PrettyCarEye

I'm not surprised he went to see her first. Given his assertive, take charge personality, it's exactly something that he'd do. The only reason why he broke off with her in the first place was because he wasn't sure they would work as a couple (because of family pressure - mother didn't think she was suitable - & the fact that he was concerned for how she would deal with his lifestyle), even though he clearly loved her & she him. But once he made up his mind that he wanted to try building a life with her anyway, despite all the obstacles that may lie ahead ... he "moved in for the kill" so to speak. Which is exactly how he is in business and other aspects of his life. Once he decides on something he takes action.

The most amazing thing about this drama: NO LOVE TRIANGLES. All the focus was kept on the couple, their budding romance & cute interactions. Third parties who attempt to interfere were immediately and unequivocally shut TF down - seriously this is not just profane exaggeration, but exactly what the characters did. They didn't try to be nice or friendly ... they made it VERY clear they were not interested & told the 3rd wheels to f"#%& off! I effen love this sh!t. I find this sooooo immensely refreshing as there's always some annoying 3rd wheel hanging around (and one or both of the leads are always entertaining them as "friends" or some shit ... grrr!). Genre wise, this drama breaks no new ground and features the same old romcom cliches. Under any other circumstances, this would have been a 6/10 for me, but just for the way they totally shut down any potential for a love triangle, I gave this a 7/10. There's also another small contributing factor which I've hidden behind the spoiler tag below.

No.

If you're a fan of the typical run-of-the-mill romcom, go ahead and watch it; it's likely you'll enjoy it. It's a K-drama, so it delivers exactly what it promises, nothing more nothing less. Don't expect anything fresh or groundbreaking!

Y'all are taking things way too seriously ... the way I see it, the drama is meant to be a parody of the roller coaster that is marriage -- the love, the hate, the nagging, the infidelity, the suspicion. This drama kinda explores this against a very engaging mystery, thriller backdrop.

Yeah, I rewatched this just now & man, those last 4 eps still manage to piss me all the way off, 5 years later. Hiroko is a real piece of work, isn't she! So immature and selfish. She constantly hurts Kohji - always throwing his disability in his face, esp when she knows how sensitive he is about it, not believing in him, not giving the man any damn peace! As soon as he walks through the door she's up in arms about something stupid ... and wow, that last break up scene when she came to get her clothes, could she be any more cruel? I so wanted to reach through the screen and bitch slap the shit outta her!

Shattering the guy's heart wasn't good enough for her, though. She had to go drag Ken into her mess too, hurting him in the process as well (although he brought a lot of his own problems on himself). Man! Girl really was a dumbass like you said. At the same time, I try to remember she's only supposed to be 21 at the time of these events. I probably wasn't much better than her when I was her age, to be honest. That said, it was hard watching such a good guy like Kohji get swung through the wringer by her. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so kind, trying to solve everyone's problems, but if she had any maturity at all she would've understood that that's just his nature. He's always there for the people he cares about.

I think the reason why she left him in the end was because she herself knew she didn't deserve him. She had to go work on herself, become a better person to be worthy of his love. I think she realized this & really felt ashamed of herself, esp when Kohji bared his soul to her & easily forgave her for sleeping with Ken.

When I first watched it, I hated the ending! It felt too open ended & unsatisfying to me. After the bitterness of the previous episodes I wanted a more definitive happy ending. In some ways I still feel that way after this rewatch, but I also tend to agree with you that they've come full circle. Hiroko is a little older & hopefully, wiser. Hopefully, now, she can appreciate Kohji for the amazing man he is and build on a solid foundation moving forward. I am choosing to think they got back together & finally got their happy ending. It's just a bummer we actually didn't get to SEE it.

Rewatched after 5 years. The last 4 episodes, esp the final 3, still break my heart (and if I could go back to my first viewing I really would've stopped at ep 8), but I can't regret watching this drama in any capacity. It's one of a kind. My original rating remains unchanged, 9/10.

If only PSH was not the female lead in this ... SIGH!!!

She's right.

You are out of your mind.

I'm sorry, but I hope your dream is never realized. I'm perhaps one of the few women who disliked SATC with a passion, for various reasons. As for its Korean version ... there are already a number of shows and movies that are centred around friendships and the woes of modern dating & relationships. They're just not labelled as a SATC remake, but you can certainly see the similarities.

Yes. The ML dies in the end.
Some people, because they can't accept that he's dead, will say it's an open ending, but it's really not. He's dead and gone. I will say, though, that his death - to me - was very unrealistic because of the type of guy he was (a really great fighter & sharp shooter, very clever, cunning) & the ridiculous way in which he was killed (shot in the back or something like that - in reality I can't imagine a guy like him would make the kind of mistake he made & get himself killed in such a way). It was just a big mess. Ruined the drama for me, personally.

