Împreună Acasă (2017)

I was tentative about starting this drama because one of the focus points is marriage and I wanted to avoid another story about how marriage in the end is the answer..
But, I finally decided to give it a go because of the great cast and comments from viewers that picked my interest and indicated it's not one of "those" stories.
It was a good decision!

I suggest you go into this drama with time on your hands and willing to listen and watch carefully to what's happening to the different characters. Don't rush it and don't expect it to be a series of shocking and suspenseful events. They are there, but they are balanced on a more slice-of-life pace.

Firstly, it was the humour that caught me by surprise, I really loved it, it felt sweet and fresh.
Then came the backstories of the characters.. Oh my, there was alot to appreciate and think about there. There were characters that in the beginning I liked less than others, but once I paid attention and learned more about them I was invested in everyone and their lives.
Exploring different people, different types relationships, different expectations, different needs, different choices. What is family, friendship, love, career, life to each of them and what happens to the pairs introduced to us here? I was immersed into it all.

Finally, I think Jung So Min's character is one of my favourites in dramaland, because she's so relatable to me and she's very well thought of. I really commend the writer and the actress for bringing her to life in a very realistic, captivating and entertaining manner.

So, do yourself a favour, try and adjust your expectations and enjoy this lovely story!

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Because This Is My First Life is for real one of my fav dramas, I lost the amount of times I've rewatched it.

Firstly, let me say that Min Ki and So Min chemistry was incredible. I am a huge fan of So Min, I've watched all her dramas but for me this one is my favorite for real.

I loved the storyline and the characters. Ji Ho gained more and more power throughout the episodes, the way she empowered herself was so refreshing and outstanding. So Min did an amazing job portraying Ji Ho and Min Ki also made me fell for his character from the first episode. At first I thought Se He was just a workaholic who never had fallen in love, but I was wrong. He went through so much because of his family.

I would like to say that I loved how natural Se Hee and Ji Ho became a couple, it was just touching and natural. It was also warm and felt so dreamy. Se Hee was way more mature than what I expected, even though we could see that eventually the strongest character of the series was Ji Hoo, who did everything to reach her freedom, a healthy relationship with her husband, and who managed to avoid her husband relatives who tried so hard to overshadow her. Ji Ho is such an inspiration in life. She managed to leave a team who never appreciate her work. She overcome almost getting raped by her disgusting coworker. She found a job and a place where she could finally feel at home, a place where she could be herself. She got married with a guy she hardly knew but whom she trusted the most. And they got close without even realizing it. Also, even if their relationship was toxic at some point they never blamed each other for that. It was pleasant to see how they solved their different issues, even if they had to got apart at some point, but it was for the best of their relationship, we could see it at the end.

Besides, the side couples did a great job as well. Both had their pros and cons, and none were perfect. But I loved how all the couples had different dreams and goals and tried so hard to achieve them.

To sum up, for me it was a beautiful drama that showed how hard life is for those who are in their 30s and still don't have a job or a soulmate. However, what's important to have in life is at least one good friend that can help you anytime you're having a hard time. I found this drama so meaningful and touching. My heart is still not over this masterpiece

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I'm apparently in the minority, not liking this one

I didn't feel an emotional connection with the characters. He was flat throughout most of the show, he felt robotic to me. His personality was the same, no matter who he was dealing with. I didn't care for the side stories much, I watch K-dramas to get away from all the sex/language that is found in American/British shows, so between one couple living together and the other girl talking about all the guys she's had sex with, that was a turn off for me.

Lack of communication really frustrates me. The breakups because they don't talk to each other (mostly her fault) were maddening. I could, to a certain degree, relate to the progression of their relationship, but unfortunately by the time that happened I really didn't care for him at all.

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Meh...

I think this drama had a lot of potential but it failed on so many aspect. I think for one, the ML didn't really have any charm or charisma that made me fall for him. Usually you get viewers invested in a drama because you feel a part of their story and living through the emotions with them but with this drama I didn't understand the leads at all.
The ML properly smiled for the first time in the last episode and throughout the rest, even though it was supposed to be this whole 'I have past relationship trauma so I'd rather not feel at all' theme, it was boring to watch. The FL was likable at first and I could understand the decisions she was making but when she decided to leave and divorce him, then proceed to not speak to him for months just because she wanted to 'find herself' or 'be sure of what she feels' I was honestly pissed. Like, good for you but then don't come back, lie down in the bed he's sleeping in and tell him "I'm sorry, I love you"... like no? You left because you were only thinking of yourself and obviously only thought of yourself. I feel like the way the script was written just did the leads dirty. The story was more enjoyable when it was in the supporting character's love stories. Gotta give it a low rating for that...

