Love Next Door

Friendship, Family, Love

The story was nothing over the top, but it was so pleasing to watch. It is so simple but the acting of the cast was awesome. These kinds of dramas mainly rely on acting & chemistry between cast members and how the story is executed.

Loved Jung Hae In & Jung So Min's acting. The chemistry between Choi Seung Hyo & Bae Seok Ryu plays a pivotal role in how engaging the drama feels.

Loved how, in the beginning of the drama, Seo Hye Suk & Na Mi Suk bragged about their children's success but by the end of the drama it changed into bragging about each other children.

Laughed how Choi Seung Hyo & Bae Seok Ryu cussed at each other. I wish it had not been muted.

First time I have seen exes being good guys. Both the leads ex were so supportive & understanding. Loved how Choi Seung Hyo ex gave him the push to move forward & confess his feelings. She mainly encourages him to open up to Bae Seok Ryu. Bae Seok Ryu's ex, was so supportive of her. He was there for her when she needed someone. I get that his behavior in the end wasn't proper. But won't you also get frustrated or upset when you see your loved one surviving, but you have no idea what to do or how to comfort her?

But the scene where Bae Seok Ryu throws her shoes at Choi Seung Hyo, I didn't like that one. In reels, people are going gaga over it that Choi Seung Hyo is such a green flag he didn't react or help her out to wear the shoes etc etc. But he would've been a red flag if it was him who threw the shoes at Bae Seok Ryu. Such a double standard view society have.

People might find it similar to Welcome to Samdal-ri & Queen of Tears. But it's not internally similar. These dramas' main plot is the sub-plot in this drama. Welcome to Samdal-ri & Love Next Door both the FL hit rock bottom in their professional career. They had to start all of it all over again. One was bullied & another was accused of bullying others. Also, Queen of Tears & Love Next Door both FL had terminal illness.

I enjoyed watching it a lot.

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The Story Did Not Deliver

Originally, I had planned to watch another drama, but that one did not have any official streaming platforms where I could watch it, so I decided to join dusty on her journey. I had also promised Jojo I would watch it and well, two birds, one stone. I also remember all the hype surrounding this drama, so it couldn’t hurt to try it out, right?

I was wrong. Tell me wHY THIS DRAMA IS SO UNNECESSARILY LONG? WAE??? Some of the episodes were 1.5 hours and for no reason. Love Next Door had no business having sixteen episodes that were all over an hour. The story could have been nicely wrapped up in 10-12 episodes. Would I have given it a 10 at that point? No, I wouldn’t have, but it wouldn’t have left such a negative impression on me. The drama has no substance and is overrun by extended filler scenes, ridiculous and too long mini subplots, and extended flashbacks. I get it. They have been friends for over thirty years. It has been established, move it along! By episode 11, the drama had become a chore and this was extremely disappointing. Why didn’t I drop it? I couldn’t since I watched it as part of a challenge.

To add insult to injury the main male and female characters are extremely unlikeable. They are both whiny, sulky, immature pseudo adults who lack communication skills. Actually, most characters were unlikeable and served no purpose to the story other than to extend the runtime and test my patience. This did not change much as there was little to no character development throughout the show. The drama could have had a nice ending at around episode ten. But no, there were six more super long episodes which were filled with more nonsense. Another thing that did not work for me was that after such a perfect ex-boyfriend, they took him away from me and I was back to facing a bleak, romance-less viewing. Jung So Min had so much natural chemistry and great on-screen chemistry with Han Joon Woo. Their scenes were incredible; whether they were cute or heartbreaking. This was the point where I was most invested in the drama. So, it was really hard for me to believe that Jung Hae In and Jung So Min made a convincing couple since their chemistry, as lovers, was practically nonexistent. Anyway, I hope Hyeon Jun is living his best life after leaving South Korea. He deserves it.

I cannot comment on the OST because I honestly cannot remember a single song, not even the instrumentals. This has no rewatch value for me. I never want to talk or hear about this drama again. I’ll stop here.

