À Distância, a Primavera é Verde (2021)

incomparável!

Um drama incrível, e como disse, incomparável!
de verdade, que experiência incrível que eu tive assistindo esse drama, eu não esperava muito de começo, mas já pode ir pra lista dos melhores que eu já assisti sem dúvida alguma. me fez chorar, me fez rir... a maneira como eu senti essas emoções assistindo esse drama parece que foram mágicas, eu nem sei explicar! nos trás vários sentimentos, nos mostra várias realidades, como: família, amizades, dificuldades da vida.. etc. e a atuação de cada um dos personagens é ótima! me choquei muito como eles conseguiram focar na história deles sem parecer muito confuso para nós telespectadores.

At a distance spring is green é a definição de drama 10/10

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Nem sempre o que parece ser, é de fato a realidade

Eu literalmente julguei este drama pela capa, mas minha surpresa foi uma série de cenas muito bem construídas por personagens muito bem encaixados na rotina universitária e na relação entre opostos que vão se completando e o mais legal é que estas diferenças entre os protas vai ser trabalhado de uma maneira muito doce , apesar das cenas fortíssimas de abuso e violência . A auto estima aqui também é mostrada em todas as suas facetas . Vale muito ver a construção da amizade e d
o amor . Mas o que mais me encantou foi poder ver um personagem lindo que ainda não estava pronto prá se entregar a um relacionamento se sair tão bem no final. Recomendo.

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Youth!

"Mesmo que um dia vamos nos arrepender, vamos ocupar o centro do palco em nossa juventude amar, ser magoado, e então amar novamente com todo nosso coração."

Amei o foco em cada personagem, como foi desdobrando cada história ao longo dos eps. O romance principal foi uma graça, mas o bromance entre o Yeo Joon e o Nam Soo Hyun foi o que carregou o drama, poderia até ser confundido com um BL no primeiro ep haha. O triangulo amoroso entre a ruiva, a gostosa e o Soohyun foi divertido, não sabia com quem shippa-lo, fiquei triste que ele não ficou com nenhuma das duas, e pelo fato da pequena sereia ter simplesmente sumido do nada. Não gostei muito de colocar os vilões como arrependidos e felizes se ajudando, beleza a Sobin ter perdoado, mas seria melhor cada um na sua, sem forçar amizade. Por fim, teve varias frases impactantes!!

"Você pode escrever seu próprio final para sua história."
"Refletir sobre si mesmo é a coisa mais importante da vida. Aprender sobre si mesmo o levará ao tipo de pessoa que você gosta e o ajudará a descobrir o que deseja fazer."
"Não há necessidade de pressa, as velhas feridas demoram pra cicatrizar. Vou dar-lhes amor e cuidado de que precisam, então vamos esperar até que eles possam se curar por conta própria."

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bom, mas não minha praia

Acabei de ver o penúltimo episode e não vou ver o último pq já sei que não vai fazer nem um pouco meu estilo, mas vou falar oq achei desse K-drama . Ele é muito bom, sério mesmo. Ele é um Dorama de amadurecimento, o forte dele é o desenvolvimento dos personagens. Pra mim com certeza o melhor desse K-drama foi o desenvolvimento da amizade do Yeo-Jun com Nam su hyeon, sério, foi incrível. Eu não vejo eles como um possível BL que não foi utilizado, pois eu não vejo a relação dos dois como romântica, e sim como relação de irmão mais novo e irmão mais velho, muito bem construído por sinal. A relação do Yeo Jun com a so-bin... Eu achei boa, mas acho que poderia ser melhor... Tipo, eu fiquei um pouco decepcionado que o Yeo Jun não se "abriu" com a So bin/ contou sobre a vida dele direito, só ficava dias chorando, basicamente isolando ela e depois voltava pra ela como se nada tivesse acontecido, com uma coisa dessas eu até entendo pq a maioria queria que tivesse sido um BL kdkd. E oq posso falar da Mi-ju e Young ran... Além de que gostei bastante delas ksks. Apesar de eu não ter shipado a Mi-ju com Nam su hyeon, eu fiquei triste por eles não terem ficado no final e ela ter ido embora e a Young ran... Foi uma das minhas personagens favoritas eu não sei pq isks, sem explicação.
Agora algo que não posso deixar de falar... Que família mais fdp a do Yeo Jun... A gente descobri que o irmão dele é gente boa, mas a mãe e o pai... Misericórdia, que mãe e pais péssimos que ele tem.

