InspectorMegre

Ok I get it, you want a delusional rosey story :) Or maybe not :) Sometimes such stories are actually true :) Some ppl DO live according to Higher principles. I

I was trying to learn something about Korea and about the background of the Cabagge family.

FYI fairy tales are brutal, actually :) and follow the recipe of good storytelling.... they talk about overcoming the deepest darkest egotisms ... and usually start with the karmic consequence and suffering from it... and then trying to overcome, via so much personal work and transformation ie. intentional suffering. After much struggle and trying, there is a happy end.

A fairy tale, an epic, etc are all metaphors for inner transformation, a powerful spiritual teaching couched in a fun story. Essentially, it is a textbook for a spiritual transformation. Poems by Rumi and Hafiz and others too. Paintings, mandals, objects, ... The topic of sacred art is a huge topic :) But I digress. Let's go back to storytelling.

One example you are probably familiar witih is the story of Beowolf fighting the dragon and then the mother of all dragons. It is really the story of Jesus facing the devil or Jesus on the cross, or Buddha under the boddhi tree, facing their internal evil and transforming into a "higher" aka enlightened human being.

Kdramas are so successful bc they DO follow this pattern of good storytelling. That desire for something Higher is so present in each person and so we the audience resonate with kdramas.
kdramas are going to lose it since they are getting westernized and hwood stories do NOT follow the principles of good storytelling.

So yeah imo what you are craving are high moral and ethical principles lived in daily life, and a higher meaning beyond just the physical survival. You call it "fairy tale" but it is actually a thirst for a contact with the Divine :) which - although it sent us a devil to make sure we exercise our spiritual muscles - is fundamentally just, fair, exemplary. I am not going to call it "good" bc that word is loaded, but in essence, the Divine is "good", without a trace of evil. And a human being is supposed to evolve into that, and it IS possible, with lots of right effort, over long time :) so that is why it is so rare
This is a whole topic in itself, so good luck with it, I wish you to find what you are looking for, bc - when you are looking for stuff like that, it starts looking for you :) f you crave to see high level of integrity in a story, that must be a huge part of you, so I am only half joking when I say you better take it seriosly and start studying fairy tales :) wink wink Enjoy!
FYI Movies Groundhog day, Truman Show, etc even Matrix, etc are all about this. I have a list in my feed :) And sooo many kdramas are about it - My Mister, Plankton, etc I made a custom list of favorites in my profile.

I disagree :) I find them so cozy together like two love birds on a branch, cooing together

Search online, it is global push for super skinny, Holywood is doing it, Europe slightly less, AND IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE STANDARD FOR GAY MEN, their "thin" is always thinner than straight thin. Gay men in San Francisco told me that in 2015s and indeed their legs are like sticks so skinny. And I suspect gay men in fashion pushed that standard onto everyone?
and it started on the fashion runway in 20s, 60s, and then 2000s

But - let's be real - when they are apart and havent seen each other for years - DO you really think they agreed to be celibate all those years... ? That would be a very unrealistic expectation leading to real cheating, hiding, and sneaking around ....
I think it is safe to assume that their relationships leaves it up to their discretion how they spend time apart.
It seems like they function as a team and are really a "married couple" so whatever they did while they were apart - is acceptable to them both.
Yeah to me that is a strange marriage and NOT really a marriage :( but those two decided to call themselves married AND live apart so ... imo the whole setup is doomed from the start - marriage imo by definition means living together by choice
But diferent people have different ideas - here is this essentially separated pair, then there are polygamous, then there are open relationships, not married living together, etc etc etc And here we are, representatives of "living together and hanging out with ONE partner for life" belief system..... So... we have to refrain from posing our values to them, and I would even feel sorry for them, bc for sure, they AND THE KIDS suffered A LOT from their awful choices...
HOW can the desire of learning the stupid English be more important than living together as a happy family??? heck there must be native English speakers who can give private lessons in Korea - that is cheaper than living in Canada separately? This family does not seem so poor to HAVE to send kids to Canada. Why not send them to Canada for summer camps in middle and high school, and then send them to college in Canada, when they are already grown up and SHOULd go somewhere to try living independently.... ? I do not understand their situation but it seems ... off :)
Either S Korea is a terrible place for kids and we outsiders have no idea, and/or the parents are super greedy and kiss as@ to the West, making their kids westernized at the expense of kids losing their family.
In any case, something is super strange for parents to decide to effectively separate, supposedly for kids' education.

