Office Romance Cruelty (2022)

Honestly I don't really understand the really low rating here on MDL (currently it has 7.6 only). It's not THAT bad . It definitely isn't the best drama out there but for me it still had more pros than cons, thus my fairly high rating of 9 stars for this k-drama.

The story first: the setting was very unique and I got to learn a lot of things about the work of people in meteorological agency. It was interesting to see how much it was affecting all the people even by just changing the coming of the rainy season for a few days. I came to like the supporting characters working there a lot, they all had their own hardships and struggles that made interesting sub-plots that were entertaining to watch.

I just LOVE Park Min Young so I just might be a bit biased towards all her dramas but she nailed the role as always. Other actors did a great job too!
Out of the characters I have a very mixed feelings towards the SML because although he did many questionable things and sometimes he was just borderline obsessive with his ex-fiancee, at the end he got better and became a better husband and future father.
My favourite side couple was definitely FL's sister and the guy from meteorological agency, they were just so cute together! And her books about the crocodile and penquin :3 I love how he was so supportive of her

The music I really liked, especially the one OST that was just so bubbly and cheerful that it always put a smile on my face.

Overall, a 9* drama for me. A perfect drama to slowly watch with a hot cup of delicious tea to unwind after a stressfull day .

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I liked it more than i should have

Okay so if i was being completely objective i would give this show a 7/10 at most. Honestly speaking though, episode 1 through to around episode 9 i think, this was by far my favorite kdrama ever and i just couldnt get enough of it.
Unfortunately, the second half of the drama in my opinion completely lost the magic that could draw anyone in and it was like if the writers room was like "ok, so we've done a lot of character development, its time to turn up the melodrama!!" And they sure did.
That said i am a sucker for anything the FL does and this is no different, her smile is just too much for me

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What started as mature and charming turned out to be incredibly shallow.

The show started good, it had good communication between the main characters, they acted maturely during their budding relationship and met the challenges with honesty and openness... it was refreshing. Then it all went out the window.

I could say a lot, a whole lot... so much, but I will keep it short because otherwise I will just start venting.

The shows narrative consistently frames people in different lights, and then changes it completely. They frame the exes as really horrible, shallow people, especially Ki-Jun. They spend so much time making him a horrible person, then with very little effort or growth he becomes a kind and considerate partner at the end. The main couple start out mature and charming but then do a complete 180 and make out of character decisions that make zero sense, and their character becomes distilled into immature people who cant be honest about their feelings. Over half of the show is just them longingly gazing at each other from across the room, and being stupid about their relationship, it felt juvenile and painful to watch.

With how they wrote both Si Woo's father and Ki-Jun, I think the story would have been much better if they had made them less shitty in the beginning if they wanted to redeem them later on. The lack of any shred of decency early on sets them up to be villainous, but with how they wanted the story to go, they didn't include enough real humanity to build upon later. Which is a shame because in isolation I would have enjoyed how their relationships progress later on, but with the complete leap in character, to me they might as well be alternate universe versions of themselves.

The side character's stories were painfully slow, and just felt a bit exhausting except for the sister and the hipster guy with glasses.

Towards the later half of the show Ha-Kyung kept crossing boundaries about Si-Woo's father and never addressed it, and acted like she did nothing wrong. All we got was Ha-Kyung having a surprised pikachu face in the hospital which was admittedly quite funny, but it was never really talked about after that it was shitty to do and she never apologized. The show clearly panders to forgiving shitty men, and parents who are abusive. It repeatedly frames setting boundaries with people who are destructive and abusive as "immature" or "heartless", and those boundaries just go away because "family" when something bad happens.

The show comments on sexism at a few points but does nothing to actually make a point, and cuts itself off at the knees by repeatedly hand waving bad behavior from men.

The weather parts are stupid, they continually act like they cant report probability of rain or other weather and act like it has to be either no rain, or rain... nothing in between which is just... not how that works, and I cant suspend my disbelief enough to bother caring about it.

Overall the show is frustrating and throws out character development for drama, and then throws in character development out of nowhere for characters that had no business getting developed. The whole show is kind of a mess, and while it is mildly entertaining, it becomes exhausting to watch and the pay off is incredibly weak and shallow by the end. After watching it I just feel tired and frustrated, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

Also... I am so fucking tired of weather metaphors...

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Slow & Cheesy with surprisingly nice moments

From the start I wasn’t super hooked on this drama, but it had some very nice and touching moments, and some interesting and unexpected character development.

