Dali and Gamjatang (2021)

Just what I needed.

The right amount of romance, comedy and drama.

Cute, simple and entertaining! Made me smile, laugh and feel love.

I will definitely miss the couple. I love how opposite their personalities are but they sure complete each other.

Hays. They made me jealous and made me feel like I need someone.

What I think about the leads:
Jin Moo Hak, might seem ignorant but he really is one smart guy. Street smart to be exact. He knows business by heart and he knows how to love and care for someone.

Darli, I love how patient she is. If I am put in her situation I don’t know how to take it all as calmly as she did.

Their love story:
Both found each other as interesting the first time they met. There’s already spark and chemistry. And I love how it is both complicated and uncomplicated. Can’t explain. Haha.

The ending:
The twist and how they made it look like. I loved it! It is one of the most drama ending I love.

There are always plot holes and questions I need to ask the writer but overall I enjoyed each episodes. There are frustrating characters but I don’t care. Haha.

I will miss Darli and her Prince.

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An Okayish Romcom

'An okayish romcom' is what I would call Dali and the cocky Prince. Maybe it's because I had way too many expectations or something, which is why I couldn't enjoy this drama as much as I expected. I was originally planning to rate it an 8 but I am giving it one more point because of Kim Min Jae's acting.

Story was good. It had the perfect balance of romance, comedy and thrill. All the actors and actresses portrayed their characters well. Kim Min Jae was the best here! His goofy dialogues and comedy dynamics with his secretary and Won Tak were something I always looked forward to. I also liked FL's relationship with her brother-like figure Won Tak. But unfortunately, contrary to my expectations, FL was weak. Too damn weak which is why I couldn't like her character much. She should've at least slapped 2nd lead with all her force!! (Hong Cha Young's slap to Babel Boss in Vincenzo spoiled me nvm)

Anyway, so back to review. There's nothing much to say about the story cause it's simple, saying too much might spoil it. Second lead was venomous. There were some dislikable side characters still the drama was good.

However I have one serious issue with this drama and it's the KISSING TIMING! This drama probably has the worst kissing timing ever!!
So there was a scene where ML was crying about his mother who has passed away and our FL kisses him to comfort him at that moment?? Before anyone starts yelling at me, here's the fact, "ML and FL were JUST FRIENDS at that scene, they didn't start dating yet." Now Like seriously! Who kisses their friend when they're talking about something so saddening? If you swap the gender role for that scene you'll realize how creepy and sickening it was. Then there was another scene where ML tells FL to sleep with another man to earn money! Right after saying something so sh*tty, he kisses her and she gives in??!!! I honestly will never understand what the screenwriter was thinking while writing these scenes. They were plain toxic. Not romantic at all.

Apart from this one issue, everything else was fine to me.

Music of this drama was good. "That's ordinary love" was an uplifting ost. Listened to it a lot of times.

As for rewatching, I don't think I'll ever rewatch it. I may watch some favourite clips or fmvs but rewatch is a NO.

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I LOVED all the characters, character development and family dynamics.

Before mentioning anything about the leads, I have to talk about how much I loved the family dynamics in this drama and how it really delved into it. Not just for the FL and ML, but also for a lot of the supporting characters. It focused on a lot of different types of family dynamics: biological families, adopted families and step families. It has abusive families, abuse in different forms as well as very loving and non abusive families. I've also never seen this many orphans in a Kdrama, especially where the main plot isn't neccesarily about the characters being orphans.

I LOVED this drama. I LOVED the FL, how smart and strong she was to deal with everything (loss after loss) on her own. And I LOVED the ML, he was refreshing, despite being rich and having everything, he wasn't always rich and so knew the value of every penny, litterally every penny. He was so sweet and in his own way, he was the kind of male lead the treated everyone cold but had a soft spot for the FL and only the FL.

I loved that the ML and FL met when the FL still had everything, so that the ML could see her at her best and then at her worst when everything starts to go downhill.

