Welcome to Samdal-ri: Episodes 15-16 (Final)
by quirkycase
While our couple has finally overcome the family hurdles that kept them apart, it’s not smooth sailing yet. Our heroine finds herself at the epicenter of a public storm again, but this time she’s got a support team to help her out. After dealing with this final conflict, the finale covers a lot of ground and holds few surprises. But it’s a satisfying conclusion that lands our characters in a much better place than we found them at the start of this journey.
EPISODES 15-16
Now that Sam-dal and Yong-pil have gotten the official okay from both families, they date happily and publicly, sickening their friends with their lovey-dovey behavior. Sang-do is sad but doesn’t let his feelings get in the way of his friendships. It might take time, but all signs point to him finally moving on from Sam-dal.
Right when everything is coming up roses for Sam-dal, her evil ex-assistant Eun-joo strikes again, this time outing Sam-dal as the controversial photographer Eun-hye. Thanks to the overwhelming amount of bad press, the meteorological association decides to cancel the Jeju exhibition featuring Sam-dal’s work. Yong-pil and his friends are livid, but Sam-dal takes the news calmly. If she can’t do that exhibition, she’ll just set up her own.
The main problem is the horde of reporters who have once again descended on the town to harass Sam-dal. This time, the neighborhood is ready and determined to help. While the residents send the reporters on a wild goose chase, Sam-dal’s friends and loyal assistants band together to take Eun-joo down. They find evidence that Eun-joo was doing sponsorships under the table, slipping sponsored items into shoots.
Eun-joo has been so awful that even Sam-dal’s ex can’t take it anymore and breaks it off with her. He rats her out to protect himself, corroborating what Sam-dal’s crew found. They’re able to get the story to a reporter, which immediately swings fickle public opinion in Sam-dal’s favor.
The whole neighborhood helps Sam-dal prepare her exhibition. Sang-tae, no longer a hater, finds a venue for her. The haenyeos distract the reporters who wait outside the weather station, thinking the exhibition is still on (thanks to Yong-pil pulling strings). Only one reporter discovers the ruse – the same reporter who was run out of Samdal-ri several episodes back. However, he has a change of heart when he sees her exhibition: a loving tribute to her beautiful hometown and its residents. He even pens a positive writeup.
Meanwhile, Hae-dal seriously considers Ji-chan’s idea of her becoming a haenyeo. What seals the deal for her is when she realizes Ha-yul blames herself for ruining her mom’s swimming dreams. Despite fearing the water, Ha-yul has been saying that her dream is to become a professional swimmer. Hae-dal is heartbroken and insists that Ha-yul only needs to live out her own dreams – she’s not responsible for Hae-dal’s. And with that, Hae-dal marches out to her mom and announces she’s going to reconnect with swimming by becoming a haenyeo.
Next up is Jin-dal who, as much as she’d love to, can’t stop feeling for her ex-husband. She’s upset when she learns he’s been staying in a cheap motel after his dad cut him off. When she asks Dae-young why he pushed his dad so hard for her sake, he timidly admits it’s because he still loves her. Jin-dal was worried this would happen and tries to push Dae-young away for his own good. He’s sick of that, though, and asks her to think of her own feelings. Why does she always do what she thinks she should do instead of what she wants to do?
They get drunk, and Jin-dal admits she does love him, but she can’t put herself through that again. Then, she wakes up the next morning beside him in bed. She’d escorted Dae-young back to the motel the night before and came into his room to catch a cockroach for him. One thing led to another, and now he suggests they start over without his family.
Elsewhere, Yong-pil discovers he got accepted for his dream forecasting post in Switzerland – his boss applied on his behalf – but he refuses. Instead, he plans to return to Seoul with Sam-dal and work at headquarters. Sam-dal finds out and isn’t about to let him pass up this chance. He’s supported her all these years and helped her achieve her dreams, so now she’ll do the same for him. She convinces him to take the post in Switzerland.
We then get the finale time jump to wrap up everyone’s stories. It’s two years later, and most of the crew returns to Seoul. Kyung-tae is dating one of Sam-dal’s assistants and opens a restaurant with Sang-do, Eun-woo finds success as a manhwa artist the second time around, and Sam-dal returns to her work as a famous photographer. We get a cameo from Kim Tae-hee who Sam-dal learns sent multiple gifts to her during the power abuse scandal. It helps Sam-dal realize that maybe she wasn’t as alone as she’d thought.
The sisters have gotten their lives on track too. Jin-dal is back with Dae-young and working as a flight attendant at the airline he started. Hae-dal has become a haenyeo and is dating Ji-chan with Ha-yul’s wholehearted approval. She and Ha-yul seem happily settled in Jeju.
Then, there’s Yong-pil who has been working in Switzerland the past two years. He and Sam-dal have been doing long distance, and he surprises her with a Christmas visit. We end with the two of them narrating: “We’re only going for as long as our breath allows without being greedy. And whenever we’re out of breath, we’ll come back to that place. Our small stream, Samdal-ri.”
I was worried that everyone would stay in Jeju, and the big city would get blamed for all Sam-dal’s problems. But I liked that it was more about the strength and courage you can find with the people who know you best. While some, like Hae-dal, find happiness back home, others find it somewhere new. Sam-dal needed to recharge and remember what was important to her before she could jump back into the fray. Home, to her, was the place where she could find a respite when she needed it.
While the ending might have been a little too tidy and happily-ever-after, where everyone ended up made sense. It took a while for me to connect to Hae-dal as a character, but I really appreciated her arc. I loved that she found a way to reconcile her present with her past dream, showing both Ha-yul and herself that she didn’t have to give up what she loved because she had a child; she just had to find a new way to incorporate it into her life.
Sam-dal and Yong-pil deserved their happily-ever-after, which they got on their own terms. They both pursued their goals, knowing they had each other’s backs. Sam-dal returned to the job she loved but with a much healthier mindset and a strong support system. Yong-pil finally got the chance to put himself first and be the one supported. Although I liked them together, I did worry that the relationship felt too one-sided, so I’m glad Sam-dal immediately encouraged him to take that job and stop putting his own goals aside. By the end, the relationship felt much more balanced and mature.
I do wish we could’ve cut down on the parental angst, gossiping ajummas, and cartoonish villain Eun-joo and spent more time on developing Sam-dal and Yong-pil’s relationship as adults. And I wouldn’t say no to more sisterly bonding time either. They, along with Ha-yul, were a highlight. I also loved the friend group and how much they supported each other. So even if some of the conflicts and angst got overblown, I enjoyed watching our couple and their loved ones find their own happiness whether that was in the big city or somewhere closer to home.