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really boring

nothing to add to other not so good reviews, and sorry for the actors and their good acting, but frankly this is not a good drama, really really boring at its best.....there are serious communication problems in these drama scripts (is it done on purpose?) hopefully in the reality this shouldn't be like that. Had to skip episodes to expect something interesting to happen, but no....nothing going on except for the usual boring lines, easily expected. Terrible chemistry among actors, though they were good in their roles and can be forgiven...music was nothing special either

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Just the romance could have, and would have been enough

This was the drama I've been looking forward to all year, and I was so so disappointed. This drama is what you get when a writer wants to write a rom-com but can't develop it well, so they start inserting random plot points and cute, trope-y moments and just cross their fingers.

I'll be honest. The drama lost me the moment the stomach cancer plot was introduced, for multiple reasons.

From a writing perspective, it just doesn't work. It's a lazy way to evoke empathy and it gave me tonal whiplash — the scenes specifically about Seok-ryu's cancer are well-done and heavy, but the show itches to revert to its light-hearted rom-com moments. It feels like the cancer plot is big for a few episodes and then completely forgotten, save for a few random mentions. The show falls into the unfortunate trap — instead of adding depth, it ends up feeling too light-hearted for such a heavy topic.

On a more serious note, I also just feel like the cancer plot point undermines the commentary on mental health, which I was really enjoying at the start. We have the main character undergoing familial pressure, burnout, and depression — things that are SO relatable to just about every single person — and suddenly the cancer reveal happens, and it's like oh, all those things that Seok-ryu was going through was because of the cancer. Her mother, who just thinks Seok-ryu is going through a phase, suddenly cares because the illness is physical. But the entire time I couldn't help but think it would've been such better writing and so much more touching if there had been no cancer plot and Seok-ryu's mother had grown to understand the importance of mental health instead.

After the cancer reveal, the plot pretty much winds down and starts going through subplots (like the parents' almost-divorce caused by a misunderstanding, and a few fights) that make it feel a little aimless. It's like the drama doesn't really know where to go from there and the writing just takes a steep dive because it never took the time to fully develop either Seok-ryu's cooking journey, or Seung-hyo's architecture company. We only seem to see glimpses of each.

I think the best scenes in the show are actually the flashbacks, where we got to see the chaotic depths of the leads' relationship from each of their perspectives and how it was paralleling present day. The banter that they have is actually pretty fun, but they definitely lose that spark once they get together and just become a very common couple with the common kdrama scenes. The chemistry that had potential at the start isn't there anymore.

As for the second ship...they're fine. They start out cute, but despite the potential of the backstory, I just don't feel like they ever touched my emotions.

Ultimately, I really wish this had either (1) gone full melodrama and given the cancer plot the weight it needed (even the second ship's backstory has a lot of potential for angst), or (2) trusted in the rom-com genre, and that the development between the leads as they followed their dreams together would've been enough to give us an amazing story — without all the extra stuff.

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Starts Out Strong But Tanks in the Middle, Recovers in the End

My thoughts after watching to the end---I have to say that I almost dropped this after the 12th episode. You can read why below. It was slow getting to the end, but I'm glad I finished it. In the end, this is a feel-good story about the importance of family, friends, and community over status and money. Who doesn't love a story with this type of message? If you're going to watch this, be advised that there are moments within the series that are exaggerated, unrealistic, and are frustrating for the viewer. I would say overall the writing of this drama is good, with really bizarre weak areas built in, most likely to get it to 16 episodes. My favorite of the series were the 4 friend/moms. To have such strong friendships throughout your life is truly exceptional and these 4 actresses added so much to the storyline. The FL and ML were nice. I think the writing and the way they acted showed a relationship of two people who grew up together and pretty much knew everything about each other, except that they loved each other. It was not exceptionally romantic, but I'm not sure 2 friends turned lovers would be all that romantic. Lastly, the dad friendship was funny and great. Just 2 bros hanging out trying to help each other understand their wives and children. The supporting female and male actors and their storyline was really precious too. It reminds me of Queen of Tears because there was this dip in the middle where the storyline just got stupid, but it is redeeming in the end. Just beware of this as you watch it.

Watched up to the 12th episode --- I started watching this for the two main leads who are a couple of my favorite actors. It started out strong and promising, but somewhere around episode 8 and 9, it just went off the rails and fizzled. There are some things I'm getting so tired of in Kdramas and unfortunately this had too many of these annoying qualities.

