Love Next Door

I loved the beginning of this show so much. The banter and bickering between Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo felt so genuine and accurate for friends who had known each other so long. Seok-ryu was such a fantastic character and I love that the show delved into her burnout and the unfair treatment she got as the eldest daughter. One of the first scenes that really got to me was when they were sitting in the rain and she is laughing and Seung-hyo tells her not to laugh when she really wants to cry, and she immediately starts sobbing. The two of them showed the importance of truly being seen. Both of them could see through the facades that the other would put up and knew what they truly needed. I loved the two of them together. They had fantastic chemistry both as friends and as a couple.

The show really spent a lot of time on Seung-hyo’s feelings and I would have loved more time spent on Seok-ryu’s. I think that the best part of friends to lovers is the tension and them slowly realizing their friend is hot, but since we got so little of her perspective, we didn’t really get those moments from her. It was such a missed opportunity to not do flashbacks showing moments where she found herself attracted to him as well, even if she didn’t realize it or accept it at the time.

I loved Seok-ryu so much and I was so excited to see a depiction of an overachieving eldest daughter crashing and burning, and then her efforts to create a life that actually makes her happy. The show takes a bit of a turn that I was disappointed with because it really took away from all the totally valid reasons that she could be burnt out. I also really wanted her family, but especially her mom, to realize on their own how unfair they’d been to her. The way the show went with it made it so that they didn’t really have to come to terms with how awful they’d been, which was extremely frustrating.

Mo-eum and Dan-ho, the second leads, had such a great meet-cute and her career as a paramedic was interesting to watch. I felt like this couple really went downhill over the course of the series. Mo-eum did have a sweet connection with his daughter but she tried to move things so fast that it was uncomfortable. Dan-ho’s constant rejection of her never really made much sense and it felt a little degrading to have her continue to pursue him when he was acting so cold to her. The energy between them just really seemed to shift partway through the show.

The storyline with his mom’s memory was really what took this show down a notch for me because what was that. The show continued to just throw in dramatic elements for shock value and then just reel it back, which was completely unnecessary.

At the beginning of the show, this was a 10/10 for me. Some of the frustrating elements did bring it down a bit, but I still really enjoyed the show. Jung So-min and Jung Hae-in were both incredible, together and separately. There were such sweet heartwarming moments, not just between the leads but also with their families. Even if it didn’t go into it as much as I wanted, I still really appreciated how they showcased Seok-ryu realizing in her thirties that she doesn’t even know what she likes or wants to do. She became such a beloved character to me that I won’t forget anytime soon.

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it could not get any better than this

i think i can confirm that this drama is PERFECTION itself. i am usually very critical but i couldn’t find any flaws in this drama. from the main leads to the supporting characters, everyone played their roles extremely well to the point i started feeling like i belong in the same neighbourhood as them. also, im a huge fan of the trope “childhood friends to lovers” and not every drama does this trope justice. for this trope you need the the right amount of tension and hidden feelings. and this drama perfectly portrayed every emotion of loving your childhood best friend. the osts, the cinematography, the costumes were amazing as well. basically, the vibes were perfect.

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Crashing into awkwardness

Contemporary subject, where the need for understanding and self-satisfaction envelops the entire story. Anchored in reality, although with some exaggerated cups, for example when all the romantically linked pairs have their ability of understanding their partners emotions and needs reduced by more than half of it; or when there was a character in need, almost 9 out of 10 times their where saved even though they didn't want.

The chemistry between Jung Hae In and Jung So Min is one of the keys that helped to outline such complex characters that could be seen trough multiple layers each of them showing the importance of listening to our inner voice, because even when we don't know, we know as Bae Seok Ryu demonstrated us.

Although the main focus is the relationship between Bae Seok Ryu & Choi Seung Hyo, each fighting their one betels or rather what others project on them, the series brings to light the need for change and its acceptance by the people around them.
It showcase the vitality of the social status and how children symbolize the upscale or downfall or their parents in society. The stigma of failure is cruel with those who do not follow a conventional path or have mediocre results, as well as for those who brought them into this world, the shame of what others will think about them and their children' meaningless achievements.

Although the comic moments are more visible than the tense or emotional ones, the depth of the theme is visible. We can say that sometimes it's like a defense mechanism, it's easier to laugh than to stay in touch with each other emotions.

