliant and surprisingly moving, but I won't further elaborate for spoiler reasons.
The best part of Welcome to Samdal-ri was the message: the importance of home and a place to return to. It does not matter if it is small and quiet, a home is the place that you know, and the place that knows your. It is usually a "who," as opposed to a "where." It is ok to venture beyond your original home, but there is so much value in a safe place to return to, and that is why I loved the final episode of this show: it really drove this message home in a beautiful way. Whether you are growing up and venturing out in the world, or if you are old and live the same life every day, this show is for you, and this message was beautifully told.
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A comforting drama with a stellar cast!
I did enjoy this drama, once it got moving - it took a few episodes- as the beginning does feel like its just going in no direction at all. What we do get is never ending angst with lots of whining and yelling from the FL. They never seem to have the guys act like that, and its so common in kdramas having the girls screaming all the time, its ugly and hugely off putting to the viewer. Nothing will turn me off the FL faster than constant screaming dialogue.The alcohol consumption in this show is off the charts. Like please, stop this korea, does anyone have a healthy liver? I highly doubt it. I know its common in Korea but this kind of drinking in shows is so disgusting. All the drunk scenes are ridiculous.
I loved this cast, especially all the side characters. I was here for that development between the younger sister and the dolphin center dude. Nothing felt inorganic in any of the plot lines, it was well done.
We do see quite a bit of character growth and that is a win for the writing in this show. So many characters saw a positive change, except maybe for the lying cow and the dad - who seems to remain just a fairly chill guy from start to finish. Even chasing JCW didn’t even feel overly threatening lol.
The views were great, I’m sure even more people will want to visit Jeju now than they do already, look out!!! 🤣🤣
Loved the relationships amd connections and a community coming together.
Final thought, what is with all these time jumps amd people chasing their dreams alone in Kdramas??? Doesn’t anyone just hook up and go off together???!!!! Like for reals in this case it even would have made complete sense. At 38 with so much wasted time - another time jump felt more annoying that supportive. Amd it makes no sense in a drama. Like who sits and honestly watches the time wasting filler while we wait for thr inevitable return? Not me. Time waster. Last episode was incredibly rushed because of that, and what was the benefit of the credibility of the experience- he just comes back and is treated as not knowing anything still… like that was weird.
Overall, I’m glad I watched. I enjoyed this far more than My Demon, it would probably have hit a 10 for me if we could have toned down the screaming, the over drinking and lengthy circles this show goes in.
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A healing drama
This slice of life drama is really comforting to watch.But of course, some plots are a little bit annoying to watch such as,
FL - easily forgive the framer even tho her whole life is nearly destroyed and not standing up for herself.
ML - not much character development.
Second ML - unnecessary plot from my pov.
FL’s mother - close mouthed about her bff death, never confront ML’s father for years and she even made the whole family also felt guilty for ML’s mother weather related death.
ML’s father - his way of hatred on FL family is too childish and too nonsense (that I can’t even watch his scenes) and forgiveness is too sudden.
But overall, this drama is light hearted to watch from heavy plot dramas.
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Simple
It's a simple story. Day to day happenings. I do not feel the romance between Yongpil and Samdal they are like just friends. But I love how Mija the mother portrays, Sangtae the father of Yongpil, and the friendship of haenyo women of Samdalri. And I hope they give justice to the case of Samdal, and Bang Eun ju deserves to deal with what she have done wrong to Samdal.Was this review helpful to you?
A heartwarming kdrama!
This kdrama is just one of the prettiest I've ever seen. All the scenes are beautiful, they took the best pictures and videos of Jeju. The history is so pretty, and heartwarming. I love it from the beginning until the end. The last episode is just too beautiful, I cried a lot, the pictures and all the photos that she took... I don't have words to explain.One of my favs kdramas so far. I just want to rewatch it and rewatch it and rewatch it again. Welcome to Sam Dal- Ri really has a special place in my heart. I just wanted that this Kdrama had more episodes, and showed more of the love story of the sisters too.
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Samdalri is very welcoming! Great chemistry with a predictable but still interesting plot.
Subjective Gut Rating - 8.25I think I enjoyed “Welcome to Samdral-ri” a little bit more than I expected. There are a few things that usually give me pause when I watch a drama about moving back to a village/small town/rural area, and then learn to live or re-acquaint with a different lifestyle. Oftentimes, there are a bunch of loud, nosy, annoying villagers/town folks that irritate me to no end. Or, the plot is so slice-of-life that I need something to happen. Afterall, I prefer a plot-driven drama rather than a character-driven drama.
Luckily, aside from one somewhat nosy auntie, everyone is lovely. Even this auntie isn’t too bad, just a little annoying with her high-pitched voice. Everyone in Samdalri is really welcoming, friendly and caring. Moreover, “Welcome to Samdal-ri” is not very slice-of-life and the pace isn’t that slow. There are actually many side plots, in addition to the main plot of FL’s career downfall and moving back home. These are the two main reasons why I enjoy this drama more than I thought.
Despite being more plot-driven than other similar dramas, there are times when I do feel that the drama could have spent more time on the side characters, instead of the main leads. FL’s career and the main romance are important, but towards the second half of the drama, I just wish the leads would have opened up to each other sooner, or get back together sooner. I actually want to see more of the two sisters’ romances and backstories, and also more of the friendship between FL’s mother and ML’s mother. There’s a lot of potential here in keeping the drama interesting by sharing the spotlight with other interesting characters.
The acting is great all-around. Ji Chang Wook and Shin Hye Sun did not disappoint. JCW could be a hit or miss. I enjoyed his acting here more than in “If You Wish Upon Me”. SHS is just a goddess. She can slide into any role and become that character. The two of them have amazing chemistry. I have to say, I am a little disappointed with the kisses, given how experienced they both are in that area. LOL. The supporting cast is just as strong. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I really enjoy the acting of our beloved ahjumma, Kim Mi Kyung (FL’s mother) and also Yoo Oh Sung (ML’s father). The two of them broke my heart with the storyline about ML’s m other. Oh, and I discovered Kim Min Chul. He’s adorable as the dolphin guy.
Overall, I really enjoy “Welcome to Samdal-ri”. It’s not perfect but it’s worth a watch even if it lost my interest for a little bit. The plot is quite predictable but maybe that’s what you are looking for if you want something easy and light.
Completed: 3/24/2024 - Review #420
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This review may contain spoilers
A review coming from a sincere heart.
"Having a place to return to is an incredible relief". What a beautiful reminder. This kdrama has reached the depth of my heart in a way that I didn't think was possible. It reminded me that love is everywhere as long as you are willing to see it.Home is place that heals your heart and gives you the power to keep going. Remember to stop once in a while and look around. When cho samdal finally realized how much her people loves her and started staring at them with a wide smile, the following phrase accured to my mind : it's everything you ever want, it's everything you ever need, and it's here right in front of you, this is where you wanna be. (from the greatest showman)
This kdrama has brought a lot of joy to my month, I hope you guys watch it heartfuly .
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One of the best KDrama Chemistry!!
A well written, slice of life drama!but the cherry on cake is the acting by all the cast members. Not just ML and FL have a story and character build up, everyone character has their own story timeline which they have acted and performed so well. wow!
The chemistry and the love between ML and FL is so good. friends to lovers to separation and coming back together.. they have just out done themselves.
I could watch this everyday and I didn’t want it to end.
winner KDrama.
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