Welcome to Samdal-ri (2023)

Romantic series "2nd chance" and "return to the countryside", with Ji Chang Wok & Shin Hye Sun.

PLOT: FL, a renowned photographer, returns home to Jeju with her sisters, to escape a scandal. There she finds the ML, her childhood friend - ex lover, who will help her face the situation.

PROS:
+ 2 great leads for the CL: Ji Chang Wok & Shin Hye Sun.
+ endearing characters, fairly well described (but a little one-dimensional).
+ a magnificent setting which highlights the island, its culture, its values.
+ “relatively” realistic story.
+ Dynamic production, but the plot is simple and the rhythm is slow at times.
+ This series aims to be feel-good, with a light and “comedy” tone.

CONS:
- the characters lack depth.
- the narration is sometimes slow, which does not make the series addictive.
- Some narrative arcs are not credible: I am willing to believe that the media have a significant influence in some industries, but the fact that journalists are unleashed on a popular photographer based on a simple denunciation? The fact that they arrive in force for a small exhibition in the lobby of a remote weather station?? Seriously ?? The FL could solve everything by simply telling the truth about her ex's betrayal with her assistant. Why did she never say anything?

=> The series is nice, light, and it's an opportunity to see JCW, but it won't go down in history...
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Série romantique "2e chance" et "retour à la campagne", avec Ji Chang Wok & Shin Hye Sun.

PLOT: la FL, photographe renommée, rentre chez elle à Jeju avec ses sœurs, pour fuir un scandale. Elle y retrouve le ML, son alter ego (ami d'enfance - ex lover) qui va l'aider à affronter la situation.

PROS:
+ 2 super leads pour le CL : Ji Chang Wok & Shin Hye Sun.
+ des personnages attachants, assez bien décrits (mais un peu unidimensionnels).
+ un cadre magnifique qui met en valeur l'ile, sa culture, ses valeurs.
+ story "relativement" réaliste.
+ Réalisation dynamique, mais l'intrigue est simple et le rythme connait des longueurs par moments.
+ Cette série se veut feel-good, avec un ton léger et "comédie".

CONS:
- les personnages manquent de profondeur.
- la narration est parfois lente, ce qui ne rend pas la série addictive.
- certains arcs narratifs ne sont pas crédibles : je veux bien que les médias aient un poids important dans certaines industries, mais que les journalistes se déchainent sur un photographe en vogue sur une simple dénonciation ? qu'ils débarquent en force pour une petite expo dans le hall d'une station météo reculée ?? La FL pouvait tout résoudre en disant simplement la vérité à propos de la trahison de son ex avec son assistante. Pourquoi n'a-t-elle jamais rien dit ?

=> La série est sympa, permet de voir JCW, mais elle ne restera pas dans les annales...

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pretty lacking but still a somewhat worthwhile watch

HII so after rejecting watching this show after however long this has been on netflix for i finally did full binge LOL here are my thoughts i'm not into long lengthy well worded essay reviews so here are some pros and cons

cons:
- there was no plot. like im realizing now it was just the first ep's happenings and then just the general aftermath/effects of that. i wish samdal's worklife was explored more throughout the show and not just at the end for a bit again cuz i LOVEEE her as her cool boss self lol
- imo, the main leads' romance was stressful and straining. messy, less communicated breakups, unrequited love, decade long "soulmate" type crushes, parent disapproval, these all are just... a lot and have a lot of plot holes and me personally i actually didn't like or care for their relationship. i actually liked everything else abt the show
- and what made it worse was this romance was majority of the plot idk i hated it
- other lead couples were much more enjoyable. i wish the youngest sister's relationship wasn't just a bunch of extra little scenes and an actual plotline. i also wish jindal's ex husband situation was made a bit more serious at the end just so it could wrap up well
- the antagonist should've been more present throughout the plot. there was no change in personality, no development. she was very one dimensional and tbh samdal was a very flawed person at the start and so i think the writers could've come up with a way of creating an antagonist that had some reason because of the fl to become the way she did. the ex bf was just stupid too
- idk how to explain this other than based on my previous points, esp the last 2, the show was almost too focused on samdal. she was way too main character syndrome. sometimes this is fun when the plot is actually good but it didn't work here
- this isn't an issue w the show but also why i didn't enjoy it as much and why i took forever to watch this was casting. nothing wrong w ljw i just don't think he's an actor i enjoy in dramas. idk just not within my preference. i never seem to care for any of his roles. love hyesun tho

pros:
- i like samdal's personality she's very raw aka like a good mix of cool and confident but also became very open ab her emotions
- the mija sisters episode was the best part
- loved her development as a photographer
- glad she went back to seoul lol i stopped caring for the small town vibes
- idk but overall enjoyed this more than i thought. it is very flawed but i almost can't believe i have sm negative to say cuz it was still a very good watch

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The beginning of this drama was a little rough and it was hard for me to get into. It wasn’t until around episode 11 that I felt the show hooked me, which is way too long. This show is often recommended as a comp to Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and since that’s one of my favorite dramas, I was very excited to try this one, but it does not have much in common with HCCC except its seaside location.