RELATED POSTS
- Premiere Watch: Welcome to Samdal-ri
- Shin Hye-sun rediscovers herself in Welcome to Samdalri
- A second chance at love in Welcome to Samdalri
- Ji Chang-wook finds a skulking Shin Hye-sun in Samdalri
- Ji Chang-wook and Shin Hye-sun Welcome us to Samdalri
- News bites: November 8, 2023
- News bites: November 7, 2023
- News bites: November 4, 2023
- News bites: February 4, 2023
- Ji Chang-wook
- Shin Hye-sun
Tags: Ji Chang-wook, Kang Mina, Kim Mi-kyung, Lee Jae-won, Shin Dong-mi, Shin Hye-sun, Welcome to Samdal-ri
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1 Bunny Sonaki
January 22, 2024 at 7:57 PM
Thank you @quirkycase for those thoughtful recaps. I agree it could have been much better without those annoying plot points and could have made for a healing show. But alas, the writing did a disservice here.
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2 Qingdao: likes scented candles
January 22, 2024 at 8:07 PM
Great review, QuirkyCase! This drama was comforting to watch. It feels nice--warm & fuzzy, feels good--like a Hallmark movie.
Likes:
-the healing of the ML & FL realtionship. In fact, healing was a theme in many different relationships. I did think Young-Pil's Dad was healed a little too suddenly...
-friends group was supportive and loyal. I loved the Jomnyeo squad--Haenyeos were rockin' it!
-the smalltown vibe was so well-done, especially the locations. There was a sense of home as a source of strength
Dislikes:
-so much HITTING and so much drunkeness. WAY too much. WOW!
-Young-Pil's fathers epiphany was so sudden that it was unbelievable
-love "triangle" was unnecessary, it seemed contrived to add tension
-implied rather than directed ending, especially with leads
-time skip trope
Highly recommended if you're looking for a sweet romance.
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23new2kdrama 🌱❤️🪦RIP FAN WALL❤️
January 22, 2024 at 8:36 PM
Agree with your post 100%!!
Especially the dislikes. I was really uncomfortable and unhappy with the amount of drinking. There is always some- you have to get the piggyback ride home- but every night was a lot.
Hate time jumps
And once again it's proved that any show or relationship can be good if the male lead is Ji Chang Wook💙💙💙
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GySgt213
January 23, 2024 at 5:17 AM
For sure, I am over and sick of the drink till you black out drunk scenes in K-Dramas. I'm no prude and not against showing drinking scenes. These scenes are stale and unoriginal and lack imagination.
Seriously though, you will write and depict the same scene in the same way in almost every K-Drama, like you are forcing feeding to your audience. But not have the guts to show the real consequences that can occur to someone drinking themselves into that state beyond an innocent piggyback ride.
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23new2kdrama 🌱❤️🪦RIP FAN WALL❤️
January 24, 2024 at 3:13 PM
This is also what I can't understand. It's something I would think they would try be trying to discourage, like they do with smoking. I understand the plot point and that it's the only way to confess but.....
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Amy
January 24, 2024 at 7:28 PM
I grew up in a village where everybody and his dog would drink and there was a lot of violence inside the families. The man of the house would usually be violent with the rest of the family (wife, kids and even his own mom), children would be given wine as soon as they stopped being breastfed, and there were also lots of illnesses caused by drinking (and by blacking out on the side of the road in freezing weather). Also some people were really poor, because they'd spend all their money for booze.
So for the life of me I can't understand the "drinking culture" in Korea, are they all really cute and honest when they drink? To say nothing about forcing somebody else to drink. Smoking is a big no-no, but drinking is just fine?
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FlourPower
January 26, 2024 at 8:25 PM
Well, not always cute.... another regular kdrama trope is the somewhat drunk guy being extremely pushy towards a lone, drunk woman, essentially saying "Since you're unclaimed, you must come with me" and getting agressive and violent if she dares object.
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Goyangi and the Camel Crickets
January 30, 2024 at 7:06 PM
One of the reasons I appreciated My Liberation Notes, showing the real consequences of too much alcohol. Rare to find in a Kdrama. I'm guessing health issues related to alcohol consumption are a major problem in South Korea.
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3 tabong is ironing the crosswalk
January 22, 2024 at 8:09 PM
This show was more shallow and dumb than Sang Do's existence in the story, and I think that says A LOT. At least Sang Do was consistent. Such lazy writting for a story deserves awards, and this show will probably get them all at the end of the year.
Anyway, I really liked the actresses. Shin Hye Sun almost made me feel cry for a romance I didn't cared about. If it wasn't because everytime I read the subtitles I cringed and thought "wtf are they making her say?", I would've cried. Same for our ahjumma.
It's sad the show didn't cared enough to tell "the Mi Ja(s)" story properly. I wanted to cry with her, but I just couldn't connect. Great actress, awful script.
The actors...
I think it's because I really disliked most of the male characters, but I couldn't enjoy most of the performances... maybe that just mean they did a great job? LOL I don't know. I just rolled my eyes everytime one if the big three (Yong Pil, Sang Do, annoying Dad) was on screen. I loved Gyeong Tae and Eun Ho, tho.
I think I liked Sam Dal more than the writer of this show, because I really wanted to see her find herself. Something that the writer totally forgot about... And I don't know what was supposed to be healing about any of the things that happened to her in the last 16 episodes, but wtv. Who cares. This is over and that's all that matters. I'm just excited to read the last comments from beanies.
Conclusion: this is a show I should've watched as gifs like I did with My Demon. I noticed that I really love the posts about this show because, whitout context, it just looks pretty and the actors have nice chemistry. But when I hit play... I'm just glad I don't have to hit play again.
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OLakes
January 23, 2024 at 6:12 AM
This isn't to be snarky, I am genuinely curious, but: it seems like you really didn't enjoy the drama at all? Why did you watch until the end? Do you just focus on the scenery or things like that? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm truly wondering. Because I am not good at watching something I don't enjoy, even if, say, a friend is loving it and wants me to watch, too. What makes it worth it for you, or what do you get out of it? I know there's more to stories with dramas, so I am truly curious as to how you manage it.
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tabong is ironing the crosswalk
January 23, 2024 at 10:37 AM
The answer: At the beginning I was waiting for it to get better (I was waiting the "healing/finding yourself" part), then I was just watching to see what happened with the other two sisters' stories, and then the show just ended.
Real reason: I just watched it so I could understand hacja's jokes in the recaps. I didn't want to miss one little detail. 😂
This is like half joke, half truth because the comments and posts about this show were so fun to read, they motivated me to watch the episodes every week.
It was worth it!👌
A hate-watch once in a while it's fun and healthy for the heart, imho... Ha! So this really was a healing drama. The writer is low-key a genius.
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tabong is ironing the crosswalk
January 23, 2024 at 10:40 AM
(Sorry for all the jokes when you did a serious question, but this is the Sam Dal-ri effect.
I just can't take anything about this show seriously.
The answers are sincere tho! 🥺)
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OLakes
January 23, 2024 at 2:16 PM
I appreciate your levity. :-) And thanks for answering - that makes sense. I think maybe I did something similar with River Where the Moon Rises, come to think of it. We had a livewatch going and by the end, we were all just laughing and being silly about it. If I was watching it by myself, I would have dropped it post haste, but I think being with a community made it more of a vehicle to connect with others and have some fun. So I take your point. Thanks again! :-)
4 ar_arguably romantic
January 22, 2024 at 8:28 PM
I want cuddles with Ji Chang-wook...i mean, Yong-pil!
