Just Between Lovers (2017)

must watch

"Just Between Lovers" is a Korean drama that beautifully explores themes of trauma, healing, and love. The series follows the lives of two individuals, Lee Kang-doo (played by Lee Jun-ho) and Ha Moon-soo (played by Won Jin-ah), who are brought together by a tragic accident that alters their lives forever. As they navigate their past traumas and struggles, they find solace and understanding in each other's company. The drama's strength lies in its well-developed characters, genuine emotions, and realistic portrayal of healing processes. The chemistry between the leads is palpable, drawing viewers into their journey of self-discovery and recovery. With its heartfelt storytelling and compelling performances, "Just Between Lovers" is a must-watch for fans of romance and human drama.

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Rewatch

Ho una lunghissima lista di drama da vedere per la prima volta eppure mi sono data al mio primo rewatch. In verità volevo recensire questo titolo ma prima di farlo avevo bisogno di essere sicura che si meritasse veramente il 9.5.
Ebbene sì, lo merita tutto.
Quando ho visto per la prima volta questo drama non avevo nessuna aspettativa, ricordo che ero in cerca di qualcosa che non mi avrebbe assorbito completamente. Mi sbagliavo.
La storia, gli attori, tutto è perfettamente incastrato.
Io poi ho un debole per il destino e anche qui ce n'è da vendere. Ho pianto, ho sorriso e mi sono anche innervosita insieme ai protagonisti.
Lee Gang-doo resta per me il personaggio rivelazione, una vita che si accanisce con lui, il sogno spezzato, l'isolamento, i debiti, il sentire di non meritare nulla perché si è sopravvissuti. Difficilmente si potrebbe odiare un personaggio come lui, si diventa empatici, si impara a capire la sua sofferenza, si finisce per soffrire con lui.
Assolutamente da vedere, ma fatelo solo se non siete troppo tristi.

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A MUST WATCH

I absolutely loved it! Everything was beautiful, no need for any change because it was perfect.

Plot- The plot was so interesting and it kept me on my toes. It wasn't fast paced at all but maybe it was because it had a good amount of episodes.

Actors- Amazing, absolutely amazing. The actors did such a great job! I really felt their emotions especially in the end where they made me cry lol. My favorite character is Lee Gang Doo, I felt such pain and love seeing him. You will understand once you see him.

This series is such a masterpiece, the best K-drama I've ever seen. If you haven't seen it yet then what are you doing? Go watch it! You will feel ALL the emotions, the bad and the good.
Hope this review helps you, have a lovely day!

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The story and screenplay combined with the consistency in character development portrayed by awe-inspiring acting by most of the major showrunners created this tear-jerking (sometimes) drama with a boat-load of romance.
The chemistry between the main leads is one of the slam-dunks of the show. The zeal to follow one's love no matter the circumstances is quite well-written. The transition between episodes is fluid enough to not cause a distraction or end-up in major plot holes.
Although the drama hit many home rums with respect to relationships overall, nonetheless we find a lack of gradual sibling bonding between the male lead and his sister. The final arc of the season, especially the last 2 episodes show major sibling bonding.... which is closer to a real-life scenario..... which is kinda welcome.
Like most romance dramas, the existence of cliched misunderstandings and sacrifices is present, but not to the point of being a hindrance to the overall flow of the story. All-in-all, this is a refreshing portrayal of pain, love, regrets, memories and all of them being the reasons to live.

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I had been putting off watching this drama for a really long time — even though I knew I'd love it. And I was absolutely right. Not only is the cinematography beautiful, but the story was about so much more than a love story. In a lot of dramas, the tragic story becomes the catalyst to get the main characters together, and it falls into becoming a plot device. Just Between Lovers didn't have that issue at all, and I rarely see such a perfect balance of the themes of family, friendship, romance, and individual identity, and they all tied into the tragic event of the S Mall collapse so fully.

I already loved Junho from clips I'd seen of him, but after watching this drama in full, he's definitely become one of my facec actors. You could feel all the anxiety, the emotion, the trauma, sadness, anger...you could feel EVERYTHING that the character was feeling.

I literally sobbed through the entire last episode — getting my homework wet and everything — but it was so worth it, and I don't know if I've ever felt that much anxiety over how a drama would end.