The build is done gradually, with a slightly predictable course for Bae Seok Ryu & Choi Seung Hyo. Even so, there were quite a few surprising moments, like the time when Bae Seok Ryu had the space and time to cautiously see if there is more than just a friendships that keeps her pulling towards Choi Seung Hyo; the pull and push moments of Choi Seung Hyo trying confessing his feelings after bottling them up for so many years, putting at stake his friendship; or the moments of insanity when sharing the burdened is inexplicably worse than going alone trough it in order to not hurt others.

Although I appreciate the sweet and down on earth ending, I was expecting something bigger very hilarious with fireworks a total Cinderella happy ending. My favorite scene is by far the proposal, the awkwardness and clumsiness made me feel like I was part of the story, I burst in tears of joy because I was feeling for Choi Seung Hyo.

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It's more about family, friendship and long lasting love rather than a typical romantic drama

Finally finished this kdrama and as much as I enjoyed it, was greatly disappointed with the ending. No spoilers, but how they tidied it up was sweet enough, but it could of done with a couple of more episodes to really give the story the happy ending we all wanted. In the end I was routing for the second couple's (best friend and single dad) happily ever after more than the male and female leads. I think they wasted a few episodes just with each other's exes. Also not being confident enough to speak up about how they felt about each other. They danced around that for a couple of episodes too. They have supposedly known each other for 30 years, how can they be so unaware of their feelings.
The saving grace was the supporting cast. Loved the families and friends. Loved their relationship with their kids and each other. Especially loved the Lavender girls. It showed that long lasting friendships may have their difficulties but overall their love and dedication spans the decades. Maybe that is what we should get from this series. Not a romcom, but a beautifully acted and written kdrama about love in all it's forms and how it can whether whatever trials and tribulations that can come their way.
Overall it is worth a watch just for watching those dynamic relationships. If you want a childhood friendship to adult love, romantic kdrama, watch Fight for My Way, this kdrama is so much better at portraying this theme.

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Its a bore

In short, the episodes are way too long, its filled to the brim with redundant tropes and its boring.

In long, I'm sorely disappointed with this so before get into the bad stuff let me mention some positives;
1. The actors. I think they're easily the strongest point if LND.
2. There are parts that hits you in the feeling. Mostly the ones involving Seokryu and her family. The family dynamic was an interesting one as a whole.

Now this series might have some good points but those positive points can be seen in many other dramas which aren't this boring. So many things are thrown in the mix here which had little to no pay off. For example the plot with their exes. None of them add anything meaningful to the story so why are they there? Or the plot twist about Dan ho and his kid? Or Mo eum mother disagreeing with her relationship so passionately just to change her mind so easily. Or even her moving to north pole. None of them had any impact whatsoever so why were they included?
The episodes where so long you could feel them trying to stretch out the story thin to fill up the run time and it was annoying. The slow burn wasn't a satisfying one. It was painfully slow without the burn. I used the skip button a lot in later half of it.
The comedy bits are stale too honestly. Every woman was bickering and shouting over stupid misunderstandings that could've been resolved within minutes had they talked it out like normal people but all the parents here are (NOT) comically immature.
This could've been a more enjoyable watch if it was shorter and had less overused tropes.

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It started off really well Then........

This was a lot of fun in the beginning but sadly it took a nose dive. Couldn't help wonder how such a great Male Lead signed himself up for this dreadfully poor drama. Most of his others were really worth watching. With many S Korean Dramas I am alarmed at how much parents dominate their adult children and ofter resort to physical abuse of them. After watching Heaps of K Dramas I have gained some very puzzling ideas about life there. Bosses who violate their female workers in particular. Women who get drunk and end up vulnerable on the streets. Children caught up in poverty because their parents pass on debt. I know they are only dramas but there are recurring situations throughout many. On a positive note I have been amazed at the creativity of many of the scripts. Some are astoundingly good. Dozens of excellent Dramas, fabulous acting and real talent. This drama nose dived and I found it increasingly boring hence the poor numbers. The second couple were more interesting.

