Love Next Door

It melted my heart

It took me a while to decide whether to start this drama, and I can't explain why. The story is simple but so lovely, it also touches on deep themes. I love anything that has to do with recipes and food, and I couldn't wait to see Seok-ryu's dream come true. Thanks to Seung-hyo for never giving up on her!! Dan-ho and Mo-eum, I fell completely in love with both of them, the evolution of their story moved me so much. Geun-syk have a special place in my heart, best dad!! All the actors were excellent and I loved the dynamic between each of the couples. This drama truly warmed my heart.

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I Hate You But Really Love You?

Summary (emotionally intense): This series was unexpectedly lovable and tear-jerking. The witty banter between the two leads and the heart-breaking difficulties traversed by various characters made this quirky romcom work so well. I laughed loudly and cried quietly. I cried so much that I could have measured those tears in a beaker. Lol. I loved the cinematic transitions between scenes. The soundtrack was somewhat different with a jazzy feel to it.

I also loved the creative product advertisements, not blatant like some other dramas. “If only there was a catalyst like this (Chilsung Cider Zero) for you and Seok-ryu… Things would feel refreshing, crisp, and clean.” And how Choi Seung-hyo was loving his bowl of Yangban BIBIMedBAP made me want to try it too! I mean it even comes with its own spoon. XD “[This Eggdrop sandwich] is so good. How do they make this?”

Even though I loved this drama, I probably won’t rewatch it because it was emotionally exhausting for me, particularly the back and forth of whether there was a romance or not between the leads. Or any of the other characters, for that matter.

Details: The interactions between Choi Seung-hyo and Bae Seok-ryu were quite unexpected and the way the storyline unfolded was VERY unexpected. I came in with a certain set of opinions/emotions and that totally changed by the end of the show.

For example, I kind of hated Bae Seok-ryu’s umma in the beginning. Even AFTER all the revelations about herself she learned through her family and friends, she still pressured her daughter to do things that Seok-ryu didn’t want to do. Why do Asian parents think it’s more helpful to berate their young in order to inspire them? Lol. And EVEN AFTER her parents found out her dark secret, they still wouldn’t let her follow her dreams. Are you kidding me? (hair-pulling time) It runs deep in the blood… But all the characters grew on me over the course of the series. The drunken photo lesson was hilarious!

Though I liked that the filmmakers spent time to develop character backstories (or front stories), they could have easily ended the series at Episode 11, honestly. But it was nice that there was full development for most of the characters, particularly for Bae Seok-ryu’s family in a coming-of-age fashion. In the end, I was just straight up annoyed at some characters for always going back and forth on their love that I just wanted the show to be over already.

Side Notes:
- Why even start a side story for some characters if you’re not going to finish it? The budding romance between Bae Dong-jin and Lee Na-yun seemed pointless, as it didn’t go anywhere in the end.
- It was refreshing to see a male lead not always sporting the currently insatiable curtain hair style. 🤢 The other show I’ve seen a ML without the curtain was Touch Your Heart and stuff from the 2010s period. It’s one thing when a few people have it but it’s annoying when it’s like almost every show nowadays. Don’t get me started on the hair craze from Boys Over Flowers. Lol

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A drama with good potential

The drama started on a good note, the premise was exciting and the chemistry between the characters was undeniable. All the actors do a phenomenal job in pulling us in. The dynamics of not only the lead couple but the second leads and the family made the drama all the more endearing. More than the typical rom com , it leans more towards slice of life. It delves into the lives of the leads , what they went through , their relationship with friends and family. It was good to see other side characters' lives as well . The childhood best friend to lovers trope was done well but I needed more tension and angst. The second couple was my favourite. They were the reason I continued with the series. In the end it became a little bland. Nonetheless, it is one of the good dramas of this year.

