The ML's agreement was certainly driven in part by his desire to bail out his family, but I doubt that he would say that he was a martyr. While it was true that he had previously decided that marriage was not something he would seek and certainly not to simply bow to family pressure when given a sound reason for it he simply made a rational choice- which would benefit himself even more than his family- and which would benefit his partner as well so it was a good bargain to make on both sides. Far from being martyrdom this was a decision made in cold blood when compared to our modern romantic notions of marriage. He made an extremely mature decision in a very mature way- and there would be absolutely no resentment attaching to it. It helps, of course, that his future wife is someone he knows and trusts just as she knows and trusts him. She has no need or desire to change him just as he sees no need or desire to change her: Neither side has a romantic fantasy about marriage or each other. Which is why it is such a shame that the wedding will probably not happen as the odds of such a marriage being a success are really quite high.

That being said I can see how a true love triangle would make for great drama. But if the ML believes that he can change the 2ML or the FL believes that she can change the ML then that story would likely be a tragic one.

Your perspective is probably reality. Mine, aspirational. As you get older, you wish for only the best for these young talents. As cdramas move towards a more international audience, more and more viewers will recognize a performer's own voice -- be it from interviews or variety shows or travelogues, whatever. That right there will be a force for change.

To circle back to MR, which began this discussion, Disney is a gigantic company wholly seen as American in people's minds, placing a bet on a cdrama -- and broadcasting it on their biggest platform (not their little sister Hulu) but Disney+ the home of all Disney legacy projects from POLLYANNA to THE MANDALORIAN and everything in between. Disney+ rated MR 14+. It is aimed at a teen/adult audience, their biggest target. They probably already have feelers out for followup series. That's what I'd do if I were them. Wonderful break for Xu Kai.

It is off-putting.

I really liked these opening eps. Very funny, slightly cringy, but overall enjoyable. I love the dynamic between our leads ( both past and present).
I think my favourite scene was when they were in the garbage truck and Cheol starts taking off his clothes and shirt ( nice abs) to prove he wasn’t and “anchovy “ lol

@cliosservant1846
I agree!! And the contracts have become more and more difficult and less flexible as the years go by to include a “no scandal” clause or “how big is the scandal” clause (for lack of better terms), but at the end of the day, regardless of what the specifics of those clauses are, the brand is the one that will benefit the most when all is said and done.

I’m glad that XZ is one of the very few celebs who has a clear head and actually sets boundaries for himself and has a very clear divide between what he sees as “just a job” (his celebrity status, his endorsements, his projects,, the money, the glamour, the glitz, etc.) and what he considers his private and personal life (family, friends— even his celebrity friends—and how he spends his time and his days when he’s not on set, not fulfilling contract obligations, not in front of a camera, etc.). At the same time, I really appreciate his genuineness and authenticity, that he is the same on camera as he is when he is off camera in moments when no one is watching or when he isn’t at work fulfilling contract obligations and there’s no camera in his face. He has even explicitly said in an interview that he doesn’t like ephemeral things (the exact quote, found in this 2025 interview: https://youtu.be/25ESSu1PzJc?si=qgg_QZOp8AeWjoUB …. Goodness me, I just love listening to him talk 😍 He could be reading me a telephone book and I’d still be interested)

If Kdramas are to be believed, every woman in Korea actually has curly hair but styles it to look straight or loosely wavy

I definitely had flashbacks to Hello Me, like the first two eps where the FL just constantly was dumped on

As someone with curly hair, though, I really wish they'd stop doing that. Reminds me of 1990s/early 2000s teen movies in the USA

Not random at all, I thought that, too. (Peri)Menopause is a good thing not to go through.

Wow, that's a lot! While I love the sour dough and embroidery angles, I'd prefer a different ending: Bon-hwan makes the conscious choice to stay in Joseon and he, So-yong and Cheoljong live a very happy throuple life. It may be a little weird, it might not be perfect, but nobody (and nothing) is perfect, so what?