It wasn't the perfect ending, but I thought it was close. I loved it, felt satisfied, and it warmed my heart like a warm bowl of soup. It aligned with this weekend being one of the coldest weekends of the year where I live.
I loved how everyone got together to support Sam-dal - her family, the other haenyeos, the haenyeo's husbands and relatives, assistants, the power ranger friends, Yong-pil's dad and grandparents, etc. The photo exhibit of everyone in the drama brought me to tears.
I also liked how the drama didn't end up pitting the big city against small town and that it ultimately wasn't about discovering the joys of the small town life. I had been thinking how the drama didn't have a good handle on the small-town thing. But it was really about having a place and people to return to when you're down and being willing to let them help you. I like how they didn't demonize Seoul in the end with the reveal of Kim Tae-hee sending Samdal a gift to that Seoul home that was so bombarded by haters. I think it was a good metaphor for how closed off Samdal was in the beginning - with the good gesture being rained on and discarded because the door wasn't open to receive it.
I really enjoyed where everyone ended up. Sang-do was actually not a chore to watch for once. I did wish we could have seen him lock eyes with a new love. One thing I found very jarring was Eun-woo's move to Seoul. I think they forgot that Eun-woo had a wife and a child.
The callback to Yong-pil loudly disagreeing with the forecast and being dragged out was hilarious. His Jeju coworkers were getting a kick out of watching it happen on the other side of the screen.
Didn't mention this before, but I think the OST also elevated the drama. The song selection and voices that evoke longing, melancholy, and nostalgia. Realized that one of the singers was Shin Seung-hun whom I haven't listened to in ages.
I wish they had halved the drinking and self-pity in the initial episodes, so we would have had more time for the supporting characters. Still I'm overall satisfied. One of the rare dramas that started off rough and cringe and picked up steam and got better in the final quarter.
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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 22, 2024 at 11:27 PM
‘One thing I found very jarring was Eun-woo's move to Seoul. I think they forgot that Eun-woo had a wife and a child.’👈🏾 Exactly what I kept thinking throughout the drama she never came to the socials or even turned up in the photos at the exhibition. I wondered if one of the people sitting in the group when he was asking their opinion about the webtoon was his wife. I didn’t remember what she looked like though.
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23new2kdrama 🌱❤️🪦RIP FAN WALL❤️
January 24, 2024 at 3:17 PM
Right!?! And I think it might have been 2 children- didn't he say he felt worse the second time. Anyway it doesn't matter but why oh why put that in? We are not stupid.
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Healer’s
January 23, 2024 at 9:40 AM
Thank you, you spoke my heart 🫶
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Healer’s
January 23, 2024 at 9:43 AM
Also, I think one reason the show got better towards the end is that it didn’t try to be “big”.
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5 Britney
January 22, 2024 at 8:29 PM
How is Eun Joo such a terrible photographer? Even if she was underprepared to go out on her own (despite her own belief in her ability) she *was* Sam Dal's assistant for 3 years (I think), how did she learn ABSOLUTELY nothing?! Did she just spend the entire time stewing in jealousy?
I almost wish there was a flashback to her hiring interview to see how she even got the assistant job.
I thought there was a dying grandma or something and *that* was the reason for her insistence about the scarf and now I just feel like ugh, seriously 😒 after finding out the reason. I don't even understand why any of this had to happen but I suppose this is on brand for Eun Joo's character: disloyal, opportunistic, petty, entitled, and no foresight.
She really is so unbelievable.
And then her "comeuppence" was just not satisfying at all. Sure it was karmic but sigh, it's like the writer KNEW it wasn't satisfying which is why they had Sam Dal say she just felt bitter and unsatisfied about everything.
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hacja
January 22, 2024 at 8:53 PM
While I would not be as critical of this show's handling of the technical details of photography as I would be of its other aspects, this show had a couple of unlikely plot points there--in addition to the evil assistant not being able to focus her camera, Sam Dal herself shot all her local exhibition shots with disposable cameras, which, with their plastic lenses, would be very unlikely to have the resolution to enlarge 10 times successfully. Plus, since she was shooting film, all her images would have had to be digitized, and then she would have had to Photoshop them with rainbows, etc. and we never once saw her post-processing in front of the computer. But I realize this is nitpicking, and I know that the show was having her symbolically use simple and retro cameras to capture her simple and traditional home town.
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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 22, 2024 at 11:33 PM
I was thinking about the hassle factor of the processing to get the photos up to scratch. If it was PPL for disposable cameras in this day and age I think it was a waste of money as no one not even young children would chose those cameras. Are there even places that can do the processing?
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pliplipli
January 23, 2024 at 5:06 AM
film cameras - disposable, point and shoot or even more professional ones - are still a thing. it became a niche, but it has its loyal fans and south korea loves it bcs of the whole retro, nostalgia thing so I think it really fits in the drama, although I agree it would make more sense if it was a common person discovering photography and using it than a professional taking part in a contest like she did.
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ramonathepest
January 27, 2024 at 1:14 PM
I agree. Although I know nothing about professional photography. When I kept seeing the disposable cameras, I assumed it was just for blocking or for taking shots of various locations to come back to later with the "real" camera. And maybe it was product placement because her final exhibit photos had none of the resonance that the photos she had taken in Seoul had.
ar_arguably romantic
January 23, 2024 at 4:51 PM
Heard disposable cameras are making a comeback with the gen-z kids, like overalls, flared pants, and low-rise (*facepalm*). Though Samdal processing the heck out of those pics seems to go against what makes disposable cameras trendy again, which is the rawness of the images.
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ar_arguably romantic
January 22, 2024 at 9:09 PM
I wonder if the assistants sneaking sponsored items thing happens in a lot in the industry or has recently happened in korea since Kwang-tae acted like he's read about stuff like that. Just though she was on a power trip. In kdramas, the interview process are always shown to be so stringent that I'm always surprised at how many dumb coworkers there are in dramas.
I appreciated that Samdal didn't feel like cheering after Eun-joo's comeuppance (they didn't show much, but I suspect Eun-joo will get the Sam-dal treatment. Stalking, hate messages, reporters, people digging up stuff about her family.). Even if Eun-joo went to jail and had poo smeared in her face, the emotional scars that Samdal experience will still be there.
All those people who had cheered for Sam-dal when she was successful and who then turned their backs on her - they all came crawling back with text messages that say "oh i had been believing in you all this time." Suuuuuure you did, liars! What's to say, you won't drop me again at the next rumor? The betrayal had cut Samdal really deep, and outside of her 2 assistants and her Samdalri crew, Samdal won't be able to trust people the same way again. Eun-joo ripped away a bit of that innocence. And for what? greed and jealousy.
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Britney
January 22, 2024 at 10:21 PM
I get what you mean about Eun Joo's comeuppence but it was still unsatisfying to me. I knew it would be. Everything just went back to business as usual despite the months that Sam Dal was vilified and let's not forget she was assaulted. But sure, I guess get vinegar poured over you is equal to being assaulted and having it posted for the world to see. She was even working with the ex again and helped him with the shoot Eun Joo messed up.
