Family by Choice

The only thing I like about this drama almost as much as Go Ahead were Kang Seo Hyun and Park Dal, too bad their parts were not that much
He Mei was bolder and kinda diva (as she should) while Kang Seo Hyun is more reserved character, I think both really match Li Hai Chao and Yun Jung Jae, cause despite both are The Dads, but their characters were totally different
and it took me until the very last episode to realized Dal = Yue Liang (Ming Yue's nickname)
many said FBC would do romance better than Go Ahead, I don't agree
because what people dislike about XiaoJian still happened to SanWon
Zi Qiu's arc doesn't need romance, and despite it's good to see HaeDal ended up together, but Hae Jun was way too dense, not just in romance but in general
and Yun Jung Jae Kang Seo Hyun wasn't developed as good as Li Hai Chao and He Mei (that I personally think they were also rushed)
personally i watch this to see how it would developed HaeDal and Jung Jae Seo Hyun but it kinda let down despite them being cute couples
I'm not liking Kim Dae Wook as much as I love Ling He Ping, but he was so funny in last 4 episodes, he should've got more funny scenes just like Ling He Ping, and poor man still pining over his ex, but glad he choose his sanity first

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totally messed up, a pity about the beautiful drama

is junk, how can you mess up and destroy such a beautiful drama, very very disappointing Go Ahead is and remains the best version, nothing comes close to the Chinese original.I love the original, so I'm really disappointed that the Korean version turned out so terrible. I was so excited to watch it and then what they did was such crap.Unfortunately, it is not recommended. Stick to the original and it is more exciting, funny, emotional and sentimental. Unfortunately, with Family by Choice nothing is right or fits. I didn't feel anything, zero chemistry and the acting is second-rate.one of the most horrible dramas I have ever seen. Sorry, it's not okay.I feel sorry for Hwang In-yeop that it turned out so badly. He's actually a great actor, but not here. That was the worst thing I've seen with him, sad.

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This is my fvrt I'll tell u why!

This drama oh my godd! Like this is too good and i know this is a remake of the cdrama but i prefer the korean version rather than the chinese version but no comparison both are good! I'll tell you my review one by one

Acting: Acting was too good of all the cast and the actors are choosen too good like hwang in yeop is famous but after this drama he got soo much fame and hanseo jun fans are healed. The FL also got fameee(I don't remember her name) and the second lead also got soo much like literally he is in top 3 actor list.

OST: That was also good i didn't notice that muchhh but it was good.
Now here comes the main part STORY LINE.

Story: The story line was a 9/10 that 1 mark was for like in the mid-eps there was everything was going very goooddd but people were coming in between again and again like haejun's father,mother and sanha's mother. But apart from the second lead's story i was waiting for them to be in their dating era and their dating era started also but they didn't show much second lead's screen time but okay i was fine with it. Coming to their school era and their adult era, their school era was funn their trio is everything!!!😭❤️ Talking about the main leads their love story was a 9.5/10 their sibling side was like very fun and i think if we see their sibling side he looks older than her and in love side he is her patner but sometimes when i look at them that 0.5 points cut that means i cut 0.5 for their love story because he just looks older than her a little bit but they are veryyyyyy cuteeee😭❤️🫶🏻 their chemistry is everything! I love when boy fells in love with girl in their school era and confess her in their adult era he waited like 12 yrs to tell her that!😭❤️

About the main part of the drama FAMILY✨️: Talking about the whole family thing which the drama is about like even they are not by blood they treat each other as their own daughter and own son. This family shows that everytime we cannot live with family who are by blood we can also live who is family by choice like we choose them to be our family they are comfort zone. This family also shows that your own family can hurt you so be with that family who is your family by choice like they heal you and doesn't hurt you, in every situation they are there for you. So this is REAL Happy FAMILY and FAMILY BY CHOICE!

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Hwang Inyoup finally gets the girl~

I watched this series unbiasedly, without thinking there was an original and I liked it alot. I feel that many who are comparing with the OG might not be enjoying it as much, which is a real pity. Why must you torture yourself and take out the enjoyment upon yourself? lol

Given the length of the series the writers and actors/actresses did their best to showcase the story. 3 kids who had similar issues with abandonment, raised by single fathers, grew up with trauma and still tried their best to be ‘happy’. Their fathers did their utmost best to make it feel like a family, and the 3 siblings also contributed. Individually, each kid is not able to express their concerns openly given the fact that other siblings are also going through rough times. They bottled up everything and burdened themselves. On the surface, they feel like a family, but deep down, everyone has their demons. I think they did a great job showcasing that throughout the show. And whenever shit hits the fan, they were always there for each other, and that’s what matters.