First, the writers forcing adults in adult situations to act childlike. Why are legal consenting adults hiding their relationship from others? Why do they have to come off as so stiff and awkward during a kiss? Do South Koreans have to take a vow of celibacy? Actually, considering the birth rate is so low, I think I just answered my own question.

Second, an adult facing a life altering illness, but telling no one about it. When Soek Ryu is diagnosed with cancer, she tells no one in her family.....really? One of the first things doctors ascertain about their patients when dealing with a serious diagnosis is "do you have a support network around you." This same thing played out in Queen of Tears and it was so, so, so very unbelievable.

Third, lack of communication between married couples, close friends, colleagues, you name it. Everyone just stays silent so misunderstandings abound. Why would a married woman be able to share secrets with her gay boss, but can't say 2 words to her husband?

Fourth, why are the females portrayed as physical abusers? Why are they always hitting everyone around them? Are women in South Korea that mean? And, why are the men forced to act like trained dogs? I really don't think this is how it truly is in South Korea, but for the life of me, I don't understand why people are portrayed as such.

Can't say for sure if I'm going to finish this or not. But for now I'm moving on to something else.

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Personal growth, overcoming pain, communicating better, and strengthening bonds that last a lifetime

This one actually held me captive til the end as an eager viewer, not a casual turn it on and zone out sort which is kind of how parts of No Gain No Love hit even though Shin Min Ah is captivating… (don’t get me wrong; I still really enjoyed it, many of its characters [the writer especially] charming and just beautifully written and portrayed, but it doesn’t have quite the balance OR critically the lasting power of Love Next Door for me… still, the weeks LND had hard, faucet-breaking episodes, NGNL was a big comfort to mend my soul after aching so much-they have their places, this one just digging its lil heels more deeply in my heart).

I keep saying this here and there, but JSM creates amazing chemistry with EVERYONE. If her next costar is a silent but sentient rock, I will be like that rock and yearn to speak to her. I will be sold because how-can-you-not?

This isn’t romcom territory. There is plenty of romance. There is plenty of comedy… but fluff it ain’t. These are people with real struggles, real pain, and most of all real, deep friendship, enviable most all the time though occasionally quite frustrating like the real life stuff it represents…

People wanting a romcom surely felt a bit frustrated at how many times this triggered a mess of tears in non-sociopath viewers. (I imagine this didn’t get on the radar of many sociopaths unless as a study of humans without their affliction in which case it is a solid one though I can imagine being infuriated at the illogical way humans tend to be in the face of intense feelings and even pretty shallow ones sometimes).

The way families come together is just gorgeous. Episode 15 was one I watched happily til I left for work then snuck away during break to watch the last 20 minutes… I kinda knew I would probably choke up, and boy, I went from laughing at someone else getting smacked with onions to being slapped with them right in the eyes myself because of this tiny bit of dialogue: “ Seok Ryu was sick; how could I not be worried? She's your precious child, the apple of your eye. She's the daughter of my best friend. You know how much I adore her. How could I not care about her? ... I'll protect her with you. Just like you raised Seung Hyo, I'll love and take care of Seok Ryu, too.”

Geesh, just smack me with all those onions you used a bully ahjumma’s face to peel and split in half already, Hye Suk!

The only thing that could get to me more than that followed immediately… how sweet is it to promise that boy (whose face still looks 8 when he gazes lovingly at his only one forever) that despite it being tiring, hard work requiring a lot of devoted energy and making her become one with the oil… she will make him rainbows to eat forever?! Tell me ANYONE who wouldn’t be just as smitten in that moment whether she was acting or confessing to an actual lover? She makes just about EVERYONE fall for her over and over. It is just impossible to not love her (even though some early *cough*Playful Kiss*cough* titles were severely lacking)! If I got promised rainbows from such a unicorn-like mythical creature of beauty, I would be quite at risk of having organs harvested as I followed her entranced.

The parents and Mo Eum (and Yeon Du-ahhhhhh she calls soooo sweetly, awwww) are absolute icing on a delicious cake. Some bites of the show are bitter and salty from my tears, but okay, we’ll have salted caramels a while! In this case, nothing at all felt particularly forced/fabricated thanks to acting that really is above and beyond expectations even with mine rather high for the veteran cast playing the parents especially! It felt like every single character grew immensely through this… and HEALED… and crucially went from holding on somewhat bitterly to really charging forward embracing life HAPPILY as they sorted out their own very real-feeling issues.

