City Couple's Way Of Love/ Lovestruck In The City 도신남녕의 사랑법 - [2020-2021]

[Dhakra]

On 12/22/2020 at 3:55 PM, abs-oluteM said:

This was quite nice. So far so good , nothing crazy or angsty. Plus I like his pairing with Kim Ji Won

So would you recommend it? After seeing JCW on Knowing Brothers I figured that I would like to see him again in a role. Can't say the premise looks interesting, but I wouldn't mind a light watch. 

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

1 hour ago, Dhakra said:

So would you recommend it? After seeing JCW on Knowing Brothers I figured that I would like to see him again in a role. Can't say the premise looks interesting, but I wouldn't mind a light watch. 

 

 

It’s just half an hour per eps , so I would say it’s not bad for a short drama. I like the pairing of JCW with the female lead .  I hv yet to watch the  2nd eps . 

[abs-oluteM]

Just got off eps 2 . Finally a drama for adults ..especially when addressing the issues of sex and intimacy. Since this entire drama is set using an interview style where the participants ( all the 6 characters) are asked about different aspects of relationships , it was natural that we talked about what is often a taboo topic if this was aired on the big networks. Fortunately this is kakao TV & web dramas can be a lot more daring with what they show.  I like the open discussions & the various perspectives that they  have about sex in relation to men/women relationships. 

 

The first segment focused on the 1st time that KMS and SJY's characters (Kyung Jun & Rin I) had sex . They met when they were in college , and she was the one who proposed it after a number of steady dates at the movies. He put in a lot of effort to make it a special night booking them a nice room at a hotel etc. I liked how they showed the cute & awkward moments leading up to their 1st night together - definitely some +19 scenes here but nothing vulgar about it . It was very sweet though I did laugh when he thought he was fantastic in bed while she commented afterwards that he was definitely shy / awkward. This is what I appreciate about the drama since we're looking at how partners in a relationship view their shared experiences differently.

 

Then the drama picks up on where we left off from eps 1 - we get to see the growing attraction between Jae Won and Eun O as she teaches him how to drive the RV Camper and he teaches her to surf. The kiss came about most beautifully after she made her first successful surf . They slept together  later and I was taken aback that he told her he loved her. I could tell she was surprised too but she smiled in return. In his interview Jae Won had implied that is just wasn't a physical attraction but his heart went fully into it as well. Which is why I think that this week-long fling they had left him more heartbroken then it did her. Eun O in her interviews said it was just a one night stand , and on surface seems less affected by it.

 

So this is what I think - I believe Eun O fell quite hard for Jae Won too . Eun O held back because she felt like a fraud.  She had projected herself to be fun loving, unreserved &  carefree . I suspect she isn't exactly like that & had come to this seaside town hoping to change something about herself - she seems to have suffered from the lack of confidence in the past. This temporary identity she put on was  one  she hoped she could become. But there was still a lot that she was dealing with internally which was why she could not let Jae Won into her heart at that point. 

[jeijei]

This is the artsy fartsy version of The Lover and I Need Romance.

Edited December 27, 2020 by jeijei

[mademoiselle]

Only 30 min each episode - not sure how much details it can cover. Still waiting for more episodes to release before trying it out. However, this appears on my recommendation hehehe

 

[JenL]

On 12/23/2020 at 1:55 AM, abs-oluteM said:

This was quite nice. So far so good , nothing crazy or angsty. Plus I like his pairing with Kim Ji Won

 

Hmmm, gave this a try yesterday night and it could be first episode syndrome (It's not often that I enjoy the first episode of most dramas because I'm not attached to any character just yet), but it feels a little predictable so far and not sure how I feel about the interview approach. I like unreliable narrators in books, but in drama, it feels a little stilted in the story-telling format....I like figuring things out in dramas including how all the characters know each other... Still, might give episode 2 a go when I have time and see if I like it any better then  

[abs-oluteM]

@JenL I read contradicting comments about the use this interview/ documentary style of story telling as well. Some find it a bit of annoying - kind of breaks the flow. I wasn't so bothered by it in the 2nd episode as you got to see how different their perspectives were despite them being in the same situation. I am not expecting any groundbreaking type of plot, should be quite predictable. But I don't mind since the leads look good together and its just half hour per episode.

[gilaswan]

On 12/27/2020 at 8:42 PM, abs-oluteM said:

@JenL I read contradicting comments about the use this interview/ documentary style of story telling as well. Some find it a bit of annoying - kind of breaks the flow. I wasn't so bothered by it in the 2nd episode as you got to see how different their perspectives were despite them being in the same situation. I am not expecting any groundbreaking type of plot, should be quite predictable. But I don't mind since the leads look good together and its just half hour per episode.

