Disclaimer: I did not read or watch anything related to original drama.

I started this drama only because I had plenty of time before that one ongoing drama ("Behind your touch") in my watchlist aired on weekends, so when I completed this drama within 2 days, I was surprised (not in a good way because the plot lost me in Ep 8 or Ep 9 when Si Heon went on about choices in creating destiny)

The initial episode hooked me because Jeon Yeo Bin's character as Jun Hee who recently lost her forever one emoted grief in such a gut wrenching manner. Her breaking down after finding the ring in Yeon Jun's gift and sending messages to Yeon Jun's phone were absolutely harrowing to watch, but the pain was beautifully captured.

I was also interested in the murder mystery, but half way through I got annoyed with Si Heon because he decided to keep repeating the loop and put everyone in misery. That was just selfish of him to let Jun Hee repeat the time travel to fulfill his eternal love rather than allowing her to move on in life.

My major gripe with the drama is how everything was made out to be about the leads love story to the point that In Gyu and Min Ju remained undeveloped characters. The villain arc also did not make much sense. If not for the twist with Min Ju, I would have rated this story below average.

I was never a fan of Jeon Yeo Bin, she her acting as two different characters put her right into my good actors list. Ahn Hyo Seop was underwhelming as 2002 Si Heon. His head must be bursting from all the time travelling and hopelessness from being unable to fix the issue, but his emotions did not match the situation.

I've only watched the first two episodes, so I only skimmed this review. Since I also watched the original I'm not exactly sure why I'm protecting myself from spoilers I already know, lol, but the biggest thing I'm curious about is the ending and whether or not it deviates from the original.

But I wanted to share that I'm really enjoying this show so far, even though it took me a minute to get used to different actors in the roles. It's true that Greg Hsu's performance was so indelible that there was no way AHS could match it, but at least so far, I'm not catching him acting (and by this I mean being able to spot the effort it takes him to appear to effortlessly be a character--something that marked most of his past performances) and he seems comfortable playing this likeable, often playful, yet very earnest guy. I also was hesitant about Jeon Yeo-bin in a dual role where she has to play a high schooler but not because I doubted her acting ability. It's simply that she was so good in "Vincenzo" playing a savvy, cynical attorney and love interest to a mobster that I struggled to see her as a young woman. But the way she carries her body completely differently when in the two time periods is impressive, and her portrayal of grief is deeply moving.

I'm mostly relieved that this adaptation is as good as it is; I was worried it would be a treacly mess. I also like that because I watched the original several years ago, I don't remember all the twists and turns, so re-discovering them all over again has been fun rather than tedious.

I'm excited to watch the rest.

I finally finished the drama. The one con for me is that we never got to meet Yeon Jun. We met every else except him properly. It was a drama about love and I appreciated that. Both Ahn Hyo Seop and Jeon Yeo Bin were excellent in this. I enjoyed the ending!!!

Jeon Yeobeen particularly has made me expected more and more with her next project and I feel like I was completely unconvinced at first that she couldn't pass my expectation, but then episode 11 and 12 came.... There's something about an actor playing two identities in one body, there's something about an actor playing two twins characters, and then there's something about how JYB played with both Junhee and Minju in episode 11 and 12. At first I thought it was the voice and subtle expression that she made different, but then it totally felt like it was not only two different characters but two different actresses.

I would say JYB is not always 100% perfect all the time (except in Be Melodramatic let's be real she's 100% awesome 100% of the time) but there will always be some moments in her drama that makes you stop and take it all in.

I was convinced that Min-Ju and Jun-hee were played by two entirely different people for most of this drama. I think it was episode 10 that I realized they were the same actress. That tells me that she was better than good, she was phenomenal. I have 2.5 more epsiodes until the end, so didn’t spoil myself here. I will be watching the last few tonight. But I’m super stressed out right now about this show and just hope it doesn’t literally crash and burn like our plane crash in episode 1.

You’re much kinder than I was. I couldn’t complete the first episode without making constant comparisons to Someday or One Day - particularly because so many scenes have been adapted 1:1. Sadly, the music & overall feel of the adaptation somehow just didn’t have the magic of the original for me.

To be fair to the adaptation, I definitely struggle with shows once I know what’s going to happen & rarely rewatch things. Also I adore the original to pieces and remember it very well. I actually have rewatched it - that’s how much I love it. So yeah, A Time Called You is not for me, or at least _not yet_ for me.