Another thing that I appreciate so much about this drama — the disabled characters. I loved MS's best friend SO much, and I loved Sang-Man even more — he was a big reason I cried in the last episode, and he was the most adorable character. The way every character was fleshed out in some way really made it feel like I knew them all, and I became emotionally invested in everyone's stories. The only person who I might have wanted to know more about was the best friend's love interest.

This drama just felt really REALISTIC, all around, and despite it having common kdrama tropes, it didn't bother me at all and it was executed to perfection.

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I got pulled in and didn't want to leave.

I shall be honest; I watched this because I am working my way through all Nam Da Reum's dramas (almost done them all now). It's been on my list for a while and whilst I like the entire cast, for some reason I thought it would be dull or maybe even depressing.
How wrong can a person be?!
I ended up absolutely loving it.
The 2 lead characters are very naturally played by actors that feel made for their parts. Their chemistry, projection, expressions, are all excellent. I fell in love with Lee Kang-doo (a very endearing performance from Lee Jun-ho ~ such a good actor).
Supporting parts are very good and well acted too. I did feel the brother/sister company heads were a bit kind of obvious (Jung Yoo-taek's constant angry outbursts, shouting and huge inferiority complex, really got me riled up at times). Both were arrogant and haughty, although Jung Yoo-jin was the typical kind of power woman who treats a subordinate male, better than a female counterpart.
Ha Moon-soo's mother, Yoon Ok, angered me the most. Understandably, any parent who has lost their child will grieve, go through depression, anger and never really get over it. However, she wasn't the only parent to suffer at that time; her husband lost his child too and Moon-soo her sister. She appeared to be addicted to the grief though, wallowing in self-pity, living through a bottle and taking it out on any and every one. She needed a good slap, plus copious amounts of therapy.
My favourite supporting character though, was the street pharmacy Grandma. That actress made that character so real, believable and incredibly warm, even though she was cantankerous, quick tempered and tough as old boots. So wordly wise, intelligent and astute ~ I loved her.
The present day architect, Seo Joo-won, I found a little too good to be true. He carried around the baggage of bitterness and guilt, the latter being misplaced.
Everyone is linked by the one tragic event and those links, and how they have affected the various characters, are uncovered as the story unfolds.
It is not fast paced, but is well paced. The story is revealed perfectly for me.
There are some well used drama aspects, but overall it is well written and directed.
Some may feel the subject matter isn't portrayed seriously enough, but to my mind, being a drama and not a documentary, the screenwriter got it right. It's a romance for entertainment, at the end of the day, and I personally stop watching when something is too depressing or melodramatic ~ that's not escapism to me.
The final episodes did introduce a couple of plot twists that I felt were unnecessary and OTT, but it was all brought together in the end.
I mostly enjoyed the soundtrack, but some of the instrumental music I found a bit depressing sounding, which didn't fit with scenes it accompanied.
I would certainly watch this drama again and recommend it.

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Mixed feelings... Someone really need Patience or Willing to understand the plot

Although this drama breaks the STEREOTYPE of a Normal Kdrama.. But Still the PLOT is AMBIGUOUS...
Honestly i was really curious after the end of every episode and liked the Leads and their chemistry as well.. i m satisfied with the ending but i m somewhat confused..
But somewhere it made me rethink about my life, my parents, and goal.. And i started feeling like what i would have done if i was in that conditions....?
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★STORY★
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It started with a plot and then they slowly moved the story to a really different territory..
If you have read the story synopsis then u will get it.. It started with a miserable accident which changed the life of the survivors and victims family as well.. So i thought the story might be about findings about why the accident happened or Who was responsible or about making sure a tragedy like that never happen in future.. But Nothing was like that....
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★CHARACTER★
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If i talk about the characters.. Then i liked all the characters specially the main lead ( Male)- Bcoz he was not portrayed as a rich, wealthy boy from a renowned family... But as a simple, straightforward man who survived with misery And the female lead character was also good.. But All was about Hurt and comfort.. Every Characters have Their own Suffering, dejection and pain....

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i expected some cute cheesy kind of romance, but it was actually a warm melo one. this drama is too slowww, super slow that I had to push myself to watch it at the beginning. i guess melo wasn't for me. but, i don't know why i wasn't annoyed by it, i watch it very patiently till the end. usually, i will be super annoyed and mad at slow dramas but not this one. not because i was looking forward to the next episode, but because of its heartfelt emotional scenes and i want to feel that. this is a very warm drama yet it was fluttering at moments. the small things that the couples did was really fluttering and their chemistry were really good. as for the acting it was amazing, especially lee jun ho. he's so so soooo good acting, as the character suits him too well to the point i thought this was him in real life (but of course not). i like the drama, but it was still so slow.

