Blueming (2022)

Intimate, empathetic and observant slice-of-life story

The simplicity of "Blueming" really enabled the show to focus on more serious topics such as insecurities, loneliness, and self-doubts. It's simple, raw and the dialogues are written with such authenticity that it makes it really easy to relate to the characters. It was refreshing to see how mundane their struggles were, and I loved how this show "normalized" pain. Not only that, but it doesn't judge its characters for the feelings they have. Quite a few of us might have felt that our pain isn't worth mentioning and I like how it acknowledges that no matter what you're going through, your feelings are valid. I also appreciate how they didn't give us the usual perfect main leads, instead the characters and dialogues are written with such empathy that it made the story feel genuine.

The romance is quite uneventful and I think the story benefits greatly from it. There aren't any grand gestures or declarations, instead you can see them slowly opening up to each other. It's clear they found someone they can be vulnerable with and not fear being judged. I thought their bond and the growing trust was realistically portrayed, proving you don't need a full-length show to convincingly build up a relationship.

Fitting for a story about film students, the cinematography is beautiful. It utilizes lighting and shadows to create atmospheric shots that added an artistic feel to the show. Moreover, it was rather clever that they used filming techniques they talked about in class during one of the episodes. Both lead actors seemed pretty comfortable in their roles and managed to portray the awkwardness and growing attraction quite well. The performances were rather understated, which was fitting for the story. The little touches between them and their body language felt natural and intimate. Once again, the simplicity of it all made it feel realistic and authentic.

"Blueming" is a subtle and quiet depiction of everyday struggles that will tug on your heartstrings. Some dialogues felt so familiar, and I think that's why the story resonated with me. It's a story that lingers in your thoughts, and some conversations were so well-written I could write an essay about it. It may not be perfect in all aspects, but it manages to observantly tell a story of mundane struggles in an engaging and touching way.

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“I had to be flawless not to be looked down on.”

One’s in love and one is clueless - probably my second favorite trope right after enemies to lovers. Both create many opportunities for funny scenes and interesting interactions with the proper amount of angst to spice things up without breaking my heart.

The plot is rather simple, giving a nice slice of life sentiment, tackling various issues young people might face, while also telling a compelling love story of two interesting characters with wildly different backgrounds, pasts, personalities and behaviors.

Cha Si Won was a deeply insecure boy who needed a lot of external validation. From the start we get a good glimpse into who he is - craving the attention, enjoying people praising his looks. He takes appropriate steps to make people look in his direction. He feels anxious when there is someone equally attractive as he is - feeling the need to work even harder to stay at the top of that social ladder.

On the other hand Hyeong Da Un seems to be born with good looks and does not need to work hard to get the attention Si Won wants so much. That said, from the start I could clearly sense loneliness and sadness about him. That emo vibes creeping in. We did not get to understand who he is from the start, but the writer dropped hints that his life might not be as sweet and perfect as Si Won assumed, for example when his smile dropped after hearing the door from his house opening. To quote Shrek - Da Un is like an onion and the writer was slowly peeling off the layers of his personality and struggles as the drama progressed, showing who he is as a character and making me cry the tears of pain in the process.

So how did their relationship start? Cha Si Won just had no idea how to act around Da Un. He wanted to make sure Da Un knows he is this confident guy, but it turned rather awkward, and the small lie he told to create that persona was exposed rather quickly and concluded with one simple “맛있게 먹고”.

At the same time Da Un tried to get close to Si Won, joking around and showing real interest in him - which was at first taken as teasing and a sign of him acting superior. Poor boy, to be this misunderstood by your crush, when he just wanted to spend time with him and get to know him better.

Si Won’s whole drunk monologue in episode 2 was a new level of 2nd hand embarrassment, and yet Da Un thought it was endearing and funny. Si Won was literally trashing him saying there was something fishy about him, and Da un was just smiling about it - he was already gone into the love land by that time.

Si Won’s insecurities led to misunderstandings, but thanks to the god of kdramas, these two boys were forced to work on different assignments together, which created many opportunities for Si Won to see how his initial judgment might have been just a misconception. And the sweet love story slowly developed.

The plot line that got me extremely interested was the contest and the aftermath of it. From the start Si Won was not confident in his writing and the script, not to mention the work was autobiographical which would mean being vulnerable about your past in front of many people.

