whyiamhere

Great Story, Awful Ending

I like this show. It is a great one, although it's not special. The romance and comedy are mixed up and exectued well. The casts are all good, especially Sang-Yi and Ji-Hyun. Their chemistry is outstanding. They also include a "serial killer" which blends pretty smoothly into the story without making it looks like a way to "simplify everything".

The fact that I enjoy the second lead more somehow indicates that there is a problem with the storyline. The idea of the story is good though. The beginning phase is really slow, I would even say it is boring in the first two episode. They build a lot and complex problems in the beginning. However, the writer decided to develop stories around Hae-Young better than hers, causing the main story about Hae-Young and Ji-Uk to be outshined by other premises. The pace somehow turns fast after Episode 8, and this causes some conflicts to have a plain resolution, or even left behind. Sad that we don't have a chance to see Ja-Yeon story with Bok's family, Ji-Uk's family backstory, or make Hae-Young have a better closure with her mom. I am totally pissed after Episode 11 though. They decided to add more conflicts near the end, in Episode 11 and 12 (seriously why did they make a major conflict in the last episode??), only to have a rushed resolution.

(AND THEY MADE HA-JUN REALLY FINE AFTER HIS FORMER LOVER BECAME HIS EX-BOSS GIRLFRIEND. THAT'S TOTALLY IRRATIONAL!)
I was hoping they will do something with the abused child in the Episode 5, since Hae-Young has "some experience" with it. They also brought up the premise of "CEO should take lunch at the cafetaria", and did nothing about it.

Overall I will still recommend it. It may take time before you can enjoy the story. But I don't think it really match up the hype.

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Heartwarming Romance of 2024? This is The One!

Let me be honest, this series is not my cup of tea. I don't really like the story especially at the last third of the season. However, It is quite reasonable that a lot of people recommend this series, thanks to the main leads duo. Kim Ji-Won and Kim Soo-Hyun have an outstanding performance, and that is the reason why a lot of people ship them in real life. Hong Hae-In character is a good example to never give up on your life, and to never let you waste your life even though you only have a little left on it. The one she does in the press conference, I think it is because she knows that she will die either by the disease or in Eun-Seong's hand. She does it to protect her family. It resemble the phrase from Grace that "the one that has nothing to lose is the most terrifying". We also see how hard Soo-Cheol is trying to grow up, trying hard to fix everything and improve the quality of his family life. But on top of those, it is Hyun-Woo's love that against all odds, holds Hae-In and the throne of Queens.

Additionally, we get a really good soundtracks. They placed precisely it in the scenes.

The storyline is, although not flawless, has a great point. The pace was extremely slow in the first half of the series, and additionally each episodes are very long. Many audience may not be able to endure it. But trust me, if you follow, it will slowly suck you into the "hell" of the pitiful Queen's family— pitiful since the only members that have clear mind are a deserted aunt and an ex-spouse of the heir. The pace will catch up on the second half. More heartwarming scenes are coming after then, but there will be a few pointless filler episodes. However, I hate that Beom-Jun and Seok-Hwa don't do anything regarding the return of Da-Hye. During hard situation like that, logically any family will draw a line and make her choose clearly whom she will take side.

As I have stated on the beginning, I don't like the last third of this show. The story goes downfall after their return to the house. It is somewhat weird that Hong's family somehow stops looking for the secret money after then. Honestly, I totally despise the idea of Hae-In surgery's memory loss effect because it is boring and overused. Combined with Eun-Seong coming to Germany to become the first person Hae-In sees after the surgery, it becomes the worst plot because we all know what will come next. I will be honest that I would rather have Hae-In died of the cancer rather than this plot. The quality of this conflict is somewhat lower that other previous conflicts, and it puts aside the "main conflict" of the Queens Group. The pace also slows down after this premise, making the whole pace looks inconsistent and seems like the writer is forcing this conflict only to fulfill the requirement of 16 episodes. Fortunately thanks to this plot, we get the saddest part of the story— when she reads her diary. Final crash and the stand-off moments are also the things that I don't like. I get it that they are trying to make Hyun-Woo the hero of this story, but they should come up with something better and original. The pace speed up again in the last episode causing the ending to be a bit rushed. They should show the heartwarming moments of Hae-In trying to recover memory, probably a whole episode of it. I would also like to see how the tenseful family of Hong's turned into something more warm. They have brought out the story about the tenses during office meetings, when in family room, on the dining table, during the ceremonies and many more, but they never tell us how it turns after all of this moments.

