O-Ring

I cannot agree more... Also the mom is an interesting character. Normally I would hate people that are as loud as her, but I really like her. She has a heart of gold

I don't think they stretched the relationship between YJ and DH. It makes it more realistic. A relationship always has its ups and downs and goes back and forth. It would be less impactful if they broke it off too quickly. Let's be honest, if YJ and DH broke it off immediately, YJ's mom would not humiliate DH's parents. To me, the humiliation makes this show much deeper than your average Touch Your Heart-kind of romcom.

I do think that the puppy-guy should go... He was nice as a second option for SB, if DH would stay with his current girlfriend... But now he is in the way... His storyline can turn in one big drag

I also find him gullible and weak, but in reality DH is not. He is caring and nice. It is just that our society is getting harsher every day. It made this type of personality rare and people such as YJ more common. Nowadays we consider people that are cold and arrogant strong, but in the past we would call them dickheads.

I might have confused you with someone else. But weren't you a critic of the show? Can we carefully say we have a convert? Would be cool if even critics are slowly swaying :-)

Being nice, understanding and a genuinely good chap suits everyone. I rather have more of these kinds of characters than the traditional chaebol, superhero with awesome looks and a Phd in Mathematics from Seoul National University in kdrama.

Unpopular opinion, but this script is very solid. It needed some time to find its footing, but I like the way it is going. Episode 10 is very well-acted, deep and emotional. It is interesting to see the character development of Saet-Byul. She used to be a girl that was violent and had no boundaries, but you can see what having a "family" that cares can do to someone. In my opinion, we were all too early to judge her. She was like that because she was neglected by society.

I think a lot of us figured that out, but what surprises me more, is that you actually rewatched the first episode. You are a true warrior...

Regarding Somi: https://www.quora.com/Why-don-t-a-lot-of-people-like-Somi

People do not like her, because she is an average dancer and singer with a huge attitude problem (shading JYP and Itzy). I do not really follow her, so I do not know whether it is true. But I did notice that she is quite rude and competitive in variety shows. She is more Dutch than Korean

Might be, but believe me that Somi will not hit it big as she did with IOI. She is actually a bit of a has-been since she joined the Black Label. Her star is definitely fading. Her song "Birthday" was a huge flop. Somi, quite honestly, had a promising start, but has been stagnating for quite a while. Itzy, her peers at JYP, all have passed her.

Oh yeah, I think you mentioned the FL of BOF and call her talented as an actress. But in reality she is considered to be one of the worst actresses in Korea. Ironically, her ex-husband shares the same title, but for the male category

Fun fact, Constance Wu and Son Ye Jin are only one month apart. They are the same age.

Perhaps I am too snobbish and I have inherited too much of the bad traits of the Koreans. I see a clear hierarchy between movie actors-> drama actors -> idols. I find it sacrilegious to compare an acting legend such as Lee Byung Hun with LMH, who still begs his fans for birthday presents, or even idols.

But popularity is overrated. Suzy is most likely also more popular than Kim Hye-soo, but no one dares to compare the two. And still we are here trying to do the same with LBH, LMH and JCW.

But ScarJo is a proper A-lister. She can't act, but she hella famous. Also Morgan Freeman was in there as well... So let's say Choi Min Shik was not the only who got duped.

However, this case is different. I am not sure who is carrying who in this movie. Is Sam Worthington helping Son Ye-jin become more famous in Hollywood or is Son Ye-jin helping Sammy-boy become more famous in Korea/Asia? I am inclined to say the latter. So why would Son Ye-jin waste her star power to help a nobody become famous in Asia? It is also insulting, because he plays the White hero saving the docile Asian female. Why would Son Ye-jin want to contribute to negative stereotyping of Asian people? Look if SYJ and LSK will be the main leads and Sam a supporting actor, then I would welcome the movie. Or if Brad Pitt was the main, then I can live with it. After all, it is Brad Pitt... He is most of the time the center of attention in a movie...

SYJ and LSK should not play second fiddle to Sam Worthington after their success from CLOY and Parasite. And if they play second fiddle, it should be to a proper A-lister.

I understand you are a big fan of KSH, LMH and JCW, but they are really no comparison to LBH. First of all, LBH's longevity in the industry stretches three decades. I am not sure whether KSH, LMH and JCW will still be popular at 50 years old.

LBH has been in so many scandals (the worst kind of scandals... just Google them for fun), but he is still standing strong. If one of the three younger actors would be hit by even one of LBH's scandals, they will be cancelled in the industry.

LBH has top-CFs and is successful in movies and kdrama. He is relatively known in the US and a member of the voting committee of the Oscars. He has multiple top acting awards in Korea. LBH has never bombed a movie or a drama... Whilst the others have. I really do not think that one of the young lads can compare to him.

He is also the owner of BH Entertainment (BH stands for Byung Hun), which has stars such as Han Ga In, Han Hyo Joo, Han Ji Min, Yoo Ji Tae, Kim Go Eun, Park Bo Young and Go Soo under contract. He will also produce the Korean remake of Casa de Papel. His new drama "Here" has so much star power... it is unbelievable. As producer you need to have so much faith in him to break the bank on so many stars.