So I've let 3 episodes roll. Yes. Roll in the background. It just wasn't catching my attention. When it first aired, I tried watching it and turned it off after 10 mins. Decided to try it again today and I've figured out what's wrong with the show - the style of filming (short form) and their experimental format of blending "interviews" with drama is too jarring. Too much "art" in their way of framing the story in the form of cuts. There are too many scene shifts and cuts in a single act that it makes for a very disjointed storytelling. They're trying to film it in the style of shows like The Office, but the cuts shift too rapidly from character to character, And flash back memory scenes more like that of a drama pulls you back and forth in time - the "time jerks" disrupt story flow and don't build into information that should propel a story forward. I wish I could like the show better cos I like the main couple, but the format is annoying. They should've kept it as a drama.

[abs-oluteM]

@gilaswan did you drop this? Funnily I am still watching. I think some may feel put off-  perhaps the drama tries to be a bit too clever or artsy , and  the interview format breaks the flow . However  I got used to it.  I do think what I like is the pairing of JCW and KJW - would love to see them together again in a longer drama .

----------------------------------------------------

 I have watched up to last Friday's and it was by far the best episode. The ones before these focus a lot on how he missed that two months they had - the marriage vows they made was something he took seriously , and he had given his heart 200% . We also realised that her reasons for running away was because , she wasn't who she had painted to be to Jae Won. But for me even though she was using a fake name/ identity, the person that she was with Jae Won was still very much her . To make things more complicated, she is best friends with Rin I who we know is dating Kyeong Jun - Jae won's cousin. So she could not possibly tell the rest about all this. 

 

JW over the year never quite got over her . He was constantly revisiting their agreed meeting point in Seoul & getting drunk till the point that the cops at a nearby station know him so well. It would seem like she was able to move on but as we find out it was not the case. The best scene last week which really made me cry was this. She saw him & he was drunk. She sat with him & he thought it was all a dream....

 

After this scene, I really root for them to reunite.

[abs-oluteM]

This was a nice couch talk

 

[abs-oluteM]

eps 9 -I love today's episode ...so she finally had to reveal who she really was when she was at the police station. Long story short, this was very hard for Jae Won as now he was wondering who it was that he fell for. He left & swore he never wanted to see her again. But she went after him & almost got hurt badly by stepping into the path of a motorbike. Of course he stopped his car seeing that she had fallen. She wanted him to take the cameras back. In a fit of anger he threw them & he also threw the ring to the stream where they were supposed to meet.

 

The best part was that she came by to the river later & started looking for the ring . Then it was revealed that she had always worn hers on her necklace. She was so happy she found his ring. It was nice because it reaffirms that she has never forgotten JW. I just hope she'd get a chance to explain herself & come clean.

 

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JCW's official channel subs his cuts of the BTS

BTS for poster shoot
 

Spoiler

 

eps 1 - 4 has been subbed so far

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Cute BTS cuts of JCW & KJW

 

[abs-oluteM]

I like eps 10 & 11 because finally Jae Won connects Eun-O to the rest of the gang. He finally knows who she is & he ( and we) get to find out why Eun-O had run away for 3 months ( the time she met & got involved with Jae Won . She had found out that her fiancée was cheating on her , and was expecting a baby with the other woman. Then when she went off to Busan to take on a new employment she found out that they had no hired her after all. Indeed she was at the lowest point in her life. She found a job at that seaside cafe & decided to live her life freely. 

 

And then the most important bit was towards the end of eps 10 when JW on his cousin's invitation decides to join the gang for BBQ on their rooftop knowing Eun O was going to be there. Eun O only found out he was coming when he arrived at their place & it was not possible for her to run away. But Jae Won decides to pretend to meet her for the 1st time. It was definitely awkward for Eun O but I am just so glad that they can finally connect again. 

 

BTS / promotional videos by KJW's agency

 

[abs-oluteM]

Eps 12 felt frustrating at first . Didn't feel like we were going anywhere with Jae Won & Eun O. The latter continued to let him misunderstand her ...I wish she'd come clean and tell him why she became SeoA there & then at her place.

 

However as the episode continued , it gave us some insights into how she ended up in that seaside town. She wasn't intending on hurting anyone , instead she was trying to turn her life around. She wanted to assume this new identity so that she could emotionally escape the rut she was in . She was at the lowest point  in her life - caught her fiancé cheating just as she had relocated from Seoul to join him in Busan. Then she discovers the job that she was supposed to take on , changed their mind about hiring her. She hopped on the bus out of Busan and it lead her to the seaside town where she met Jae Won. 

