---

Sure, but please, we all know they will date in the end. +I think we're already getting small little hints of Rara liking him back -- it might just be my delusional brain tho.

Though, since Go Ah Ra is 30 irl and LJW is 22... I wonder if there's going to be a time skip before they actually get together? Then people really can't complain, lol.

Ha Young's interest in Jun is portrayed as a ONE SIDED child-like crush (that Jun was obviously trying to shut down). It wasn't something that anyone was taking seriously. Would you call teenage fangirls gross for liking some 25+ yo celeb? Or the celeb gross just for being adored by teenage girls? I don't think so. That's basically what people thought their relationship was like.

Anyway, I don't personally find two (young) ADULTS dating problematic, but I do find 20+ yos dating _high schoolers_ weird af. But Jun's like about to graduate or drop out so... whatever, who cares.

lmao, I get that this is a drama but I'm having a real hard time imagining uni students making that big of a deal about people kissing

https://www.vlive.tv/video/209568

Awh, since I'm such a simpleton, please explain how you came to the conclusion that ML is barely legal or whatever.

The ML:
- has been working for 10+ years
- while taking care of his brother
- his brother was born in '85 and I doubt their age difference is supposed to be very big
- his friend (who's around the same age) was called ahjussi...
- did you not understand the last few minutes of ep 1? (lol, I don't want to spoil it to you if you missed it)
- IRL the ML (32) is older than FL (30)

= I know KSH is kind of baby-faced but there's no way his character isn't at least around 30.

Episode 1 is a masterpiece.

Thank you for all the replies!
I guess I'll try to watch a few more episodes before deciding whether or not I should drop this drama. I'm curious about the plot development but so far the romance just 100% isn't my cup of tea and whenever I see Lee Min Ho with his white horse my brain just goes: https://images.financialexpress.com/2019/10/5-12.jpg . All that is making it really difficult for me to take this drama seriously...

I see comments about how great the plot twists and this and that are in the later episodes but I'm at ep 5 and I feel like I'm watching a parody of a k-drama, the "romance" is just that cringy. Is that going to change at some point?

I don't think this is a huge spoiler, if you've seen the same trailer that I saw:

I'm only at ep 3 but I don't think there will be any major romance between the hologram and the human chick. I'm not into romance between humans and machines either but the trailer also had a human dude and that made me give this drama a chance (bc I figured the romance might be between him and the FL). I think the FL is just going to be very good friends with the holo and end up with a human.

I wasn't a fan of the cheesy destiny stuff either + I'm super annoyed with the 2nd lead guy's death. Just what happened to his body? Couldn't they at least have had shown his funeral to us?

A (hopeful) open ending would have been better for this drama. But I guess it's impossible for some k-drama writers to produce.

I also feel like they wasted so many opportunities with the North Korean comrades being in the South -- I would much rather have watched them getting into fun situations instead of some obvious "cliffhangers" about Seri almost dying for ten times.

(Since it was a drama with a super unrealistic setting, I think they should just have made it a proper rom-com without all the overly cheesy stuff and those dramatic cliffhangers -- that I don't think anyone really bought anyway. Or just made it less cheesy and given some more realistic/sadder endings for everyone.)

Still can't believe my Switzerland theory was pretty much spot on :' D

But I wouldn't have guessed the 2nd lead couples' fate...

:)))))))))

"I was saying I hope it doesnt turn out like nk is not a serious issue" You never said that. Your comments made it sound like the drama had been portraying NK extremely wrongly from the very beginning so it was wrong to air something like it --- and I asked you about what was so wrong with it multiple times (because I was genuinely curious bc I didn't see in any huge flaws in the first 2 episodes, even though they obviously couldn't squeeze a whole documentary about how horrible NK is in ~160? minutes that weren't even all set in NK) and you've failed to reply to my question until now.
-----------------------------

I don't know what article you're talking about, I can't find anything like that mentioned in the link you sent me. What do you mean by that anyway? Hyun Bin not shooting Seri in the tree? His comrades did try to shoot her when she was running away though.

------------------------------
"No I am not kidding"

Ok, if the show had been portraying NK wrongly by making it seem like every single North Korean was living in a concentration camp (not true), would that be "glorifying" NK?

And do you really think missing some tiny clothing detail (the length of Seo Dan's boots & [fem?] overcoats are RARE in NK) is _ glorifying_ NK? Are people about to brush NK's human rights issues under the rug because they've seen boots portrayed wrongly?

So in other words, nothing had been portrayed wrongly when you made your comment.

"glorifying something and portraying it wrongly is roughly the same thing" are you kidding?

I'm cackling here, imagining how you've learned about how South Koreans often struggle with amnesia because they drink Coca Cola :')

Ok, but where in that article does it say what's portrayed so wrongly? You just keep saying "this drama doesn't portray the reality" but never really say what exactly is wrong with it.
The only thing you've really mentioned is "you could be tortured or executed for having foreign products" --- but guess what, even if foreign products aren't really allowed in NK, it doesn't mean that North Koreans don't use them despite the risks:

"'South Korean makeup products are in high demand,' Danbi says. 'Especially eyeliner and mask packs.'" & "---the demand was insatiable — Danbi would sometimes get thousands of orders per day from all over the country."
Source: https://www.refinery29.com/en-ca/2019/05/233330/north-korea-beauty-products-makeup-smugglers

In the drama, they even sell the products SECRETLY at the markets. So honestly, I think they've portrayed this subject properly.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Also, I recently read an article about a North Korean defector (Kang Nara) who says this drama is "about 60% accurate". The only things that she really mentioned that are off about the drama were 1. Seo Dan's outfits (particularly her boots) and 2. Hyun Bin's military rank doesn't exist in NK. She also mentioned she was contacted & consulted (along with other NK defectors) when this drama was being written...

Yes, poverty and concentration camps are a thing in NK, and life is very controlled there. But those are all things that are mentioned in the drama? Yes, it still doesn't portray NK 100% correctly but it's a drama and a ROMCOM so it's concentrating on more light-hearted things --- but what exactly did you expect? It's a romcom drama, not a documentary. Do you also go around commenting on SK dramas with chaebols in them about how poverty is a horrible thing in SK and that it's not realistic how nearly every drama out there has someone rich in them?

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"I should’ve made a list of all NK does wrong I guess" --- you've barely mentioned 2 things and they're both portrayed in the drama.

Thanks for all the replies!
I actually know some of these dramas but I never really paid much attention to the age gaps. (Also, I just noticed there's a tag called "older man/younger woman" that helps with finding more dramas like this... whoops)

Does anyone know any other (non-historic) k-dramas with significantly older male lead & younger female lead?

What's confusing you (after ep 4)?