I need more to make an opinion.

My issue is it doesn't seem this show will adress the patriarchy issue of Confucianism and just took the best part of it and make the ML a hero. I thought the show will be more a clash between the leads and it doesn't look like the FL will be a wake-up call to his mode of life.

It's nice she didn't reject him when he was a student because of that but she could have made him realize the bad sides of Confucianism.

Her work setting reminded me Welcome to Samdal-ri, except she's not the star but the poor employee.

I don't know if I will continue with this cause I just can't stand the female lead character. It's not a knock against the actress but specifically the character. I find it hard to stand such an embarassing or pathetic character. And I feel kinda bad for feeling that way cause I'm sure there's folks who relate or act or respond like her but yeah, it's just hard for me to want to watch her.

Her crush/ex was trash and it sucks that he doesn't get any comeuppence for his actions. Her work place is messed up. How does a confrontation about *her* design being copied end up with her being the bad guy because she didn't set up their date like they wanted (when they even LIED and said it was for "work purposes"). What stopped either of them from standing on that long line FOR THEMSELVES to make reservations for THEIR date? Sigh, it's so frustrating and annoying to watch.

It is interesting seeing the historical look and mannerisms contrasted with the modern world. It's a bit hard to actually imagine it (though I *do* know that kinda situation can exist).

I don't know how I feel about this show overall. So far, I think I like the male lead's bodyguard most.

After the first episode, I decided not to watch any more. I barely lasted the 60 minutes, the plot wasn't gripping, the humour didn't work at all and the characters were just embarrassing.
I was actually on the verge of switching off immediately after the first scene.

I also realised that I don't enjoy watching people in this day and age still living by the rules of the Joseon era.

Thank you for the recap.

I'm so very glad that someone else apart from me also finds these episodes to be "adorably sweet". 😍

I would like to follow our OTP in their journey towards helping each other become a better version of themselves.

While she did try to stand up for herself, the FL got shut down cruelly. Can't wait for the FL to find her way to the top of the designer pyramid. I'll be happy to see the back of the cheating ex-boyfriend. 

Hopefully we will see the ML sketch his webtoon. How cute he looked in the academy like a little Joseon Harry Potter. 😂 I appreciate politeness in a man. The ML therefore has my ❤ and gratitude.

I'm really interested in the ML's bodyguard. I think she's a very capable lady. Also she and the FL's brother seem set to give us some interesting moments together.

The village story seems like a serial killer equivalent in a rom-com. I think there is a story there and the (apparently) evil guy Gamjjok has more than a fleeting connection with the village.

I think the village story works like a timeslip + fish out of water vibe in the drama.

Hwaiting to the OTP to reach new heights while taking out time to spend happy moments together. I love how astutely Yoon-bok came to the conclusion that "teacher" was annoyed with him. 😅 I also like how straightforward Hong-do was about her embarrassment. How refreshing. This is a OTP I want to root for.

I haven’t completed the second episode.
I was a bit bored by the first. I do like it when the leads are together but outside of it not much.
Her workplace is awful with some god awful people. I don’t care for what he is doing.
Also the village, I wish I got a bit more on that in the early Episode. Are people staying there by choice or did they end up by mistAKE? can they leave? Are people keeping the lifestyle and not the old school class system?

I find the FL acting a bit too much. I know it’s supposed to be such for the romcom but it bothers me.
I will probably continue just to see the leads interactions which is kinda nice. But I don’t know if they will have a conflict over Joseon vs modern or the show will just use the differences for fun?

I came and I tried and I quit, lol. One of my least favorite tropes in a drama is abjectly humiliating the FL for an entire episode. It is gross and it screams of humbling for no reason. So that in and of itself made me dislike the first episode. The second episode had a worse issue for me, I was bored. I didn't find his modern bumbling cute or endearing, I just didn't care. That is the death knell unfortunately for me. I hope those who like it continue to do so.

Tl;dw for ep.1: Quirky Confucian boy STUNS evil foreigners with ADVANCED combat skills!

In general, i loved this drama, but only when it was being a romcom. the Vine sound effects, the animations, his goofy misunderstandings, the little bits of physical comedy are great. The FL is the cutest, what the kids call a "smol bean". like when he prostrated, she was so surprised and confused, she just mirrored him 😭😭 I also like she still has a backbone. the way she set up the ex and her awful senior at the restaurant was cool but in a realistic way.

What I didn't like was the stolen antiquities stuff or all the usual workplace toxicity. The former I couldn't care less about, but is probably going to be present throughout. I can't wait until she's free of the latter, then we can hopefully get more focus on the romance.

Look, I'm a nerd obsessed with history but even I think these guys are taking it too far. This dude is having conniptions over the most chaste club wear I've ever seen 💀 Joseon grandpa seems to have resurrected the caste system???

P.S. Kdrama bingo - atleast one (1) tragically dead parent who was lost in mysterious circumstances.

