Marshmallow-Chocoholic

@thematchabun I know exactly where you’re coming from. There’s nothing wrong with liking or hating or show as everyone has different tastes ( I’ve also been in a similar boat with really popular dramas, and dropped them after a couple of episodes because they just didn’t appeal to me). I entirely agree with the format also. If it had been released on a Friday/ Saturday or a Saturday/ Sunday slot then perhaps it would not have detracted the rating as much with ( as you said) momentum from the audience demographic.

@chias That’s the point though. They aren’t his friends and Jun knows that but he doesn’t say anything or stop because he’s afraid of being despised or neglected similar to his familial scenario. He doesn’t care if it’s authentic, it’s just something he can have control of in his restrained life by using money. I agree that he should be able to make more authentic connections ( hence the point of the actual storyline and his pursuit of Soo Hyun’s friendship), however, I think whilst it’s easy to say he should, it’s important to remember that Jun doesn’t know any better. As cliche as it sounds, he has never really had a proper emotional connection with someone without money. It’s a twisted way of thinking that you can manipulate others into being your friend or partner ( and something both Soo Hyun and Bin are quick to notice) but as the saying goes someone is a byproduct of their upbringing. This isn’t excusing Jun’s actions. If anything, they are malicious and conniving and people who are like this on real life, I’d advise anyone ( relationship or friendship) to stay away. However, already this is something intriguing about Jun as a character- the fact we are having this debate over his complexity shows that he’s unpredictable, complicated and ultimately flawed. In others words, he’s not one-dimensional; he’s human.

Thank you, I look forward to being able to read this soon :)!

@chias That’s the point of Jun as a character. He leans into being everyone’s ATM and believes he can make friends with money because ultimately these are the hedonistic values Jun has bought into through the dysfunctional scenario of his family. Jun knows he is being taken advantage of by these so-called " friends” because he believes that he won’t have to shy away from the reality of loneliness. As the saying goes money can’t buy happiness and this is what presents a great contrast with Soo Hyun. Soo Hyun has to work for money just to survive and is quick to jump on the boat of paying Jun back for the watch, whilst Jun has never had to worry about these things and quickly passes them off . It would be easy to label Jun as "spoilt" because in a way with materialistic things, he is. However, emotionally Jun is vulnerable. This was shown well during the scene between Soo Hyun, Jun and Soo Hyun’s brother at the canteen table and Soo Hyun’s fraternal affection for his brother. Jun may have all the money anyone could ever want, but even he couldn’t put a price on the ability to have this authentic connection with someone. It makes him the " gopher” in our eyes because he doesn’t seem able to say no to anybody, but ultimately this is what builds up Jun’s facade ; the cheery and benign social butterfly who has everything he could ever want, apart from true happiness.

I apologise for the misunderstanding, however, typically when previous comments have paraphrased “ In hope for love between two boys“ they are looking for a BL setup which can easily be confused for a minority of watchers with LGBTQ+ storylines. However as much I am same boat as you nor am I defending the actions of KBS, it is important to acknowledge the sociocultural differences between the west and South-Korea.

@Yukii_13 It shares the same name as the drama ( or 멀리서 보면 푸른 봄 in Korean). Sadly, it is not widely available in English, however, a previous comment further down from a couple of weeks back mentioned that if you have a translation engine/tool you can access the webcomic in Korean and translate as you go :).

@Nauriya This is dependent on what you’re looking for in a show. It is sad that they did scrap these more poignantly aspects from the drama, however, it isn’t inherently bad nor is it entirely what I’d label " homophobic" either- just very conservative as a KBS drama and burying their heads in the sand to changing times . Ji Hoon, Kang Min Ah and In Hyuk are pretty good on the acting front and there are certainly some intriguing themes presented. Admittedly the biggest problem for me personally at the minute is the lacklustre pairing between Ji Joon’s character and Min Ah’s . It takes up a lot of screen time and was simply added to avoid the " provocative” elements without a lot of foregrounding. If you don’t mind more evident spoilers then the webcomic isn’t a BL, but rather a representation of our main lead who is revealed to be gay, however, I do agree that it is disrespectful to have subverted the author’s work and messages beyond recognition simply because they don’t want to " rock the boat".