I don't really like most of the Yongduri's residents. They are often cringe and overreacting at everything. Also visual effects of this series is not the best. You can see it clearly during the boar accident. And when are they going to remove the pop up stores??? I want to see the new concept so bad!!!!

Overall, I recommend this series for you all. If this type of genre is not your favorite, you may get bored at the beginning though. That is because you need to take your time to enjoy this series, as it has once again, long episodes. But when it comes to heartwarming romance, I still think this is the best for whole 2024, and it may take quite a while for me to get over from this.

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First things first, why this movie is here? It doesn't meet the requirement to be here I suppose?

The story is quite lightweight, animated movie level. It's about an idol group HUNTR/X who is also a demon hunter part-timer. The idea is excelllent to be honest, but the execution relies too much on the music. Like for every problem, the solution is always music. The animation is excellent, but somehow the motion is a bit not smooth. For the cast I prefer to have the actor/actress who do both the voiceover and singing, though the current option is still excellent. Jinu's voice alters a lot between his normal and singing voice.

I have seen a lot of KDramas, they often disappoint us with lackluster ending. Although this movie isn't even Korean, I don't understand why they replicate this "culture". With such great story idea and decent build up, they bottled it so hard. The ending is quite anticlimatic and lazy. Think about it: after winning such big fight, then it's... the end?? I think they didn't show whether Gwi Ma is defeated or not for potential sequel. However, the way they didn't tell us how can Rumi become half-demon/half-hunter is pretty disappointing. Another thing annoys me a lot is HUNTR/X never complete their main songs on screen.

This movie relies so hard on the soundtracks, either existing or new songs all are lit. They have #1 Billboard 100 song and #1 Billboard 200 album now, INSANE! For the lightweight story and catchy soundtracks, it is very recommended for rewatch, escpecially for younger people.

PS: Since it's a US show, I'll give my rating with US standard instead of "suggested overall".

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Bad People don't Always Do Evil Things, Good People doesn't Always Do Kind Things

It's always never easy to make a long review on a quite realistic life show, like this one. This show is very calming and heartwarming. But please note, the genre is prison so sometimes it turns really dark and malicious. This show is about bad people being put together in the same place after doing some bad things. Character development is very strong in this show: some of them are repenting, some are going worse; some deserve it, some has to unfairly experience it.

The screenplay is excellent, everything is as pure as life. There are a mix of tears, laugh, love and friendship as your normal day in life, nothing overdramatic or too ecsatic. It is very soothing that the heartwarming moments mostly involve the most evil person such as Cha Min Chul or Lifer. The whole cast, on the other hand, does an oustanding job here. Looks like they do this all effortlessly. The technique of flashbacks is really awesome.

While the screenwriting is quite impressive, it doesn't mean flawless. When the cellmates try to manipulate Je Hyeok's dream, it is later known that both Captain Yoo and him didn't take the sleeping pills. However this has zero impact to the plot, and it's still unknown what happens that night. The ending is quite unfavorable though. Je Hyeok seems to think about other cellmates while he was imprisoned, so I was expecting him to track all of his past prisonmates, but he doesn't. It's also never seen on screen, the moment with Je Hee after Je Hyeok released. The writer also suddenly forgot about Joon Ho and Je Hee relationship in the last episode.

The soundtracks are excellent. Finally, this show is highly recommended for rewatch, especially to someone who are looking for something calming after a hectic day.

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Another good show falls into a sinkhole towards the end. The show has a good start and a very promising story, but it plummets suddenly. The story is about two sworn enemy secretly fall in love with each other. I feel the story is going to be dragging and full of tense, but apparently the story is very funny and lightweight. Chemistry between Ju Ji Hoon and Jung Yu Mi is very good, but somehow I feel the chemistry between young Ji Wons (Oh Ye Ju and Hong Min Ki) is more incredible! I thought the feud between the Ji Wons was going to be evil but it's actually very funny instead.

