[Drama 2018-2019] Encounter / Boyfriend, 남자친구

[dukesa1122]

We have our own views. And lets just discuss each episode shall we?

 

Good News. 

 

CSH + KJH kissing scene

500k+ views on Naver

lets make it to 1M 

rape the play button:

https://m.tv.naver.com/v/4832419

 

 

Dont forget to vote for Encounter!

Poll will be until tomorrow!

Choose the Kakao logo (its in english):

https://m.media.daum.net/m/entertain/poll/9320

[ihyw]

 

I wonder if any of you are doing this, too. Have found myself compulsively re-watching the final scenes of three episodes now. The first was JH's rescue of SH when she was under public attack from the director. Could not get enough of watching JH walk across the room to her like her knight in shining armor. Then I couldn't get enough of watching SH rescue JH from the reporter's public attack by publicly admitting their "some" relationship. I love the way she smiles across the crowded room to him even talking to him with her eyes.  And now the final scenes of this episode with the OTP's  tender New Year's Eve first kiss.  Three perfect happy endings--hope this trend continues and we're heading for a brave, loving, tender feel-good ending like these for the final episode. 

 

I also hope that JH hasn't really gone missing, no lost memory tropes, no murderous chaebol MIL, please.  And happy holidays everybody! Thanks so much for all the analysis, speculation, gifs, translations, interpretations, fashion sources. I was happily researching Chaumet after someone posted the fact that SH's watch in Havana was Chaumet. Too expensive for me but felt very festive window shopping. 

[vu_hoa1983]

There is no way SH will end up with WS again  

 

I have been defending WS a lot but  I absolutely see no reason for them to get back together. Rather, I believe WS will be able to let go of SH completely and support her business; he needs to find his own life and freedom like SH. He also deserves having someone who whole-heatedly loves him - WS is someone who is capable of loving but the way he expressed himself is confusing - it is not good or clear enough. 

 

SH wasn't even herself before she met and married WS. That SH accepted living according to her mother's rule but the present SH doesn't. And once she experience love with JH, she can never go back. SH and WS had their chance but it didn't work out - their timing is over. I just want SH to know what WS did so that she will not resent him or no longer think she wasn't good enough for him so he cheated. Obviously, WS is not the one for SH and doesn't really know how to make her happy. 

 

I used to think PBG look so young compared to SHK even though I love them as JH and SH in this drama and feel the chemistry. Probably because JH was such a sunny boy in the first 4 episodes. But from the scene where JH was alone in this room, thinking about his feeling towards SH and grabbed a coat, took his bike out in episode 5, I started to notice how JH has such a serious, mature side to him. He gets even more manly and understanding as the story progresses from episode 6 to 8. In episode 8, I completely forget the age difference between them  I wasn't familiar  with PBG's acting before; in fact I was a fan of SHK but I  start to really appreciate PBG's acting from episode 4 onward.

 

As for SHK, I feel her acting is underrated. Many care about her age and beauty, what type of makeup, clothing, hairstyle she has because she is herself is a brand. But I really love her subtle acting and how she always creates great chemistry with her co-stars. And how come she manages to be so beautiful in every angle? The scene where she and PBG have coffee in episode 5, looking straight to the sea is like a great picture. In fact, these two have great visual that each shot of them together is beautiful.

 

About previous for upcoming episodes,  I am not worry about JH going missing. If it happens in final episodes, it is a huge sign of trouble. But it is only mid-way so I believe JH will be fine; plus previews can be misleading

 

And I am ready for more kisses; the next one'd better  be more passionate than the first   But no bed scene, please, I hope ^^

 

[dahae2006]

10 hours ago, beebeep said:

Regarding the rating of this drama, I consider it "very good" already given the negative reaction from a lot of audience when it was announced that PBG will be paired with SHK.

 

It's indeed very difficult to change the mind and perception of people actually...

There are some people who don't like the pairing of older woman with younger man (my friend is one of them and she's not a bad person. She just have a different preference and she just doesn't think that she can root for jinsoo couple). Other people doesn't like melo drama since it's less action so they call it boring. It's just a matter of preference and our preference can change over time as our situation changes as well. 