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Simply put, the best (drama) series I have ever seen.

This is one wonderful drama with phenomenal acting from the lead actors, excellent OST, very good camera and directing, and very good script.

I discovered this drama by coincidence after watching (and being a bit disappointed with) Crash Landing on You and was not sure I wanted to watch it. What a gem would I miss! While watching the first episode, I was not sure about the main male lead (Lee Min Ki), he felt kind of annoying to me. But Jung So Min as his co-lead kept me in. The end of ep 1 started to give me good vibes and the ep 2 landed like a hammer and made me hooked for the rest of the series (and for life).

There is not much yelling or over-the-top emotional gestures in this drama, definitely none between the main leads. They don't need them to tell us the story. Jung So Min and Lee Min Ki make you _feel_ their emotions. The way they talk, the words they use, the way they look at each other, or the way they just remain silent, the softness and sincereness in their eyes, the unconditional respect they show for each other - right from the first time they meet, the way they interact somehow creates magic and feels often very pure and intimate without touching or any skin being showed. This is what a true chemistry between characters is - the feeling of the gravity that pulls the two together with the force of the universe. Some scenes felt so real I felt like I was an uninvited observer who had no business watching and hearing their conversations and interactions.

Lee Min Ki's character has very limited space for expressing emotions. What he does though is he uses his eyes and subtle changes in his voice and face to open the window into his soul. Surprise, confusion, regret, compassion, respect, love - all of them. I had to replay some scenes many times just to comprehend and repeatedly enjoy what he was doing. An absolute mastery of acting.

Jung So Min has much more space and she uses it perfectly. There are particular scenes in the series which require absolute world class acting to feel real. I have never seen any other actress of all movies I ever watched, mind you, who would portray them more authentically and with the feels.

Them together felt like the most real unreal couple in any series, their chemistry was just off the charts. I just wish there was a continuation of this drama, I could honestly watch these two just sitting on the couch having a casual conversation.

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Intelligent Drama on Love and Marriage

I gave it a few days before I wrote about this show, but my opinion hasn’t settled down yet. So here it goes. If you want something cute and fluffy…….this AIN’T it. If you want some comedy thrown in with some WAY TOO realistic drama……please watch Because This is my First Life.

STORY:
This is a story of 3 different couples and how they negotiate love and marriage and its very messy. Truly….that’s it. THAT is what this drama is about. The spoilers will now commence.

COUPLE #1: Yoon Ji Ho (played by Jung So Min) and Nam Se Hee (played by Lee Min Ki) are two people who need each other for convenience purposes. She needs a place to live and he needs a reliable room mate that will take care of his cat and the recycling (and not pee in his fridge – who does that? I can’t believe they put that in there). He hides all emotions behind logic and science because it hurts too much to feel (I can relate) and she can’t figure herself out and what she wants out of life despite being a smart and driven woman up until the 2nd episode (kinda ticked me off watching her get a little wimpy). They get married because his parents threatened him (even though he’s nearing 40, I guess that’s a thing in South Korea) and she doesn’t want to leave Seoul.

COUPLE#2: I hated these two more than anyone. Yang Ho Rang (played by Kim Ga Eun) and Shim Won Seok (Played by Kim Min Seok) have been dating for 7 years and living together for much of that time. She wants to get married and have kids and he doesn’t know what he wants, and he developed an unsaleable up that he’s been spending a lot of time trying to sell. (For someone so smart, he was way stupid on what is a good idea.) He is fighting marriage and she wants marriage……and they break up and get back together only to break up to get back together again….lather, rinse, repeat.

COUPLE#3: Woo Soo Ji (played by Lee Som) wants to be a CEO and never get married so she can care for her mother. Ma Sang Goo (played by Park Byung Eun) is a CEO and seems to be a player but ends up wanting to have a serious stable relationship with Soo Ji who fights him tooth and nail. She fears taking risks that might hurt her income because she is worried about her mother…..more confusion and sadness ensues.

This isn’t a bad show, I’m feeling a little sarcastic writing this review because it put me through the ringer. To be honest, I cried through episode 7 – 9 and sometimes out loud sobbing (how embarrassing). I’ve never cried so hard through any drama including Goblin and The Untamed. Why? Why did they need to do that to me? This is why I prefer fantasy or comedy shows instead of these painful realistic dramas that remind me that life is WAY TOO hard sometimes.

