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If you like simple, sweet, heart warming coming of age drama this is a must watch

is my rating. This is a 2023 Chinese romantic drama with 24, 30-40 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Su Zaizai (Zhang Miaoyi) and Zhang Lurang (Zhou Yiran) are complete opposites in personality. Where Zhang Lurang is cold and aloof, Su Zaizai is social and friendly. That doesn’t stop Zaizai from developing an instant crush on Zhang Lurang when they have a chance encounter at a corner store on a rainy day. Zaizai begins to persistently put herself in Zhang Lurang’s sphere to get his attention and win his friendship. Zaizai turns out to be just what Zhang Lurang needed to help him break out of his cold, lonely shell. Tolerance becomes friendship then evolves to something more.

Review

This is one of the most heart warming romantic comedies I have ever seen. The main romance is credible, well paced, believable and incredibly sweet. The bonus, second couple romance, is also very touching. So many interesting relationships between the friends and family. If you like heart warming romances, coming of age, or friends to lovers then you should definitely add this to your watch list.

Spoilers

Zhang Lurang’s mother was a tiger mom to the extreme. Her expectations were so unreasonably high she was not satisfied her son was a top student. His lack of self confidence and shy/withdrawn nature was the consequence of his mother’s extreme behavior. It is harmful to compare one person to another in a negative way. Does it happen in real life. Absolutely. My spouse was subjected to that same lens and had many emotional problems as a result.

To watch Zaizai’s sunny persistence draw Zhang Lurang out of his protective cocoon was a delight to watch. In one part someone said your girlfriend is clingy and he corrected them saying he was the one who was clingy. Later they commented all the women were after him romantically yet he never wavered. It made perfect sense because she literally saved him from himself and he said as much.

There were occasions where the group of five were together just enjoying their friendship and being young and I loved it. It is a gift to have people like that in your life.

I loved how all the kids loved the one friend’s grandmother. They hung out at her restaurant and she fed them good food


#ZhangMiaoyl
#ZhouYiran

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I like Legal Dramas - just did not find this one interesting

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean drama with 16, 70 minute episodes.

Jung Geum-ja (Kim Geun-ja) is a lawyer who, like a Hyena, has no issue with scavenging off other‘s weakness to win a case. She crosses paths with Yoon Hee-jae (Ju Ji-hoon) who works for a distinguished law firm that caters to the wealthiest of the wealthy. Yoon Hee-jae is confident in his ability and has risen through the ranks of his law firm at an accelerated rate due to his exceptional legal skill that is until he goes against Geum-ja. Their first encounter is on a divorce case and Geum-ja seduces Hee-Jae in order to get close enough to him to steal information that is critical to winning the case.

In general I did not find the cases they worked on very compelling. It was mostly corporate level cases or rich chaebol and that type of law was not very interesting to me. I did not feel a lot of chemistry between the leads. I also did not like Geum-ja's underhanded way of doing law. It was okay a lot of times for the criminals she was pursuing but tricking someone by pretending to love them then stealing information to win a case was cruel and it made it so I did not like her very much. She is supposed to be very attractive but her short hair did not make her look very attractive to me. I have been watching this for many weeks and I usually watch things quickly but I find it very slow.

It took me a long time to finish this drama. I did not hate it but I certainly did not love it. Spoiler Alert* I found the way Geum-ja treated Hee-Jae in the beginning reprehensible. She seduced him to steal information to win a case. Hee-jae was a nice guy so I could not excuse the way she treated him as just being competitive or breaking some rules for a good outcome. If he had been a jerk then maybe I could have gotten past that but he was nice and what she damaged his career. I also did not find the cases they were working on very interesting. Corporate intrigue is just not much my thing. Since I was not pulling for the romance between the leads, I was not super invested in them getting together. It was also very slow in some parts. If you are someone who really likes legal drama, particularly corporate law, or likes one of these actors a lot - you might find it worth the watch. In general I would say there are far better legal dramas to watch and I would pass this one over.

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Love knows no borders

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2019/2020 South Korean television drama with 16, 70-110 minute episodes.

Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin) has lived the life of a Princess as a chaebol heiress to one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea. She is the only daughter and has always been somewhat of a black sheep leading her to form her own successful fashion sporting goods line. She has two older brothers who would be the logical successors to her father, however, he does not feel like his sons have what it takes to run the business. He announces his plan to have his daughter, Se-ri, run the company when he retires and plans to announce it at the next shareholder meeting. Se-ri is excited to have proven herself and vows to wrap up her own business and put it under management with just one final campaign. To test a flight suit she goes paragliding in Seoul and a freak weather event, with tornadic winds, blows her off course into North Korea's portion of the demilitarized zone. Having lived a pampered life she does not, at first, realize how dangerous the situation she has found herself in is. As luck would have it, she is discovered on patrol by Ri Jeong-hyeok (Hyun Bin) who is from a powerful North Korean family and is serving as a Captain in the Korean People's Army. Unlike Se-ri he knows all too well what might happen if she was turned in to the North Korean military police. After some reluctance he decides to protect her and help her get back to South Korea. Meanwhile, Se-ri's family, particularly her brothers, assume her dead, and began competing for the role of their father's successor. When they find out Se-ri is alive by chance, they conspire to keep her from returning to South Korea. Meanwhile Jeong-hyeok has been trying to solve the mystery surrounding his brother's death and winds up with an enemy in common with Se-ri who is determined to expose them both. Although Jeong-hyeok is engaged to a North Korean heiress, there is no love in the arrangement, and he finds himself drawn to Se-ri and she to him.
spoilers*. I like the glimpse into North Korean life that this show gives. It illustrates how people all over the world are very much the same in that we want good things for our kids, to have loving friends, and see the people around us happy and healthy. In the beginning, when the female lead first landed in North Korea I liked how they did not immediately befriend her but had a debate about what to do with this person who was possibly an enemy. It felt like they went through the same type of discovery and found that they had fewer differences and more similarities. I liked all the young military men and how loyal they were to each other and to their captain. I thought it was interesting how she found a way to fit in with the local women and came to be friends with them. The male leads fiancé and him were in an arranged marriage and it was interesting to see the conflict as he started to fall in love with someone. It also delved into love versus obsession and there was a lot of character growth on all of their parts. The female lead started as a spoiled and “Picky Princess“ but she learned through being around people that had so much less than she did yet still found ways to enjoy life and each other that she did not need all those things she had back in South Korea. I thought the way her family had very little love between them as they were too busy fighting for control of the company showed the way when the focuses is on the material a lot of the joyous things in life are lost. I would’ve scored this even higher but I was, unlike a lot of people, disappointed in the ending as I thought they might find a way to be together either her going to North Korea or him defecting to South Korea. I thought perhaps there was an angle with her being rich and them wanting her money as the father had mentioned. It turned out in the end that they were only able to be together in SwitzerlandJust a couple weeks out of the year. I was also disappointed that the side couple never got to be together because he wound up dying around the time he finally came around and redeemed himself. I still feel like it is Netflix influence that makes it so the females in these act as if they don’t need a man in their life. That is a very modern Western concept. I know some people would say there are families that live that way and that is considered a normal type of ending or at least one possible ending. To me I watch stuff not to see the harsher parts of life play out, I like the happily ever after stories as I think life is hard enough as it is. Still it was very good and very well written with excellent actors. The chemistry between the couples was very believable and the friendships were heartwarming. I highly recommend this to anyone that wants a glimpse into North Korean lifestyle as I understand there were many North Koreans who provided information and insight for the script so while it is still a movie and not entirely based on facts a lot of the major elements such as power outages, house searches, and a lack of technology for most people I understand accurately portrays life for many North Koreans.