Unfortunately the vibe switches extremely after episode 10. The comedy fades and it becomes more dark. I don't understand why the writer decided to add more than one(!) malicious premises. It should be enough with the corruption premise and Cha Ji Hye act is quite unnecessary. I don't understand what makes her qualify as SFL, Maeng Su Ah deserves this title better. Kim Hye Won also fails to build a strong character on her. The return of the sexual offender also makes the story more ridiculous.

At the end of the day, it's still a good show to enjoy, especially when you are looking for a lightweight and funny romcom.

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Great Story... but Mixed Feelings

This show gives me a mixed feelings since is a bit rollercoaster for me. The whole story is good, but at some point it's quite draggy and frustrating. The amount of comedy is less on the first half, but it's getting better as the show progressing. However I feel like the comedy is slapstick-ish, and maybe not suitable enough for 2025.

The story itself is bound to be good from the beginning: a priest who are willing to take down a whole corrupt cartel. I like the writing that every party is trying to be cautious and tactical. Even a small poke from Father Kim Hae Il can cause a distrust between the alliance. It is nice that we can see that everyone tries to make their own strategy to save their live, begin to switch alliance and even scapegoating their allies. All is a good storywriting until the writer brought character Lee Jung Gwon. Every actions that follows is just spontaneous and impulsive anger, all without any concrete plan. It loses the beauty of the writing by then. Also they should perhaps end it at 16 because the story about Lee Jung Gwon escapes from the custody and seeks for revenge is extremely draggy. How come NO ONE notices his escape? All the episodes after this event are like another show.

I have no problems with the main characters, they all great and played by a great casts. Park Gyeong Seon has a quite consistent personality. Usually, writers like to drastically switch a character personality from goofy to evil in an action comedy show. However, Gyeong Seon is quite consistently an annoying prosecutor throughout the show. Even Hwang Cheol Beom has a great personality depiction: he's smart, bad ass, determined, just extremely lack of luck. However, the writer doesn't really consistent with some other characters. The writer has forgotten that Seo Seung Ah was once a 'hip-hop girl', and Gu Dae Yeong's past trauma disappeared like dust too easily. Jung In Ki, on the other hand, is very bad as Chief Nam. He looks like only has one face expression the whole show.

The fact that Park Gyeong Seon keeps meeting the alliance members in private after being threatened several times really distrubs me. She always works in the background, but once she is needed to show in front, she always comes without any plan.

If you want some actions and comedies, this show is quite recommended. But beware because the analytical hero is slowly being replaced by a ruthless warrior.

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Cringey in A Good Way

This is your typical cheesy-cringey romantic comedy show. There are a lot of hyperbolic emotions flowing everywhere. If you don't like something like that, you may be disgusted. I watched this show in 2025, and still I found out this show is, although nothing extraordinary, written excellently. The story is about a human-allergic man who is attracted to the affection from a robot, whom turns out to be replaced by a human. Yes the story itself is already seem predictable. It's also correct that every scene in the show is pictured with excessive emotions and unrealistic events. But you follow through the story, you will find that — even the story is super unrealistic — it's neatly written.

The story strongly focused on the main leads and their own romantic developments. People and problems around them are just additional ingredients and the portion for them is quite small compared to the main leads, and I really like it. I also like how their relationship problem is based on their own struggle and never the effect of stupid external threats. The relationship problem is dragging as expected, you can even expect it from the first episode. Turns out everything is not as bad as I've expected though. This show is an example how cliche plot such as childhood relationship or serial killers are not always the solution to drive a rom-com plot. Even I find the dragging part about the company director's rivalry (yes it's a rom-com, it's gotta be dragging!) not really dragging and still bearable (I often find out old K-Drama romcoms have extremely dragging external tropes). Bold message to everyone that any technolgy may never be able to replace the presence of a person.

The characters potrayal are excellent. Chae Soo Bin plays both characters excellently. Yes, she plays two characters: Jo Ji Ah and a robot named Aji3! I can't believe she looks like a doll there. Yoo Seung Ho does a great job for playing a mentally struggled and confused man. These two actors are able to pull something great to play such an unrealistic story. And thanks to the Santa Maria Team (and the thief family), we get an excellent amount of great comedy here. Unfortunately I don't find the other characters apart from them do a good job, this includes Ji Ah's brother, Min Gyu's mansion guard as well as the foreigners.