He feared it’s not strong enough to be picked, so even though he was tempted by the opportunity, he alone wouldn't take it. After his sister did it for him, resulting in him winning the first place he felt conflicted. From the start he believed the rumors that he only won thanks to Da Un’s involvement, but at the end he decided to believe in Da Un’s denying it. His words of assurance that the scenario was good and worth the award gave Si Won the confidence to share it with the class…

…and then he found out it was all a lie - the fear of not being good enough became a reality. At that point though, his priority and what he cared about changed. He loved Da Un, he was more angry about him not being honest than the actual contest.

It’s also interesting from Da Un’s perfective. From the start he had an instinct of taking care of, helping and protecting Si Won. From serving him food on the night out with other students, taking him home when he was drunk, going after him after he ran away from the book cafe. His priority was making sure Si Won is fine. Hence when he found out Si Won submitted his work for the contest, he feared not winning would hurt his confidence even more - he wanted to protect him from that disappointment. His good intentions led to misguided actions and awful aftermath. He feared Si Won would be disappointed in himself after losing, but at the end he led to Si Won being disappointed in him.

Except for the personal internal issues the male leads have and their relationship, the drama does quite a good job at showing how bad parenting can hurt the child - be it putting too many expectations on them, or neglecting them assuming they will do well on their own. Both can create trauma and scars that are hard to heal and can carry to adulthood. Both leads struggled because of their family relations and it influenced how they behave now - one feeling the constant need to prove himself, and the other struggling with truly opening to others.

Presentation wise, I loved how Si Won’s family issues were often present in the background - we could hear his mother badmouth their father to Si Yeong, questioning if she likes her father, guilt tripping her into admitting she does not.

Another interesting side plot was Yun Jeong and how she had to deal with the sexist senior - from inconsiderate remarks about her looks to situations where she truly felt uncomfortable and even threatened.

It would be a crime not to mention Si Won’s sister Si Yeong and her adorable crush on Yun Jeong. The cuteness that the character radiated was just amazing.

The acting? Really good. Jo Hyuk Joon just broke my heart with his sad puppy emo eyes, and Kang Eun Bin made me want to die from embarrassment quite a few time with his perfectly delivered lines based on his misconceptions and misunderstandings of people and situations - he was so confident about all the things he was wrong about. At the same time he managed to deliver the more emotional scenes. The scene that impressed me the most was his argument with the mother and them crying in each other's arms - the pain was real.

Production quality for such a small show was great. I also liked the directing that emphasized the characters current situation. For example, how they showed Da Un sitting with his back to the camera when his family was mentioned. It gave an even stronger impression how lonely he is, how he is unable to show his pain to others and he deals with it alone. And then, to add by the end of the show a shot of his and Si Won’s back, sitting next to each other telling us, he is not alone anymore.

Another great example would be how in episode 5 during one of the classes the lecturer talks about the magic/golden hour in photography “This magic hour is called the time between dog and wolf. When seeing a man walking toward you at that time of a day, you’re not sure if it’s a dog by your side or the wolf of your enemy”. Then in episode 6, after Si Won asks Do Un if his parents had anything to do with him winning, we can see a shot of Do Un filmed in that “magic hour” which could be seen as foreshadowing his involvement in the contest behind Si Won’s back. And then later, the whole episode 10 was titled “The time between dog and wolf” when the truth came to light. I appreciated how some references were coming back in different forms and times to tell the story.

Was the production perfect? No. Some scenes were dubbed (if the characters were sitting or walking far away), but it was still clearly visible the sound did not match what the actors were saying. Sometimes some shots seemed blurred and the colors were not sharp enough compared to the previous scene, but honestly, all of these things I only noticed while rewatching the drama.

Surprisingly, this show gets better on the second viewing. Some lines just hit differently when you know the whole story and context. For example Si Won telling Da Un “you were born with everything at the tip of your hands and loved by your parents so much” in episode 2, which could not be further from the truth with how he grew up emotionally neglected, receiving close to no love and attention from his parents who were always busy with work.

Overall, not sure why this show feels so special to me, but it does. The second viewing made me love and appreciate it even more. I would recommend it to everyone, as it delivers nicely written characters that are easy to sympathize with and relate to, soft commentary on some personal issues we might face in our lives and a truly sweet romance with great chemistry that will make you feel lonely like never before.

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FULLY BLOOMED

I have to commend the show for showing us that short series doesnt have to feel rushed. With 11 episodes of about 12 minutes each, the series was beautifully developed and delivered with just the right pacing.

