I really like LJS but he definitely doesn't have natural facial features. I think W is strongest in the first half, but that doesn't mean it gets significantly worse. It gets a bit rushed and a little confusing but I think it's still a solid watch. That said, if you didn't like While You Were Sleeping and other stuff with LJS, and didn't even care for W much up to this point, then it may not be your cup of tea. 🤷♀️ While You Were Sleeping (after 200 dramas, mostly Kdramas but some Cdramas now) is still my Number One. It's almost perfect (in my opinion). But I enjoy everything by that screenwriter; her writing is my favorite Kdrama writing style.
He played that one sweet character and has been beating people up in dramas ever since 😆
I think Study Group feels a bit like Weak Hero, but this is much more lighthearted. The tone of Weak Hero feels more hopeless, like the main characters are fighting against a broken system and broken people that will never be fixed. I found the overall message kind of demoralizing.
Study Group is much perkier in tone to me (and is more over-the-top; what I like about how they did the "over-the-top" part is that we know it's exaggerated and the story doesn't take itself too seriously; the fighting was almost equally unrealistic in Weak Hero but not in the same way, so it felt like it took itself TOO seriously, like it was saying "this depressing, brutal violence in school is normal," and just everyday high school awfulness (um, it's not; it might happen in some places, but it's not NORMAL, not for the setting it's portrayed in)).
Those are the differences for me that make me prefer Study Group. 😏
Cute. A bit slow in the middle, but the beginning and end were sweet. I have a few gripes and nitpicks (e.g. the adult MLs in modern Cdramas I've seen tend to be more sexually aggressive than I appreciate (e.g. Is your girlfriend an object who "meets your needs" or a person? Must we reduce "being in love" to this? 🤨) with the FLs being very passive sexually; modern Cdramas I've seen so far also often have a not-so-subtle message that always feels borderline propoganda-y: "China is great! Isn't China great? Did I mention China is great?"), but overall it was relaxing and enjoyable, and Dilraba was adorable in this. I liked that their careers ended up working perfectly for each other, and I appreciated the way they supported one another without demanding that one of them give way to the other in their career goals.
Their dynamic was particularly great once they got together because they're both so feisty and miechievous. Their flirting scenes are quite entertaining. 😏
So yeah, this drama is essentially reverse La La Land (as far as the message goes). 😋 And it's much more my cup of tea as a message, too, even if it is unlikely to work out this way for most (okay, not even most, just anyone 😅). You'll never get a gorgeous aerospace engineer who ends up with a sweet, beautiful actress with a heart of gold. But it's entertaining fiction to watch! 😉
Oh my gosh, this sounds like a movie plot all by itself. 😅 But really, who doesn't know that people working in high profile positions in the film industry are notoriously shady? Just because Asia hides a lot of the directora/actors' controversial behavior unlike in the U.S., it doesn't mean it's not happening, it's just that we don't always see it/know about it. People get all in a tizzy about this scandal stuff, but I continue to get puzzled by the disappointment and outrage. Why is this shocking? Are people living under rocks? 😅
Apart from the horse tripping in ep 1, I am enjoying this more than I thought I would. I cracked up at the introduction…
Yes, they do NOT treat horses properly in Cdramas, and it's across the board. Honestly, it makes me wonder how they treat their actors, too. Are their labors laws for actors behind the rest of the developed world's laws like their animal cruelty in film laws are behind? It does make me wonder...
Yu Tu: "I need to quit my life-long passion for "the galaxy" and move into boring, lucrative finance since I don't make enough money to support my parents financially as they age."
Also Yu Tu: "I will dish out half my monthly salary to protect my new girlfriend's image that might have leaked ONE TIME and to keep our relationship a secret."
I'm just starting this but I have to say... How could it gone so wrong if he studied so hard but even though he…
I think it's hilarious, because he's very caricatured (that montage about his rankings at the beginning paired with the music in Episode 1 had me cackling). The emphasis for our focus is on his dogged determination, not on the fact that he never improves (that's for us to get a kick out of as it's played for laughs). 😉
I don't think it's supposed to be super serious, either. He's a cartoon; a product of webtoon fiction and he just cannot be replicated in the real world.
Right? It's weird to think about, but the ability to code switch actually has a lot more to do with upbringing and privilege than I would have thought. 🤔 That realization kind of makes me sad! 😳
They had to for that Netflix money, you didn't hear it from me tho
Ah, I see! I guess what I meant was that because it aired on TVN and wasn't directly made by/for Netflix to be streamed there exclusively (like The Trunk or My Name, for instance), it would still be subject to censorship as it would air on a Korean network, while Netflix originals are not.