Apart from the good story, the problem in this show might be the vibe. The first phase of the show has a very bright and joyful vibes, but after the Aji3 testing phase ended, it becomes very emotional. It isn't bad at all, but I find that the comedy quality never bounces back to the earlier state. Additionally, the pace of the show post-testing also becomes slow. Also the blue umbrella at the backseat of the car seems confusing, because who put it there at first?

I also like the soundtrack. Overall if you are looking for a joyful rom-com, this is a good choice. The story is very fluffy and lightweight and maybe a good option to end your exhausting day because Aji3 will keep telling you: You are doing good!

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Another Show Dropped into The Same Mistakes

Ok, I'm so disappointed to write this. This show is about Cheon Ji Hun, an ex-prosecutor attorney trying to win difficult cases using unusual methods. The beginning of the show is really promising, anyone could be easily attracted to it. Each case is a complete set with a great backstory and resolution. Ji Hun ocassionally pulls unique methods to solve them and it will makes you impressed. Namkoong Min shows a great talent here, playing as an eccentric attorney. The element of comedy is also great here, thanks to him and Choi Dae Hoon as the SML.

While the earlier episodes are excellent, the writer looks confuse while writing the second part of the show, especially after Ji Hun's backstory. The vibe of the show drastically changes. It becomes more emotional and overly unrealistic. The plot about Ji Hun disappearing for one year annoys me a lot. It is stupid, uneccesary and doesn't make any sense. How come does Ji Hun disappear after confronting with Cha Min Chul? As a serial killer it's more possible for him to kill Ji Hun, given a free timespan of 1 year! The disappearance also impacts to almost nothing but "fresher mind". After this incident, the vibe also changes into more makjang-superheroish. Thanks to this storyline, we have been left out some story hanging: Sa Mu Jang's backstory as the first client (he says Ji Hun helps him a lot, in what?), Ma Ri and Min Hyuk loveline, and even the presence of Min Hyuk's father looks unimpactful. Ji Hun is later elected as the Special Attorney, but they doesn't even bother to show the trial at all. The epilogue at the island is, again, unecessary as it doesn't help to bring closure (or even make the audience conclude a closure).

Again, the bad scriptwriting takes toll on Kim Ji Eun's character. I thought she will do something big when Ji Hun disappears, but somehow the writer only makes her wait helplessly. What a waste of a talent.

The soundtrack is quite great in this show, but somehow I feel it's overplayed. This show is still recommended to watch and even to rewatch, especially for the comedy and the great cases, although the ending is not favourable at all.

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Too Much Ingredients, Most of Them are Overcooked

This show is a right example of what would happen if you keep adding ingredients into the pot while cooking and forget that the stove is on: it's going to overcook. The first half of the show is just incredible! The plot, the characters, the set, even the shots of the foods and ingredients, as well as the cooking scenes. But then I don't know what hurt the writer's head mid-show, he begins to build a story on a pile of misunderstandings which is crap.

Starting with the Japan trip, this plot is extremely questionable. I can't get why Chef Mo feels responsible to make her past head chef eats well. And the way Beom-U follows her all the way to Japan, it ticks the Makjang box! How the hell does Beom-U able to find Chef Mo in such big city of Sapporo? Also remember: THEY ARE BROKE. But somehow they are able to afford two round-trip tickets, another round-trip ticket to pick a jug of doenjang, and fresh-premium ingredients for the head chef's diet. Also I don't get the problem between Chef Mo and her ex. She stepped up for her ex and resigned from her position, let's assume she did it because she was blinded by love. I don't think that's enough reason for her to resent him. What's actually going on never shown on screen. Maybe the only purpose of the Japan trip is a kiss in the middle of Sapporo street.

