Back in 2017, I remember falling in love with Son Seok Koo's character in Sense8 (an absolute goddamn dreamboat…
You could try "Matrimonial Chaos"... (I went in search of other shows featuring him and this one was the first I watched.) It's very good series about marriage and grown-up relationships featuring him, Bae Doo Na, Cha Tae Hyun and his co-star from My Liberation Notes, Lee El!! Though a bit of a cad at the start, his character goes through some major changes. There are some very touching scenes in this show, and his character is very adorable and cute. There's lots of funny bits, too, and the comic timing and physical comedy of Bae Doo Na and Cha Tae Hyun is really something to behold! She is perfect as the clumsy, disorganised, 30-something without a plan. Very entertaining but also thought-provoking show!
Though the dialogue among the cast remains top tier, have to admit the pacing of the plot itself has been losing…
Very good comment, I agree with most of what you said. I find it strange that whenever someone meets somebody they have these incredibly deep, intense conversations revealing some incredible insights into their soul and/ or the nature of romantic relationships... Usually it takes years of therapy to come to that kind of understanding about yourself and here the characters just blithely expose their darkest, strangest character traits to others while eating a meal or going for a walk.... I find that a bit repetitive and strange...
I also worry for Gu's backstory in Seoul... Looks like it's going to be the usual gangster/crook background... I don't understand this obession with these Yakuza-type of gangs in Kdrama. I've seen this plot device so many times already, it isn't original or interesting to me. There could have been so many other cool stories lurking in Mr Gu's background, but I'm afraid the writer will stick to the same the same old tried and tested storyline....
Still, the actors are so phenomenally good, they just sell the story perfectly, so I'm still hooked on this show.
I laughed so hard during the chase sequence .... Sooooo funny.... And then when Chang Hee's friend comes driving on his motor scooter and offers *both* some water....!!!! I howled with laughter..... :-))))
At last, I found my favourite osthttps://youtu.be/CR68ddXL908
Wow! Thanks for the link. I never really noticed the music that much before, I'm far too concentrated on the subtitles and the action on screen but I really really love this song! A perfect pop song-- very summery and mood-lifting....
I pegged him as a star when first I saw him in Designated Survivor: 60 Days but honestly he's exceeded my expectations…
OMG - this is such a good description for the whole show! Brilliant! A male alcoholic Mary Poppins (with emotional baggage) drops in on a family and we get to see how their interactions affect everybody ...
How will I ever get that image out of my mind...? Mr Gu descending from the sky holding on to a huge umbrella.....!????? :-)
You forgot another person who likes Gu - the mom. She has a soft corner for him. 😀
That's true! She is the one who actually said that Gu and her husband must have been partners (business or marriage-wise ???????) in a former life since they get along so very well and that no one ever got along with her husband before.......
Oh my.... just when I thought what is the Yeom family going to do if Mr Gu decides to leave them - we get a glimpse of the future with him back to his old life in Seoul???? Or what were those scenes at the end? I am confused, but pleasantly confused. I have no idea where this story is going to go and I am loving the mystery.
I love how Mr Gu is such an intriguing character and just attracts the affection, interest, friendship of different members of the Yeom family - without him wanting to . He has conquered the hearts of Mi Jung, Chang Hee (sooooo funny in episode 10 when he is basically starting to worship Mr Gu as well!) and their silent father - who has become very close and dependent on him as the perfect working partner....
It's really hard not to compare the dialog with Mr. Mister, since it's the same writer. I read a comment somewhere…
This is a very interesting observation you've made and although this hasn't bothered me so far, now that you've mentioned it, I wonder whether the weird ramblings of the siblings will bother me in future episodes. .. I did find Mi Jung*s comment about the nail on the floor, the frog story and the brother's oversharing of his bowel movements somewhat weird - but also very funny, esp. poor Mr. Gu's reaction, as he is often the chosen victim/audience having to listen to the siblings' verbal diarrhoea... I guess the writer is trying to show that Mi Jung is finally starting to loosen and open up a bit more since she's started hanging out with Mr Gu. She is beginning to just voice random thoughts in her head, too, just like her older sibs who have always gone off on weird rambling stories nobody really wants to listen to from the start. It's such a stark contrast to the extremely taciturn father... Veeeery intriguing...
I could not watch most of the scenes with the ditsy young couple and had to fast forward a lot since most of the goings-on were so annoyingly predictable. . I dread to think how many more times we are going to have to watch the pregnant girl suffer pains in her belly, be ill or otherwise utterly pitiful -until the Dads tearfully come around to help the young couple sort out their mess . Oh - and I bet she will be in mortal danger during the birth, so that the Dads can finally change their minds.....
