A Prefabricated Family (2024)

Definitely worth to watch!

Family By Choice is definitely a K-drama worth watching anytime you’re in need of a heartwarming and kind-hearted show. You’ll quickly grow attached—and maybe even obsessed—with the mental and emotional journeys of the four kids, Sanha, Haejun, Juwon, and Dal, who carry the story so beautifully. Juwon’s and Sanha’s dads also play a significant role, portraying two touching and resilient single parents who add depth and warmth to the show.

The story is beautifully written, making it easy to feel and connect with the emotions each character faces.
Sanha and Haejun’s stories with their moms are particularly heartbreaking and, at times, infuriating. At first, the reasons behind their mothers abandoning them seem selfish, but as the story unfolds, we slowly begin to understand and empathize with their decisions.

Juwon’s feelings are the sweetest part of the show. She’s a girl who grew up with two brothers and eventually found love with one of them, Sanha. I’m grateful to the screenwriters for avoiding the overused love triangle trope, which wouldn’t have added anything to the plot. Instead, Juwon’s character arc concludes with happy and fulfilling relationships with both Haejun and Sanha.

My favorite character, though, is undoubtedly Park Dal. Her character is touching in so many ways. Her shy nature, combined with her determination to express her true feelings—both for Haejun and her mother—makes her character development feel smooth and authentic. I especially loved how Haejun was oblivious to the depth of her feelings for him, and how Dal worked so hard to show him her love. It made their eventual romance in the finale incredibly satisfying to watch.

I won’t spoil any more for you, but I highly recommend Family By Choice whenever you’re looking for a sweet and heartwarming K-drama. It’s the perfect story to make you feel like you’re living with a comfortable, loving family for a few days or weeks.

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A very good adaptation with a lot of personal character!

I'm a BIG BIG BIG fan of Go Ahead, literally my first 10 star in this site. For me, Family by Choice feels like a gift.

It give generally more stress free life for all characters (they use kdrama magic here and there). They cut a lot of angst, so some toxic trait of the characters also gone. They cut a lot of super super complex internal feeling. A very wise choice, because no way they can tackle that in 16 episodes. But they still able to deliver important plot points, either funny, wholesome or emotional.

While Go Ahead is more realistic feeling, Family By Choice is more hopeful and dreamy. Like, San Ha is super positive even until the end (no lie I miss lil bit of pettiness from him, haha). How his sister is not toxic. How Haejun still in track with his love of basketball instead of change career to make cake (Juwon can make it herself!). Generally the change always move to positive feeling. Difference like that keep happen in this drama, make the tone it more light. So the resolution can be shorter.

Actors acting are so good. On par with OG actors, they are seriously great. The only one that weaker is Juwon. Her acting is not as complex and her acting as young Juwon to adult Juwon are not drastic enough. But I feel it's not fair to compare because Tan Song Yun is a lot older IRL and she start as younger Jian Jian. Also, the storyline didn't give Chae Yeon enough chance. A very important story point where Juwon's internal feeling transitioning from seeing Sanha as 'sibling' to lover, is gone! It's too sudden with no enough development time from Juwon stand point. She still give good performance generally, with charming young Juwon to some emotional parts here and there.

The cinematography and music are a lot better than Go Ahead. It's more consistent in quality and very beautifully shoot. I also adore how they adapt this drama from very Chinese to very Korean. Not only the setting change, but we can also see the difference in characters traits, social dynamic, culture, way of life. They make the story their own, while still keep the soul of Go Ahead alive.

Last but not the least, the best thing about this drama: It give us HAEJUN-DAL!!!

I really want this couple to be a thing even in Go Ahead. But the OG drama was too realistic :') I mean, I love realistic story but at that point I thought, "Can't you give us this couple? No need to be that realistic it still a drama..." But yeah, that not happened. That's why I love the change! How Dan feeling more unwavering, how she choose to pursue her feeling. How precious Park Dal is to the trio. She is a treasure. And because Haejun is super dense even though he is more advance in dating, their dynamic is so fun. I really love this couple, the greatest gift from Family by Choice!