All of those irrelevant premises then mixed by a series of countless stupid misunderstandings which is frustrating. They also keep adding unecessary plots such as the arsonist and the temple trip. I mean with such short number of episodes, they should have to be more focus with Jungjae and Hansang! The final cooking showdown is no less ridiculous! How come the PD obeys Chairman Han all the way? He is just fine when the Chairman twisting the showdown result! The show then wrapped with some questionable endings, as expected. What happen to Motto then, when you especially say that "you need to think about my people who work at that restaurant"? At the end of the day, they forgot the soul of this show. The very last cooking in the final episode has neither cooking scenes nor eyepleasing shots of the foods.

The only positive side of this show is the comedy is totally unexpected. I never thought such exhilirating comedy will come out from a show like this. I can't unsee it now, I really want to laugh everytime I see Kang Ha Neul's face. Go Min Si does a great job playing a self-driven chef (only if the character personality stays the whole show, because it doesn't). ML and FL don't have childhood relationship, which deserves a round of applause for a K-Drama in 2025.

It will be difficult to cook too much ingredients in one pot. Some will be good, others may be undercook, the others may be overcook. This show has a premium raw ingredients, but only some of them are well cooked. Watch this show if you just want to enjoy a great comedy and can bear a meaningless story.

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When you have watched the previous season, you will always compare this to it. Overall, the story and the vibes are still the same. Nothing turns into a massive downfall or some kind like that. The story is (more) intense, and we get a (very) slow burning romance too. The new main doctors Cha Eun Jae (Lee Sung Kyung) and Seo Woo Jin (Ahn Hyo Seop) have a great character. They both deliver the character excellently, while Kim Sa Bu and the whole Doldam staffs are of couse nailed it again.

However, the story this season seems a bit overcooked. Compared to the previous one, this season has more focus to the hospital politics rather than the patients or the doctors themselves. In the effect of this, we barely get stories about Eun Jae and Woo Jin's personal back story. The villains don't seem to learn from their past mistakes, neither to repent nor to find a better idea to beat Dr. Kim. Instead, when he already has an upper hand, he chooses to play a impactless card. Like he is the president now and he can do whatever he wants, but he chooses the rough way only to lose it! The connection between the first and the second season is though not definitely disconnects, but is rather blur. Yun Seo Jung is mentioned several times, Kang Dong Ju once or twice, but Woo Yeon Hwa? She disappears and suddenly Doldam becomes "short-staffed" again. There isn't any privacy in this hospital because apparently it is very easy for you to eavesrops everyone.

When Nam Do Il contract's terminated by the management, I don't get it why he decides to keep it himself. Burdening Dr. Kim and this situation does not connect together in my opinion.

On top of those, this is still a Dr. Romantic. This is still a fight between consicence and greed. People who have watched (and enjoyed) the previous season should definitely watch this sequel!

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In short: this is not a drama special, it's the 21st episode of Dr. Romantic. You can't watch this episode without watching the original show.

Since the final episode of the pilot show has already have a good closure (with that highlighted quote), this episode will bring mixed receptions. This episode is surely a better closure for Teacher Kim, but not really for other casts. But this may connect between the 1st and 2nd season since the main casts are a bit different, I don't know since I haven't watch it.

But if you have watched the first season, you have to watch this episode because it is the part of the season.

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Short Refreshing Rom Com

What an astonishingly short and refreshing show! This show is an example that a rom-com does not always require cliche plots such as childhood relationship or triangle love. The story is lightweight and the plot is effortlessly "flow into the chaotic situation" by itself. The idea is fresh, about two person struggling with their own mental health issues, how they overcome and heal each other. The comedy is also super hilarious. Also there are a lot of messages behind this show, especially about mental health awareness, abuse and hate comments. I can't believe they put a lot in this super short show!

The chemistry between ML and FL is just incredible! Both Jung Woo and Oh Yeon Seo play their respective character perfecty, whom have their own struggles, and full of rage.

Still, I feel the story is going south after their first kiss. Min Gyeong frustratingly begins to make illogical decisions. I personally think the drug dealer story isn't really necessary. It doesn't really relate to the main story and just only plays a bit part on Hwi-O reinstation. Additionally, I think the last episode is kinda "forgivable" makjang. And what about Seon-Ho, does he get what he deserve or does he able to get away again? Oh come on, it could be a strong message there!

This show is still a gem. For someone who is seeking a lightweight romcom, this may be the answer, with such short and full of laughter drama.