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I wanted to Like it More

7.5 out of 10 is my rating. This is a 2012 South Korean TV show with 16, 30-60 min, episodes. Shi-Won (Jung Eun-ji) is a fangirl in the 1990s of a boy band called H.O.T. Flash forward to her at 33 years old and nearing a reunion, her and her 5 friends in high school recall what was like for them all back then. Yoon Yoon-je (Seo In-juk) is the younger of two brothers who grew up with Shi-won when his parents died. Shi-won’s parents were best friends of Yoon-je‘s parents and became like mother and father to the two boys when their parents died. Yoon Tae-Woong was in love with and fiancée to Shi-won’s older sister who died tragically. Tae-Woon later shows romantic interest in Shi-won. Yoon-je also loves Shi-won but feels his brother, who sacrificed so much for him, should not bear heartbreak again so he puts his feelings aside. Friendship, love triangles and flashes back to the 90's lots of interesting elements.

Spoiler 🚨 I was very lukewarm about this one. I found myself waiting for it to get over. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t like it either. It was a little bit like the United States television show "How I Met your Mother" in that it started in the future and had you wondering who Shi-won's husband was. They kept teasing you with it and you couldn’t figure out which one of the guys she was married to. Then in a series of extended flashbacks you get the story slowly throughout the episodes. Of course there are love triangles and side romances and also bromances and all of that was good. It ended the way I like them to end where I knew what was going on with all the characters. I did not particularly like the type of relationship the two that wind up together had. It was the sort of bickering and fighting that makes you wonder if they even like each other sort of relationship. The chemistry was there but the way they portrayed the relationship was hard to envision them lasting long term. One of the side couples would have been cute but they were constantly breaking up or saying they were going to break up which made them not seem that into each other either. It made me wonder what the writers idea of a good relationship is. It focused a little bit on the fan girl angle but I didn’t feel like I knew a whole lot more about that after having watched this. There were also some weird things like when the sister died I had to read some other reviews to even figure out that that was Shi-won's sister. They never showed the sister as a really being part of the family they always showed her doing things other than with the family. Then when she died suddenly and unexpectedly there was really only one passing comment about it made by the dad. And the fiancé, Tae-woon, it did not really show him going through much grief either. It made me wonder why they even bothered to include that storyline except for later when he falls for Shi-won she wonders and you wonder as well if it’s just because she reminds him of the sister. Shi-won even asked Tae-woon if he liked her because she reminds her of her sister and he said that’s not the reason. Which, if that is the case, there was no reason to even have the sister be part of the story. To me there were just a lot of elements like that that didn’t hold together or add interest. I would definitely not recommend this highly or even to get a feel for the genre or time. If you like movies told In flashback then perhaps you would like this better than I did. One thing it does well is keep you hanging on who she ends up with.

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Great time travel crime drama

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2017 South Korean crime drama based on true murders (Hwaseong serial murders). It consists of 16, ~60 minute, episodes.

While on the trail of a killer (they avoided calling them serial killers) in 1986, detective Park Gwang-ho (Choi Jin-hyuk) is attacked and when he comes to and emerges from a tunnel he is in 2016. Those he left behind are left wondering what happened to him. He does not, at first, realize he has time traveled and goes to his station where he encounters Kim Seon-jae 9Yoon Hyun-min) an elite lieutant detective who has more rank than respect from his fellow ditectives (the old made an officer versus worked your way up through the ranks controversy). Shin Jae-yi (Lee Yoo-young) is a consult on the cases as a "visiting"/cooperating criminal profiler. When Gwang-ho realizes he is in a different time he is able to blend in a there was a detective, due to report, who had the same name. No-one, including, Gwang-ho knows what happened to that detective (but it seems he thinks it may be tied to the whole time travel event - they never directly say that but that is what it seems like).

I really like this. It was suspenseful the whole way through. The clues were intriguing and there were lots of plot suprises. The filmography was great as you really got a sense of the different times from the way the way the footage was shot. A great crime drama!

#Tunnel
#ChoJinHyuk
#LeeYooYoung

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A little too "real" for me (real downer)

My Rating

7.5/10

Review

This is an offering in the friends-to-lovers category, which is usually one of my favorite romance tropes. I like happy endings. That's just me. Some people prefer stories that are more dramatic and feel more "real." If that's what you enjoy, you may like this movie a lot more than I did.

The film hits all the high points of a strong romantic drama. The characters are well developed, the story is compelling, and the relationship feels authentic. I was invested in both Han Jeong-won and Lee Eun-ho from the beginning. Their friendship was easily my favorite part of the movie. They were great friends, and I had very high hopes for them as a couple.

Visually, I loved the choice to have the present-day scenes in black and white while the past was shown in color. It was a beautiful way to reinforce the idea that Jeong-won brought color and life into Eun-ho's world. It was also pretty obvious that she was the inspiration for Jane in his video game.

Unfortunately, I found the overall experience sad rather than romantic. Once Lee Eun-ho and Han Jeong-won became a couple, Eun-ho became increasingly moody, and it didn't always feel consistent with the character we had come to know earlier in the story. By the end, I didn't feel like the movie delivered a satisfying payoff for everything the audience went through with them.

I wouldn't watch it again, and I would only recommend it to viewers who enjoy emotional dramas and realistic endings rather than happy ones.

Spoilers

I really loved the friendship between Han Jeong-won and Lee Eun-ho. Their chemistry as friends was fantastic, and I was rooting for them the entire time.

I found it heartbreaking when they broke up. It was also sad that Jeong-won seemingly did not maintain a relationship with Eun-ho's father after the separation. Their shared struggles and eventual successes made me want to see them enjoy the rewards of all that hard work together.

One thing that left me confused was the ending. Eun-ho appears to have a son, which made me assume he eventually married, but the film never really confirms what happened. It leaves a lot to the audience's imagination.

I was also unsure about the pregnancy storyline. At one point, it looked like Jeong-won was looking at an ultrasound, but the movie never seemed to fully address what happened afterward.

As someone who is highly empathetic, this movie was honestly a terrible choice for me emotionally. It completely dragged me down. Their ending felt incredibly sad. Yes, they reunited, but then they went their separate ways again. The film presents them as the great love of each other's lives, and I've seen plenty of real-life couples work through challenges like theirs and come out stronger on the other side.

To me, it felt like they gave up on each other.

My interpretation is that Eun-ho let Jeong-won go because he believed he was holding her back. I understand that reasoning, but I kept waiting for the story to bring them back together later. After taking the audience through all of that heartbreak, the fact that they aren't even friends by the end felt pointless and depressing.

The movie clearly wanted to make a statement about timing, dreams, and how love isn't always enough. It succeeded. I just didn't enjoy where that message left the characters.

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Good at Giving Advice Not so Good at Following her Own Advice

My Rating: 9.5/10

If you like good solid romances that start with two characters who don’t necessarily like each other but move from enemies to frenemies, to friends to lovers, this is a great pick. The Female Lead (Yeon Bo-ra) and Male Lead (Lee Soo-hyuk) have excellent chemistry that makes their slow-burn progression feel natural and satisfying.

