I was grateful that Gi-seok ended up being the decent person we all kind of thought he was at the beginning. I'm going to chalk this episode up to being his one "stupid" moment in life (we all have one!!!). If he's learned from it and changed, I can go back to liking him.

I think your little heart will be safe with this end :p

it's worth it. I've really enjoyed this show. Fear not.

In general, this drama was great! The writer, the PD, the actors did a great work to tell this story.

The second characters were interesting and I liked what they brought to the story.

Han Ji Min and Jung Hae In had a great chemistry. So many lovely scenes!

It will be a drama that I will rewatch many times!

For the comparison with Pretty Noona, I think the writer did the same in the both drama. She was faithful to her characters until the end. Except this time, her characters were strong and mature. It made it for us easier to follow because less frustrating.

The conversation between Gi-Seok and Shi-Woon was the best part of this episode. Two pathetic losers, insecure et al, trying to act all mighty. And they both could see how pathetic they looked. Atleast for Ki-Seok it was a mirror!

Was it just because Gi-Seok saw himself in Shi-hoon that he admitted defeat? Or was it because his father called and basically said he/they had done enough?

Personally, I think it's the latter.

I think that Gi-seok saw Shi-hoon for who/what he truly is, and realised that Shi-hoon had never been in a position to help him, and could even drag him down. I am not sure that if Gi-Seok saw himself (somewhat) in Shi-hoon, that it was enough for him to abandon his own self-righteous efforts...

By his own admission, Gi-seok's actions were not necessarily driven purely by love for Jung-in, but more so to prove that he was a better match for Jung-in that Ji-ho, and essentially save Jung-in from herself.

I was so glad that Gi-Seok finally recognized how unhinged his behavior had been. Sure it took seeing it through Shi-hoon, but I'll take growth wherever I can get it.

What I found particularly interesting about this drama was how the sisters and their mother seemed to be weighed down and walking on eggshells in the beginning, but in the finale they were filled with light and energy. They were, for me, the core interest of the drama. The romance was good and all, but these women fighting for each other's lives and winning was really the best thing.

And thank you @teriyaki and @abirdword for recapping this show and staying with us through this show. It was wonderful hearing your and fellow beanies thoughts!

Young Joo is not against their relationship. She wanted Jung In to be sure she could be a mum with its consequences. I think she's a great friend. She always asked the good questions to force Jung In to face the reality and her feelings but she never told her what she should have done.

I felt she was a good friend. She was a voice of reason, but once Jung In made decisions, she supported them 100%. That's what friends do...they don't always tell you what you want to hear...sometimes they tell you what they think you NEED to hear. But they are always, always there for you. And I think that's what she was.

I'm with @kurama and @mehgann on this one.

I think it's partially her personality - she seemed like the cool, cynic type who'll do anything for a friend despite being a bit more of a realist. Everyone needs that friend who's not afraid of being their devil's advocate - if only for you to be sure you understand what you may be getting yourself into.

I know what you mean. OSN has set the bar high for me as well. And I have noticed lately my preference turning into slice of life realism. If you’re also into that, I can think of two right now on my To Watch list — My Ajusshi and Misaeng. There’s no romance but both are highly acclaimed and well-loved. I’ve just started on My Ajusshi actually. Let’s wait and see what other Beanies can recommend.

If you want a romance that isn't the usual tropey stuff, try "Because this is my First Life." It isn't perfect, but it has some of the best moments and an awesome ensemble cast. You won't be disappointed.

Have you watched Healer. Thos is my go to, lol. And Coffee Prince, you may end up with a Gong Yoo obsession though.
Or a Waffle Prince one.
Then second the @athena rec.

Thank you beanies for the tips. I have queued My Ahjussi already and will starr tonight. I saw Healer and Coffee Prince are on Netflix too so I have noted these and will watch next. I already love Gong Yoo as I watched Goblin already and he is the reason I got hooked into kdramas=).

Here's my list of kdrama's with tender romance--similar to the love in One Spring Night: Another Oh Hae Young, Goblin, Healer, It's Okay That's Love, Jealousy Incarnate, Just Between Lovers, On the Way to the Airport, Something about 1%, The Greatest Love, and Weightlifting Fairy. I remember when I was new to drama watching and there were lists of great dramas for me to enjoy!

have started more to get out of her dead-end relationship with KS than falling deeply for JH. Evidence of that was that she continued to come back to KS after she announced her break up with him, accepted the ring, and continued to meet with him after rejecting his proposal. But she was not alone. The fact that JH was still not over Yumi, his past girlfriend, hammered home regret, self-doubt, commitment and abandonment issues. That is why JH constantly said he wanted JI to go slow, to take her time, so she could be fully ready for him.

