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one of the best 2024 kdrama
i will recommended everyone to watch this show it very good would not disappoint u in any way it not like other romcom who will show those fanfactic storyline and rose tint glass storyline with negative sidebut it more of focus on reality aspect of human life, their struggle and how their healed from it
throughout the series we saw each and every character struggles, trauma and theur healing process i love how they didn't just focused mainly on main lead but give story to each ans every character give their explanation
love both main lead for me haein and somin will be in top2 of best kdrama pair in term of chemistry on and off screen they deserved all the love and hype they got from this show
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biggest disappointment of the year 2024
Jung Hae-in is one of my favorite actors - One Spring Night and Something in the Rain are still my favorites. But this one is a biggest disappointment of the year for me. The more episodes I watch the harder it gets. By now I cant get rid of the feeling that all the FL and ML do is reading the script, without even looking at each other. Cast is great, story is not amazing but not bad, supposed to be an awesome show, but what a disaster...Was this review helpful to you?
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Love next door - Warm moments but Spark never lit
Love Next Door started out as a heartwarming, comfort-watch rom-com, but the execution left me feeling a little underwhelmed. The family scenes, especially with the parents, were completely overboard—what was meant to be comedic often turned excessive and distracting. The romance, unfortunately, fell flat. Efforts felt almost entirely one-sided from the male lead, while the female lead seemed more like she was wandering through the relationship out of sympathy rather than genuine passion. This was disappointing because Jung So-min is such a capable actress—I loved her in Alchemy of Souls—so this must have been more about the writing and direction than her talent. Surprisingly, the second lead couple stole the spotlight for me. They felt fresh, unpredictable, and far more engaging than the main romance. The story itself dragged unnecessarily—16 episodes was simply too long for the plot it had to offer. Overall, Love Next Door had the potential to be a warm, charming drama, but predictable storytelling, uneven character dynamics, and a romance that never truly sparked made it a let-down.Was this review helpful to you?
The premise of the story is elegantly simple and absolutely captivating.
I really like this show. It's fresh, spontaneous, funny, and entertaining. The chemistry between the leads is amazing, and they look great together. Jung So Min's portrayal of a sassy, strong, and energetic girl with wit is magnetic, especially with the male lead. Jung Hae In's striking looks are hard to miss, but his calm and deep vibe makes him even more attractive and exciting, without being pretentious. The story's premise is simple, but I think the focus on the characters and their development within complicated Korean families makes it interesting. The dynamic and pace of the story so far make it much more enjoyable. I truly love the characters and the story. 💕Was this review helpful to you?
why I don't do friends to lovers
Eh...the friends to lovers trope isn't my cup of tea so majority of this was tedious to get through. There were cute moments but there were too many scenes that dragged out far too long. Cut all the unnescessary stuff and this might've became 12 episodes. The ending was underwhelming and we were robbed of seeing an offical wedding.There were characters I enjoyed--Moem and Danho stole the show for me. Why were they not mains?? Their storyline was way more interesting. Yeondu is painfully adorable. The drunk antics from the dads were laughter inducing lol. The main couple was just fine. I wasn't convinced of their chemistry and the constant bickering got on my nerves. Seeing Jung Hae In in a rom com was nice but I think I prefer him in more serious roles. Just get together already and roll the credits! Themes like the ripple effect and family showing up for each other were done well but a lot of slice-of-life dramas do this well so nothing unique here.
All in all, this was ok. noting more. I def liked this more the longer things played out but I'd never rewatch.
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Beautiful and funny, Jung So-Min is awesome
I watched this series in one go. Fun, romantic and with serious topics. Jung So-Min has proven to be a great actress knowing how to play different roles. The chemistry with Jung HaeIn was perfect. The entire cast lived up to my expectations. The story is well constructed and there are plenty of twists. There is a lot of laughter in this series also because So-Min is really funny. I recommend it to everyone. alchemy _of_souls23Was this review helpful to you?
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Not your average rom com, Thank God!
Even there are some weaknesses in the writing and in the directing in my point of view the overall message of this series is very beautiful:If you are stuck in your life or face some real hardship, look for a new path. Dare to fail. Dare to accept help. Dare to be honest. Dare to love and live with those around you.
For me this was funny, very deep and also light in a good way, realistic and very touching .
Personally, I loved that things moved on at a very realistic pace here, the exes aren't crazy, and that a romcom can also involve deeper emotions and genuine pain points in life.
The chemistry of the main leads is wonderful, they definitely bring out the best in each other and all the actors here are doing a very good job.
So loved it, but hey don`t take mine or anybody else's word here.
Go and watch to find out what it is for you!
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Love Next to important Issues and Annoying Element
This is one of those dramas that is just so hard to rate as it has an amazing cast, a decent story and a lot of important parts of life... A mostly easy watch that gives the viewer butterflies, occasional drool and whole lot of emotions... Some of these are lovely but among those feelings I also found the annoyance to take up a little to much space to be able to rate this higher.While I can appreciate frustration, longing, and mishaps, over the top yelling, and silly moments of drunk kept getting in my way .And while I do love Jung Hae In (JHI) more than the average drama fan, his character was just a little bit to whiny at times as well a dare I say controlling for me to fully fall for him in this. And while I did feel that Jung So Mins character yelled a little bit to much I still found her character to be far more lovable, relatable and so on than JHIS. That said their romance was top, top, top! Keeping this score from falling.. other things that kept this score from falling further was the portrayal of physical and mental lines side by side. The way one most probably raises concern while the others not so much... Ill just leave it at that...