It also hits the spot if you’re interested in break-up tropes, self-help type characters or dating counselors who have to face their own messy love lives. The show handles a lot of it with real levity and funny moments, which keeps things from getting too heavy. I would absolutely recommend True to Love, I’d watch it again, and it’s earned a permanent spot in my library of must-watch romances.

Spoilers

Watching the Female Lead (Yeon Bo-ra) belittle herself with her ex was cringe to the next level. The begging him to take her back and saying she would just ignore his cheating felt second-hand embarrassing. My daughter, my 30-something drama-watching buddy, especially had a hard time with those parts and it almost made her quit watching. Her personal style is that she doesn’t grovel on anything. I’m more the hopeless romantic who has made an idiot out of myself over some guys, so we had very different responses. It was a bit much though, even for me, given her background as a dating coach. Still, I know we often give the best advice to others that we never take ourselves, and that theme really landed for me.

The ex of the Male Lead (Lee Soo-hyuk) was just mean. Yes, he was a little emotionally distant, but that didn’t excuse her starting a relationship with someone else and saying every vile thing she could think of when she broke up with him. And given some of the things she said about Bo-ra, she just wasn’t a very nice person. I was actually glad she went through with her marriage and left because she felt toxic to me.

And man, some of Bo-ra’s friends. I’m like girl, you need to re-think who you befriend. The girl at the wedding where she was told to think of the champagne glass as a prop? Why would you even associate with someone so mean-spirited? Her really good friend/bestie (Lee Yoo-jeong) had her moments too. She sided with the Male Lead (Lee Soo-hyuk) one time and threw Bo-ra under the bus, which frustrated me.

Then that event Bo-ra hosted where she went off on her fans — peak cringe. I know people lose it like that, but letting it ruin your job? That was a lot.

I also wasn’t a fan of the age-gap romance between the CEO (Male Lead’s friend) and the young employee. The gap felt way too big for me — she seemed very young with this idealized, almost fairy-tale view of romance, while he was clearly in a much later stage of life with different priorities and perspectives. I just couldn’t picture the two of them together at all. It came off like the classic “wealthy older guy dating a much younger woman because he can,” even though the show tried to make it feel deeper and not about that. They didn’t seem to have much in common, which made the pairing feel forced and unconvincing to me.

A lot of other viewers seem to have felt the same way about these parts — the groveling scenes, the toxic ex dynamics, the age-gap romance subplot, and some of the frustrating friend moments. Many people noted how realistic (if painful) it was to watch a dating coach struggle so badly in her own love life, and quite a few mentioned the second-hand embarrassment during Bo-ra’s lowest points. It made the growth later feel more earned for me, even if those middle sections tested my patience a bit.

Overall, the strengths of the central romance and the show’s honest look at relationships far outweighed the cringier moments for me. That’s why it still lands at a strong 9.5/10 in my book.

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Nice Central Romance but some side characters and plots drag it down

The romance between Nie Xiguang and Lin Yusen feels genuinely believable, with excellent chemistry that builds gradually. It’s a true slow-burn, which will appeal to fans who enjoy watching relationships develop slowly over time rather than rushing into fireworks. The corporate setting adds a nice layer of realism and workplace dynamics without overwhelming the emotional core.

At 32 episodes, the show is quite long. Some viewers (including me) felt a few episodes could have been trimmed, cutting out a focus on side stories that were not followed through but especially toward the later stages when the story essentially felt like it ended. But others thought the length was just right and every part served a purpose. If you decide to watch, just go in prepared for a lengthy, relaxed pace. I personally enjoyed the journey a lot, didn’t regret watching it at all, and would happily recommend it to anyone who loves heartfelt romance, slow-burn stories, and dramas set in a professional environment. It’s comforting and well-acted overall, even if it’s not perfect.

Spoilers

My biggest critique is that the main part of the story, their romance, had pretty much tied up but it dragged on to show you a lot of their life after. Like even beyond their marriage. The settled into marriage, have a kid, and career playing out. I didn’t feel like we needed to see so much of their life 10 years later — it was nice to know they stayed happy and had a child, but it started to feel drawn out. We already knew Nie Xiguang and Lin Yusen would both be successful in their careers; spelling it out in extended scenes didn’t add much for me. It almost felt like watching Sims characters live their daily routines at times, especially with all the flashbacks to their earlier relationship mixed in. I kept thinking, “Okay, they’re happy — we can leave it there.” It's that fine balance between don't end it so I can't figure out the trajectory of their life from there, but also let's not settle into the day to day where we are no longer watching an exciting romance but an old married couple.

Another "gripe" and this is more along the lines of a cultural difference is how there was any blame placed on the blind date for the accident. Yes, she might have lied to him but she had nothing to do with his accident. Even later, when it turned out main girl was not the blind date, it was a trick, they spoke as if the family had some fault with his accident even though none of them were anywhere near the scene. It is this weird fault model that I also see in Korean dramas that I never understand. Blame yourself for deciding to go. Blame the truck who hit you. But blaming the person you were supposed to meet simply because you got in an accident on the way to meet them - completely defies logic in my opinion.

The entire mutual fixation around Zhuang Xu dragged the plot a lot. It never fully made sense why Nie Xiguang held on to him for so many years when they barely had any real moments together (a tutor connection and one flirty kitchen scene). There were no deep romantic moments and he not only rejected her romantically but failed to stand up for her when others wrongly accused her. Once Lin Yusen entered the picture and they actually started building something meaningful, with genuine romance and shared moments, the lingering attachment to Zhuang Xu felt especially unconvincing. It didn't make sense for either of them to be so fixated on each other. They never had a romantic relationship just interest and flirtation. So for both of them to be hung up on each other to the degree they were, made no sense.
I also wished some side stories had better closure. For example, after Rong Rong got rejected by Zhuang Xu — I thought she might get a redemption moment or at least apologize and part as friends, but it never happened. Then there was the girl at work (Chris) who confessed to Zhuang Xu; I hoped he might eventually move on and find happiness with her or someone else, but it ends with him still seeming hung up years later. Ten years after Nie Xiguang has clearly moved on and built a life with someone else, it just didn’t feel realistic that his attachment would linger that strongly, especially since their connection was never that deep to begin with.

On the positive side, I absolutely loved Nie Xiguang’s relationship with her cousin — their scenes were always cute and heartwarming. The mothers on both sides were great too; the women in this drama were generally strong and enjoyable to watch. Her work friends felt like real, supportive colleagues, which was refreshing. In contrast, her college friends were pretty horrible to her (resenting her background in a way she couldn’t control), and it was understandable why she wouldn’t want to revisit that tension.

Zhuang Xu was a bit moody throughout, which made it hard for me to fully see what everyone saw in him at times. I kept expecting a scene years later where he finally seemed happy and moved on, but instead we get reminders that he’s still not over things.

Nie Xiguang’s parents had unfinished-feeling arcs too — her mom seemed to still have lingering feelings but never pursued anything new, while her dad showed some awareness of his past mistakes but never fully reconciled in a satisfying way. Even in the very end, we get a random update on the manipulative character moving to the same city with no clear purpose, which left me wondering why they brought her back at all.

Overall, these pacing and closure issues kept me from loving it as much as some reviewers did. I don’t agree with the super-low ratings, but I also wouldn’t put it in my top dramas or plan to rewatch it. It’s still a very good show with a sweet central romance — definitely worth watching once if you enjoy this genre, but it could have been tighter and more focused in the later episodes.