 

As for me, I'm surprised that I come to like this drama among all the other dramas airing. I typically would gravitate towards rom com drama such as "clean with passion for now" and I should have been drawn to MOA given that PSH is the first one that hooked me to k-drama. Nevertheless, it turns out that this "Encounter" drama is the one that I like the most at this moment...so to everyone who's new to this thread and wondering whether this drama is good and whether the pair is believable, I would say "Yes. You should watch few episodes of the drama and draw your own conclusion wether you like it or not. Here are my own reasons why I like this drama:

1. Light, fluttery, and warm - I don't need another stressful drama to add to my already stressful work 

2. JH and SH relationship - great chemistry and I like the slow burn romance

3. Feminism message - strong woman character, subtle message about going against people's prejudice 

 

 

9 hours ago, NongpeeP said:

Let me cut some part, I totally agreed with your post. I am one of audiences who showed strong objection after confirming the main casts with age gap and marriage status which might be quite difficult to make audiences believe in lovers’ roles. 

I intended not to watch even a single episode..

 

After the first epispde, praises abour interesting story, fresh script, great acting, and unbelievably amazing chemistry made me start watching some short clips and then I became a fans of this Encounter. 

 

For Park Bo Gum, I am so glad that he accepted this project because his acting is challenging and he can nail the role to create Kim Jin Hyuk alive and have chemistry with Cha Soo Hyun. 

 

For Song Hye Kyo, I am not her fans before but I appreciated her acting approach in this Encounter, I am blessed that Park Bo Gum chose this Encounter with Song Hye Kyo, rather than any younger actresses with less acting experience. 

 

I am impressed with story and script how the writer created this fairy tale in the current situation with reasonable circumstances and how Park Bo Gum&Song Hye Kyo made audiences deeply believe in their couple roles within just 8 episodes from KJH&CSH’s first meeting in Cuba till in relationship with longing moments in ep8. 

 

@beepbeep  i totally could relate your post.  i still could not convince some of bogum's fan to watch this drama.  Since they are not promoting at all,  i have to come out from my shell and retweet / post pictures.  i  not necessary to active in social media during MDBC, reply as there were lots of his fan will write in soompi and social media.  As @NongpeeP said age gap/marital status hinder people to watch the drama. i am glad rating is still  good and steady even not getting so much hype like his past drama.

( as someone did mention above - sorry i could not tag you.  they keep comments this drama "boring" to make people watch their bias drama. some even  promote their bias drama in encounter discussion topic. especially someone with many followers. i know what they are trying to do this drama in social media.)

For me, i believe in bogum (& SHK) , they can choose not to appear in any drama and bogum kept rejecting many dramas and movie after MDBC.  He is chemistry fairy. He can have  chemistry with any actress that he pair - yoo jung/ hyeri / goeun ( even a few scene with Yoona in Hyori home stay) and he stands out bromance with SIG in i remember you.

 

i must say again and again. thanks to you all - up to now, our thread is very fun with detail discussion from arts / acting / kiss ( i could not stay away from this thread at all).  Please vote and share positive comments to people out there how attractive encounter love story is .

 

 

[luvhollandlop]

I’m really happy Song Hye Kyo chose this project after her high profile wedding with Song Joong Ki. Most married A list actresses stopped taking on mainstream romantic roles after getting married. I wonder why?  The last high profile romantic drama series with a married woman actress was “My love from the star”. It was a great job done by all parties.

 

I love it that the drama is getting all these comments and discussions about the leads’ chemistry together. Sometimes, we forget that these people are professional Actors and Actresses and judged them based on their private lives. Hye Kyo being married shouldn’t cause us to discount her acting skills. She can still deliver intense acttraction if the script calls for it. Bo Gum being Joong Ki’s good friend shouldn’t affect his ability to act too. I really appreciated Bo Gum’s and Hye Kyo’s acting. I could feel their intentional awkwardness during the first episode and how they could portray their relationship growing naturally. 

May this project done by two very talented actor and actress helped to pave the way for more openness in married actresses taking on romantic roles.

[yonaomi123]

55 minutes ago, vu_hoa1983 said:

As for SHK, I feel her acting is underrated. Many care about her age and beauty, what type of makeup, clothing, hairstyle she has because she is herself is a brand. But I really love her subtle acting and how she always creates great chemistry with her co-stars. And how come she manages to be so beautiful in every angle? The scene where she and PBG have coffee in episode 5, looking straight to the sea is like a great picture. In fact, these two have great visual that each shot of them together is beautiful.

