Just watch it. And rewatch it.

Thank you @missvictrix for the wonderful recaps. I could feel your love for this show through your writing.

I absolutely loved this drama, from start to finish, every scene, every frame.
I have never felt so immersed in a drama and the characters journey throughout. Full credit to the wonderful writing, excellent direction, brilliant casting and beautiful cinematography and OST.
Everything just fell into place.

Even though this drama was tagged a sports drama, when the show ended I felt that this was a story about a bunch of friends. How an event (a murder) shook them up, removed the grounding comfort from their feet while they were children and sent them on a journey. And eventually the friends righted the wrong and found their way back to each other, to go on living. They reclaimed their happiness. When the show ended I was so happy for the friends. They needed each other, to be together, to be a whole. So seeing them all together happy made my heart so full. filled with warmth. And it was so sweet that Uk-ie was added to the group.

The last episode was epic. I really liked the fact that Du-Shik was not at the arena. It would have been so cliche. Instead, Baek-Du won that championship using his inner strength. He derived strength from his father, family and Du-Shik’s words. He relied on his determination and will. Watching him win the championship was so cathartic. I could feel the weight lifting off his shoulders. I loved that the coach and his team gave him that alone time (they knew he needed to savor that moment with himself) and only later they jumped in to celebrate.

Baek-Du’s family - What a beautiful family filled with love!! Watching Baek-Du’s father watch his son win the match made me all teary eyed. Such powerful acting. Momma bear was precious!

Jang Dong Yoon was perfect as Baek-Du. I loved him so much here! And I hope to see Lee Jae Joon (Jin Su) in more dramas!
Choi Moo Sung can make me feel emotions without saying a word! Is this man even real?
Jang Young Nam should do more happy roles, she has such a sweet smile!

Thank you 2024, for giving us this show!!

This drama as a whole felt perfect to me. Not that it *was* perfect--I would have liked both the romance to begin and the forehead slaps to end sooner--but it was perfect for me, right now, at this point in my life. It made me feel so many things and every time, those emotions snuck up on me, which made the story feel that much more authentic. Although I love me some kdramas or I wouldn't be here, and they do hit emotional chords that resonate for me at least several times a year, I don't often cry while watching. But this drama made me cry before I even realized it was happening. That ending was just so right and . . . perfect.

Like many others already have, I must praise Jang Dong-yoon for a revelatory performance given with every part of his body. He *became* Kim Baek-du through the duration of this series so that there wasn't even one look or gesture that didn't convey something about the character and what he was feeling in that moment. I've watched many of his dramas and always liked him fine, and then I'd kindof forget about him. But this was truly an unforgettable performance, and I'm excited for his future.

More of these types of dramas, please, k-drama creators.

I have to work now but just wanted to say thank you to @missvictrix for her moving and thoughtful recaps, to my fellow watchers and commenters - we maybe few but we were mighty and devoted - and to our wonderful LFIS. I hadn’t cried as much in a drama since I watched “Mr Sunshine”. I felt joy, gratitude, elation and loss in quick succession for the final ep. Our Dooshika (I’m using banmal because we got to know them so well) was so wonderful as an honest and ethical cop but more importantly as a gloriously prickly, moving and loveable protagonist. And, our Beakduya - our kind, sensitive in his own way, honest, awkward at times and confident at others, intuitive, funny and adorable other protagonist. You might not exist in real life but I wish you did. I loved your character and your interactions with your longtime friend, Dooshik. May every human in our tough real world have the privilege of being loved by someone with such loyalty, fierceness and affection. I will miss LFIS and then some.

Such a heartwarming drama, JDY was so endearing in this role. He was the glue that held everyone together and I am genuinely happy for this happy ending.

Some things I loved about this drama:

1. Miran's hair. It was so beautiful I now want to dye mine peach, which is a terrible idea.
2. Jinsu - the actor is dangerously charismatic and I would love to watch him again. His smile in the cafe with Miran in ep 10 or 11 should be enough to cast him in every upcoming drama.
3. Choi Moosung as Baekdu's dad, but that's almost a given.
4. The brothers.
5. The ssireum crew. There was a scene in ep 9 when they were gossiping about Baekdu and Dushik while throwing coins and once one guy had used his "intuition" to guess they liked each other he said "you know I'm intuitive" to another, who promptly agreed. Such a throwaway line but I loved it, because it made you believe these characters had relationships, in jokes, and understandings beyond when the camera was on them.
6. The choice to make Baekdu's big ssireum rival his friend, and not a cardboard cutout baddie.
7. The romance worked for me if I just blocked out the fact that they were both in their 30s.
8. It's probably the best handling of a murder within a small town story I've seen - never my favourite, but it added to the characters here and never took over, even if the ending of that storyline was a bit by numbers.
9. Lastly, Baekdu is a top tier kdrama character on level with Na Hee do and others throughout the years. An unforgettable performance and beautifully written.