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Pretty Good - to a Point - Still worth the watch

This was really good but not great. To be fair, I’m not a huge fan of Chinese historical/fantasy dramas (I like Korean series like this a bit more), even the ones where a character gets pulled into another world and the story splits time between modern and ancient settings—they’re rarely my first pick. Still, this show was entertaining enough to keep me watching all the way through. The interplay between the characters was genuinely fun, with great banter and dynamics that carried a lot of the episodes. I wish there had been more demon-fighting action spread throughout—like more good guys kicking demon butt against various lesser demons leading up to the climax—and less emphasis on the drawn-out buildup to the one big final battle with the Resentful Woman (the major demon antagonist). The whole story centered on that huge confrontation, which I understand was the big moment, but with the game-like setup (system tasks, bindings, levels), I expected more progressive plot flow with multiple smaller demon battles along the way. As a "Demon Hunter" fan, those action sequences were a highlight for me, and the show’s visuals in those moments were often stunning. Yu Shuxin’s performance as Ling Miaomiao was her usual bubbly, exaggerated, silly style that a lot of people criticize, but it genuinely fit the character—a modern girl who’s suddenly thrust into this serious demon-hunting world and reacts with humor and chaos.

I especially loved Ling Miaomiao’s relationship with the little bamboo demon; it added such a sweet, heartfelt layer.

Mu Sheng’s initial coldness and hardness toward her was compelling; I do love the classic trope of the icy, dangerous male lead who only softens for the female lead, Ling Miaomiao. That said, his constant willingness to murder her was a little tough to fully get past. Yes, it was all within the novel/game world, and she knew the “plot,” but from his perspective it was real, so it made her falling for someone capable of that feel a bit complicated.

I seriously loved Ling Miaomiao’s dad in the novel world—such a warm, lovable character. I wish he’d had way more screen time. I also would have liked if he had somehow still been alive when she came back to reality.

Liu Fuyi (the second male demon hunter) felt a bit flat early on—he didn’t appear much at first, and when he did it was mostly “my master” loyalty with little personality shining through. He became more defined and interesting later, which helped. But I had no attachment for him early on. He felt expendable in the beginning like a character that could have lost a battle and it wouldn't have much mattered. Had he been a developed a little more early on then his relationship in the later episodes would have been all the more compelling.

The humans-falling-for-demons (or demon-related beings) trope was harder for me to buy into. I know Eastern fantasy lore treats “demons” (yao) differently—not always purely evil like in Western stories—so I mentally recategorized Mu Sheng more as a tragic demi-god type to make it work for me personally. Otherwise it is a struggle to accept "nice" demons or just misunderstood demons if I accept them as such. I have to give them another category in my own mind to get past that. 

One recurring confusion (shared by a lot of reviewers) is whether this is a book or a game world. It references both constantly—sometimes it feels like she transmigrated into a novel she read, other times the system tasks, levels, and bindings scream otome game. From what I’ve seen discussed online, it’s fundamentally a novel transmigration story with heavy game-like system mechanics, which is super common in this genre and explains why it feels like both.

I recently read that the Chinese government has been cracking down on cold-CEO-marries-impoverished-girl Cinderella tropes for setting unrealistic relationship expectations among young women. If that’s the case, I’m not sure how the completely fantastical idea of a human falling for a kind demon is any more grounded—we all have our priorities, I guess!

No regrets watching it at all—it was fun and well worth the time. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre, loves the actors, or wants a mix of romance, comedy, and fantasy action. I’d probably mention to close friends that the ending is disappointing so they’re prepared, but I wouldn’t spoil it for others. Would I watch it again? Probably not—the ending drags it down too much for a rewatch.

Detailed Spoilers

The biggest disappointment for me—and it seems for a huge chunk of the audience—was the ending. They spent shockingly little time on Ling Miaomiao’s return to reality. We find out Mu Sheng was essentially the author (or the real-world inspiration behind the story), and their brief school interactions hinted he already liked her, but the “reunion” is literally just him calling her name. It felt like the entire romance was being reset without giving us any payoff or development in the real world.

That lack of closure hit especially hard with the little bamboo demon—her relationship with him in the novel world was one of my absolute favorite parts, and seeing him in reality with just a passing moment of déjà vu and no real tie or future connection was heartbreaking.

The water demon scene was a massive highlight for me: the kidnapping, Mu Sheng coming to the rescue, the world literally flipping, and the gorgeous black-and-white world with pops of color in the costumes and scenery—it was visually stunning and one of the most memorable sequences in the whole show. More moments like that would have been perfect. That was what I felt like I signed up for in the whole set up of the premise. Them fighting progressively harder demons. And main girl gaining power over time. It went a bit different than that.

So disappointed that it didn't seem she was going to have real relationships in real time with all the characters she had built connections with in the game/novel. There was that déjà vu moment with the bamboo demons, but there’s no real follow-through. Presumably Mu Yao, Liu Fuyi, and others are based on real people he drew from, but we get zero closure on whether Ling Miaomiao ever reconnects with their counterparts or rebuilds those friendships. The friendships were genuinely fun and added a lot to the show, so dropping them entirely felt like a waste. And what about everyone left in the novel world? It felt so real while she was there. So, it genuinely felt like they were all just left hanging.

Another major frustration: the leads never share a proper kiss until a weird, brief moment in a special/post-credits scene. Without that physical moment, the romance never fully felt “sealed”—they came across more like super close buddies than a couple in love. A little intimacy goes a long way to sell the emotional stakes. Many reviewers echo this complaint, noting that while the second couple (Mu Yao and Liu Fuyi) got actual kiss scenes and more chemistry, the main leads conspicuously avoided it. Speculation points to possible actor preference (Zhang Linghe has had limited on-screen intimacy in some projects), production choices, or censorship—Esther Yu clearly has no issue with kiss scenes in her other dramas. Whatever the reason, it left the romance feeling incomplete for a lot of us.

Overall, a fun, addictive watch with great tropes and characters, but the rushed ending and lack of romantic payoff kept me from feeling it deserved to rate higher.

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Three co-dependent alcoholics in need of a good rehab program

Review

Rating 6.5/10. Having a lot of alcoholics in my life over the years and not being an alcoholic myself I did not find this funny or enjoyable. If you are into the party scene and don't mind watching three women who think partying and hanging out with their friends is the meaning of life you might like this. Depends on where you are at in life's journey. But, if you're looking for a feel-good recovery-type series or one about friends who are like family, I'm not sure this fits the bill, as I didn't find it very heartwarming at all. The only people I could see liking it are those who really embrace drinking culture and are okay with it being somewhat glorified. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, and I wouldn't watch it again myself.