To give you an idea of his star power. He was in two movies in Korea simultaneously in 2020: Ashfall and The Man Standing Next. Both had more than 4 million tickets sold. Ashfall made 60 million USD and The Man Standing Next made 33 million USD in box office. With all due respect, do you think that KSH made almost 100 million USD with It's Okay Not To Be Okay? -Don't think so... Also the production budgets of these movies are huge. Ashfall had a budget of 18 million for 128 minutes. In comparison, TKEM costs about 25 million for 16 hours of footage. In my opinion, you are really underestimating how much more actors can make with a movie than with a drama...

You gotta be real here... Sam Worthington has been in a shitload of movies besides Avatar. He was also in a Terminator-movie with a budget of $200 million and a box office of $371.4 million (relatively big success). He had multiple chances to become an A-lister, but he is still a nugu or known as that guy from Avatar. In Korea, they thought that SYJ was starring in a movie with Sam Hammington - the dad of Bentley and William in the Return of Superman.

It is an insult to SYJ or LSK and Asian cinema to think that Sam Worthington is worthy (no pun intended) to act next to these legends. It is like asking Gary Oldman or Daniel Day-Lewis (Britain's finest movie actors) to act in movie alongside Infinite L.

KSH is one of the top for kdrama, but I think Lee Byung Hun received more for Mr Sunshine, but he did not mediaplay it. To be fair, the real movie actors such as Jung Woo Sung, Won Bin or Gang Dong Won do not normally star in kdrama. Were they to act in kdrama, they can easily top KSH.

But to put it in perspective, Jang Jin-young (may her soul rest in peace) earned 400 million won per movie... in 2008... I am not sure how long it takes to film a movie, but I do not think it takes longer than a drama. Hwang Jung Min appears in four movies each year on average, which is undoable for a kdrama actor. Back to JJY, she made that amount in 2008. The pay is certainly higher now. Also, JJY is not at the level of Song Kang-ho, Choi Min-shik or Lee Byung-hun, who definitely make more per movie. I think they can easily fetch a million dollars per movie.

In terms of CFs, people like Won Bin or Lee Byung-hun are not far of from KSH. I think WB and LBH might even make more. LBH makes commercials for casinos such as Paradise City. He must be receiving a shit load of money, because it is quite controversial to be in a casino-CF as Koreans are not allowed to gamble - even for someone such as LBH (who has a lot scandals). But the brand films for Paradise and LBH look sick though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cz6GN9-V74 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAJrOPj9hOI. Blackpink's CF of Paradise is perhaps even better, but you can find those on Youtube yourself haha... I have never seen KSH appear in such a quality CF.

When I watched Secretly Greatly on a movie festival when it came out, I was expecting a comedy because of the poster... I was so wrong... Awesome movie, but definitely not a comedy haha

Movie actors still get more money than drama actors per gig. So why would they bother that they are not recognized outside Korea? Movie actors are also hold in a higher regard.

About Son Ye-jin... I don't know... I liked her much more prior to CLOY. She has been trying too hard to build out her international fame. I have never seen people talk English at the Baeksang award ceremony, so I found her "Thank you so much" aimed at the international audience a bit too try hard/cringe. I also heard that she will appear in a Hollywood-movie with B-actor Sam Worthington. To me that really taints her high class reputation as a movie actress. I see her in such a different light in comparison to for example Jun Ji Hyun. After her biggest success with My Love From Another Star, JJH almost transformed herself in a semi-God like Won Bin. Very selectively appearing in dramas and movies, but all her projects are massive successes... She never compensates, whilst Son Ye-jin is mediaplaying herself about appearing in a B-class Hollywood movie. I read that if she accepts the role that she will play a poor single mother that will be saved by Sam "Nobody" Worthington. If you make the transition to Hollywood, at least be like Bae Doona, Han Hyo Joo or Lee Byung Hun. Star in your own series or act alongside actors such as Bruce Willis.

Funny that you name Park Shin-hye. She has been trying to make her mark in movies for quite a while. She has not appeared in any kdrama since Memories of the Alhambra. It makes me take her more serious as an actress...

Romantic Doctor Kim 2 did for terrestrial. And for cable, only CLOY and TWOTM. IC definitely did not.

I see Kim Won Hae everywhere, but he always play the blandest character. He is my least favorite supporting actor by far. When I see him in a role I know I can expect a "sobby, life-is-too-tough-on-me"-story. So I was surprised to learn that I disliked the adult movie director-couple even more. Both actors are so forgettable and always play the spineless characters that get outsmarted by the bad guys. This show is no different, the couple will have zero added value outside of some cringy comic relief scenes and fall for the bad plans of the evil friend. But I just tried to watch it again, but the next scene in the karaoke-bar was even more cringey and the lights were so flickery that it almost gave me a stroke... haha

I still think that terrestrial dramas on a primetime slot have the overhand. A cable drama with an average budget such as TWOTM (KHA), It's Okay Not To Be Okay (KSH), Itaewon Class (PSJ) only worked with one big star, whilst Hyena (KHS and JJH) and Backstreet Rookie (JCW and KYJ) worked with two. Park Hae Jun, Han So Hee, Seo Ye-Ji and Kim Da-mi were still not established actors when they received the main lead role.

Do you really think that the budget of Backstreet Rookie was much bigger than for example TWOTM or IONTBO? In my opinion, there is still a premium to be in a terrestrial drama on primetime SBS. Cable needs to bring big bucks to lure stars such as they did with Goblin, Mr Sunshine etc., whilst primetime terrestrial dramas can get stars with average scripts and low budgets.