If I have to see one more scene of the adoration of the pregnant belly .... Oh dear, I think I am going to have to stop watching this show.......
This storyline is sooooooooooooooooo trite! Why oh why did the writer go there? When I compare this with the earlier beautiful Eun Hee and Han Soo episode this is in a totally different league... I thought this was going to be an ensemble show with multiple characters' history being displayed. But this focus on the teenagers is too much for my taste. Terrible terrible terrible.
lol the teenage story is realistic too. might not be the case in your country but i can tell you in mine it is…
Ok - interesting to hear that... I guess you are right... that there are cultural differences. I am trying to learn and be more understanding of these differences but some things just provoke a gut reaction in me...
how can a simple drama be so relatable with my introvert life ! " there is no single person who I like "
I love the three introvert outcasts who are forever pressured into joining a club at work... Until they 'liberate' themselves... These scenes add some perfect light-hearted comic relief while still being moving and relatable. I've wondered before how introverts cope in a collectivistic society like in SKorea...
Just simple words and gestures between Mr Gu and Mi Jung and there are 🦋🦋 in my stomach!
That napkin that he politely put next to her plate in the restaurant.... !!!Such a miniscule gesture but for such a taciturn man it spoke volumes.... And she got it.... Beautiful scene! I nearly sobbed....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-)
I can hardly remember ever watching any TV show with such an pervasive atmosphere of melancholia and deep sadness. But that does not mean that you will be depressed by watching it, for me this just meant that I was quickly intrigued and drawn into this unusual depiction of a family.
The majority of the characters speak very few words and most communicate very little of their true feelings in words - but things are slowly, very slowly revealed about their situation, thoughts, and feelings through nonverbal means. This is very slow storytelling and as a viewer you have to want to engage in the glacial developments on screen. But the process is incredibly enjoyable and totally mesmerising because the characters are so complicated, relatable, three-dimensional and our lack of knowledge about their back stories add a healthy dose of mysteriousness and curiosity.
The actors are all outstanding. As they have so few lines to say so far (episode 5) - apart from the two eldest siblings... ;-)- most of what is going on in the characters' lives and minds must be expressed physically, through looks and body movement - and everybody does this so well!!
Beautiful moving adventure-type story about the struggles of resistances fighters during the Japanese occupation of Korea- without a tragic ending! Well, apart from the fact that the viewer knows how historical developments played out in the end... ;-( The period details are gorgeous in this movie - houses, clothes, cars, streetcars - the visuals are very attractive. And then there is, of course, the magnificent Song Kang Ho - I have yet to watch a film of his where he disappoints! This movie is highly recommended to anyone interested in period movies, though it is really light on political/historical intricacies. The focus lies more on the adventure side of the story and the individual characters' motivations and psychology.
Episode 3 was fantastic! Like a one-off, independent drama!
Episode 4 was a bit slower. I was tempted to fast forward the couple scenes. Too much focus on yet another love story between young, cosmetically-enhanced people...in my opinion. Yaaaawn...! Sorry, noooot interested... I am much more invested in finding out more about the haenyeos, the backstory to the constant bickering/fighting between In Kwon and Ho Shik, the reasons for the bitter distancing between Lee Dong Seok and his mother ---- and, not to forget--- the potential teenage pregnancy!!!
I am really surprised that something like a teenage pregnancy is featured in a Korean drama!!!! I would never have thought in a million years such a realistic issue would ever be shown in a Korean drama - given the usual EXTREME conservativeness and prudishness in depicting relationships between the sexes in Kdramas. Is anyone else as surprised as I was?? I'm still stunned - and am loving it!!! I can't wait to see how this storyline will turn out..
Oh, and another thing.... I was also astonished by the amount of touching going on between the characters in episode 3!!!! I have already become a bit used to the aversion to show any kind of touching (not only limited to but especially) between the sexes in Kdrama. (I know this is a cultural issue and I am trying to get used to it, but have found this difficult...) I still find most scenes where characters touch each other in dramas I've seen so far extremely unrealistic, cringeworthy, uncomfortable - because you can see/feel how uncomfortable/ embarrassed the actors are to even just touch somebody's shoulder or hair. (Those scenes in Goblin, where they pat each other's hair like robots .... ...)
Therefore, I am again so surprised at the amount of touching between Han Soo and Eun Hee in episode 3......!!!???? I wonder whether this is an exceptional portrayal of physical closeness in Korean society (between close friends...) and therefore unrealistic or acceptable/modern and thus realistic....????