Completed. Verdict: Draggy, boring, huge waste of time. 5/10

I know, I read some spoilers, but still. There was no need to introduce him in the first place. Overall, this drama is just not for me as it tries to be a lot deeper than it really is and I hate the pretentiousness of it all. Moreover, I heard about how it ends and that turned me off of it even more.

I picked up this drama because I like romance & because everyone claims it's so good, but I'm about to start ep 15, and so far I'm finding it super boring. Nothing's really happening and I'm losing my patience. The relationships are slow to build & there's nothing to keep me interested in the meantime ... no comedy (I don't find what we've seen so far funny) and the business side of the drama lacks intensity. Until the romance between the leads gets kicked into high gear soon, there's nothing to keep me watching! Somebody please tell me it gets better because I'm about to drop this. Ugh! :/

Thanks for answering. I dropped it the minute that guy turned up. I really hate love triangles, and in this case it was totally unnecessary! Lazy writing.

As someone with a background in film, I love this article! It's a unique angle from which to review a drama & I've often considered writing a similar article, but I just never have the time to get around to it. This is not a drama that I was planning to watch (don't like heavy, depressing shows), but now I might reconsider just for the mere fact that I love when dramas manage to be both artful & entertaining. That's the ultimate combination for me. One thing I'd like to point out, though, is that your analysis is of the direction more so than the art direction. Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between the two, but art direction basically oversees the creation of sets that capture the mood & tone of the characters' lifestyle & or internal conflicts, according to the director's vision. However, shot analysis, framing and mirroring are all components of direction. Anyway, don't mean to nitpick, but just wanted to point that out.

Can somebody tell me if there's any love triangle in this, particularly when it comes to the leads (Ji Ho / Se Hee)?

Listen, I went to Korea with the same impression, but I can assure you it's all a damn lie! I saw people making out in broad daylight - in parks, in the subway, on the bus, in shops, in cafes ... everywhere! And I loved it! I was so shocked at one point I sneaked in a few pics for evidence cuz I was like ... DÆBAK! Of course, I have no idea why I was shocked because I'm old enough to know the way kdramas portray sexual relationships is total bullshit! But you do get caught up in that warped world, to the point where you start to wonder & believe people actually behave like that in real life.

As for Thai dramas, I've never seen one and I'm not about to start! The minute I heard the term "slap/kiss" and saw a few clips I was like ... hell no! Not only do I hate push/pull relationships in which the leads are always at odds & where the FL is always resisting the intimate advances of the ML when it doesn't seem natural for her to do so (I hated You're My Sunshine for this very reason for eg), but I also absolutely HATE shows that take things a step further & glamorize actual rape! Pardon my French, but how TF is that romantic?!

I watched & liked Sealed With A Kiss, but in that drama the leads seemed to be in some sort of DOMINANT/submissive relationship without actually labeling it as such, and I don't recall the ML ever actually raping the FL. He'd initiate sex in a rough manner, but she was always on board with it even if she fought a bit at the beginning. It was always made clear that her 'resistance' was just an act of defiance, than actual STOP, I DON'T WANT THIS. However, from the clips of Thai dramas I've seen & from what people who watch them regularly say, there is actual RAPE - as in forcefully hold her down & rape her while she repeatably says NO rape. WTF??? This blows my mind. I could never watch that sh--!!!

LMAO! Love the sarcasm because it's so on point. The utter absurdity of how K-dramas (and basically all Asians dramas - Japanese ones are even worse!) portray the intimacy aspect of romantic relationships ...::eyeroll:: .

When I was in Korea last year, every street corner I turned on I saw couples making out, and it wasn't no peck, I can assure you. It was some real tongue gymnastics. I was shocked ... then impressed, cuz who would've thought! lol Not to mention that Korean men are some of the most notorious horn dogs on the planet! I remember back when I was in college, long before I got into Kdramas, this Korean guy went to great lengths to seduce me. Same thing happened in Korea. Yet, you have these dramas with these big shot CEOs who have NEVER had a relationship of any kind before meeting the FL and FLs who are so puritanical they should really be living in a convent ... such BS. It's so insulting. Watching these damn dramas you'd think a simple decent kiss, not to mention the S word, are totally foreign concepts! So scandalous and taboo that nobody dares conceive of it. Ugh!

This is why I check the kissing scenes before I watch a drama. For real. I don't care if anyone thinks that's shallow, perverted ... whatever. At my age, I'm way too grown to be watching other grown folks act like virginal preteens. I can't suspend belief like that. I'm not asking for porn or even anything close to the raunchiness of Western TV, but if two people - who often times are supposedly madly in love - are going to kiss, they need to kiss for real otherwise I ain't watching! That may mean I miss out on some otherwise great dramas, but I do.not.care!