One Spring Night (2019)

L'amour rencontré une nuit de printemps franchira tous les obstacles

J’ai adoré !!
Au point de dire : on s’est trompé quelque part ce n’est pas un drama ! Où sont les clichés ? Où est la romance? Parce que de l’amour, oui, il y en a, et pas qu’un peu, mais de la romance, point du tout !! Pas mièvrerie, pas de guimauve, pas de vile morue qui vient se mettre en travers, enfin rien de ce qui fait le drama de base ! Même pas l’habituel « je t’aime mais je te quitte » d’ailleurs les héros se l’interdisent : ne te sers pas de ça pour me quitter ! j’étais aux anges !
L’histoire est ancrée solidement dans la réalité, les personnages sont parfaitement crédibles, les situations tout à fait vraisemblables et réalistes… en Corée !!
Parce que chez nous personne ne considérerait comme une tare horrible d’être un papa célibataire qui élève parfaitement avec l’aide ses parents un amour de petit garçon de six ans ! Mais il semble qu’en Corée, il aurait mieux valu qu’il le largue dans le premier orphelinat venu ! Alors si quelqu’un qui connaît la Corée passe par là et peut m’expliquer cet étrange phénomène je suis preneuse !!
L’histoire est donc ancrée dans le réel coréen, car le pouvoir de la volonté paternelle sur des enfants adultes et indépendants financièrement nous paraît à peine croyable, et la force contraignante de l’opinion des autres et la puissance de la norme que cette opinion génère est quand même difficile à comprendre pour nous, même si c’était comme ça chez nous…au XIX siècle!
Mais ce drama est avant tout une histoire de femmes ! Ce sont elles les moteurs puissants de l’histoire, les trois filles qui, chacune à leur manière, se battent pour pouvoir vivre leur vie et non celle qu’on veut leur imposer, (d’ailleurs peut-être que la 3ème a ramené sa liberté de parole de France !! ), les mères, qui, gardiennes de la tradition et du « comme il faut » vont laisser leur amour maternel prendre le dessus et leur ouvrir le cœur. N’oublions pas les amies de l’héroïne, drôles et solides au poste, comme la pharmacienne patronne de Ji Ho, une une sorte de vraie grande sœur, à la fois sage, encourageante et lucide !

Par contre, on ne peut pas dire que l’image donnée des hommes soit à leur avantage : bornés, butés, lâches, brutaux, vaniteux, arrogants, que ce soit les pères ou les jeunes, ils sont affreux, mais heureusement il y en a trois qui sauvent l’espèce. Le père de Ji Ho, plein de bon sens et de générosité, le copain que se fait Jae In, capable aussi de voir plus loin que « ce qui se fait » et de comprendre que « c’est l’amour, idiot !"  comme il le dit à un copain , et le troisième le meilleur, c’est Ji Ho, l’homme qu’on voudrait toutes pour amoureux ou pour fils, ou pour gendre suivant les âges !!

Alors pendant 16 épisodes on va voir Jeong In et Ji Ho se battre contre les autres mais aussi contre eux-mêmes, car on leur a appris que leur amour ne pouvait être qu’impossible, ils doivent commencer par se convaincre eux-mêmes avant d’affronter les autres !
En même temps on découvre la problématique du divorce, de la violence conjugale (et j’ai bien l’impression que les Coréens sont en avance sur nous quant à pénalisation de ladite violence ! ).
Les dialogues sont excellents, avec ce qu’il faut d’humour, les personnages parfaitement écrits, parfaitement interprétés, les situations sont prenantes, touchantes, émouvantes, attendrissantes… car pour une fois ils s’aiment, et ça se voit !! Il n’y a pas juste le premier baiser et après c’est à peines on se prend la main pendant 16 épisodes. Non, l’amour est là, bien là, on le voit et on sourit malgré soi tant c’est communicatif !
L’OST est superbe, il y a même Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, donc pas de hurleuse (ha ha ha ! )
Que dire de plus que : REGARDEZ « ONE SPRING NIGHT » de toute urgence !!

