SongofSixpence

There's a cultural component too. In South Korea 15% of brides are older than grooms because women consider younger men more equitable (ie, less misogynistic) partners and men prefer older women with established careers because of the high COL. The same isn't true worldwide, many countries are actually getting more regressive with gender roles.

https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20131029000781
https://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=63093

South Korea and most of the rest of the world has an inquisitorial legal system where prosecutors (and sometimes judges) are the primary investigative authority. Only the UK and its former colonies use the adversarial system that makes the police primary investigators.

Cute leads trapped in a bland and repetitive story. At maybe half the length and minus some side characters this could have been a sweet odd couple romance of making a relationship work despite class and age differences, but around the 10th time a conniving villain interferes for no good reason triggering yet another crisis and flashback montage it just got tedious.

If you like the sort of simple storytelling where all the obstacles are external and the leads are basic cinnamon buns you'll probably enjoy it, but for me the appeal ended before the drama did - I need more substance in characterization and plot than that to stay invested.

Without the repeated break ups/separations I would have given it an 8/10 just for being such a high production value no-brainer watch but they knocked it down to 7/10.

ML confesses and kisses FL in episode 10 and they start dating in episode 12. But like most Kdramas there's plenty of romantic moments before that.

Episode 14 is when ML and FL officially become a couple, but ML confesses and kisses her in episode 8 so the romance starts long before that.

Lol, they never actually date due to plot events? FL invites SML to a movie in episode 6 but they don't go - they agree to start dating in episode 7 and I think they're together a few weeks in show time, but it's all off screen.

1. A whole episode of happiness at the end with no break up, separation or time skip.

2. FL dates SML in the first half and breaks up with him in episode 8, but you'll see ML is always FL's top priority. SML tries to win FL back later but she's not interested and tells him so - they stay friends and co-workers.

3. Depends how much you like SML? He makes a choice knowing it will end the relationship so I personally felt he acted entitled about getting back together, but he's a great character with his own growth and arc.

A slice of life study of the successes and failures of the South Korean school system. FL secures a one-year teaching contract gets thrown in the deep end of departmental politics, ideological clashes and college admissions. The supporting cast give depth and personality to the conflicts as FL tries to both do her best as a teacher and secure a permanent position. It also manages to draw a parallel between students' futures resting on the CSAT and a contract teacher's on the certification exams, as well as the ranking system in the career track not just the classroom.

Sentimental at times but never pretentious or preachy and the most realistic view of education issues you'll see in a Kdrama. But like so many dramas the final four episodes are rushed and try to do too much with too little time which brought this from a 10 down to a 9.

A fantastic slice of life Kdrama that isn't trying to be a pretentious prestige piece or sentimental character study. There's no crazy corruption plots, minimal makjang and only a tiny bit of romance - it's just the story of a hyper-capitalist corporation slowly tightening the screws on its workers and the workers dealing with it as best they can within their limited means. No one is a perfect person and they all fight each other instead of the system, but they're well-developed and relatable characters that eventually find their way to their version of fulfillment.

Probably too close to reality for most viewers - Search:WWW and Start-Up are candy floss tech industry dramas compared to this - and the final episodes are weaker than the rest, but honestly that's on brand for Kdramas and didn't count against my rating much. 9/10

If you want the same sort of layered story and characters as IHYV I'd go for other dramas written by Park Hye Ryun like Pinocchio, While You Were Sleeping, Start-Up and Castaway Diva. I think this is her best work but they're good companion dramas with similar themes.

I haven't seen any noona dramas like this one (I went on a binge after watching it too!) which makes it hard to rec for. Maybe try Romance is a Bonus Book - they both have a ML that fell in love with FL after she saved his life, a triangle with a sweet SML, cohabitation, friends to lovers and a large supporting cast with their own stories.

Bro, you're the only one making this about the money - it's about the lying. I'd leave a partner who abused my trust or didn't value me enough to trust because trust needs to go both ways for a relationship to work. Real life isn't a drama, and if a partner is lying to you about something as fundemental as who they are they're likely lying about other things too.

Seriously though, if you're upset enough about a dumb drama trope to make personal attacks on people for disagreeing with you maybe take a break from the internet.

Lol, way to not even consider the fact that ML has been lying to FL about who he is the whole time? I'd take the money and run too if I found out my partner wasn't who I thought they were, especially if I couldn't see a future with them because of family/class issues.

But that's also what makes a good love story - two people who have to work through all those issues together to build a relationship. Hopefully that's what the drama will focus on.

From the flashbacks it seems like FL wasn't ready to be anyone's daughter and her mom wasn't ready to be a mom - they both hurt each other trying to be something they're not.

Or did you mean Sister Clara? They did keep in touch, FL mentions that she recieved a card from her. But FL lived abroad for a long time and hadn't been there in person for years.

Too much girl power, not enough story. Despite three romances and an interesting premise this is an example of a Kdrama without much going for it but a preachy message - women are awesome. They are, but that doesn't need to be rehashed for 16 repetitive episodes. That time could have been better spent either a) giving the MLs an actual character arc outside of supporting the FLs, b) going into more detail about the issues of big tech or c) acknowledging the irl issues tech has with women in the workforce instead of glossing everything over.

Without the tropey, overly melodramatic wrap up in the last two episodes I might have given it a 7.5 but they put it firmly in 7 territory. Mid drama, mid payoff.

If you want a drama with well-developed characters that realistically shows what working for a major tech company is like, go watch On the Verge of Insanity.

MDL's algorithm counts other variables beyond the viewer rating (which is 8.8-9 according to the statistics page right now). It includes things like # of watchers, comments, reviews etc. There's a short explanation in the site FAQ.

Yes, FL likes SML and they date. The love triangle goes on until near the end of the drama like Reply 1988, you're meant to guess who FL married.

You don't need a man's ID to get a cell phone. Most cell plans are still contracts in South Korea so as the contract holder FL's boyfriend would need to approve any changes. Your cell number is also linked to your personal ID and you can't access things like banking and public services without it, so FL can't just open a new account with a new number.

I think it's meant to be commentary on the dangers of women being dependent on their partners with the cell phone contract as an allegory for marriage.

I'm so hyped for this. All the noona romances so far this year have been so-so to complete disappointments. Hopefully this one will redeem the genre for me!

It's means a commuter marriage! I've read the manga and in the beginning both leads live and work in different cities and only get to spend time together on the weekends.

Thank you for this comment! I have this on my watch list but I hate uneven relationships where the FL never shows the same love and devotion for the ML that he does for her. Maybe I'll put it back in the queue.