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It's a great show, but could be better

I really enjoyed watching this show, Jung Haein and Jung Somin acting got me on a chokehold since the beginning, but the story was slightly meh, I wish we could've seen more of Seokryu traumas to understand the depth of her last relationship and her sickness as a traumatic event, you could interpret her actions through that, but not really understand how much it took a hit on her emotional sometimes, like when she rejected Seunghyo many times because of how her last relationship ended and thinking she would be a burden if she was sick, you could interpret it, but it would be better if they showed it better. Overall it's a great show and I would recommend it to everyone, the cast did an amazing acting, it's what got me going until the end.

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Friends to lovers a favorite trope. Sweet and heart warming romance

10/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean romantic comedy drama with 16, 70-80 minute episodes.

First, I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis


Bae Seok-ryu (Jung So-min) seems to be living the perfect life abroad as a upper manager in a global company.  Her career appers to be going well and she is doing well in her personal life with a prestigious international lawyer fiancé, Song Hyeon-jun (Han Joon-woo).  Her mother, Na Mi-sook (Park Ji-young) has a lot to brag about she feels to her friend and rival Seo Hye-sook (Jang Young-nam).  Hye sook is the mother of Seok-ryu’s friend, Choi Seung-hyo (Jung Hae-in), who she grew up with.  When Seok ryu decides to return to South Korea suddenly to “reset” her life, she finds herself interacting with Seung-hyo frequently as their mothers are friends and they are in the same social circles. Mi sook is not happy with her daughter’s decision to upend what she perceives as a perfect life path. Can Mi sook convince her family and friends she made the right choice? And what about her childhood friend who suddenly sees her as more?

Review

I read a lot of reviews before watching this and, there were a lot of positive reviews but there were also some more negative reviews. I have watched over 300 dramas now, mostly Korean but some Chinese, Tiawanese and Japanese dramas as well. I have watched all of the outstanding dramas so I am really picky when it comes to new dramas. But I loved this drama from start to finish. It has everything I love about a good drama. There are so many heartwarming moments with the family, the friendships, side romances, characters overcoming difficult situations, and of course, with the main couple that it is just a spectacular drama. I would watch it again, even seek it out, and I highly recommend it to anyone that is a fan of any of the actors (they all did outstanding, this type of drama, or are just fans of Korean drama in general.

Spoilers

Let me just say if you haven’t watch this yet and are looking at reviews to decide if you want to, I envy you. Because, if you decide to watch this, I think you will very much enjoy it. You could be among the few that enjoyed it less. But I can see why the majority that I read, really loved it.

It ends very happy. The main couple are together, obviously well on the path to marriage, but, more than that we can see what their future life will be like together. They have a little fight in the end and we see how they will come through conflict like that. All of the side romances are either together or you can see very easily where those relationships are headed. There are some sad moments, but we don’t live through the sad, it’s just telling what happened in the past with her illness. So, it’s what I like to call a happy sandwich. It starts happy, there is some sad event in the middle, but it ends happy. I do not like sad content and will avoid it like the plague but can deal with a little saddness as long as everything resolves and ends happy. I don’t need a rehash of life where that is not always the case, life is usually what I am trying to take a mental break from in watching dramas.

So many nice bonus romances in this. There is main guys mom and dad. Where she was an ambassador so focused on her career she forgot about her husband and son. They are on the verge of divorce, because they aren’t communicating what is really going on with either of them, and then she has that alzheimer/dementia scare that brings home what their true feeling for each other are. That family had to do so much healing and the drama did a great job of taking us on that journey. Surprisingly the mom Seo Hye-sook (Jang Young-nam) was one of my favorite of the older, female characters.