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L'amour fleurit les nuits de printemps

An Pan Seok nous a habitué aux dramas romantiques qui font réfléchir ce dont je le remercie grandement !
Ici, pas de "je t'aime, moi non plus", pas d'amourette de niveau maternelle, on est dans le mature. Il sait nous présenter la société coréenne et tous ses à priori sur ce que devrait être un couple, une relation et une vie maritale comme la tradition l'enseigne si bien sans s'ennuyer avec l'évolution des sociétés et des humains.
Ainsi, avec l'aide de Jeong Hae In qu'on peut retrouver également dans Something In the Rain, qui aborde les mêmes thèmes mais dans une autre tournure, An Pan Seok nous expose la rencontre du jeune lead masculin avec la très talentueuse Han Ji Min qui incarne ici le milieu d'une sororie (féminin de fratrie). Je souhaite la présenter de cette façon car, en effet, ce drama est avant tout une série centrée sur les femmes : leurs relations, leurs vie de couple, leur vision de la vie, de la société, de leur avenir.

Cette production nous montre sans filtres aucun la conception archaïque de la place de la femme dans la société mais aussi au sein du milieu familial que suit encore, bien malheureusement, une majorité de coréens.
On passe d'une sœur à l'autre et d'un point de vue rétrograde des relations de couples à l'image et l'opinion publique qui passe avant même la vie d'une personne (féminine, bien sûr) tout en mêlant ça avec une culture du viol encore bien ancrée.
Le réalisateur va même nous présenter la difficulté dans le pays de refaire sa vie amoureuse quand on a l'immense malheur et déshonneur d'être parent célibataire, ce qui peut paraitre bien sibyllin aux yeux des occidentaux que nous sommes et qui sont plus habitués aux familles recomposées. Nous voyons là un nouveau départ là où certaines personnes de cette société voient une femme qui jette sa vie aux orties pour élever un enfant qui n'est pas à elle, car les liens du sang et l'image que l'on donne aux autres là-bas, comptent (pour certains) bien plus que l'amour.

Pour faire le bilan, oui, la série fait réfléchir. Elle alerte sur le fait que ces pratiques fossiles ont malheureusement encore cours à notre époque. Mais le drama reste sur une note d'espoir car nos trois sœurs montrent qu'en se soutenant, en refusant ces diktats figés dans l'immobilisme conservateur, on peut tout surmonter, on peut se libérer et trouver son égal, son amour et sa voie.

En bref, un formidable hymne à l'émancipation. Foncez le voir !

Maintenant, à vous de vous faire votre avis.

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Romance touchante

Story touchante (romance entre 1 bibliothécaire trentenaire et 1 pharmacien père célibataire.
Cette romance rencontre de multiples obstacles : un ex obsessif, la différence de statut, la pression familiale, etc.

Cette série souligne aussi la sévère discrimination vis à vis des parents célibataires en Corée (étonnante pour des européens).

Ce drama décrit bien les relations familiales (machisme, condition de la femme)

Prestation remarquable de l'acteur canon (Jung Hae-In ❤❤❤) toujours excellent.

Je recommande fortement cette série très romantique, mais pas du tout comédie.

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Since I belong to the minority that hasn't seen Something in the Rain, I am going to review this show purely based on the story that it brought to me, regardless of what came before it.

Let's start with the story, One Spring Night tells a tale of two people who fell in love despite the whole world telling them not to. They tugged at my heartstrings with their beautiful, mischevious relationship that not only had to bear the weight of internal struggles but also had to face the societal pressures that came along with being Korean. It's as much a social drama as it is a romance story, so please go into it keeping that in mind. The cultural differences will make some decisions hard to understand but all of them make perfect sense, regardless. Jeong In and Ji Ho's slow burn romance coupled with extremely lovable side characters, realistic and fleshed out "antagonists" (though I'm not sure if I want to call them that because they weren't inherently evil, just handicapped by their circumstances, upbringing and morals). All in all, OSN offers what most dramas tend to lack these days: authenticity. It makes you feel like you're there with the characters and you grow fond of them. A beautiful, minimalist love story.

The acting is so extremely well done that I don't even feel like I'm watching Jung Hae In or Han Jimin (or any of the actors for that matter). Everyone, EVERYONE, did a brilliant job of internalizing the characters. From the minor characters to the major ones, all of them gave a very natural performance that made me think that the characters were people that could actually exist IRL. I would also like to applaud the writing and directing. There are plenty of scenes whose artistic value could be seen even through my inexperienced eyes. The drama is a treat to watch.