I will give it a good rating, but I’ll never watch it again. It hurts too much, and no show should hurt this much. From sexual assault to sexual harassment to revolting parents (his parents are just too much for me), this show touches (very nicely) on some uncomfortable subjects which they deal with head on and in technicolor. This show illustrates a lot of important women’s issues and does so with elegance and strength. Hat’s off to the screen writer. She did an incredible job! The friendship between the 3 women is so AWESOME.......but it would take too long to write about it here. I'll write an article about it. Again.....this writer is very talented.

MUSIC:
It was good but frankly, I just can’t relive a single second of this show so no interest in downloading anything.

REWATCH VALUE:
No way. That would just be considerably difficult, and tissues are in short supply in my area of the country.

OVERALL:
This is a good show. It’s a sad show at times, but the writing, the plot, the dialogue are insightful, smart, and quite lovely. So watch it, but please….only if you have tissues on hand.

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This drama was the best K drama I have viewed in the past 5 years.   It had entertainment value but more importantly, its value was its vicarious desire for the viewer to reevaluate the life and decisions of each character presented throughout.  When you have lived a long time -- and if you have been married or consider getting married this drama is love 101 or a refresher course.   It was fun for me to watch with my husband of 28 years who was also a cat owner (multiple cats).  I've never understood his personality but watching this drama made me reflect a lot about life.  The balance of the 3 couples, the parents, and the additional character s - ex-boyfriends, girlfriends, potential liaisons, and expectations were weaved into the story in an organized way with resolutions and no loose ends.  The ending was perfect.  What I enjoyed along the way was the music -- it really was suited to the scenes and had added dramatic effect.  I have already some of the episodes twice.   A very good drama and one that is worth the time viewing.

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This is awesome drama. The story is good. There's many life lessons regarding relationship. The main leads are superb.  Min Ki acting as a cold person was great. He portrayed SeHee in amazing way. Cold SeHee to warm and reluctant SeHee, I found it's really cute. How SeHee became a cry baby in the end because JiHo left him.
Seriously, Minki acting's so great. JiHo's character is also great. She's not typical female lead in korean drama who too strong or too weak. I found her character was so fit, not too strong and not too weak. Sometimes she's strong but in other time she's weak. Her character was so natural. I also like CEO Ma. He's a good friend for SeHee and also good partner for SooJi. Not really like SooJi's character in the beginning, but in the end I like her. I don't really like the other couple HoRang and WonSeok. I found the last couple was too much. HoRang's love was too much unnatural. Not really like that character. Also I found Wonseok was lil bit annoying.
But overall, I found that this drama was so amazing with great casts. It worth to watch it.

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Assistam essa Joia Rara rapidamente!

Esse drama é realmente encantador e merecia um maior destaque!
Demorei a engatar nesse drama. Passei por ele algumas vezes mas não me pareceu interessante no primeiro momento. E sim, estou muito arrependida já que poderia ter visto esta maravilha antes.

Um casamento de fachada. E assim começa essa maravilhosa história sobre amor, mas acima de tudo sobre conflitos e amadurecimentos que passamos em nossa vida e em como uma coisa está totalmente ligada a outra. E tudo é nos mostrado tão sutilmente, com uma naturalidade que impressiona, você se prende desde o primeiro episódio. A série aborda as especiais e pequenas coisas e como elas se somam para construir tudo que podemos aproveitar da vida. Problemas em relacionamentos, problemas financeiros, profissionais e familiares são o que torna tudo mais sincero pois todos passam por isso.
O mais legal desta trama é a sinceridade que traz para todos que estão vendo. É original, divertido e apaixonante. O elenco é maravilhoso, você se encanta por todos os personagens e se identifica com cada um. Todos têm seus defeitos e suas características marcantes, é isso que aproxima a história de todos que estão assistindo.
A história se desenrola dentro de três casais com três visões sobre o casamento e o amor:. Os casais tem profundidade em suas ações, erram, aprendem e se completam ao decorrer da jornada. o primeiro, o casamento sem amor em que ao longo do caminho o sentimento surge; o segundo, o casamento como um ideal de vida, um sonho de realização; e o último, o amor conflitante, em que se imagina que o amor atrapalha seus objetivos de vida.
Podemos dizer que esse Drama trata as diferentes fases da vida em um relacionamento, fases que todos podemos passar ou não, mas que com certeza são possíveis de acontecer. Em todas as situações nos é mostrado a mensagem que é algo em que os dois devem passar e aceitar juntos, que devem aprender um com o outro para assim seguirem na mesma estrada.
Além de tudo isso, ainda trata de tantos outros assuntos como assédio, machismo, valores patriarcais, são tantos ensinamentos que você pode obter neste drama! Tudo isso atrelado a uma trilha sonora maravilhosa!