PART TWO: THE INITIAL CHEMISTRY

If you look objectively the beginning of Noona, JA and JH’s romantic relationship was a quick , explosive and burning passion. The reason for JA was simple: she was coming off a dead cat bounce relationship with her cheating ex-BF. Since her mid 20s, JA had been groomed by her mother to go out with a certain kind of man (one of status, means and upward mobility). JA’s only hope with these blind dates was that the man would “like” her. JA went out on those dates not out of a search for love but obligation to her mother.

In One Spring Night, JI and JH’s romance began as distant but friendly attraction to each other. JI was in a dying, trite and at times condescending relationship. JI did not think KS was marriage material but stayed on the hook for 4 years to appease her parents, especially her father.

In Noona, JH’s character lived a young and carefree in YOLO life style. He grew up without parents so it appears that he is still harboring abandonment issues. He had dated many women in the past, but apparently could not get beyond 3 months (which is interesting since the 100 day mark in Korea is a milestone of a “serious” relationship.) He is charming, attentive, but also selfish, temperamental and paternalistic.

In OSN, JH’s character lived a solidarity life after his abandonment by Yumi and the birth of his son. He was a semi-absentee father culturally stigmatized against dating because of his son. He only faults appear to be drinking and repressing his emotions so not to get hurt again.

In Noona, JA and JH get caught up in the mystery, excitement and secrecy of their romance. So did the audience. It was clear that JA and JH loved being together. It was an infatuation.

Attraction? Yes, they both complimented each other about their appearance.
Escapism? Yes, they both were coming back from negative experiences to find comfort in each others’ arms, away from their daily grind and problems.
Infatuation? Yes, the hot and secret aspect of their intense and short lived passion for each other.
True love? No. Even though viewers were caught up with the initial passion, the couple’s relationship was foreshadowed to be doomed. As reality encroached on their secret life, real serious issues arose between their family members and friends which the couple did not or could not discuss and work out together.

In OSN, JI and JH did not have an instant spark of passion but a slow burning ember of acceptance. The attraction was present but tempered to starting off as friends, leading to JH’s confession that he could not just be friends. But JI took it slow for most of the episodes pace had her wavering back and forth between what she knew (KS relationship) and what she did not know (JH relationship). Can you comparison shop true love? In JI case, that is what she did; she compared her two boyfriends to make a determination who was the best marriage partner.

How each character viewed their...

PART THREE: THE MAJOR CONFLICT

In Noona, the greatest problem with the story was JA’s interaction with the people around her. It was an intentional portrayal by SYJ to the point that many viewers disliked her character at the end. She was an apologetic follower. She rarely stood up for herself. Her decision making was mired in self-conflict, self-doubt. She was immature. She continued to make the same mistakes over and over again. She thought the world viewed her as a commodity and not as a person or a woman.

In OSN, JI was more open and extroverted to the people around her, but her life was repetitively dull as her job stacking library books. She had a passive aggressive personality which mired her thoughts to make wishy-washy decisions. She could be curt and mean but then caring and understanding a moment later. Her view of herself is trapped in the middle between the unhappiness of her older sister’s forced marriage and the freedom of her wild child younger sister. She came to realize that she was viewed as a prize and not as a person or a woman.

How were those conflicts explored in each series? Both JA and JI were conditioned to be subservient and accept what others told them. Both JA and JI had a parent forcefully telling her what she should do, whom she should marry (the roles were reversed from mother to father). JA’s job was representative of her life because it became unbearable over time as she too the blame for others mistakes to her personal harassment. JI’s job represented her life as being stable but boring, much like her relationship with KS. It took a new relationship with JH to jolt them from their disappointing lives. Both JA and JI would have maniac, manipulative and obsessive ex-boyfriends who continued to intrude in their new relationships to the point of harming them.

How did teach couple “work” to resolve these issues? In Noona, they did not. JA and JH were merely apologetic to JA’s mother about their relationship, but did nothing to convince their families that they had a future together. JH did nothing to help JA resolve her work place issues, or support her if she wanted to change career path. JH brought JA to meet some of his friends (on the overnight trip) but JA did not do the same. (this shows JH was more into the relationship than JA). JH got jealous and violent about JA’s ex-BF which contributed to conflict between them because he did not discuss beforehand with JA his actions.

In OSN, the writer attempted to make JH more involved but it also failed to achieve merit. JH only formally met JI’s mother and sisters. They only spoke in pleasant generalities. JH never got an opportunity to overcome JI’s father’s objections. JH also did not do much to resolve JI issues with KS. JH made idle threats to KS, but never put any action behind them which allowed KS to continue to harass JI. JH should have manned up and taken out KS early on (actions over words) since KS abandoned love for a “competition.” But JH...