I have fun watch it. Maybe the best drama adaptation I ever watch. It's good for people that can't stand long drama and can't stand heavier feeling in Go Ahead. It's a good additional to Go Ahead world.

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I can't stand seeing Sanha and Juwon in romantic relationship

I like the storyline and the bonding between family in third floor and second floor. I really like the way they act like they are real siblings. When they had quarrel each other, mocking each other even protecting each other. I also really like the way Mr Yoon treated Haejun like he is his own son. Everything was touched and good. everything goes well for me before Sanha confesses his feeling to Juwon. It's shortly cringey for me because since at the beginning, they play too good to be siblings. Till the end i still can't accept that Sanha and Juwon are romantically interested each other. But overall, this drama is really good and worth to watch. 8/10 from me

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This is not remake, it's re-create

I have watched several remade dramas. Many of them disappointed me, but there are remakes that are done very well. A remake involves creating a new version of a work, with adjusted plots and characters. I always hope for the excitement that comes from these adaptations whenever I try to watch a remake. There are two great remakes that I refer to when watching remake dramas: "Playful Kiss" and "Solomon's Perjury." Both are Korean dramas that adapt Japanese dramas and films. I watched both versions and was satisfied with them.

These two dramas adapt the plot and Japanese culture well, adjusting it nicely to Korean culture without rushing to build a new identity for the drama.

However, it’s not the same with this drama. In episode 1, this drama portrays the childhood of the characters quite well. The casting for the parents is very well done, and I am quite satisfied with that. The child actors are also fairly good in portraying their characters.

When the characters begin to enter adulthood, I noticed many important scenes that should have been included but were omitted. I know it’s not easy to condense 40 episodes, but removing major scenes and creating a new plot that lacks a similar message is not the right choice. This is a remake, and while being different and having its own color is fine, it shouldn’t come at the expense of altering the plot.

I was quite skeptical about JCY when the cast was first announced, but it turns out that among the three main cast members, I think she acted the most naturally. She manages to create a new character for Jian Jian effectively. A slight difference in character is okay as long as the overall character doesn’t change. What disappoints me more is the acting of HIY. This is the third time I’ve watched his dramas (18 Again, Why Her?), and I feel there hasn’t been significant development in his acting style.

My disappointment continued when I realized that the character Tang Can was not adapted in this drama. She is a main character who significantly influences Jian Jian’s character development, but this drama seems to prefer emphasizing romance over family and self-development, focusing instead on a love quadrangle that I think isn’t as important.

I am uncomfortable with the change in Ming Yue's character in this drama, as that’s where her development lies. The actress playing Park Dal has acted well, and there’s no doubt about that, but it feels like a new character. Ming Yue is a cowardly female character who gradually starts lying because she cannot express what she wants; she doesn’t dare to openly confront her mother at all during her youth. The first time she does so is at age 25, but here, Park Dal’s character boldly expresses her opinions to her mother while they’re eating together. That doesn’t feel like Ming Yue at all. It’s an unnecessary adaptation of the character.

In fact, this drama has a lot of potential if it wanted to place more emphasis on family rather than romance, just like the original story. Or like its title, because that is indeed its most interesting point. Almost 80% of the casting is well-chosen, with good acting and compatible faces. But everything feels wasted due to the plot that tries too hard to create something new, a new identity. If that's the case, it would be better to just create a new drama.

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Family always

As someone who absolutely loved Go Ahead, I was very excited about this remake, but alas I had to constantly remind myself that it isn’t supposed to be replicated.

The drama keeps majority of the essential story line with more emphasis on family importance, which does support the title. In a perspective of someone who watched the original, its okay, but still very enjoyable, however, unfortunately I feel for those who are a little disappointed as a lot of the core elements that made Go Ahead really amazing, seemed to be toned down and altered in a way that is underwhelming.

If you haven’t watched the chinese original, I feel the drama is amazing in that sense of being a stand alone! Its a lighthearted, romance and slice of life drama with some sentimentality. As a Go Ahead watcher, its basically a very condensed version of the drama, and IMO a lot more emotionally watered down.

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