Was thinking of writing about this drama. My first kdrama and my first second lead syndrome.

The drama that brought me to dramaland, the drama that made me avoid melos. And until this day,Won Bin will always be The One. The epitome of SLS,at least for me. And I guess why until this day I have some soft spot in my heart for bad boy types of chaebol, most of the time.

@murasakimi nailed it, why I loved Won Bin's character the most in the series

"...Similarly, it’s clear that Won Bin was still rough around the edges, and trying to find his identity as an actor, but he brought so much nuance and depth to his character Tae-suk with just a single, piercing look..."

Ahhh, you're opening up the old wound. Thank you @murasakimi for the post. It brings me back to my memory of watching this drama 10 years ago. This is actually my first Korean drama that I completed on my own. I remember that I cried a bucket during the switched at birth plot and of course, towards the ending. I marathon this drama for 3 nights, so my eyes were swollen for 3 days straight at school.

It's my first drama, and I'd already experienced SLS because I fell for Han Tae Seok (Won Bin) so hard. I completely understand that Eun Suh and Joon Suh love each other and they're inseparable, but I was not convinced by their love mainly because I think it's too awkward as they grew up as siblings.

Anyway, I love the piano OST of this drama, and I immediately learned to play the piece after watching this, that's how obsessed I was watching this drama. Thank you drama for the great memory and for being the first kdrama for me, I never regret that I chose to watch this drama as my first.

Wow. This is a throwback if there ever was one! Won Bin is such a hottie. He actually reminds me of a young asian Keanu Reeves. Yeah, you all need to Google/Bing/Naver/Baidu that now.

"Sometimes a show isn’t brain food, but it has heart and sincerity and a belief that it has a story to tell you." I totally agree with this. Sadly many new dramas extremely lack heart and sincerity and that's why you can forget about them right after they finish...

Omg thank you muraksimi, i never imagined i would still have fond memories of the show because i literally flipped the table at the eding and walked away. I was sooo invested in the story because i loved the actors and as a young kid, felt so hurt when she left her family amd met them later as a stranger, it was one of those scenarios that my crazy dramatic mind daydreamed about after a fight with my parents so when i watched this, it really hit home emotionally. And now yers later, i realized that i actually enjoyed it despite the melodrama and makjang elements, because as you concluded, this drama had heart and won bin ❤?

"Rewatching Autumn Fairy Tale reminded me that sometimes a show isn’t brain food, but it has heart and sincerity and a belief that it has a story to tell you. You can argue to the moon and back about how effective a storyteller the show is, but if at the end of the day you feel something in your heart, then that’s all that really matters, right?"

This.

Autumn was my first kdrama, and now it has been around 17 years I have been a kdrama watcher.. I sometimes think what made me loved some of classic melodrama but I can't bring myself to love the same kind of drama again now. I think the last melodrama I loved was I Have A Lover, it was really addictive.. So the answer are the sincerity and heart of the show itself.

I recently watched this drama fr the first time because i wanted to know who won bin is..

although no SLS.. leads make sense together!

and i love broadcasting this everytime.. i watched the drama, called my cousin and told him if only he were born in Korea he would be labelled the most handsome man in that country :D :D .. lookalikes.. check!

It's been years for me too, but I clearly remember this being a benchmark in the Second Lead Syndrome affliction. I was Won Bin centric and heartbroken for him the entire time! But you could not not root for our OTP! I won't watch it again...can't take that 2 front heartbreak again!

This was my first drama. My college roommate would bring over the VHS tapes every weekend and she would translate word for word. I had never seen anything like this before and I definitely remember crying buckets.

A great favourite of mine but now I am older, and more experienced, I think Dorama has the edge. It has a steely pupose in portraying life's loves and losses which is ruthless, yet also true to life: none does melodrama better.

my 2nd kdrama!!!I watched it on tv(it was dubbed) when i was about 11 and what i remembered from that show was the siblings love for each other and of course my 1st SLS:Tae suk.I still remember that scene where he tried to kiss eun suh and she pushed her and he shouted something about money and she slapped him.That scene left an impression on me.well i was not much into the siblings love story since to me they were still brother and sister.anyway i love this drama.such a beautiful melo! and the music*starts humming the tune*. Thanks murasakimi!

A great favourite of mine but I think this has a dorama feel.

This post clooooose enough making me want to make a 3rd rewatch then since the last rewatch I did was sometime ago too. I was Team Eun-soo/Jun-soo even during the second sitting throughout entire show, but damn Woo-bin, he made Tae-suk so colourful that everyone else even the leads pale in comparison. I feel that the way he carries the role was fresh and I can say way ahead the time back then. Putting my Won-bin bias aside, this drama has that satisfying melancholic feeling when watching it (all that classic drama-troupes, omg) and definitely one of choices worth for a revisit.

