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Family by Choice korean drama review
Completed
Family by Choice
1 people found this review helpful
by scenophile
Apr 12, 2026
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 6.5

A lesser adaptation, but great at doing its own thing

If you were comparing this to the original, this does some things better and some things worse.

What this one did do better than the original I think, was setting up the romance much earlier. It's there in the original but so subtle I think a lot of people had trouble adjusting to it (not me though, I loved it lol). Here, they make the relationship much more obvious from the beginning, and while I wish we had the longer screentime for their development, I liked the clarity of it. The little bout of the SML "liking" the FL is also removed, which I thought was a relief, as it both gave the second relationship more time to develop, but also strengthened the main relationship by setting the FL's relationship with the two MLs apart.

The shorter runtime means they cut out a lot of slice-of-life moments that really brought the friendships and familial relationships to life. The third friends, while technically unnecessary, really rounded out the group and show's commentary on motherhood. A few things feel just a bit watered down, like the ML going to Seoul instead of actually abroad, or the SML's childhood backstory of almost having to give up school and work in the fields, leading to the FL's father taking him in.

Now, all comparisons aside, I think this drama was pretty great! The pacing and time jump feel natural, and it's really good at giving all the leads equal weight with their emotional stories. The family is by far the best part of the story, especially the dad; there are lot of scenes that will tug at your heartstrings, and the conclusion is sweet and satisfying.
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