The cheesy comparisons to weather were mostly boring and too much of a stretch for me to enjoy. I get it, it’s a weather show, but it sometimes felt like the story was being shoehorned into the metaphor, vs. the metaphor complementing the story. I liked the moral complexity of the characters, everyone is trying their best even if that sometimes wasn’t “good enough” or “kind” or “right”. I was way more sympathetic to the second leads than I thought and grew to be rooting for them and their character growth. Their past horrible behaviour is never excused or forgotten but everyone moves on with their lives eventually.

Things that might annoy you:
- Indecisive leads
- Cheating characters portrayed sympathetically
- People making the same mistakes over and over
- Very annoying pushy Mom (not new in kdrama but UGH)
- Fast development of romance in the first couple episodes
- Manipulative Dad / addiction issues
- chemistry between main leads was so-so

Things you might like:
- Learning about weather forecasting
- Morally complex depiction of the second leads and other flawed characters
- Some very silly moments
- Fast development of romance in the first couple episodes
- Sister & Nerd (Jin Taekyung & Shin Seokho) romance was so cute & funny!
- Slower paced - easier to not get hooked and get no sleep
- Kind of hilarious how seriously everyone takes the weather forecast in that bureau

Possibly trigger warnings (SPOILERS!):
Cheating, gambling addiction, manipulation, suicide (flashback), parent death, child neglect, cancer, anaphylactic allergy, discussion of abortion.

Overall not the best, especially in comparison to other dramas being released at the same time, but it is heart warming and fairly easy to watch if you aren’t triggered by any of the character’s respective issues.

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Drama for more mature audiences

This drama should definitely be rated higher overall. People were expecting fluffy love like what's wrong with secretary kim, but this drama has so much more to offer than just comedy and fluff. It was emotional and displayed a lot of the human struggles people normally face in their lives and relationships. Much of the complaints seem to stem from the fact that there aren't enough "lovey" scenes between PMY and SK, but I thought they had great chemistry! All the characters fight and have their frustrating moments, but it only more clearly shows their humanity and the realistic character development.

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Loved and Wanted More! Definitely a Must Watch

I had been anticipating this drama since I found out it two of my Favorite Stars and I loved it! Park Min Young and Song Kang were Wonderful Together! This drama was addictive to me, I loved how much they really incorporated the weather into this drama! That’s what made this so interesting and unique to me, each episode and what was going on with our characters lives coincided so perfectly with the ever changing weather. From start to finish it was done so well. This show starts off with a bang! Our main leads are caught up in finding out their partners are cheating & they all just so happen to work in the same line of work. I was hooked from the start! Our heartbroken main leads happen to get entangled together and it’s Everything!!! You go from devastated and sobbing to dying laughing and then to squealing! I waited and binged my two episodes every week! Song Kang’s character (Lee Shi Woo) was so smart and driven, he was very serious about his work and was persistent on his findings - it was soooooo sexy! He was a very complex character, I loved how he could go from cute and adorable to serious and intense. (GAHHHH, y’all help I’m so In Love with this Man!!) Park min young who plays Director Jin ha-Kyung was a workaholic, strict and very straight laced. When she is cheated on by her fiancé, who works in the same company as her, her work life is all any of her coworkers can talk about. And then to show just how small of a world it is, the woman her fiancé cheated with and then decides to marry happens to be a reporter who works very closely with their station. And because it can’t just end there, KMA’s New Forecaster just happens to be Lee Shi Woo, the boyfriend of that Mistress Reporter and the man who our Director Jin happens to have a one night stand with! When i tell you this show is full on the drama I mean it’s FULL of the DRAMA!!! You just can’t stop watching! It’s addictive. I Loved the coworkers and how they are each going through their own struggles, I felt this show did a really good job on showing reality. Another thing I have to hand it to is the characters grow as the story goes on and you learn to forgive, showing director Jin forgiving her Ex- fiancé after all he did to her and him coming through and owning up to all his mistakes so they could peacefully move forward with their new lives was beautifully done. I could go on and on with all the reasons I loved this show. I definitely highly recommend, It’s a worth rewatching. The only reason i gave it 9/10 was because they rushed those last two episodes, like whyyyy. I did feel like that last ep was rushed to a quick ending. While it was still nice and okay, they could have given us more that that 15 minute wrap up ending. I’m sobbing, it was a short and sweet closing but I’m so hooked on them that I really wanted more.