Lead female character’s mom, Na Mi-sook (Park Ji-young) and her emergency medical technician (EMT) friend’s mom, Do Jae-sook (Kim Geum-soon) were what, through so many dramas, we come to expect with a drama mom. They are hyper controlling of their child’s lives even into their 30s. I do not know how true to the culture that is. Asian friends have told me their moms are like that but I don’t know if that is still super prevalant. I found lead female’s mom infuriating at times. Even I, sitting in the 4th wall, knew there had to be something more to the female lead’s sudden return thatn just a “reset”. So the way she treated her, when she first came back, seemed abusive. But, it was a true character type. I knew an American mom that was very much like her. She so did not want her children to make the mistakes she made in her life, that she was completely intolerant of them trying anything remotely similar. They feel like they know the outcome. But two people can do the same thing with different results. It is just harder when you watch one of your children roll those type of dice.

I thought the romance between Jeong Mo-eum (Kim Ji-eun), and (Kang Dan-ho) was on par with the main romance. Not quite as good but reqlly close. She always liked superheroes and the whole “Mudflats Man” concept was cute. They were really very much alike. It was such a wonderful story and the thought they would both be raising the little girl was very wholesome. I felt annoyed when Moeum’s mother was originally opposed to their relationship and even a bit cold to the little girl, but was glad she quickly came around.

I don’t have to spend too much time on just how endearing lead guy was. One of my favorite tropes is the friends to lovers trope because friendship builds such a strong base for a relationship. He was just so there for her it was completely sweet to watch. Yeah he had that error, where his jealous feelings got the better of him and she was reaching out to him during her cancer and he was ignoring her. But he didn’t know she had cancer and she seemed to be clearly with someone else. In a lot of other dramas that would be second guy. Second guy who is her friend, but has feelings for her, but then always misses the timing to tell her. Then, when he tells her, it is too late. What we essentially got to see was second guy successfully get the girl. And I love that. Sweet, loyal second guy is usualy the loser in those situations. It just doesn’t feel as much like he is second guy because we only see her relationship with her ex fiancé in flashbacks. I love the actor. He has the smiliest eyes. And he just portrayed all the emotions so well

I loved Jung So-min in “Alchemy of Souls” so I am biased that it will be good whenever I see her in something. And this did not disappoint. The way she brought out all the emotions in a character that went through something like she did, and the ways she showed the hidden love with lead guy blossom, I loved every minute of it. She is one of my favorite Korean actresses.

The friendships was what set this apart from a mere fuzzy feel good, no depth romance. Thise long standing, with you through it all friendships is the type of connection we all aspire to. The dads were funny drinking buddies. The moms were as volatile as you would expect with a group of close female friends. Watching the bromances and female friendships was like flavorful icing on an already delicious cake. You think you do not want or need it but it is there and it is nice.

This is the type of drama that, when it ends, you miss people that don’t even really exist. It makes me understand, a little, how the actors may feel as they dive into a character and interact for months in another world. As they bring it out and we are feeling all the emotions of events they have to play that through their actual emotions too. I imagine this was a harder one for them to move past as it was so immersive. So I am always so thankful when there is a good drama to everyone that worked so hard to make it possible. I saw an interview with Jung So-min where she talked about this and how much she enjoyed acting with Jung Hae-in and it showed. I though they had amazing chemistry and could see them as a real life couple.

When we learned the real reason she had suddently departed the United States and returned to South Korea, it was such a highly emotionally charged moment. The writers and actors did an exceptional job of illustrating how each family and friend would feel when something that important was kept from them. And yet they were able to make us understand why the main character would have withheld that, in that moment. I wish they had heard more on the way they treated her as someone beneath them because she was a foreigner. Only lead guy really knew that. Because for her to work through not only the fight for her life with cancer but that completely toxic work environment, it was a wonder she didn’t break sooner.

I thought I was going to dislike her ex fiance, Song Hyeon-jun (Han Joon-woo), but was pleasantly surprised I did not. At first I was annoyed he pursued her to South Korea. How dare he come disrupt this beautiful relationship. But, as they built their back story, and he revealed his character it was evident he was not a bad guy, she had just unknowingly had been in love with main guy nearly her whole life. The way he let her go without bitterness showed that he did love her enough to just want her happiness. Same with lead guy’s ex girlfriend, Jang Tae-hui (Seo-hyo). At first I am like who is this love killer but they told their backstory and why she liked him as much as she did that I understood. She also let go of him at the right time and exhibited that she loved him enough to want him to be joyful.