This series isn’t a masterpiece or a 10/10, however it was satisfying enough to watch. I do think the finale episode was rushed, jammed in a lot of situations to make a happy ending. On an overall scale of the series- it was a good 8/10. It would have been great if they extended the show for 4 more episodes, just to flesh out some things. My man Hwang Inyoup finally is the lead and gets the girl, so it’s a 8.5/10 for me (:.

Overall, I advise anyone watching this series to not think of the original story. But to view this as its own version, a kdrama version, and really take in the story, the struggle, and the bonds that these 3 kids and their family shared. Just follow the story and enjoy the moment. I liked it.

Also, bring some tissues.

===Spoilers=== a longer ranting

I don’t think Sanha and Juwon relationship is rushed in an overall sense. Sanha has liked Juwon since their childhood days and the drama gave us many subtle hints regarding it. She relies on him more than she knows. When she’s in trouble, she’s more afraid that Sanha will get upset than Haejun. When he confessed in episode 10, her reaction was perfectly normal. It’s sudden, and also ‘what comes after this?’. She really didn’t want to lose him. She was nonchalant when Haejun said they should get married because that idea was far fetched. However, it was different when Sanha did it. She only realized later that she truly liked him as a man rather than ‘brother’.

Haejun and Dal relationship is perfectly where it should have been. In the phase of ‘I didn’t know your feelings 10 years ago, however now that I know, I would like to really know you. So let’s start dating’- and that’s what dating is, to know more about the person. The only regret is that I think there should be more screen time for Dal and Haejun, more butterfly moments. But I guess they did not write that in because it would conflict with Haejun’s personality- he’s oblivious to these kinds of things. More moments will give him hints.

I understand Juwon’s father when he hesitates for approval. Sanha held alot of responsibilities, some even he shouldn’t be responsible for. Of all their years together, he never voiced it out or asked for support. Juwon’s father lives with them but he truly never knew of the internal struggles of Sanha, since he does not open up. So if Juwon and Sanha have a fight, Sanha won’t likely be open up to Juwon’s father- in that sense, it seems like he had lost a son.

Haejun loves both of his siblings and he always wanted a place to belong to, as being abandoned by his father AND mother since young. I understand his need to be within the family, similarly with Juwon, but the difference is- he doesn’t wish to be abandoned again. That’s why he felt so angry and sad when Juwon and Sanha dated. He felt left out. When his mom came back, he was truly overjoyed because if his Dad and Mom got married, it would finally fulfill his wish. It was a happy occasion, but indeed a rush to the finale.

I think if this series had 4 more episodes, some of these issues could be ironed out and be digestible throughout each episode, making more sense. However with 16 episodes compared to 40 episodes of the original, they did well for the story itself.

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Loved it! Watch it!

I have only seen part of the drama Go Ahead (I didn't really like the cast and it was veryyy long and I got a bit bored) so I wasn't really comparing this to it all that much. Either way, this was an amazing drama!
The cast was perfect and the acting was on point. Man, I really loved some of the characters! The only thing I wish that this drama was a tiny bit shorter. I really enjoyed it, and the last few episodes still kept you at least a little bit hooked (even if it was only by the side characters) but the last few episodes felt a bit like filler episodes, for the main couple at least.
Sanha's mom was infuriating! But I ended up loving Haejun and rooting for him in all the drama! He was amazing at acting and I loved his character. Definitely worth the watch even if it was just to see Haejun!
And the music!!! The background music was awesome and there was a beautiful sad song by Kim Feel that I will definitely be adding to my playlist! I really enjoyed the whole drama and, though it may be a lot different than the parts of Go Ahead that I have seen, I would say that it is still worth watching even if it doesn't quite live up to people's expectations of Go Ahead remake. I found it to be amazing! Don't miss out on seeing Haejun, believe me!

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Perfect combination of friendship, family, emotional trauma, healing and love

OMG! How did it take me this long to watch this masterpiece?! I am obsessed and completely in love. Also did not expect to cry as much as I did. My traumatised but perfect babies. I love you all! 😭🥺😍🤌😭😫💙

It took longer than I expected for them to leave and 10 year time skip so I didn't enjoy it at the beginning as much as I should have as I kept waiting for the episode where they leave and then come back. But I loved that the whole backstory and years together were shown.

Also I was impatiently waiting for Ju Won and San Ha's romance togther and when it did, it was perfect. Ugh we didn't get enough time with them togther. I want more episodes uptil their wedding and lives togther. It's not enough!!! 😫🥺

I hate San Ha's mother so much though. She deserved the karma she got but still was such a b*tch. Ugh I get so mad whenever I think of how my baby suffered 😭😫🥺 But Ju won was there thank god! 💙 Though she forgave them too quickly when they came back. Should have tortured and made them grovel more 😑

This drama was sooo good. It made me emotional, cry, laugh, giggle, and love every single part of this drama! 😭😍🤌🤭😭🥺😫😍😍💙

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Choice is the keyword

Let me get this out of the way: the romance made no sense in this drama. I wasn't feeling it and it was unnecessary.

