Kathryn_51

I agree. Previews showed that he planned to propose - and I figured that his plans would go awry or something would happen to interfere. Wished they had stopped at that point - because I'm sick and tired of watching Seok-ryu lay in bed/sit on her bed/sit next to her bed. . . and do nothing but - according to the subtitle - do another "heavy sigh".

No Seok-ryu memories. No flashbacks to childhood or adolescence. And NO inner thoughts. Just. . . . [heavy sigh].

Especially disappointed because the main reason this drama has been on my watchlist for months has a name and it Jung So Min. Her acting is superb, but the writing is not.

During my trip to Korea, egg was in just about EVERY sandwich we ate. {Caveat - I dislike egg!]. Tuna sandwich sounded good - it had chopped egg. Grilled chicken burger? Slices of egg!

I tried to find "vegetarian" bibimbap (without the fried egg), but no luck.😥

BTW, I think I saw only one Subway store during the entire two weeks, but Starbucks was on EVERY block. My hubby refused to go - said "I didn't come to Korea to drink Starbuck's coffee". Thankfully, there were independent coffee shops on every block as well. 😊

We struggle to understand Seok-ryu because the writer really has not provided the same substantive history/backstory of her life as she did with Seung-hyo. Today's episode was a perfect example - the series of Seung-hyo's personal flashbacks of his life growing up with Seok-ryu help the viewer understand his emotions and feelings. Writer-nim has failed to do so with Seok-ryu.

We understand his feelings because his evolution has been demonstrated/presented over and over again. Not the same for Seok-ryu - virtually NO inner thoughts, but simply heavy sighs as she sits on or near her bed. No fond memories of her childhood with Seung-hyo.

But then, the title of the show (in Korea) was originally "Golden Boy" and is now "Mother's Friend's Son". The drama is more about Seung-hyo than Seok-ryu.

Well, we were kinda right and kinda wrong. All of his plans were interrupted, but then she didn't accept. There has been too many unnecessary yes-no-maybe scenes (amongst ALL of the main characters) just to stretch this drama out to 16 episodes. Should have been 14.

This drama was promoted/marketed as "delivering pleasant laughter, excitement, warm sympathy, and comfort." A rejection simply doesn't match-up with that description.

The pink balloons-in -the-trunk proposal is just too damn unimaginative compared to many unique, sweet moments thus far. I hope it's a dream/fantasy, but if real - then my bet is that for some reason, it never comes to pass - perhaps interrupted or some emergency.

I just returned from a two week visit to Korea. And based on my limited discussions, Koreans see this as a drama about LOVE - romantic love, family love, friendship love. It wasn't marketed as a rom-com in Korea. it was marketed as a "neighborhood romance, , ,. . . delivering pleasant laughter, excitement, warm sympathy, and comfort. "

You are not the only one. The scene was too brief to be 100% complete and accurate, so clearly there was more to be revealed. It's one of my few complaints about the drama - intentional mis-direction. Same thing with Seung-hyo's mother and the implied affair. I never believed it and was surprised at how many viewers were convinced she had cheated. Also, the initial scene with Seok-ryu's ex-fiance at the pool party - that was HER memory that came to her mind when she was thinking about why she left the USA. There is much to enjoy about this drama, but intentionally misleading scenes like these are simply lazy writing.

It's also why I don't think Seung-hyo will get a chance to have that fancy proposal.

I have a difficult time believing that he will actually propose - something is going to prevent it. in fact, I will be rather disappointed if writer-nim chooses something so trite and conventional.

Hmmmm. . . . I'm thinking that he will offer her the job, but she will choose to revamp her father's little eatery and make it an instagram success.

I think they have been headed in this direction from the beginning. Dad was once a chef in a upscale restaurant and has been struggling with his own eatery. Now competition has opened up nearby, so the situation is even more dire. Seung-hyo rescued him once before. Now it's Seok-ryu's turn.

Big kumbaya moment for all the families in episode 16.

The end.

Plus a wedding or two, of course.

