I have yet to find a romantic drama that rivals Tell Me You Love Me until this one arrived. It is beautifully shot and acted indeed!

I think this drama would have fared better for me if it was one drop. The non-linear storytelling has left me without a super emotional attachment to either of our leads. Their beginning was cute, but nothing about their beginning has given reason for such a dramatic ending, so I am a bit detached, but will continue until the end.

I really like how they mixed perfectly Japanese and Korean best features : the Korean esthetic, Japanese simplicity, Tokyo settings, etc.

The coworkers were so fun by trying to get them together. I will miss them in the present story.

I wonder what happened to them. They had cultural differences but it didn't seem it would create a painful break-up. Her father suffered because of his family, did their family played a role too?

As a person who loves both kdramas and jdramas, this is the show for me. I knew this was good and my expectations were definitely met - this drama is such a good mix of both Japanese and Korean styles of acting, storytelling, tropes and cinematography.

Anyways, keeping an eye out for any other JP actors I recognize. Highly anticipating Anne Nakamura's appearance!

All I need say is I agree with every word @dramaddictally wrote. It is beautifully done and the leads are so natural together. I love that it is bilingual also. Go ahead, show! Break my heart but I will stay til the bitter end and hope it is not so bitter.

Thank you for the recap @dramaddictally. Right here beside you gushing, about how good they look together, they seem to belong somehow 😍 talk about chemistry, they have it in spades!!!

The cinematography is otherworldly, it's shot like the movies for some reason. Kudos to the director!

The cracks are showing though, as Beni said of being lonely when Yu-no is not around. And the scene when the 1st love of her dad invited them to stay for the night. I also think she was being polite.

Happy or sad ending, come what may, this is my current fave now!

@dramaddictally thank you so much for your fabulous recap, I have been lurking here for the couple of days just wanting to type how much I adore this show! It's so so good I am happy to take the bitter with the sweet...just beautiful.

This looks like the beginning of a great story. Couples who come together with and maybe because of the novelty of cultural differences, often find exactly these differences challenging and embarrassing. Particularly if the missteps happen with other people, as with the father's first love. The invitation to stay the night was only offered out of politeness, that is true, but I don't think the Japanese lady was offended when the invitation was accepted.

I'm happy that you're happy, Dramaddictally. Thank you for the lovely recap. I can picture you just smiling the whole time. Hahaha.

Uhmm... Not gonna lie, it was too cute and plain for me. I was kinda bored, and didn't feel connected to the couple during the entire first episode.

And for the second episode I would prefer fewer and shorter flashbacks. They made me feel too disconnected of what was happening in the present timeline, especially because their relationship was all lovey dovey and... Not that deep? So that made the 2024 version of them feel like dramaqueens. LMAO

But I did like the second episode better on a rewatch. I would choose it as my first episode. I personally like the fixing collar scene, because it focuses on the now and the flashbacks are limited to like 5 seconds, so they felt more like memories —for the first time, instead of a completely separated story.

So I'm just hoping we get more... melo? next week. I want their serious times and their bad times. I need more drama in the past to understand the drama in the present.
So I think I'll like the next two episodes more.

PS. There's no way everyone in that interview room didn't get what was happening. No. Way.

Thanks for the recap @dramaddictally You summed it up perfectly.

I really was looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint. It is going to be hard waiting for each batch of episodes to drop but I am so glad both are available on the same night. I am also confident that it will remain this good for the duration as it is short and sweet. I loved the poetry they included, the ramen shop crew and the girls greeting each and taking photos meanwhile the random stranger is left watching her bags and it was too cute that he was then spotted smiling in the background of the photos.

I have a good feeling about this. LSY is so breathtakingly beautiful and its not like I didn't notice it before but somehow the cinematography and the vibe just brought out her gorgeous features more on screen <3 I am not feeling the ML as yet but I hope with time he will grow on me. Eagerly waiting to see more.

I have a very strong feeling that is drama will break my heart. The chemistry between the leads is very palpable and natural. I think I like this drama a lot, because I find it relatable. When I moved overseas to be an international student I met my husband. I loved being with him but I get Hongs loneliness. Especially in a place where you have no family. It took me years to get friends, but that loneliness never really goes away. So she is a very believable character

Well... it's pretty. I have a new crush on Kentaro Sakaguchi. Other than that, I'm agreeing with what others are saying.
I'm not invested. I don't know these people. I don't know what's so painful about this breakup. The snippets of their relationship felt like routine clips of scenes we've seen before. Two strangers who happen to be dating for some reason. This is a problem I see in lots of dramas.
I don't know these people! Character development would be nice. I'm also not feeling any chemistry between them (which is also related to the stuff I just mentioned).
And what happened to her friend?? I was a bit peeved about that. Girl just moved out and moved in with boyfriend and friend is never to be seen again? Hopefully not. But I know the drama is focused on this one relationship, so I'm setting my hopes low.
If you're just going to focus on these two people, at least have some character development. Then again, to me, character development also involves developing the world around these characters (their friends, their families, their neighbors, etc).

Another type of "Our Beloved Summer" drama.

I like that the story started when they first met so we got a little backstory and the standard meet cute. Then we were left with the mystery of why they broke up when they were seemingly inseparable and inlove. The cast are gorgeous and charming. It looks like I found my other new drama.

I am intrigued. The thing that lingered with me after ep2 was the devastation: both of them seem to have become broken shells of who they were when they first met. I wonder what could have caused such fallout? The clip of the argument didn't give much away, but it will need to be something seismic to reduce two people to who they are in the present day. I really want to know...