Yes, we see SanHa falling in love and remaining in love but there was never a clue about JuWon's feelings until after Sana confesses. She always saw him as a brother, they grew up as siblings or maybe as cousins, since they didn't live in the same house. A cousin is still family and family love is nothing like romantic love. It was brotherly love and it was a choice. A family of choice is still a family, blood is absolutely meaningless.

I enjoyed the drama because of the family theme. It's a theme that resonates with me because I too was brought up in an unconventional family. My family is and will always be my mother and my grandma. They raised me and protected me the best they could.
I found it strange that the men were the ones who stayed when statistically the women are the ones who tend to raise their children alone.

The one cultural difference I can't seem to get past has to do with family and with how bonds are broken with the children as if they're disposable once the adults' relationship ends. I see that a lot in Korean and Japanese dramas and movies and I know some people who dealt with that irl.

I don't understand how a parent leaves their children behind once they remarry and say they're not family anymore. I don't think I'll ever understand how a person can birth and/or raise a child and then abandon them just because they don't love their spouse anymore. A child is a commitment for life.

Anyway, the dynamics were interesting and infuriating at times. That mother really tested my patience.
The acting was OK and the production too. somehow, everything seemed a bit underwhelming but I still enjoyed it anyway.

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I really enjoyed it!

This was the first K-drama I've ever watched so I don't have much knowledge in way of comparison, but I thought it was well done. The actors were well cast for their parts, and they brought the story to life. I enjoyed the setting of the story, and I appreciated the technical aspects. The scenery was lovely, too. The story has humor, drama, and a slice of family life, and it's easy to relate to.

Of course, since this title is a reworking of "Go Ahead", comparisons can't be avoided. That being said, I actually like both versions, but for me this one is easier to watch (I've already completed it twice) because a lot of the secondary characters and secondary storylines have been trimmed down or removed. In my opinion, the Korean version is more like a condensed version of the Chinese version instead of a complete re-make. Whether or not that's a good thing is up to the viewer, I suppose. Of course, the actors in "Go Ahead" are quite talented and their characters are memorable. However, there's no denying the fact: that version of the drama is very, very long, perhaps needlessly so.

I know a lot of people have a soft spot for "Go Ahead", and they weren't pleased that another version was made. I suppose to some it seems like a sacrilege. I understand that. I have favorite dramas as well, and there are some that shouldn't be remade, in my opinion. However, in the case of "Family by Choice" I think condensing the storyline and removing a lot of the extraneous characters was a good thing in the long run. For example: in "Go Ahead", did the viewer really need to know about Ming Yue's parents' divorce? How did that move the story along? Why do we need to worry about Tang Can? She was cute, but in the end, her story seemed unfinished. To me, it made sense to 'weed out' some of those unnecessary scenarios, even if they were in the original IP.

So my advice would be: don't hate this drama just because you love "Go Ahead". Approach it with an open mind and be pleasantly surprised. I was.

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Most heartwarming kdrama

It is about family love and warmth, family nostalgia, loving unconditionally and what a great parent looks like. But what I loved the most was the characters. Such wonderfully written characters, not perfect but loving, accepting and empathetic. The father is a lovely figure, Juwon (the daughter) is a bundle of joy but with self growth, Sanha represents the pain caused by toxic parents, and then there's my favorite, Kang HaeJun. What a deep character, and what a stunning performance did Bae Hyun Sung give. Honestly I only wanted to wirite a review so I could talk about Kang Hae Jun. The pain, the love, the smile, the tears. He's in my heart forever.

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Better than I expected

I usually don't watch remakes, especially when I've watched the original version. But Family by Choice felt like a new experience. While the plot is based on Go Ahead, Family by Choice feels more tame with its portrayal of abuse. But I still loved it. It was comforting to watch.

The casting was perfect. But I didn't really like how much they changed the female lead's character cause she was one of my favourite characters from Go Ahead. Yoon Juwon had her own charms, but it sometimes felt like she didn't have a life outside of her family.

I personally loved the first 10 episodes. The last 6 episodes made me feel like the writers were trying to solve every issue at the same time without dealing with any of them properly. Felt a bit sloppy and messy. I loved how they didn't make an unnecessary love triangle. The sibling-like relationship between Yoon Juwon and Kang Haejun was heartwarming to watch.

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