SongofSixpence

Nope! I tried to point out that ML is still being very formal with FL (which is what OP's comment complains about) - he's using her last name (not first name, which is what your comment says) with -nim. Then I gave an example of what affectionate first name address would be.

Here's a better explanation from the r/Kdrama wiki.

https://old.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/wiki/generalresources#wiki_addressing_others

Basically, you've got 4 speech levels - two formal (deferential and polite) and two informal (plain and intimate). -Nim = deferential, -ssi = polite, no honorific = plain and -a/-ya = intimate.

So if you were just being informal, it's first name with no honorific. If you're intimate or close with someone, it's first name with -a/-ya.

...That's exactly what I said? And exactly what wikipedia says too.

Lol, and I taught ESL there during a gap year! So one of us was socialized wrong by our Korean co-workers or there's a generational gap.

I'm pretty sure informal is first/full name with no honorifics and affectionate is first name with -a/-ya - it's how FL addresses her little sister, for example. -Ssi with first/full name is for polite speakers on an equal level and -nim with last name or title is universally formal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_honorifics#Honorific_forms_of_address

Son is FL's last name - Hae Yeong is her first name. Someone younger like ML will almost never call someone older by their first name publicly even in a romantic relationship, they usually use a pet name instead to skirt honorific rules.

-Nim is also a formal honorific equivalent to sir/ma'am. If ML were addressing FL affectionately in honorifics, it would be -a/-ya (ie, Hae Yeong-a).

You just proved my point. Your issue isn't with polyamory, it's with women having the opportunity to choose more than one male partner.

Which, by the way, was very obvious in your original comment.

Bro, what? Japan, India and South Korea all allowed polygamy until the arrival of western influence and Christianity. Japan outlawed it during the Meji Restoration in 1868 (also to prevent political marriage alliances in the upper classes) then forced South Korea to adopt the same laws during the occupation in the 1910s. Polygamy wasn't made illegal in India until 1956, and there are still exceptions for Muslims and Goans.

Western colonialism is largely responsible for eastern cultures shifting to monogamy, and you couldn't possibly sound more ignorant or misogynistic if you tried.

First three episodes were good - snappy dialogue, fun intro to the leads and secondaries, interesting themes around marriage, family and relationships. Four started getting iffy - the comedy was very one note and the characters/plot more OTT and wonky. Five through eight, steadily downhill - love bomb on the romance vs actual relationship, plot devolved into trope bingo territory and anything meaningful about the themes was ignored, steamrolled or treated superficially.

So at this point for me it's 1/3 good drama, 1/3 mediocre drama, 1/3 left to go. If it were 16 episodes I'd probably drop, but at 12 it's worth the gamble.

That's not true - I've added tags to NGNL (and other airing dramas) but I'm not a paying member.

1. If you're on the website, click "Edit Translation" under the drama description. It'll open a new tab/window with the drama info and a column on the left with options.

2. "Genre & Tags" is at the bottom of the list - click on it. It'll open up all existing genres/tags and allow you to search for and add new ones.

3. VERY IMPORTANT. In the "Additional Notes" section at the bottom you have to add supporting information - like a scene with a timestamp or link to a reputable article - to justify whatever genre/tag you're adding.

4. Click "Submit". It usually takes 24-48 hours for a mod to approve it.

5. Once it's approved you gain contribution points, which at a certain level allow you to vote on the importance of tags.

Well, considering you said yourself that I'm not a hater I'm pretty sure I'm not a troll? And the og comment doesn't mention or call out any of the trolls either - it picks on valid criticisms from other watchers.

I think you're stuck in a dichotomy of "you either like it or you don't". You may feel that way, but I often enjoy parts of a drama while not enjoying others and judging by the comments there's plenty of viewers who feel the same. They have every right to discuss those opinions on a forum for discussing dramas - especially airing dramas, where interacting with other viewers is part of the fun.

I also think enforced positivity can be just as toxic as enforced negativity. If you're going to mock people for not liking a drama, you're equally as bad as the trolls mocking people for liking a drama.

But you'll certainly get attention and validation for it.

What exactly counts as valid criticism then? Because critiquing the writing, acting or execution of a drama all seem valid to me.

The comments section is for everyone watching, not just those who love a drama 100%. There's a big difference between the trolls stirring up shit and the viewers who actually want to discuss the drama and their issues with it.

There's also a big difference between hating on a drama and hating on the people watching the drama. You're doing the latter, and that's troll territory.

Couldn't agree more about the tell-not-show and unearned romance. It feels so cheap when a drama throws tropes and slowmo scenes at you instead of taking the time to build a believable relationship between the leads as individuals.

PS: Try Search:WWW - it's a more realistic career noona romance that has 3 almost forty FLs and a FL that wants to remain unmarried.

Lol, there were three noona romcoms with secret chaebol MLs and contract relationships in 2024 alone. NGNL is a stale ass plot too, it's just spiced up enough that most viewers focus on that instead of the story.

IMO it's not that the trope isn't stock (any decent drama will have an individual take on tropes, otherwise what's the point?) but that it was mostly irrelevant. It didn't add much to the story or romance and it feels like a plot device afterthought now.

As much as I enjoyed the first 3 episodes, the drama would be a lot stronger thematically either without them or without the chaebol plot.

There's a polyamorous side couple in Gaus Electronics too!

100% agree with all of this (and your previous comment). So much of the drama feels random and under-developed - from the plotlines to the character arcs - that there's no sense of where it's going or what it's trying to say anymore. It lost the thread from the first 3-4 episodes on the cheeky critique of marriage, romance and family issues and now it's just desperately jumping from trope to trope instead of building an actual story.

Great for that Kdrama dopamine hit, not exactly great writing.

I think it's decent, but it wouldn't be getting as much praise if there were any good dramas airing to compare it to. 2024 has been a mid year for Kdrama so far.

But from your comments I also think you and I focus a lot more on the writing than other viewers. IMO Kim Hye Young does great snappy dialogue, but her plots are messy and her character arcs underdeveloped - everything about that time skip was 100% unconvincing.

Gaus Electronics is so much fun! But it's a parody office romcom from the start so the OTT wackiness is part of the package. NGNL has some very relatable characters and circumstances while the others are only 2D props to either set up a joke or move the plot along. It's the contrast that's off-putting.

I'm actually a rare fan of melodrama in romcoms but I prefer it to add meaning to the character arcs or themes, not just used as an obstacle or shock value.

Finally caught up... just in time to start losing interest. The first three episodes were golden as a quirky and endearing intro for the leads and themes, but the fourth was shaky and the fifth and sixth almost feel like a different drama (minus the cheeky dialogue, still solid). The emotional beats don't hit the same when the chaebol plot and secondary characters are basically stock tropes - easy to laugh at, not individualized enough to sympathize with - and focusing on the office drama without humanizing them or building things up first isn't working for me. Same for the time-skip and all its tell-not-show developments, which feel hasty at best and inauthentic at worst.

Her Private Life (same writer) also started with a fun twist to a misunderstanding + contract relationship then devolved into a tropey trauma fest. I really hope that's not going to happen here, because sex jokes and skinship won't save flat characters or a formulaic story.

Still love the foster sisters' relationships, the light societal commentary and some top tier situational comedy - but the writing needs to step up to help everything else come together.

No apologies necessary! Thanks for the correction (I've edited the review) and the info.