 

You've really taken the words from my mouth!  She's just. so. mind-blowingly. good.  in every scene.  I never watched SHK in anything before this drama, but now I am a real fan.  Next Wednesday and Thursday, I'm even going to try one episode of her most recent works to see what else of hers I might fall in love with. 

 

One of the things I really enjoyed most about seeing SHK's SooHyun is how she shows SooHyun grow and develop.  That lyric about "You're my flower and I'm your bee" is extremely appropriate to the JinSoo relationship.  By being together, both of them are turning into better versions of themselves and isn't that what a relationship is supposed to do after all?    Although I think I was probably most impressed with SooHyun's growth in that scene she had with Director Choi at the beginning of Episode 8.  SooHyun was all simmering  anger and bared teeth and I loved it!  I want more of her protecting what's important to her, and really I just want more of SooHyun doing more than just enduring and instead standing up for herself and fighting for her happiness.

 

[dvrels]

11 hours ago, utkim said:

Aigoo, I thought I got to a wrong thread . What are you talking about? WS? He was her past, that’s it. Game over for WS 

Totally agreed, WS was SH past, it's already game over for him, SH not even bother when he confess, SH never thinking of him, so it's game over way long ago.

 

Maybe in future some writer will made a story of a guy like JWS and a lady like CSH both rich and married like JWS-CSH but somehow they fall in love during the marriage. I will definitely watch that drama, since it's rich guy rich girl love story. But not in Boyfriend drama, because it will be definitely CSH-KJH

 

11 hours ago, jl08 said:

Just dropping a note to wish every chingu here, a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed Year ahead!

It is heartwarming to know that we share a common love for "Boyfriend" and wishes it to do really well and that we owe it to PBG and SHK for such a beautiful love story.

Let's hope the drama will shine even more with 8 more episodes and hopefully, it'll have a beautiful conclusion for KJH and CSH. 

Cheers!!   

Amen to this. And Merry Christmas and Happy New year to everyone. Well we have long wait for next episode but lets cheer up 

[Jemrie]

 

this scene plus the ost wow

 

DC

“I learned what love is through a book. this is what happens when I fall in love. It’s clear to me now. thanks to you, it’s so clear to me now…what love is.”

********

All of them are potential pairings.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[krisan]

13 hours ago, dukesa1122 said:

Please show how you love this drama by voting. We are less than a hundred leading. 

Choose the kakao logo to register (its in english)

https://m.media.daum.net/m/entertain/poll/9320

Done

 

The idea about CSH will be back to his ex is very mean.... Because of what? She is older than KJH then she must love someone who has the same age as her?  Because her ex is love her? How about her feeling? Her life? She deserves to be love and love someone whether she is older, richer and more famous than the one she loves.

 

Besides, why do we have to come back to someone who has hurt us, the wound has just started healing, he will make the second wound then.

[Jemrie]

 

[yonaomi123]

1 hour ago, ihyw said:

I wonder if any of you are doing this, too. Have found myself compulsively re-watching the final scenes of three episodes now. The first was JH's rescue of SH when she was under public attack from the director. Could not get enough of watching JH walk across the room to her like her knight in shining armor. Then I couldn't get enough of watching SH rescue JH from the reporter's public attack by publicly admitting their "some" relationship. I love the way she smiles across the crowded room to him even talking to him with her eyes.  And now the final scenes of this episode with the OTP's  tender New Year's Eve first kiss.  Three perfect happy endings--hope this trend continues and we're heading for a brave, loving, tender feel-good ending like these for the final episode. 

So glad I'm not the only one!  I've been rewatching the final scenes (and I may have replayed the kiss scene about a zillion times now ), and I love that they both get to save each other and neither tries to hide how giddy they are to be receiving such public displays of affection. 

 

Now that the holiday time is here, I've started rewatching all the scenes where the parents are included.  And as I'm watching, I've been having all these thoughts about what the production team is trying to tell us by giving these three very different sets of parents to look at.  Well, more like four if we include Fairy Godfather Nam lol. 