Thanks, @missvictrix. This was a very good drama, in my opinion, with tremendous acting, pretty remarkable cinematography, and some of the most realistic sports action I’ve seen, especially since, as far as I can tell, the show made only limited use of doubles.

But I’m going to be critical of the later episodes a little bit. The theme of “late blooming” was undoubtedly important for Baek Du in ssireum, but I wanted more of it in other aspects of his life. He was 30 but still 11 at the beginning, and he was that at the end. Also, there still was no indication how he and Du shik would sustain a long distance relationship. Looking to the future, no doubt he would remain unchanged and totally devoted, but how long would it take for Du Shik to realize her “dream?” 30 years?

I was also slightly dissatisfied with the way they left the relationship of the friends, with an irritated Du Shik chasing Seok Hui around the table. I get that viewers are supposed to chuckle at the way these adults are still children at heart, but Du shik chasing Seok Hui was never shown as a key part of the friends dynamic as children, and the irritation at Seok hui stupidity seemed drummed up in the two last meeting at adults. Since the drama was movingly sentimental, why end it with a kind of yuk-yuk they are still kids at heart. why not just have them more subtly sitting around the table, teasing Baek Du and Du-shik, so the focus was on that dynamic rather than the one between Du shik and Seok-hui?

Finally, I felt the last episode neglected another theme I really appreciated about the drama-- besides Baek-du’s late blooming ssireum skills-- this theme was the way community operates in a small town—in this case a complex combination of support, recrimination and redemption. In the last episode, I would have appreciated another shot of the way the gossipers now understood the circumstances of the deaths, and what they now made of Du shik. It would have been great even if we had briefly seen some of her meal with Baek du’s family, for example.

Though the last episode (outside of the great ssireum action) left me wanting a little more, l have to return to praise of this drama. I will not become a ssireum fan, but I learned a lot about a sport which I knew nothing. Baek du was one of the most likeable male characters I’ve encountered in kdramas, and Jang Dong Yoon was tremendous in the role. Although I was disappointed that the romance was not fully developed, the chemistry and general interaction between the two leads made me really root for them as a couple. And even though I wanted more of the small town life, I appreciated its portrayal of this community. Overall, an excellent watch!

The final episode really was perfect. It managed to do everything it had to do -- solve the crime, capture the murderer, have Baek-du blossom into a champion, and finally hear a confession from Doo-shik. And wrapped all these events with a kind of everyday and understated but very real and warm love. The bromances between Jin-su and Baek-du, and Dong-seok and Baek-du. The support of Baek-du's father, family, teammates, and the community on the bus. And most of all, the bond between the five childhood friends, along with their new buddy, Hyeon-uk. Well done. Really well done. And a joy to watch.

I wish I had watched it sooner so I could have joined recap convos, but did watch episodes 1-10 the end of last week after falling into this heartwarming drama. Thanks to everyone for continually gushing over it, so I finally got over my sports show reservations to give it a try. Great last episode.
It was the first time a Korean show really surprised me with who was the murderer, as the character was quite minor and I hadn’t realized he was old enough to be a possible suspect.
It was interesting they didn’t solve the long distance problem of the two leads. There wasn’t time to properly address it so they just left the problem, which I think is nice even though I’m still wondering how they make it work. I also think the two of them are too deeply connected to forget or give up on each other. I’d also love some more time with the friends.

Thank you missvictrix for recapping the show.
I'm sad it's finished and I will miss all these characters but especially Baek-du. 
What a wonderful performance by JDY and I will look out for his next role.
 I appreciate the amount of work and effort by the actors to shoot the wrestling match, in the bts they mentioned it took two days to film. I've never been a fan of wrestling but I think because ssireum was such an integral part of Baek-du's character it made you care all the more.  
I'm also really glad for once how the murder mystery was worked into the show and that it didn't become the main focus of the plot and last episode.
Snowball, you were hard done by in the last episode and we didn't get to see you have a farewell scene, sigh :)
Has anybody watched My Man is Cupid? It doesn't have great reviews and I was wondering if it was worth the time to watch JDY? 