With you all the way, @daebakgrits! Loved it, kept me glued to my laptop for the weekend, was so, so happy with the twist that Yeon-joon had actually been Si-heon all along - I love me some eternal-love troping. And same as you, I let out a sigh of slight disappointment at the end - I needed to know more about what happened next. Meeting on the bus/crosswalk was just not good enough, and yes, what about In-gyu and Min-ju??? It was their story too - and their chance for a happy ending - we needed to know how that went.

The only other thing that I felt was slightly underdeveloped was the issue of agency. For most of the drama (I think up to ep10), we were led to believe that when Jun-hee and Si-heon time travelled, they had the agency - Min-ju (and Yeon-jun by assumption) were "present" in their bodies and could view what was going on through the screen in the ruins but were passive watchers. Then suddenly, Min-ju hijacked Jun-hee, making her the passive watcher, and took matters into her own hands. Since this was a new "rule" of time travel which was introduced so late, it did feel a little odd - why hadn't this happened before? More importantly, why did Yeon-jun never do this to Si-heon?? So, for me, if the plan was to make Min-ju and her story of self-acceptance a significant part of the narrative, it would have been better to introduce this idea of "hijacking" a little earlier so that it had a stronger presence in the overall story. But, as you say, minor gripes; this was still a great drama for me and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

I didn't watch the original Taiwanese drama so I went into this blind. I don't feel like I have the right to "critique" so I'll just share some brief thoughts.

The actors did a great job at their roles and I'm stunned over AHS ability to cry on the spot and appear SO broken (yes, I'm referring to that convenience store scene) Kang Hoon's portrayal of In-kyu fell flat for me, I wanted more from him rather than him just "blending" into the background whenever he was with AHS & JYB's characters.

The time travel element was super confusing for me & it didn't help that the actors in 1998 & 2023 were the same so it just left me really lost. At some point I gave up trying to comprehend everything and waited for the reveal but yes it did hurt like a b*tch when I realized the whole time it was always Si-heon who loved her, not Yeon-jun. ARGH. plus the fact that he made the decision to board the doom flight just to allow his other self be with her DOUBLE ARGH.

I'm never gonna be able to date knowing a guy won't traverse space and time to be with me :')

Oh, this is a tough one. Every scene they shot I had a mental template of the original scene to compare it too. That's such an unfair way to watch the show. I had a double problem with Jeon Yeo-bin. Seeing her in a school uniform (again) brought back memories of her role in the bleak 2018 film 'After My Death'. Again, an unfair way to watch her performance. None of this is a knock against the series, its a problem of my own that I have to overcome in order to keep watching.

Hmm I haven't watched either of these dramas so I'm really curious! If you guys could give a suggestion, which one should I watch? This version or the original Taiwanese version?
I'll be honest, just judging solely from the trailer, the original seemed a tad bit cringy...but since so many people seem to like it there must be something special to it.

I went into this drama having loved the original to bits and excited to the max to see how it would pan out. I was eager to re-experience this all over again while wanting it to improve on the few flaws the original production did have.
I come out of it with this opinion; that while it is a fairly good adaptation (if I dont compare it microscopically with the original) it doesn't hold a candle to Someday Or Oneday.
I may be extremely biased but I do believe if you're going to remake a complex storyline like this that is well loved and adored, it needs to be able to withstand the comparison and have merits of its own.
Not to say the entire drama was bad. There were few things that it do better than the original in some aspects. Mainly the cinematography and some narrative choices. And I also did appreciate the interactions between Min Ju and Jun Hee more here than how it was handled in the original.
But my biggest gripe is perhaps the acting. Especially in some instances.
See the thing that hooked me into the original was the utter devastation of the main lead that was conveyed from the get go after losing her boyfriend. In her acting, the memory montages, the narrative slowly peeling its layers to reveal the truth of what happened. All of it culminated to gutter punch you with that grief that it sets the tone for the rest of their story. That was missing here. I couldn't connect with Jeon Yeo Bin until that breakdown in front of him in 1998 and that was a little late.
And their chemistry wasn't the strongest. It improved a lot and especially shined in the latter high school period and college timeline but it didnt start strong.
I loved Jeon yeo bin's portrayal of Min Ju towards the end but it wasn't consistent. Notably there was the scene in which Min Ju has an outburst at her parents after overhearing their argument, where her depiction came across like she was trying really hard to emulate someone but it wasn't landing all that well.
Ahn Hyo Seop too was at his best in the high school phase than anywhere else. But I wish he could've been better in the older present day period. I keep coming back to this, but I think what I found lacking overall was that devastation in these characters. This is a man who's waited TWENTY ONE YEARS to reunite with the person he loves and that version of him seemed lacking of that realization or the pathos accompanying it.
I also wasn't a fan of the narrative change where the killer turned out to be his college best friend (as opposed to the therapist in the original) but the arc was handled okay so not too bad.
Minor gripes I had :
1. How on earth is long unkempt hair that is also shiny along with facial hair fuzz supposed to convey age and the passing of time?! Like that stylistic choice was just nonsensical and bad. It did no favours for Ahn Hyo Seop.
2. Ahn Hyo Seop and Ro Woon had really good chemistry and I wish that part was a little longer (especially as they chose to go a...