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Great character development

I really loved this drama. The weather forecasting element is actually really interesting, and they did such a good job of storytelling how the decisions the characters make at work impact the daily lives of people. That was a really nice touch. What I liked the most was how the characters learn and grow, both in their personal lives and at work. There's plenty of romance, but also lots of themes on leadership, burnout, discrimination/sexism, making and learning from mistakes. Some dramas really only manage to talk about the romance or the work challenges, but this one did both well! And there were no side-characters that were dull or sub-plots that were uninteresting. Really just a lovely drama that's well worth watching!

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Disappointing and at times infuriating

Started out good, I enjoyed the first couple episodes a lot but then It just fell off. Had some good moments but the plot development was disappointing and some characters were really unbearable.

I couldn’t stand the dynamic the main characters had with their cheating ex’s.Hated them as a side couple. Was enjoying watching the downfall of their marriage but then they were given a happy ending?! The NERVE that man had to go to his ex fiancé of 10 years who he cheated on and brag about how the woman he cheated with is pregnant….!!

The writing of this show just wasn’t it… spent more time being angry about the show than enjoying it.

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Unconventional Love Story

I think the English Title is somewhat misleading because it makes you think this story is a romance drama. This is a melodrama first with very little romance. There is a mixed bag of reviews with some hating this and some loving but I quite enjoyed this story for what it was, as it displayed the downsides to relationship, showcasing that relationships aren’t fairytales, like what we see on tv.

The good

The highlight of this drama for me was on the meteorological aspect because it was a fresh idea that I hadn’t seen in a drama before. I actually found this part of the story to be very interesting. Not sure how accurate it was to the profession but it gave us a look at how stressful this profession could be and how it could have an impact on relationships, both romantically and familial. I also found enjoyment in seeing the relationships unfold because each story was different. Although it was quite odd that this drama focused heavily on the cheating couple, it still gave us a different perspective. Although I wasn’t as vested in that couples ending, there was a very real take on how their decisions led to the turmoil in the relationship and how they still impacted the main couple’s relationship. It was refreshing to see not so fluffy mature, realistic relationships.

The bad

I would say the acting overall met the high bar but did not exceed it. Each character brought a fresh take to the story but the level of good acting definitely did not add up among the characters which caused some people to be less interesting than others. I found the main couple's relationship problematic as this story didn’t showcase much of their time together as a couple. We got a few little side flashbacks of their time together that apparently occurred but wasn’t shown in realtime during the show. This actually made me feel less involved in their relationship and disconnected from their breakup towards the end.

This drama does not have a high rewatch value but if you like the lead actors, watch and make your own decision on how you would rate this. For me, it’s a one and done.

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Glorifying cheating couples??

You can tell me I'm evil, but I really was hoping the second lead couple didn't have a happy ending. Are they glorifying cheating couples or what? No matter how many excuses the couple made, like how they have low self-esteem, or falling in love at first sight, or that she just wanted to marry someone, in the end, they are all excuses. Nothing can justify a man cheating on his fiance right before their wedding, and also letting her find it in the most disgusting and cruelest way possible. And no matter what excuse she gives, it doesn't justify the fact that she was cheating on her boyfriend with an almost married man. If her boyfriend has an anti-marriage person, she could always break up and meet someone else in a just and fair way. Instead, she just goes and cheats on a guy who already has a fiance. Both of them shamelessly justify themselves which was so annoying. And what? The ex-fiances become friends in the end?? after all, he had hurt her but he was still shameless enough to come in front of her and dump all the accusations on the victim. And the two victims fall in love and try to build their relationship with the support of their cheating ex.

The only thing that is interesting was the weather forecast department and how it works. It's an eye-opener to see how much weather forecasters work so hard at their job just so we could know that it's going to rain tomorrow so we could just grab an umbrella before leaving home.

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Not good-Not bad

Honestly I was hyped for it, but at some point it just got SO boring, the main couple's chemistry was no it (seemed more like a nephew-aunt relationship😳) even the ML had more chemistry with the second FL, it was cool whenever they showed things about the weather but other than that just boring, the ending was also very predictable and flat.


I wish they would've had explanied more about Lee Siu's relationship with his dad, and showed more where this same relationship had improved towards the ending.

Dong Han's storyline was also boring, we see this type of storylines in every show so I do believe they could've done better.

I loved more the second lead's relationship,it was interesting how Gijun improved as a partn
That being said, I give this show 7.5 , I hope netflix incluyes better shows next time :(

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