I assumed this would happen, that Sam Dal would be the bigger person.
I'm just not that good of a person to find that remotely satisfying. I wanted to know that Eun Joo was being sued and blacklisted. That she was as destroyed as she tried to do to Sam Dal. Yeah, she got the same treatment Sam Dal got but it's just not satisfying to me.
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GySgt213
January 23, 2024 at 5:22 AM
"Did she just spend the entire time stewing in jealousy?"
I think I missed the reason they gave us as to why she was so jealous and consumed by it in the first place.
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6 hacja
January 22, 2024 at 8:57 PM
I know I’ve been harsh on this show, but I have to say, these last two episodes just nailed it, totally realizing the shows potential—that is for bad writing, unlikely scenarios, and implausible characters with inexplicable motivations. The episodes had all the feels—annoyance, irritation, and incredulous disdain. I laughed, I cried, I stood up and sneered.
You know, some people will say that this show is very sentimental, with its cartoonish gossipy but loving old ladies, its cliched slow motion silent shots of small town people eating and laughing together, its group of friends painfully joshing each other, and lines like “a dragon can’t rise out of its own stream (what?), and its lesson that home is where your friends are. Far from it! For a show be sentimental, you actually have to have characters who make you feel sentiments—that is, other than “this is ridiculous!” Consistently, this show failed to do that, so I give it full credit for its hard hitting lack of realism!
As @enriquequierecagar says, the acting was fine—it was just the writing, cinematography, and production which the actors had to try to overcome. It’s a credit to their professionalism that they went along with the show’s premise that they all act like children for 16 episodes, although why Kim Tae Hee agreed to a filler cameo to occupy a full five minutes of what was presumably the wrap up episode, I don’t know. Maybe she lost a drunken bet, fitting with the character's behavior!
I have just a few questions that perhaps fans of the show can answer:
1. Why did Yong-Pil drive around the whole show with costumes, including a sequined tuxedo, in the back of his van, when he never performed except in flashback?
2. Why DID Sam-dol drop a minimum of US $250,000 on a Lamborghini and roar it through town? His character was modest and hardworking, he didn’t seem like a gearhead, and he certainly wasn’t doing it to attract women!
3. If the youngest sister was a swimmer of Olympic potential, why was there absolutely no evidence of this background around her childhood home—like medals or trophies—and why did no one in the tiny town and loving community ever mention her swimming prowess?
4. What did Dolphin Guy and the Dolphin Center actually do, except hold coloring events for young children? Was his main donor a crayon company?
5. How did the half-wit eldest sister’s husband recover his place in the family business after he was cut off?
6. Why did the show bring in a stereotyped representation of an Arab prince, played by a Indian Korean in the last episode, after all the trouble King the Land got into? There was absolutely no reason to even bring up that character again.
7. What did the dog chained at the center of town represent? Viewers of the show?
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hacja
January 22, 2024 at 9:08 PM
Just to illustrate that I understood SOME of the show, I post what I hope will be a helpful explainer below:
1. Why did the entire Korean nation condemn Sam-Dal when they thought she bullied her assistant, and continue to be fascinated by her story for months even though she was just a fashion photographer? Well, as everyone knows, Korean society remains dominated by Confucianism. And Confucius valued photography above all the other arts. His famous quote: “The superior photographer determines what is right and good, the inferior photographer who bullies underlings should be condemned, even if she is small potatoes” governs Korean public opinion to this day.
2. Are Sam-dal and Yong-Pil really together at the end? NO, despite that enthusiastic hug (NOT KISS—their parents won’t let these two youthful 39 year olds have a physical relationship! ) Although they did the entirely logical thing, immediately splitting up for a long distance relationship right after getting together, Sam-dal spent more time the last half of the last episode with Yong Pil’s rivals than with Yong Pil himself. Besides, even if they were together, given their age and work responsibilities, they won’t be cohabiting until their 60s. As someone in his 60s, I can tell you that’s often too late, in a number of ways!
2. What about the parents? Are Yong Pil’s Dad and Sam-dal’s parents really reconciled, after decades of animosity, simply because Yong-pils Dad recognized Mi-ja’s grief? Truth be told, as the last episode revealed, Yong-pil’s Dad pretended he was angry about the tragic death of his wife, so he could dump out the leftover food Mi-ja was trying to pawn off on him. Once she served him decent food with cucumbers, they got along fine.
3. But didn’t the eldest sister have a happy ending? Yes and no. She decided to remarry, but in order to be with her half-wit husband, she has to be dead drunk. Its not a healthy basis for a relationship.
5. Still, wasn’t the youngest sister such a good Mom? No. She became a Haenyo, even though her daughter cried with fear because of it. She is doing dangerous diving, absurdly, without equipment, in the name of heritage, at a time when climate change is wiping out the shellfish and seawood Haenyo’s gather. She will be daily risking her life just to go deep without oxygen in order to touch some bare rocks, dooming her daughter to hardscrabble poverty and maybe orphanhood.
6. What about Eun Ju? Surely she got what was coming to her? Well her absolute control of Korean public opinion was shaken. Still, her mastery of social media remained—only 3 videos posted, countless lives changed! Plus she embodied the show’s theme--like everyone else, she only wanted to be at home in the tiny global community of Internet, where just like in Sam Dal-ri, people love, hate, gossip, chat, and behave like virtual eight year olds!
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Seon-ha
January 23, 2024 at 3:54 AM
…withOUT cucumbers. -2 points. 😁
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vienibenmio
January 23, 2024 at 9:50 AM
I won't miss this show, but I will miss your analyses of it
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tabong is ironing the crosswalk
January 23, 2024 at 11:03 AM
Me too. 🥺
...Now I'm sad this show is ending.
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Healer’s
January 23, 2024 at 10:32 AM
I think Hae-dal’s daughter doesn’t consider diving dangerous. She thinks diving with a heart condition is dangerous.
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hacja
January 23, 2024 at 10:40 AM
Well, I guess she'll learn, then! It would be the one time in the show that she wasn't much more perceptive than all the adults combined.
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Scottie
January 24, 2024 at 4:02 AM
So sad that I can only upvote once!
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Mrs Buckwheat
January 22, 2024 at 9:24 PM
hacja- I admire your fortitude and perseverance with this show. I myself gave up long ago and applaud your service to the beanie community in continuing to provide commentary as the show continued. This was a joy to read and resulted in much laughter so thank you :)
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ar_arguably romantic
January 22, 2024 at 9:31 PM
Lamborghini PPL? I get wanting to go all out after being poor for so long, but 250k is a lot when you can get a luxury BMW for 60k. Why not an expensive watch that you can show off all the time? I always hear that restaurant margins are thin. The profits would be shared with his parents. Why is the mother still working at a haenyeo if the family is rolling in such dough that they could support a violent deadbeat son and a son who drops $250k on a car. Or she still working because of said deadbeat son and spendthrift son?
I think they must have cut out some scenes with the eldest system and her husband. They also didn't explain why she still brings along a wheely bag when she is a trainer.
