Thirty But Seventeen (2018)

Heartwarming

An enjoyable watch from beginning to end. This drama gives warm family feels with a puzzle piecing plot. As you go along the writer gives you the story piece by piece.

All the characters are likable/lovable. The sincerity of the ML and FL touch your heart, but you will also find many humorous moments to give a good balance.

This was my first plunge into watching a Korean drama. Thanks to a friend’s recommendation it was a good one. I love a feel-good drama, so I give this a high rating.

Make sure to watch past the first few episodes. It gets better as it goes along.

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Great concept drama

I ended up liking this drama a lot. There seems to be no rush with the Korean drama ‘Thirty, But Seventeen’. The storyline, while being somewhat complicated, creeps along very slowly. It is about a violin prodigy who is in a horrific bus accident at the age of 17, which puts her in a coma for 13 years before she wakes up. Life moved forward in time, but she did not. I found that I did not get fully invested in the characters till past the fifth hour (or tenth episode) of the standard episodes (Each episode was 30 minutes for this drama. An hour of drama time was two episodes). The slower pace will appeal to those who like great character building. The Romance is terminally paced slowly as well. This is in keeping with the natural build up of the drama character, an eccentric, off-putting loner Male Lead who suffers from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) and a Female Lead who has been in a coma for 13 years. She skips over from a world where she was seventeen to a world where she is now thirty. I will say that once I was invested the slow pace did not bother me at all.

There is great acting in Thirty, But Seventeen, and two of the oddest characters emerge. The young curmudgeon Gong Woo Jin was perfectly played by Yang Se Jong. He nailed his portrayal and reaped the benefits by winning three post production acting awards for his efforts. Another character that was an oddity was the monotone speaking house servant, Jennifer, played by Ye Ji Won. She will be added to my list of most unusual characters in a Korean drama.


Shin Hae Sun as Woo Seo Ri and Yang Se Jong as Gong Woo Jin

Shin Hae Sun (Mr Queen) gives a great performance as the thirty year old teen Woo Seo Ri. Ahn Hyo Seop from Business Proposal was truly a standout as Yoo Chan. Most will love his portrayal of a teen falling in love for the first time. Some will fall victim to Second Lead Syndrome.


Ahn Hyo Seop as Yoo Chan

The slow character building did not hinder the story, powered with lots of flashbacks, which were very consistent and congruent with the future/present story. The many characters tell their individual stories, which all converge neatly in episode 28, where all questions are answered.

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Endearing watch + so many positive charcters!

This is such a light, positive drama - even the negative characters don't remain so for long, everyone is good! (rare in recent dramas) or at least has a good side worth appreciating.
The casting is great. I began watching because I was curious to see the moment when a 30 year old wakes to realize their age while feeling like a 17 year old + I admire the actress. I continued watching for everyone's acting + the positive vibe of the drama.
Even though the plot continuously teased on disclosing the suspense for our main characters, I didn't mind due to the positives.
And when finally the main leads discovered what was going on, it happened all too soon - everyone adapted fast, understood eachother quickly, accepted their reality quickly etc. This felt unreal. But again, I didn't mind. It was coming to an end.
I liked the end takeaway - choose what makes you happy, you don't have to achieve your goal the fastest, just happily at your own pace. As long as you're happy & doing what you love, you'll be aligned with yourself & likely, win. The journey matters.

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My heart is happy ❤

I finished this drama for the 1st time (yeah, because there will be 2nd and 3thrd times FOR SURE) last week, but the heartwarming feeling still lingers in me. This here is a true GEM. Everything about "Thirty But Seventeen" is perfection - the plot, the cast (THE ACTING OH MY), the songs, the direction of the scenes, I mean EVERYTHING.

The thing I love the most is the fact that it goes from comedy to drama, from laughing to crying in smooth transitions that give a beautiful balance to the story. You will have a goofy smile on your face most of the times, but you will also have your heart suffering a little in between. Be prepared to deal with a lot of emotions and to love the characters deeply.

What I also love, is the fact that we don't have a villain, everyone is just trying to live their lives the best they can, and as LIFE happens, each character deals with things their own way. The story gives us hope, it is healing, pure and fresh.

The characters are ADORABLE and PRECIOUS - all of them. The development is beautiful and we can see them bloom. The romance is the cutest thing and it gave me butterflies. This unique little family stole my heart. Did I mention they are freaking adorable already?

So yeah, be happy, just press play and enjoy.

And as Yoochan would say:

DON'T THINK, FEEL! ❤

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A story about healing

"Hurt people hurt people"

Quite the insightful observation by the lead. Couldn't have summed up the cycle of violence better.

I wish the FL played more violin overall. The music takes too much of a backseat in the story for something that's so important to her.

