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A Healing drama disguised as a Sports/Crime drama.
Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25
On the surface, “Like Flowers in Sand” seems like a sports drama. When you watch further along, there’s a crime investigation and you thought, this might also be a crime drama. But in actuality, the sports and the crimes are just a vehicle to disguise what this really is: a healing drama of closure and growth.
I’ve never watched Korean wrestling, aka, ssireum. It’s definitely interesting and different from Japanese sumo wrestling. Most of the time, I enjoy sports dramas even though I am a couch potato fan. There’s no surprise that I enjoy every single ssireum scene here, practice and competition. I actually want to see more but as I said, this is primarily not a sports drama. Props to all the actors, especially Jang Dong Yoon and Kim Tae Jung. Their matches are intense!
Due to a crime committed 20 years ago, the characters in “Like Flowers in Sand” are affected in different ways. Our female lead and her family were forced to move away. Our male lead lost his best friend and possibly himself a little and the motivation and love for ssireum. Another character lost a family member and the community suffered some ripple effect. With another recent death, the trauma of what happened 20 years ago was brought to light, and characters reunite to heal, rediscover themselves and obtain closure.
I actually really like the healing aspect of this drama. I enjoy scenes of the leads together and their unbreakable friendship and bond. I like the setting of the sports club and the different athletes. Although the romance is very minimal, I actually didn’t mind it too much. But if you are seeking romance, this is very slow burn and implied. Don’t expect romance like this is a romantic comedy. But, Kim Beak Du (ML) is such a sweetheart and the greenest of the green flag. He appears a little clumsy and dumb, but is very perceptive, honest and smart. I love how he indirectly cheers on and cares for his friends.
Unfortunately, the crime investigation is such a bore. I do not care who the murderer was, not what happened 20 years ago or now. This is one of the weakest points of the drama. It was unable to find a balance between the mixed genres. Despite loving our ML, it’s also hard to tolerate how loud he is. He is always shouting at FL:. They are fun, but very, very noisy. Most of the villagers are the typical gossipy and nosy supporting characters. They are not the worst, but can also be somewhat insufferable.
Despite my complaints, I did have a great time watching “Like Flowers in Sand”. I love the bond between the leads, the friendship and the nosy caring way all the characters have for each other, the subtle bond and different bond ML has with his father and mother. I enjoy slowly seeing the after effects of the incidents to our FL and 2FL, and how ML comes to the realization of what he really lost 20 years ago as well.
Completed: 12/23/2025 Review #654
On the surface, “Like Flowers in Sand” seems like a sports drama. When you watch further along, there’s a crime investigation and you thought, this might also be a crime drama. But in actuality, the sports and the crimes are just a vehicle to disguise what this really is: a healing drama of closure and growth.
I’ve never watched Korean wrestling, aka, ssireum. It’s definitely interesting and different from Japanese sumo wrestling. Most of the time, I enjoy sports dramas even though I am a couch potato fan. There’s no surprise that I enjoy every single ssireum scene here, practice and competition. I actually want to see more but as I said, this is primarily not a sports drama. Props to all the actors, especially Jang Dong Yoon and Kim Tae Jung. Their matches are intense!
Due to a crime committed 20 years ago, the characters in “Like Flowers in Sand” are affected in different ways. Our female lead and her family were forced to move away. Our male lead lost his best friend and possibly himself a little and the motivation and love for ssireum. Another character lost a family member and the community suffered some ripple effect. With another recent death, the trauma of what happened 20 years ago was brought to light, and characters reunite to heal, rediscover themselves and obtain closure.
I actually really like the healing aspect of this drama. I enjoy scenes of the leads together and their unbreakable friendship and bond. I like the setting of the sports club and the different athletes. Although the romance is very minimal, I actually didn’t mind it too much. But if you are seeking romance, this is very slow burn and implied. Don’t expect romance like this is a romantic comedy. But, Kim Beak Du (ML) is such a sweetheart and the greenest of the green flag. He appears a little clumsy and dumb, but is very perceptive, honest and smart. I love how he indirectly cheers on and cares for his friends.
Unfortunately, the crime investigation is such a bore. I do not care who the murderer was, not what happened 20 years ago or now. This is one of the weakest points of the drama. It was unable to find a balance between the mixed genres. Despite loving our ML, it’s also hard to tolerate how loud he is. He is always shouting at FL:. They are fun, but very, very noisy. Most of the villagers are the typical gossipy and nosy supporting characters. They are not the worst, but can also be somewhat insufferable.
Despite my complaints, I did have a great time watching “Like Flowers in Sand”. I love the bond between the leads, the friendship and the nosy caring way all the characters have for each other, the subtle bond and different bond ML has with his father and mother. I enjoy slowly seeing the after effects of the incidents to our FL and 2FL, and how ML comes to the realization of what he really lost 20 years ago as well.
Completed: 12/23/2025 Review #654
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