I also really, really loved the music. It fit really well with the setting of the scenes. Best of all, I feel like the OST wasn't used to manipulate the mood of the show which gave it an even more authentic feel. It complimented the scenes and wasn't distracting at all. They do have limited songs playing in the background but tbh I didn't mind that at all. I'll think of OSN when I listen to We Could Still Be Happy haha.

I want to add that another reason why this drama is so special is because of its exceptional secondary characters. All of them feel like you could be friends with them. They're flawed yet extremely raw and realistic. They aren't caricatures or used as a plot device to further our main couple's story but instead they power through struggles of their own. They're all very different from each other but equally endearing. This show deserves an award for creating characters like them.

Anyway, I really loved this drama and it has become one of my favourite dramas of all time!

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Redemption

You can't talk about One Spring Night without mentioning Something in The Rain.

Because OSN is the result of what SITR could've been. It's about growth to both the drama and especially to the writer. One Spring Night is a take on modern Korea where the youth have to face the older generation, but not with guns or lawsuits, it's all about dialogue.

The first two episodes give the viewer an amazing introduction to the story, something most kdramas really fails to do, and the supporting cast is probably the best of the year. Every single person here has a story, no matter how much screentime they got. I dare to say that at least 3 or 4 supporting characters could easily have a drama to call their own, even if they just appear for a few minutes each episode. The music is soft and the editing makes the transitions between conflicts fit in nicely with the narrative.

Remember when I said this drama is about growth especially to the writer? Well, this drama is not perfect. It has its problems but that's what growth is. It's not a straight line to success. Don't come to this thinking all the missing points from SITR were fixed and that you won't get annoying sometimes. But the acting, damn, the acting.

I don't like to compare performances because I like to believe that actors can't only do so much if the script isn't good. But what an amazing performance by everyone.

One Spring Night is (once again) about growth, and I believe that the best score you can give to a drama is "I want to watch whatever this writer and director are doing next".

For the first time in a while, I feel bad that I can't see a drama on my 'currently watching' list anymore. There's no "I want to finish this quickly so I can watch another one" with One Spring Night. In a world where people consume so much media, not seeing a piece of content as a simple checklist is one of the best adjectives it can get. That's what happens with OSN.

Binge watch it, watch two episodes a week, whatever works for you. If possible, watch it on a Spring Night.

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First and foremost, let me just get this out off the way; I am a sucker for romance and I have seen Something in the Rain (multiple times). This will be a lot to read, so kudos to those who get through it.

Many of you will know that SitR ties closely with One Spring Night, whether it be the casting, music or directing styles. This doesn't mean that OSN is simply a carbon copy. No, it's much more than that. This show is a picturesque amalgamation of modern romance, societal pressures and conservative values without the unnecessary plot devices employed by other Korean dramas. But that's just Ahn Pan-seok's (director) style, and it's why I am a huge fan.

Lets go through this methodically so I don't lose track of my objective here. OSN is a story of two people with their own complicated situations, falling madly in love despite the inevitable backlash that will result from the stigma imposed by their cultural values. This is also something that should be kept in mind. This is a story based within Korean culture and society so there may be huge differences in values to what you are used to. Nonetheless, there may be decisions and moments where the character's rationale is incomprehensible. I understand that, but try not to let it detract from your experience. All that aside, this is a drama that provides an important social commentary on modern day Korea's outdated values, something that Ahn Pan-seok (director) and Kim Eun (writer) have successfully conveyed in their earlier work, SitR. Akin to SitR, OSN provides a realistic take on the romance in question. While it is a gradual progression burdened by eventual complications, it is an authentic romance between two people that can't help but tug at your heartstrings and make you feel all giddy inside. There are one or two unresolved story points, but I feel that is largely appropriate and shouldn't be taken as a gripe. This is a realistic story and not everything can be resolved at once. The essence is that things have fallen in place and the rest will be resolved in due course.