I loved the original so much we went and visited the tree they napped at.

This is one of the better remakes out there. The first few episodes seemed to be the same from scene to scene I wondered how they would make it differently. Once I put the original out of my mind (thank goodness for the bad hair warning) I was able to enjoy and binge watch the drama. The plot is so compelling you have to keep watching even if you know the twists and what’s going to happen!

It seems unfair to compare the two versions when I went into the first one blind. Now I need to rewatch the original again to see if it gives me the same feels. That may be one reason it made such an impression.

It seemed at first to just be a typical time travel love story with a bit of mystery. And then you realize the drama had something meaningful it wanted to say in regards to the “quiet” characters, be it the FL, second ML, or original Yeong Ju.

So while I liked this version (AHS and his love for her, and every time I see high school JYB, I had to mentally double check it’s the same actor), I felt like the new version lacked the secondary layer of emotional oomph.

Not sure if it’s because I know what will happen. Is it the way it was acted? Or because they cut some scenes early on (did they?) that gives more background to these quiet characters so that by the end you really felt the FL had to make the choice she did. I felt like the love story took more center stage in this version. I didn’t quite feel the struggle of Min Joo. She was “taken over”

Or if it’s just that Greg Hsu with way better hair gave a better layered portrayal. Same with second ML. I totally felt AHS’s love for Joon Hee. But I couldn’t tell at first glance who he’s playing. It wasn’t until Rowoon showed up that I realized we were at a side story.

Or just things lost in cultural/language translation? Like the fact that in the original they lived in a teeny tiny apartment which immediately sets up the idea that they were a young couple so in love they wanted to live together right after college. (Given that in Taiwan many people live with parents).

Or knowing that her mother is a hostess sets up an immediate background understanding that Min Joo is probably poor and needs to be mature since mom is never home, and is perhaps a contributing reason to her characters personality. Or even the music, which from the first few notes places you immediately at the right decade.

All those I didn’t quite get in the Korean version. I wish I did. Perhaps it would elevate it from an enjoyable drama to one I love.

That said, if I had to recommend one to a friend, I would prob recommend the Korean version first. It’s probably a better introduction to the story. Well shot and beautiful to watch.

I am not familiar with the original material, so I will take this remake for its own production and story. but I really watched the series because the writer wrote BABYSITTER, a great series with tight, intense script which helped the cast’s stellar acting. I initially got the same feel with the series as the dialog was tight, real and layered. The script weaved many elements both dreamlike and real so really cannot tell what is right and which is wrong. There are conflicting statements by characters which can in fact be true if put into context. The writer and director appear to be on the same page painting an impressionistic portrait rather than a boilerplate puzzle.

Overall, the series was good but it left open many key points. What happens when you have two body swap love triangles? A Love Star? Since both Si-Heon and Yeon-Jun are real men - - - who and when did Jun Hee fall in love with? Should she not wind up with ill fated Yeon-Jun? The sunset final trip seemed to for no one’s benefit or closure and probably hurt Min-Ju as she could see it all. In the end, our presumptions and assumptions about the story line is for naught because fate and destiny are unchangeable. The continuity and rules were not as clear as hoped for as the control and split of souls seemed odd. It was said the tape was the transport device but in the end there were two or more. And if everyone remembered the past time travels, why would destroying the tape erase their memories? And if fate is fixed, will not destiny be fulfilled some other way? But it appears Min-ju’s timeline is different. And the series end in 2011 with Si-Heon living a completely different life. It is unclear if he is remembering Jun Hee or fate is pushing them together.