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Um caminho para a vida

A juventude é a segunda etapa mais importante da vida do ser humano, é o momento que encaramos os traumas da infância e ao mesmo tempo nos deparamos com o que realmente é o mundo com o olhar de um adulto.
Com personagens problemáticos e jovens, o drama debate sobre temas que muitas vezes são deixados de lados, como por exemplo, a saúde mental. A personagem Jun, por exemplo, que sofre com diversos traumas adquiros na infância, porém vive como uma pessoa sem armaguras, apenas guardando seu sofrimento bem fundo em seu peito, o tornando desesperado por afeto e amor.
Os temas são discurtidos de uma forma cativante, fazendo você entender cada personagem e ter empatia por ele.
A amizade é o ponto mais forte desse drama, pois é algo que foi construído de uma forma bem agradável, porém o romance também não é fraco, é um romance calmo, refrescante e que agrada quem assiste.
O drama é motivador e apesar dele deixar aquela pergunta no ar: "será que vai ficar tudo bem?", você sabe que tudo mudou... Os personagens cresceram e suas motivações também. Eu terminei o drama me sentindo totalmente satisfeita, porque parecia que não era só eles que haviam se curado de suas armaguras, parecia que eu também havia sido curada.

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"You owe me emotionally"

It has been a rollercoaster ride to follow up these broken characters from young adults with painful scars of their past, to the adults that bear secrets to uphold the way they chose to live their own lives.

The highlight of this drama it has to be the bond and bickering between Soo Hyun and Yeo Jun. How these two helped So Bin, making the three of them become an inspiration to many others who crossed their paths in character development.

"Can't you love me?"

Ji Hoon has really engaged into his character Yeo Jun to the point that we can really see the pain and neglect from his sorrowful stares and feel the agony he has tried to hide for most of his life behind fake smiles yearning to be loved to fill the void of loneliness. I don't know how to explain it but he seems so soft looking and yet can depict such a tragic character.

"I lived many years in darkness due to my father's physical abuse.
I'm all better now. I'm in the light."

Although mostly all the characters have their troubles and painful stories, the trio we have come to love and support through this Journey have more similarities than all the others. Yeo Jun, Soo Hyun and So Bin all share family problems. Although different and the same, they all have been through childhood suffering in their own way by those predicaments.

Yeo Jun being a victim of an abusive father, Soo Hyun having to step up as the older son and provider to help his mother and younger brother after his father passing, and So Bin with her parents divorce and knowing her mother left her behind cutting ties. It all leaves scars running deeper in their souls and slowly defined their personalities all through the course of their lives.

"If someone ever says awful things to you, it means that person is hurting inside."

It is not easy to rely on others and much less to share personal pain. Having a traumatic experience can also mess up our memories as a way to cope with the pain, we create walls as a mechanism of defense, only those who come close enough to knock them down and sustain the fall are reliable. I am glad that these three complete strangers from the first episode have come closer and learned in some hard but valuable way how to manage that, and be there for one another.

Developing a close friendship, a loving relationship and strong brotherhood.

Jun Wan always seemed more than met the eye, emotionally closed he had more secrets to hold than anyone. I only hope that he too breaks free from that habit, from their abusive father by saving the ones he loves and cares about, his mother and brother and finds valor in himself. For such a young kid to be willing to sacrifice his life and happiness so that his brother has it own was commendable, although it did not work as he thought it would. By pushing Jun away he only created a wall between them isolating the other, it has also caused him pain when Jun should have a strong pillar for support he found himself alone.

They all were lonely living in the shadow of their father.

Mi Joo and Young Ran are two characters that I really like in terms of development and that are fresh in dramas. Their bonding is pure and amicable and not as usually rivals tend to be that at some point in the story it turns sour and petty. Not, these two, they are both strong female characters that despite their differences and being total opposites still manage to become supportive friends and rivals when it comes to love. Kudos for that, it's a rare sight be it in real life and drama land.

Mi Joo seemed like a spoiled brat in the first episode but revealed to be a misunderstood and naïve character with a pure heart, still I must say, the courage she mustered for a confession, facing a rejection and accepting and still wrapping it all up by letting go it was honorable and this should be an example of a healthy way of moving on.

The character that I still have trouble warming up too has got be Chang Ki, now he is not bad and I for sure love his interactions with Jun when it comes to jealousy. But overall as a best friend, there was always something about him that lacked. I haven't read the webtoon yet, so I have no idea how it goes there. If he had any clue that So Bin had a crush on him like in here he seemed to have and yet he still engaged in pointless relationships or should we say nightstands that were hurting her.

Although claiming to be her best friend and always there, that is just an excuse. Because in the end their friendship shouldn't be measured by the years they've known each other, but by how they were there for each other. In the end So Bin knew more about him than he knew about her, that he even neglected that she appeased him in his own tastes because she liked him when he truly believed that she liked the same things as well.