I notice the censored dramas tend to feel more like traditional Kdramas (in general, more wholesome, unrealistic or idealistic), and uncensored dramas feel more like western TV shows but which are set in Korea with Korean actors and a 12 to 16 Episode format that mimics the Kdrama. Even dramas released by Korean OTT platforms tend to feel more traditional (e.g. Study Group) than what Western companies produce (Netflix, Disney +, Hulu, Amazon), in general (and from my limited experience).
This drama feels like a Kdrama to me more than a Netflix original, minus that part in the first three episodes. That said, traditional dramas aired on Korean networks (e.g. like Itaewon Class, Search: WWW) will periodically get preachy about social justice issues/talking points so some Kdramas do get more political and preachy periodically or lean into content that rarely shows up in traditional dramas but is much more common in a Netflix original (i.e. explicit sex scenes, morally grey MLs, embracing controversial takes on hot button social issues, etc.).
That said, Kdramas are getting quite big globally, so I think the meaning of "Kdrama" is certainly expanding. It makes me a tad bit sad, and it also means I have to do better research than previously before I start a drama because I can't predict what I'll see most of the time anymore, unlike a few years ago. I love the formulaic nature of the Kdrama (which I think is slowly going away, sadly!).
Seriously, I can't believe this is Lee Jong Hyun's first kdrama. He plays better than everyone else borderline…
And he has a nice voice, too; it's easy on the ears, and he doesn't have just one expression like a lot of idol actors tend to have. 😅 Dare I say he has even more nuance in his facial expressions than Mi Hyun? 😬 (Will people murder for that? 😅)
I'M NOT A FAN OF slapstick comedy, but I'm enjoying the kind of comedy they've put into this kdrama, maybe it's…
True, love the lighter tone of this compared to WKC1. It's what I was missing, along with some actually responsible adults/police in this one.
WHC1 had this dark tone which gave it that grittiness usually associated with realism in movies/TV, but to me that made it more unrealistic; so much was going down, SERIOUS stuff, and no one seemed to care about it.
K-Drama 
Study Group is much perkier in tone to me (and is more over-the-top; what I like about how they did the "over-the-top" part is that we know it's exaggerated and the story doesn't take itself too seriously; the fighting was almost equally unrealistic in Weak Hero but not in the same way, so it felt like it took itself TOO seriously, like it was saying "this depressing, brutal violence in school is normal," and just everyday high school awfulness (um, it's not; it might happen in some places, but it's not NORMAL, not for the setting it's portrayed in)).
Those are the differences for me that make me prefer Study Group. 😏
Their dynamic was particularly great once they got together because they're both so feisty and miechievous. Their flirting scenes are quite entertaining. 😏
So yeah, this drama is essentially reverse La La Land (as far as the message goes). 😋 And it's much more my cup of tea as a message, too, even if it is unlikely to work out this way for most (okay, not even most, just anyone 😅). You'll never get a gorgeous aerospace engineer who ends up with a sweet, beautiful actress with a heart of gold. But it's entertaining fiction to watch! 😉
Also, I think this drama has 15-20 minutes worth of footage of artsy Shanghai cityscape. 😂
Also Yu Tu: "I will dish out half my monthly salary to protect my new girlfriend's image that might have leaked ONE TIME and to keep our relationship a secret."
😂😂😂
Love really does put things in a new light. 😉
I don't think it's supposed to be super serious, either. He's a cartoon; a product of webtoon fiction and he just cannot be replicated in the real world.
I notice the censored dramas tend to feel more like traditional Kdramas (in general, more wholesome, unrealistic or idealistic), and uncensored dramas feel more like western TV shows but which are set in Korea with Korean actors and a 12 to 16 Episode format that mimics the Kdrama. Even dramas released by Korean OTT platforms tend to feel more traditional (e.g. Study Group) than what Western companies produce (Netflix, Disney +, Hulu, Amazon), in general (and from my limited experience).
This drama feels like a Kdrama to me more than a Netflix original, minus that part in the first three episodes. That said, traditional dramas aired on Korean networks (e.g. like Itaewon Class, Search: WWW) will periodically get preachy about social justice issues/talking points so some Kdramas do get more political and preachy periodically or lean into content that rarely shows up in traditional dramas but is much more common in a Netflix original (i.e. explicit sex scenes, morally grey MLs, embracing controversial takes on hot button social issues, etc.).
That said, Kdramas are getting quite big globally, so I think the meaning of "Kdrama" is certainly expanding. It makes me a tad bit sad, and it also means I have to do better research than previously before I start a drama because I can't predict what I'll see most of the time anymore, unlike a few years ago. I love the formulaic nature of the Kdrama (which I think is slowly going away, sadly!).
WHC1 had this dark tone which gave it that grittiness usually associated with realism in movies/TV, but to me that made it more unrealistic; so much was going down, SERIOUS stuff, and no one seemed to care about it.