The stereotype representation of all Arab=prince did make me cringe. Will there never be an Arab middle-class accountant who meal preps to save money?! I think King the Land got in trouble mostly because they made the Arab character be arrogant, lecherous, and dumb - the worst of the stereotypes. Here, Man-soo is depicted as humble, generous, kind, and good at learning a new language. Also, low key bid for foreign investments in Jeju?
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DancingEmma
January 22, 2024 at 10:34 PM
@hacja: Sazal Mahamud is of Bangladeshi descent but I agree with your 6th point. I had dropped this drama a while ago and just tuned in to the last ep and low and behold? I saw that bizarre and offensive scene. It is racist not to understand or care to understand that every person with a brown skin is not an Arab and vice versa. The continuing lack of understanding about the world and apathy towards why it reflects so poorly on the makers of this drama/industry just appalls me. The fact that they also disrespected Sazal Mahamud, a colleague who has spent half of his life in SK and has Korean citizenship must not have mattered to them at all.
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FrenchFan
January 23, 2024 at 6:18 AM
Thank you @hacja & @dncingemma for bringing the racism of this show up.
I'm wondering what the messages are for the korean audience and international audience as it happened twice within a year that a non-arabic actor has portrayed an arab prince (King the land).
"We don't care, you are all the same to us" or "we can't be bothered to talk about indians or bangladeshis, you don't exist to us" or ???
It's never an innocent and unfortunate mistake to decide to write, produce, direct and edit such a disrespectful thing.
I'm taking notes that Ji Chang Wook has been starring in 2 dramas featuring a racist stance (backstreet rookie). I'd like actors to be more cautious as to not be associated with this.
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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 23, 2024 at 7:00 AM
I think when bemoaning how often the actors of colour are typecast we also need to think about representation across the board. Able bodied actors play disabled characters ALL the time how many of the characters in Tell me that you love/Twinkling Watermelon were actually deaf actors? I think Our blues was one of the few dramas that actually used a deaf actor and an actor with Down’s syndrome. Disabled actors are very rarely given the opportunity to play the parts of disabled characters or just be a character in a drama. It is the same with representation for global majority actors they need to work and have very limited options in their roles. In this drama at least he was playing a normal shop worker in a small town which can’t be that common in real life. In role he commented that the place was heart warming so he clearly didn’t face any racism while there which is surprising considering how opinionated the townspeople were about everything else.
I was happy to see Sazal around such big names as this shows his exposure as an actor is increasing and over time I expect to see more and more culturally diverse elements in the parts he plays. I do think it is calculated that they have him play Arab characters rather than Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi etc. because of the popularity of K dramas in that area and the lucrative opportunities to increase the PPL, collaboration etc. Over time as the writers learn Africa is not a country and black and brown people come from a countries with a range of religious and cultural differences we will see more diversity of roles.
I am always glad to see global majority actors getting more roles in such a homogeneous culture. We need to acknowledge that sterotypes exist in European and the US entertainment fields still exist and all actors of colour have begrudgingly taken on roles they didn’t like in order to get to the place where they could make a play the roles they want and use their position to influence and increase representation.
We also need to remember the 6 white actors who are in every drama and play a range of European and American roles that do not represent their countries of origin. They too just want the exposure and appreciate the opportunity to work.
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DancingEmma
January 23, 2024 at 8:12 AM
You raise important issues across the board. Actors such as Sazal Mahamud are the minority in the Korean film and drama spheres and do not have the bargaining power and the cultural heft to ask and receive equal representation and respect. But these fields are technologically sophisticated, experienced in other ways of the world, are selling their products to foreign countries and haven’t started yesterday. Not a justifiable excuse that the country is homogenous and conservative. They need to do much better in understanding and manifesting a respectful understanding of race and ethnicity amongst other attributes which the majority don’t share but also nurturing talent who have disabilities and belong to the LGBTIQ groups.
Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 23, 2024 at 10:08 AM
@dncingemma it is a shame that we have to have this discussion in 2024 as racism in the entertainment industry is across the globe. Living in the UK and seeing a lot of US made programmes these are countries that have a much higher % of actors and a general population that’s from a range of cultural backgrounds and yet apart from shows like Hamilton actors across all cultures are still having to audition for roles as gangsters, drug dealers, prostitutes and terrorists in order to pay their bills.
So yes there is an issue with the Korean entertainment business and their continuous use of stereotypes. Whenever I see even a slight improvement I will acknowledge it. For me the steady increase in the number of global majority actors seen on K-dramas, the more higher rated shows they get to be in and the more normal character roles they get to do the better for their careers and self esteem. I hope to see improvements. This time the role did not call for a Muslim to drink alcohol or womanise or participate in any other offensive actions so I see it as a very small win.
♡Peach_Mochi♡
January 23, 2024 at 11:20 AM
If we're talking about representation, we could divide it (yes, vastly oversimplifying) into two stages. The first step is just getting more representation on the screen. At this point it's hard to say that actors should be overly choosy about the roles they play. They're not the gatekeepers. They're just trying to get through the gate.
However, this type of representation is hardly the endgame. Has the screen time for actors from underrepresented groups increased? Yes, but now they justifiably are pointing out that representation also means telling the full spectrum of their stories and breaking past the tired stereotypes or trite narratives.
I commended Samdal-ri at first for the Man-su character. It was great to see him interacting with the friends and being a member of the community in a refreshingly ordinary way. This felt practically revolutionary by K-drama standards.
To have his character be revealed as an Arab prince in the last episode was disappointing, completely unnecessary and demonstrated that the writers have failed to understand the second part of representation. I wish we'd seen him running the store after the Gyeong-tae relocated to Seoul and further cementing his roots in Samdal-ri, since that can be home for him, too.
DancingEmma
January 23, 2024 at 1:28 PM
Yes, it is a shame but I think we should be able to discuss this issue here (whether or not the KD makers care about the views of non-Korean viewers). I’m glad you are pointing out the tiny bits of improvement but I don’t see my concern being somewhat exaggerated or invalid because I didn’t publicly rejoice in the acknowledgement of the common humanity of Sazal Mahmud’s character in the initial episodes. That was a baseline and nothing extraordinary except in the KD space where inclusivity and diversity are largely absent. I want them to do better because they can do better.
indyfan
January 23, 2024 at 9:05 PM
Well explained @marysadanaga why what could have been an example of positive rep ultimately fell into unfortunate stereotype when it could have been easily scripted much better. Tho it may have seemed more of an eye-rolling stereotype than a deeply offensive one, it is frustrating when it wasn’t necessary to the narrative in any way. To borrow from Adichie’s warning of the danger of a single story, even princes, model minorities, and other seemingly harmless stereotypes, aren't really.
Please keep speaking up, asking dramaland to do better. A starving man may well be grateful for breadcrumbs, but really, everyone deserves a full stomach.
Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 23, 2024 at 9:29 PM
@marysadanaga @indyfan @dncingemma @kurama I think it’s great in one discussion thread we have covered a spectrum of views on representation expectations in K-dramaland. We can live in hope that one day, in not too distant future we won’t need to comment because representation has become normalised.