I also LOVED the SML and slowing growing to despise him more and more each episode. I loved that we didn't have the typical sweet SL who did everything for the FL only to be "friendzoned". Here, he be deserved it and so much more. Despite how sweet he seems at present, he is a snake. His past self may seem bad for dumping the FL the way he did with an outright cruel justification, his present self, even when he's "good" showed just how little he thought of the FL, believing himself to be her knight in shinning armor. One she did not need from anyone. But I also loved him for being so protective off her and loving her (in his own toxic way), I would have despised it where he the male lead though. I loved all the scenes where he would care for the FL and try to come to her rescue. I had a strange love/hate for him, he's usually the kind of toxic male lead I love watching in a (moderatly) toxic drama. His character development is him essentially getting worse and worse every episode.

I LOVED the ending. I was so happy that the leads stayed together until the end, no break up, just adorable bickering.
I think everyone got the ending the they deserved, maybe not the step family, but I didn't care for them much.

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Colorful fun opening, and excellent themes but second half takes a dark, repetitive turn.

The strength of this drama lies in the relaxed, easy chemistry between the two leads and unique and touching themes about art, community and belonging. The first half has a lot of cute, comedic opposite attracts moments - but quickly falls into a ridiculous, dark conspiracy filled second half. Tons of rescuing/vowing protection scenes if you like those.

Again, the romantic chemistry was playful and great. The acting is competent, and you grow attached to the characters. But, there was a lot of over the top crassness/loudness to emphasize the class differences, plus cartoonish over acting from the villains.

Music was highly obvious in its cues and not particularly well done, and I'm not sure I'd rewatch. A few of those magical moments will linger on.

----
I grade on other criteria as well

Themes: 9.5
For those who grew up 'on the outside looking in,' a person or two providing meaning in their lives can make all the difference. Families we chose can provide a feeling of belonging where blood family may fail. Art provides an ability to learn about ourselves and others, to connect to something greater than the personal minutiae of day to day lives. Money makes the world go round, but a life worth living is about connectedness beyond ourselves. Women face unique vulnerabilities as orphans/foster children.

Character Growth/Complex Growth: 6.5
You learn a lot of interesting, complex back stories about the characters as the show goes on, but there isn't much 'character growth' per se, so much as their moods ebbs and flows.

Complex Women/Interactions Between Women: 7.0
There was one really great connection and story between Dali and a museum employee regarding a woman's value and worth in the world. Otherwise, the women were fairly silo'd from each other and somewhat caricatures or one note. It was mainly Dali and 3 main male leads.

Cinematography/Production Values: 8.0
By now, most K dramas have very competent and high production values, staging and cinematography, and this one is no different. One or two ways they filmed some of the museum/art scenes were highly creative but otherwise it was all well-done but standard.

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The most pathetic FL of any drama

I am usually a lurker and not a review writer, but I had to write this PSA... if youre the type who gets annoyed by naive, sad, weepy, pathetic FL leads who cannot stand up for themselves then avoid this drama.

She doesn't speak up when a simple statement could clear up an issue, doesn't understand that it takes money to run a business, decides its a great idea to rely on the horrible ex bf that dumped her days before their wedding, and has barely enough air in her lungs to get out her words because she's so saaaad. Also, she doesnt report a major burglary to the apartment owner of the place where she is living, a guy who ie basically her brother and already annoyed with her because she didn't tell him she was assulted, because she doesnt want to burden him??? Its his home!!

I like the actress, I LOVE the ML and most of the side characters. I'm going to keep watching because I dearly hope the confident, pleasant FL from the first episode makes an appearance again. But dear lord is it frustrating. I am glad some people enjoy her character but thats a no for me, dawg.

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Worth watching.

The two leads chemistry is apparent so that kept me hooked. I loved Dali's hair and fashion! Beautiful!

I enjoyed watching the two leads up and down relationship up until the moment they got together. There were some really swoonworthy moments.

The supporting cast, I feel, was not the strongest. I particularly did not enjoy Moo Hak's family's acting - the dad, step mom and son. Its seemed very obvious they were acting.

