If you like small town romance this is a pleasant watch. Great shots of Jeju, friendship and romance all in abundance. The usual excessive drinking, cartoon villain, parents hitting adult children and unnecessary second lead are included but can be ignored if needed.
Trigger warnings suicide and grief.

It did feel like a drama more than 10 years ago. Too much screaming reminiscent of dramas then. Was it sold as a healing drama? Mean villainess was put there just as a foil and no character development. Honestly, I feel that there have been changes to how Koreans interact with each other. There used to be a time when Koreans tenants in villages or condos have reputation of being noisy and all. But I've seen some changes that is why this drama felt a bit 'off' for me. Too bad I could not get into their characters. Jeju remains a place I'd like to visit.

The director described the goal of the show as a story about love, friendship, and healing and to some extent, I think it definitely accomplished that goal.

The love and friendship was on clear display. Not only with romantic love but familial and even a love for your passion. I liked the friendships to an extent. I think there could've possibly been more time spent on that rather than the pointless love triangle. Any scenes with the love triangle could've been scenes featuring the friend group.

I think the aspect of having people who get you and will fight with you and support you wholeheartedly is nice.

Pride and stubborness were big elements of the show and while probably relatable to some extent, it's also so freaking frustrating to witness. What is the balance between autonomy and recklessness?

Happy endings are had and the main theme is reiterated at the end.

The show was billed as a rom-com. There were likable characters in boring plot lines. It had no good, relatable romance and no seasoned comedy. Some of the characters had potential but the overall premise of overblown (unbelievable) scandals drowned out any meaningful story lines. The writer and director did not have a cohesive recipe for success. The repetitive nature of alcohol binges, juvenile actions, and the lack of adult communication was like watching the tide go in and out every week. I found it an average drama bogged down by a weak script.

I would say no. The main leads are really good at portraying romance and acting like they're in love, but IMO the story really fails them.

I'm back and forth with my feelings about this show.
Happiness is:
Town and and people- I would live there
Ji Chang-Wook
Haenyeo Group- who wouldn't like to have friends like that
The Sister and Dolphin guy- they were so cute together
Brilliant Child Acting
Hospital Playlist vibes in friendship and music
Cho Sang-tae Emotional turn around. I thought it was timed out and written well. He had been miserable for 20 years- inside he knew it was time for a change.
Beautiful scenery
Amazing photo exhibit
Episode 16- wrapped up well EXCEPT for Switzerland.

Unhappiness is:
Excess crying
Excess drinking and blacking out
Excess breakdowns
Excess hitting especially by parents
Excess bullying by an out of control women who no one would question

Overall if you like Ji Chang-Wook I would suggest it. Otherwise it's a lot of minutes of time that could be spent watching something you love.
If you want to watch the older sister in a better role she is amazing in Joseon Attorney

It's really a "Don't Think. Feel!" drama.

I emotionally connected with the show and performances, but also felt a bit discombobulated because it's sort of hard to pin down the show's category. It takes place in a small town, but it doesn't have the cohesive ensemble that small-town dramas have nor does it have the charming, bustling vibe of a small town. So I wouldn't even put it in that small-town drama category with Hometown Cha Cha Cha or Our Blues. So is it a rom-com, since Shin Hye-sun and Ji Chang-wook star in it? Well..somewhat. In the end, it was more like 50% family drama, 25% romance drama (drama as the genre rather than the medium), and 25% rom-com? More like "This is Us" than Schitt's Creek?

I think the drama's strength is in the acting and in the heart-rending and heart-warming scenes. And the music. And I love that the central message ultimately does not pit the cold, complicated city against the warmth and simplicity of a small town, but to appreciate having a place and people to return to during hard times. I think the drama was more of a message-driven drama in the end, rather than a character-driven one.

I find the OTP so cute together. LOTS OF SQUEES!! They really give off the feeling of having known each other since they were in the womb. The other pairings are quite cute too.

The winter time was the perfect time to air it and to watch it - when we're all a bit more alone and feel more hopeless. This drama emphasizes the "hey you're not alone!" and "long-held resentments will really be resolved this time!" That sort of stuff you would see during the holidays. I'm not sure if it would have resonated as well in the summer.

Advice: watch the first 4 episodes while doing something else. It's too much self-pity and drinking and could have been condensed in half. The final quarter was the best part. One of the rare dramas that ended much better than it started. I liked the ending, but think the ending could have been even better if they hadn't wasted the beginning dithering around.

(First post). I enjoyed this enough to watch the whole thing, but it was mediocre. My wife bailed after a few episodes. I liked the actors. The main problem was the writing. There have been plenty of complaints that match mine, but I haven't seen noted that there wasn't a lot of interesting, insightful dialogue. It was also very slow-moving, with lots of repeated scenes in case you couldn't remember anything. I could think of a dozen ways it could have been more interesting.

An observation (not a criticism): I haven't seen anyone remark on what an INCREDIBLE DOORMAT Sam Dal is. She allows other people to destroy her one-true relationship -- without even discussing the reason with her partner. And she allows her entire career to be destroyed by a sociopathic underling without fighting back. She could have sued, hired a PR agency, or (I feel the best solution) told the truth, which is so salacious that it would probably have attracted more press attention than the original "scandal". She does not stand up for herself at all.

With the exception of the opening scene of dumping rotten kimchi over her cheating boyfriend, which seems really uncharacteristic at this point.

I loved this!!! Shin Hye-sun was excellent, and really made me connect with her character. I shed more than a few tears for her journey. THIS is exactly my kind of healing drama. Her FL is a dragon raised in a small stream, who rises to fame, but is forced to retreat to her hometown due to the venomous lies of her poisonous assistant. This "villain" was scary because of how evil she was and how easily she achieved her goals at first. But, this didn't stress me out, because not only was this the necessary origin story for how our heroine rediscovers and comes back to her true self and the things in life she truly loves, but it also serves to illustrate how she has a defensive bulwark of family and friends. Even at her lowest, she is not truly alone, nor without allies. I just love her sisters and niece; they were such fun, and I liked that they got their own stories. Her friends (and Yong-pil) were also ready to defend her no matter what, trusting her completely even though they haven't seen her in years. The real joy and draw in this drama, along with the themes of rediscovering yourself and coming back from failures, was the love story between Sam-dal and Yong-pil. Born on the same day, growing up together as friends, turning into more than friends, we meet them again when they've been broken up for eight years. But their ties span decades, and they know each other better than they know themselves, so they can't keep their distance for long... especially in a small town. I loved how their story unfolding in the present was interwoven with glimpses into their past. This allowed for layers of their motivations, feelings, and memories to be revealed gradually, instead of mashing together an approximation of all these things at once by repeated flashbacks to one or two big "keys to the past" scenes like some dramas do. Ji Chang-wook was fantastic as Yong-pil, who's always had his heart set on Sam-dal, and whose loyalty and faithfulness are a constant as Sam-dal gradually heals from her hurts. The theme of enduring love was beautifully illustrated through a variety of relationships, both romantic and not. The ending is cathartic and satisfying. This is now in my top-ten, and I highly recommend it.