Dear future Beanies,

By the time you are reading this post, LND would have ended its run and that also means....we have all survived the watch ❤❤❤

P.S. For those yet to start, adjust your expectations, tis a weekender family drama with romcom and slice-of-life elements, with a dash of heavy melo in the middle. But nothing you can't survive. Be strong. Hwaiting!

Thank you for the recap, @missvictrix! I enjoyed the beginning and middle of the show, until almost to the end. But yes, instead of a bang at the finish line, all I got is a whimper of "I saw the wedding dress but didn't see the wedding!" :(
Jung Hae-in is still my rom-com man. For somebody who has lived in the US for quite some time, the FL's English was a little cringey for me. The delivery seemed memorized, not as fluent as should have been. And since I'm not familiar with the other foreign language spoken here, I leave it to those who are more knowledgeable to comment on it. If you want another 'refreshing' rom-com to watch, this is it for you.

Massive thanks to @missvictrix for sticking with us and for the fab recaps!

This show was far from perfect (and the plot holes/logic issues continued this week!) but every week it left me with a stupid grin on my face at some stage. That, and our gorgeous, cute couple(s), were enough to make this enjoyable for me, even if it's not going in any top 10 lists.

Highlights of finale week for me were:
* The BFFs (aka, leads' moms) reconciling. I really loved how Seung-hyo's mum made a point of stopping Seok-ryu's mom from belittling her role. Working women are not just career women, but also those running a household and raising kids. Our patriarchal society all too often ignores that work (so it doesn't have to pay for it!). It was great to see two very different women validate each other's choices in that scene. 👏🤛
* Drunk dads. I really enjoy their stupid shenanigans and their blossoming friendship/ shared alcoholism! (I do play a mind trick though, where I assume that every time we see them drunk it's the weekend, otherwise I have issues with a Dr treating patients or even doing surgery the day after downing a bottle of whisky - or whatever it was!) 😬👀
* I liked the 'rules' or resolutions our OTP came up with for when they argue and I loved them saying snarky things with 'honey' tacked on at the end. (I did think that if our OTP in Queen of Tears had these rules, that show wouldn't have existed...) 🤣
* one really tiny, blink-and-you-miss-it moment that I adored in Ep 16, when they're having their 'convenience store' farewell drink for Meo-eum. At the end Seok-ryu is defending her man, Seung-hyo, and she moves in front of him and wraps her arm protectively up around his neck - it was a lovely symmetry to how she also still gives him head-locks (even in her wedding dress- lol) . 💖

Frustrations:

* Well, they blatantly teased us by suggesting a 1 year time jump big wedding finale that we didn't get (but I did begrudgingly like how we got to see both of them in wedding outfits nonetheless!)

* I liked the 'family' matching t-shirts and Dan-ho and his daughter moving in with Mo-eum's mother whilst she was at the South Pole, but I had no idea why he had waited 10 months to visit her, when she was coming home in 2 months anyway...(PS I also didn't believe for a minute that any child would be totally cool with her new 'mum' leaving for a year, but hey, emotional precociousness is a trope in itself.)

* I didn't believe (nor like) that our resourceful and smart Gen Zer Na-yoon (i.e only gym client) still hadn't managed to make any progress with her crush on Seok-ryu's bro after 10 months - come on show!! Give the girl some love..😬😖

Thank you for the recap, @missvictrix! Well, I got my bean. The acting was good, the story and the pacing were not.
One root of disappointement is the false marketing as romcom. It would not have been better as a slice of life familly drama, but I wouldn't have know.

Egg sandwich is the new Subway. Same level of non sensical, but less visually intrusive. This ppl will serve to date the drama.

Once the friends to lovers and Seok-ryu's cancer stories had been resolved, there wasn't much else to keep things interesting. The tension had all been tucked out. The writing especially was the show's weakness, with far too many coincidences and grating tonal shifts.

I really enjoyed Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min's chemistry and it was what held the show together from being a complete disaster. Interestingly, I found the bickering and cite banter before they started dating to be much more fun. Then they just became like most kdrama couples and it was boring.

I thought it was lovely and the ending left me very satisfied. I don't see myself re-watching though.