Only when she become unavailable on his radar did he deemed her to be the missing piece in his life and that important? Only then did he brought the topic that her mother asked him when he was a child to look after her. Was he living with that in his conscience and not being able to confess any feelings he had, being afraid of losing their friendship in case things went sour?

If it's like that then he and Young Ran are on the same boat by having crushes on their friends.
Nevertheless, that's the reason these two bond as well in their rough times they learn to rely on each other and show an unlikely and inspirational bond to overcome their own troubles. I enjoyed their scenes and advices, it's relatable.

I really am fond of the main characters, and the moments that move me more definitely are the scenes with both Yeo Jun and Soo Hyun. I have been rooting for these two to get to know each other and pass the strangers mark to having a close bond and friendship and I am really content with the development so far. No one can measure who bears the most pain there, both are still suffering, but the best thing now is that they are no longer alone. They have each other. The fact that Jun calls him hyung is proof enough of how they matured and surpassed the barriers they had ever since the first meeting.

"I've become an adult who can share his true feelings, thanks to the people who love me for who I am."

The acting of the cast is good. I like most of the cast in their roles.
Bae In Hyuk and Park Ji Hoon are enjoyable to watch, the first being playing two polar opposites roles in two different dramas. Here being a poor and broke student, quiet and reserved, while on My Roommate is a Gumiho being the rich playboy who redeems his ways when falling in an unrequited love. Quite the promising young actor of this new generation.

The same goes with Park Ji Hoon, from idol to actor, he has talent in both. What I love most about him is how he conveys the emotions in his characters, they couldn't have chosen a better for this role of Yeo Jun other than him, he has the cute and soft look, while conveying the hidden emotional scars in his lonely tears. I am looking forward for more roles with him, he seems to get better and better and he truly dedicated himself to embody Yeo Jun in many lenghts.

The OST is pleasant to hear. The main theme, Talk to Me by Ji Hoon is so catchy that I find myself going with the flow. Rothy and Han Seung Yun song Pum is also nice to hear. And of course it wouldn't be a youthful OST without having Punch here.

I recommend, either you have read the webtoon or came to see this blind as I did. Its okay.
There will always be main differences and preferences on both sides, but the journey is always the same.

And remember,

"You can write your own ending to your story."

Therefore don't despair in your own struggles, where there is darkness there is also light, create your path at your own pace :)

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Too much romance instead of development.

At a Distance, Spring is Green. My first thoughts? The poster looked like something from a 2010's show, which isn't bad but seeing a yellow haired male lead made me just not like Park Ji Hoon's (Yeo Joon's) look at all. But, I started liking his look later on in the show.
Just a note, I have never saw the webtoon before so this is solely based on the drama itself.

CHARACTERS/STORY
MALE LEADS
Yeo Joon and his family were brought into the limelight in starting episodes, but after that, where are they? Yeo Joon's current family problems are faded into the background after introducing it one episode, and we just kept getting flashbacks. Until they decided to bring back his family problems second to last episode. Beside his family problems, Yeo Joon isn't that bad of a character.

Soo Hyun, not bad either but not my favorite. Soo Hyun starts warming up to Yeo Joon the last minute, having some/barely any scenes with them. I just don't really know what to talk about him.

Chan Ki, boring! And they at least try to redeem his character soon in the story, He barely gets screen time. And if he does, sure he has his haha moments but that's it.

FEMALE LEADS
So Bin, not gonna lie, after seeing Kang Min Ah in True Beauty I was pretty excited she'll get her own main role, but her character's a bore. Don't get me wrong, it's not like she's just standing their all episodes but she's just a bore? Too nice maybe? She does have a backstory to her past but that's only for 1-2 episodes in the middle of the show.

Mi-joo, boring. I won't lie, her character COULD'VE been better with some screen time and development, we barely know anything about her to even declare if she's good or not. Only thing I know is that she has good fashion sense. She also had to many scenes "drooling" over Soo-hyun. But I'll give props to screenwriters for not making her some cocky rich girl as I thought she would've been.

Young Ran, maybe the most interesting? But not really also because lack of screen time, all we know is that she's Soo-hyun's longest friend, she's strong physically, and that's about it.

SOBIN AND YEO JUN'S ROMANCE
I personally think they're romance was pretty cute but took too much screen time to develop most characters. Talking about you the most Mi-joo.

SOO HYUN'S LOVE TRIANGLE
What an annoying triangle I've ever seen. One is to scared to admit their feelings and the other one get's too hook up on Soo-hyun thinking they know everything about him while barely having any interactions with him.

SOO HYUN AND YEO JOON'S BROMANCE/FRIENDSHIP
Love, love, LOVEEE! IT! I recommend you stay to watch these two if you don't like the romance part, although some episode they barely get any scenes at all with each other.