This is well written. Character motivations make sense, they don't make dumb decisions, they talk to each other to get through their problems, surprising things happen, music fits, it works. However the plot is a bit stretched out, and some things fall into place too easily.

The side characters became grating to me near the end, especially the nephew who was a bit ridiculous. His constant massive grin became annoying after a while. He's just too much. And he can't say "Don't think, feel!" properly to save his life (his motto, as said by Bruce Lee).

But if you're up for a slowburn heartwarming story then this is one I'd recommend. It's very sweet!

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Heartwarming

This is my first written review on my drama list in several years just because I loved this drama so much!

The characters, their development, the story, everything was so wonderful! As someone who is extremely picky with choosing dramas, and many times I have dropped a drama once a couple gets together, I just couldn't drop this one.

I fell in love with Seo Ri and Woo Jin's story, and they are now one of my all-time favorite K-drama couples. Their development, their scenes together, they were just so cute and always left a smile on my face. I especially loved how they communicated with each other, it was so heartwarming and they truly became a relationship goal UGH <3

I also loved Jennifer's character and Chan's character and just everyone in the cast. This was truly such a cute drama, with scenes that both make you squeal with joy or also leave you heartbroken, but always wanting more! I 100% recommend :)

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A funny and heartwarming melodrama

Okay, first we see both main girl & main boy as 17-year olds. Despite the infamous common practice, they were not portrayed by 30 year old actors. Yoon Chan Young and Park Si Eun were both really 17. Actually, they were both so talented and likeable that at first I worried I will not be able to like the grown-up versions as much, in compare.

As for the story: Main girl got robbed of 13 years of her life. Suddenly waking up in a body of a 30-year old, her mind was still 17, without the time to allow her grow up and evolve, develop her personality, adjust to her body change... Or completing her education and gaining working skill, to mention the practical. First thing I thought was that along with physiotherapy she'll require a psychologist, and some support. But her family was nowhere to be seen. As for main guy, at the tender age of 17, when he liked a certain pretty girl and first tried to approach her, she obeyed his advice to get off on a different bus stop, which (in his mind) caused her to die in following accident. After this, he decided to live alone in woods. Okay, maybe not so extreme. Basically, he keeps a long beard and a dog:) That way he maintains his distance from females, while pouring all emotional attachment onto the small creature.

Shin Hye Sun had interesting acting task, here. Her 30 year old face was now supposed to wear expressions a 17 would make. Same with her manner of speech, and general behavior...

First episodes, the girl struggles with physio for a while and with seeing her own face and hearing her own voice for long. We don't see her getting any visits, the facility staff keeps avoiding her questions. The guy maintains slightly antisocial behavior. I had to smile. I personally could relate, it's the same whenever I attempt to act like that. In our society, you practically cannot get through 1 day, if you'd just purely attempt to not interact with any people around you. You unavoidably end up perceived as rude, mean even. Nobody would ever understand you'd like 1 single day of social "cleanse" from all the communicating. You really need to lock yourself alone for that:) Main girl and guy mirror each other when she seeks after company while he tries to avoid it.

Episode 2 ends up in crazy confusing situation where I was equally confused while I was the audience, lol. But actually, it was kind of tragic... Main girl was still recognized by her old dog, else, her house got new owner and her family members were gone. She was told to go to the police. Yeah, I indeed thought the story of a young girl having woken up in a strange adult body, in a strange world where she had no one, was not very cheerful. I would understand if she started to cry. The scene where even police refuses to help her is especially weird. Apparently before the accident, she was not legal age enough to receive ID card, but her appearance was older now, so the police just refused to help her. I was confused, why nobody in the facility having her medical record didn't provide her assistance with such matters, or why did all of her family members disappeared. But, perhaps the writer needed to create situation where she'd have only the main guy to provide help to her.

Main guy looses his long hair episode 3, unfortunatelly he gets that weird helmet-shaped haircut they sometimes do to guys in Korea so I actually did not find it that much of an improvement. Who needed his hair shorter was the main girl (well, woman). Anyways. The following episodes, she continues staying in main guy's house, who grudgingly allowed it for 1 month. I couldn't help but thinking she'd be better off had he not. She was a grown-up looking woman acting like a 17-year old, which was not always looked kindly upon. She kept going around for job interviews with completely empty resume, as she haven't even finished high school. She was not able to play violin with her new hands. She actually needed lot of help, unfortunatelly the writer's plot made it so that she left the only place where she could be found to receive it. It was frustrating to watch. The main guy needed to learn about her identity to start treating her better and also to start healing. But that was obviously also something the writer wanted to happen way later...