Baek Du was the heart of this drama!! It was so good to see him back in the ssireum match and grab that big, thrilling victory. I like that he gave it his all despite not seeing Doo Shik in the audience. He had the talent. He just wasn't using it and wasn't focused back then. I did not know the final match had 5 rounds instead of 3 so I was almost disheartened. Baek Du kneeling down in the sand and being overwhelmed with emotions brought me to unexpected tears. The shot of his father watching him and the flower petals falling down were all nice details.

It was also a heartwarming touch that the townspeople were all in one bus headed to his match. Their mutual looks of anticipation and shouts of joy.

There wasn't enough scenes with the whole group, but I did love the separate ones. I'm glad we got to see the 3rd round of Jin Su and Baek Du's match-up. Nice to see their friendship has fully mended and that Baek Du was serious when he says he's confident.

Doo Shik's confession scene was so like her and Baek Du's reaction was the cutest. Their romance was always simple and subtle. I didn't expect anything big in the finale.

Maybe I could have used one more episode showing the town's reaction to the true culprit. I thought there would have been some fallout. Then again, the murder of Mi Ran's father happened years ago and not everyone is affected now. And I wasn't in this drama for the crime element.

I'm happy with Baek Du's journey and that he's happy. ;-; ❤️ He was such an endearing, winsome character to root for.

Another amazing performance by Jang Dong Yoon. I was also mesmerized by Lee Joo Myung's acting. Hope to see them in more good dramas!

Thank you for recapping this drama, @missvictrix! Always a fan of your style. ^^

@missvictrix Thank you for another wonderful recap and for sharing the love for this drama with us.

I was disappointed with the first 15 minutes of the last episode because the murderer,his motive, threatening and fleeing were lame, but the rest of the episode had me smiling wide. The show was never dramatic and even the final ssireum match was heartening to watch. As far as the characters are concerned, I share most of the sentiments of other beanies who have commented before me.

Also, I am happy that Jang Dong Yoon has another memorable role in his resume.

A few critical observations now that I have gushed enough about LFIS: I wish:
1. Dooshik was written to be more adventurous about her feelings and didn’t wait for him to make the first move. Women need to be shown to have sexual agency even if it is just by initiating a kiss. It would have been so much fun to see Baekdu get all awkward, starry-eyed and lose his mind with happiness. Also, a minor feminist victory that could have had a ripple effect.
2. Dooshik and Baekdu were shown to discuss the logistics of being together. How would they negotiate that? What compromises were they prepared to make? I feel that we was rubbed! I would have cut down on a few scenes involving the peripheral town people and added those scenes, and,
3. We knew more about Jinsu and the other characters. As many of us said before, it would have enhanced the drama even more. For instance, Jinsu affectionately touched Miran’s arm a number of times. I assumed those were scripted so were we to assume he liked her and that those touches were welcome? But what about her? I wish we could see more of what might have happened between them.

Back to work….Sigh.

This show was such a gift. Kim Baek Du is a character whose name and way of being I will long remember. I haven’t written about any show as much as this one because I love it so.

The ending answered the question I had in the first couple of episodes: why Baek Du seemed a little numb when he was wrestling. It seemed incongruous to how he was at other times. Like his father said, some flowers bloom later. However, what kept Baek Du from winning at ssireum was that it was one place where he did not allow himself to be true to himself whereas at other times, he just showed himself without any self-consciousness or facade. After Du Sik left, in addition to losing the joy and fun of ssireum, he stopped trusting his own intuition about ssireum. It’s as if the training and the rules took over, and at matches, he didn’t use his intuition. In the end he won because in addition training, which he did diligently (he ran laps in the background while his teammates gossiped about Du Sik’s departure), at the match he finally just trusted himself and his training and wrestled how his intuition told him to do, the “Kim Baek Du’s ssireum” as Du Sik calls it. He found that 11-year old boy again who trusted himself when he wrestled.

There were so many greet moments in the last episode in addition to Baek Du finally winning and Du Sik’s confession:
-Baek Du standing by Du Sik’s height marking that she left him
-Baek Du and Jinsu’s match: was it a coaching move to check if he was ready or to motivate him? Was it rivalry? With Jinsu, we may never know or it could be all of the above. I also found it moving how they wrestled under the banners of all the champion wrestlers who at the beginning seemed like formidable legends but by the end seem like Baek Du’s biggest supporters as we got to know his father and brothers.
-Baek Du using his wish to have Du Sik fulfill her dreams, just like she wanted him to wrestle with the joy and love of ssireum that she knew he had.
-Dad’s almost tears in so many scenes. Gawd, I think Choi Moo Sung as Tae Baek made me cry more than any other actor in this show. He was a total boss in his physical and emotion presence.
-Baek Du and Dong Seok backstage air fistbump
-Jin Su smiling: Is he the Mary Tyler Moore of LFITS by being able to turn the world on with his smile?
-Baek Du showing the lipstick that got wiped onto his white jacket sleeve to Du Sik with the biggest smile while they were getting ribbed for kissing

The couple of things I didn’t like:
-The murderer reveal. The dduk seller’s gum chewing, high strung, agitated behavior seemed at odds with the scenes of him earlier. It seemed highly unlikely that he could have kept that side of him under wraps for 20 years.
-This show made me believe in the characters so much that I was actually offended on their behalf that the writers didn’t let his family see most of Baek Du’s tournament and final match. I understood why they had Du Sik miss it—sure, that was a...