ACTING
The acting was great! Not enough to give a 10 though but great!

MUSIC
Loved! I mostly have a lot of them on my playlist.

WILL I REWATCH?
Specific episodes only.

SUMMARY!!
This show was amazing at first to me, what was missing was character development/likability in a lot of characters, wasted scenes with So-bin and Yeo Jun's romance, Soo-hyun's stupid love triangle, and again. WASTED SCENES! Although my rating isn't that high I do recommend that you check this out as it only has 12 episodes, I think it should've had 16 or just more time duration!
They're other things I would've talked about like Mi-joo and Soo-hyun's interactions, Jun-wan and Yeo Joon and more but I think you'll make your own opinion on those once you choose to watch it or not.

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Very beautiful drama with a disappointing fact.

This is a very beautiful drama with different povs of life and worth a ONE TIME WATCH. Before I review the drama, I am citing reasons why you should definitely watch "At a Distance, Spring is Green" :

1. The very rare trio chemistry between Park Ji Hoon, Bae In Hyuk and Kang Min Ah
2. Warm & slow romance between Park Ji Hoon and Kang Min Ah
3. Beautiful and unique brotherly relationship between Park Ji Hoon and Bae In Hyuk, that you see in no other Kdrama
4. Deep and meaningful storyline with plenty of things to learn from and analyze about
5. This is more of a healing friendship story where the lead characters despite of their type of relationships and personalities, help each other in growing up as persons

LET'S REVIEW-->
STORY:
The drama is a coming of age campus storyline just as it's synopsis says, based in Myung-il University and mainly involves 3 characters in their early 20s who in spite of their age stratification become close due to circumstances and uplift each other while moving forward in life. The lead trio consists of 2 MLs and 1 FL among which one ML is paired up with the FL while the other ML has a subtle or we can say minor love line in the drama. But the drama primarily focus on the chemistry of the lead trio, life values and realistic problems in personal as well as university life. It is deep, beautiful and meaningful from so many aspects that it makes you cry at many instances; not just for the sad events and heart-touching moments, also for the way the characters value life and love. The story also focuses on the youth related problems that students in their early 20s face, such as poverty, mental health, academics, etc. but disappointed how another major problem of young people, i.e. LGBTQIA+ issues has been subverted from the original story and ignored as if it never existed.

As most of us know this is a webtoon adaptation of "Campus Life" which originally has 3 seasons; 1st being focused on the campus life plus lead couple chemistry development development, 2nd being the love story between one of the 2 MLs and another ML's older brother and 3rd being the unlikely warm brotherly relationship between the 2 male leads. The 3 seasons of the original webtoon has been summed up into a single season drama though the story is primarily focused on the season 1 and a major change has been done with the webtoon's 2nd season BL storyline. They introduced an extra female character in the drama to couple with the 2nd ML excluding the minor BL part of the original story. It's a bit disappointing tbh but understandable since they had to make it a cable drama and we all know South Korea's stance on homosexuality and the limits of the industry to produce BL dramas or even feature gay characters in mainstream dramas.

PLOT:
Let's be honest that this drama doesn't have a very extraordinary storyline. I mean to say that most of the things are the old usual events that we have already seen in a lots of campus kdramas. But what matters is how they execute & represent them old stuffs and how the cast performs. And I think this dramas has been able to do a very good job in that regard.

I AM very happy with how they've focused on the trio chemistry throughout the drama which is very rare in Kdramas. All 3 of them went from being strangers to department mates to very close friends who love, care and respect each other while trying to motivate each other from every aspect.

The lead couple chemistry is warm as well where Yeo Jun and So Bin fall in love under unlikely circumstances. Although it happened at an unexpected pace but I guess it's because they've only 12 episodes in total. But overally, romance in this drama is something interesting. I mean to say that this drama could have ben entirely okay off the romance part. What I also read somewhere is that So Bin and Yeo Jun are not even couples in the original webtoon.

What's more intriguing in this drama is the very amazing brotherly relationship between Yeo Jun & Soo Hyun which stands out as a rare kind of friendship you'll ever witness between 2 male characters in any Kdrama out there. It is portrayed on the same level as the lead couple, rather I would say that it dominates the lead couple's storyline but nevertheless, as I have already mentioned the major focus is on the Trio relationship.

HOWEVER, Soo Hyun's love story is a very stupid thing in the drama. Considering how female characters have been created to get him a girl, the writer has done a poor job in writing their characters as well the plot development involving these 3 characters. Also, the mean lady professor who didn't treat his students and peers well, changed overnight and started giving relationship advices to her students, wth!