The ending as it is shows that Bong-hwan left the world better than he entered it, even though he came for no reason and left for no reason. That's quite good, but since I very much loved the lovestory and the Queen's Dictionary - how could you not fall for a guy who writes a dictionary so he can understand you? - I'm sad that both Cheoljong and Bong-hwan lost the love of their lives.

I'd love to see what one of those international brand contracts looks like. It did occur to me that the small stove company really didn't have a lot to lose (and a ton, a ton, to gain) by sticking with XZ. International brands are so unreliable that I can't imagine why anyone would commit to represent their products. The thing is, these celebs become victims of the contracts, and build a lifestyle supported by the cash so it is hard to walk away from endorsements. You can see this in American sports. It's become a monster.

And this is why I can't watch this show. The way she is "uglified" is a complete turn off.

Yes, I get that the present FL was understandably freaked out but she was cringey and over the top. Based on her character in the 90s who for the most part behaved with cool aplomb under stress I would have thought she would not be as clownish.

The first two episodes intrigued me, and I'm interested to see more. Aside from the ever reliable TOD, I love how k dramas reliably depict women who have let their looks go with curly frowzy hair, freckles, and with a ruddy complexion. The minute I saw the present day FL I was reminded of the FLs in Hello, Me and She was Pretty.

Like I said in the first impressions thread, I loved the 1999 parts but the 2025 parts, not so much. 2025 Se-ra is really over the top to the point of being obnoxious. She doesn't resemble her former self at all, and acts way more immaturely than she did in the past scenes. There might be actresses that could pull this off despite the writing and direction, possibly, but I don't think this actress is one of them. I loved her in Doctor Cha, so it's not that I think she lacks talent or charisma. To be fair, the wig is doing her zero favors.

Additionally, a lot of her and Cheol's 2025 interactions don't come across remotely as things actual people would do, like his undressing in the truck bed. Maybe that's my overall complaint: the 1999 scenes felt way more grounded and down to earth, while also still being charming.

There was also a really cool aesthetic and style to the 1999 scenes (I know, because it's the 90s) that I am sorely missing as I watch the 2025 scenes.

@anne18 ugh, I hate that so many older dramas have been lost even on the dark side! 🙁

@cliosservant1846 well-well, my notifications are all buggy AGAIN, and it's not even weekend yet!

Anyway things are clearly moving towards common self-dub, esp for younger actors who were at least taught standard Mandarin in schools. I imagine it might be more challenging for senior actors long used to rely on VAs, plenty of whom are not even mainland natives. You're right that at the end of the day it largely depends on actors themselves, but so many of them (esp idols attached to so called talent agencies) are awfully overworked and physically cannot squeeze in anything extra like lessons into their insane work schedule. I feel it needs some time before companies fully understand the importance of making such effort and investing in it.

It is an interesting premise but not suitable for conservative KBS weekender. Ji Hyun being aloof and strange to mask a deep personal secret would be an interesting story line. Likewise, a woman marrying him in order "to change him" would be a tense, uphill, and problematic love line.

Since 2ML has already confessed his interest in FL, I think ML marriage is part of a martyr complex (a decision to save his family from bankruptcy).

@cliosservant1846
Maybe the threats of boycott and actual threats made to the brands did its job and the 18 decided to just rip the band aid to save themselves, which is a very business thing to do, so I can’t even be upset about that, especially when many of the brands had an international presence as well (OLAY, Braun, Pepsi, Bubly, Estee Lauder, Piaget, etc.). But the one brand that stayed is just a domestic brand (Chinese), and maybe they felt a need to stand by their own (a Chinese celeb), but who really knows 🤷🏻‍♀️
💯! Nowadays, endorsement contracts rarely exceed the 2 year mark, but Xiao Zhan has been with this company for 6 years, since 2019. There is only one other endorsement of Xiao Zhan’s that has run longer, which is with Gucci. However, it is important to note that his endorsement contract with Gucci came AFTER Xiao Zhan made his comeback and the contract only began in October 2021, almost a year after his comeback (late 2020)

1) When she confuses fox with pox 🤣

Seol Hwa (Chuno) owns this topic.