I loved that almost all scenes (and characters) felt important with minimal fillers, sprinkled with just the right amount of cuteness, sillyness, adult kissing (and lovemaking) and a few obligatory shirtless trap scenes.

It also doesnt hurt that we got two very good looking and capable leads. Im not sure if it was intentional but the awkward acting of Jo Kyuk Joon somehow worked for his mysterious emo character, and Kang Eun Bin is like a younger Kim Min Jae, and i mean it in a good way.

On the other side, the series reminded me of the anxieties i felt while watching all other beauty transformation series that tried to deal with leaving an old life behind and trying to live with a somewhat fake beautiful identity to get acceptance - only this time, we see it from a guy's point of view. Or are we?

Cha Si Won can be played by a male or female actor without needing to change any of the script. The series was trying to say love is love and it has no gender, by emitting (or ignoring) any mention of homosexuality. However that for me was the weakness of the show - because in reality, same sex relationship isnt all rainbows and butterflies, and it could have added another layer to the love story of SiWon and Da Un. There are so many BL series nowadays who prefer to take this route and to be frank, it acts as a double edge sword that can sometimes work but sometimes can undermine serious gender issues and over romanticize the idea of an unconditional love.

The fact that they showed the mother feeling scandalized by being portrayed as a bad mother and yet has no concern about having a kid being in a same sex relationship, may prove to be a little too unrealistic and unrepresentative of the situation on the ground.

To be honest, what we have here is a shortened watery version of My ID is Gangnam Beauty.

Would i reccommend? Yes, definitely.

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Family ties and romance...

This feels more like a movie than a series, as the pacing, music, story, cinematography, time well everything gave the vibe of a well made movie.

The story is good, unlike many web dramas it does not feel rushed in anyway it has a beginning a middle, some kind of conflict and of course an ending too... one of those that fit the feel there could be a sequel but if the sequel would add anything to the story seems questionable.

What I loved about this movie (series that I shall now name movie), was the way it was filmed, and though the side characters where not always necessary they did add some extra flavour and had 0 annoying tendencies... I would for instance love a GL about the sister and the ML friend... The sister is probably one of my favourite siblings in all of Dramaland...

The romance here is pretty good, having the boys see each other for who they really are, or at least one of them, a guy who is very caring and sweet... But what makes this movie really good is actually the story within the story, the film within the film about the a child's relationship to weight loss and how it with the combination badly handled divorce/separation can scar a child deeply. They also show different types of not so perfect, I would even say some pretty bad parenting and it is done well!

Level of... 1-10
Bingeabilaty: 10
Cute couple: 9
Drama: 7
Exitment:5
Entertainment: 9
Annoying elements: non
Cinematography: 9

So if you ask me this is definitely worth watching!

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a subtle masterpiece

raw, intimate and delicate. it's tender and romantic and handles uglier topics in a genuine way. the music, cinematography and script were great. lovely use of light, colour and silence. the actors fit like puzzle pieces. more than plot it's driven by emotion which gives everything this subtle, quiet feel. perhaps to a fault for some viewers but i thought it captured the fragility of relationships really well. it's a drama to watch when everything surrounding you is loud, it feels like wearing warm earmuffs in the snow or sitting under the shade of a tree in summer. it didn't try to be more than it is yet it resonated with me and i feel like it would with some others too. in its simplicity i think it's one of my favourite dramas that builds and gives layers to each character, showing their flaws and strong points. i'll shut up now but i personally love this drama so much. hwang daseul has yet to disappoint.

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enjoyable romance series

Overall: it was enjoyable but a few things make it not a 10/10 for me

Content Warnings: fixation on being thin, past bullying

What I Liked
- that the leads had nice skinship not just 1 kiss right at the end
- they did have some good communication and conversations (until they didn't but at least there wasn't a long time gap)
- funny parts like how they were in the same group all of the time
- cute parts like holding hands
- I appreciate that they both apologized for mistakes made
- avoided the drunken kiss dub con scenario
- avoided dead fish lip press
- the hint of f/f romance
- production value

Room For Improvement
- I didn't get why either one fell for the other one, especially Daun for Siwon who was super prickly
- some choppy parts, how did Siwon get Daun's number? For the bookstore if Siwon had just given 1 line because I was so confused at what he was doing until he explained it all later.
- the last episode especially I was pretty confused about what was real/not real
- I don't understand why the male friend expressed a romantic interest in the female artist, they could have just omitted that part and focused on the GL part

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Amazing !!! Go watch it NOW !!!