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Wasted Potential

I remember when I was super excited for this upcoming romcom with top actors Jung Haein and Jung Somin, especially because it was supposedly Haein's first romcom after starring in a long list of melodramas. Well, first of all let's mention the fact that this drama is tagged as a romcom, which it can't even be considered as - there was barely any romance until the very end of this drama, the drama never had any super funny or comedic timing of moments, and there are some heavier topics that make this feel like more of a slice of life than anything. Nothing wrong with this, but if you go into this expecting a light -hearted feel good romance similar to say, Lovely Runner, this is definitely not for you!! In my opinion, this drama was a bit disappointing and definitely wasted the potential to see the two leads shine together as love interests.

Again, with the drama, there are some heavier topics such as issues focused on families, troubles of being an eldest child, miscommunications, expectations coming from a lower class family, and illnesses. There is also a storyline on the leads achieving their dreams and working towards the life they want for themselves. While I do appreciate them delving into these topics and find it relatable myself, it seems the focus on this is what deviated them from showing the romantic build up between bae seokryu (jung somin) and choi seunghyo (jung haein).

What is supposed to be a childhood friends to lovers romance, we see that seokryu and seunghyo grew up together as seunghyo's mom travels a lot for her work and left him in the care of seokryu's mom. This led them to establish a long friendship from kids to adults (if we count their friendship being apart for 10 years before seokryu returns from the US). I like that after seeing each other again, there isn't any awkward interaction between them and it's like a friendship with a lot of banter, honestly kind of like brothers and sisters. We see that they are truly friends, always being there for one another when they need support, but the way they portrayed their relationship made it seem like seunghyo is stuck in an unrequited love. He is petty, childish, and immature with seokryu, which I guess they wrote him that way to show how different he acts towards only her, but it's a silly thing to have him be childish and not communicate in almost 10 full episodes, no development whatsoever. They're both almost 35 for god's sake. From seokryu's side, we don't see a glimpse or a hint that she ever had feelings for seunghyo other than friendly feelings. That's why to me, it didn't seem like a romance, as there were limited scenes of the sort of tension, and chemistry that we expect to see from friends who are slowly turning into lovers. Don't even get me started on the fact that their exes were in one episode too many - as much as it's good for them to get closure, we really didn't need to see that much of them and instead should have focused on seokryu and seunghyo. I would have rather seen more of the second couple's relationship. And finally, when the leads do get together, it's \the issue where their relationship changes too much from when they were friends - how do we go from teasing and insults to such loving comments and interactions between the two?? I honestly prefer them showing the same banter and teasing as before, but it's like they jump from 0 to 100 and changed their entire dynamic. It's cute but it's also a little boring? I would have loved to see how their relationship is SPECIAL because of the fact that they were friends for so long and knew everything about each other. Another thing, as top actors their acting is.. alright? I love them both and I feel bad for saying this but I expected romcom like Byeon Wooseok acted in Lovely Runner, where his romcom side shined, I wish Jung Haein had the same opportunity to show this side of him, but honestly I want to blame the writers for not letting us see this happen.

The second couple I really loved, in fact l liked their storyline more so than the leads. Moeum is a smart, energetic, and badass paramedic, and danho is a clumsy, calm, and kind journalist. From their first interaction I loved their dynamic and their banter, and it was so cute to see her fall in love when it seems like no man would have been good enough for her! I really wish we got to see even more scenes of them as the second couple (and less focus on both of the leads and their exes). One thing I would have liked is if we saw more instances of danho falling for moeum as well. We know danho is kind towards her, but he's presented as a kind and just man who's willing to help anyone with anything. I think I just wanted some indication that the way he felt towards her was more than supposed admiration for her occupation, and that his actions were special and not something he would do for anyone. The way they get together is also a little sudden without enough buildup, but I still love them. We should have gotten them together sooner though!!

Overall, don't go into this drama expecting an amazing romance and chemistry with hilarious side characters. It's a simple drama, nothing that special or fun, but still a decent watch if you want to watch attractive actors.

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Have a good story, but keeps being a rom com

I LOVED IT SO MUCHH! a lot of people said that didn’t liked but I loved, the story is very entertaining, have some good plots that keeps your eyes on the drama, the couple is perfect, is a friend to lovers drama which follows their story from their childhood to adulthood, the ML is a TOTAL green flag, and the little secrets they keep gives a touch of tension in the drama, but it keeps being a light and funny drama, you laugh so much while watching it, and the secondary couple completes the group perfectly, in the end you wants to be their friend, my confort drama forever!

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