OMG, yes! This was so good!! Brilliantly written and acted. I loved the unmelodramatic resolution to the central question of whether Han Soo will sink so low to ask his old friend for money. The understated way of having Eun Hee address the issue first in her down-to-earth way was amazing - very much in character as a strong, independent woman: So, we spent the day together, what now? Are we gonna end up sleeping together in this hotel or are you going to ask me for money?" Cha Seung Won portrayed Han Soo's depression, despair and world-weary attitude very movingly. No wonder he was so taken by Eun Hee's cheery ways and happy-go-lucky attitude... Great episode!
(I went in search of other shows featuring him and this one was the first I watched.)
It's very good series about marriage and grown-up relationships featuring him, Bae Doo Na, Cha Tae Hyun and his co-star from My Liberation Notes, Lee El!!
Though a bit of a cad at the start, his character goes through some major changes.
There are some very touching scenes in this show, and his character is very adorable and cute.
There's lots of funny bits, too, and the comic timing and physical comedy of Bae Doo Na and Cha Tae Hyun is really something to behold! She is perfect as the clumsy, disorganised, 30-something without a plan. Very entertaining but also thought-provoking show!
I find it strange that whenever someone meets somebody they have these incredibly deep, intense conversations revealing some incredible insights into their soul and/ or the nature of romantic relationships...
Usually it takes years of therapy to come to that kind of understanding about yourself and here the characters just blithely expose their darkest, strangest character traits to others while eating a meal or going for a walk....
I find that a bit repetitive and strange...
I also worry for Gu's backstory in Seoul... Looks like it's going to be the usual gangster/crook background... I don't understand this obession with these Yakuza-type of gangs in Kdrama. I've seen this plot device so many times already, it isn't original or interesting to me. There could have been so many other cool stories lurking in Mr Gu's background, but I'm afraid the writer will stick to the same the same old tried and tested storyline....
Still, the actors are so phenomenally good, they just sell the story perfectly, so I'm still hooked on this show.
I laughed so hard during the chase sequence .... Sooooo funny.... And then when Chang Hee's friend comes driving on his motor scooter and offers *both* some water....!!!! I howled with laughter..... :-))))
A perfect pop song-- very summery and mood-lifting....
Brilliant!
A male alcoholic Mary Poppins (with emotional baggage) drops in on a family and we get to see how their interactions affect everybody ...
How will I ever get that image out of my mind...?
Mr Gu descending from the sky holding on to a huge umbrella.....!?????
:-)
;-)
She is the one who actually said that Gu and her husband must have been partners (business or marriage-wise ???????) in a former life since they get along so very well and that no one ever got along with her husband before.......
He really "worshipped" that car!!! (and Mr Gu, who gave it to him)....:-)
I have no idea where this story is going to go and I am loving the mystery.
I love how Mr Gu is such an intriguing character and just attracts the affection, interest, friendship of different members of the Yeom family - without him wanting to . He has conquered the hearts of Mi Jung, Chang Hee (sooooo funny in episode 10 when he is basically starting to worship Mr Gu as well!) and their silent father - who has become very close and dependent on him as the perfect working partner....
I did find Mi Jung*s comment about the nail on the floor, the frog story and the brother's oversharing of his bowel movements somewhat weird - but also very funny, esp. poor Mr. Gu's reaction, as he is often the chosen victim/audience having to listen to the siblings' verbal diarrhoea...
I guess the writer is trying to show that Mi Jung is finally starting to loosen and open up a bit more since she's started hanging out with Mr Gu. She is beginning to just voice random thoughts in her head, too, just like her older sibs who have always gone off on weird rambling stories nobody really wants to listen to from the start.
It's such a stark contrast to the extremely taciturn father...
Veeeery intriguing...
Clichés as old as time itself all neatly rattled off one after the other....
I read fan fiction 30 years ago that was more original than these teenage pregnancy tropes...
Sorry...
Maybe I have been watching too much television and/or I am too old... ;-)
Speaking of predictability:
I bet we are going to get a significant time jump into the future sometime soon....
There is this little girl on the promo posters, and so far no children have been featured in any of the episodes. Therefore I bet she is the future child of the two teens and everybody on the island will join together to raise her in one big happy ending...
(Sigh...)
Secret illnesses, terrible accidents, guilt and old wounds that have no surprise element whatsover abound in this episode.
I am sooooo disappointed.
I could not watch most of the scenes with the ditsy young couple and had to fast forward a lot since most of the goings-on were so annoyingly predictable.
.
I dread to think how many more times we are going to have to watch the pregnant girl suffer pains in her belly, be ill or otherwise utterly pitiful -until the Dads tearfully come around to help the young couple sort out their mess . Oh - and I bet she will be in mortal danger during the birth, so that the Dads can finally change their minds.....
If I have to see one more scene of the adoration of the pregnant belly .... Oh dear, I think I am going to have to stop watching this show.......
