Seeking Joy

"The dying woman trope" makes these two drama similar on paper, BUT... Scent of a Woman is different in the sense that it focuses on the woman's POV... It's NOT the story of how the "dying woman" changes the heart of the MAN in love with her, but how HER life changes after her diagnosis, and she begins to desire for things that she had always ignored or made secondary to her work and filial duties.

An incredibly empathetic and poignant exploration of feelings of people faced with human mortality (including a parent, and a doctor who sees numerous patients fall to the same disease), Scent of a Woman is a unique drama in this genre in that it is more than just a love story of the quintessential "dying woman" (who is often otherwise reduced to a naive or saintly figure meant to "reform" the hero). Kim Sun Ah (one of my favourite K-actresses) as the dying woman is at times, pathetic, cringey, and petulant, but the drama implies that she gets to be all that because she has lived a lot of her life burdening and suppressing herself. So she sets out on a path of self discovery in the limited time given to her, and the very same Kim Sun Ah who made you cringe in episode one will make you cry your heart out by episode two (with a lot more "real" human emotions with the other characters through the series). The love story is maybe the clichéd part of this drama, but it is justifiable as her life long dream of being desired by a man finally coming true.

The Dream Life of Mr. Kim is a much more realistic and empathetic corporate satire revolving around morally grey characters who are stuck in a corrupted system.

A softened devil kind of chaebol slowly heals the emotional traumas of a tragicomical woman who sets out to make a new life for herself in a highly self-aware, hilariously tropey romcom.

- The cut-throat corporate world as a setting.

- The FL is a strong/ athletic/ dominating woman who comes to rely on the ML.

- Two ambitious people who are initially "enemies", fall for each other.

Similarities:
- The ML falls for a strong woman who dislikes him at first.
- The drama is hilarious.

both are:
- Love-hate romances between a clingy but no damsel in distress FL, and an icy on surface but secretly smitten ML.
- Comedies with a lot of heart.

And, both use:
- fantasy elements to highlight real struggles.

In My Sweet Mobster, a CEO/ ex gangster falls for a struggling entertainer. In My Royal Nemesis, a monstrous chaebol falls for a Joseon villainess transported into the body of a struggling actress. Both situations lead to hilarious consequences.

similarities:
- A royal dealing with the modern world
- A headstrong FL who clings to the ML for her own survival.

differences:
- My Royal Nemesis is a modern fantasy that has dialed up the comedy, and shows an enemies to lovers romance between two selfish individuals. For more information, watch the promotional material:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjbvqgbN_-T5PWhq9R4AjI3aYp820Ei-m&si=x0FxtEOe-c_v-Wra

Official English trailer on Netflix:
https://youtu.be/tPAHynPDHbo?si=OvFKyoKcpa-v3O0l

Unmet is a romantic medical drama with a much better focus on the female lead's point of view and the emotions of people with chronic/ terminal illness or disability. Performances are outstanding as it features a mix of talented young actors as well as seasoned actors, who nail both the sentimental as well as moral/ ethical themes of this beautifully crafted drama.

There's not much plot similarity, but the two dramas are closer in terms of their "vibes" (especially with how they combine food and healing, and with the warmth in their "patient stories"). In Unmet, both the episodic stories and the major plotline have been given a more delicate, realistic (and yet, more optimistic) treatment with beautiful storytelling. In my opinion, Unmet is not so much a mystery as it is a human drama/ romance (and a VERY GOOD one at that). I hope this helps anyone interested in watching Unmet with what to expect from it.

The leading ladies of both dramas face forgotten love and abandoned dreams due to their memory loss. Unmet A Neurosurgeon's Diary is a mystery medical drama with female point of view, and it shows FL's journey to recovery more realistically. But the sentiments and angst of the ML are depicted as beautifully. The storytelling has a different approach, but the visual quality is on par with movies.