CAST & CHARACTERS:
This is not a very high cast drama as most of the actors are in actual rookies, even the lead characters are somewhat less experienced considering the number of dramas they've done and it has also has many new faces. YET, I would say everyone has done their jobs appropriately here, even the minor characters has done well with whatever they were given.

Special mention to the lead trio ofc for they had proper character development and growth in personality which obviously happened because they helped each other in the due course. Park Ji Hoon has been doing good in his acting careers for years and this role of Yeo Jun has been well played by him. Bae In Hyuk, though not that new to the industry did a nice job but honestly I didn't expect him at first to be doing a good job in playing a cold yet sorted senior character. Kang Min Ah's previous characters have been somewhat similar, this drama also brought forward a different side to which she reciprocated well with whatever acting skills she has acquired so far.

HOWEVER, I feel the major characters other than the lead trio were of less essence. I mean that's a given since they're supporting roles but still I think it could have been better. Not knowing how the characters have been penned in the original story, I think the drama screenwriter kind of did a poor job in drawing them. Hong Chan Ki's character is at ok level but Young Ran being the closest friend to Soo Hyun didn't have much to do. Mi Joo, the extra character created for the drama to pair up with Soo Hyun, is totally useless. I am not at all enraged because Soo Hyun's BL storyline with Yeo Jun Wan was changed but I honestly think Mi Joo's character went to drain with nothing to offer. They should have rather kep soo Hyun's character single in the story and that'd have been better tbh.

DIRECTION AND SCREENPLAY:
Direction is actually good being directed by a somewhat young director, thus giving out fruitful results. Execution of the script with a moderately paced screenplay editing makes it even more pleasing and catchy to watch. Arrangement of events as well as organising the OSTs and background scores have also been done properly.

OSTs:
The OSTs are actually very beautiful which add extra essence to a drama which is so deep and so meaningful. "BOM BOM BOM" by Punch, "Talk To Me" by Park Ji Hoon himself and "Way" by Chancellor are some jolly & catchy numbers whereas, "Then & Now" by Huski and "We will be not all Together" by Rothy & Han seung Yoon are heart touching and soft tracks... I love the later 2 so much.

UNIQUENESS:
The best reason you should watch this drama is the unique brotherly relationship between Yeo Jun (Park Ji Hoon) and Nam Soo Hyun (Bae In Hyuk). It's not the usual bromance you see in other kdramas where they're either fighting or clinging to each other. The 2 characters literally went from being strangers to senior-junior to best brothers. The way the development of the warm as well as beautiful bonding between them has been shown is rare to find. Even though they found each other annoying, they eventually warmed up to each other despite a huge difference in their personalities. It was as if they were seeking each other's presence in their lives. Yeo Jun who has always been deprived of love from family and looked for affection all his life AND Soo Hyun who has always been strong yet secretly looking for someone to lean on; finally find each other to rely on and end up proving how well they deserve to be good brothers. I am always gonna remember their affectionate relationship.

DISAPPOINTMENTS:
But let me also express my utter disappointment about this drama too. Apart from the poor side characters and the stupid extra female characters, I am still in denial about how the BL storyline was completely dumped into the trashbin. It's somewhat understandable that the Kdrama industry has it's limits because of the Orthodox Korean society but many other Kdramas has put efforts and tried to bring change by featuring LGBT+ characters too. Then why not a university campus drama which has 90% young characters in their early 20s as well their youth problems have been portrayed? Not just in the society, LGBT+ issues are also one of the major problems in modern day campuses. Even though the BL storyline involved one of the MLs, they could have kept it that way in order to bring a positive change and set an example for others. If they thought that no prominent actor would want to play a gay characrer, they should have looked for someone who would do this with an open mind, even if they were less popular. After all that was a minor storyline and it would have been easier to execute but still!? But they totally failed in that regard rather decided to completely remove that part. In another way, it's fine if you did but why would you create a stupid character to compensate that and get the male character a partner? I mean it's not a big deal for a character to end up single by the ending of drama. Firstly, subverting the homosexual characters then altering someone's sexuality from gay to straight; both of these facts enrage me a lot. This is another example why I think Korean netizens as a society and community is just pretending to be progressive in some aspect while they ignore and reject other major ideas which are actually important for someone's rights and happiness, due to their narrow-minded thinkings. I am both angry and sad at the same time though I will always simp for the lead trio chemistry.

So to conclude, overally, this drama and it's story are really beautiful and you should try watching. If you don't care about the original story and okay with the negative change in it's storyline, it's okay and you can go ahead ad watch this. Even I have not read the webtoon but as someone who admires the originality and also someone who himself identifies as homosexual, I am equally disappointed with the change as much as I love it for the warm vibes. I might come back to this sometimes because of the warm scenes and cry watching them, especially the scenes of Yeo Jun (Ji Hoon) and Soo Hyun (In Hyuk). It has many things to learn from which will make you relate and think about your own life, your personality, your lifestyle, your relationship with others and your way of loving ang giving away affection.