Acting/Cast? Perfect. Jung Hae-In and Han Ji Min were both superb in their roles as the couple deeply in love despite their 'flaws'. Their chemistry was electrifying, similar to Jung Hae-In's performance with Son Ye-Jin in SitR. I truly do not believe that anyone else could pull of Han Ji Min's role as well as she could. That's not to say that the side characters weren't also quintessential to the story. Unlike many of the other dramas, the side characters in OSN are seamlessly natural in their performance and appropriately impactful on the main characters. They aren't caricatures or plot devices used to fuel the story, but rather, they have their own lives and accompanying struggles. Side note, it's a bit jarring seeing Kil Hae Yeon as an endearing and accepting mother in OSN, given that her character in SitR is quite the antithesis (and one of my most hated characters).

I feel like it's also appropriate now to talk about directing styles. As you can probably tell, I revere Ahn Pan-seok's modern-romance directing style. He has a way with capturing a scene that encompasses all the quiet nuances and raw emotional value in a colourful, minimalist fashion without any unnecessary distractions. These scenes convey a beautiful and somber melody that truly captivate viewers like myself. It's a style hard to perfect, and something that a lot of directors and producers should aim to achieve nowadays especially when grappling with romance.

The music in OSN was also flawless and appropriate to the story. It boasts the ensemble of Rachael Yamagata, who produced many of the OSTs in SitR, as well as a song from Oscar Dunbar and Carla Bruni. These songs aren't just great for their addictive repetitions on your phone, but they seamlessly blend into the settings of OSN. One song in particular, Spring Waltz by Carla Bruni. My lord, that song was perfect for OSN and an absolute delight to listen to. Even if you don't watch this drama, which I highly doubt by now given how much you must've read of this review by now, you should google that song and play it on repeat. These songs are limited, just like in SitR, but it shouldn't really be an issue.

Rewatch value is ambiguous. Personally, I'll be going through this again very soon (maybe in 2 or so days), but for others, it depends on your enjoyment for romance. I highly believe that this is a drama worth at least one rewatch. For the sceptics, give it a couple of weeks after you've finished the last episode to play it all again. I do concede, however, that I have seen SitR about 4 times by now, so there may be some slight bias but I know OSN will give it a run for its money.

Overall, OSN has ranked definitively in my favourite Korean dramas of all time. It's needless to say at this point in the review, but the casting choices, music and directing styles were all impeccable. OSN showcases a captivating love from one to another with endearing characters from varying social backgrounds. It's truly a romance that will keep you engaged in the show from all their ups and down. I will definitely miss seeing this on my 'Continue watching' list on Netflix, but all good things must come to an end. There is this faith between the main characters that persists throughout the show, and it's a faith I have for the romantic dramas to come from director Ahn Pan-seok and writer Kim Eun.

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I loved this one so much! The chemistry between the two leads is amazing, and they're both fantastic even on their own. It's a relatively gentle pace throughout and just such a good story I was always looking forward to seeing them face their next challenge. There's lots of similarities you could draw between this and Something in the Rain - it's got a lot of the same cast even, same ML but different FL and other parental roles moved around a bit. Having literally watched Something in the Rain just before this it was a little surreal with husband and wife from one now in separate families in the other but... that's ok :)

Where Something in the Rain tried and failed, One Spring Night tries and scores a home run.

He is "flawed", he is a single dad of a son. She's got a boyfriend at the start and are starting to talk about Marriage, but she's not on the same page and frustrated with the relationship. This sets up the tone for a story with lots of factors working against the couple, whether it's the notion that she might be considered to have "cheated" on her boyfriend, or whether others will accept that she wants to get involved with a single dad and all the "baggage" that brings. Parents on both sides bring challenges but they're different, the ML's parents are over protective about things that might bring him the kind of sadness that left him a single dad and the FL's parents are traditional and "difficult".

I was absolutely delighted with the FL's mother in this, you can see her growing and evolving around the changing situation around her and reacting in a really great and supportive way - even if it takes her a bit to get there. The same actress played the absolutely nasty mother in Something in the Rain so this was a redemption from my perspective, as odd as that might sound :)

Initially I was confused about why the FL wasn't being more direct about breaking up with her boyfriend, and I must confess that I'm married to my first love (24 years now) so... i'm totally inexperienced in this kind of thing... but as the story progressed I grew to appreciate that it hadn't been a binary switch-off, it made the time that things properly change that much more valuable when it happened, and also meant that her previous relationship wasn't trivialised and thereby her attitude to relationships in general wasn't.