I kept watching, because I agreed it was more important for the girl to meet her right guy, after all:) She was stuck in being seventeen, he was also stuck in the past, so that way they suited each other. It was right for them to meet (again). They started to develop a connection, to realize and address important things, just everything but him realizing who she was. That was always conveniently swept under a rug. Apart from these obvious flaws, soon it all comes together, even with such characters like too noisy friends or too weird a housekeeper, it somehow clicks and the drama works: it's enjoyable, funny and heartwarming.

ML knows about FL's identity since epi 14/16. Better late than later. By that point, FL's got 3 suitors (counting ML in). There is still yet the Mystery about her family & about the housekeeper, and mysterious man in a baseball cap. Despite all these corny elements, I liked the humble quality the main girl had. She knew grattitude, not just attitude, like all them leading ladies:) It's actually easier for people of this kind to find happiness, and I liked the drama did mention that. Romance is very satisfying, the romantic conclusion comes earlier than the final and really is quite romantic. Then there's more heavy drama about the family stuff. I didn't enjoy watching main girl going through even more pain, but at least by then she had her guy by her side. Luckilly, some more cute moments follow.

And questions about their future. But the girl was younger than her age, so I didn't see why she should not study if she wanted to. And the guy was used to being uprooted. The way I saw it, nothing prevented the guys from getting married and going to Germany together for one or two years, even with the dog:) Then they could return to their korean home and she could complete her degree. I didn't see a problem, no matter how many years it all should take (so what if you get your degree at 38 or 40 years old? if it's the craft you long to practice till you're whitehaired:) Life is long. No need to rush your journey WHEN you already have the right person to walk hand in hand with. The writer tried a to make bit of final drama out of it and we had a couple of separations and reunions of the characters, so the ending was a bit zigzagging but the emphasis was on friendship and love.

Overall, it was a good melodrama.

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Shin Hye sun simply doesn't disappoint. What an amazing actress! Thirty But Seventeen turned out to a surprisingly a healing drama. I was expecting it to be majorly comic in nature, but it was so much more than humour and that ended up elevating its level. I loved all the characters and how each of them were given backstories that made sense. At no point did it feel that the characters were acting out of expected behaviour. There is a bit of stretching and miscommunication, but it gets resolved pretty quickly. I also loved how the leads were so open about how they felt and ML opting for therapy and being consistent with it even in his happy place - very well done! The best part about this drama is the bonds between each of the characters: the friendships, the love, guardians, loved it! It also subverted every expected trope, you reach a point where you think it is going to be a typical kdrama behaviour, but surprise! it's not.

I almost wish I hadn't binged it. What a heartwarming experience and such a beautiful ending. <3

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Warmhearted and lovely drama

I have become a big fan of Shin Hyesun ever since I watched Mr. Queen. Let me tell you, her character as Woo Seori is perfect! You can immediately fall in love with her.

If you are looking for a warm-hearted kind of drama, this by far alongside When The Camelia Blooms, gotta be that drama for me. The plot is kind of predictable, like come on, it is a korean drama. So the plot usually must be the main characters related to each other since they're kids and all. But mostly I stayed for the characters. Woo Seori and Kang Woojin definitely that healthy couple that I adore so much. I love that Woojin is so respectful towards Soori's decision and agreed to stay together with Seori in whatever situation. The bridge scene where both of them cried together and kissed later on were so good.

Thumbs up to the drama. I will rewatch it only for the main characters' scene because they're so cute together. Overall, great drama!

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After watching last episode of this Drama, I felt very happy and wanted to rewatch immediately.

Let me start with the story, it's based on a very simple story line. Nothing unique about it. You can always predict the ending from the beginning itself. Then, why should we watch it? It's about how it was presented and unfolded a simple story with heart touching scenes.

Acting is really good. Main leads and supporting characters did their best to portray given role. In the beginning I was curious how the main lead actress will do in this Drama, because I saw her doing a good job as side actress in The Legend Of The Blue Sea. I liked her there too.

In this Drama you won't be burdened with cliche characters, evil villains, unnecessary influencing and interfering parents. Very small amount of second lead syndrome. Lead actors chemistry is really good.

I am not that much interested in music in any drama. So, I won't be talking about it.

Rewatch value is really high. Definitely I will watch many times in future. It's a feel good Drama without any heavy stuff.

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OVERALL: 7/10
I actually was about to drop this drama. It was just another "ok" drama. It was kind of enjoyable and funny, but I skipped so many parts...
STORY: 7/10
It's not something new nor original. It is actually not my cup of tea. Somehow it was slow and pretty cute.
CAST: 8/10
Ok. Yes, it was a really good cast with cool characters. There's not the "annoying" nor "bad" character, what makes it amazing to watch.
I don't have an opinion about the main girl. I didn't like her in the beginning, but then I just didn't mind her at all.
The same with the main guy.
I really liked Jennifer, she was so funny and mysterious and simple.
The acting was what we usually watch in dramas, nothing more.
OST: 10/10
It was so good!!

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