Kurama
January 23, 2024 at 6:45 AM
I don't think it 's an issue that an actor plays a different origin than his. It always happens.
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DancingEmma
January 23, 2024 at 7:54 AM
That’s your opinion but it matters to people of colour. It shouldn’t be dismissed as “it always happens”. It is wrong.
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Kurama
January 23, 2024 at 10:24 AM
It's acting. Actors always play someone there are not. It's the point.
The European characters in Krama are always played by the same people and always are white when European people are very mixed now.
It matters to some people of colour, and it doesn't for some others. I'm not white.
DancingEmma
January 23, 2024 at 1:12 PM
I don’t agree with you.
KAddicted
January 24, 2024 at 10:15 AM
@dncingemma - While I gave up this drama after episode 3 and didn't see this scene, my only comment would be they are actors and he is acting. How is someone of Bangladeshi descent playing an Arab 'racist'? Were the hanyeos real hanyeos or just acting the part (and possibly not very well?). I do think people are becoming extremely oversensitive about this topic these days, and instantly dubbing anything as racist is tiresome. As a Brit, I have always wondered why Korean school uniforms for girls are almost always plaid/tartan, but I don't get upset and start crying foul on behalf of Scotland!
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FrenchFan
January 25, 2024 at 2:50 PM
Asking a white actor to play a korean character, asking a japonese to play a kenyan character, asking a bangladeshi to play an arab character, etc, etc is indeed racist.
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KAddicted
January 25, 2024 at 9:00 PM
I don't agree. They are actors. What difference does it make? They are all playing a part, it's fiction, a story. How many Arab actors speak Korean? Quite possibly none, and while it's probably not necessary to have an Arab Prince in most Korean dramas, if you are going to limit actors to only playing ethnicities identical to their own, you not only limit the potential story, you limit the careers of those actors.
The understanding of the term 'racist' has undergone a huge transformation in the last few years, and not for the better. The Cambridge Dictionary states the definition of 'racist' is:
"someone who believes that their race makes them better, more intelligent, more moral, etc. than people of other races and who does or says unfair or harmful things as a result."
A Korean/Bangladeshi actor playing the part of an Arab in a Korean drama isn't 'racist' at all in the actual meaning of the word. As others have pointed out, there was no need for Sazal Kim to be an Arab or a Prince in the story - he's Korean now, so why shouldn't he just be Korean? I completely agree, but let's just say a serious part came up that required a Korean-speaking Arab because (for whatever reason) it is fundamental to the story, should this actor be denied the chance to play that role because of the new twisted notion of what racism actually is?
I can tell you now, the half a dozen white actors that turn up in Korean dramas are absolutely awful and can't act at all - in my opinion. I'd be more than happy to have them replaced by Arabs, Bangladeshis or basically anyone, because not every European is white and doesn't need to be. Plenty of them are Arab and Bangladeshi in origin, along with any other ethnicity you can name.
I'm English and have seen black actors playing Hamlet, Romeo, etc. on the London stage, and it's pretty commonplace, despite them not actually being Danish Princes, Italian noblemen or even white. I've saw an all black production of Romeo and Juliet 30 years ago, and nobody batted an eye. The way we are all being divided and categorized these days is, in my opinion, pernicious and only fosters an environment of hostility and distrust.
Show me the Arab actor who is disgruntled at not playing a part in a Korean drama speaking Korean. Produce a statement from Sazal Kim saying he feels insulted and a victim of racism for being offered the part of an Arab Prince disguised as a Korean convenience store worker, and I might concede you have a point. But all too often the greatest accusers and complainers on this subject are people of neither race involved, who are taling it upon themselves to complain on behalf of someone else. I call that not only judgemental but potentially 'racist' in itself (in the true meaning of the word) because it comes from a perceived position of authority.
FrenchFan
January 26, 2024 at 6:50 AM
@kaddicted the argument "they are all actors, it does not make a difference" was used when men were denying women the right to play female characters in theatre. Men insisted they could play women.
Your points show exactly why it's a problem when racism is only understood as an individual problem and not analysed as a system of oppression that allows exploitation of groups of people by others and how this system works.
It's not a moral problem (prejudiced & intolerant individuals) but a political one (economic organisation of the world and power struggle between exploiters and exploited).
One pilar of racism is using culture and media means (soft power and propaganda) to invisibilise, generalise, trivialise, demonise, etc. groups of people of colour.
Here we are pointing out that some people in power in the korean TV industry have for the second time in a year participated in this system and played in this racist "game".
I'm not at all pointing finger at the actor because I understand how powerless he can be in such an industry. I keep my criticism to the people who had the power to decide and condemn their choice.
I hope in the future more voices join to condemn racist practices in the korean entertainment industry.
tabong is ironing the crosswalk
January 23, 2024 at 10:58 AM
"Was his main donor a crayon company?" "What did the dog chained at the center of town represent? Viewers of the show?" ROFL
You almost made me fall from the bed. 😂🤣
This "sentimental" show didn't make me cry, but you did with so many laughs. 😆 I'm really grateful for that. Thank you so much for watching this drama till the end!
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KAddicted
January 24, 2024 at 10:00 AM
7. I am the dog that got away.
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23new2kdrama 🌱❤️🪦RIP FAN WALL❤️
January 24, 2024 at 3:22 PM
How about we why did the mother- while constantly beating her daughter- beg for the phone number of the villains mother because she was upset about the video with her daughter getting hit
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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 24, 2024 at 9:38 PM
I know I thought that was so ridiculous too.
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7 Britney
January 22, 2024 at 9:16 PM
I've been wondering if I really liked this show at all or was I watching out of habit and escapism. Sometimes I lean towards the latter. I don't have the complaints I've seen others raise (except about Sang Do. I think most of us here hated that aspect) but it just seems overall forgettable.
I get the message of having a safe space where you can go back to when life gets overwhelming but yeah, I don't know how I feel about this overall.
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8 Britney
January 22, 2024 at 10:27 PM
I think Gyeong Tae opened his own business, not that he went into business with Sang Do.
When the actress playing assistant Eun Bi clapped her hand over his mouth, I thought she accidentally did it too hard or something because his eyes looked like it was real haha. I thought his mouth was even a little red (but maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me)
So, I guess Eun Woo and Gyeong Tae's "failures" before were just a matter of timing?
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9 sakuradaydream
January 22, 2024 at 10:39 PM
You know I wasn't keen on starting this drama back when it first aired as I was skeptical due to bad experiences with Ji Chang Wook's past works but holy SHIT
I LOVED this drama so much. With its simple yet heartwarming plot, this drama felt like a warm hug I desperately needed in this suffocating society.
The story was well-written from start to end & each character got the ending they deserved. Even the OST is stuck in my head like it fit the drama SO well.
I do agree that we could've reduced plot points like Sang-do's unrequited love, parental angst etc but at least Eun-ju's arc was settled during the first half of the finale and not dragged on.