Also, I wish we'd have seen more of Dali and Moo Hak in the last episode. They overplayed making it look like they had broken up. I actually wish the last two episodes focused more on them, We only got like 3 minutes of their kiss in the last episode coz the writers wanted to trick us. I don't think that was the wisest way to end the drama but hey.

Overall, cute show.

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Lead acting was good

Not a bad watch and Kim Min Jae rarely disappoints.
His character here is arrogant (but I felt this was often a front for feeling inferior), very business savvy, but lacks the social skills, sophistication and knowledge of art to fit in amongst Dali's peers, co-workers and gallery connections. He does, however, have the money.
I am not sure what the drama was trying to be, because it's not a fluffy romance, not quite a detective story (although it would have made a good thriller) and not a true comedy.
Ep1 was amusing and humour is used through the show, but it's needed.
There is bullying, physical and mental abuse by parents, drug addiction, coercion, threat, a huge dose of snobbishness and more than one psychopathic character.
Moo Hak often seemed to revert to gangster behaviour when he felt humiliated or out of his depth. The response to it was...... nothing.
Dali infuriated me at times ~ the character could have been co much more. I think they were going for kind of ethereal, graceful, yet strong, but incredibly patient, demure and sophisticated.
The behaviour of some characters (the worst were all family members) was, frankly, sick inducing at times.
The ending wrapped it all up fairly neatly, but it's definitely not one I'd watch again.

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The race to save Dali & the art museum

From the title and comments I was expecting a very lighthearted romcom. And this drama did have a lot of lighthearted moments that made me laugh a lot. But what I wasn’t expecting was the numerous sad yet poignant moments as the female leads life was turned upside down. Every time things are starting to look better for her she faces bitter setbacks. I couldn’t help but root for her. I went from disliking her tough no nonsense character to being touched seeing her grow and mature. I liked how multifaceted the female lead was. She was scared and vulnerable yet brave and stood up for herself when she needed to. For example, when she was headed to the police station to face the man who had attacked her she was visibly shaking. Yet once she came face to face with him she bravely faced him without flinching even though he was threatening to kill her. Her character was very relatable.

In the beginning the male lead comes off as a shallow money obsessed jerk. But as the drama progresses you start to see more and more of the sweet little puppy that he truly is deep inside. And you learn more about what lead him to become that way. His character becomes more and more charming and endearing as the drama progresses. I was especially touched by his character growth.

The acting was very good, way above average. And you’ll see some familiar faces like the male leads dad or the male leads secretary (loved her in What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim). The superb acting is what really stands out in this drama.

So if the characters were so great, the acting was superb, and it has high ratings, why did I not give it a 9 or 10? Well my headline at the top sums it up well. The entire drama consists of watching the female lead being attacked in every way possible, even physically as she struggles to keep her families beloved art museum afloat. And this all happens immediately after her fathers sudden death so she’s still grieving. It was difficult to watch sometimes. But her angst wasn’t the problem. It was because her getting attacked over and over again got a bit too repetitive. At first I found it very interesting but after a while I found myself sighing and groaning when she faced setback after setback. It became predictable. So I deducted one star for the overly repetitive and predictable storyline.

The drama did introduce some side stories to spice things up a bit. There was a bit of a love triangle as the female leads ex fiancé relentlessly pursues her. Then there was the drug dealing business going on behind the scenes at the art museum. I found the issue of how people in Asia view those who are adopted quite interesting and wish it were explored a little better. There was also the whole murder mystery whodunnit scenario as we keep seeing someone confront the female leads father then leave him to die, but the culprits face is never shown. So there were a lot of other side stories going on. But instead of making it more interesting it made the drama more confusing as if it didn’t know where it was heading or what point it was trying to make. If this was a longer drama and more time was spent exploring each issue it would have been perfect. But with only 16 episodes they tried to cram too much into this drama. For this reason I deducted another point.

