UncreativeName

In fairness it's not the only time a Korean production has done a remake: World of the Married is a remake of the BBC Doctor Foster and that was massively popular, with still the highest Nielsen rating of all Cable Kdramas ever. So I can't blame them for trying to do the same with the worldwide phenomenon that is Casa de Papel

The screenwriters are already working on Part 2: https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20220615000732

...and in all fairness, they seem pretty darn popular (same ones of Hotel del Luna fame)

This is how I feel as well. It might be a problem if they were saying or even implying it was based on 100% SK culture, has SK clothes, etc etc etc....but they're not. It's a fictional world in a fictional country with fictional cities and fictional characters. Asian shows have been copying each other forever and ever - Boys Over Flowers was a Japanese Manga that got adapted by everyone under the sun - is that "cultural appropriation?" I don't think so...

As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If Kdramas wanna copy Cdramas, they should. If Cdramas wanna copy Kdramas, they should...

I just watched a couple of episodes of this....and the tonal shift is the most jarring I've ever seen in a Kdrama - not that I've seen them all, it's just so abrupt how it goes from a chilling suspense feel to an ethereal melodrama/romance feel.

피었습니다*

The inconsistency between realism and fantasy is probably the main thing that still irks me about this show. I can't "get over it" but not in a good way. So...

If one thinks that the show is about realism, then why does it romanticize depression (imagining the world ending in a flash, general anhedonia, etc. aren't things to be accepted as personality differences...these are signs that a person may be suffering), unethical behavior (the whole Gu doing shady business but there is basically no consequences), and alcoholism (to your point, Gu doesn't get fat or angry or whatnot - maybe in reality he gets confused and beats the crap out of Mi Jeong in a drunken stupor). Moreover, why does it contain so many idealistic elements of things working out...for no reason other than they just magically work out. In real life, Chang Hee and Hyuna might have cussed each other out and ended on bad terms. In real life, Ki Jeong and Tae Hoon would either be engaged in constant discomfort/arguments about Tae Hoon's family situation and/or broken up already (instead, the ending kind of leaves us with "love conquers all").

If one thinks that the show is about fantasy, then why is it so "slice of life", with so many scenes of non-dialog eating, numerous establishing shots, and so many conversations "about nothing". I think this one is more obvious: the show is obviously wanting to be "real life"

To me...ultimately I think what irks me is that this show is smack dab in the middle between idealism and realism and so in my personal opinion...I don't find it all that great. But I still stuck with it for 16 episodes which says something about its draw power. But I'm still disappointed with how it concluded - I think it could have done with fewer storylines so that the individual stories/characters could have been more thoroughly developed.

...yeah. No matter how I cut it, I had high expectations for this one and it didn't meet them. It was only "OK but flawed" to me.

Thanks for your comments, it's exactly how I feel about the ending. If they had fleshed it out more and shown the character changes, I would have been more OK with it but I agree that it didn't fit the character development we were shown.

I felt lukewarm about this drama too (funnily enough 6.5 also) but for different reasons. Regarding your philosophical/artsy stuff comment, I saw a criticism that the writer essentially just imbued a bunch of characters with her beliefs...and I can't help but think that, that is true and that the characters themselves are sort of lacking in their own voice.

Just want to point out...숭배 is not the word they focus on in the drama. Did you machine translate "worship"? As I understand it, that word has a more explicitly religious context. Personally, I can't help but wonder about the lost meaning of the production's intentions due to the translation of 추앙 - it seems in English and Chinese it was translated as worship

I prefer "life lessons," but even without it, I don't feel that the show is cohesive. To your point about realism...I would argue the show is really half-realism: it cherry picks goodness/badness when it suits it. Why did Mi Jeong's ex suddenly agree to pay her back - their relationship over 3 years has already been him outright arguing that he owes her nothing (which we know is untrue but that he is just a lying scumbag)? She helps him once and he changes his tune? He's still lying but he wises up that he should just lie to get out of an argument?