The scandal that ruined Sam-dal’s career felt a little weak and didn’t seem like something that would make that big of an impact or attract that much media attention. The girl that orchestrated it all was infuriating to watch and it was so easy to root for her downfall.

Everyone in this show was an alcoholic. Characters get drunk in dramas all the time, but this was on another level. Sam-dal and her sisters did nothing but pound beer and black out. It was pretty annoying to watch. Both of her sisters were really compelling characters with great romances, but it didn’t seem like they got enough time to explore their backstories or romances in depth, so it ended up feeling like a bit of a letdown.

Yong-pil was really the highlight of the show. Ji Chang-Wook is great at romance and he played this super endearing and sweet male lead so well. I found the relationship timeline to be a little confusing, but I was rooting for them to get back together. He and Sam-dal had the cutest relationship. It felt a little hard to understand why they weren’t together. The character ages made it less believable because they were in their late thirties and it just doesn’t seem like his dad’s approval would be something that could keep them apart. The dad was truly such a terrible man, the true villain of the show, and he did not deserve a redemption arc.

There is some great family dynamics, romance, and an exploration of finding yourself after getting knocked down real hard that all worked so well in this show. I think if this show had been shorter, it would have worked better, but I still think it was worth a watch overall.

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Enjoyable.

I honestly enjoyed this k-drama, I liked it. I felt like the time went by fast watching it, so I didn't feel bored nor did I feel it was too long (something I thought would happen but it didn't).

The truth is that watching Welcome to Samdal-ri made me think more about something I already knew: how normalized excessive drinking is in Korea. I don't think there wasn't an episode where one of the characters wasn't drinking some alcoholic beverage, or even worse, getting drunk until they lost consciousness. It was quite curious really, I don't think I've seen this shown so much in other series I've seen, so it caught my attention. This is a bit moralistic, but it's a bit worrying to see how they don't label this as something to watch out for, alcoholism is a serious problem. And leaving this aside, I do think that the use of alcohol (a common cliché) to get the characters to come clean or to give continuity to the plot was excessive.

But that's okay, I'll let that slide because again, I found the drama enjoyable. The chemistry between the leads is quite believable (I love you Ji Chang Wook) and the side stories didn't bore me as they usually do..

I don't have much to complain about, it was ok, to watch in the evenings and have a quiet and relaxing time. The plot was not the most exceptional, but it holds up, so it's ok, you manage to connect with the story. The unbelievable thing was how the biggest problem was solved so easily after 20 years when there was no hope, but ok.

I was amused by the twist they gave to Man-Su's character, but only because I wondered "Why?".

And well, would I recommend it? Yeah, probably.

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Endearing and uplifting!

[Ticked the spoiler tag just in case] The drama has taught us many lessons, what to appreciate, and how to approach life positively even after going through many hardships. What caught my attention were the titles of each episode. They are meaningful and uplifting. True to its name, the drama showcased a lot of beautiful landmarks on that astonishing island; especially, the animation in the intro was so cute and endearing X3. Storywise, I think it has a good flow, but the way they handled the antagonist at the end felt a bit anti-climatic (in my opinion), because she was SO ANNOYING throughout the drama that I wanted her to get a taste of her own medicine in the most dramatic way possible (but it wasn't shown -_-). I feel sorry for Sang Do and hoped someone show up in the end to love him, but none (it's fine as it is tho X3). I also loved how all of the friend circles respect their friendships more than their personal feelings (most of the time). The way Samdal-ri was portrayed, their bond, and their history were breathtaking~ Last but not least, the OSTs were beautiful and befitting of the drama! My personal favorite is "Song of the Sea by Leeze".

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A surprisingly realistic and family friendly drama, with great acting and cast.

My review for Welcome to Samdal-ri, starting off with the cast:

The cast for Welcome to Samdal-ri was great. Shin Hae-sun did an incredible job as always, and the chemistry between her and Ji Chang-wook was pretty good, though not overly special. A supporting actor I really enjoyed in this drama was Lee Jae-won, playing the support role of Gyeong-tae. He has been amazing in every drama I've seen him in, and the character he played in Welcome to Samdal-ri was hilarious!