I think that was as good an ending as we're going to get given how all-over-the-place this drama has been.

What I liked about it is that for both couples, the ML and 2ML encouraged and supported their significant other to excel at her career. There was no nonsense about giving up an assignment of a lifetime (Mo-eum) or opening her own restaurant (Seok-Ryu). Both men were supportive (as they should be!) of the women they love.

Will this make my rewatch list? No. But it was a good enough ending.

I know I wrote this before but this did not work as a 16-episode drama. It would have worked better in my opinion as a weekender with more episodes to explore the many different relationships more in-depth.

There was just too much story packed into too small of a space.

It's finally over! I don't know why I forced myself every week to watch these long episodes instead of dropping.
My main problem was the overly childish characters. Almost all of them were childish. Seung-hyo's parents were the worst. I only liked two ex's, but they had small roles.
Mo-eum was more mature and interesting of the three friends, but she also had moments of being foolish.
I also couldn't understand the dad's retiring. Wasn't their family struggling and mom always nagging about money?

Well, that's it. It's over. I love both Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min, and I know they're both great actors. This should've been a slam dunk, but instead we got whatever the heck this was, or was trying to be.

I've explained my dislike for Seung-hyo, but here we go again. Putting it simple, he acted like a toxic red flag for the first 10 episodes, with the show very much deciding to ignore almost all of it. But honestly, knowing this show's writing, were they even aware of what they wrote? I've said it before: flawed characters don't work if you ignore the flaws. Either embrace the flaws, or just don't make them flawed at all. Sometimes the show would kinda touch on some of his flaws, but all of that would be conveniently wrapped up 2 minutes later and then never mentioned again. And the show then suddenly making him act like the "perfect boyfriend" only made things more frustrating. Admittedly, I'm not a writer, but none of this feels like good writing.

As for Seok-ryu: Well, the show made her life hell, decided to ignore most of that, then decided to give her cancer on top of that, then they had Seung-hyo treat her like crap, and then they turned the cancer storyline into something they could blame her for. But, hey, at least she accomplished her dream I guess (frankly, that was the best aspect of her character's story, so at least they did something right).

The main romance never felt believable, or well-developed to me. The first half of the season basically just constantly went in circles in that regard, with little to no development whatsoever. The show basically pulled a classic "they always liked each other" twist without actually bothering to put in any of the effort to actually make it work. This show basically counted on the leads, and their chemistry, to somehow make this work, because the writing certainly wasn't gonna do it. But, I'm sorry, that's just simply not enough to make a romance work for me.

This show's story thrived on lazy fake-outs for the majority of it. Everything was build around that. And so, basically none of it really meant anything. Anybody remember how they tried to make us believe Seung-hyo's mom was cheating only to then reveal the guy was actually gay? Well, the show certainly doesn't, because he never appeared after that reveal again. So what was the point of that then? What was the point of that entire marriage conflict? And then I haven't even brought up the Alzeheimer fake-out...

I am curious about only one thing. So Seok ru's parent's have been struggling financially all these years. Then the father is barely 60 and decides to retire. He was running a little shop, which was not bringing lots of money. When he got scammed he was working as a designated driver. How does it work? How can he afford to retire?

I really did enjoy this show and the actors!!! I would have liked to see our couples get married, even as a double ceremony. I was happy for all of them but I really did not like how our lead fella's architect building was becoming a community center.... open up a community center instead. That building was too beautiful to hang posters on the inside walls. I really wanted to see the house he was designing. That was a cheap trick and not fair. I wanted the brother and gym owner to be a couple, just to be different, though I liked the girl very much, none the less. How did the father have money to renovate the shop? did they own the storefront? what money were his parents gonna live on, they must have had more funds then we were allowed to believe? For the second leads.... do not move in with the mom..... as a new married couple, when she comes back..... they need a place to call their own and become a couple and family. All in all.... I really enjoyed the show. What is bracken? LOL.