I would've loved to see more development from our 3 sister's relationships, especially Hae-dal's. She was cast aside during the final few eps and I could tell that this was the main issue when you have multiple characters to focus on, even those you didn't expect to gain popularity amongst the audience.
Jin-dal & Dae-yeong was the epitome of ??? but they were so adorable and I'm so happy that they got their happy ending :')
Finally, my most beloved chaotic Yongdal, who had the most beautiful growth and stole my entire heart. CURSE YOU CHO YONG PIL I will never fall in love & die an old maid because of you.
Their arc from start to end was written so well and the communication, guys the COMMUNICATION.
Istg Ji Chang Wook really made it look like he was actually head over heels for Sam-dal and their interactions felt so natural!
I'm gonna miss them so damn much :')
This drama was just so much fun and I think I'll remember it for a very long time :')
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10 Britney
January 22, 2024 at 11:00 PM
When they showed that Yong Pil was still his excitable self at headquarters, it made me think 2 things. 1: I wonder if they toned downed the yelling in consideration of JCW's voice/throat. 1a: it could've also been toned down cause he was at THE headquarters and not his own backyard where he was given considerable leeway. 2: while I don't know many actors, I thought I couldn't really see anyone else playing Yong Pil.
When the reporter said "why are you so threatening?", I thought "because he's K2" haha. I'm such a dork haha
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11 Mad_Hatter
January 22, 2024 at 11:08 PM
Overall, loved the drama, but the plot could have been a bit tighter. There are a lot of things I wish we could have focused on in lieu of less important and plot-dragging scenes, but I'm glad everyone got a happy ending and that Eunjoo, in full caricature villain glory, was dragged back to the bottom.
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12 Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 22, 2024 at 11:17 PM
Thanks for the weecap @quirkycase.
It was a good ending for this little relationship focused show. I am so glad I got to see Wookie in a show I liked from start to finish.
I liked that they all had success in Seoul with Kungtae was finally in a relationship. Mr chatty being silenced when he likes a girl and posing in the corner of the room was funny.
I couldn’t switch off the little voice in my head that was saying why not collect the photos at night as the office is open 24/7?
The other little voice moment: what kind of business does not forward their mail when the office is closed for a significant period?
I wondered about the low key character helping out at the shop. It was great to see small town acceptance although he was never shown socialising with anyone so not 100% certain he was fully integrated. It was nice to see a more respectful portrayal of another culture than in King the land.
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Kroy
February 12, 2024 at 11:57 PM
Yes !!! I totally agree, I asked myself the same question why couldn't they get the photos in the night especially when Yong Pil has a lot of pull in the office, there was no need for the clandestine operation involving the haenyeo's and the office workers.
Regarding the package yeah I didn't realise that, also why didn't the assistants know about it, we know they were regularly going to the office, while Samdal was in Jeju ( we even see in an episode them talking to Samdal from the office ).
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13 Britney
January 22, 2024 at 11:21 PM
Ah! I forgot about the middle eastern prince reveal. I've long heard about it but this was my first time seeing it and it was just WTF to me. Why did this have to be a thing? I forgot how long it was said Man Soo was in town, if it was even said at all.
So a middle eastern prince decided to be a minimal wage part timer in JeJu of all places? But fine, I think there's been many a movie concept featuring royalty wanting to see how the other half lives.
Also Dae Young's conclusion totally counters what's been shown. Why would he be given an airline AND be allowed to let Jin Dal work for it, even as a trainer? Plus they had her pulling a wheeled bag solely for a misdirect?
Sigh, but I shouldn't dwell on things; it's just parts of the reason why I wasn't particularly into the finale.
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14 Kurama
January 22, 2024 at 11:43 PM
The end was satisfying with every character finding their closure and happiness.
Hum... This drama wasn't bad but it wasn't really good neither for me. There were very good moments like the couple scenes. Ji Chang-Wook and Shin Hye-Sun did really well. It's a little bit sad they chose the comedy to portray their love over the fact they were more than 30 years old and already dated before...
The half of the drama was the FL being drunk and not remembering what she did or said. So the second half was better for that.
I don't think Yong-Pil had an arc... He was there for everybody, Sam-Dal, her mother, his father and it's all. But Ji Chank-Wook is so good to be caring and loving, so I didn't care so much.
For the rest of the characters... I didn't specially like the sisters as individual and their own stories. I liked their bond with each other.
The friends were funny but I couldn't have done without the Sang-Do's stupid love. I'm still wondering how he bought this car when the rest of the family didn't seem as rich.
I don't sure why the friends thought they could have success only in Seoul... But at least, this time Sam-dal wasn't alone.
I wished a better fall down for Eun-Ho. One article is nothing.
The biggest mistake of this drama is there was no scene of Ji Chang-Wook in Switzerland!!! They filmed in Jeju, they could send him in Europe too! WMO is in Geneva, it would have been perfect! JCW in front of the water jet! WMO is not far from a good Korean restaurant, the Gaya.
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Kurama
January 22, 2024 at 11:44 PM
Eun-Joo*
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bomibeans
January 23, 2024 at 3:59 PM
*Takes note when I finally visit Geneva*
Always nice when someone recommends a good Korean restaurant in unexpected places of the world.
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Kurama
January 23, 2024 at 10:43 PM
Lol
I'm happy that my comment can be useful 😁
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15 coffee_jelly
January 23, 2024 at 2:04 AM
The drama overall was simple, but has its charm. One must not think too much to enjoy it. It was nice, actually. I loved the OST's.
It took a few episodes to finally gain its pace which I think made the final episode suffer a bit cause they could've wrapped some things up already with all the time that Samdal spent on drinking lol.
What I would remember the most in this drama is Shin Haesun and Ji Changwook's acting that made me believe they were childhood bffs, and the look in their eyes that shows longing for each other.
Side notes:
-Writer-nim, they are already 38 years old + 2 years because of the time skip. A beach wedding could've been nice, or even a proposal.
-Director-nim, why did you cast two good kissers then film them like 10m away???
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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 23, 2024 at 2:51 AM
‘ Writer-nim, they are already 38 years old + 2 years because of the time skip. A beach wedding could've been nice, or even a proposal’👈🏾 I am with you on this, why didn’t this happen?
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16 Blue (@mayhemf)
January 23, 2024 at 3:26 AM
The second half of the drama was much better than the first half. The leads were amazing and the sole reason I stayed till the end.
Every thing wrapped up neatly. Eun Joo’s downfall was not Epic enough for me.
This again is another - ‘what it could have been’ Show for me. With a cast like thing, this could have been a way better show.
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OLakes
January 23, 2024 at 6:21 AM
100% agree with you on all points. I think this is my conclusion as well.
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17 late as always
January 23, 2024 at 4:00 AM
I started watching this for Shin Hye Sun, who I loved so, so much in Mr. Queen. She was great again here, but I ended up loving so many of the other actors too. I'd only seen JCW in The K2, so it was a joy to learn he could do things like, laugh, talk, etc. Who knew? And I especially liked Shin Dong Mi as Jin Dal. I'm used to her as a court lady or a repressed assistant. Loved her volatile and expressive character here! Also, i know the preternaturally adult little girl is an overdone trope, but it really worked in this context. Ha Yul was a great character and her maturity made sense. I had fun with this drama.