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Possui um ritmo lento, um bom enredo e um casal principal apaixonante.

No geral, é um melodrama bem feito, com diálogos profundos e muitos personagens cativantes. Traz muitas lições de vida e constrói um romance lindíssimo. O casal principal pra mim se sobressaí muito em termos de construção de relação, o que pra mim não acontece da mesma forma com os outros casais da trama, que acabam possuindo pouco desenvolvimento e finais bastante abertos. A profundidade das cenas, a beleza dos cenários e a trilha sonora fazem desse drama uma experiência inesquecível. Apesar de no final não ter cenas que eu esperava com ansiedade ainda sinto que foi um bom final para a maioria dos personagens.

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Another masterpiece from JTBC. As I said, when it comes to family and youth genre JTBC is top tier. Though I got a little bit bored because the story of this drama is slow paced, I still can't deny that this drama is amazing. And this is first drama of the 2 main leads that I saw, and I can say that they really fit the character of the story. Looking forward for more of their drama.

I'll give this a 7/10. I won't give this a 10 out of 10 because I got a little bit bored on how slow and long this drama is, but in my opinion, it is good enough too recommend it to someone.

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Man, how I had wished to give this a 10...
I mean this was such a great story, almost perfect. There actually didn't "happen" that much, if you look closely at it, but the interactions between each person were enough to keep you glued to the screen. I mean, every single character had a grounding of their own which let you connect with and like them to bits. I loved every single story. Gang Doo's sister and Moon Soo's boss kinda annoyed me though.

Of course, the most endearing and compelling part was Moon Soo's and Gang Doo's growth and their struggles to overcome their past. And how they completed each other, eventually. The actors were just... magnificent, especially Jun Ho (and I'm glad they never changed his hair style in this drama like they do in other ones, because.... damn his messy curls~).

I preferred the first part over the second one. The characters were steadier in their decisions and actions, and never budged. In the later episodes there were some things that looked like the writers didn't know how to push the story forward, so that they started to use old standard methods.

And this is also why I only gave a 9. Because the final plot twist rubbed me up the wrong way. It was totally unnecessary and felt like an emergency solution because (again) the writers had no idea how to wrap up the drama with a smooth and deserving ending. I mean I didn't even ask for an explosive finale at all. I would have been completely satisfied with a calm one, too, instead of this... dispensable add-on. Or they could have at least changed the reason for the last event.

The drama still deserves the 9 because of its many strengths, a well put together atmosphere, strong characters with noticeable development, and a significant background music, which all put together create a heart wrenching but also warm story. It's one of those dramas that will touch your heart in a special way and stay with you for a long time.

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Not your typical love story

Consume this show with enjoyment and emotional attack. From the start, they introduced empathy and sympathy for the victim’s families and survivors of a traumatic incident. They undoubtedly did a great job of portraying this kind of story flawlessly and with well-executed outputs. The field of work is a breath of fresh air from the usual professional jobs that main leads in K-Drama often perform their service to.

The best thing about this series is the on-point acting skills of the cast and their consistency in holding a firm grip on their characters’ personalities. Happy to witness a love triangle without making the second lead do something toxic. I like the closures of each one of them here. Everyone ended up with a new start and living their life with positive energy.

The main characters are worthy to be called the MC. Lee Kang Doo, portrayed by Lee Jun Ho, was a manly-ordinary worker who lived just to survive. The same with Ha Moon Soo, played by Won Jin Ha, who’s also trying to face the reality of the present with no other choice. Their love story was well carried out. Both have genuine and sincerity boosting around their presence. The conflict was resolved without any exaggerated scenarios.

Together with the rest of the supporting characters, this drama is surely one of the best dramas of 2017. My only regret is that I am this late watching this in 2022. Nevertheless, I am wishing the best of happiness to all of the people out there who are also experiencing emotional imprisonment towards themselves. Rain or Shine, we should keep surviving this uneasy life with a grateful heart towards ourselves and the people around us who help us to cope with this life. May the joyfulness keep on leading our lives to the fullest.

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