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I love this drama so much!

Honestly, I loved this drama so much!
I loved to watch all the characters develop and growing up, even when thery are in their 30's they still have a lot to learn about the world and themselves!
In the beginning I really liked this drama because it made me laugh. The male lead seemed a little strange to me at first (and I loved it) + he has an adorable cat, which I also loved a lot!!
The drama got more real and emotional through every episode and I loved how they showed the charechters stories in the show.
What really emerged me to keep watching this drama was the male lead tho, since I feel like he is the one with the most development. Spolier: To see how he grew from not wanting to love anyone, and only loving his cat, to watch him choosing her over picking the cat up, to then watch him go all in with his love. To see how he showed more and more emotions throughout the drama and punch and cry over her in the end: Truly beautiful.

I will say that I found the drama kind of toxic for some moments though... Mostly in the main couple, especially when she leaves him, all though I kinda get why she did it... But still... kinda toxic.
Another thing is that I don't get why the couple of 7 years ended up getting back together, I feel like the only thing she did was whine about him all the time and he was the only one who needed to make changes and sacrifices. But everyone to their own taste I guess...

In the end, I really ended up liking this drama a lot more than I expected and I will probraly watch it again sometime <3

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Best Korean Drama to Date

Everything about this show is so good.

if you like more understated shows that have strong character development, as well as no random drama just for the sake of drama or filler, this is it. it's gentle with some really cute, funny moments while also having substance.

this is one of the only shows in which, when characters have conflict, the outcome actually makes sense. their actions and motivations make sense. nothing is done for the sake of "dramas gotta drama."

the leads work really well together, and the way the show ends is just perfect. they have really interesting and unique chemistry.

I rewatch this show every couple of months to make life make sense and restore faith in love, relationships, and the future.

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Real characters, real issues, real pacing problems.

This drama was a bit off the beaten track in that it dares explore a lot of current Korean social issues and does not sugar coat things, so it makes it different than most romantic dramas. The 2 main leads start as Landlord and Tenant after mistakenly assuming each other's gender due to their names (she thinks he's a girl and he thinks she is a man). As she is a great tenant, one thing leads to another and they end up in a contract marriage of convenience, which while abhorrent to those who believe in love, actually is a good foundation to start any relationship since once you live with someone and know what type of person they are, compatibility then becomes companionship that eventually leads to love? This is not far fetched at all, in fact, many people kind of do this without the explicit contract.

The second couple has a different issue. The man wants to make it big as an app developer. His girlfriend just wants to get married as she has kind of based her entire identity as a person on getting married to a certain type of man. Her insecurity and his reluctance to give up on his dream are explored fully. They've dated for 7 years but still no proposal. Recipe for disaster. If you think about this, and why she's so weak and insecure, you'll probably realize you know many women who are in the same situation. Of course, you've also advised them to leave the guy. Truth is, men will eventually decide they are ready for marriage, and whichever girl they are with at that time is the lucky one (look at Prince Harry). If the girl lets go of him before then, she loses out. It's a terrible social dilemma for the woman as her "value" as a girl friend or wife diminishes the longer the clock keeps ticking. Just. Terrible.

The final couple has an ambitious girl with a disabled mother, and probably the nicest guy of the bunch. She faces all kinds of sexism at the workplace, that kind of stuff has happened to me in real life. There is honestly no way to beat that system - employing legal means still leaves a woman's reputation in tatters even IF she wins. To say I was triggered would be an understatement. I loved this couple the most. So, all the characters, stories and soundtrack are good.

Where this fails miserably is the pacing. It is slow as heck, and there's many flashback done for stylistic purposes that just messes up the plot. I swear, if the main lead actress could only speak faster and not sound like she. puts. a. period. after. every. word. like. thus. the show would only be 12 episodes instead of 16 and I would have rated this a 9.5 instead of a 8, I was being generous and awarded 2 stars just for "our" kitty the beautiful Ragdoll plus the main lead's brilliant portrayal of being drunk.

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