Now let’s talk about the romance. This is a romcom so the romance is a big part of the show. In the beginning I found myself getting butterflies and feeling very touched. But in the end I felt let down and disappointed. The kissing scenes are great and the main leads had great chemistry. And their little flirtations and cute interactions are adorable but it just doesn’t go much further than that. There were no back hugs, no piggyback rides and not a lot of skinship either. If the drama is a romcom and they put the main leads names together in the title, you expect an epic romance that’s very focused on them, right? And even though the romance was cute, it wasn’t what I would call a passionate romance. It was more of a cute light romance like what you would see in a school drama. Therefore yet another star was taken off.

Overall I would say this is a good drama worth watching. If you’re looking for a great romance with lots of skinship then this isn’t the drama for you. If you’re looking for a riveting storyline that keeps you guessing then this isn’t for you either. But if you want something that’s a short easy watch with lots of cuteness this is definitely your type of drama. Im glad I watched it but I have no interest in rewatching it.

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A slow start

I really love Minjae and I was really excited to watch this drama but I have to admit that even though the storyline was really interesting it started to be good around episode 8. Before that there wasn't much going on apart from Dali and Moo Hak relationship.
I had the feeling that they tried to push the mystery for too long, they could've started showing Tae Jin real intentions way before they did which was around episode 11. they could've built Tae Jin character more instead of making him a background character, I feel like Shi Hyun had more screen time than him and half of the time wasn't making any sense. the way they punished Tae Jin for what he did to Da Li's father wasn't what I was expecting to be honest, but yet it shows how in that world everything is condoned so I can accept it.
The relationship between Moo Hak and Da Li on the other hand was really well structured and I really loved how cute they were with each other. I also enjoyed the end and how Da Li despite what Moo Hak's dad said to her in the hospital decided to stick with him and don't leave him. it was a different ending I appreciated it.
overall it wasn't bad, I liked it but it had a really slow start which kinda bored me but I am happy I finished it in the end.

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This Drama Uses Every Element Deliciously

“Dali” puts every element of itself to good use, and absolutely nothing is wasted. The design of a character’s office or home tells you a lot about who they are and what’s important to them (as befits a show where the significance of art and emotional connections to art are running themes). Subtle shifts in a character’s wardrobe indicate how they’re changing as the story progresses. Some object that seems like a joke or a gag always turns out to be really important later. Most of the characters aren’t as simple as they seem to be when you first meet them, and your opinion of them will completely change by the end of the drama.

There’s also something from the first episode that you might think the scriptwriter totally forgot, but don’t worry, it comes up in the last episode. The attention to detail is just astounding.

This drama also does something fairly unusual with camera work by using split screens instead of cutaways and reaction shots in order to capture the facial expressions and reactions of everyone involved in a scene. So it’s a bit more like a live performance where you can see everything happening at once.

It’s definitely worth a rewatch: it’s so richly layered that you’ll definitely pick up some things on a second viewing that you didn’t notice before.

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Need more of these dramas

I started watching this drama because i stumbled upon on it in my netflix home page, and when i watched the trailer i was immediately attracted to this drama.
The overall story in the drama was good and it matched with the romance story.
Pros
• First of all i ♡ the music in this drama
• i love the fl sm, like her hair and outfits and everything! (I read a comment abt someone criticizing her hair and jm coming for whoever wrote that)
• i also rlly like the ml, hes not like the cold arrogant rich bad boy like the typical ml. He is very quirky and confident (like in the tittle of the drama "cocky prince")
• i ♡ the main couple, surprisingly they're mature and there's no unnecessary breakup or stupid misunderstanding which tend to frustrates me in dramas
• i ♡ the other characters as well especially the ml's assistant in the drama, i kinda fell for her lol

Cons
• I hate the fl's ex bf.

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lighthearted rom com

A pretty cute and lighthearted romantic drama that follows a classic opposites attract type of plot. For once, the over-the-top conspiracies and revelations of the more political and thriller part of the drama didn't feel out of place as the plot is a bit over the top from the beginning. The acting is very solid, adding a lot of uniqueness to each character. I enjoyed the secondary characters the most, as they felt well-developed and rounded.

Recommended for anyone who wants a typical rom-com kdrama with some political conspiracy on the side, but doesn't mind a formulaic plot

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