There's more: if we agree alcoholism is problematic, why does the show cherry pick the "good times" and not show any of the bad times (Gu admitted himself he has no idea what he will do to her). Where are the scenes when he is hallucinating with Mi Jeong just like when he's in the car being driven by his underling? Does he ever get physically violent as he does with people he has to manhandle in his job? Why is it always sunshine and rainbows with Mi Jeong?

So I don't buy it. I agree the show is "different" but I don't think it's different in a good way. I think it didn't know what it wanted to be and ended up neither realistic nor "Kdrama idealistic"

I know not everyone agrees, but I cannot get over how disappointed I am with the ending of this show. I tried to write a long form review but got frustrated, so I'll just share my gripes here...

My first main issue is that this show was "aimless" but it never fully committed to being a "random format" show. If you think about a slice of life like Hospital Playlist, it is also sort of "aimless" and the reason that it works is because each episode presents different side characters and plot lines which challenge/clarify the main characters - each episode, we may have seen a completely new side character, but it always ended up showing us some kind of "life lesson" or perhaps even showing us things about the main characters. And even in the end, it "all comes together" in some way where maybe characters will form romantic relationships with each other or reach important pivot points in their life.

My Liberation Notes sort of wanted to be like this....except it also didn't. On the one hand, we also had a lot of setup for that "aimless format" where we had episodes where Chang Hee lost his mind over his annoying, verbose coworker or even crazier ones where Ki Jeong has a dream of a robot carrying her. But on the other hand, it wanted really, really, really much to tell "complete stories": Ki Jeong dealing with the pressure of being an old, unmarried woman and the anxiety she has with it. Chang Hee dealing with the stresses of needing to earn money yet at the same time not being able to afford worldly things. Mi Jeong being overlooked, unloved, and unappreciated despite being deeply responsible/loyal.

...for me, none of these things came to a satisfying conclusion. It wasn't necessarily that it was an open ending, but more to me like it was lazy/needed to wrap things up really fast. Why did Ki Jeong-Tae Hoon's problems that stemmed from his daughter/his sister remain unresolved and seemingly solved by "but actually, we really love each other!" Now that Chang Hee has made peace with the fact that money is not needed/not a big deal anymore...why is he still so deeply unhappy? How did Mi Jeong suddenly become so optimistic despite the fact that she's dating a clear alcoholic and that her core personality has not changed? To me, their positions in Episode 16, even if purposefully left "open" were not deserved: Ki Jeong/Tae Hoon's problems have been ongoing for 3 years -> how did the setup in Episode 15 not lead to an actual breakup? Chang Hee seems to have been deeply unhappy in Episode 15 over his break up yet showed in 16 that he has actually gained real insight into himself -> if there's anyone that could actually get back together with their ex (Hyeon Ah), I actually think it's him.

Mi Jeong deserves a special note IMO: to me, her and Gu's relationship was never super compelling, and at the end, I found it even less so. Firstly, they were there for each other "out of circumstance" and nothing else - if we're talking realism, this is either a "rebound relationship" where both people are lonely or it's a forced romantic relationship, which cannot end well. I've been lonely too...but that doesn't mean I automatically jumped the bones of a close friend that I connected with during those hard times. Secondly, they both seemed to have deep seated issues, one with alcoholism (still unresolved) and the other with depression. That final scene in particular where Mi Jeong is just so happy and says she can love freely now...I just don't buy it. The main changes that she made were she moved and switched jobs and that...solved everything I guess, including the mini-existential crises that she often had in her head. Then we have Gu...what changed for him? Nothing. He started as a miserable alcoholic in Seoul. And he ended as a miserable alcoholic in Seoul (with the same job to boot). Why...? He seems to have learned nothing from his experience in Sanpo and IMO that's not at all realistic to me.