Spoilers

All three women—An So-hee, Han Ji-yeon, and Kang Ji-gu—had serious alcohol problems, and there were points in the show when I thought they were going to have a turnaround and get their lives together, but that was wishful thinking. I had hopes when they all had separate health issues and were told to stop drinking, or when they went to the mountains, or even in the end when they started getting interested in having real relationships. But they never did. It felt like so many missed opportunities, and they would just go right back to alcohol. They weren't very nice people, really—in fact, most of the men that found their way into their lives left me wondering, "Why would you like her?" Kang Buk-gu, the guy who was with An So-hee (the writer), put up with so much from them, and he was so cute the way he took care of them. I thought maybe they would have a real romance, but in the end, I don't know if they were waiting for his dad (the one with dementia) to pass, but the whole friends-with-benefits thing seemed to ring true when I thought maybe he would say, "That's not what I meant—I want a real relationship with you." Then Kang Ji-gu (the one who ended up doing origami and working as a delivery girl because of her whole teaching thing where her student committed suicide) never went back to teaching, and she gets with Han U-ju, a guy who seems really sweet at first, but he's really kind of weird. He's some weird artsy dude, and they kinda had an autonomous life together. It's really strange. When the three friends broke up and had a big falling out—mainly because Han Ji-yeon (the yoga instructor) would always steal Kang Ji-gu's (the teacher's) boyfriends, and she justified it by saying basically, "If they would be with me, then they're not very loyal"—but in reality, I think she got a rush from being able to do it. I've known too many women that way to think she had other motives. Anyway, they finally reconcile, but they never talk any of that through, nor did she ever really apologize, so that was odd. To be angry enough to say it is the end of the friendship to move out/kick someone out and then what? You just cool off and blend back together like it was never a big deal? But the whole thing was that they had such a tight relationship that really, it didn't seem like there was room for anybody else. But it wasn't a healthy relationship — it was co-dependency and were they ever to decide to recover their best hope of having a lasting recovery would be to stay away from each other. Their entire interactions were made possible by alcohol. They said it themselves. You drink when it is a good day, you drink when it's a bad day, you drink when it's a regular day. That's the central aspect of what I really didn't like about it. It just felt like watching a bunch of alcoholics behaving badly. I think it was supposed to be a fun girl-party vibe, and you were supposed to think, "Wow, they're really living their lives and having fun," but it just seemed like a train wreck of a life to me, with a few alcoholics that really should've gotten treatment and help. The ending was the very weirdest—I mean, An So-hee (the writer) is falling, she makes a joke about "this might be how she dies," nobody really runs to try to help her, and then it just ends. You don't even see if she fell and got hurt, if she was seriously injured, or if she was just okay. It was the weirdest way to end a series. I did not completely hat the series, it was a very lukewarm thing for me, but there was nothing I could point to and say I really liked that. I was hoping I would get some payoff as I had to chase this show across multiple platforms. And watch a lot of repetitive advertisements to see both seasons. I haven't seen one quite as scattered as this one was. They would have a few episodes on one platform, then some episodes on another platform, so that parts of the season were on one and another part of the season was on another, and maybe even another portion was on yet another. So, I had to chase it across multiple platforms to even watch it, and I can tell you I did not feel like it was worth all of that trouble.

Major Characters

Ahn So-hee (Lee Sun-bin): A sharp-tongued broadcasting writer juggling deadlines and dating disasters, whose quick wit and unapologetic ambition make her the group's resident truth-teller.

Han Ji-yeon (Han Sun-hwa): A free-spirited yoga instructor embracing her post-divorce glow-up, blending zen vibes with a penchant for impulsive adventures and heartfelt vulnerability.

Kang Ji-gu (Jung Eun-ji): A quirky freelance composer and budding YouTuber pouring her soul into music and mishaps, whose optimistic energy and creative chaos keep the trio's spirits high.

Kang Buk-gu (Choi Si-won): The charming TV producer and honorary fourth wheel who crashes their drinking sessions, bringing his own mix of professional savvy and boyish charm to the mix.

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Had its intriguing moments but it failed to balance between mysterious and confusing

My rating is 7.5/10

I went into The Trunk super excited because some of my favorite reviewers were raving about it, calling it a gripping psychological thriller with a unique contract marriage twist. As someone with a psychology degree, I was pumped for a deep dive into complex characters and mind games, and I do love a good K-drama that mixes romance with suspense. Did it deliver? Sort of, but it wasn't as great as I expected from other reviews.

The acting is amazing of course—Gong Yoo brings this raw, broken energy to a guy who’s a total mess, and Seo Hyun-jin nails the guarded, emotionally scarred vibe of her character. The visuals are stunning, with a cold, moody aesthetic that fits the psychological tone perfectly. The house was "creepy" just in how dark it was and with the unusual architectural features such as the staircase and huge chandelier.  The story revolves around a shady marriage agency called NM that sets up one-year contract marriages, and things get intriguing when a mysterious trunk shows up, hinting at dark secrets.

I guess if you’re into slow-burn dramas that unpack trauma, manipulation, and messy relationships, you might like this.  But fair warning—it moves slowly. Like, “I need another coffee to stay awake” slow at times. The mystery starts strong but fizzles out toward the end, and the resolution left me feeling meh. As an empath, I found it emotionally draining because every character is so damaged, and there’s no feel-good payoff to lift you up. The romance is there, but it’s not the swoony kind—it’s heavy, complicated, and sometimes frustrating.

I’d recommend The Trunk if you love psychological thrillers and don’t mind a heavy, introspective vibe with flawed characters. But if you’re looking for something light, romantic, or action-packed, you might want to skip this one. It’s not a show I’d rewatch—it was tedious in parts, and I had to push through to finish it. Still, it’s got enough intrigue and stellar performances to make it worth a shot for the right viewer. If you’re torn, maybe watch the first episode and see if the vibe hooks you. There are tons of other K-dramas out there, so it depends on whether you’re in the mood for something this intense.

Why a relatively low rating of 7.5/10 for me. You will see very few that I review that I rate that low simply because I research the shows I watch up front and try to only watch those that others have liked at least an 8 or above by most reviewers. But, occasionally one like this will slip through and my opnion will depart from my stand by sources.  The acting and aesthetics are fantastic, and the premise is intriguing, but the slow pace, unsatisfying ending, and lack of emotional payoff dock some points. It’s good, but not great in my opinion. There is a fine balance between making something mysterious and making it confusing. I felt like that balance was not well maintained and I was confused a lot and some of those confusing points were never resolved. 

Spoilers

As a psych grad, I was analyzing everyone’s behavior like crazy, and boy, did this show give me a lot to chew on.

The Ex-Wife’s Toxic Manipulation was a huge flag for a mental disorder. From the beginning, I clocked Lee Seo-yeon as bad news. To me, she screams borderline personality disorder with narcissistic tendencies. Her whole scheme—setting up her ex-husband, Han Jeong-won (Gong Yoo), in a contract marriage with Noh In-ji (Seo Hyun-jin) while she pairs up with a younger guy, Yun Ji-oh (Jo I-geon), supposedly to “test” Jeong-won so they can reunite—is straight-up psychological torture. She knew it would be emotionally painful for him and was getting great enjoyment out of his suffering. She thrives on control and attention, and it’s clear she’s stringing Jeong-won along because she can’t stand him moving on. Her character is chillingly manipulative, and Jung Yun-ha plays her with this unsettling mix of charm and menace. 

The reveal about Seo-yeon’s past further consolidated my thought that she was classic personality disorder. The fact that she walked into traffic while eight months pregnant, losing her unborn child, was a desperate bid to keep the spotlight on herself when Jeong-won’s attention shifted to the baby.  And she did it when she was supposed to meet him so she had to know he saw the full accident she created. Then she drugged him and installed cameras to spy on him, knowing his trauma would make that unbearable. Those types of actions are next-level cruel. Which was why I was so disappointed when Jeong-won apologized to her at the end—like, what? She murdered their baby and traumatized him, and he’s sorry? That told me he really did not get who she really was at all. Her suicide attempt when she realized he wasn’t coming back was textbook BPD—when control slips, you pull a drastic move to reclaim it. I wanted someone to call her out harder, and while In-ji had some great moments telling her off, it wasn’t enough when Jeon-won's apology pretty much reversed any censure of her behavior she received to that point by apologizing as if he had committed the greater wrongs. Wanted away from someone with BPD is not wrong. He was escaping with the drugs she pushed on him long before he lucked out and she pushed him away. 