 

I find it interesting how family-focused two out of the three mothers are, while the other one is hell-bent on her own goal.  Yet the results are so widely different.  Chairwoman Kim has a son that's terribly damaged and now as a grown man is finally (maybe? hopefully?) learning how to stand up for what he wants.  Was it the Chairwoman's ambition that stifled him?  Or is it because she was a nasty piece of work all along?  SooHyun's mother is just as twisted in her own way, from what we've seen, but her child turns out good, although not undamaged.  And finally JinHyuk (and JinMyung) have a mother just as devoted to her sons as Chairwoman Kim is to hers.  How are we to understand what the underlying message is?

Is it something straightforward, like JinHyuk's mother has said "women should stay home and quietly focus on their families"?  Or is it something like "what you sow is what you reap."?  I mean, no one can deny that JinHyuk's mother and WooSeok's mother loves their sons fiercely, right?  Perhaps even the message is something yet more subtle.  That it is difficult to be a woman, to have ambitions and dreams and desires and have no outlet.  That it is difficult to be a mother and juggle your own dreams and desires with the duties and responsibilities of motherhood.  That successful motherhood takes courage, sacrifice, hard work and above all love. 

I don't know if these are the messages, but these are the thoughts I've had while watching.  And as I watch, I wonder what do my fellow watchers see?  

[gumtaek]

Episode 7 Recap...Please read and react

 

Boyfriend: Episode 7

by LollyPip

 

Our favorite CEO and her charming young admirer are prepared to face whatever hardships they must in order to be together, but as cute as they are together, they’re not perfect. It’s easy to say that they can endure difficulty, but does that hold true when the actions of one might possibly harm the life of the other? They’re about to be tested – is this relationship truly one of equals?

 

(Skipped the recap part)

 

COMMENTS

 

I’m annoyed with Jin-hyuk right now for not telling Soo-hyun about his transfer in advance, although I can understand why he didn’t (and I love that about this drama — even when I disagree with a character’s actions, they still make sense for that character). He didn’t want her to be upset, or worse yet, fight the transfer and get herself into hot water again. It’s his own little twist noble idiocy, though — thank goodness — he never planned to break up with her or disappear on her. He just accepted that things would be harder for a while, but he was prepared to run to Soo-hyun as often as possible, like she said. I find that sweet, and evidence that Jin-hyuk is in this thing for the long haul, but that doesn’t make his silence okay.

 

The part that annoys me is that when one half of a relationship makes unilateral decisions that will have a huge effect on both parties, it robs the other person of their agency to decide for themselves what they want. To put it bluntly, Jin-hyuk doesn’t have the right to decide what’s best for Soo-hyun, not within their relationship or regarding the other aspects of her life. It’s her right to get all the information and decide what she wants to do about it, even if it’s harmful to her career… she gets to decide if she wants to fight this battle and risk losing the hotel, not Jin-hyuk. But even Soo-hyun shouldn’t make that decision alone… if they’re going to call this a real relationship, they’re both going to need to learn to discuss things and make decisions together.

 

I liked seeing Jin-hyuk and Soo-hyun disagreeing about little things in this episode. It was getting to be a bit too unrealistic that they always understood each other so well without much discussion, so it was fun watching Soo-hyun imply that ice skating is childish, or Jin-hyuk getting mad when she didn’t pick up on his hint that he’d like her to call him Oppa. It’s natural that they won’t agree on everything, and will have little nitpicky arguments, pout like bratty kids, then make up and move forward. I can tell from that final scene that Jin-hyuk and Soo-hyun are probably about to have their first real fight, and that it’s probably going to be a big one, but hopefully their little disagreements have paved the way for them to do it in a way that’s productive.

Woo-seok is breaking my heart. This episode confirmed for me that his “affair” was a lie, concocted to get Soo-hyun out of a marriage that was killing her soul. It was so obvious in the flashback that asking or a divorce was painful for him, and that small but fierce glare at his mother proved that he was doing it to get Soo-hyun out from under her iron control. I’m not sure exactly why he’s let the fake affair go on for so long unless it was to prevent his mother insisting that he and Soo-hyun reconcile, but now that she’s pushing for it anyway, it makes sense that he’s finished pretending. I do believe that Woo-seok truly loves Soo-hyun and I also believe that seeing her happy with another man is painful for him, but he’s handling it very well. He only gets involved enough to make sure that Jin-hyuk’s feelings and intentions towards Soo-hyun are in the right place. At this point, many dramas would have Woo-seok go dark and decide he wants her back, turning him into the villain, but I really hope that doesn’t happen here. I love the novelty of the chaebol ex-husband as heartbroken yet committed to making sure the heroine gets what she wants, even if it isn’t him. And I want to see him fight his mother on Soo-hyun’s behalf, even if it means watching him lose the love of his life.