The finale had a lot of predictable moments, but I savored them because this is THE LAST show I wanted another surprise from! I was kinda annoyed that the thing I knew would happen as soon as she was in cooking classes, her ultimate future, took SO long to even mention when it was so dang obvious what would happen… but I was okay with how they rolled it out even if literally no one was at all surprised by anything but how long it took lol.

Ultimately, this became a story about growth, overcoming a whole lot of pain as well as COMMUNICATING BETTER WITH THOSE YOU LOVE DANGIT, and strengthening the bonds that last a lifetime. I was not envious of their situations overall, but man oh man, their friendships-FAMILY regardless of blood ties, truly-were enviable and honestly pretty rare in this day and age. The more people in my generation and particularly my pretty spread out nation succeed, the further away from our roots we tend to get, so I live near NO ONE I grew up around. Makes me glad I don’t have any real issues socializing with strangers anymore (kind of interesting that the super quiet introvert from my hometown, me, seems like an extrovert in this place I live now where they even say there is a massive “freeze” because outsiders have so much trouble finding their people here. Who knew being a nerd would make it EASIER to find community?! Still, when I think back to the people I grew up playing with like the young adults here, nostalgia hits and I realllllly get homesick. This did bombard me with that more than a few times, but it’s been actual decades since I’ve seen ANYONE who knew me before I was 18. I wouldn’t recognize any of them, it feels safe to say, since even their faces are hazy memories (bad thing to say as the managing editor of the yearbook, but they really are hazy memories, even the teachers caricatures at this point, most all of them long gone from the living realm).

Since I am hiding this behind a spoiler, I’ll say one big spoiler detail that made me so grateful: thank you, writer, for not killing anyone off! That early “renovate a funeral home” thing really was getting under my skin with comments about it all the time and them teasing that it could be the FL of course but also the ML’s mother. I am so glad they had them instead mend wounds from the past and go forward closer and more full of love than they ever had before. My heart doesn’t have to weep. I don’t even mind sad or mixed endings, but this one I really just did not want to be manipulated emotionally by in that particular way-don’t take (probably her) away just when our forever 8 ML has finally said all he needs and grown close to her how he has wanted all these years (be it the FL or his mom, as it happened with both so beautifully)!

Wonderful lovely watch. For all the moments characters were frustrating, they were fully understandable and realistic in the ways they made me wish they were different… That is a pretty big feat to accomplish between words and location details scribbled on a page and a human carrying out the instructions and saying the lines!

Solid 9.5… the writing not always perfect necessarily, it was more than made up for by the cast embodying people I know as if the writer spied on, well, a LOT of real life humans I’ve known over the decades in all kinds of capacities… sometimes, the “flaws” become strengths of their own in scripts… in real life, though, still do your best to not be perfect, no, since that will just make you awful, but at least don’t, like, acquire new problems like crash test dummies acquire displacements of their parts!

Gonna miss this show a LOT.

(PS Kate told me to post this lengthy feed entry as a review, so all meanies who want to argue with or fight me, you gotta go through her first, and our cult leader has lots of weapons and magic curses for people that mess with her minions!)

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Disappointment of the year with awful kisses on top

[This was actually a pretty long rant, but I had to remove 2/3 of it because MDL limits reviews to 10 000 characters]

Started well, then turned into a crying fest, then went back to what it should have done from the beginning but in such an unearned, nonsensical and jarring way, that this supposed 'rom com' turned into a parody of its genre : Terribly formulaic, no satisfying closure to any of the conflicts raised and a final cop-out twist in episode 13 that definitely cemented this drama into the mediocre and forgettable category.

Final ratings 4.

My love for both leads saved me from giving less. The show was weak but the performances were strong but alas my frustration level got so HIGH and the over-the-top “fake sweetness” of the last episodes prevented me from giving this a passing grade. In fact given how annoyed I got… had it been other actors, I’d probably would have given less.

When a show is not consistent with itself, that’s were I draw the line.

But let’s start with the good... err 10 000 characters limit so let's forget it, there's plenty of other reviews for that.

Now..