The Main Couple’s romance was frustrating (Han Jeong-won and Noh In-ji).  I was rooting for Jeong-won and In-ji to heal each other, but their story left me conflicted. Gong Yoo’s Jeong-won in the begging of the series, is a drug-addicted, anxiety-riddled mess, haunted by his toxic marriage to Seo-yeon. His stockholm syndrome, where he is begging her to come back to him, is just a factor of the unhealthy co-dependence she had carefully fostered. As someone who was abused in the past, he was fertile ground for another abuser and his ex-wife more than fit that bill. He’s so broken that you can’t help but feel for him, and Gong Yoo’s performance is heartbreaking. In-ji, played by Seo Hyun-jin, is a contract wife at NM who’s supposed to be detached but starts catching feelings. Their chemistry is undeniable, and the slow-burn moments where they start to open up—like In-ji creating a cozy home for Jeong-won—are beautiful. But In-ji’s emotional walls drove me nuts. She’s giving and caring on the surface, but when it comes to truly opening up, she pulls back, which felt selfish to me. 

In-ji's backstory was such a letdown. We finally learn her fiancé, Seo Do-ha (Hong Woo-jin), left her five years ago, calling her selfish, but the show never explains why. What did she do that was so bad he vanished without a trace? She clings to his old apartment, which is weirdly obsessive, but the show doesn’t connect the dots. It’s like they wanted her to have this deep, tragic past to justify her contract marriage gig, but it didn’t land. The trauma of being abandoned didn’t seem intense enough to explain her emotional isolation or why she’d choose a job where she stays detached. I kept waiting for a bigger reveal, but it never came, and that vagueness made her arc feel incomplete. And it made her seem selfish, as her ex had accused her of. 

Their ending was the biggest disappointment. After all the drama, In-ji ends the marriage, saying it’s for the best, even though they clearly love each other. It hints that she does it to protect him from her stalker but since it doesn't really protect him anyway it is clear she does it for herself. Jeong-won suggests they give it another shot if they meet by chance twice—and the show ends with them having one random encounter. Really? After everything, you’re leaving it to some rom-com “fate” nonsense? It felt like a cop-out, especially since In-ji’s refusal to fully commit seemed rooted in her own insecurities rather than anything logical. I wanted her to be the heroine who saves Jeong-won emotionally, but her own damage held her back, and the fact that the damage didn't stem from something that made sense, made that frustrating. 

The side couple just added some pointless drama and slowed the plot down even further (Yun-a and Hyeon-cheol). Jeong-won’s friend and his wife could have been a cute heart warming story of a young couple struggling to raise their kids. But, what was wrong with her? She said several times she didn't want her husband or her kids. Post partum depression? I mean her kids were a little old for that but it is possible. But didn't we have enough mental illness to weed through already? Their subplot about her wanting a divorce because she “doesn’t want kids” and needs her “identity” felt so forced. It came off as this weird, stereotypical “modern woman” trope that didn’t add anything to the main story. Yun-a seemed selfish and disconnected, and their drama felt like filler. I kept wondering why this couple was even in the show—it didn’t tie into the trunk mystery or the main romance and just bogged down the pace.

And speaking of the titular trunk I thought it was going to be some huge deal. I mean it is in the title after all. And they way played it up as being expensive and rate. Gotta be something hugely profound about it right? Nope. It had me hooked at first—who owns it? What’s inside? But the mystery fizzles out. There are two trunks: In-ji’s, with her marriage contract and NM manual, and Seo-yeon’s, with baby clothes and toys for her lost child. A creepy ex-NM employee, Eom Tae-seong (Kim Dong-won), steals Seo-yeon’s trunk thinking it’s In-ji’s, hoping to expose NM and ruin In-ji’s marriage. Lots of suspense around him being able to open it or not and it was associated with the mysterious deceased body in the beginning. But it turns into a big nothing burger. They literally were using it like a mobile safe. That's it. No dead bodies. No huge secreats. Just some baby clothes and some paperwork. 

The big twist? The whole thing practically was built on a who dunnit with the trunk, the police taped off scene, the water (and she kayaks) and the viewer spends a lot of the series wondering who the body is and who committed the cirime. Finding out who did it and who the body even was is revealed in quick succession. Tae-seong is killed by Yun Ji-oh, Seo-yeon’s contract husband, who does it because NM asked and because he was the witness to a fellow security guard being murdered by Tae-seong. It’s dramatic but feels rushed and unsatisfying. I mean why him? Our only association with him to that point was just another man who had some weird fixation with BPD woman. 

The nonlinear timeline, jumping between the contract marriage’s start, sometimes into the future, sometimes into the past is cool for suspense but made the story drag. I got bored in parts, especially when the show lingered on everyone’s misery without moving the plot forward. And I got lost in the sauce a lot of times, get bored and blink and you missed that you just time traveled.

I didn't hate it. Not even sorry I watched it. At least now I know. Because it is talked about quite a bit in drama circles. The harsh, cold visuals and the music set the mood perfectly, reflecting the characters’ trauma. The acting, especially Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun-jin, carries the show—their chemistry is the heart of it. I loved when In-ji confronted Seo-yeon; those scenes were electric, and someone needed to put that woman in her place. But the weak mystery resolution, vague backstories, and lack of a feel-good ending killed the vibe for me. At the end of the series, I felt drained by how broken everyone was—Jeong-won’s pill-popping, In-ji’s emotional withdrawal, Seo-yeon’s manipulation. Jeong-won did predictably get better when he got away from toxic Seo-yeon and In-ji was definitely instrumental in him having the strength to break her stranglehold on him.  But there is no catharsis, no moment where you feel like these people are going to be okay. Better? Some of them were. But okay and ready to move onto happy lives? Is that what the cats and dog were supposed to represent? The tearing down of the house? Well, you appear pretty happy on your own.  Lonely? Maybe. But happy. But there is never an "I miss you moment" with In-ji. She goes and sees his show. I guess that was supposed to be an indicator she was missing him. But don't make us guess. We are at the end. Tell us. Let her cold emotional shell finally crack. I was tired of it at that point.

I wouldn’t rewatch it, and I’d only recommend it to folks who enjoy dissecting damaged characters. There are better K-dramas out there if you want something that is tied together a lot better and is still thrilling but ends on a more uplifting and well wrapped up note

Synopsis

The Trunk is a 2024 South Korean drama with 8, 63 minute episodes. It combines elements of mystery, romance, thriller and with psychological aspects. It’s based on a novel by Kim Ryeo-ryeong.

The story follows Noh In-ji (Seo Hyun-jin), who works for a shady company called NM (New Marriage) that sets up one-year contract marriages. Basically, people pay to have a temporary spouse for whatever reason—maybe they need a partner for show, but sometimes the reason is something weirder. In-ji’s latest “husband” is Han Jeong-won (Gong Yoo), a music producer who’s super depressed and stuck on his ex-wife, Lee Seo-yeon (Jung Yun-ha). Their fake marriage gets messy when a creepy trunk shows up in a lake, hinting at some dark secrets tied to NM. As In-ji and Jeong-won play house, they start to actually care about each other, but their pasts and NM’s sketchy business keep things complicated.