Agreed! I seriously wished they’d aired this on a Friday/ Saturday or Saturday/ Sunday slot for more eps :).

@thematchabun Agreed entirely. It is sad how downvoted this show has become from one episode rather than just giving it a chance.

@Kcitkat I certainly did but it is surprising looking at the mixed reactions in the comments…

@7hearts You’ve made some really good points about the FL. It is an irksome stereotype in dramas that the “ introverted girl” doesn’t have a lot of dimension to her character because she ” doesn’t speak up" or is “ quiet” until a random backstory or moment of tension is added to spice up a storyline.

@Imaney No, I don’t really see any problems with the Lee Dam x Woo Yeo either. Like you pointed out if it had been between a high schooler x student, then it would have been a different matter as at end of the day this is romanticising grooming. However, Lee Dam is an adult. Yes, she arguably doesn’t possess the same life experience as someone as old as Woo Yeo and she can act immature for her age ( like most 20 something year olds), but she is not a child. I can understand to a certain where @MiHnn was coming from on the perspective of the “ mental age difference” at times , however, unless you know many 999 year old foxes who look physically in their 20s, it isn’t really that much of a push. I appreciate for some people the student/ professor relationship isn’t everyone’s personal taste ( I find it hard to watch this setting in high schools in dramas), however, the Lee Dam/ Woo Yeo is pretty well-done. If it was toxic or oppressive ( like the second ML) I could understand, however, both MLs are fairly respectful of one another’s boundaries.

@Monster Drinks I feel exactly the same way. I remember starting out with a lot of SIG dramas ( Hello Monster, Shopping King Louie and High School King of Savvy) when I was first watching K-dramas due to a very friend who recommended them ( as she absolutely loved his work) and then later of course with BG ( the most memorable fo me being evidently Strong Woman Do Bong Soon). In retrospect, they weren’t entirely the best when it came to scripting , however, they did have a lot soul because of the main casting or chemistry between the respected leads. As a fellow fantasy drama lover, I know exactly where you’re coming from. DAYS is one of those drama which had been sitting on my ” potentially real good” lists since last October and so the final result did leave me downhearted. It is a shame as otherwise the drama has brilliant chemistry between SIG and BG and their acting is fairly good as well , its just the problematic screenwriting. As you said, fingers crossed that we will see these two onscreen together in future works!

@Kate I understand your point.

@Kate This format doesn't appear on my screen so I am sure you can understand my misunderstanding,here.

@Kate I am sorry if I misunderstood who you were entirely directing this comment towards as it was a little ambiguous.

@Kate Your point about various genres is very true, however, this line of argument was more tailored towards the topic of argument of this drama of relationships and problems. It was not aimed to '' generalise'' the elements of South-Korean dramas and productions but rather talk and discuss about the problematic areas of relationships in K-dramas(not necessarily rom-com per say).

I’d argue that this also dependent on what a screenwriter is able to filter through by presenting key parts from the storyline into this time also . Yes, it is understandable that 12 episodes vs more than 7 years of webcomic storyline arc will never truly match up to the expectations of every fan, however, this is also the decisive decision of screenwriting which is not necessarily marked by a time limit, but the ability to adapt and write with what’s given to them.

You’re welcome . It is quite an intriguing view upon problems with more abusive portrayals relationships in Korean dramas :).

@XIIVX No, I also agree with this view upon ignoring more problematic issues of South-Korean culture with rose-tinted glasses. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s wonderful that so many people have got into South-Korean culture in different ways or pursuing interests in South-Korean media and television, however, it is worrying to come across the minority who truly belief that everything in South-Korea is " cutesy" and see the more problematic stereotypes in K-with romanticised unhealthy attitudes as " normal”. If you ever have the time, then there is a really intriguing video called ” Abusive Behaviours in Korean Dramas” on YouTube which respectfully pulls a lot of the problems forward in detail. With Netflix K-dramas, I think personally it can be a little hit or miss when they have distribution rights; sometimes they can offer well-written storylines with poignant themes( such as Navillera), other times they can just be a big-budget extravaganzas with little sense of plot and ultimately cannon fodder.