Unidentifiable

I think Dong-baek was about 34 and Young-shik about 30-31, so yes, by a few years maybe, but they were still similar ages so it was irrelevant.

Just watched episode 23 - 24, and I'm finding I have a very love-hate feeling about this drama. First, the female lead, it's refreshing to finally - finally see a single mother as the lead in a romcom, but that doesn't mean I love her character. She's too passive, and sure, that makes it satisfying when she puts her foot down, but really, she navigates the world so differently to me that I absolutely cannot relate.
And two, some of the characters are a bit, like, Young-shik's mother, she does a total 180 for no reason - sure, maybe to explore cultural norms, but it feels out of character. And Pil-gu's dad is annoying, his logic is very, very off as well, and I don't like it, because sometimes he feels like a good person, and sometimes he's uh, delusional and it's inconsistent and simply unnecessary.


Other than that, I'm enjoying this a good deal.

I'd also like to say that myself and most of my friends at school were from single parent families. Some of them even had step-dads or stepmums, sometimes they had a stepdad and a stepmum, that is, two sets of parents. And yes, culturally it is very different, but why on earth can't someone have two dads? The dad does not need to be in an active relationship with the mother to be a parent.

I haven't seen any of these, but Kimi wa Petto and Gokusen were both absolutely brilliant mangas.

I thought we were talking about Seo Hyun Jin xD Uh, I get them confused sometimes. She was the FL of Beauty Inside

I think the same actress does a pretty decent job in Black Dog. Yeah, well, I haven't finished it yet (just picked it back up again) but I found the story a lot more appealing, and the FL has a kind of quiet strength. She may appear at first to be a pushover, but no, she is stoic and charming, hardworking and competent. She proves that not all problems have to be faced head-on to fix them. I'm at episode 5, and I'm really loving the protagonist, oh she is so very far from whiny. In the first episode she cries a bit, but it is fully justified.

I know you didn't ask me, but I'll give you my opinion anyway. The Beauty Inside was, well, it was okay. It faded into obscurity for me, also without any major flaws or irritations, but the secondary couple were very memorable.

I'm embarrassed to admit Love O2O was my first Asian drama, I must've been bored witless. There were some benefits, however, because that made me look for something better and well, there was a lot that was better and I haven't looked back.

Still, I can't believe people still recommend it.

It's why I stick to mostly non-romance Kdramas. There's some good ones, even though they're in the minority.

Oh yes. I drop dramas left and right because of the female leads. I'm just not forgiving enough to finish them. I say this with oh, 130 dropped and on-hold dramas, 2/3 because of the female leads. It's also why I rarely touch romcoms these days, those are full of girls who believe their very existence revolves around their love interest.

It's the worst when they dress her up as intelligent, only to make her do something dumb and completely out of character because that what's socially acceptable/what writers perceive viewers want.

On another note, I can't finish any of the dramas you mentioned, because of the female leads. Only, SFS was for other reasons.

I wanted to like this, but I couldn't get over them talking about him being "cured" sure, average people might talk like that, but these are doctors!! I'm on the spectrum myself, and I can tell you, there is no cure, there is nothing to "fix", there is only better management of the "symptoms."
I can't watch it because of this, it's misinformation!

I also get really anxious watching his meltdowns. It's very ambitious of him to desire the hospital environment, although I admire him for it. They're some of the worst places on earth.

This is overrated. Don't get me wrong, it's by no means bad, it's just that so many hail it the best crime/detective drama ever, when I have to disagree. I couldn't even finish it, even though I will admit it's good, one of the best, but not THE best.

I can watch this (plus subtitles) and do my homework, on a completely unrelated topic, at the same time - and still follow the story. I'm still not sure if that's a good thing, or a bad thing.

That was fun. I hope it keeps up this pace and I hope there's no romance. I love it when male and female characters form working relationships, even friendships, but don't get tangled up in the whole romance fiasco.

Oh yes, it can be a good idea to include tragedy warnings.

Ah yes, well, they are certainly heavy.

I haven't seen it, but I've spoiled myself. It looks like for the main couple, they don't end in tears - they find a comfortable middle ground and a future together. As for the secondary couple, it's less happy.

I agree with most of these. Except I would like to point out that if someone had tried get me to watch Strong Woman Do Bong Soon or Her Private Life first up, I probably would've never touched a Kdrama again. Her Private Life in particular, fan-girling is downright creepy to people who have no idea what they're in for.
It would be good to include some minimal romance thrillers, because there are some good ones. Like Save Me or The Guest. It all depends on the audience, but those could hook a new viewers just as easily as a romcom - and it would show that not all kdramas are romcoms.
Also a stunning historical drama like Mr Sunshine with a high production value would be a good bet. It was airing when I first got into dramas, and was probably in my first 10. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it if someone likes the genre, but will forgive some inaccuracies over story and characters.

Oooh that would be fun!

I often love slow, contemplative dramas. But for some reason, this one is just feeling flat.

I have a hate-love relationship with this type of story. They make me feel so much, it's painful.