 

This show has such a slow, relaxing feel to it that it’s easy to miss that things are actually moving pretty quickly. Jin-hyuk and Soo-hyun are growing closer at a fairly rapid pace, especially when you consider that everything is all tangled up by the hotel complications, but I love that their relationship is so low-key and simple. When they’re alone together, it’s all about the little moments and the seemingly throwaway comments they make to reassure each other that yes, this thing between them is something important. I particularly loved the moment when Soo-hyun told Jin-hyuk that he seemed like a boyfriend, and he had to sit on his hands to keep them from shaking. Those little things are all they need to understand each other and their evolving relationship, and I love watching a romance that doesn’t need big dramatic gestures (though the public confession was nice, too) to show the audience how much the main couple cares about each other.

 

http://www.dramabeans.com/2018/12/boyfriend-episode-7/#comment-3369724

 

My comment:

 

Cut Kim Jin Hyuk some slack. The guy received an underhanded thunderbolt HR transfer notice via Director Choi bypassing even his PR Unit Head and immediate head. Moreover, Cha Soo Hyun was en route to Shanghai and common sense dictated that it was bad timing to tell her about the transfer notice.

 

Top of mind was to protect Cha Soo Hyun from losing the hotel which, as she has told Kim Jin Hyuk, was everything to her. Next, he had to protect Cha Soo Hyun's integrity as the CEO of Donghwa Hotel since any move on her part to block his transfer would be judged as favoritism and would adversely affect her credibility with the entire staff.  It was clearly Kim Jin Hyuk's call.

 

Thus, Chief Secretary's thoughtless and rash jab at Kim Jin Hyuk when he asked to see CEO Cha ("Did you send an SOS? Did you call Ms. Cha for help?") was downright mean and insulting. That was farthest from Kim Jin Hyuk's mind. He was there to ask CEO Cha to let him go for her sake adding that he will do his best to find his way back to his position by virtue of meritocracy. I love how he responded: "Is that so important?" Jin Hyuk was completely clear and single-minded about what was important: Save Donghwa Hotel from a takeover by Taegyong and protect CEO Cha's sterling record of fair management practice. Now, isn't that so admirable of Kim Jin Hyuk?

I believe, in line with Kim Jin Hyuk's character, that he had all the intention to tell Cha Soo Hyun but he was siderailed by Hye In's call to CEO Cha through Ms. Lee's phone.

 

[tlireal]

4 hours ago, tshering12 said:

Lot of people posted here how they think csh gonna endup with her ex. If that happens i swear i will drop this drama before it ends. I really cant watch sad ending kinda drama.. I go into depression and my whole month gonna be ruined.  Thats why i couldnt watch the last 2 episode of mr sunshine. I dropped it.. My tiny heart cant take it..

@tshering12 I wanna bet, that it won't happen  

 

2 hours ago, vu_hoa1983 said:

As for SHK, I feel her acting is underrated. Many care about her age and beauty, what type of makeup, clothing, hairstyle she has because she is herself is a brand. But I really love her subtle acting and how she always creates great chemistry with her co-stars. And how come she manages to be so beautiful in every angle? The scene where she and PBG have coffee in episode 5, looking straight to the sea is like a great picture. In fact, these two have great visual that each shot of them together is beautiful.

I agree with all your shared thoughts but especially this one. Thank you 

[Guest vvpal]

On 12/21/2018 at 12:57 PM, asuwish said:

So random question - does anyone know how often Korean "melodramas" have a "happy" ending?  Just trying to alleviate my anxious heart over this, haha.

 

I think the "melo" will be the process (episodes 1-15) , and the ending will be "happy" with both of them living happily ever after in Cuba running their hotel with the gorgeous garden.

[Guest vvpal]

15 hours ago, roshzanna said:

Once the eng sub was out at viu, i watched the episode, that was 12.30 a.m. For the love of JH and SH, i can bargain my sleeping hours.I literally cried a river. Seeing JH sad eyes, you cannot help it but cry.