Ep. 15 was another whiplash of 180 degrees in character direction and positions. The moms’ reconcile after another physical fight, this time with gossipy neighbors. Really writer, is that the best you can do? I was surprised that SR did not ask her dad if she could take over and remake the shop for a new healthy food kit business.But she never voiced what she wanted to do. Instead, we get another SH sidetrack to show how good and caring he is. But the first thing that came to mind was the shanty remodel and how unbelievable it was since SH is doing more free work than client work. (I once saw a jarring documentary of a shanty town in south Gangnam. The structures were not buildings but piles of metal sheets and discarded wood set in a land fill. You can’t change shanty in day.)

Despite unemployment, forced retirements, separation anxiety, the finale decided to give us an underwhelming across-the-board, OPEN ENDING for every character chasing their current dream. We have to presume that everything will work out fine. SH and SK continue to bicker-fight on big ticket items but I was surprised she did not react when SH dropped a new restaurant business on her: surprise! No thought of the financial burden, work stress and huge failure rate because at the end the show’s true color banner of fantasy flies high.

Series overview: premise was OK, the story set up was bad, the execution sloppy, the stereotypes were too stereotype, secondary leads and cameo characters were more compelling than leads; there was a lack of rom and nearly non-existent com with forced melo that suddenly vanishes without a trace. The foundational relationship premise of the leads was continuously tied to their 7-year-old school yard days was awful and a drag. It is like a broken record: the series could have been better but it turned out average at best.

Thanks for the recap @missvictrix
This was a show that was advertised as a rom com but was actually a slice of life melo and YET it was the one drama that had the ending that actually included a decent amount of time with the couples doing the happy ever after. I was disappointed with the other two rom coms running at the same time that had LESS than 5 minutes with their main couple wrapping up the relationship.

This is not one I would watch again but I rarely do rewatches. I would put it alongside Dr Slump, and Queen of Tears as highly anticipated with elements I did not like but was a happily earned bean. Hopefully those who like slice of life, melo tones with their rom and com will feel that it is worth their time and join those of us who enjoyed it.

Please note there are NO STALKERS or whiny entitled second leads🥰

Thanks, @missvictrix for telling me how it ends. I can rest easy knowing that no one died of cancer and they all got their (meh) happy endings.

This show was in essence about different types of love—between couples, between friends, between family members, between neighbors, and even with oneself. The drama was filled with people who had human qualities, like insecurity, pride, ambition, self-doubt and frustrations, whish caused the troubles, instead of villains, murder mysteries or chaebol power struggles. The drama was no means perfect, but how it laid out and fleshed out the characters from the mains who had their own ambitions and even prior relationships with decent, smart people to the parents who had their own friendships, careers or frustrations with their careers made the interactions rich and often touching.

The show took its time to let us get to know the people and then have things echo or reappear later to have meaning. For example, the appearance of sanjeok (the rainbow skewers), which is a food traditionally served during Chuseok is meaningful in many ways. It was the first Korean food that Seung Hyo ate and that Seok Ryo makes with Seung Hyo in mind at her cooking class. When he asks why she remembers such things, and she replies that she didn’t remember as much as it came to mind, which is what often happens with people deeply imbedded in one’s life. It also reappears during Seok Ryo’s sweet proposal, which was a connection to their past and her vow to continue these small moments into the future. (I loved that all the successful proposals were private and deeply personal. Another side note, the bracelet was also callback to an earlier bickering scene when she was telling Seung Hyo’s colleagues about their past, and Seung Hyo says that she should be taken out in handcuffs and sued for slander, and Seok Ryo’s replies that he should give her a gold bracelet for everything she had done instead of suing her.)

There was, however, another layer to it as the first time Seung Hyo ate Sanjeok, Mi Suk made it for him, which goes unnoticed. Mi Suk was an overlooked, underappreciated person, which made her insecure and feel inferior leading to some unlikeable behaviors. She was an amazing cook, who willing cooked for and fed her family, friends, and even ex-fiances. The cooking instructor tells Seok Ryu’s class that the most delicious food is made when thinking of the people you are cooking for. Mi Suk did that daily. Yet, only the cooking of her husband, who did it as a profession, and of her daughter, who studied at an academy to get certifications for foods that her mother often made, were acknowledged or agonized over; her cooking was taken for granted while eaten for comfort. Only Hye Suk, her seeming best frienemy, saw the value of much of her life’s work—raising the children and her cooking. In their rooftop apology, which culminated with a simple, but profound “thank you,” Hye Suk was the one without hesistation said that her work of raising the children had value (even monetary value) and her cooking was infused with love and friendship that was...