I just want to focus on the screenplay and how devastatingly artless it is. It's not worth everyone's effort putting this production together on set. It's not worth the makeup artist and stylist coming into work for grueling 12 hour shifts. It's not worth it. They should have just stayed in bed. The storytelling and dialogue is so sophomoric. It's about as sophisticated and complex as something I would have written back in screenwriting class in my early 20's. It really doesn't stand out much from the pile of other cross-cultural romances that have been made. There's no surprise, no delight for me here. Gosh I am so cynical! I'll keep the cast but for goodness sake, give me a better script!!!

It's lovely to see a K-drama depicting Japan as it is today rather than as a historical villain. What a beautiful country with a fascinating culture.
I appreciate that the source material was written by a Japanese man and a Korean woman, which adds authenticity from each main character's cultural perspective.

As someone living in a foreign country and in a relationship with a local, I find Hong's character relatable. I especially relate to her feelings of loneliness even when Jungo is around, as well as the cultural challenges and misinterpretations, such as when they visit Ms. Shizuko's place in Kyoto.

I appreciate the inclusion of actual poetry in this drama. Hong's character is reminiscent of Yun Dong Yu, a Korean poet who studied at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. The flowers are placed at his memorial."Sky, Wind, and Stars" is a collection of his poems. The poem that she recites is called " A Poem That Came Easily." (translation by Steffen and Kyungnyun Richards)

The night rain whispers outside the window
of my six-mat room, in an alien country.

The poet has a sad vocation, I know:
should I write another line of poetry?

Having received my tuition from home in an envelope
soaked with the smell of sweat and love,

I tuck my college notebook under my arm
and go off to listen to the lecture of an old professor.

(the rest of it is posted on my wall).

Jungo: What is it about?
Hong: It's hard to explain. It's about a lonely international student who studies overseas. Just like me.
Jungo: Are you lonely?
Hong: Once in a while. When you are not around.
Jungo: really?
Hong: Don't worry about it. It's the same for everyone who lives overseas. (viki's sub)
I believe her decision to give him the book and encourage him to read it is her way of sharing her culture and something she loves, as well as helping him understand her better.

I hope they feature the haiku poems (Japanese-style poems) that Hong mentioned in episode 1. I really enjoyed them while watching FX's SHOGUN.

When I think of Jungo, a quote from James Clavell's book and the TV show Shogun comes to mind.
“It's a saying they have, that a man has a false heart in his mouth for the world to see, another in his breast to show to his special friends and his family, and the real one, the true one, the secret one, which is never known to anyone except to himself alone, hidden only God knows where."
From another foreigner's perspective, but perhaps it's true?

This show is visually stunning, but the main character's relationship doesn't yet explain why she resents him so much. Looking forward to tomorrow's episodes.

Thank you Dramaddictally for your excellent recap.
I too, love everything about this show and wish there were more episodes than six.
The ML is simply adorable and those dimples...sigh.
Lee Se-young is fabulous and the two have great chemistry.
I love the mixture of Japan and Korea, it's nice for something a little bit different.
I'm looking forward to the next episodes.

I'm so glad that I'm now at an age where I can appreciate dramas like this one. In the past, I would have given melodramas and anything that didn't have a chance of a happy ending a wide berth.

FL of the present seems as if she has built a protective wall around herself that doesn't allow any intense feelings, neither joy nor sadness. I suspect that she only entered into the engagement with her long-term friend because she doesn't feel strong love for him, so the risk of being hurt is low.

Can anyone say how good Lee Se-young's Japanese is? Because of the rhythm of her language, it doesn't just seem memorised to me.

She tells him that everyone living outside their home country feels that way.

Speak for yourself only, Choi Hong.

Sharing my investigation findings here:

Inquiry: How long did they date?

Problem statement: The timeline confused me when I watched because the flashbacks made it look like they dated for ages but their words and voiceovers doesn’t match.

So I did some investigating and below are my findings:
1. Hong arrived in Japan in 2019 spring. In present time they said they haven’t met each other for 5 years. 2019 is 5 years before 2024.
2. Hong voiceover it was her first and last spring during the sakura date flashback. I deduct they were together for less than a year
3. There was also a flashback that showed their breakup and her phonelock, the date was visible. 3rd October 2019 (totally missed this when I watched the ep, saw the screenshot on twitter 😅 and found out it was in the 1st scene of ep 1 ). Peak sakura season in Tokyo is early-mid April. From that we can pretty much conclude that they dated between april to early october: roughly 6 months.

Sorry the quality of the script is so disappointing and makes me so mad arghhh that I need to rant one more time. When really good dramas about finding lost love again have already been made, why do lesser scripts still get made into dramas? First Love set a certain standard and it just feels like this screenwriter didn't even try to live up to it. Did they not do their research before setting out to write yet another drama with a similar theme? See what's already out there, you know. I'd rathe rewatch First Love than continue watching What Comes After Love. Like Beanies said above, the show failed to make me care about these two people. And I really care about this topic of cross cultural relationships. I had one when I was younger, and so I would really really really like to see a drama that explores this topic that's more well done than what we have so far. That's my one wish before Ajumma leaves this earth, that some charitable screenwriter can write a script worthy of cross cultural romances and make me cry and feel the way that First Love manages to. What Comes After Love does not hold that key to open the floodgates for me. My eyes are dry and my heart is cold after watching 20 minutes and then fast forwarding through two episodes.

Oh this sounds interesting and the ML looks cute but also wonderfully awkward. I am gonna watch this next!