S1234

Yes she was written to be an unlikable character I agree.

That’s exactly in my humble opinion the drama has sought to do. It shows up a very unflinching mirror onto the Korean culture of work pressure. It’s a tough watch but since I have had Korean bosses in the past it provides a good insight. Sky castle was similar in its brutal portrayal of Korean society too. I love shows like this.
I recently watched love and anarchy which was again quite honest in it’s portrayal of Swedish society of how people are expected to keep up appearances even at the cost of mental health.
That’s also exactly the reason why I hate shows like the crown (Netflix) since they completely whitewashed the brutal colonialism that the British empire did. The scene where the queen arrives in Kenya only to be greeted by jubilant Kenyan children was so difficult for me to swallow and it was completely dishonest. I would rather watch shows like flaw over shows like the crown.

It was Kim Young Dae and I think he would have done a much better job. He has a good personality

I agree in this case it’s the male lead whose personna did not match the role. I believe this drama was to have another lead and they had to search for a new lead at the last moment hence the massive miscasting

The one by Lee bo young in Mine and Jang Nara is VIP

There are some k dramas which is about revenge and the main female lead is left alll alone. For example one by Jang Nara and another by Lee no young. They are great dramas. For me I get a bit blue if I see women leads being all alone so I like romance. But if you feel called to it you can watch some good noir k dramas. For me personally I am glad this shows a love line but I do understand people who want some different

Well I do agree with you. But for people who have been lonely and in pain, love does heal. For example even in stranger things Hopper has a love story with Winona Ryder and his love for his daughter like person El. Oh Soo Jae reminds me of that in a way. All character arcs which show a character which has been wronged either end in death or sadness (example snape from Harry Potter) or in love example Aragorn LOTR, Hopper etc. it’s a plot device and something called a hero’s journey where love is explored as an archetype for the hero’s redemption. Even Classical Greek myth Odysseus ends in love. So that’s why authors continue to use it. It’s just my humble opinion :)

I would agree with you however it’s a Korean drama and Korean office hierarchy is notorious. She does that to her other female junior colleague also. In turn if you watch it later her senior at work also abuses her. This is why this drama has done so well commercially in Korea and not so much internationally because it’s quintessentially korean and is a very brutal portrayal of the toxic work culture. Several things happen in this drama which won’t happen in many other places.
According to the drama he is undergoing his roasting/hazing ritual. It would have seemed partial if she did not haze a newcomer. They show a similar concept in rookie historian go Hae ryung, where the newcomers are made to go through a tough hazing ritual.
This is similar to many south Asian dramas I watch where the patriarchy is extremely evident (example the wife never eats before the husband and only eats leftovers, the wife sleeps on the floor while the husband sleep on the bed etc etc). A foreigner will find these dramas horrifying to watch but these are loved by the locals who watch it.

I agree with you. Especially if he is a Korean. A Korean man at 18 enlists in the army and can even die in the line of duty. So if he is old enough to die and defend his country he is old enough. Why would a man at 27 be called a man child defeats me he is almost thirty in this drama if he is 27. In real life the actor is 31 and that’s no spring chicken. I am not ageist and I think no one below 55 should be considered middle aged, but I also think anyone over 25 is definitely old enough.

Yeah in goblin it was super creepy as you rightly said not because of the age difference but because 1) she was a minor 2) they almost had a ward guardian relationship very incestous somehow. But since it was a man doing it no one had absolutely any problems

I have learned to be more accepting of large age differences. I am also ok with student teacher relationships once both are adults since very famous people started as student Teachers example Dame Marie Curie and her husband and together they won the Nobel prize. What I cannot condone is if someone is kept in your custody as a ward and you are their guardian. In such circumstances it’s sacrilegious and Golbin was very creepy that way. It reminded me of Woddy Allen marrying his girlfriend who was earlier his ward. It’s icky

There is misogyny amongst the viewers of MDL. They only like much younger female leaders paired with old or older men. Example eve which is running now, has a much older (much more than the age difference here) male lead who has assaulted the female lead. Even then people want him to end with the female lead.
The point is that MDL attracts a much varied international audience and there is a lot of internalised misogyny. I have seen extreme female bashing and slut shaming even, amongst the comments section of all dramas where the female lead is older.
Conversely in dramas where even if the male lead is older than 20 years and as a character is shown bullying the female lead people have no problem. One classic example is goblin where the female lead is an orphan, a minor even and is the ward (he is her guardian) of the female lead so almost a paternal relationship and people still love that drama. Here they cross no social taboos or barriers and people still have a problem. But then it is what it is.

I loved all her dramas. I did not like beauty inside since I thought private secretary did a better job with the face blindness theme. I think with this drama it’s the male lead who (my humble opinion) does not match up to her in aura. It’s not age since I did like her pair in temperature of love but here it’s almost like they are two different species - one is a royal bengal tiger and another is a fluffy Persian cat.
I usually love noona dramas but this one is not it at all. Alas wait for a perfect noona drama continues. “She and her perfect husband” when are you going to air?

I actually find Chinese dramas heroes a little less toxic. To each their own though 😊👍

I actually like some male leads in western dramas. Especially trauma based. Broadchurch which is a British drama is amazing in its portrayal of the male lead. Bodyguard another British one is awesome where the lead suffers from PTSD post war. There are some other awesome dramas 🙂.

That’s precisely the reason why I have off late gravitated towards Chinese dramas. Example Wang Lu (Xu Kai) from lingjian mountain was awesome. Even in “why her” the guy was a complete dishrag. Western shows also do more compelling characters men and women both. For example Max and Steve from stranger things.

I have the same issue. I love noona romance but do not like childhood relationships (exception is I hear your voice, since technically they did not know each other at all). It skeeves me out a little. Also I don’t like noona romance where the guy is a limp fish (cough cough why her). Why can’t we have strong characters who fall in love with an older women. Best example I can think of is actually a Pakistani drama called woh aik pal. I liked find yourself too. My all time favourite is Ryan Reynolds and Sandra bullock in the proposal. In Korean dramas I really liked I hear your voice (male lead had super powers so it balanced the power dynamics).

I agree. At this point we stand a higher chance of a new planet being discovered in the solar system

It is similar but Xu Kai and Yang Mi are Xu Kai and Yang Mi. 🤷‍♀️

I love Noona romances too. Way you are I liked better than SITR since it had less toxic parents. Story set up was different too but you need to suspend your sense of reality. If you understand Hindi/Urdu you can watch woh aik pal a Pakistani drama which is a really really good Noona drama. It’s one of my best. It’s on YouTube.