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Inspiring paired with remarkable friendships & bromance

This drama was quite a spontaneous watch and grabbed my attention due to Bae In Hyuk starring in this series. It took me a while to grasp something compelling and unique about the series that stood out from other coming of age and youth dramas I have watched in the past. In the end, I flipped to the other side of the coin and found myself enjoying most aspects of the show as it was inspiring and admiring to watch. Arguably, there are minor problems that the drama brings, which will be discussed below. This review is based upon the fact that I have not read the webtoon, thus my judgments will only be about the drama alone.


As mentioned in the plot. the drama revolves around two male protagonists that have two very contrasting personalities and lives, but both have their struggles that they individually deal with. It is an atypical story about the hardships of today's youth whilst they are at university. If you are a heavy-watcher of youth dramas or web dramas - like myself - then this kind of story would be very familiar to you. Unlike web dramas based around this theme, however, this drama did bring some surprising depth and storyline contrasting to what you would normally see from a university-based drama. It touches upon serious issues that include poverty, anxiety, trauma, and physical/emotional abuse. One thing I enjoyed about this series is the feelings and vulnerabilities that are expressed with the male characters in this society. The series is centered around two male protagonists was a splendid choice. I found it admiring that the show made it distinctly clear that one can suffer from their own worries, besides having financial problems which means that each problem should be validated. The life lessons that derive from the struggles that the characters faced were remarkable and endearing.
I found the romance story to be satisfactory and lacking development a little. I think the drama could have benefited from developing the friendship more than the romance. It is quite a cliche with how they miraculously meet. Albeit on the plus side, the friendship developed between the couple was cute and the relationship itself was nurturing in some way. The writers decided to include a love triangle, a reoccurring theme amongst K-dramas. I felt like it would have been better to have not included it in the show as it does not add any value to what was already a compelling storyline
The series builds on a stereotypical image of toxic rich families which is an ongoing theme that takes place within many K-dramas; I have grown tired of seeing them, but I liked the slight twist to it.
Overall, the story was surprisingly intriguing to watch as each episode progresses. It can be predictable in some instances, but in others, the drama will bring you a few surprises as well. The pace of the drama was great , but I wish for the drama to find a good balance with developing the friendship between the two male leads and having a great romance story across the cast involved.


The writers of the drama did a fabulous job in showing two contrasting characters who are dealing with immense sufferings in their life, but from two different sides of the spectrum: one that is in need of money to make ends meet and one that is in need of affection due to the loneliness that derives from an unloved family. Soo Hyun has a very reserved and cold temperament, whilst Yeo Jun tries to portray a cheerful and bubbly exterior. As both make their way through this ambiguous and strenuous life, they happen to grow fond of each other and find healing in one another as their friendship develops. But this was not smooth sailing at first. The character development between Soo Hyun and Yeo Jun is notably incredible and phenomenal. The chemistry that the two friends have along with So Bin is touching as well. Both Bae In Hyuk and Park Ji Hoon displayed their character's emotions terrifically and I am thoroughly impressed with Park Ji Hoon’s acting seeing him for the first time in a role.
So Bin is an innocent, socially anxious, and assiduous character. At times I do feel as if she lacks depth compared to Soo Hyun and Yeo Jun and was merely serving as one's partner once her little story was over. Nevertheless, I enjoyed her character development. As always, I am impressed with Kang Min Ah's acting, and seeing her act in diverse roles in her previous projects, she did well in portraying So-Bin.
Young Ran was the tough, sociable, and strong one out of the bunch. It was lovely to see Eunbi as well for the first time in a role.
Mi Joo as a character was anti-climatic and poorly written. Her lack of backstory and development, plus the obnoxious writing of her unrequited love was unbearable to watch.
Chan-Kin. The child-like and playful character was notoriously known as So-Bin’s best friend. Again, even though there was not a lot going on with the character, I did like his willingness to develop and the backstory behind his friendship with So-Bin.
And lastly, Professor Song and Professor Park. I enjoyed their talks and interactions with the students, paired with their perspectives on youth for them when they were in their 20’s. It was quite fascinating. At first, I did not like Professor Song, but after getting to know her character more, I grew fond of her.


There is not a lot of songs that accompany this drama, but I do like all of them and fit well with the series. The one I will highlight is Rothy & Hang Seung Yan's collaboration. This song is beautiful and melancholic that includes amazing harmonisation. A true masterpiece. Another favourite would have to be Park Ji Hoon's 'Talk To Me'.