I love this series so much !! It was more than incredible , and I honestly am going to re-watch it as soon as I finish writing this lol
The actors chemistry and acting was phenomenal , the cinematography was beyond words and just truly beautiful, the ost was really good I will totally go look those songs up again and again they are already stuck in my head , and the story itself was so moving - I love every single thing about this series!! You can tell it's Hwang Da Seul's work - what a queen ! directing one masterpiece after the other !! Is hoping for a season 2 too optimistic ?? I already miss them
I didn't read the original work yet but for me this was a 10000000/10 ! I am already on my way to show it to every single friend of mine !

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I was not expecting it to be so good!

Maybe because there wasn't much hype over this show, but I really wasn't expecting it to be so good. Not only was the plot incredibly realistic, but the writing really touched me. It showed these two imperfect humans who find someone who loves them despite, or maybe because of, all their flaws.

First, let me talk about the acting. It was incredible! Kang EunBin and Jo HyukJoon did such an incredible job - they portrayed so many complex emotions very well, and there wasn't a second where I didn't believe their reaction.

I already talked a little bit about the writing and the plot, but it was honestly so well done. I felt like it was so realistic and their flaws so real, that it made their story so much more interesting. I definitely relate a little bit to Cha SiWon, so maybe that's why the writing touched me, but the fact that this wasn't just a love story but also a journey of growth for both of the main characters was wonderful to watch. Props to the scriptwriter!

Lastly, let me talk about the cinematography! Everything was so beautifully filmed that I really felt like this was high budget. I have no idea if it was or not, but the scenes were all so carefully and wonderfully made.

I honestly cannot find a single negative thing to say about this, except maybe that the side characters' storylines were not 100% resolved, but that honestly didn't bug me at all, especially since we were mostly invested in the main characters.

I honestly had no expectations for this show, but it really just skyrocketed up to one of my favorite BLs of all time. Watch it!

(One thing I will say though, is that if you suffer from an ED, there are some parts that might be a bit triggering, so be careful).

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KOREAN BL DOMINATING 2022 !!

This show was perfection and the cinematography and chemistry of the actors were top tier. The chemistry between the two leads is breath taking... the kisses are intimate... this deals with so much like depression, knowing your worth and the struggles to be considered ''beautiful'' by societies standards.. I connected with this show so much.
The people complaining about this show dropping all episodes at once and saying it will effect it's popularity is so ridiculous.. tell that to every netflix show that all episodes are released at once.. if a show is good enough it will eventually build... YOUNG ROYALS premiered with ZERO fanfare or noise or promotion... and it gained a rabid fanbase in months. so what you're saying is if they put the 11 episodes into a movie format and ppl could watch it in one sitting it would take away from the show being successful ? I don't agree with that.. I watched it in one sitting and actually enjoyed this rather than watching one episode per week.

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This is gonna be controversial

So, I watched it a mere month ago and I already don't remember A LOT of things. I know a lot of people loved it, but imo the drama is just forgettable. There is nothing really that sticks out besides its truly stunning cinematography.

I do remember appreciating the heavier plot, though. The characters are far more complicated than what I had seen in previous BLs. For that I give the plot an extra point.
I remember thinking the acting was alright, sometimes with awkward little moments, but nothing bad standing out.

Apparently though by my messages to a friend, i apparently thought the drama was heavily inspired by thai bls. At least I do remember the thai bls, though.

Overall more of a disppointment for me, because everyone kept talking about it and I had high expectatiobs.

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It's not bad, but pretty forgettable.

I really thought something was wrong with me today, after seeing all the rave reviews and comments, and I just wasn't seeing what everyone else was seeing. I even read 9 chapters of the webtoon to see if that would solve it. (More on that below).

The actors are competent, but they seemed to be directed to under-emote, Thai style, which de-Koreanized the series a bit, which is a pity. But still, they were solid, and this was beautifully shot. All the side characters had good actors too.

But the story didn't make a lot of sense emotionally. We never get a sense for why Siwon was so hostile to Daun - I kind of understood why, but it wasn't really demonstrated. And then his turnaround is sudden and unmotivated. All of this made it a little difficult to invest in the romance, and it didn't help that their chemistry was not very heated.

I think part of the issue is the original story is a comedy, and they turned it into a drama, and in the process stripped it of everything unique and interesting. In the manwha, Siwon is an outrageous, OTT narcissist, and Daun is an even more outrageous and more OTT narcissist - Siwon is already funny enough, but that Daun suffers from such severe narcissistic delusion that even Siwon finds it incredible is LOL funny. The other issue is that the first two eps are really slow and dull, and because I binged it I never really recovered from that.