While the lavenders friendship was unbearable ot watch, at least with sound. The younger generations frandships was lovely,- I also lovet the kid, the amount of shots of JHI biting his lip, JHI in water, the food and the use of umbrellas.
A decent watch, extremely gifworthy, and way better than other drams by the same creators but not as good as other drams with the same leads.
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childhood friends to lovers; bland, but perfect ending
i waited for it to finish before finally watching it. i went into this as a fan of both jung somin and jung haein, so i was able to finish it despite being slow in the middle.i also spoiled myself a little about how it ends, because fans have been theorizing that bae seokryu was probably gonna relapse and it's not gonna have a happy ending. fortunately, they gave this a good ending.
i was surprised and very satisfied with episode 16. most dramas struggle to end a good storyline, but this one has the perfect finale. heavy spoilers below:
1. bae seokryu and choi seunghyo - these two deciding to postpone their marriage in the end made me happy. it made sense that they wanted to focus on their careers first, and to wait for their best friend to come home from her work overseas. contrary to popular comments, i liked it better that they didn't rush their marriage. i hate it when all k-drama writers think that marriage of the main couple is the only recipe to a happy ending. IT ISN'T. i also felt disappointed that choi seunghyo wanted to get married almost immediately after they got together, but the plot between them communicating each of their perspectives about marriage is perfect so they were able to write it off great
2. jung moeum and kang danho - their love story is so cute! i think it's general consensus that in most k-dramas, the 2nd couple almost always have the more interesting storyline compared to the main, and i have to agree. these two are just so cute! esp when they're all bonding together with yeondu
3. the lavenders (the neighborhood's moms) - i normally hate it that k-dramas focus more on the side characters than the leads, but this wasn't it. i loved the dynamic between the moms. they banter, hang out together, and are there for each other when they need help. i also like how they handled the end, where two of them are fighting, and they tried to resolve it among themselves
4. the dads also forming a friendship lmao so cute
5. bae seokryu taking over her dad's restaurant. this was hinted in the last episodes, and i was gonna be heavily disappointed if they didn't pursue this plot. i theorized that choi seunghyo was gonna buy and build the restaurant for bae seokryu, but i loved it even more that it was the dad's idea. it made it more special
i debated not finishing this drama a couple times, especially in the middle where things felt really slow. but the cast is star-studded and full of talented actresses and actors (esp the main leads who are two of my most favorites in the industry) so i had to see it through. i'm glad i finished it. it's definitely not rewatch material, but i loved the last few episodes.
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Good Potential Wasted by weak writing and horrible music choice.
ThIs drama had the potential to deal with mature themes of burnout, loneliness, career breaks, family and marital relationships. It started on a good note setting up the story in a manner where such themes could be delicately explored but it has fallen flat on that promise.after 9 episodes, nothing happens, there is no significant progress in the story. The drama is filled with troupes which are done half heartedly.
I love the actors who play ML and FL individually, they have given some solid performances previously but this writing is extremely weak.
Even though I mostly like the casting, the lead pair lacks chemistry. THAT COULD ALSO BE Because of the lazy background score which is mismatched and not conveying the correct emotion. For example, in romantic scenes, there is Elevator music, in serious angsty scenes, there is again elevator music.
The SFL is amazing but her story has nothing to offer. There is unnecessary meaningless conflict and the story has no connection to the main plot - it's like watching a second boring drama inside a drama.
what a waste!!!!!
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High expectations led to disappointment
You know what’s crazy I know these actors can act. I’ve seen Jung Hae In provide stellar performances before, and I’ve watched Jung So Min have so much chemistry with Seo In Guk in The Smile Has Left Your Eyes that they make guest appearances together in new dramas years later. But this isn’t hate toward the actors, it’s hate toward the script or directors because the episodes are just too long and too slow. It feels like nothing is happening and everyone is running around in circles. We got so much of Seunghyo’s pov so we know how much he likes Seok Ryu. But we hardly get any perspective of Seungyho from Seok Ryu’s pov.We are shown one glimpse of her when she was a kid saying that she liked him, but that's genuinely it. Like their confessions lacked sincerity and if you’ve watched enough dramas I feel like you can tell they’re just following a script if that makes sense. There’s no casual skinship that a normal real couple would have. And jumping to marriage when we’ve barely even seen them date just feels jarring. It looks like Seok Ryu is just reluctantly accepting his feelings and only confides the truth when something huge happens to Seunghyo or when it’s convenient for her. Like her confession to this boy that’s been in love with her for years, is simply “I realised I’m bored without you for like a day so we might as well date”. And the main thing is NOTHING IS HAPPENING IN THIS SHOW. The plot doesn’t move forward and no one learns from their mistakes.
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