 

I start refreshing my Viu page around 12:30 :-) But I don't sleep until 3 because I watch the same episode with English and then Chinese subtitles. English is easier to read (less keystrokes) for me but I always find the Chinese version translates the nuances better perhaps because the Korean language (Hanja) has Chinese roots and many phrases are similar to Chinese phrases.

[tlireal]

I think we will have HE. The ending of each week was always happy (Ramen "date", he gave her his number; he stepped out for her; she confirmed their "some" relationship; they had their first kiss). After all the obstacles they always had the courage and have happy ending. I think, it's foreshadowing 

[Josh Marquez]

I don’t think WS and CS as end game will ever happen. I believe that CS never liked WS even during their marriage, cause when you’re forced into something it will lead you to losing interest in getting to know or learning to love WS. With CS personality it’s kinda impossible for her to like WS even if she’ll discover the real reason why WS divorces her (they’ll become friends though). I think that it will be happy ending for our otp not the usual happy ever after though but the kind of ending where they’ll meet each other again in cuba ( we still need to see the note JH wrote!) ,  the garden is obviously a special place for the both of them so we will gonna see the garden at the end of the series for sure.

[NongpeeP]

9 hours ago, dahae2006 said:

 

 

@beepbeep  i totally could relate your post.  i still could not convince some of bogum's fan to watch this drama.  Since they are not promoting at all,  i have to come out from my shell and retweet / post pictures  etc. i have not necessary to active in social media during MDBC, reply.  there were lots of his fan will write in soompi and social media.  As @NongpeeP said age gap/marital status hinder people to watch the drama. i am glad rating is still  good and steady even not getting so much hype like his past drama.

( as someone did mention above - sorry i could not tag you.  they keep comments this drama boring to make people watch their bias drama. some  promote their bias in encounter discussion topic. especially someone with many followers. i know what they are trying to do this drama in social media.)

For me, i believe in bogum (& SHK) , they can choose not to appear in any drama and bogum kept rejecting many dramas and movie after MDBC.  He is chemistry fairy. He can have  chemistry with any actress that he pair - yoo jung/ hyeri / goeun ( even a few scene with Yoona in Hyori home stay) and he stands out bromance with SIG in i remember you.

 

9 hours ago, luvhollandlop said:

I love it that the drama is getting all these comments and discussions about the leads’ chemistry together. Sometimes, we forget that these people are professional Actors and Actresses and judged them based on their private lives. Hye Kyo being married shouldn’t cause us to discount her acting skills. She can still deliver intense acttraction if the script calls for it. Bo Gum being Joong Ki’s good friend shouldn’t affect his ability to act too. I really appreciated Bo Gum’s and Hye Kyo’s acting. I could feel their intentional awkwardness during the first episode and how they could portray their relationship growing naturally. 

May this project done by two very talented actor and actress helped to pave the way for more openness in married actresses taking on romantic roles.

As actors/actresses, it is unavoidable audiences might prejudge from good visual look, actor’s age(too young or too old) , the dating/marriage status(could he/she make audiences believe in chemistry with the partner in acting project or not) and age gap. 

 

There are not many actors/actresses who can reach hallyu status, there might be much less hallyu stars who diligently take acting seriously, Park Bo Gum and Song Hye Kyo are one of a few.

 

It is very proud to appreciate an actor like Park Bo Gum who has acted in different roles with different paces and rhythm.

Even he has been praised for his look, determination in study, MC capability, famous reputation and nice manner but as an actor, keep on amazing acting is still very crucial. 

 

For Song Hye Kyo, she has just changed her personal status to be a married woman, then the first project she chose is to pair with lead actor who is 12 years younger than her. He is also her husband’s closed hoobae. Prejudice is understandable but in Encounter, Song Hye Kyo can nail her comeback. (with much more likable acting style than her previous projects for me, this might be my own preference)

 

[Jemrie]

First Impressions: Encounter

posted by Debra John on December 21, 2018 

http://www.dramapanda.com/2018/12/first-impressions-encounter.html

A magical and romantic encounter in Havana becomes a meaningful memory for two people living in opposite worlds.

 

Encounter or Boyfriend (alternate title) is about Cha Soo-Hyun (Song Hye-Kyo) the CEO of Donghwan Hotels and the daughter of a Congressman, considered a dignified woman with a career and prestige. While on a business trip to Cuba, she meets Kim Jin-Hyuk (Park Bo-Gum) a young traveler with a love for photography. They spend one eventful day together under the Cuban sun and part ways, never to meet again but fate has other things in store for them. 