But turning it into a very conventional romantic drama just makes Siwon an unpleasant person, which is unfortunate because he's kind of plain when he's hostile and really lovely when he smiles. Daun, instead of being kind of crazy is just a conventionally sweet guy, and Diwan's hostility is strange and assholish. In the comic Daun really is stealing his spotlight, which Daun takes for granted as the natural result of his beauty (he actually glows).

So the end result is a reasonably pleasant but dull and forgettable series. If it hadn't been released all at once I probably would have forgotten about it.

People in the comments section are saying things like "Korea's answer to ITSAY" - I certainly hope not, because I have very high expectatons for what a full-powered Korean BL can accomplish, and this series doesn't even approach ITSAY - this is more like Korea's answer to Fish Upon the Sky. I thought it was markedly inferior in every aspect except cinematography to the same director's Where Your Eyes Linger - which is not at all surprising as she's extremely talented (we need more female BL directors!) and she wrote the screenplay for WYEL as well as directing it.

As a minor note of no importance, I wish Asian dramas would stick with their original names - e.g. Cherry Magic's Japanese title is hilarious - and attempts at wordplay often fall flat. Because "blue" and "Ming" are both words, and Ming-dynasty porcelain is characteristically blue, putting them together just comes out blue Ming (i.e blue MING instead of BLUEming).

Summary: good and worth watching, but don't go in with expectations of an 11/10 or you'll be disappointed. Maybe watch the first two eps one day and then wait a while and binge the rest.

Edit: I had to look up this series on 13 May 2022 because I couldn't remember it. I kind of do now, but only vaguely. So I guess I was right and it's forgettable. At least for me. I do remember the Manwha, though because it was really funny.

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Beauty is In the Eye of the Beholder.

Blueming is not your typical short KBL – It is a painting. Honestly, there is no other way I could find to articulate it. The entire drama is like a mysterious work of art that has to be viewed in person to prod your emotions.

And I feel like Jin Moo Hak from 'Dali and Gamjatang'. I'll get to that later, but this is definitely one of the most difficult dramas to score. It would be somewhere around 8 - 8.5 for me.

Si-won, having been bullied for being chubby when he was a child and following his dad's abandoning their of family, has had a rough time. He values keeping up his external facade of a cool and handsome young boy. Until he stumbles into Da-Won, a new classmate who is automatically God Gifted with everything that he worked hard to attain. Despite feeling jealous of him, Si-Won Inadvertently gets stuck around the enigmatic Da-Won.

Blueming is a drama that floats due to the very interesting characters and their insecurities. There is a high chance you won't like it if they don't grow on you.

I initially cringed so bad at Si-Won. He appeared like a typical hero with an inferiority complex who landed in several highly embarassing situations which directly got him in front of Da-Won, the object of his jealousy. But, after you get over the cringefest, Si-Won starts to become a really realistic and lovable character.
However, there was a constant air of sadness and pain in him. This is explained really well in the latter half of the drama.

Da-Won takes the cake for the most eccentric character I've ever seen in a KBL. He falls for the insecure Si-Won and attempts to treat him in the best way he could. Dude creeped me out a lot, unfortunately, during the first half of the drama. But, I found his pursuit of Si-Won a highlight.

The characters are flawed. A lot. But, aren't we all? That's the charm of Blueming. At one point or the other, we get to interpret their actions/misconceptions and even relate to their insecurities.

Si-Won had a couple of friends, especially Boom Mike guy and Yun-jeong. Despite having little screentime, we got enough to know that they are more than just one dimensional characters.

The framing in Blueming is one of the major highlights. I don't know anything about filming, but this drama was just plain beautiful to watch. It had an almost abstract quality that reminded of Utsukushii Kare and To My Star (which is directed by the same director).

One major issue that I personally had with this drama was how we needed to conjecture certain details about characters. Particularly Da-Won. I felt like a lot of his life is a huge fill-in-the-blanks. And I felt that certain emotions that the director/writer wanted to convey to the audience did not reach me. (I had the same trouble with Utsukushii Kare.)
So, some of the subtle hints and beauty of this show where wasted on me. Hence, why I compared myself to Jin Moo Hak, who never understood art.

Looks like I wrote this while I was half asleep. I still feel like a dizzy squidward after watching this, but I'll rate it an 8.5 for now.

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