KevinToronto

"I’m just stating the facts" -- Sorry but you are not; you stated your opinion when you wrote "this drama is mediocre and boring". You are perfectly entitled to that opinion, but others disagree and actually appear to like the programme so far.

In addition to Doctor Slump, you could add Welcome to Samdal-ri; Like Flowers in Sand; Our Beloved Summer; The Law Cafe; and (the much maligned) Serendipity's Embrace to the list of programmes with the same or very similar vibe. While they do not include one of the main characters quitting their job, they all include long-time (since birth in a couple) friends becoming life-long partners.

My apologies for missing the sarcasm. Hope all is good. The weekend is here, so it is time to relax.

Without getting into a unnecessary back-and-forth, I can fully understand a generalisation. Are you saying that only 17.3% of the people on this site are from North America and Europe? And, that 82.7% are from the rest of the world?

My comment regarding the vast majority was addressing the people from North America and Europe. No matter how you might like to characterise it, most people will read your comment as specific to members from North America and Europe (17.3%). Are the 82.7% of members (minus those who are actually from Korea) not from North America and Europe immune from thinking "they are Korean because they watch K-Dramas."?

Zero taste audience = Zero effort TV shows: Seriously!

I am not sure that insulting the Korean audience for liking a Korean drama, that you did not, is the right thing to do. Ultimately, the Korean entertainment industry is going to produce what the Korean audience is looking for. If people around the world find some Kdramas entertaining, then great.

That was my experience as well.

I completely agree with this. As for Netflix, I have to ask whether either Extraordinary Attorney Woo and Alchemy of Souls would have been made without Netflix's support.

Where are the crime thrillers and the horror?

While I agree that there are not as many crime thrillers as some (me included) would like, I think part of the problem is finding new and innovative story lines. How many serial killers and gruesome murders can be portrayed before they too become formulaic?

Having said that, I am hoping that Black Out is worth the watch. It is based on the book "Snow White Must Die" by Nele Neuhaus, which is a really good read.

Can someone please explain how What's Wrong with Secretary Kim and Business Proposal followed the same plot?

Yes, the programmes have a romance between a boss and subordinate as the plot. But the former has a direct report and the latter involves someone who works for the company. It is a bit like saying Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, and The Wire followed the same plot because they all involved police.

As a British/Canadian dual national, who lived in Hong Kong, I can assure you that I do not remotely consider myself Korean because I watch Kdramas and make my own kimchi. I will not presume to speak for all Europeans and North Americans on this site, but I strongly suspect that the vast majority also do not consider themselves Korean because they watch Kdramas.

Excellent analogy. A margherita pizza is how I judge the quality of a pizza restaurant. If they cannot get that right, then I doubt that any other pizza will be any good.

I completely agree. There is always a need for programmes with simple stories that entertain. And this programme was exactly what I was looking for this summer.

I do not believe that you were overthinking here. My thoughts were the same after the meal scene. And it would fit within the overall theme of first loves. I could be wrong but I believe only one "first love couple" ended up together: Baek Wook and Bae Hye Suk. As for individuals, only Hu Yeong and Gyeong Taek ended up with their respective first loves. Oddball and Hye Ji found new loves, while Sang Pil and Jun Ho lost out completely.

Personally, I enjoyed this show. It was a simple "amuse-bouche" programme to help fill a summer month during which the Olympics took place.

Having said that, I liked the main characters and how the relationships developed over the 8 episodes. And, yes, the ending was exactly what was needed given the build up. I am in the "we do not need a second season" camp.

One final thing, I loved the fact that the FL was called "Oddball" everyone, except the ML. It was little thing, but it stood out for me.

Add my name to the "Waiting for Season 2" list. A thoroughly entertaining, well written programme that delivered everything it "promised" in the first episode:
An odd-ball outsider joins a close knit team that has been exiled by the mainstream police family. Over 12 episodes, they become a stronger team/family.

I suspect that the much anticipated and hoped for second season will have the Ghost Cab case as the main story running throughout, but it will be the individual 1 or 2 episode cases that will provide the entertainment.

Some people have commented (somewhat negatively) about the Hyundai advertising. I was not fazed by it. Clearly, there was a need for a lot of vehicles given that this was about a traffic crimes investigation team. It makes eminent sense to get Hyundai as a sponsor. It certainly did not seem out of place, unlike the Subway or Quiznos placements "randomly" seen in many other programmes.

-- As far as the State is concerned, she's missing or dead, and there are no relatives to contact. --
The bureaucrats would have known she was alive when she added Woo Ri and Doo Ri to her family registry. At that point, she should have noticed that Soo Ji had been removed from the registry.

-- > So was Su Ji still on the registry when Woo Ri and Doo Ri were added?
No. Uri and Duri came later, after bio mom recovered from her near-death accident.
> If not, why didn't she notice? --
See above. Seon Young should have noticed the absence of Su Ji when adding the two new children.

I have read many of the comments criticising Seon Young for
-- Not looking for Su Ji sufficiently long or diligently enough; and
-- Being mean/rude/giving the cold shoulder to Su Ji, especially with regard to the Hyun Sung situation.

I am perplexed with the apparent turnaround.

From my recollection, Jang Su and Yun Ja had an affair resulting in the former divorcing Seon Young. After that, Seon Young had to work many jobs, including construction, in order to survive. She could not look after Su ji at that time. Then, she had the accident and was severely injured. She has said that Jin Tae saved her life (explaining why she is always so nice to him when he comes for dinner at the restaurant). She spent a lot of time (3 months?) in the hospital and then more time in rehabilitation.

Around this time, she was told that Jang Su and Yun Ja had taken the family overseas. Despite that, she did try to find them when she was sufficiently recovered. Obviously, she would have looked at families departing Korea, rather than looking within the country. At this point, her financial situation would have been even worse than before the accident. I doubt that she would have been able to pay for a search search for Jang Su and Yun Ja in the U.S. And where would she have started?

After a while, she would have inevitably given up the search. At that point, it is understandable that she would have hoped/wished/believed that Su Ji was living a good life. Imagine how depressed she would have been if the thought was that Su Ji was doing badly and she could do nothing?

As for the Hyun Sung situation, from Seon Young's perspective, the family took in someone in desperate need of housing and security. She has seen her son go from work colleague to having a romantic interest in her. At the same time, she has seen the obsessive, stalker ex-boyfriend enter the scene. And despite Su Ji's clear "It is over between us" statements, he comes around. The end result is her son is punched. It is Su Ji who is living at the house, not Hyun Sung, so it is understandable that Su Ji is blamed. The right thing; no. Understandable; yes.

Having said that, I have a question about Seon Young's family registry. We have been told that Su Ji is not on it, but Woo Ri and Doo Ri are. So was Su Ji still on the registry when Woo Ri and Doo Ri were added? If not, why didn't she notice? If she was still on it, when was she removed? And, why wasn't Seon Young informed of the change by the authorities?

Fundamentally the issue is about a societal perspective rather than a legal or biological perspective. Would family, close friends, and Korean society as a whole accept this? I have no idea.

I cannot imagine that there is any legal prohibition on such a relationship. Nor is there any biological reason against such a relationship.

Personally, while I would find such a relationship unusual at first, if the two people involved found happiness with each other, I would be very happy for them.

From my recollection, Seon Young was involved in an accident and was in the hospital for 6 months or so. When she was recovered and was released, the story was that the family had left Korea, taking Su Ji with them. Given that Seon Young did not have a lot of money, I am not certain how she would have been able to search for them in other countries.

Thus, I would not catergorise what happened as "she DID abandon her".

Thanks, you have a good weekend, too.