We definitely have opposite preferences! I love slice-of-life moments, world-building, and moseying along with characters, and plot is usually an afterthought. The Best Hit is an example of a drama I thought was amazing specifically because it didn't take too much time hammering out the specifics of its time travel conceit. Thanks for a thought-provoking post.

Your introduction made me laugh out loud, loved the wittiness of it 'cos I was expecting what you were saying not to expect. ?

But your post IS a reflective essay, not on the plot but on the characters. It's making me wanna go back to watch it, if by some miracle I find the time...

With that said I watched bits of this when I was young and I only mostly remembered being disinterested by what I thought was overly dramatic plot and the terminal illness diagnosis (plots I'm still quite averse to until now). But I also remember Won Bin standing out among the characters too. Man I wish he'd do another drama. Or movie. Anything to have him back.

This drama is progress in my life, I think the 1st time I this drama is when I was in primary school or middle school but I don't like it. Too much crying fest, the tragic fate which is hardly believable and I hope they just move on.

Then I rewatched it again in high school then my view's change.
It isn't just about doing what is right, it's about moving on in the life too. It's really just about their feeling and how it changes from time to time.
My memory is blurry but I grew fond of the drama and understand why people like it.

Thanks @murasakimi for such a thoughtful, well-written post...or, in your own words, apology letter. I mentioned Autumn Fairy Tale in my Dramaland catnip post, but I hadn't re-watched it then...and reading your post made me realize I might have mis-remembered parts of it. Almost everything you wrote about your memories of the drama, reflects my own memory--especially the belief that most developments in AFT had been steered about by Fate, as opposed to being character-driven.

I was perhaps too young to notice things like pacing, or how the strength of the story drives the plot forward, compelling characters to act reluctantly, against their will. But I'm inclined to take your word for it, because despite the hype surrounding shows like Descended From the Sun or Goblin, I couldn't finish them cos I somehow felt like I was eating cotton candy...which is tasty, but not quite fulfilling. At least not in the hearty-stew way that AFT did, satisfying both stomach and brain.

I was listening to a podcast just yesterday, and the hosts were discussing how, when listening to a song for the first time, men supposedly hear the music first, whereas women typically hear the lyrics first. I'm not one to argue if that observation is valid... But if this were applied to dramas in general, I would say I'm the type of person who always throws the spotlight on the OTP first, and everyone else gets shafted to the shadows.

Hence, despite Won Bin's incredibly handsome looks and nuanced delivery (even I recall an inkling of his strong performance!), I had eyes really only for Eun-suh and Joon-suh. (Similarly, in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, my lens was focused squarely on Park Min-Young and Park Yoo-Chun... In effect: Yoo Ah-In? Song Jong-ki? Who??)

So that's the beauty of a second watch, for this or any other drama... Being the type of viewer that I am, in a second viewing, everything and everybody else finally gets cast into focus. With your post, I'm compelled now to rewatch this, and perhaps write an apology letter of my own.

Won Bin was my first love in dramaland. I don't remember much about this drama but seeing these screencaps of him, my heart still skipped a bit.

TaeSuk/WonBin is my forever SLS, no other has manage to made into that list (it only consist one spot ... XD). The drama that makes Won Bin an oppa to me. My forever Oppa~ I remembered hating the drama as we nearing the end because why is Eun Suh not seeing Tae Suk the way I see him and Joon Suh need to just...go away? *rage* lmao

I felt so bad for TaeSuk when Eun Suh chose Joon Suh, it actually took me years before I even thinking about rewatching it. and I still skip the last ep. I think.. probably, 2 years ago, I finally manage to finish the whole 16 episodes. It was more than a decade that I own the dvds* and I only rewatched it 3 times. (I rewatch Snow Queen at least once a year).

* It was so damn expensive at that time and my mom chew me up for spending so much money on it ( I was a student) and not watching it.

My first k-drama when I was an elementary school kid. For me, Song Hye Kyo was the prettiest Asian woman at that time (and she IS now, along with other awesome actresses).

The scene which I remember the most is when adult Eun Suh saw Joon Suh who was drawing a face on the beach sand, and she ran to give him a back hug

This was my first kdrama as well. Watched it through local tv (dubbed version) and got hooked. Years later, I watched the undubbed but subbed version on the internet and it still wrung my heart :(

Although there came a point where I cringe whenever I hear Eun-suh say "Oppa"...