I won't say that this is a terrible show, because it is not. There are certain aspects of it that are just so wonderful that can't be overlooked: the acting is stellar, the cinematography is ethereal and special. However, overall, I think it deeply underperformed towards my personal expectations: I really wanted to find some comfort in this show, but I just couldn't. As a romance, I didn't like it. As a slice of life, I didn't like it. As a commentary on life/realism...I actually don't even know what message the show was trying to send.

I too find the show great, but also think that their relationship could have been handled better. Personally, I never saw anything that they did on an emotional level that screamed to me "more than friends" -- for me, it's like they have/had a close friendship. Sometimes, I honestly wonder if both the actors weren't so attractive, would people be shipping them so hard? Like, if Mi Jeong looked like a completely average plain Jane (as her personality has been made out to be) and Gu had the actual issues of an alcoholic (probably fat due to those carbs + maybe a splash of liver issues)...would people still be so into them?

Thanks! This makes a lot more sense now. I was indeed looking at other countries and noticed that their rankings were not highest -> lowest, so this explains everything.

This is NOT meant to be sarcastic or casting shade - I genuinely want to know the answer: how is this show #1 for "Top Airing Shows"? Does anyone know how MDL calculates this? I'm really curious how the algorithm works. For example, Sh**ting Stars has almost double the watchers but is #4. Does it use how many people are posting comments for example?

I've heard your opinion before from others and I respect it. I have a friend who absolutely refuses to watch shows like this because she specifically watches them for romantic escapism. There's nothing wrong with that.

However, as a lover of melodramas, it also makes me a little sad because these types of shows are definitely in the minority, especially if we just go by ratings. Not saying there's anything wrong with them, but the fluffy rom coms have waaaaaaay higher viewership. The show that was in this time slot previously was Forecasting Weather and Love (I watched that whole thing and argue it was a trainwreck) and that already has higher ratings than My Liberation Notes.

IMO, she always acts a "certain way" and it's constant no matter what show she's in. Personally, I don't mind it, but for this show, I think the source material leaves much to be desired...like, one way to think about it is: once you've watched the whole thing, try to "summarize" what the show is about. You probably can't beyond some shallow things (some people cheat, some people fall in love, everyone has problems, and it ends)...and that's the problem with this show: the main plotline is weak.

I don't really feel the chemistry, so I guess I'll try to offer the contrarian view...

To me, romance that I can accept doesn't have to be the stereotypical fluffy "girl-falls-into-guy's arms" or "accidental kissing" or "heart fluttering whatever". BUT I think romance, whether real life or in a story, includes something "extra" that is not seen with your other platonic relationships...otherwise you're basically friends. Usually, there is some element of physical attraction, and hopefully, there is some element of emotional bond.

To me, Mi Jeong and Gu have a supportive relationship...but that's about it. Firstly, their relationship is forced: Mi Jeong walked up to Gu and basically insisted that they become intertwined into each others' lives ("Worship me"). Their relationship is built upon Gu blindly helping/caring for Mi Jeong because he has given up on himself and because she asked. So as a viewer, I have to ask myself the question: does he actually care about Mi Jeong or he is killing time? I think it's hard to say: he has elements of just "being a good person" since he helps the Yeom family basically without question (the whole getting the money from that stubborn customer for example). To me, this means that he is helping Mi Jeong as a "good person." Therefore, I don't see anything that tells me he likes Mi Jeong SPECIFICALLY -- she seems to be just a placeholder girl for him to kill time as he picks himself back up.

I ask the same question of Mi Jeong: does she like Gu SPECIFICALLY or is he also a placeholder? For me, he feels like a placeholder...it's clear she's definitely bored and probably depressed. If you think about her past relationship with the guy she lent money to, it wasn't exactly healthy: firstly, he seems to have been stringing her along for money, but even for her, she has had moments where she had admitted that she was petty/insecure because of his success. As a viewer, I see Mi Jeong as basically being lonely and Gu filling that gap to be someone that cares about her: when she gets those texts from Gu, I didn't see them as she was excited that Gu SPECIFICALLY was contacting her, but that SOMEONE was finally paying attention to her -- we've seen over and over how she is so easily overlooked in her life (her boss being a dick and overlooking her skills. That guy who commented that she's pretty but she's boring. Her family taking her sense of responsibility/loyalty/diligence for granted). So of course someone paying attention to her is going to excite her.