To my surprise, I could see myself watching a few episodes of this drama again. Despite the sensitive issues that are tackled in this series, I do find this a comfortable watch for a rainy day.


To conclude, this is not an all-time favourite of mine, but I would have to say that it is one of my favourite youth dramas, setting aside the negatives that it brought. If you are a casual listener to Park Ji Hoon - like I am - this drama will for sure get you to know him more beyond just an idol. If you are a massive fan of youth dramas and the cast that are lined up for the series, then it is worth adding this one to the list. On the downside, if you are looking for a great romance, then maybe this is not the drama for you.
Overall, I would highly recommend you watch it for the incredible friendship that encompasses a beautiful message about friendships, bromance, and inspiring life lessons that accompany this. I happen to find myself missing this series as it is coming to an end.

Leia Mais

Must Watch!

This is a perfect korean drama to watch. It has good amount of comedy, friendship and romance. Its perfectly done. I want to thank the writer for writing such a beautiful story about youth. This drama not only showed the positive side of youth but also also showed the darkness of youth. Everyone of them had a dark side in their life. Overcoming the hardship is all about youth. I was amazed by the acting of baeinhyuk. He is such a good actor. And the way he portrayed the character was so perfect. Park jihoon was also good. I loved how beautiful their friendship was. The last episode was too beautiful. Two different people of two different background having different problems in their lives met and their relationship was not good. But the way they overcomed it and became happy in their own lives and solved their problems because of the existence of each other is so overwhelming. Baeinhyuk and park jihoon are the real heroes. The OST was beautiful too

Leia Mais

Should You Keep A “ Distance” From This Drama?

There is undeniably something poignant about the plot premise of ‘ At A Distance, Spring is Green’ as the series pursues the soul-searching quests of our tritagonists trying to guide themselves through friendships, love and their own personal conflicts in different ways.

Yet in between the vivid spring palette scheme of director Kim Jung Hyun ( Secret Garden, Legal High) ‘s cinematography , ‘ At A Distance, Spring is Green’ doesn’t escape from the realm of scrutiny either. The divergence from the original storyline by conservative production channel KBS ( including changing platonic friendships to romantic pairings and even a character’s sexuality),unsurprisingly has sparked a lot of controversial debate over the handling of characterisation and plot throughout the drama.

However against the more heated feud surrounding the drama’s storyline , our main cast offered refreshing performances as their onscreen personas . Idol and former child actor Park Ji-Hoon delivered a beguiling performance as Yeo Joon. Throughout the drama we learn more about Yeo Joon away from his cheery and fake facade of similes. Foregrounded as a byproduct of an oppressive and dysfunctional family consisting of his older brother Yeo Joon Wan( Na In Woo), as well as his parents Cha Jeong Joo ( So Hee Jung) and Yeo Myung Hoon ( Kim Hyung Mook). One of the major drama subplots surrounding Yeo Joon’s family did undeniably have some surprising twists, but this subplot was sadly underdeveloped as a consequence of the predominating screen time into Yeo Joon’s “ romance” with So Bin ( Kang Min Ah).

It wasn’t the case that Park Ji-Hoon and Kang Min Ah had terrible onscreen chemistry. Kang Min Ah is a brilliant actress and she certainly helped to convey sweet moments between their onscreen personas ( one of the loveliest scenes of the drama being when So Bin gave Yeo Joon a hyacinth). However, the plot often seemed to struggle with conveying a symbiotic and mutually respectful relationship between these two characters with Yeo Joon (in early episodes) manipulating So Bin’s feelings, and then So Bin happily going out with someone who infringed upon her self-respect . Aside from diverging from the original webcomic the pairing between these main leads was similar to So Bin merely acting as an emotional band aid for Joon’s emotional wounds; quick to slap on top in order to make their relationship seem “ soulful”, yet often
resulting in a one-sided investment of only So Bin hearing out Joon . Whilst in the later storyline Joon did arguably “ support” So Bin, this was in a fairly manipulative manner towards humiliating someone who caused her to get into a tricky scenario rather than trusting and listening to So Bin and working out their problems together. Instead whilst it is understandable that Joon needed some respectful boundaries with So Bin ( and vice versa), it provided a sense of distrust within their relationship by Joon often considering Soo Hyun ( Baek In Hyuk) more as a “trusted” confidant than So Bin throughout the drama.
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However arguably one of the most enjoyable feats of the drama was Yeo Joon’s gradual relationship with his older brother Yeo Joon Wan ( Na In Woo) and then of course his friendship with Nam Soo Hyun. For the former, Na In Woo was really dynamic at capturing his persona Joo Wan’s stoicism by his expressions rendering something which is “ more than meets the eye” in early scenes. His heart-rendering journey from being the “ estranged” and “ heartless” brother of Joon to expressing his actual worry and emotions as truths come to light was one of the few beautiful moments of character development in the drama . However the ultimate show stealer was of course Joon’s oddball friendship with Soo Hyun.