This storyline is sooooooooooooooooo trite! Why oh why did the writer go there? When I compare this with the earlier beautiful Eun Hee and Han Soo episode this is in a totally different league... I thought this was going to be an ensemble show with multiple characters' history being displayed. But this focus on the teenagers is too much for my taste.
Terrible terrible terrible.
For example: The boy/father claiming "it's my baby, too", sudden discovery of pregnancy being much much farther advanced than previously thought, a doctor (!WTF!!!) showing two teenagers who attend hospital to inquire about an abortion ultrasound pictures and making them listen to the heartbeat of the fetus......!!!!
This is where the writer lost me.... This was too unrealistic, full of age-old tropes and very clichéd...
Sorry...
Episode 6 was much better. I'm simply much more interested in the grown-ups world.... The depiction of depression is very impressive. Pretty much spot-on, in my opinion. I love how the character's sadness and the effects of depression are expressed visually, in sudden time shifts (one moment she's getting ready to go out in the bathroom and by the time she's finished she notices that it's already dark outside and evening), her being drenched in water/rain/tears, looking around herself on that jetty and seeing only darkness....
And that interview with the little boy - his answer to the social worker's question about his Mum and how this scene keeps repeating in her mind and affecting her ---- BRILIIANT!!!!!!!!!
These scenes add some perfect light-hearted comic relief while still being moving and relatable. I've wondered before how introverts cope in a collectivistic society like in SKorea...
I nearly sobbed....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-)
I can hardly remember ever watching any TV show with such an pervasive atmosphere of melancholia and deep sadness.
But that does not mean that you will be depressed by watching it, for me this just meant that I was quickly intrigued and drawn into this unusual depiction of a family.
The majority of the characters speak very few words and most communicate very little of their true feelings in words - but things are slowly, very slowly revealed about their situation, thoughts, and feelings through nonverbal means.
This is very slow storytelling and as a viewer you have to want to engage in the glacial developments on screen. But the process is incredibly enjoyable and totally mesmerising because the characters are so complicated, relatable, three-dimensional and our lack of knowledge about their back stories add a healthy dose of mysteriousness and curiosity.
The actors are all outstanding. As they have so few lines to say so far (episode 5) - apart from the two eldest siblings... ;-)- most of what is going on in the characters' lives and minds must be expressed physically, through looks and body movement - and everybody does this so well!!
The period details are gorgeous in this movie - houses, clothes, cars, streetcars - the visuals are very attractive. And then there is, of course, the magnificent Song Kang Ho - I have yet to watch a film of his where he disappoints!
This movie is highly recommended to anyone interested in period movies, though it is really light on political/historical intricacies. The focus lies more on the adventure side of the story and the individual characters' motivations and psychology.
Episode 4 was a bit slower. I was tempted to fast forward the couple scenes. Too much focus on yet another love story between young, cosmetically-enhanced people...in my opinion. Yaaaawn...! Sorry, noooot interested...
I am much more invested in finding out more about the haenyeos, the backstory to the constant bickering/fighting between In Kwon and Ho Shik, the reasons for the bitter distancing between Lee Dong Seok and his mother ---- and, not to forget--- the potential teenage pregnancy!!!
I am really surprised that something like a teenage pregnancy is featured in a Korean drama!!!! I would never have thought in a million years such a realistic issue would ever be shown in a Korean drama - given the usual EXTREME conservativeness and prudishness in depicting relationships between the sexes in Kdramas. Is anyone else as surprised as I was?? I'm still stunned - and am loving it!!! I can't wait to see how this storyline will turn out..
Oh, and another thing.... I was also astonished by the amount of touching going on between the characters in episode 3!!!! I have already become a bit used to the aversion to show any kind of touching (not only limited to but especially) between the sexes in Kdrama. (I know this is a cultural issue and I am trying to get used to it, but have found this difficult...) I still find most scenes where characters touch each other in dramas I've seen so far extremely unrealistic, cringeworthy, uncomfortable - because you can see/feel how uncomfortable/ embarrassed the actors are to even just touch somebody's shoulder or hair.
(Those scenes in Goblin, where they pat each other's hair like robots .... ...)
Therefore, I am again so surprised at the amount of touching between Han Soo and Eun Hee in episode 3......!!!???? I wonder whether this is an exceptional portrayal of physical closeness in Korean society (between close friends...) and therefore unrealistic or acceptable/modern and thus realistic....????
So, we spent the day together, what now? Are we gonna end up sleeping together in this hotel or are you going to ask me for money?"
Cha Seung Won portrayed Han Soo's depression, despair and world-weary attitude very movingly. No wonder he was so taken by Eun Hee's cheery ways and happy-go-lucky attitude...
Great episode!