Here's the Ep. 13 Pre-release with translation. Actually, my rough translation was pretty good - in fact, they fumbled Seok-ryu's name, but I think this episode is going to have the viewer doing this: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

https://x.com/TranslateMom/status/1839808382829543715

Episode 13 Pre-release – looking forward to the complete translation, but here’s my rough one.

Four parents together with SH and SR are eating in SR’s kitchen.
SH(to his parents): How was your trip?
Positive response and then SH’s dad says “Let’s go with Pomegranate (Seok-ryu) and seung-ho the net time.
Seok-ryu: US??
ML Mom: “It means get the kids married quickly and lets go out togher!
SH: Marriage??
Then lots of dialogue about matching up their children – finding a good match at the hospital and friend of Mo Eum’s mother.
Seung-hyo: There won’t be anyone who wants to take Bae Seok Ryu, right?
Beok-ryu: There won’t be a woman who can stand his temper anyway

https://x.com/CJnDrama/status/1839802201935622470

Thanks for the warning. I'll probably wait a couple of weeks, read comments and then decide how to proceed. 😊

I'm finally back home. Thanks for the answer. Since SHS is the reason I hesitate to watch, this is music to my ears.

Kang Hoon and Jo Hye Joo in "Secret Romantic Guesthouse" were enchanting even if "2nd couple". I suppose same will happen in this drama but these two actors are worth the investment for a few episodes. One can always FF through SHS.

I am about to leave Korea (after 2 week visit) and was unable to watch (ENA not n hotel channel list.) I am only interested if Kang Hoon and Jo hey Joo characters look like a potential pairing. Probable?? Not a chance? TIA

Hubby and I are about to leave Korea. 😒😒

We didn't choose our tourist adventures based upon any specific k-drama (except one - Daegwallyeong Pass and the weather said "no way") but at least two were related to Love Next Door.

Namsen Tower is where Seong-hyo and Seok-ryu wrote negative curses on the padlock. In order to get to that location, one must either walk a very, very steep path or take a cable car and people are there all the time. Perhaps they walked up that very steep path at 3:00 am, lol.

The other location was Songiho Beach (https://koreandramaland.com/listings/songjiho-beach/) near Sokcho. Our original plan was to visit several beaches/small beach tows along the east coast because my husband wanted to go beach-combing. We later found out that Songiho Beach was in LND (and Queen of Tears) as part of the itinerary plans. Unfortunately, it poured rain (4.5 inches in 24 hours one day) and although we drove, getting out of the car at Songiho was impossible. Some of the beach towns were flooded during our visit. Pounding rain is also why Degwallyeong Pass was dropped.

And then surprise/surprise - as I scanned the list of filming sites for Love Next Door, I discovered that filming was done at one of the hotels we stayed in (not mentioning which one).

Two weeks in Korea wasn't enough. Making plans for a return trip sometime. 😊

Rough summary:

Seung-hyo asks about her schedule. There is an annual architecture event [next week?] and he will receive an award for a building he designed. His prior seniors/supervisors will be there as well as Myung Woo. He would like her to go with him.

Beok-ryu: doesn't feel it is her place to go.

Lots of back and forth about why - is she still unsure about their future? is it "burdensome"?etc.

Beok-ryu is oncerned about others finding out about their relationship.

At the end, BR asks if he is angry and he says "no" - but he is clearly hurt/disappointed.

The last few weeks, the Wednesday pre-release has been for the SUNDAY episode, so be prepared to wait.

Maybe old news??? But I didn't see it posted below.

Love Next Door is #2 on Netflix Global again.

Reminder - all of the competition are dramas that are released all at once, so they have more hours to be viewed in one week than a drama that only releases 2+ hours each week.

I've always had a soft spot for the fathers, but Seung-hyo's dad is now No. 1. Great actor as well - from sad puppy to avenging husband to ninja cameraman -

Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of anything banana flavored. But the banana milk on LND (produced by Binggrae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Flavored_Milk) is everywhere in Korea. So, in honor of my favorite 2024 drama, I bought a bottle today.

The kindest thing I can say is. . . bleah. Still don't like anything banana flavored, but now I will no longer wonder if I was missing something wonderful.