Great comments, Beanies! Loved watching this with you. I was so hyped to see Jung Hae-In a romance role again.

*Dislikes:
-WAY TOO MUCH HITTING & KICKING! There was hitting when people were sick and/or injured.
-TOO MANY FAKE-OUTS! Seemed like there was one in every episode and this alienated me from fully engaging in the show. The implied Alzheimer's was the worst.
-BAD WHITE ACTORS & POOR PRONUNCIATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES! The whole American company plot and slimy co-workers arc was unrealistic and super-cringey!
-INCONSISTENT TONE: Show seemed unsure of itself and unauthentic: sometimes little romance or a little comedy, sometimes a melodrama (the cancer thing), sometimes a healing drama, (marriage of SH's parents), and possibly slice-of-life, sometimes a social statement (fixing house for senior lady), particularly in the last episodes with very short scenes and snarky music.
-A bracelet for engagement of marriage--no thank you! Why?
-34 year-olds with teen behavior, and delaying marriage even though they found their "perfect, forever match"--no thank you!
Poor ending: the bickering ending just didn't do it for me. There were implied wraps for all the leads, but it all felt unsatisfactory.
-"Refreshing" was the adjective in the script for any consumable PPL.
-Weddings: what is with the phobia about showing a wedding as the ending to a Kdrama romance? Is it the cost of the wardrobe and sets? Is it the idea that season 2 options are diminished?
*Likes:
-Jung-Jung was nice pairing but lacked that hot chemistry Hae-In had "Something in the Rain."
-Styling was just okay: leads needed better hairstyles but liked that their wardrobe mostly fit--not many baggy, oversized clothing on stick figure--here's looking at you Lovely Runner!
-Tropes were bearable (the fiancé finally went home, etc.), only a couple Korean-CRINGEY bathroom humor moments.
-Lots of stars.

Not worth a re-watch. Not highly recommended, even if you love the leads.

Thank you for the recap @missvictrix!
While the ending was somewhat satisfactory, I'm just glad this is over.

Can someone explain to me, why he got her a bracelet instead of ring? I didn't get that part.

All along this drama has fallen a bit short of its own logic, and maybe that’s the problem, and why these really nice endings for our characters feel flat.

I was happy with all of the happy endings - even the 2nd couple that I never really cared about. Well developed characters. Outstanding cast - particularly the veteran cast. But if a drama doesn't have a murder mystery or corporate/family intrigue or government corruption or a spell book. . . .12 episodes is enough.

I gave this 8⭐ and that hurt because JSM is my favorite kdrama actress. This was a charming, feel-good drama. I watched (raw w/out subs) while in Korea and it wasn't difficult to understand the plot even though I didn't understand the specific dialogue. And when I watched on Netflix (w/subs) - there was nothing sparkling or witty or provocative.

I didn't care about a wedding scene - but a "new beginning" for the main couple should have been them married (off-screen) and walking into the home he designed and built for her. So, perhaps @missvictrix's words were accurate - it was flat.

I hated the cancer plotline. Yes, I know it's real life, but I didn't come to this show for reality. Even after all the yelling and crying, it continued to dominate every plot point for the rest of the show. It was the reason why Seok-ryu turned down Seung-hyo's marriage proposal, the reason why Seung-hyo's mom had reservations about their marriage, the reason why Seok-ryu cries over her YouTube comments, the reason why Seok-ryu opened her restaurant -- there was just a constant reminder of "Seok-ryu had cancer!" and it was such a downer.

I disliked the Yeon-du storyline. Mo-eum's obsession with her was so cringe. No one is that obsessed with a child who's not even theirs. And like Seok-ryu's cancer, Yeon-du was the source of all our second leads' conflicts. She was the reason why Dan-ho rejected Mo-eum and why Mom disapproved of their relationship. Their whole romance revolved around Yeon-du like they were never given the chance to be their own individual characters. Then for all of it to go to naught because Dan-ho wasn't even Yeon-du's biological father. The writer already messed up this loveline in Episode 4 by making them fight over a drink and lollipop like children.