Overall, It was a good series that could have been better watched on a weekly basis than a one-drop.

for me it start getting interesting after episode 7... The show is just becoming raw after that point. And Hyoseop and Yeo Been is awsome potraying emotional depth the character went through. especially around epi 11 - 12, is the best.

Thanks for the write up! I found this drama too seductive and wound up binging the whole thing in 24 hours, which was not good for me. The complexity of the plot was absurd, but I couldn't stop. I agree with your assessment of Jeon Yeo-Bin's acting! The thing that was remarkable was how much older Jun-hee seemed than Min-joo, even though Jun-hee was optimistic and energetic and Min-joo was morose and depressed. It was remarkable!

I've come to the conclusion that the point of SML characters is to be more handsome and better than the ML characters. Is this how they are written? I think so.

I want to take a peek at the original version now!

in terms of acting skill, I love Korean actor better, they have more skill to potraying the depth of character better and more detail., In terms of setting I love SOOD better. In terms music score, i love Korean more, some score more touching.

The only I complain I have with A time called you is the casting of Kang Hoon turn out to be dull. I Thought he is the perfect cast. turn out, at times he make the scene which is supposed to add depth to the story becoming flat So when the story turn on him, it becoming flat. In terms of story and dialogue, I think I prefer the original.

Ok.
I haven't watched the original so I can't compare and haven't read the recap in any depth as I didn't want any spoilers but I have just finished episode 8 and I'm sooooooooooo confused.
In this episode there were about three or 4 different Shi-Heon/Yeon-Joon's and it seemed to jump around time wise?
Rowoon made a cameo with YJ at the beginning of the episode?
What happened to In Kyu, why do I feel like I've missed an episode with regards to his story line?
Which SH /YJ is the walking stick dude?
One scene- Jun Hee finally confronted the dude with the walking stick at the cafe but before we got any answers from him we have not been back to that scene. I feel like it was an episode ago.
My head hurts.
However, I am enjoying it. 😊

The K-drama technology fad of face-blurring has to die. They did it here and they also did it in 'See You In My 19th Life' and in both cases the effects were TERRIBLE. Everybody knows what Jeon Yeo-bin looks like. She doesn't look like an out-of-focus photograph.

Ok, I just finished this series and was finally able to read everyone's thoughts and share my own.

I have not seen the original, so I can't compare. But since this version seems to be receiving some praise, I was surprised to find myself underwhelmed with it all in the end. I love both lead actors which is why I watched in the first place. I also love time travel stories and am able to suspend my disbelief when I'm unable to make sense of the logistics of how it works. So that wasn't the problem.

I think the problem is my expectations. Going in I knew nothing of the story and didn't realize it would go to some dark and dreary places. And as much as I love both AYS and JYB, I just didn't feel their onscreen chemistry enough to make me believe in their fated and eternal love story. It just fell flat to me. Which makes me sad, because I really wanted to love this one. I did feel the mystery elements were well done and the uncle turned out to be my favorite character. In the end, this series was interesting but overly memorable for me.

Overall I enjoyed the show (I haven't seen the original) BUT the back end got very complicated and confusing.
I'm left feeling slightly unfulfilled by the ending, there are still so many questions- who?, what?,why? when? that was neglected to be answered.
I thought the leads were great and hats off to Yeo-bin, the contrast of the two characters was excellent. She was the backbone of the show and it must of been exhausting for her.
Hyo-seop was much better here than BP. I didn't buy the romance on BP, I found his acting a bit rigid and watched for the 2nd leads but here there was much more nuance with his acting and it flowed well.
I would of really liked more time with them together, happy as a couple during and at the end to make it more compelling for the need to time travel.
In -Kyu was such a passive character that I find it difficult to buy the murder plot line and him spending 9 years in jail for something he didn't even do.
The villain looked very much like a 30 something year old dressed in a school uniform. I feel he was miscast as the others didn't look that out of place in the school uniforms.
Loved seeing the uncle, Park Hyuk -Kwon here. He is also currently in Behind Your Touch and they are such different roles. I think he grounded out the cast well and added warmth and heart to the show.
Thanks for the recap DaebakGrits.

I am so glad that the re-make was as good as the original and maybe better (but is that really possible? SOME DAY OR ONEDAY was the best).

I might have missed it, but do we know what happened to Oh Chan-Yeon.