What makes this more difficult is that neither of them have ever verbalized WHAT they like about each other. For example, OTHER people have highlighted Gu's pros (That he's rich, etc.) but Mi Jeong has said nothing each time. It is POSSIBLE that she is thinking the same thing to herself, but as a viewer, we will never know. I also see the same in reverse: the shopkeeper mentioned that Mi Jeong is doing Gu a favor, but again, we don't know what Gu is thinking: is he genuinely attracted to Mi Jeong as a romantic partner or is he glad that there's someone there worrying about him?

So to try to summarize, for me, the issue is that nothing about the two characters screams at me that they want to be together WITH EACH OTHER. And that's the part that I feel there is little chemistry on: I don't see that either has a specific attraction to the other. They seem to be just filling a void in each others' lives...and I don't think that's a compelling romantic relationship to me, whether on screen or in real life. If these two people showed up to us as our friends in real life, I think we would be asking ourselves whether they're in a rebound relationship or they're in a good relationship that could lead to marriage/etc./whatever they want.

I have the same thought as you: Mi Jeong definitely has her quirks which is absolutely fine (IMO: Some make her refreshingly attractive - As a guy, I hate "games" - straightforward people are really attractive. Some goes for Ki Jeong), but she also has real signs of depression which is not "OK" (in the sense that it shouldn't be accepted as "normal health" - this is how people in real life end up killing themselves "without anyone knowing") - we're talking about thoughts of death, tiredness, persistent "empty" feelings, pessimism, potential loss of interest in pleasurable things, etc. This show has a precious opportunity: we have 4 episodes left for Gu and her to "recover" in some way. I really hope it does not become "love conquers all." - it's fine for them to end up together (or not end up together), but realistically, love "doesn't conquer all (depression)"...or else we'd be telling every clinically depressed patient to "go find love and you'll be cured"

Pretty unlikely. Was designed as a "watch on your phone" show for Korea domestically to try to advertise KakaoTV and has a pretty low following internationally (we're at ~31k watchers here). Most of the actors have gone on to new projects.

It's really hard not to compare the dialog with Mr. Mister, since it's the same writer. I read a comment somewhere that all the characters channel the view of the writer, and I can't unsee that. I don't know if anyone else feels the same way, but I feel it jarring how a lot of the characters have the same point of view. It makes them too...homogenous in my opinion. Like even Mi Jung who is starting to talk more...the stuff that comes out of her mouth is just so similar to what her siblings say. I get that they're going to be a little similar because they're related...but I feel like all of them have the same kinds of quirks and it is a little jarring to me - specifically, they all have that same way of talking about trivialities of life with a dash of weirdness (picking up a corpse's head, a dropped nail looking weird like a dead body, etc.). Even when Mr. Gu, who is not at all related to the 3 main siblings, finally opens his mouth, I can't help but help it's "the same voice" talking. I guess what I'm saying is that I wish the characters felt different: I think that's one of the things that I felt Mr. Mister did differently and did better -- yes, the story sends "the same clear message" but I felt like the characters were generally pretty different: for instance, the 3 main siblings being a loyal-to-a-fault, proper man, a wild, failed director, and an eldest who doesn't always embody responsibility. Then you have the clearly different ones, like the ridiculously optimistic actress, etc. I can see them all as "distinct people." In My Liberation Notes...it sometimes feels like a continuous monologue given by different faces. On the outside, they may look different, have different jobs, etc. but their inner monologue is "the same person"

I guess I'm starting to get a little disappointed. I hope I feel differently as we continue to get episodes.