Because This Is My First Life

Episodes: 16
Synopsis: 
Yoon Ji Ho is a single woman in her early thirties struggling to be a drama writer. She hardly earns enough to get a place on her own yet she is forced out of her home when she discovers that her little brother got his girlfriend pregnant and was married. Living in a patriarchal family, the house was under her brother's name and Ji Ho was forced to find a place for herself away from the married couple. Her two girl friends helped her look around for a house to live in and found one that was within her budget and also required her to move in as quickly as she can (as the landlord needed a tenant). Ji Ho moved in expecting her landlord to be a woman and after a few days she came to discover that she was living with a male landlord and not a female one.
     This was also shocking to the landlord, Nam Sae Hee, who thought that his new tenant was a man the entire time as well. He is also in his thirties but he has a stable job and he bought his own house. However, the house has mortgage and he spends most of his life living a mundane lifestyle and calculating how much he has to pay back and how he will live his life paying the debt back. However, living with Ji Ho and getting into a contract marriage with her would lead him to experience new things and help him open up to love again.
      This story also follows the careers and love lives of Ji Ho's two girl friends. This is a drama that shows a realistic take on life, love, and all the obstacles one must face.

Review:

           This drama is definitely the best Korean drama I've watched in a while. I have slowly started falling out of love with many of the cliche love stories seen in dramas. However, this drama gave a very refreshing take on romance, friendship, and family. I enjoyed this a lot because I saw similar relationships and stories reflected in those around me. This is definitely a great drama for those to watch in their early twenties to thirties. It makes you reflect so much on yourself and the life you have led up to this point and it makes you want to do better. 

       I loved the relationship dynamic between all the couples. It showed healthy, supportive relationships and it also showed the selfish side of relationships. Everyone has to learn to grow with another person and at times you have to learn to forgive certain situations because everyone is just human. I loved how it allowed people to see stories from both sides in a relationship and it showed how every relationship is different. Just because relationships differ from one another doesn't make one better or worse. The relationships in this drama showed the importance of understanding and compromise. I loved the support seen in romantic relationships, in friendships, and also between women in this show. No one tried to tear one another down and everyone tried to help one another rise to the top. The women were all so different from one another in this drama as well and it was great to see the diversity in character and interactions. It was really enjoyable. 

           Great show about working toward your dreams/careers, dealing with different relationships, and growing into a better person. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS DRAMA! 

Favorite episodes: 
Ep 5: The Mom's letter made me cry
Ep 6: The conversation between the mom and Nam Sae Hee was really touching, modern, and realistic.
Ep 7: The marriage issue between her friend and bf is so funny; realistic and interesting relationship dynamic
Ep 8: The dancing scene was so funny
Ep 11: The kimchi scene and also the way he lit up when he saw her. The kiss scene was also so cute.
Ep 12: I love how he admires her and supports her and is genuinely impressed if shes better than him at certain things
Ep 14: The interactions between the ex and Ji Ho was so refreshing. I love seeing women build one another up instead of tear one another down.
Also Sae Hee meeting Ji Ho's sexual assaulter and piecing the situation together was really refreshing as well.

While You Were Sleeping

Episodes: 16

Synopsis:

          Nam Hong Joo is a young woman who started having dreams that predicted the future at a young age. She is constantly haunted by these dreams and struggles with her moral compass as she has never been able to stop any bad event from happening. Forced into a shell, she lives at home with her mother and the two of them run a small restaurant together. Things start changing in Nam Hong Joo's life when Jung Jae Chan moves into the home across the street. Jung Jae Chan is a rookie prosecutor who is just learning the ropes of his new job. The two do not get along at first due to Nam Hong Joo's bad attempt to avoid a future event she saw in her dream. However, when the dreams start to affect Jung Jae Chan's life, the two are forced to work things out together. 

         One day, Jung Jae Chan had a dream about an accident involving Hong Joo and her boyfriend at the time, Lee Yoo Beom (a manipulative and ruthless attorney who knows Jae Chan from when he was younger). Feeling strange about the dream, Jae Chan decides to interfere with the events that would happen and ended up saving the lives of Hong Joo and the young police officer, Han Woo Tak. After this incident, Jae Chan, Hong Joo, and Woo Tak begin to have dreams about each other and future events that would affect them and they begin to work together to prevent bad events and to help one another.

Review:

         This was an enjoyable drama and it actually made me cry at the last episode. Any drama that can bring me to tears now is often considered a good drama to me. I like things that make me feel and that ending was sad, happy, and beautiful all in one. There were however moments where scenes dragged in the middle and there were times where I questioned the chemistry and compatibility between the leads. However, I enjoyed it nonetheless. Lee Jong Suk's acting, without a doubt, is still amazing. The prosecutor's acting was also amazing in this drama and it was great to see him take on more serious roles (he was the comedy relief in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon).
          I love how fitting the OST was to the drama and the concept for this drama was really interesting. I just wish that this could've expanded further and explore the concept a bit more at times. Overall, I really enjoyed it. I just wish our cute second lead could have found someone who would love him back the same way he loved Hong Joo.