have fun! To My Beloved Thief FL is not perfect, she is insecure and has various flaws - well she lives in Joseon and is a slave - but she is overall a strong and honest woman.
yah, Itewon class FL is strong.. I feel sad that she had to wait so long for ML to get over that flakey pretty girl... ... I didnt see Melo Movie
IF YOU CAN THINK OF ANY OTHERS, PLMK, I WOULD LOVE TO WATCH THEM!
you would be surprised but I really liiked FL in Positively Yours and I really liked their relationship. FL started faulty and emotional but she quickly got herself on her 2 feet and became a very great team partner. Since ML was a chaebol, she had to fit with his lifestyle as a "wife of a public figure" - and she did :) He also adjusted himself to fit into her lifestyle as an independent working woman and accomplished professional. They were such a great team.

FL and ML really touched me with their conversation in today's episode, when he confessed the crime of his family. Wow what a great relationship, based on truth and honest communication. True love.

Woo Jae likes Veronica and is actively courting her....

Bc then Bucket would have to learn to fake trad medicine exam and treattment and that is hard :) ALSO, most dramas kinda advertise modern medicine :) The most we get from the trad side is showing acu beds :) or drinking a tonic :) Dramas are driven by product placements :)

I suspect grandpa was in love with FL's grandma from the start :) and did not marry his wife out of love - so of course she left

Almost 100% agree. I think discovering what stepmom did will be CHAOS for a while but will also lead to deep healing. Right now the "healing" was fake, stepmom didnt really want to be friends with the other family.
I agree that the son is being super sexist and CHILDISH and forcing his mom into some silly standards that dont make sense. But notice that she NEVER said - hey son, that is not right.... Clearly, mother and son had no relationship. She is irresponsible and he is lost on his own. THEY NEVER TALK
I think that he said that bc his mom is a flakey woman-child, she is not setting any standards, so the kid is trying to be the adult in their family and protect them both AND IT IS NOT THE KIDS'S JOB... THE MOM SHOULD GROW UP AND BE THE ADULT :) ...

Hm please define "romantic chemistry between the leads" .
I see romantic chemistry, it is 10000% there, they are deeply in love.

So why am I seeing it and you are not? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE? You want to see them jump into bed? What is it exactly that you think makes this "romantic chemistry" you desire?
Western watcher are used to seeing basically pornography, naked ppl in bed bumping. That is SO CHEAP and it is best to give up such expectations if you really want to see a meaningful peace of art. Go the Asian way and PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT IS SAID, AND WHAT IS NOT.

We saw the leads kiss once, we know she visits his apartment, and that's enough to know that the lead charcters have a private life together that we the audience do NOT need to voyeur. TMI IS CHEAP. Clearly they are both happy, their relationship is working out well.

I personally think they are super sweet and a great couple, and we get to see really meaningful and deep moments of their relationship.

Oh yes his wife cheated on him and that's why he left her. But that happened like zillion years ago and really had little to do with the drama... Or are you saying that ML's wife will cheat on him? She is obviously not doing it in the village. Whatever she did in Canada, we do not know :)

Wow being an Asian parent is so loaded with history... The modern ways are breaking Asian families in divorces but the tradition is still pretty strong, many Asians still have solid families. ...

Asian parents traditionally micromanage and "own" their children... so one end of the spectrum is just sending the kid away.. and the other end of the spectrum is helicoptering... But both ways are just manipulating the child to DO WHAT THE PARENT WANTS. Sending the kid away forces the kid to use their wings before they even have them and could permanently damage the child and cause such grief, and helicoptering prevents the kid from being strong and GROWING their own wings to fly.
SO THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY. A middle way.