For the episode, it was a nice conclusion. I didn't really have doubt about Baek-Du's victory but the fight was really well filmed. I was happy he could focus on his match and on his disapointment to be alone.

Both Doo-Shik and Mi-Ran could find closure with the past. I was a little bit disapointed that there wasn't reaction about the fact Doo-Shik was really back as a cop in the town. But I found cute that the athletes were sorry they didn't make a goodbye meal for her.

In a general way, I'm not sure if Baek-Du really knows more about this future than at the beginning. He won a championship but he's still "old" to be a wrestler, he won't able to do it for long. His discussion with his father reminded me Mulan's one. So I'm happy that he could win and showed what his father and Jinsu knew about him. But now?

I liked Jang Dong-Yoon in this role, he was really great as the innocent Baek-Du and in the fight scenes. But he was so good that he couldn't see this character in a romance with Doo-Shik. I liked they were soulmate but as friends, not lovers. And Doo-Shik is coming back? She stayed in Seoul to realize her dream?

I liked the other characters : his family, the group of friends, the market people (but we didn't really know what happened to the wife of the killer), the ssireum's community. I wished we could see the friends group sooner. Their interactions were really lovely.

This drama was beautiful and had a lot of heart.

(One of the instrumental OST reminded Backdraft soundtrack).

One of the best dramas of the year, period! With one of the best romantic relationships, period. I really hope it gets award recognition but did it do good enough in the ratings? From what I see it didn’t. I hope it gets a lot of nominations.

LIKE FLOWERS IN SAND stuck the landing beautifully.

And cemented Jang Dong-Yoon as one of my favourite K-Drama actors. What a tremendous talent! If he continues on this trajectory in his career and development as an actor, he'll become just as skilled and versatile as Lee Dong-Wook, Namgoong Min, and Kim Dong-Wook as he gets older. LDW and KDW in particular are extremely good at inhabiting their characters and having seen some of JDY's dramas so far, he's on his way to reaching their calibre.

If anyone had told me before that I would have loved a drama so much with wrestling in it, I would have scoffed (but no where as adorably as Baekdu) in their faces. We live and learn , right? Good storytelling such as in “LFIS” convinced a sport non-liker like me to not only tolerate but willingly learn a tiny bit about ssireum.

@elinor: Why haven’t you come by?

Baek-Du's victory scene: sigh! Baek-Du fist pump, Baek-Due kneeling in the sand with confetti: tears! Baek-Du wishing to be with his friends every day: heartwarming!

Jang Dong Yoon's skill was amazing in this show. He totally became a wrestler--the way he carried himself in the ring, his facial expressions and his attitude were incredible. Four dramas & two movies in 2023: JDY's victory lap!

Thank you missvictrix for the wonderful recaps & you're right this kdrama showed the world of Baek-du in such a beautiful lens that I can't help but gush also with the cinematography of the show. The movements during the final match was a joy to watch coz you know the real Baek-du showed up, he was confident and yet still friendly with his opponent. This is a testament of a true & kind character which I think is lacking in most shows of the moment.

Thank you beanies for the commentary & may we have more shows that celebrate the goodness in humanity!

A drama I could enjoy from start to finish. Any niggles were minor. The tone was always just right, the comedy from Baek-du simply lovely. The villagers were never cringeworthy (which is rare!), the sport scenes done so well and even the murder mystery integral part of the story. By allowing Baek-du win the championship without the presence of Doo-shik, the drama avoided any cheesiness. The villagers listening to the competition stuck in the bus was another great scene.

It is possible to write and direct a good drama with a splendid cast!

All I can add is that I loved it, the story was so believable, Jang Dong-yoon was Baek-du, loved hearing the dialect, made my heart so happy,and the ocean scenes made me miss Korea.again.

It was such a lovely drama. I loved ssireum parts more compared to whole murder mystery but it was so nicely incorporated in drama that I didn't mind it.
In terms of drama quality ENA is hitting out of part. It is second ENA drama I have loved just this year and we have 11 more months to go.