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Romance is Just A Bonus

As the title says, romance is just a bonus in this show. If you're expecting some cheesy and fluttering romantic scenes, then you won't find a lot here. The romance is quite mature in this show, since this show is about an older woman and younger man couple. The story is quite heartwarming, about a woman who never gives up fighting for her life even with age disadvantage. They create a great couple, who is always there for each other in every hardship. The comedy is also good here. And since the romance is calm and mature, the comedy scenes are more powerful in my opinion. It doesn't appear frequently though, since it's not the main genre.

Although the summary above is quite heartwarming, the biggest problem in this show is nothing more special of that. It's just about a woman struggling to find a job for living, then after she finds it she still struggles while doing it, then she finds someone who is willing to be there for her, that's all. It's like the romance show that you can find on TV every week. The soundtracks are somewhat great. I personally like the screenwriting style with book-alike type like what the do at the end of each episode. The visualization of unrealistic thought like when Dan-I dances at the first episode is also seems interesting. However, these styles are not consistently applied and only come occassionally.

Unfortunately, I am kinda dislike the ML character. While chasing Dan-I as well as competing his feeling with Seo-Jun, what Eun-Ho mostly does is nothing. He looks like a coward who just sit down and wait until the universe serves it for him. Dan-I is a super caring mother to her daughter, but after she becomes together with Eun-Ho she suddenly forgets about her daughter. Everything outside this complicated relationship also seems too much, for example the Kang Byeong-Jun mystery. Though some of the additional tropes are more enjoyable.

With 16 episodes on this show, I think it's too long. Maybe it'll be better if it's shorter and more focus to the ML and FL. It's still good for rewatch, but in my opinion there are a lot of better rom-coms than this for rewatch.

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What an Underrated Show

When you ask someone about best show of 2024, why people rarely mention this one in the first? Truthfully before watching this show, I was expecting this to focus more on the fantasy and supernatural side. I don't know but maybe that makes me easier to enjoy this show. And by doing that, I feel all of things about the romance and scam aren't dragging. This is also the show where past relationship isn't the annoying part, and instead becomes the key of the story. Overall, the story is a well-written one. It tells about almost everyone struggles and how to overcome them. The romance isn't excessive and the somewhat thriller isn't dreadfully dragging. Character developments are really strong in this show. They learn about their flaws, and they learn how to accept it.

Jang Ki-Yong and Chun Woo-Hee play well as the ML and FL. But if you're asking the star of this show, it is Park So-Yi. She doesn't get the most screentime, and she's even a quiet type. Even though she rarely talks, but her actions and expressions speak a lot.

Although the story itself is already impressive, some things are worth to note. We all see that Bok Dong-Hui losts her weight from time to time. But prior the wedding, she suddenly losts her weight in extreme amount which is weird. Episode 11 is clearly a filler and it is there only just because they can't have an odd number of episodes . Also it is questionable that Man-Heum gets over with her husband's affair easily. I kinda like the soundtrack when they put it correctly, because for me they sometimes use it in the scenes that don't belong with the soundtrack's vibe.

To me, this is a must watch. I understand why people rarely talk about this, it is because the makjangs are too much for romance lover and the romance is too much for fantasy enjoyer. However to me, this show is well balanced.

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Short Hilarious Stories Packed Together

A show with quite short story each episode. Each of them are adapted from a sit-com quite alike webtoon. I haven't read the original webtoon. The idea of the story is overall good. It has a sitcom-ish comedy punchline for each episode. Each episode doesn't necessarily related one another. The setup is comical and far from realistic. This show is also supported by excellent actors who potray the Jo's family perfectly.

Unfortunately, I still feel the quality of the comedy still varies a lot throughout the episodes. Since this is an one-off story for each episodes, I feel they have picked 20 numbers of stories from the webtoon collections. Yet some of the picks are insanely funny and some others are less funny. I'm also a bit disappointed that they didn't explore the character of Ae-Bong more.

Overall, this is still a recommended guilty pleasure show. If you're looking for a little laugh, then you should see this show, because you can finish this quick. I'm also looking forward for the second season, since I know that the webtoon is still ongoing.

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