#LoveNextDoor #JungSoMin. #ParkJiYoung. #JangYoungNam. #JungHaeIn #HanJoonWoo #KimGeumSoon #KimJiEun #YoonJi-on

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One word...DISAPPOINTING

I'll start off by saying this show was such a let down.
The production has the right ingredients( the actors) but cooked a subpar meal.
For some reason the ml and fl seem to have more chemistry off screen while they look so disconnected while on screen. I overlooked that at first when they were friends but it became unbearable when they got together and their interactions didn't get better or have that spark.
There's also barely any build up of the romantic feelings that they claim the ml and fl share especially from fl side. I love the second leads but their love also seems rushed especially from Danho's pov. Regardless i loved watching their little family with Yeondu.
The lack of music in certain scenes and then the wrong music too is disappointing.
The writer tries to be progressive in the multiple issues that they bring up but they some how taking a traditional resolve to it or barely doing it any justice. Their moms are also insufferable and the constant bickering between the leads at their BIG AGE??? Or even the lack of proper communication. The writing is awful and it shows in the way the writer constantly has to invoke a problem( whether is cancer or alzhiemers or cheating or grief)as a way of furthering the plot. Then they make this problem a big issue for like 2 episodes only for it to be Magically fixed withing minutes of the 3rd episode. I dont even want to get started on the ml's behaviour towards the fl. Do they think the constant shouting or brushing over her insecurities is cute? ?Simply tiring

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What the actual heck..

Okay I just want to start this off by saying. THEYRE IN THEIR MID 30s AND STILL DON'T KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE. I mean seokryu is just so blind and dumb. Why would she not tell anyone in her family about the cancer. why would she not tell her best best friends🤦🤦and what annoys me the most is the fact that she is jobless and it pisses me off like girl ur parents just wanted you to have a better life. She needs to understand where theyre coming from SHE WAS JOBLESS. and the guy, oh my god the guy. he couldn't confess WHO CARES IF SHE HAD A BF AT THE TIME dont wait until ur 30s 😒u knew her since you were kids. how tf did the second couple have more chemistry than the main leads. hes super emotional and shes swas so dumb in the episodes when he would lash out at her.. i mean can she not connect the dots. and the ex i dont understand why she would get mad at her mom for trying to set her up again when you would continuously enable the guy. like do you like him or not. how are we in the 10th episode already and still havent kissed yet. also this is NOT A ROMCOM. misleading af wasnt funny. felt forced only person i liked was the second leads child and her dad.

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Good watch, beware it is very long, but good watch nonetheless

This drama is very good - it is of quality and the cast is absolutely perfect. I'd like to say though, i would class this drama as more of a quintessential slice of life drama than a romance, as the subplots take up a very significant portion of time. EVERYTHING about this drama is perfect, except for the amount of side plots. I would argue the old lady side plot is very unnecessary, and whilst i enjoyed the two sets of parent's subplots i think it was too long and time consuming especially towards the end - this was too ambitious and took up too much orecious time which could be used to craft a good ending. LOVE LOVE LOVE the Mo-eum and Dan-ho subplot, love seung-hyos parents subplot also, as well as seok-ryu's brothers subplot. Id say this drama is pretty good at everything it does but towards the end it becomes too overcrowded with plots going on at the same time, diluting and distracting from the main plot. One thing i will say is that i appreciate each drama having an extra 20 minutes than the usual hour - atleast the director has made the time for all of these differing plots. Overall - watch this drama if you enjoy a slice of life, romance, family and community kind of drama, that is long (around 20 hours) and emotional. I enjoyed it, it is of high quality.

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