Back to the present , in a drunken state she took her luggage and hopped on a bus again. I was about to throw a brick on my screen if this was her running away. But fortunately, the ending of the episode where she woke up in Jae Won's house saved the day.  With 4 more half-hour episodes left , I just hope the drama sees them working things out & reuniting. 

 

Their separation has been long enough.

 

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[abs-oluteM]

Eps 13 to 15

I have no issues with the mockumentary style they are using here - though sometimes I feel the drama tends to drag some bits instead of focusing on moving the plot along.   I found my patience tested for them to just have a proper conversation . I especially wanted  Eun O to stop running and just for goodness sake give our poor Jae Won some closure. She cuts him off hoping it will kill off whatever feelings he still has for her but it won't work because he doesn't understand why she behaves this way. Especially when he sees these little clues that she may still hold a torch for him - those photos she developed, texting him while she was drunk.  And this kiss ...all the pent up emotions...can we blame our guy for going crazy. I am so glad he found out about those rings. This should have happened earlier 

 

After that kiss I had hoped that Eun O would finally acknowledge her feelings ...but dear me ...she didn't . Says she regrets it at the beginning of the episode. I honestly wanted to smack her . LoL! But I think towards the end , I finally understand why it has been so hard for her to come clean ( and she finally did later on with both JW and her friends).  To me she's suffering from some sort of existential crisis - her cheating ex fiancé and career problems caused her to have very low self-esteem . She hated her old self and tried living as Seon A because that was who she wished she could be . Only later to realise that she isn't Seon A either.  So it somewhat made sense here that she couldn't possibly focus and love JW at this point , if she could not even love herself

So with one more episode left ( I understand they extended it for one more episode but the focus is actually on the guy who played the cop), I honestly don't know if they will be back together. Personally given all the emotions I have invested , I do hope so. But who knows ...drama may want to do the whole "realistic" route with an open ending of sorts. 

They finally released this OST

 

[abs-oluteM]

JCW's version

 

 

[Tofu]

I'm not watching the drama but I saw the clip of where she tells him she needs to start loving herself first. I thought it was nicely said -- taking care of myself, for now, is more important than loving you. 

 

Maybe when it's over, I'll binge the series. 

[abs-oluteM]

6 minutes ago, Tofu said:

Maybe when it's over, I'll binge the series. 

I would also recommend binging as watching week to week with just 2 half-hour episodes was real torture especially given the way the drama is done. Plus it will only be 8 hours in total - easy watch.

[abs-oluteM]

After 16 long episodes ( though each were really just half hour each) , the main OTP finally got back together. Goodness , it would be a lie if I said my patience was not tested. When I thought back about the episodes , I felt that the pacing could have been better. Sometimes it felt like nothing quite happened till the last 5 minutes , and I didn't care for the comments given by the characters for this supposed documentary they were in. Given that it was 8 hours or so of air time in total, it took the drama too long to show us Eun O's point of view & struggles. There were times , when I got mad at her for constantly running away , and I got tired of JW being a crazy drunk clinging on to a woman who clearly had no respect for his feelings. 

 

I get what the drama was trying to do - it was trying to show you the realities of dating & being in a relationship among the younger urban generation.  The problems our characters faced here didn't come from family disapproval  or societal pressures etc typical of many other kdramas. The complications stemmed from their inner struggles. We have the characters somewhat breaking the 4th wall speaking to us the audience, telling us the things that they grappled with. I supposed it is to get us to empathise with the situations they were in. Unfortunately, the artistic direction they wanted to take here fell flat at times , and sometimes I just wanted them to move the plot along.

 

I understand that JCW and KJW's characters were the main draw for the drama , and I was definitely more invested in their romance than I did the other two pairs. And this was perhaps a problem because I didn't find myself caring very much about the rest of the characters as the drama had not devoted sufficient time nor material to make me root for them. So I was stunned that in what was supposed to be the final episode ( there's now a one eps extension) , they decided to break Kyeung Jun and Rin-I up . Not that their relationship was perfect - far from it as KJ and RI had completely different sets of ideals. It was clear to me that Rin I's minimalist hippie lifestyle & refusal to get a steady employment would become an issue for the two (despite them appearing to be such a stable loving couple throughout the episode).  They could have broken these two up much earlier . Now one may be left wondering what will happen to them since I don't  think they will get back together in the extended episode (Perhaps S2 is in the works). 

 

But in spite of my seemingly negative comments above, I liked the show enough to tune in each week. I suppose it  helped that the leads were played JCW and KJW.  They were both seasoned actors who had great chemistry & visually they looked wonderful together. While I wasn't particularly bothered about the mockumentary approach it took, perhaps the flow of the drama may have suffered because of it. Nevertheless , I would still say it wasn't a waste of my time & I think it may feel a lot less frustrating if you can binge it at a go.

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

9th OST