Ironically this gradual “ blood brother” bond was more intriguing at times than the predominating relationship of Joon with So Bin, as a consequence of being able to contrast and present the characters for all their flaws and strengths. In Hyuk is captivating as second male lead Nam Soo Hyun. A distinctly subversive character; he doesn’t beat around the bush about Yeo Joon being used for his money, his irritation at Yeo Joon sucking up to him and also acknowledges his own social stigma of being " arrogant" on campus whilst struggling to play a fraternal and paternal role for his brother Nam Goo Hyun( Kim Su Gyeom). However one of the biggest problems with Soo Hyun came from (controversy aside), his lacking focal investment with his equivocally intriguing backstory being disregarded in favour for the “ romantic” moments of the drama.

The “ romantic pairings” present in ‘ At A Distance, Spring Is Green’ seemed to provide an ultimate foil at times to greater development with our characters (especially in regards to our female characters) , with the biggest elephant in the room being So Bin.

Respectfully whilst we do get to see insights into So Bin’s life through her interactions with roommates Wang Young Ran ( Kwon Eun Bin) and Gong Mi Joo ( Woo Da Vi) , her " crush and best friend" Hong Chan Ki ( Choi Jung Woo) and some abrupt glimpses into her ” difficult“ past, there’s little to truly put together about So Bin’s greater sense of purpose in the drama . There is the evident argument that whilst Yeo Joon and Soo Hyun represent the problems of loneliness and economic injustice, So Bin is supposed to show the “ average Korean student”. However unlike her counterparts So Bin rarely has this greater calling towards why she was even studying in the first place, her sense of personality outside of her interactions with her roommates, classmates and romance also and being able to have a more profound backstory . Arguably there was a quick passing comment by So Bin that she wasn’t entirely sure about her future and we did get to see abruptly little snippets of So Bin’s past catching up on her , however, perhaps if the series had gone more into So Bin’s reasoning either to ” prove everyone wrong“, her struggles with feeling motiveless or if this was previously rooted from academic or social pressure in her backstory , So Bin would have felt less like a “ emotional band aid” for an enforced romantic pairing, and more of a sentient individual.

This was also a case and point problem with the " unrequited feelings” of Gong Mi Joo towards Soo Hyun. It wasn’t necessarily that Mi Joo was an unlikeable character. In fact actress Woo Da Vi was brilliant at portraying an otherwise paper thin role of the ” superficial rich girl” . However for a major proportion of Mi Joo’s character arc, she was often fractious by her “schoolgirl crush” as well as her motiveless and unhealthy obsession over Soo Hyun. If Mi Joo had tried to understand more about Soo Hyun beyond “ he gave me the drink at the convenience store and is good looking” by asking Young Ran ( and perhaps acknowledging at least their different outcomes), maturing slightly after her previous breakup or even being able to venture more into her backstory, then perhaps Mi Joo would have felt like a well-rounded character. However, it was tiresome to once more see the second female lead be stereotyped as “ pitiful” and “ needy” before being disregarded nearly entirely when she wasn’t “ necessary to the plot”.


Arguably one of the few female characters in this drama who was given justice for a major proportion of the early storyline was Young Ran. The best friend of Soo Hyun who proves herself to be a supportive and a down-to -earth friend, it is disappointing that the show did not take more time to invest in her character arc aside from playing match maker and her seemingly “ unseen” future . The ending overall was a little underwhelming to say the least- not bad per say, just failing to wrap up key character points and moments.


So is ‘ From A Distance Spring Is Green’ actually worth watching? It is evident to see where this drama has its own alluring appeal for certain viewers by really good casting , beautiful cinematography and the portrayal of hard-hitting issues ( such as abuse, bereavement, economic and academic pressure ) in an attempt to take off the audience demographic’s rose-tinted glasses associated with youth. On a more pessimistic note, it is evident to see how this drama struggles with mixed-criticism by viewers with the adapted storyline straying away beyond recognition from the webcomic, mismatched pacing in parts ( due to the investment in lacklustre pairings) , the “ mismatched” main pairing ( which dominates a high proportion of screen time) as well as stereotyping certain characters into mundane one-dimensional roles , diminishing from fortified character development as well as more original takes on the youth genre . Overall certainly not an unwatchable drama but perhaps not as impressively original, or well-crafted as viewers were anticipating either.

Leia Mais