Another one of my favourite characters in this drama was Yong-pil's father, Sang-tae. I really liked his character throughout the whole drama, and his character development near the end was incredible. He reminds me a lot of my own father, and looks kind of similar too!

The storyline is surprisingly realistic compared to other dramas. No fantasy or supernatural stuff, and no incredible coincidences that would be completely unfeasible in real life. Everything in this drama are things that could actually happen in the real world. It makes the snap back to reality much less jarring once you finish watching. The drama also features a lot of side stories, which take up a lot of the storyline. I typically prefer having less characters and more focus on a main storyline, but Welcome to Samdal-ri does a good job of combining them all together.

There were still a few disappointing things with this drama, however. Firstly, there wasn't much intimacy between Samdal and Yong-pil throughout the drama. I was waiting for something to happen the entire time, but there wasn't really anything of note. This does have the upside of keeping the drama quite family friendly, despite many drinking scenes.

Another thing that disappointed me was the ending. Not going to spoil too much, but I think it would have been so much better if Samdal and Yong-pil had stayed together in Jeju instead of leaving for different places. And, the antagonist never gets punished in the end!

Overall, I enjoyed this drama, though I think it would be best if watched with family or friends. I watched it on my own, where I was left wanting a bit more. The ending could be better, but it's not a bad ending by any means, and I would still highly recommend Welcome to Samdal-ri to anyone considering it.

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An uninspiring,dull, piece of boredom

I don't usually write Reviews about dramas but for some reason I feel compelled to do so for this one,

I will not write a long review, trying to rate every aspect of it, but I will Simply state my opinion about it,

Initially I came to watch this drama after watching Hometown Cha Cha Cha, because both of these dramas have similar setting, A small town, FL Moves from the exciting big city to the small town, ML without any drive or ambition, and of course some sprinkle of trauma here and there,
Another that makes them similar is thier supporting cast, you know some old people, some children and they all seem like best friends with each other,
Which I find extremely annoying and cringy,
So I thought If I liked a drama with all these things then it's possible I'll like another drame with all these things, Turns out that's not how it works

I watched about 9 episodes of this drama and In the beginning I was liking it, but not as a romance melodrama, they introduced a successful character who worked so hard to get where she is and then she's brutally cheated out of her deserving position and what does she do? Absolutely nothing.

Every time she just accept her situation and do nothing I keep asking myself why don't she fight back, she had evidence of her cheating with the boyfriend and also evidence for stealing, she do many things in that situation but what she did was go back to the hometown and play romance with the guy she knew for past 38 years, does it make sense? I don't think so,

And speaking of ML, what's with these dull, boring, ambition less and drive less guys in these dramas, they have no life, no hobbies, and all their live revolve around FL, She's been his female friend for 30 years and then they date for some time and now she's his ex for 8 years, like come on dude, you've known only one girl your whole life, what about other 4 billion women in the world, and not only that there is another 2nd guy in love with her for past 30 years or something, You know sometimes it becomes so annoying when dramas do this, Imagine if she didn't had that scripted misfortune and didn't lost everything, what was their plan then, are they gonna spend their whole lives with status quo,
And the whole romance plot, I couldn't feel it, it felt forced and fake, The same thought keep coming to my mind whenever main leads were together,that why are they together, why is she wasting her time with this useless guy who can't bring any value to the table, at this time she should be fighting for what she lost, not having this boring romance with some country bumpkin

Anyway I can rant a bit more but I feel like this is enough for someone who didn't finished the drama overall I'll give it a score of 7.5 and it's possible that in different mood or setting I may like this drama but I feel really fatigued after watching bunch of the same kind of dramas over and over again

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Go for it

If you are skeptical or doubting yourself on whether or not to watch this series, just go for it. It has a very beautiful village atmosphere and the vibe gives out a perfect village feels with all the people and gossiping. The actors have done a great job. The characters that are supposed to be irritating are truly irritating. The friends gang is great. Even though there are a lot of things that they need to bring solution to, or conclusion to, I am confident that they will do a good job.

Male Lead: great job as usual. Those who have watched his other works like Healer, K2,Suspicious partner know what I'm talking about
Female Lead: Since I haven't watched her other works, I can not compare it. But, she did complete justice to the character
Ajumma(female lead's mother): My favorite supporting actor who has acted in a lot of kdrama. she is just apt for this role
ML's father: he is the villain I would say, but he has his reasons.

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