I don't care for this actress, so I wasn't going to watch, but thanks to @starrygazer I'm going to give it a try. Even if I end up not sticking with it, I'm going to keep reading the recaps as I'm learning new vocabulary: "in creases" and "brolly". @starrygazer keep up the good work!

I feel like there's something cultural I'm missing that's really impacting my ability to understand this. At first I thought the ML was just, like, a reenactor at a historical village, but over time it seemed like he genuinely rejected modern society, like he's a Korean equivalent of an Amish person. Does this mean that, after he's solved the artifact thing, he's gonna return back? Isn't that a major barrier to being with the FL?

I'm also confused about the FL's relationship. Was she actually dating the guy and he was just stringing her along, or did she just think she was and interpreted friendly gestures as romantic?

Honestly, I'm a sucker for both a buttmonkey FL and unrequited love (that first scene was super up my alley), so I'm invested.

I really like L (including Meow, the Secret Boy, which I loved!), but the first episode of DTLM didn't do it for me for a variety of reasons, most mentioned in the comments already. In particular, this FL character type is not appealing to me, at least not in this extreme form. I get the gist of the story, the romcom format, and the likely messages they're trying to deliver, but I'm not convinced they're going to be able to pull it off. With so many other new dramas to watch right now, this one is going to be a pass for me.

“Confucian teachings of a humane and moral society,” my foot. So people are washing clothes in a stream, hauling water in buckets, cooking in a dirt-floor kitchen, and bowing to their social superiors voluntarily, when they have other options? Maybe this is supposed to be Enchanted in Korea, but it’s not hitting the right notes at all. Unless it’s Brigadoon but with kimchi and they don’t know there’s a 21st century out there, I call bullshit. And the best thing about modern-day dramas is the lack of gats - not to mention Joseon mores, manners, and oppressive ideology - so this is the worst of both worlds. (Also, how come the only Black actor with a line gets to say nothing but ugly obscenities?) The latest iteration of the annoying, demanding, whiny younger brother with a bad auburn perm was the last straw for me. This might be my quickest drop ever - out in half an hour.

Random thought that just occurred to me: how did the ML know about webcomics, but not about microwaves?

The humor did not work more me. It was more of an uncomfortable second hand embarrassment.

I like Lee Yoo-young but L has no charisma, the way he speak Joseon dialect is cringe.
And who want to live in that village?? Who got to decide who become the yangban and who don't? The writer wants to promote it like something special and need to be preserved, me like huh??

DARE TO LOVE ME is simply fun.

Thank you for the recap @starrygazer
I am loving this drama. It will be interesting to see how the family will balance life in the village and in modern Seoul as the siblings will be in relationships with the bodyguard and the young Master respectively. Will her brother make his living writing a webtoon about a time traveller using his experience in the village as real world building research? It could be a similar vibe to the Japanese drama Isakai Izakaya Nobu where a modern diner has one door leading to current day Japan where the owners live and another goes back in time to an unknown country with characters with similar dress to Europeans a few centuries ago.

This was boring and silly and ML's acting which I dont generally mind made things worse this time around. Not for me. Dropping.

Thanks @starrygazer for the great DARE TO LOVE ME recap.
Kudos to you and your colleague @unit (recapping THE ATYPICAL FAMILY) for willing to be beanies’ ‘flack catchers’. (Credit author Tom Wolfe for the term). I am watching and enjoying both.
A couple thoughts:
1. Lee Yoo-young (Hang-do). I have seem 3 of LYY’s dramas (TUNNEL (2017), YOUR HONOR (2018) and INSIDER (2022). In all 3 she played a character wrapped pretty up tight (for males Junho has this character down pat). In DTLM Lee Yoo-young does a 180 to those type characters and let it all hang out in episode one. The opening scene itself (taking place in the future) was a bit shocking.
2. L (Yoon-bok). How he can say his lines with a straight face is beyond me but credit to him. The physicality he showed in NUMBERS (2023) he brought with him and displayed early on. He has kept himself in shape. Interesting he seems willing to embrace casual wear while out investigating (undercover if you will) but returns to hanbok when he returns home (credit to his ace female bodyguard Yoon-ah for setting him up in nice digs). So far when he is back home we have seen him mostly in the equivalent of Joseon pjs which he is quite willing to wear outside on the deck. A personal note: I am so glad Yoon-bok has dispensed with the manggeon (nobleman’s headband) and let his short hair loose.
Rom-com is not my favorite genre but I am going along for the ride to see what happens to our couple.

The poster looked cute and so was the interaction between the leads. I also found the ML's fish out of water scenes to be funny and I liked his bodygaurd, but the rest of the the plot annoyed the heck out of me. It is one thing to have a ML follow moral's from Joseon era, but it is totally rubbish to have a FL continuously being harassed at workplace. I am out for this sole reason. Also, Lee Yoo Young is a great actor but her acting is so over the top in this drama and does not suit her. Thanks @starrygazer for the recap and welcome to DB :)

I loved the scene where our ML tries to dress up for the club by wearing his best beads with his Gat. "I dressed up so much !"