I pray that Asia finds that middle way. Asians are the rare ones - maybe really the only ones??? - on Earth these days who still have families :) with dad at home :) so there is a great GIFT in their cultural values, so I think it is the best for the entire global population that Asian families somehow make it work and the world learns from it.
This is a heavy topic as raising children in today's world is difficult. That village that will raise the child can be very difficult to find.

you know when I realized that? When I saw Practical Guide to Love ML in just a shirt and pants in one of the episodes. The clothes are barely hanging on his bones. I realized why he has such low energy, he is soooo thin. Plus his slow monotone voice, really portrayed him as lifeless.... So yeah, when I saw him, the first image in my mind was STARVED STRAY CAT.

SML is also super thin... At least has a pretty face - but totally bony, no meat on his face - and he speaks loudly and with more drama, and sometimes moves fast, all together giving a false impression of being energetic. He is just anxious, not energetic.

And stray cats are on my mind ever since you mentioned that Baek Ho looked like a stray cat looking for his owner JM .... LMAO he really was!!! not bc he is thin - he is an absolutely gorgeous athletic strong handsome man - but bc of his energy, his moping, his eyes, his crying and being lost, and searching in vain...
But STRAY CAT cannot be unseen now :) Thanks for that! such a great funny meme :)

FYI: i like daily dramas and weekend family dramas bc that is where I can see REAL PEOPLE acting, not some plasticized skeletons. Yesterday I was reminded of that while watching 2022 kdrama Soundrack #1 with Park Huyng Sik ... WOOOOW!!!!
what happened in just a few years, that actors and actresses are now so skinny, like stray cats???
Watching a ML in 2022 is like night and day from watching a ML in 2026...
2022 ML looks like a man, has bulk, shoulders, chest, legs, larger head, face, hands, ... clearly a MAN.
And 2026 ML looks like a skinny girl.... Even Chinese military recently roasted ML from Pursuit of jade for not looking masculine enough and wearing makeup. sure enough, he DOES look like a skinny girl couch potato with makeup... and his fans must also be couch potatoes as they swoon over his sickly gaunt looks... !!!!

SO I REALLY WANT TO STOP STARVING THE ACTORS
BC TOO THIN IS NOT SEXY, IT LACKS VIBRANCY AND LIFE, IT IS QUITE ... UGLY ... AND UNNECESSARY...
i guess many actors are fashion and advertisements models, and fashion industcty requires impossible BMI of like 13 (and mininum is 18.5)
so I am not sure what the solution is, but hey, these skeleton ppl are NOT attractive nor sexy at all, they are just UNHEALTHY and it shows...

And...a daily drama does NOT require actors to look like plasticized starved dolls :) I ADORE DAILY DRAMAS FOR SHOWING **REAL** PEOPLE, young and old.

So anyone gets a chance to act in a daily drama, and so the talent pool is WIDE AND AMAZING. Also, daily dramas are one of the few that talk about extended and intergenerational family relationships and issues.
A weekend family drama has similar but slightly lesser freedom for the actors' looks.

I AM ALL FOR GOOD DAILY DRAMAS AND WEEKEND FAMILY DRAMAS as a little oasis of LIFE AND CREATIVITY.
A good daily drama is essentially a longer family drama, typically with more makjang and more crime, essentially - everything you do not want kids to see about families :)

Some morons gave 3 stars for the last episode... WHO ARE THOSE PEOPLE???
JUST PLEASE THROW THEM INTO DUST!
PLEASE RATE HIGH EACH EPISODE. Thanks. I think individual episodes might be rateable only on a desktop, am not sure. BUT GIVE IT A HIGH RATING OVERALL. WRITE A GOOD REVIEW.

This drama is an amazing masterpiece, a twisted wicked dark humor thriller, this is a like being on a roller coaster ride going up down 1000 ft at 300mph. Anyone who loves excitement should jump on!