On to the long rant (sigh...)

This show doesn’t know what it wants to do. Is it Melo, Slice of Life, Rom’ Com? Choose what you want to do and stick to it. You want realistic problems with realistic solutions ? Sure. Then follow through with all characters.
Every single problem these characters faced apart from Seok Ryu’s were magically resolved overnight.

Absentee parents ? No problem, let’s all hug, and over 30 years of neglect are swept under the rug. Estranged couple with NO COMMUNICATION whatsoever notably because of the assumption that one is cheating the other ? No problem ! The dude with whom she is supposed to have cheated is gay. So all of these years of not talking disappear overnight after some dramatic night in the forest !
Also the husband who has been shown to always be busy because of his work at the hospital, has now all the time in the world to get drunk literally everyday with Seok Ryu’s dad. Makes no sense, but since these two were the only ones that truly made me genuinely smile/laugh by the end of this drama, I’ll give them a pass.

Children are not stupid, if they see your careers are more important than they are in your eyes, they learn the hard way to become indifferent very early in life. Seung Hyo caring about your divorce?At 34? Seriously? As if! If he even cared about the both of you at that point that would be short of a miracle.

Ah… but it’s a rom com’, why so serious? Why? I don’t know, ask the show. They went into a full cancer nightmare, work harassment, blaming shit, crying fest and so on and so forth for more than 6 episodes, so I feel entitled to get the same amount of care for issues foreshadowed since episode 1. Is that too much to ask?

Wife gas-lighting her husband literally every day ? Let’s put some drama in so that she makes a grand declaration because even if she gaslights him, she’s got his back so everything is forgotten. She doesn’t need to change because « her heart is in the right place ». And I’m not even talking about her hitting literally everything that moves.

Little Brother is spoiled and want easy money. Got scammed one more time, made his parents loose some money AGAIN, but poor dude is crying because he’s just a victim of circumstances. Big sis is doing a small talk and we’re all back on good terms ?
NOPE. Doesn’t work show.

Journalist’s got a daughter so you can see how Mo Eum and him can’t be a couple because of South Korean’s society… BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT NOPE. Plot twist, his daughter is actually his niece so there’s no longer any real obstacle because this show HAS NO BALLS !!!

But we do need to have the mother opposed to it for I don’t know why, because there’s 3 episodes left, and by God do we need to fill the minutes… with these overly long-ass episodes.

As for the romance…. My God, let’s just forget how it started. I don’t even know were to start, and this review is already too long…

The good : Seung Hyo and his ex. That was actually a pretty satisfying and realistic part of the drama. Not overly dramatic just pretty natural and nice. Gotta give praise where it’s due.

The VERY bad: Seok Ryu, her ex and her present


The ex comes to visit South Korea and win Seok Ryu back. At that point, Seung Hyo is not yet going out with Seok Ryu. Yet, he feels entitled to act jealous, is extremely rude to her ex who HE DOESN’T KNOW, acts like he’s got dibs on her when she hasn’t even agreed to be with him.

WHAT.A.TURN.OFF

But it’s Jung Hae In, he’s the male lead so we’re supposed to give him a pass. So Ok. I’ll give a pass to this MAJOR RED FLAG.

Any man acting in such an overbearing way when you’re not even going out together yet is to be fled from immediately. You can be sure it’s gonna be worse once you get together. In fact, you can smell the wife’s beater from miles away.

He’s not like this because he likes you. He’s like this because you’re his thing, and you need to stay in line.

But it’s a K drama so don’t worry, once he gets the girl, he’s gonna turn all nice. And you bet he is going to get her because at some point after having declared his love, he tells her  « I don’t do friendship with you no more » meaning if the dude can’t be her boyfriend… he’s decided he’s going to put an end to their 30+ years of friendship.

Another Minus for the Emotional Blackmail.
Also, INCONSISTENCIES anyone ?

Wasn’t the reason why you didn’t want to say your feelings in the first place was because you were afraid of losing your FRIENDSHIP ??? Why are you so willing to flush it down the toilet now ? Are you 13 ? I don’t mind the childish banter but at some point a 34 years old do need to show the maturity of a 34 years-old WHEN IT COUNTS.