This show’s not your usual fluffy K-drama. It’s intense, with a lot of mind games and emotional baggage, digging into stuff like toxic relationships and figuring out what love even means. The first few episodes can be confusing because it doesn’t explain much upfront—like, why is Jeong-won so hung up on his ex? What’s NM really about? But if you hang in there, it starts to come together and gets super addictive. I’m watching it with my daughter, and it’s been a bit much for her because it’s so twisty, but I think it’s worth sticking with for the romance and the mystery. If you like shows that make you think and keep you guessing, give The Trunk a shot. Just know it’s got some heavy themes and a couple of steamy scenes, so maybe not the best for those that like Asian content because it tends to shy away from overtly sexual scenes.

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The "passionately" part of the title is a bit of a misnomer

Review

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a solid, typical modern Chinese romance. I would recommend it to romance fans and would be willing to watch it again if it was on. It is predictable except for the main female character. She is very strong and autonomous. He is considered so handsome he literally has his pick of women. She is also very beautiful and has many admirers. And he hasn't shown much interest in romance until he runs into this woman who seems more interested in getting closer to his mother than to him. They are both so alike and so different at the same time it is easy to see how it works. He is more of the emotional one and she is the take it or leave it more carefree seeming type.

Some reviewers have criticized that there are not very good kissing scenes. While you don't get the close up of them actually kissing and it more often cuts away or shows it from an angle where it could easily be faked, I found that they had great chemistry, and they showed enough it was obvious they were kissing. But if you want zoom in details then you might be disappointed. I don't think the actress or actor had some kind of no kiss policy as several have speculated. I just don't think they saw the need to zero in to that degree. Which was fine by me but others that like the more intimate scenes might find it lacking.

Spoilers

A criticism many have of the series is, despite the title (passionately in love) the scenes where they are physically close either cut away or fall short of any display of passion. It is hinted at. They might even talk about "the kiss" after but there are no true kiss scenes. Which makes it hard to convey the passionately part. I thought it was a good romance and there was enough for me in that regard but if you are going to title something "passionately" then it really should show some passion. So, I get why other reviewers had that perspective.

I thoroughly enjoyed how fascinated he was with her for the simple fact that she did not fall all over herself for him. He was so unused to that, the anomaly alone had him hooked. But, I did get the sense she blew hot and cold as did he at times. They had the volatile temperament that only very young lovers might have. It could be frustrating at times, as one or the other drifted for no meaningful reason, but it was more real that way.

I mean what teenage boy is not going to be interested in a girl that calls a guy out talking smack about you, challenges him to a race, and wins. Forces him to apologize for saying all kinds of mean boy things. She races a motorcycle. That has to be some teenage boy's fantasy. But, beyond that, she provided the emotional security and sense of home he so desperately needed.

I was disappointed he did not ever reconcile with his biological father. His dad was wrong to turn his mother away, but he had spent a lifetime making up for it and regretting. He was very humble, took all the blame, and apologetic. He didn't know what had happened to his son and he was in an accident after all. I have seen characters forgive a parent for much more egregious behavior. So, that was a little disappointing that storyline did not play out to a more satisfactory conclusion.

Scroll down for a unique synopsis

Synopsis

This is a 2025 Chinese Romance drama with 24, 45-minute episodes

Chen Lu Zhou (Anyu Wang) was adopted by a wealthy family and feels like he can never say no. He strives to be the perfect son and never disappoint his adopted parents, particularly his mother. There has not been many occasions when he has wanted anything from himself. Exceptionally handsome, girls have always chased him but he has never found anyone that had attributes that held his interest. That is until he met Xu Zhi (Liu Haocun) who is beautiful, smart and does not seem particularly interested in him. Xu Zhi meets Lu Zhou knowing he is soon to go abroad so does not take the relationship seriously. But as the two continue to interact and Lu Zhou realizes that not only is the girl smart, she is one of the top scorers. Her beauty and brains are very attractive to him but it is also her uniqueness. Not only is she unlike any other girl he has known, she races motorcycles. The two must navigate their promising futures, elders expectations, and their own hesitancy on a winding path of love.



#BePassionatelyInLove #LiuHaocun #AnyuWang

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A mashed up mess of a script. Could not decide what it wanted to be.

Review

7/10 is my rating. If you can overlook the slapstick humor in the first half you might like it. To me this is one where the first half and second half are significantly different. I liked it but didn't love it. Would recommend it for die hard romance fans. It is a bit different. I might watch it if someone had it on but will not ever likely seek it out to watch again. Their chemistry was just okay. Awkward I thought at times.

Spoilers

It had too disorganized of a script for me. I know it was because they tried to make it so comedic, but in ways that didn't make sense, it disrupted the flow of the story.

I thought most of the characters were weird. To me something like potato research is serious business but they trivialized it and poked fun a lot. I like series where I learn something about an industry or whatever and this danced all around the actual research. It was frustrating.

Seriously I don't know many people that would continue to like someone that took part in completely destroying you once and then actively firing you a second time. Him firing her made no sense as he should have been able to tell she was the glue that held the whole thing together. He finally realized that when it was too late.

Him quitting his job made zero sense. Maybe shifting what you did but with everything he invested in that work, quitting was totally out of the character they had built.

Her bestie was weird bordering on creepy. And I just felt sorry for the brother. She was abusive to him. It went beyond sibling harassment to bullying. He was afraid of her.



SCROLL DOWN FOR A UNIQUE SYNOPSIS



Synopsis

This is a 2025 South Korean Romantic Comedy with 12, 70ish minute episodes

Kim Mi-kyung (Lee Sun-bin) is develop new potato varieties aimed at solving grower issues. Mi-kyung is potato obsessed and even developed a new breed she plans to name after herself. Things are shaken up at the rural company when big city Wonhan Retail, a food conglomerate threatens take-over and the end of research. Which sets the stage for her conflict with So Baek-ho (Kang Tae-oh), a Director for Wonhan Retail, who becomes the interim leader of the Potato Research Institute. He has a reputation of being a cold, cut-throat executive which is thinly veiled by his handsome exterior. Sparks fly at work as the the passionate researcher and cold executive battle over the future over the potato research team. A Strange coincidence occurs when Baek-ho books Mi-kyung's guest house setting them at odds both at work and at home. As the two live near and work with each other they begin to see new compelling sides to each other. Romantic tension rises when a previous boyfriend emerges, Park Ki-se (Lee Hak-joo), who regrets his past decision which broke Mi-kyung's heart and caused her to be romantically cautious. As a multitude of events occur in and around the potato research facility, some of them quite humorous, the cold executive softens and becomes the perfect balance for Mi-kyungs erratic ways. Two people who find love amidst the background of the commercial potato industry.

#ThePotatoLab #LeeHakJoo #LeeSunBin #KangTaeOh

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Builds almost too slow for my tase, but the latter half of the series is worth it

9/10 is my rating. What I have found with a lot of the more recent Chinese romantic series is there is a slow build. A long period of time where one or the other main characters is frustrating. Where you are like "come on you know you like them." And that was this one for me. It was very good. Once all the initial was past and the viewer was able to understand why one of the characters was being so frustrating. That was me also in First Frost. To provide context. I think they pace is very similar to that. I think that is the difference in reviews. If you want things to start evolving immediately versus a slower evolution of the relationship. I would watch it again some time in the future. I would recommend it to romance fans. And would sit down and watch it if someone had it on. They had a lot of chemistry and there are few pancake kisses in this one. In fact, I think somewhere this one was rated as one where there is a lot of kissing and that is true.