I can't disagree with the critiques: The murderer could have been breadcrumbed better. The small town issues needed more closure. And the romance could have used a bit more oomph. Baek-du is possibly the first romantic male lead who has evoked nothing but maternal feels from me. 😀

But these be but piddling concerns. Because it's been a lovely, heartwarming drama, anchored by excellent depiction of sports, small town life and characters. The cast was great, esp. Jang Dong-yoon, as everyone has noted. A wonderful start to 2024. I hope the rest of the year follows suit.

I can't write a thorough review right now because I want to stay in this very satisfied place I am in after finishing both episodes 11 and 12. This is now in my top 5 all-time favorites dramas.
Thank you, @missvictrix for your lovely recaps and for the Beanies here who shared the love. It was a happy time coming to love Like Flowers in the Sand.

A perfect way to start the new year. Can't say how much I loved the cinematography of this. The light, the colors (so much blue!) and the OST. For me, it's the first time that a kdrama manages to depict a seaside village in such an endearing, perfect way. It felt like a real place, with real people. And it was so sunny... I don't know, something about the light was perfect.

As everyone has already said the true jem of this drama was the main lead. Baek Du is like the cutest, sweetest, funny ML ever. And it's not easy to find such an original protagonist in a drama. We know this far too well, so I've welcomed him with all my heart.

Truth is I would have loved a copule more episodes. I think some characters needed better development (the FL included). I loved to see the group of silly friends coming together but it was a littlte too late. Unfortunately. Another side I was not crazy about was the crime stuff. It was pretty inconsistent. I managed to guess the culprit far too soon but in the end it really didn't matter since he had no motive and most of his actions made no sense.

But that's okay, it was just a minor part of the story and not a very important one. On the other hand I really loved the sport side of the story and I really appreciate how realistic the matches looked. I didn't know anything about ssireum and now I have some appreciation for it.

I wish we could have more of these dramas. Dramas that have a strong vision, a distinctive look and feeling and that are able to tell real emotions and passion. But for now I'm really happy!

https://mydramalist.com/article/i-ate-until-i-felt-like-throwing-up-jang-dong-yoon-s-talks-about-transforming-into-a-wrestler

I was really bored the first couple of episodes but when I tell you I came to love this little drama... Very good writing, such a warm atmosphere of community, friendship and support. I especially loved this cast of characters and their bonds with each other. Perhaps my fav drama of the year so far.

Kdrama casting ever amazes me. So many of the LFIS actors were their characters, but a special mention for Jang Dong-yoon as Baek-du, Lee Jae Joon as Jin-su, and Choi Moo-sung and Jang as mama and papa. The child actors were all so believable as younger counterparts.

Beanie comments were spot-on, and once again @misvictrix has much added to my enjoyment of the drama with her observations and writing. Perhaps she and colleagues might consider running open threads on “Our favorite superbly-cast characters”. Also “ Our favorite Kdramas with lamentably small Korean audience share”. If such threads already ran, I am sad to have missed them.

I appreciated @elinor 's comment from recap 7-8 about Baek-du:
I think Jang Dong-yoon is FABULOUS in this role. Manchildren like this exist and he has completely mind-melded with this one. I love this character and his portrayal of it to death. But the FL/ML relationship is sadly sinking into the stereotype that women's highest and best role in life is as mothers and that men are eternal children who need perpetual mothering.

Spot-on comment after episode 8. But I was happy to see that the last episodes turned the stereotype. Baek-su understands that Yu-gyeong’s goals in Seoul carry as much weight as his ssireum ones (though we reasonably speculate that after she succeeds, she might want to return to the town where she was most happy). And Yu-geoung did not downgrade her pursuits in order to stand by his side -- and as consequence, his win was completely his own.

Other “manchild” dramas that I enjoyed are perhaps worth calling to mind here: Prison Playbook (Park Hae-su plays intellectually lite, often intuitively wise, and driven to succeed in baseball), Where the Camellia Blooms (Kang Ha-Neul plays intellectually lite, beloved by the town mothers, and driven to succeed as policeman), and Tim, an 1979 Australian film (a young Mel Gibson plays a child-like “developmentally impaired”(wikipedia), delightful 24-year old who has a romance with older woman).

I can’t think of any female counterpart Womanchild in Kdramas or otherwise. In Reply 1988, Hyeri plays a delightfully lighthearted young woman who couldn't pass university entrance exams, and beloved by all the neighborhood. But she was professionally successful and didn't need mothering (rather, she mothered manchild Taec).