I know this is irrelevant to the posting but I did not like "Autumn Fairytale" at all. The classic that introduced me to K-dramas was "Winter Sonata" - which still rank very high among my favourites.

"You can argue to the moon and back about how effective a storyteller the show is, but if at the end of the day you feel something in your heart, then that’s all that really matters, right?"
This one... I so agree with you. What's most important is what resonated with you.

WON BIN IS LOVE. Need to say more?

I will always fall for the bad boy time and time again. This drama gave me one of the strongest SLS I ever experienced. I miss Won Bin. I hope he gets back to dramaland soon!

This was one of my first Korean dramas back when I was just randomly picking them. Unlike others my focus remained on the two leads and never wavered. Despite the topic I did enjoy it but I'm not sure I would look at reboot of this.

Yes, I remember Won Bin is the only watchable thing in this drama.

This is actually my first drama and the drama that introduced me to Song Hye Kyo, Song Seung Hun, Won Bin and Moon Geun Young! So many feels whenever I remember this drama. And Song Hye Kyo seems fated to be involved in fauxcest with Oppa-not-really Oppa characters, as in Autumn Fairy Tale & That Winter The Wind Blows.

Song Hye-gyo and Song Seung-heon used to be my songsong couple back in the day

I agree with @murasakimithat Autumn Fairy Tale (or Autumn in My Heart) has a lot of heart to it. Although I am somewhat new-ish to kdrama watching ( I started watching kdramas just last year), ATF is the first kdrama that I watched that made me cry so much (and I don't really consider myself to be a very sensitive person). I was rooting for Joon-suh and Eun-suh but Tae-suk really stood out throughout the drama (for his bad and good behavior) and I remember being very impressed on how much he had changed towards the end when dealing with Eun-suh's illness.

It was my first drama. The soundtrack sends me right back. I also don't normally re-watch dramas because I'm afraid my feelings will change with different views. But I happened to re-watched this last year and I came to like it even more.

A lot of viewers preferred Tae Suk for Eun Suh. But I've always been loyal to the main couple. I loved their caring relationship and unconditional love. When they were together they're like an island. So I thought, this must be what love and happiness look like. And of course one of my favorite trope forbidden love ensues tension and us-against-the-world.

It seems like I never gave a chance to Tae Suk when he forced his body on hers. However, on the re-watch I came to like Tae Suk as a character. I was seriously in awe of his love to Eun Suh because he was willing to grow into a matured and responsible man. All he needed was faith and attention from someone he loves. So a rediscovery on this character was nice.

One of the first dramas to popularize all the tropes that we make fun of today. lol

i watched this drama recently and cried at every single episode. Also fell in love with Won Bin too. Good drama.

Ah Won Bin! My first ever Kdrama crush. The actor who introduced me to SLS even before the term was coined. I was still on my preteens when this drama aired and I remember watching this with my mother in our old living room. Memories! Aish.

Oh yes my first ever k-drama! The show that started my fascination with K-dramas. Won Bin will be forever my oppa. IMO, he was the only saving grace of that series. He was intense and not to mention gorgeous. From his preppy hair cut, piercing eyes, and tailored suits. He was the absolute second lead perfection in my eyes. No one ever came close. Thank you DB for revisiting this series.

I love the paragraph about dramas that tend to lose sight of the plot while dwelling on fluff. I couldn't agree more.

Autumn in My Heart is one of the few melodramas I actually respect, not because I think it's particularly great, but because it is so sincerely devoted to making misery aesthetically pleasing. I don't know that it ever made me cry or really moved me (I found it a bit too maudlin), but there was something undeniably appealing about watching such pretty people suffer so beautifully. In what other universe could Song Seung Heon be (arguably) the least attractive member of a love triangle? Won Bin was definitely the most memorable character, and I kind of liked him more for not getting the girl. I wish all second leads added so much to the story. Anyway, it would be nice to see the Man from Nowhere in another drama or film.

honest to god, the acting from the 2 main leads were lackluster. but the beauty and OST made up for it. Won Bin did carry some of the more interesting parts of the drama thanks to partly his charm and acting skill.

but all in all, when you first watched the drama, which was almost two decades ago for me, it felt almost perfect and memorable. it made me an instant fan of both SHK & WB

This drama was my first kdrama i ever watch got me hooked to kdrama..its kinda creepy when they were little .

I'm rewatching right now although I also promised I'd never rewatch because I hated the melo and won bin not winning the girl?? But the music always triggers that emotional side and yeah- I just feel it in my heart. this was so well-written, I could note have worded it better. @murasakimi can you actually write a reflective essay because this was not long enough and I need more.