It did also somewhat talk to one of my other general meanderings - if someone cheats, betrays a partner, and goes to someone else... surely the new partner must always have in the back of their mind - that person has already demonstrated that they have the capacity to change, to betray and to move on, what worked in their favour today could happen again but against them. The ML's insecurities about this surface at an important point and it creates some tension but I thought it was dealt with well.

There are other arcs in this as well, I think that the general arc that follows her and her sisters around and the things happening to them is probably just as important as the main love story.

I struggle to find flaw with this, I was just so happy watching it all the way through, other than towards then end when I realised I was going to run out of show and this amazing couple were no longer going to be in my life, but, i'll probably get over that when I start my next drama :-P

Highly recommended, and as the flow is not really ruined by knowing what happens, it makes it all the more easy to re-watch again if you want 16 episodes of lovely warmth to keep you company on a cold weekend.

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(long commentary yeehaw)

This drama is so tiring to watch, and that's the reason why I loved watching this drama. It made me tired not because of its literary elements, rather because of its resemblance to the reality that we have as humans. How bounded it's by realism and its relatability is how it's able to sell itself to the large population of viewers. This isn't a drama you should watch when you need an escape. Rather, this is a drama you should watch if you want to be slapped by reality.

Arguably, this drama is welcomed with mixed reactions because of our own moral dilemmas. Some are saying that this drama romanticizes cheating. However, I think that's not the case. In our reality where cheating is usually seen as black-and-white, we realize how there are different shades of gray that comes into it. While the act itself is bad, we can see more of its complexity, giving us more room to understand. However, that doesn't mean we are condoning the act. The themes that the drama has are cliche but the way it's presented made it so interesting.

The characters in the drama are complex WHICH I THINK IS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT FACETS AS TO WHY THIS DRAMA WAS ABLE TO PRESENT ITSELF MORE EFFECTIVELY. Almost every character in the drama has an interesting and complex characterization which enabled the story to tackle several issues we see in our reality. Despite being a drama, its effectivity can serve as a commentary on modern Korean society with how raw and fresh it feels.

This drama is the second drama that Kim Eun wrote. With the reminiscent style of writing and vibe, I can confidently say how this drama highlighted her growth with regards her craft. While Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food felt like a prototype, One Spring Night felt complete and more realized.

I can only have praises for the acting and the casts of the drama. Most of the cast present in this drama can also be found from Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food. With this drama, we can see their improved capabilities especially for the fresh faces like Jung Hae In. A year difference showed a lot of growth not only for the writer but for the actors as well. I honestly can't critique them negatively for the acting as I find it so compelling to the point that I really wanted to strangle Giseok and Sihoon because of how pathetic they are. ELECTRIC CHAIR!!!

I also have a lot of praises for the music this drama has. This elevated the emotions and the quality of the drama. It gave a nostalgic vibe with a spice of hopefulness and tranquility in every listen.

Overall I'm giving this drama a 9.5/10. It's not perfect in all honesty. However, the growth and charm the drama possess made it deserving of a high rating :>.

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Viewers will be quick to compare this drama to “Something in the Rain”, which shares the same Director, Writer, and Male Lead, and they would be at no fault for doing so. Like SitR, One Spring Night utilizes a slow pace to portray the relationship between the main leads. However, the pacing and characters of OSN are superior to SitR because of their steadiness. I recommend this drama to all kdrama watchers and promise that you will also slowly and steadily fall in love with the leads episode by episode till the very end.

Story:
I will be honest and say the story outline is similar to SitR, focusing on a relationship that is heavily critiqued by the leads’ friends and family. I believe there are 2 key differentiators which are the strength of the supporting stories and the methodical pace of character development. The supporting cast gets a fair amount of development throughout the drama, and they, themselves, change instead of folding into 2D one directional characters. This actually adds to the “slowness” of the drama as precious time is diverted away from the main leads.

However, I do not find fault in the slow pace. I admit the 16 (32 halves) episode format changes the standard for pace, but I also believe that there is a range of acceptable pace in kdrama. I find bigger fault when the writer/director strays away from the slow pace to try to close certain plot points or make characters behave erratically, which OSN does not suffer from. If anything, OSN is not shy in leaving interactions with little explanation and limited expose/monologue.