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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 23, 2024 at 4:40 AM
Have you tried Healer its an older drama but puts K2 in another light when comparing the two.
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late as always
January 23, 2024 at 5:28 AM
Thanks, Mother Bean! I think I'll give that one a shot. I am also considering Backstreet Rookie, having just come off Samdal-ri AND My Demon, but I'm worried about that one. It looks a bit too cheesy. Will it make me cringe?
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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 23, 2024 at 6:07 AM
Backstreet Rookie is nothing special but I found it bearable. It had a questionable character who was supposedly a Rasta which was represented by nasty personal hygiene 😱 way to go racism!
Healer is a classic drama in all areas and Wookie has not been able to find such a well written drama ever since. That’s why Welcome to Samdalri is such a pleasure because it was better than ok in most areas.
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ramonathepest
January 27, 2024 at 1:49 PM
@late as always - Listen to Mother Bean! The only regret you'll have after watching Healer is not having watched it earlier!
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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 27, 2024 at 2:46 PM
😊 yes, prepare yourself to be charmed. Please, let us know how you found it.
late as always
February 4, 2024 at 9:17 AM
I'm about halfway through Healer now and loving it soooo much. It's great! Okay, I admit it, JCW can act. And he's pretty--bonus!
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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
February 4, 2024 at 9:22 AM
🥳 so happy. How do you feel it compares to the K2 now you have seen the two? I know you have a way to go with Healer but after the first couple of episodes you know the quality of Healer story, acting, and action wise.
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late as always
February 5, 2024 at 5:25 AM
I found The K2 ridiculous. I very much dislike the fragile female lead as a plot device. Who could fall in love with someone who has so little sense of self? Also, as someone who lived through the Clinton presidency in the US, the parallel with the politician and his wife (sorry, don't remember names) was kind of fun but the wife was like a right-wing fever dream of Hillary Clinton as supervillain.
I did like the action scenes a lot.
Healer is a whole different animal. Every character is rounded and nuanced, there's plenty of humor, and the plot is SO tight. You know how in most action dramas you get a throwaway scene at the beginning to establish the lead's action cred, but then it has no relevance to the main plot? Not so in Healer. There are no wasted scenes. It's really well done.
late as always
February 5, 2024 at 5:34 AM
Also, JCW's character in the K2 was pretty monotone. I think any show is better with a sense of humor. Another thing I love about Healer is that all of Healer's alter egos are really aspects of him. Park Bong Soo brings out his socially clueless side, and the Jeong-Hoo who lets himself get arrested to meet Moon-Shik reminds me of the Healer of the first couple of episodes, who was so flippant.
So yes, Healer is clearly superior to the K2, in my opinion. In case it wasn't clear. :)
late as always
February 5, 2024 at 6:32 AM
ALSO, in case you can't tell, I've been bingeing Healer. I've gotten very little sleep the last couple of nights, but I'm up to episode 14. Chae Young Shin finally knows who Healer is! Eeeee!
Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
February 5, 2024 at 6:10 AM
So glad you were able to experience this standout drama and came back to share the experience. Hope your next watch is a good one.
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18 Dramaforever
January 23, 2024 at 4:22 AM
Unpopular opinion, but I am so relieved that I managed to finish a Shin Hye Sun show at long last. I tried and tried but dropped Mr. Queen at ep 5 after 4 attempts spanning over 2 years. I really hated See you in my 19th life, mainly because of the leads' portrayal of their respective characters. But I managed to finish this after 'dropping' it in ep 7 or 8. I finished each episode in 30 minutes (I used to be a purist who never fast forwarded, it was either full watch or drop for me), but Samdal Ri made me turn a corner in my K drama watching experience.
That said, I do think the second half of the show was slightly better than the first half, only because we finally got over all the crying and drinking and self pity and started the redemption arc. I really really wish we had 12 eps of redemption and 4 episodes of setting the stage.
I don't understand the time skip obsession of K drama writers. I also don't understand the lack of passion in couples in dramas where romance is one of the main plots. But yes, I am happy to have finished this drama. Next up - Doctor Slump. Hopefully, lesser drunken rants, more healing and laughter.
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PYC
January 23, 2024 at 5:34 AM
For Shin Hye-sun dramas, you should try 30 but 17. A lovely little drama with a big heart and without a villain (as far as I recall).
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GySgt213
January 23, 2024 at 5:49 AM
"I don't understand the time-skip obsession of K drama writers."
K-drama writers seem to have a lot of obsessions that they don't seem to understand are stale and predictable. I remember one time skip lasting 5 years with no communication whatsoever between the leads. Yet they were still somehow single and waiting for each other. Sigh.
Black-out drunk scenes.
Piggyback rides.
Unnecessary love triangles.
Actors staring off into space instead of answering perfectly valid questions. Even when there is a perfectly valid response
Korean actresses tripping and falling.
Sending off someone to another country.
Only allowing the main couple to be together for half an episode before they break up due to some misunderstanding or meddling elder.
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KAddicted
January 24, 2024 at 10:32 AM
And ... random Arab princes.
Most characters in k-dramas are made to seem or act stupid. Singling out any one example seems futile when they are so many to complain about - my absolute bugbear being grown women who behave like silly toddlers, despite almost always holding down professional careers.
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19 PYC
January 23, 2024 at 5:31 AM
I’m in a slum lately - not motivated to finish Castaway Diva or Perfect Marriage Revenge and continuing Welcome to Samdalri is becoming an uphill battle. I’m stuck at Ep 4.
Could any kind soul tell me if Ep 5 - 6 would be better? I love Shin Hye-sun and also think Wookie is much more palatable here. Side characters are not bad - but it lacks zest or pace to draw me in….
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20 welh
January 23, 2024 at 5:39 AM
What was really embarrassing about Episode 15 was Samdal and YP acting like immature teenagers when they got back together. Just cuddling? Did they not live together in Seoul? The last Bang scandal really does not make any sense for a horde of reporters to pile into Samdalri - - there is no real story there. SD was already ruined; a comeback in a village of thousand people a real comeback? But the shows continued to be crippled by juvenile solutions to adult problems.
The finale was hard to fathom. Everything worked out beyond expectations: the cheap 35mm camera quality turns into blow up art pieces without any toil by Samdal in a dark room? The Samdalri friends move to Seoul and suddenly become successful CEOs? (If you back track from the time skip that would mean they started during the heart of pandemic?) Even Kim Tae Hee’s cameo was awkward and not meaningful - - just a change of pace from the overuse of past clips (which is a stupid trend in k-dramas). The only sweet story was Hae-dal and her daughter.
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 nothingness was watching the tide go in and out every week. The faux drama aspects were flat and the attempted comic relief was mostly dull. Maybe this show could have worked better if the “drama” was set aside and it went full absurd like PEGAGUS MARKET. Alas, it did not even try to reasonably mesh the characters into a forced happy ending for everybody.
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