The drama is a fantastic social commentary... about an ordinary low-level man's greed.... he wants more, and given a chance, turns into a monster to get it. ML, his wife, his partner, the RichGirl, ... are all ... driven by the Self. There is no sugarcoating on it :) We get to see their selfish motives as they jump into the fray and contribute to grow the criminal chaos...

I think we are now watching that kind of people in real life as the start of WW3 by bombing Iran and so many ppl profit from the war and Epstein files are still hidden.

So yeah, I bet many people feel slighted to SEE THEMSELVES in the ML, his wife, his partner, the RichGirl, etc. and then then rate the drama low or dont want to see it. It is too close to home :) they see themselves :)

but precisely bc of all the above, this drama is a total complete masterpiece.

the young lady policeman did NOT forget her crush Kim NamGil and she keeps poking to investigate his death....that is how she and her coleague got involved in the mess :) and killed

Wait till the hurricane in ep 4 :)

This drama is a total masterpiece, it is so unique, so twisty wicked, and such excellent acting, and totally totally crazy dark hilarious thriller plot!!!! Never seen anything like this. I feel like I got on a rollercoaster and am going at the speed of 200mph to up/down of 1000 ft. I bet bunjee jumping, flying on kites, etc feels like watching this drama!!!!!!

So why are so few ppl watching ... ?
I guess it is too local Korean and too "low" as it talks about people from the lower strata of the society, and ML is not quite smart and the drama is really about poverty... I think the first episodes might have turned off ppl bc the ML was too dumb. Ppl want pretty young rich cheabols in sleek urban setting... ??? F.ck that :) Plasticized skeletons galore....
I am surprised that Koreans are not watching Mad Concrete Dreams but are watching a stupid drama about ghosts.... Korea usually has a better taste.. International audience doesnt surprise me :) they are so used to Hwood hype without content that anything truly artsy might blow their circuits.

from Mozila AI: "Mad Concrete Dreams (2026), featuring Ha Jung-woo's return to dramas, has struggled with viewership, starting at 4.1% and dropping into the 2%-3% range by episode 5 before a slight recovery to 3.5% in episode 6. Despite praise for its tense thriller elements, the drama has underperformed expectations.
Key Trends & Ratings:
Performance: The drama premiered on tvN on March 14, 2026, starting with a 4.1% rating and rising slightly to 4.5% for the second episode.
Decline: By the third episode, ratings fell to the low 3% range, sparking concern over it potentially dropping into the 1% range.
Recovery: Episode 6 showed a slight recovery, reaching 3.5%.
Reception: While some viewers praise the thriller elements and unpredictable plot, others have expressed concerns over the slow momentum, with suggestions that its black comedy style might have fared better on an OTT platform. "

The drama airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 p.m..

... and ppl flock to dazzling stupidities like Pursuit of Jade to see skinny pretty idols with tons of makeup fly in chiffon robes and gaze at each other's eyes... LMAO ... even Chinese Military posted online that the ML's portrayal of ancient Chinese general was not masculine and used too much pretty makeup LMAO The ML looks like a skinny sickly teenage girl into costuming and makeup...

the audience somehow needs to see THIS drama. BUT HOW do we advertise it more?

Yeah it is being pissed off for wasting 14 hours to watch a MAJORLY TOXIC relationship. Watching the Cells was educational to see what is under the cover of such behaviors. SO I WROTE WHAT I LEARNED :)

So yeah I signed up to watch a romance drama, and instead, I ended up in a medical class on toxic behaviors. Yumi's cells 2 is NOT a romance drama :) it is a TOXICITY CESSPOOL SLIME. Without the cells, the drama would have been unsufferable. I would have dropped it fast. Bc of the Cells, I somehow managed to survive watching to the end, to LEARN.

I recommend to you to watch Stephan Speaks on youtube, bc clearly YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT. So bye, I have no time to waste on explaining to you. FAREWELL.