When Love Next Door's cast was first announced, I thought that Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min would have the best romantic chemistry, but the way their characters were written made them have no romantic chemistry. Seung-hyo has never loved anyone else but Seok-ryu in all his life (I don't believe he'd ever loved Tae-hui), and even though Seok-ryu said she liked him first, I never felt it from her. Seung-hyo was just not written to be a good love interest. He was petty and jealous and ignored her for three years. Even if Seok-ryu didn't have cancer, he really didn't care enough about his best friend.

One thing that I did like about our finale and wished for was instead of calling Seung-hyo "jagi" (honey), I wish that Seok-ryu would call him "aegi" (baby). That would be so cute and a throwback to their childhood like that could be their pet name! Regardless of our enjoyment of this show, thanks for all the recaps, @missvictrix!

This drama is one of the rare drama in 2024 where I really felt that characters went from the point A to B in a satisfying way.
Seok-Ryu : she started this drama at the bottom of the hole. She didn’t feel at home in USA anymore, she broke her engagement, she didn’t have a job anymore, she didn’t have people to support her. But she could reconnect with her family and told them what she had on her heart. I really liked her relationship with her father. His doubts about her new job were based on his experience in the same field but at the end, he was the one who gave her chance to explore it and be there as an adviser. She could find what she really wanted to do and then gave herself the means to do it. I love how her illness and her past job helped her to find what kind of chief she wants to be : simple and healthy food but still connected to people by technology. I love how the name of her restaurant was connected to her big love! It was nice than after all these years, she could reconnect easily with her friends. Her love language was really food, every love declaration she did to Seung-Hyo was in relation with food.

Seung-Hyo: he had to find a new dream because of his accident. But since, he really was passionate about architecture and it was his love language. He built places that were important to him like theatre, swimming pool, old neighborhood, his own office took the place of the public baths that hold lovely memories. He made every Seok-Ryu’s important places : her bedroom, her restaurant and their home. I was happy he could reconnect with his family even if he was living with them. I didn’t like his mother’s stress issues, the divorce was a perfect and simple reason to communicate and to apologize to each other. I liked his friendship with his associate and employee. They were both important and reminded him the harsh law of reality. They formed a great team. I was happy that his relationship with Mo-Eun didn’t depend on Seok-Ryu. They were good friends too.

SR+SH: I was happy with their couple. I loved their friendship and how they always were there for each other. When SH thought she was living her best life in USA, he did step back but it was to protect himself and he regretted a lot when he heard about her cancer. Yet, he didn’t hesitate to hide her from their parents when she came back even if he didn’t know why. After all the years, they were still very natural with each other and could read the other one. I liked the story with the exes who were nice people for once! They accepted that they’re not what our heroes needed. It didn’t bother me we didn’t get the wedding because I’m not a wedding girl, the 2 proposals and the bracelet were enough because they were lovely and really corresponded to our characters. But Netflix subtitles sucked, when she talked about the bracelet they translated “You should repay me instead suing me”, it’s sad because her words were the reason he bought a bracelet instead of a ring. The...

I usually LOVE dramas until the end, but boy this could have easily ended with episode 14. I guess I never warmed up to the characters (except all the kids). I LOVE all the actors (Jung Haein and Jung So Min are my absolute favorites), but the drama just left me with my bat in my shoulder. Interestingly, the only time I lost it was when we found out Danho lost his ENTIRE family. 😭

Well, I have to admit that on Wednesday I racked my brains to remember how it all ended, only to realise I had forgotten to watch the last episode! Good heavens! I adore all the acting but the story was really pretty lame, and it doesn't matter how superb the actors, a dumb script is a dumb script and they all did well to make it as believable as possible.

Also.....I've been reading through the comments and I'm amazed that anyone who DISLIKED the show and made a critical comment is called a "troll"! Dear me, what happened to freedom of speech? I guess I'll find out, now that I have commented adversely on the drama. Death threats, maybe? Come on, folks, we are commenting on plays, entertainment, dramas, not real life! If I wanted real life I would watch documentaries, not KD's!

