Hanah
Instant Classic
The thing about this drama is that it isn't groundbreaking or revolutionary. It really is a standard Kdrama rom-comedy/drama with more comedy > drama and the reason why I kept putting this off. Despite this, this show is high quality.
The show does have tropes and cliches but it uses them to enrich the story, not be the story itself. This is either by playing them straight and expanding upon them or subverting them, all to create more organic content. The humor is excellent with a lot of tongue-in-cheek lamp shading and breaking the fourth wall.
Kudos to the writers for writing two excellent female leads. Most dramas fall into the trap of making the 2nd FL a foil to highlight the first one but these two are actually quite similar. Both are rich, classy and confident with a don't-mess-with-me attitude and it was interesting to see their differences played out through the detailed writing and visual production, although not in a demeaning way. I absolutely loved Yoon Se-ri and admittedly, it personally took me some time to warm up to Seo Dan but very likeable she does become. All of the other characters are also so endearing and even characters that start out mildly irritating (for me, Pyo Chu Si) become lovable by the end.
The good writing comes hand in hand with the amazing acting. The leads, off course, did an amazing job and had stellar chemistry that helped carry the very sweet romance. The rest of the cast did great too. It was so fun hearing the NK accent and I wonder how much the actors had to practice for that. I really liked the actor who played Man Bok, his range from serious to comedic was great.
The visual production, prop, setting was all excellent and really helped with the immersive world-building, especially the NK village setting. It was nice getting to see the different portrayal of NK other than what it always heard on the news. It makes me wonder what Koreans think about the division, especially since there are people that might remember a time before the country was split.
Overall, this show is that it is what Kdramas do best while putting the best effort in. IMO, it is one the modern classics (similar to the same older dramas the show refers to) that will be remembered in years to come.
The show does have tropes and cliches but it uses them to enrich the story, not be the story itself. This is either by playing them straight and expanding upon them or subverting them, all to create more organic content. The humor is excellent with a lot of tongue-in-cheek lamp shading and breaking the fourth wall.
Kudos to the writers for writing two excellent female leads. Most dramas fall into the trap of making the 2nd FL a foil to highlight the first one but these two are actually quite similar. Both are rich, classy and confident with a don't-mess-with-me attitude and it was interesting to see their differences played out through the detailed writing and visual production, although not in a demeaning way. I absolutely loved Yoon Se-ri and admittedly, it personally took me some time to warm up to Seo Dan but very likeable she does become. All of the other characters are also so endearing and even characters that start out mildly irritating (for me, Pyo Chu Si) become lovable by the end.
The good writing comes hand in hand with the amazing acting. The leads, off course, did an amazing job and had stellar chemistry that helped carry the very sweet romance. The rest of the cast did great too. It was so fun hearing the NK accent and I wonder how much the actors had to practice for that. I really liked the actor who played Man Bok, his range from serious to comedic was great.
The visual production, prop, setting was all excellent and really helped with the immersive world-building, especially the NK village setting. It was nice getting to see the different portrayal of NK other than what it always heard on the news. It makes me wonder what Koreans think about the division, especially since there are people that might remember a time before the country was split.
Overall, this show is that it is what Kdramas do best while putting the best effort in. IMO, it is one the modern classics (similar to the same older dramas the show refers to) that will be remembered in years to come.
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