 

Jin-Hyuk manages to land a job at Donghwan Hotel and discovers that his mystery woman is none other than the CEO of the company. The two push and pull as a result of their statuses but get drawn towards each other the more they resist. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Trust me when I say this was well on my radar and I haven't been a dormant drama watcher all this while. I wanted to wait it out a bit to see where the drama would take me and my initial thoughts remain the same; watching this show is like viewing a fine art piece. It's stylistic and well thought out since the characters are quite complex with a story that's sad at times but worthwhile and bright from the romance and chemistry. And I wouldn't say calling it an art piece is dramatic since the drama contains an artistic quality about it that you can't help but admire.

 

Spoiler

 

As far as characters go, I appreciate this reversal since it's no longer 'rich guy meets poor girl' and Cha Soo-Hyun as a female character is psychologically deep and alluring. Soo-Hyun has lived a life for others and finds no happiness despite her position, still having to breathe under the manipulations of her ex mother in-law and status craving mother. I think the power dynamics among all three women is fascinating (even if I want to throw a few punches at the mothers) since what they value and hold dear is strikingly different, stemming from who they are as women and their beliefs of how a woman should present herself. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

For someone who can afford all the luxuries in the world, Soo-Hyun's needs and desires are quite ordinary and even eccentric since she's been so far removed from the ordinary in all the stages of her life. And I bring this up because Jin-Hyuk turns out to be someone she finds comfort in and admits the things she wishes to do despite having to repress herself for so long, and he willing tells her she should do what she wants. His consistent acts of encouragement allow Soo-Hyun, whose been suffocated to death by those around her to finally be herself and develop herself as a person first and foremost. 

 

Spoiler

 

That being the case, the progression of the romance is impressively steady and sweet which is quite the feat considering the melancholy and notes of realism to the story. Societal pressures, ageism, elitism, and media attention are all aspects the drama touches upon and they're all illustrated in ways that are believable and food for thought. They're the odds that are stacked against our couple and the pains and trials they face are heartbreaking but create significant character growth and maturity.

 

Spoiler

 

Jin-Hyuk is exuberant and simplistic but extremely deep and sensitive towards Soo-Hyun and his conceptions of humanity. She's been demoted as a human being, and he discovers about her yearning and bottled up emotions the more he steps into her world and becomes involved with her. Jin-Hyuk as a character, is transparent since he always says what's on his mind and he's definitely not the brooding and cold type but there's also an air of mystery surrounding his thoughts since he allows himself to walk the path his heart chooses. His actions aren't entirely driven by logic which makes Jin-Hyuk such a fresh character; he's non-calculative and nice to the core, which is a novelty if you ask me. 

 

I don't think I could have envisioned two better actors for the roles since Song Hye-Kyo has an eloquence to her mannerisms and speech while Park Bo-Gum is a bright personality to begin with and truly does give off the 'boyfriend' vibe. I'll admit to having apprehensions about the pairing but my worries vanished within the first episode.

 

Spoiler

 

I also enjoy the drama for being thought provoking, forming a ladder for the romance to climb on since I've seen my fair share of melo-romances that have given us one too many aggressive male leads and women who are meant to be nothing more than emotional tools to remedy the imbalance in a male protagonist's life. So I applaud TvN for ending the year with a drama that's more sophisticated and self-aware of drama tropes and conventions even with the romantic cliches presented here. The show manages to bypass typical material that's been reused and reformatted over and over again. 

After binging plenty of episodes, I can definitely say this drama is on my weekly watchlist because of the dreamy encounter in Cuba to the bittersweet story that follows afterwards.
 

Release Date: November 28, 2018 (Eng Sub available on Viki)

 

[gumtaek]

"Hair Beam Air" Product Placement to Prevent Hair Loss 

http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?art_id=6839918

 

I have not said this...but I love all the supporting cast...both allies and villains as they all thicken the plot!

 

I am actually relieved with the break (Don't shoot me!) as it will allow me to finally set to writing more insights about the drama...it takes so much effort, really! But will do it, bit by bit, in the next 2 weeks till Jan.2.

 

Merry Christmas, everyone! Happy to camp in this thread and rave about the drama (Well, it's worth raving about!) with all of you!