There were a lot of themes, emotions, and dynamics that resonated with me and I really enjoyed the exploratory observations of the various relationships - just wished the drama was more cohesive. It really did feel like a weekender that was cut up to fit into 16 episodes. Dan-ho and Mo-eum wasn't my fave couple and I liked them together, but it felt like they needed more scenes.

I couldn't really warm up to Seung-hyo (but hey! I'm not the one marrying him!) and the Seok-ryu+Seung-hyo couple doesn't even touch the top 100 of kdrama couples, BUT I still enjoy the relationship - friendship and exploration of moving into a romance - aspect. I enjoyed most of the side stories and the relationships between the various characters.

Something I really loved about the ending was the vow-renewal of SH's parents and how Lavender were all together. I'm reminded of me and my high school and college friends with whom I'm still close with. I hope that can be us in 20 years, even though many of us are hundreds of miles away from each other. I hope in 20 years, we can still be all healthy and happy with everyone's kids doing well.

The dad not regretting his time running the restaurant was also a punch in the gut since my dad also cooked for living and passed before he could really retire. I love how Seok-ryu's dad went from being totally against Seok-ryu wanting to be a cook to being her supporter.

One random note is that all of Seung-hyo's side-renovation/redecorating projects take an impossibly short time and seem to cost next-to-nothing. The writer must not have done any home improvement projects ever.

I've liked Jung Hae In in all the roles I've watched him in, so I watched to the end just out of loyalty 😅, and the feeling that he did a good job despite everything.

I wished this drama could have been IT for him, but it was so bogged down by the absolutely horrible writing and clunky direction and editing, it went down like a lead balloon for me.

The writer of this and QoT seem like they did their life's work on their previous shows, and just don't have it anymore. Everything just seemed old-fashioned in a wrong way... I've seen a few older shows that seemed way more progressive than this.

I could go on about everything that I found cringe about it- the 2FLs child+ superhero obsession, the overacting from all the side characters, the weird dynamics between literally everyone, etc etc, but nothing will come close to how awful the FLs mom was right to the very end. I really hope no mom in SK actually behaves like that. Everyone is saying this show had no villains, but I actually hated her more than I'd have done a proper serial killer 🤣

There were bits I liked a lot, which were mostly when people actually "talked" to each other, but unfortunately few and far between. I liked how they resolved the arcs at the end, and glad there was a vow renewal rather than the expected wedding. Also that the 2FL still went to the South Pole.

My life this past week has been a reflection of Seok Ryu's, in that I've started a really intensive patisserie course, so I'm also wishing for a fairy godmother to set up a restaurant for me too now. Though I'd also wish to be consulted about it, and a few extra hands hired for the kitchen LoL.

Not a rewatch for me sadly, no matter my fondness for JHI. I do hope he finds a better show that shows off his acting chops, and gives him a good romance alongside.

LND was an okay watch and I'm glad I watched it. While the storylines were weak and felt uneven, the acting of JSM and JHI was LND's strength. I was frustrated by the many incidences of unnecessary angst but I liked the happy ending.

I gained a greater appreciation for the show after I discovered a series of articles which helped me to understand the many cultural references that were lost in translation, and why this show was so popular in SK. I'll include a link but if that does not work, try Googling "Regina Kim and things you may have missed in Love Next Door". She writes for Forbes. Here's the first link, there are several more articles that go through ep 16: https://www.forbes.com/sites/reginakim/2024/09/21/love-next-door-15-things-you-may-have-missed-in-episodes-1-4/

For example, Seok-Ryu gives Seung-Hyo a pomegranate tree to congratulate him on his new company. Her name literally means pomegranate, so she jokes that she's giving him herself as a gift, and there are other instances of this same play on words later in the show. Like when the tree is dying he wants to save both her and his business. Also the confusion over a bracelet versus a ring makes sense given Regina Kim's explanation. There were also many lines related to popular SK songs and movies etc. that made scenes more interesting once this is understood. Regina explains how rich this drama is in cultural nuances that Western audiences likely miss. I enjoy learning more about SK culture from a SK native who speaks fluent English, I learn a lot.