This may make it harder for viewers to buy into the relationship between the main leads, but I thoroughly enjoyed the romance that resembled something out of real life rather than a kdrama. One lead doesn’t have to save the other or be connected via childhood past to develop feelings for one another. OSN is the closest example of a life-like relationship in a Korean drama; any more and it would be no fun as a drama (you know you’re trying to escape reality watching kdramas).

I applaud the director/screenwriter for running it back by producing such a comparable drama within one year. They improved on all areas of the plot from SitR and remained true to their style instead of bending to every criticism levied at SitR, which I still ranked at 7.5. I look forward to their next projects with a small longing for something more different.

Acting:
Let’s begin by looking at the Male Lead since, again, it's easy to compare to SitR. Jung Hae In’s acting is markedly improved from SitR. This may be due to his growth as an actor, the improved writing of OSN, the chemistry with the cast, more trust from the director, or some combination of all of the above. He displayed a wide range of thoughts and emotions throughout the drama, and I was especially impressed with his acting when facing the second Male Lead.

Similar compliments can be said for the Female Lead, Lee Jung In. And her chemistry with the male actor was amazing. The biggest evidence of this being how electric the dialogue between the 2 felt; Their conversations conveyed more chemistry than any of their skinship scenes. The acting of the 2 main leads really complimented the direction of the drama, which heavily focused on interactions rather than monologues.

The supporting cast also performed admirably. For example, seeing the FL’s mother in OSN can be quite a shock after watching SitR (or vice versa), but she still nailed both roles and truly deserved to be part of this cast. The FL’s sisters were also great and their acting really conveyed how their characters were shaped by their shared upbringing (and I have a soft spot for “sismance”).

Music:
Funnily enough, even a good chunk of the OST is sung by the artist who contributed to SitR, Rachael Yamagata. Although English in Korean media is improved, it does not compare to having a native English speaker. This should significantly improve the drama viewing experience for international viewers given that some subbers do not sub Korean lyrics.

The actual music works very well with the story and pace. I thought each of the songs in the OST carried tension, even the “happy” song. This tension is well utilized because the story does not have the outrageously tense moments of a thriller or typical melo, so the combination of the story and song was important in conveying conflict and emotional resolution.

Rewatch Value:
There is a high rewatch value for this drama given that it covers a multitude of nuanced issues. Even as a native Korean speaker, I plan to go back and rewatch the drama to better understand and enjoy the conversations and chemistries between all the characters.

The next episode previews were the worst part of this show, so I look forward to not having to deal with them now that it is fully aired.

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Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.
I pick up this drama after I dropped SITR, since I was starting to get interested in Jung Ha In. Even to this day I still find myself going back to watch clips of One Spring Night. I was so invented on each episode and fell for both leads, as they're so into their role that I feel like watching some real-life event in front of me.

One Spring Night tells the story of two people who fall in love at the wrong time. It was as if the whole world telling them not to. They had to bear their own internal struggles, and also the pressure from society that comes along. This is not your typical romantic story as it also touches some social subjects, especially in Korea's culture. Not to mention they both have their own insecurities to start their relationship. I'm not a fan of slow-burn romance, but somehow OSN managed to make me crave for more with how realistic the story portrayed and how lovable each of the characters is.

What can I say about the characters - I freaking adore them. Lee Jung In is one fierce girl. She knows what she wants, she knows where she stands and her happiness lies beneath her independence. Ji Ho is a down to earth single father living inside this conservative society bubble. He is a man who never put himself first and always deciding things wisely by considering the people around him. Combine both and you got this mature relationship that dialogues their way into knowing each other. I also love how the 3 sisters always have each other's back through thick and thin. Especially the youngest one!

Arguably there are some mixed opinions on how the whole picture acts as a romanticization of cheating. But honestly, I think feelings can't be seen as black and white, there are gray in between and sometimes the lines are a little bit blurry. I wouldn't blame Jung In though, there must be some reason why she can't make up her mind on going the marriage route - although she's been in a relationship for so long. When you can't see the person you're seeing now exist in your future, I think that's one flag of no good in pushing marriage into it.

The OSTs are good, they're not distracting and somehow just fit into every scene. There were not a lot of songs in this drama, but Rachael Yamagata's No Direction stuck in my head for a long time and whenever I listen to the song I feel like the whole scenes played before my eyes.