I just finished this series and have to admit that I enjoyed it more than the original--which I really liked. I'm so glad that it dropped all at once instead of weekly releases. There seemed to be less angst and the plot was concise, with no dragging for all 12 episodes. IMO this drama could have actually been reduced to 10 hours with a little more editing/tighter script. If the time travel line became a little confusing, I just ignored it and kept going. And, I ignored the details like the season and school uniform, scooters in S Korea, etc. that many have complained about. I have to admit that I really like the Taiwan actors since they seemed to have more chemistry and came across well as teens. I know it was in the original, but was the BL encounter really necessary? Next up for me is to watch the movie on VIKI.

Biggest thrill: Paul Ahn wearing a Michigan t-shirt in episode 12!

Solving the timelines while waiting for both the murder and the main love relationship to be solved, kept my interest all the way through. The writer knew what she was doing...her characters were consistent, the dialogue between the teenagers was so good it felt like I was eavesdropping on some real teens actually trying to figure out a spectacularly weird situation. Especially when our bromantic guys edged around each other trying to keep their friendship steady when thery both felt so much for the same girl. The tension was real. And their friendship, right to the end, was indestructible...each willing to avoid their own greed for Jeon Hee's attention by deferring to each other. Yet the strain between was palpable when Si Yeon decided to make his move after constantly nudging In Gyu into the spotlight. These two friends were a highlight for me and I was overjoyed that finally, In Gyu had a chance to show Min-joo he had been there for her all along and had shared the same shadows that she couldn't break out of. The acting was stellar for all three leads.
Jeon Yeo-bin’s was a chameleon who made me doubt that it was the same actress who was making Joon-hee look so confident, right down to the the open stare in her eyes when she met everyone, while Min-joo's eyes kept dancing away from people. Min-joo could mimic Joon-hee's vocabulary and some mannerisms, but she could never copy Joon-hee's powerful directness with people. Jeon Yeo-bin brought sparks to this character and absolutely sparkled in this story. Ahn Hyo-seop stepped out into the spotlight for me in this as well. He nailed Si Heon and all the other iterations of his character...especially his gay version...which was such a departure from Si-Yeon that I was confused when the scenes with Roowon began. Kudos.
All in all "A Time Called You" re-charged my drama batteries because of the layered nuances in acting and that very believable dialogue we were given for a script that was uber-complicated and way-way-out-of-this, and many-other-worlds. Thanks @daebakgrits for giving us an easy-to-understand emotional map of the drama.

I just finished watching it and loved it! It was one of the best kdrama watches I've had in a long time. I do have some questions though:

1) So Jun Hee never actually met or fell in love with Yeon Jun? There was a Yeon Jun, but he never actually crossed paths with Jun Hee?

2) Didn't they imply that Si Heon was just about to start a relationship with Tae Ha before the car crash? They held hands and then the crash happened and Tae Ha died. So what exactly was going on there? I thought there was going to be a reveal later that Si Heon was actually gay, but they just dropped that whole thread after the crash.

I actually really enjoyed this drama. It kept me hooked till the last episode with its strong narrative.
As someone said in the comments a few things didn't work that much for me... especially the character of In Gyu that never really felt fleshed out. Was it to make him look shady and a possible culprit? He shined in the part of Shi Heon's friend but he often felt like a after thought through the story. It was hard to undestand why he decided to spend 9 years in prison like that. Same goes for the poor Min Ju. She was just really depressed and no one ever saw that. Poor thing.
But these are small things. Over all I really liked the story and the clever way it was told.
I must also confess that before starting this I tried to watch the original version and simply had to give up because all the cringe. It looked and felt like an old kdrama. And I can't watch those either XD

Just finished watching A Time Called You and really enjoyed it. I had not seen the original and hadn't watched the trailers, so I went in completely blind other than knowing that some time travel was involved. As it turns out, it wasn't just 'some' but rather 'a lot' of time travel. haha!

I love the multiple loops because they peel back layers of the backstory while seemingly introducing a change and a possible new future . . . only to dash our hopes and reveal that it's all part of the original, terrible timeline and that it was actually worse than we could have ever imagined. The plot twists had me wringing my hands because just when you think you know how it's going to end, everything is thrown back up in the air and it's anybody's guess what will happen next.

I had to remind myself a few times that it was the same actor portraying both Jun-hee and Min-ju because she totally had me thinking there were two different people in those two roles. And every time we jumped back to 1998, I had to marvel at how young Si-heon looked. Whatever it is they did to demarcate the different time periods absolutely worked on me.

Overall, I enjoyed the show; it took me on a rollercoaster ride and left me with an ending that I wish were longer but was good enough to make the whole experience worth it.