PART FOUR: MISSING ELEMENTS TO A RELATIONSHIP

One of the significant story line issues in Noona was that the main characters initial passion glossed over several important aspects missing from consideration on whether they were heading toward a serious relationship or “true love.” Likewise, in OSN, the main characters did not deeply dive into these key elements:

1. Communication. Their communication was superficial. They did not discuss important issues or ideas which represents mutual immaturity. They never opened up to each other on what their personal goals were (job, career, changes, etc.) or how they wanted to achieve them. They never really understood the other person's emotional state, and they never deeply discussed how the other person felt in a given situation, though in OSN each person said they “understood” how the other felt. A psychological study that concluded that many people told “white lies” early in their relationships as a means of making themselves more “attractive” to their partner. Usually, those minor lies were used to build up a person’s self-esteem or enhance their traits (prospects) to the other person. But in both stories, those lies were meant to hide the truth and real feelings (under the fabrication that they did not want to “hurt” the other person.) Instead of talking things through, they glossed matters over and then began to mistrust each other. The each called the other “childish” or made pinky promises.

2. Compatibility. Sympathy, friendship and like-mindedness are critical foundation blocks to any serious relationship. In Noona, JH knew about JA’s situation at home and at work, but his support for her situation was tempered and distant. He wanted to control the relationship but not solve problems. Likewise, JA did not seek out his advice on how to find a solution to any of her problems. In OSN, JH knew about her issues with her family and boyfriend, but he did not help her find a solution. In Noona, there was always a large hole in the compatibility chart because the leads had nothing in common as friends. Friends have mutual interests, concerns, ambitions, support, trust, varied experiences to share. In OSN, the leads were still had the getting-to-know you stage of their relationship to tell if they were truly compatible.

3. Commitment. In Noona, JA and JH never discussed the big things like their expectations, marriage and family life together. JH’s solution was unilaterally demanding JA move with him to the US. He never asked her hand in marriage. Some women would call this behavior selfish, inappropriate or “clingy.” JA’s solution to move out of her house so she could continue to date JH but not live with him showed that she was not ready to fully commit to him (she would later say she had things she wanted to be independent to become strong.) They never had the heart-to-heart discussion of “making plans” together as a couple. Even though both are adults, they both had serious...

PART FIVE: THE ENDINGS

Both hasty endings were ambiguous and seemed forced to meet viewer or network expectations.
The main focal point of each show was the female lead. The stories were how a Korean career woman in her 30s copes with the stresses of traditional cultural biases and family expectations.

In Noona, there is a 3 year flash forward. Both JA and JI have moved on, dating other people. If is when JH crashes the wedding, his feelings for her are rekindled. BR, JA’s friend, reminds JA that she gave up on JH and she got over him. BR tells JA that it would be a big mess if she rekindled any feelings for JH. As a result, JA decides that she has to completely cut ties with the past. She breaks up with the new BF. She quits her job. She tells her mother she does not want to get married. She decides to leave her mother’s sphere of influence to move to Jeju to work in her new best friend’s coffee shop. She wants to end the cycle of people controlling her. Her independence is now the most important aspect of her life. .JA tells BR that she has no regrets in breaking up with JH because their relationship could only go so far by “fate.” In other words, JA believes finding her true love is beyond her control.

In OSN, a different kind of lack of resolution manifested itself in the series ending. It was disappointing that none of the serious story lines were resolved. Even though SH had signed the divorce papers, he was still “making plans” to save his marriage with a spiteful KS. We do not know if he ever gave the papers to JA’s sister. SI. KS goes on a blind date with assemblyman Jang’s daughter (which his father arranged), but he immediately lies about his last relationship to Miss Jang. His facial expression showed deep regret and the fact he was not over JI. Even though JI’s father apparently cut ties with KS’s father, there was no resolution to his objections to JH.
The series ends with most the characters still swimming in a sea of regrets and unresolved issues. But most importantly, we do not see any significant progress in JI-JH’s relationship to infer that they would check off all the boxes to become a happy, married couple. (I do appreciate that the writer did not end with a rushed happy ending wedding scene).

To me, the ending Noona episodes were all about “closure” for JA. She went to KS not to renew a friendship but to finally close it. She quit her job to close the harassment issues behind her. She left Seoul to close the book on mom’s dominance over her life. And seeing JH in Jeju was the same opportunity to close the book on him since he was returning the US in three days, the issues of their break-up still unresolved, and they were never heading toward talking a real future together. The last scene was the nostalgic reunion but not a serious change in the JA character’s path. JH asked for forgiveness, but forgiveness without an acknowledgement of what you did wrong is not an apology. A couple of hugs is a...