Ultimately Seok Ryu gives up Mister Green Flag for Mister Red Flag because of… K Drama. She cries at the airport and I wonder why.
Either you still have some feelings and you cry because you’re realizing what a gigantic mistake you’re making or you don’t.

It wouldn’t have been nice for the fiance to say : " I realize you never loved me as much as I did. I supported you through your darkest time, put my career on hold for a year, you threw me away for one dispute, I crossed a whole continent to win you back, only to realize your heart never truly belonged to me. It’s a good thing we broke up. I deserve better".

But it’s a K drama so, we can’t make the FL look like she acted terrible towards a man who’s only crime was to love her so he apologizes for "not helping her the right way" and "realizing she needed other people by her side". And I’m not saying he didn’t make mistakes, but it takes two to tango, and he was the only one who tried to dance.

The truth is, you never loved him enough, you didn’t want to live in the US, you hated your job, you missed a certain someone that wasn’t your fiance. You had plenty of reasons to go back to South Korea, but show decided to put the blame on the break-up YOU initiated instead of on all the elephants in the room.

As far as feelings go, I was never sold on her being with any of them.
It’s difficult to sell a couple when one party was, until recently, engaged with another man who supported her through her cancer ordeal, who she had a five-year intimate relationship with, and who cried crocodile tears when said man left. Obviously you need all these EXTRA SWEETER THAN SWEET scenes to make you believe this relationship is more solid than the one the FL left behind ( THE CRINGE is through the roof)

It was too melo before so by episode 11 it’s in sweet overdrive – to the point of turning the show utterly ridiculous, boring and cringe. As soon as our lead are together they sleep together. As soon as they sleep together, we’re speeding to the marriage proposal??? Girl got engaged after ¾ years of dating with Saint Ex, but not even half a year has passed since she broke off her marriage that she already has another dude’s bracelet around her wrist. .

It would have been good if all that sugar had been peppered throughout the whole show instead of drenching viewers in it for the last episodes... Also since they need to make us feel some empathy for the other characters we get all the conflicts I talked about above, resolved in speedy, unsatisfactory and ridiculous fashion. Even when there was supposed to be legitimate issues, the show treated it as a 'non problem' and I would have given an example if there was no 10 000 characters limit.
This writer needs some fake dramatic plot device such as: husband being scammed by V-tubers, Little bro being scammed by fake protein company, Mother who thinks she’s got Alzheimer and gets lost in forest, Seok Ryu breaking his arm and so on and so forth... in order to get some great empty declaration of love or other BS, so that the conflict is resolved.

The drama concludes with a very neat (and predictable) but dissatisfying little bow. I slugged my way to the end, only managing to finish because I cut each episodes in 4 to 5 parts alternating with more engaging shows or surfing online.


Last but not least… WHY do I have to commit to 3 HOURS EACH WEEK for a ROM COM’ ?!
A FUDGING ROM COM DOESN’T NEED 3 HOURS A WEEK!!!
ARE YOUR DRAMAS ANY BETTER ‘CUZ THEY’RE LONGER?

NOPE. THEY.ARE. NOT!!! WHY TVN WHY?

So please, for the love of all Drama gods Past , Present and Future, STOP THIS INSANITY!

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need to just get this review out

Just finished force-feeding myself episode 13 - I am committed to finishing this drama, but BOY is it one of the worst.

Don’t know who wrote and directed this, and I barely care to look it up, because it’s shocking how much of a step back in the modern rom com scene this is. Poor writing, farcical acting, nonsense plot, and terrible characters. It’s a really lame take on progressive themes, and honestly only brings us backwards in its message about relationships.

To be fair, I’m tuning in for the pretty people, to turn my brain off after work, and the bask in the glory of Jung Somin, but BOY does this drama not give her the wings to fly as she usually does. The directing, plot, script, character is so weak that I’m not surprised that even her performance falls flat.

The characters are absolutely nonsensical and awful, the writing is confused with itself, and all the directing is this weak attempt at being deep at exposing actually important concepts like career, esteem, social inferiority, and family.

The themes are right. The execution is wrong. I only kept watching for Moeum’s story, but even that one fell flat too.

It’s watchable if you just want to relax I guess, but it’s really Not Good. Also, the Netflix subtitles are not really exact translations, so not sure what’s going on there.

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