Anyway, One Spring Night successfully gets into my all-time favorite drama list, and I would still happily re-watching it over and over again.

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Started out so well, and then the main conflict gets resolved around the half way mark and the drama loses it way, and gets buried in cliché. The will they or won't they is the most integral part of any rebound romance story and if you take that conflict out, it's hard to sustain a story for the length of so many episodes. And you can hate me for it, Jung Hae In is GORGEOUS but he wasn't convincing at all when he was supposed to show sadness, like otherwise he was fine, but a lot of actors, are not great at everything but they are great at showing sadness which for a show like this and for kdrama in general was very much needed.

Maybe because of this and the lack of real conflict in the second half I ended up not buying their relationship AT ALL and both the characters seemed to feel unfinished and not well thought out. Acting wise though the rest of the cast was really doing well and you know there's something wrong with a drama when I was honestly siding with the ex lol seriously the two son in laws should have just hooked up they were so good together. Seriously, I really got involved in the other sisters story a lot more. And the sociopathic son in law from hell the actor was so good and all the actors who played the sisters same, I liked both the sisters! Especially the youngest, she was badass.

The problem with a story about cheating couples is if you don't have characters who are conflicted about their emotions and they show some emotion for the ex is what makes the character a worthy protagonist for a romance. If they say they have no feelings for someone they were with for four years not only do they sound self serving but you also are unable to believe they will be any different in the new relationship. Like you waited till you had a hot guy with a stable job to leave someone you claim you didn't have feelings for yet you were sleeping with them? And saying you'll get married, I mean the guy didn't even do anything besides 'not give her enough time' when he was in a business meeting! ! Is she going to resent the new guy when he cancels on her because he was working?

I mean I did not buy she was going to continue to be 'selfless' long term with the new guy it's just a matter of time.

Another thing that also became annoying was the fact that the perceived 'villain' in the story, the ex, was the not really evil and the stunts he pulled become so lame you're left watching a boring story because look the villain actually has to win at something to be a convincing villain! Lol here none of the 'villains' or the antagonists were actually scary and everything got resolved through a single conversation, lol literally, like that's why I was so bored.

That said I did enjoy it but mostly because Jung Hae In is GORGEOUS and I liked the cast, the ex even I felt bad for him.

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Tedious

After not enjoying SITR (unlike everyone else in the world, apparently), I should have known better than to waste my time on this drama, considering it's the same writer, director, and main actor.

I'll start with the good - there was nothing wrong with the acting, everyone played their part well, I enjoyed the interactions between the sisters, but I think that's as far as I can take the compliments.

STORY: Oh my gosh, there were so many unlikable characters! The ex-boyfriend, both sets of parents and yes, the female lead. Female lead - I think she was supposed to be this outspoken woman, but apparently that only came out with the male lead. With him she was bossy, demanding, cranky and immature ("It must be nice to be able to eat, you must not be bothered by this at all.") She spent almost EVERY episode meeting up with the nightmare of an ex-boyfriend. She was a weakling where he was concerned, even though she knew she didn't love him. Was she trying to be nice? I couldn't quite get it. The ex-boyfriend trying to get her to marry him went on until the next to the last episode. He was just creepy. Give it a rest! Seriously, she should have gotten a restraining order or something. And then there were the parents - I know that it's important to respect your elders, but when your elders don't have any respect for you and won't listen when you say you don't want to marry someone, there's something wrong. Each episode seemed to be just a rehash of the previous one. Should she pursue this new relationship? Should she give the ex another try? The male lead was smitten with the female lead because she came in for hangover medicine? Why these two liked each other was never made clear. Almost all of the conversations revolved around how they were going to manage, because everyone was against them. I realize that Korean mores are different than American, but they made the male lead out to be a terrible person because he had a son. Then when the female lead APOLOGIZED to her mother because she was involved with a man with a child, that really irritated me.
CHEMISTRY: Kisses. I didn't feel chemistry between the leads at all. There were a couple of technically good kisses, but again, I didn't sense chemistry.
COSTUMES: She was a librarian. Was it absolutely necessary to make her dress in such a dowdy way? The clothes and shoes she wore made her look so much older than she was.
OST: Three-four songs on repeat throughout the whole drama. The songs were in English for no discernible reason and they were very distracting.
REWATCH VALUE: Not on a dare!

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