PART SIX: OBSERVATIONS

SYJ and HI had more depth in their characters than HJM and HI did in OSN. The performances in OSN were much more reserved and the emotional range muted as the pace of the story line of the break-up was too long, too tedious, to give rise to character and relationship growth. Viewers loved the first 8 episodes of passionate Noona, but then hated the rest of the series as the relationship cooled and the side issues clouded the intentions of the parties. In OSN, it appeared that the slow pace had many viewers on edge to when the story would go off the rails. In the end, the lead OSN couple did not complete any of the hurdles to allow them to happily marry.

Both shows did have the same major story elements: a chance meeting, initial attraction, issues with dislikable boyfriends, oppressive parent, relationship objections, lies, betrayal, mistrust, miscommunication, poor decision making, unpacked personal baggage, and touching moments.

Both series showed there is a fine line between romance and love. Romance is a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with the search for love; an exciting, enjoyable love affair, esp. one that is not serious or long-lasting like a summer romance; or a wild exaggeration; picturesque falsehood. The Noona series captured that mood. However, this romance never developed into a deep, intense, serious relationship with long terms goals. OSN ended with the main characters just starting their romantic journey with many obstacles, like in the beginning of Noona. There will always be a huge question mark after each show.

But that is how realistic the show tried to be. Relationships require hard work to be successful, but sometimes even all the effort we put into our romances just isn't enough and they eventually fizzle out.  Of course, it's only natural to wonder why you keep striking out when it comes to finding a lasting love. Romantic relationships are a two-way street and it's up to both people to make it a prosperous one. However, we can only control our own part in a relationship. And it helps to know who we are as individuals and what we each need and want from a relationship. It can be hard for us to admit that sometimes we're the reason for the disintegration of a relationship. We saw the immaturity, miscommunication and frustration in Noona to see their relationship falter, but in OSN we never get a clear understanding on how JI or JH’s past relationship failures were caused by their partners or themselves to determine whether the same fate will fall upon them.

If the endings were trying to convey the notion there is always a second chance, that is an illusion. Second chances rarely turn out well. The reason in Noona simple: you broke up for a reason(s). The pain of a break up can erase the initial feelings of attraction and love. Hate is a powerful emotion. In this situation, both JA and JH have not come to terms on the reasons for their break up. They have not...

PART SEVEN: CONCLUSION

OSN was a softer, milder, less spicy version of Pretty Noona. Both female lead characters were women who were trying to find their rightful place in a relationship. Both had failed in the past. The open question is whether they would learn from their past mistakes. In Noona, the answer was an intentional NO as SYJ stated in numerous post-series interviews. In OSN, the answer was intentionally left unanswered by the writer and director.

As to the performances, Son Ye Jin and Jung Hae In were stronger and had wider range in Noona than Hae In and Han Ji Min had in OSN. The director cast OSN in more darkness, trying to convey the dark clouds over the main leads, to the point of making the characters appear more reserved and pensive.

As to the story lines, it was both sides of the same coin. In Noona, the leads were powerful together in good private times but weak in their public moments. In OSN, they were always doubting whether they were right for each other to cloud both the good and bad times in their relationship. While the Noona pair rushed into their romance to crash and burn, the OSN pair waited and waited to be picked from the vine before the fruit rotted in the sun.

The biggest weakness in both series was the story writing. Both series could have been better plotted out to reach the full potential of the characters.
The lack of dialogue beyond the superficial comments at critical moments was a glaring weakness in both shows. And the director’s overuse of the main theme songs became annoying.
But the greatest fault was the time spent in OSN on the “break up” story line.

I know that most viewers will prefer OSN over Noona because in the end, the OSN leads were still together actively trying to make their relationship work. It seems like a “happier” ending. But to me, that seems like a hollow victory after 30 episodes of being stuck in neutral. I wonder if the characters jobs, a librarian and pharmacist, symbolize the dull and repetitive personalities of each that lead to dull and repetitive relationships in their personal lives. It struck me that JA and JH had a difficult time getting out of their defensive shells to open up to each other in a lasting way.

In the end of each series, all that was left was the hope that the OTP couples would stay together. I am in the minority but I believe a well-written drama where the leads do not end up together is better than a story that leads to an unclear and ambiguous ending. I think that is what happened in both series.

Yes, I noted that as well!
Some of the songs, especially No Direction (I think), were used quite effectively throughout series

Oh! How clever. I didn't pick up on that near the end. *applauds*

Kim Go-Eun-Jung HaeIn's movie looks lovely. I want to see it!

If you want to see the actor playing Shi Hoon in a better role, watch Designated Survivor: 60 Days. His character is funny and smart.

It was better than Pretty Noona in many ways, not the least of which in that you didn't want to kill yourself over how utterly depressing the conclusion was.

I thought it was good in the same ways and frustrating in some of the same ways but overall worth watching.