Spoilers


My biggest complaint was simply her absolute insistence on studying abroad. It was never clear how that would be such a huge gain in her life to sacrifice relationships. Her ex was just an absolute jerk. So, him not wanting to go was just for his own selfish reasons. But she was also selfish at times in her laser focus on study abroad.



I think only the main guy would have had patience for her. She blew so hot and cold. I was frustrated when she decided it was for the best they didn't get involved romantically because she was going abroad. One of my least favorite tropes. Doing it for our own good. Made no sense she did it to avoid heart break but completely broke his heart in the process. That is what made it seem so selfish.

If I had known earlier in the series what an absolute nightmare her ex was I would have felt less frustrated with her and her sometimes cold attitude toward main guy. It made more sense once I realized that yes, they had a seemingly good relationship in college but he turned into a selfish, entitled jerk once they were in a relationship. He totally ignored her emotional needs by ghosting her. Then he comes back and wants to get back together? After he did whatever it was he wanted? And she also knew the father-in-law would be a problem. Wisest thing she did was not take him back. Not even consider it. He was a special kind of A*$hole and those kind are best left alone.


For a unique synopsis, please scroll down.



Synopsis

Shen Xi Fan (Xu Rue Han) is a hard working hotel manager who has been in a seven year relationship with her College love, Yan Heng (Caesar Wu), Xi Fan and Yang Heng are engaged but she has found that has he has changed over the years becoming very cold and distant. While she had thoughts of breaking it off, she decided to make her relationship work but then Yan Heng broke it off with her suddenly. The stress of the relationship caused Xi Fan to become insomniac leading her to the Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic where she meets Dr. He (Zhang Ling He) a very handsome TCM doctor. He is over 30 and experiencing great social pressure to find "the one" and get married. While there is no shortage of eligible women, and mothers and fathers alike try to get him to date their daughters, sister and friends Dr. He shows no interest in romance until he falls for Xi Fan almost on sight. While he works with her to alleviate her insomnia, the two grow ever closer. After some time passes, Xi Fan realizes that her fiancé breaking up with her after seven years may not have been the worst thing after all. It may have opened her life up to experiencing the best thing.

This is a 2025 Chinese romance drama with 28, ~42 minute episodes. It is adapted from Sheng Li's novel entitled "Loving You is the Best Thing I Have Done."

#TheBestThing #XuRueHan #CaesarWu #ZhangLingHe

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I wanted more romance. It tap,danced around

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2022 South Korean workplace romance drama with 16, 62-76 minute episodes.

First, I provide a unique synopsis then review. I provide the synopsis because I find, when I’m looking for a show to watch, some of the synopses do not describe the series very well. So, unique synopsis is intended to provide another perspective. If you aren’t interested in the synopsis scroll down, the review is labeled.

Synopsis

On Ma-eum (Kim Se-jeong) is ready to move on to other opportunities after being injured during her quest toward Olympic glory in Judo. When Ma-eum decides to chart another path pursuing her dream job as a webtoon editor, she must hide it from her Judo coach father On Gi-bong (Ko Chang-seok). Ma-eum’s father thought they were just waiting for the injury to heal so she could get back to Judo. Having put all of of her energy into getting the job of her dreams she is not about to return to Judi which had taken such a tremendous toll on her body. But Ma-eum is facing a tremendous challenge as a webtoon editor as she doesn’t have traditional qualifications. But the determined young woman is not about to give up on her dream that easy. Her career in Webtoon creation could be short-lived though because the branch she works for is part of a larger company that is about to eliminate the webtoon platform as it is losing money. She got her chance because the leader of the branch took a liking to Ma-eum when she worked security and was willing to take a chance on her as a trainee web editor. So it is unlikely if this branch goes down that she could get another job with another webtoon company. But, when she first starts out, the fact that Ma-eun is a super fan of webtoons means she has to scale herself back from fan girling on all of the clients/authors they work with. Her over enthusiasm at first causes her mentor, Seok Ji-hyung (Choi Daniel) to scold her to be more professional and leave her own interest out of her interactions. But what seems to be a weakness at first turns out to be a strength in that she understands the authors on a deeper level. In fact, Ma-eun’s particular fan girl mojo just might be what was needed to help save the webtoon branch. Ma-eun’s wins over all the other project managers and editors with her magnanimous, personality, and boundless energy. Goo Jun-yeong (Nam Yoon-su) was hired at the same time as Ma-eum with outstanding credentials and at first cannot understand how Ma-eun is so successful while he is struggling. That is until he himself starts to fall for her charms. Can one outstanding employee save the drowning webtoon branch? Will the two opposite in personality newbies find the other half in each other?

Review

I enjoyed this start to finish even though it was not fully what I expected. I thought it would be more focused on the romance with the Webtoon platform as a backdrop, but it is actually the other way around. In terms of slice of life, it does an above average job of that. You get a deep look at how Webtoon platforms identify, support, develop and manage the artists they work with. But, if you are after a romance, you will get some of it with this but not for those of us that want the happily ever after full suite. There is a love triangle. Lots of romantic tension. But I see where other reviewers said it is like they left it open for a second season on some of those plot points. I am glad I watched it, feel like I know more about the making of the sausage with Webtoons and would recommend it to others. I might watch it again but only if someone else had it on.

Spoilers

I liked learning more about the rigors in the Webtoon world. The artists do really become slaves to their art and are producing a product. My daughter is an award-winning artist and had dabbled with online comics. She had a lot of interest in her work, so I asked her why she did not more actively pursue that to make money. I thought she could enter some contests and see if she could get signed or whatever. She told me that it is basically an artist mill. That it becomes miserable for the artists. This helped me to see a little more what she was talking about. I could see where the art would lose its joy.

I know it's a cultural, but it really bothered me that that the other newbie, Jun-yeong blamed all of the long timer Webtoon colleagues at NEON for his sister's accidental death. Yes, they let her go when she was a contractor but when a business is basically ready to go bankrupt or get bought out, contract positions are always the first to go. They did not do anything unusual. The loose association was she was out on the road early because she no longer had the Webtoon job, but it is not fair to blame others for that accident. So, that was a little frustrating. But I find it to be frequent in Korean dramas so there must be something to that indirect blame.

They danced around the romance so much, as someone who is in need of romance, I found it frustrating. She seemed to have a lot of romantic tension with the Senior Editor (her superior). I am glad they did not go that route because there felt like a huge age gap just in terms of where they were at maturity wise in the scheme of life. But, he definitely liked her like that and wound up letting go when he realized how much PD Goo liked her and that she seemed to like him back (even though she was not admitting it to herself). Which is why the soft ending with them was so frustrating. He finally confessed and she is thinking about it and they just leave it there. It was a very soft, unfinished ending to their story.

There was also the assistant web artist who really was very good and with some guidance could likely have made it. But he quit after ten years, is still around helping everyone out, but they don't do anything to advance him. I was disappointed we didn't get to see him finally make it. He said he had another dream, but we didn't even get to know what that was.



#TodaysWebtoon #KimJeSeong #ChoiDaniel #KoChangSeok #NamYoonSu

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