O Drama da Minha Vida (2019)

Fun and Unique but Not Perfect

I feel really conflicted after finishing this drama. On the one hand, it is unique and underrated -- you won't find your stereotypical Oppas, your comically evil villains, your Makjang conspirators, or other typical Kdrama stables. Instead, you'll see three women and their friends and family try to overcome adversity that life throws at them and feel good about it when they do. The show will give you that slice of life feeling while delivering warm, fuzzy, feelings as everything wraps up nicely in a bow. On the other hand, I found the ending to be rushed and slightly flawed, and that negated some of the warmness that I felt while watching the series.

In particular, I found the worse to be the way that Jae Hoon's plot ended: he was in a relationship with Ha Yoon that started off as a lovey-dovey honeymoon phase and escalated into a cold, incompatible relationship where Ha Yoon would literally go out and have sex with other guys, yet come back home to Jae Hoon for...reasons. The big climax of this storyline is that Jae Hoon has a heart to heart with his BFF/crush/boss, Han Joo, and realizes that the problem with the way he acted was that he idealized Ha Yoon and therefore didn't see his girlfriend for who she was and got angry when she didn't fit his ideal mold of a woman. And after that, he happens to run into Ha Yoon at a musical (which was originally one of Ha Yoon's interests that Jae Hoon learned to love over time) and there are hints that they begin with relationship anew. Excuse me, what? How can the main takeaway be "don't idealize women. You need to love them for who they are" yet one of the main issues with their relationship is that Ha Yoon would go out and have sex with other guys? I just...don't understand how these characters ended up in the ending position that they did. This alone reduces my rating of this show.

On the other hand, all the positives are stellar. There is a lot of meta-drama commentary with self-referential gags about PPL and drama cliches that are really funny -- I think the best example of how meta this is, is the hit "Shampoo Song" which is part of the OST, which stayed on the Melon charts for a really long time, and is ironically a song that Ahn Jae Hong's character hates because his ex wrote it and because it's so cliche. The acting is top notch: Jeon Yeo Bin in particular really killed it in my opinion, because she plays such an emotionally divided character: on the outside, Eun Jung is stoic and outspoken, freely sharing her thoughts to the point that it is offensive. Yet, when you get down to it, she is deeply caring, especially about her close friends and family, and the way that she heals is that she needs to learn to embrace the thoughts and feelings she's been holding in.

The way that the stories are interwoven are masterful. Eun Jung and So Min start off with an antagonistic relationship that is based off their outwardly ludicrous personalities and misunderstandings from the past. Yet, once Eun Jung starts doing a documentary on So Min, they are able to learn from each others' experiences - So Min is able to realize a love with her manager that she's been taking for granted while Eun Jung is able to do an introspective and come to terms with her dead fiance. Han Joo and Jae Hoon start as a sunbae-hoobae relationship that seems to have hints of a romance (it never comes to fruition). At the end, Han Joo is able to pass on her work and life experience for Jae Hoon to move up in the company ranks, while also dealing with his own relationship. In turn, Jae Hoon is able to show Han Joo the value of romance, which she had sort of cast to the side after her ex had left her pregnant and cynical about love. Jin Joo and Beom Soo are able to help each other get over their exes while learning how to still love each other, even if they have a strongly, yet productive antagonist work relationship.

At the end, I feel as deeply conflicted about this drama as some of the characters did about their problems. The atypical format, plot, and characters apparently drew low viewership to this show, which I think is a shame. The quality of it definitely makes it an underrated gem. Yet, at the same time, I think some of the conclusions do a disservice to the overall story -- in particular, the Jae Hoon-Ha Yoon relationship.

Leia Mais

Because This Is My First Life's rightful successor

Melo is just one of those dramas you finish and you want to rewatch immediately. The cast is fantastic, the chemistry between all of them insane, their lives and stories completely relatable to anyone in their early 30s. It also deals with such heavy topics in such a light-hearted way that it feels a lot like life. Sometimes we come across problems that we cannot prioritize because we have work, relationships and people important to us to care about. Melo is all about sharing our problems with those people and growing together with them. Another thing I loved was the meta commentary. You will find references to drama productions we all know and love, jokes about product placement, some aegyo-bashing, self-references to the drama’s low ratings (it has now become an underground hit with young people thanks to its wonderful soundtrack) and even previous works of the cast. 

Leia Mais

After The Happily Ever After

the charming point of this drama was that it was it's own behind the scenes.. it was as if the characters were making their own drama..

this drama starts off with the aftermath of everyone's 1st love and the truth that not all 1st loves work out...
I've been complementing this drama ever since the 1st ep in the comment section, and now I'm kinda out of words ;)
basically this was a great slice of life with so many useful interesting side characters and a healthy dash of "love triangles" in each relationship...

I added lot of this drama's characters to my favorite lists, they are all so diverse❤ and the girls (+ Hyo Bong)! it was as if I was living with them, as if I was a part of that beautifully knitted friendship.. I'll sincerely miss them...

The ost of this drama was another charming point, they really did a great job fitting each scene. and I think overall the ending was done well, in a world where I hate almost all endings, it was satisfying...
and I really highly recommend this, it's fresh and different with ALOT of beautifully hilarious comedic scenes! tbh, now that I remembered that point I think that was the best thing about this! this literally had THE best "laugh out loud until you cry comedy" and I LOVED that!


my rewatch values are 1 or 10, and I already want to revisit my girls❤

Leia Mais

So weird, yet so very perfect

Fresh and unique. Extremely fast paced. Not one moment is dull.

You have to pay attention because the writing is so clever and quick witted. Honestly, the dialogue zooms by and you have to read as fast as a cheetah.The humor might be a little weird, deadpan, and sarcastic, but that's probably why I liked it so much. I am not the type of person to laugh out loud, but I ended up doing just that while watching this drama. Honestly, there were lines that were so clever and funny that I rewinded to watch the scene again. Not only that, but I shed tears IN THE FIRST EPISODE. This drama tugged at my emotions within the first episode and continued to do so as the drama continued. Nothing like I've watch before, and it is so weird. So, so weird. But I truly loved it.

MUSIC: 100% in this category. There is one song that has like 7 different renditions and each one sounds amazing and fits the mood. I could not get that shampoo song out of my head.

ACTING: Can I call it acting, when it feels like the actors are the characters themselves? It felt so natural, never felt forced or cheesy imo. They all did an amazing job.

I'd definitely rewatch this. So many laughs. And it was incredibly unique and meta. I could've watched 50 episodes of this. I finished it in a couple days, and I was sad I had to say goodbye.

(I will admit tho, I found the last episode to be a bit weak, hence the 9.5 instead of 10. They could have ended the series way better, but I am hopeful for a season 2 so maybe they did not feel the need to exactly make the final episode feel like a final episode.)

All in all, Be Melodramatic is added to my Favorite Drama list. Watch it. You will not regret it.

Leia Mais

This show is fantastic! Out of all the kdramas I've seen this is the closest to the Reply series (especially 88) in presentation & characterization, but at the same time this show doesn't push the love triangle in a stupid over the top way, which is a huge plus. I mean sure this one is set in present day Korea and it's not a 1-2 women + many guys setup, but the vibe is very similar.
All the characters, including the minor ones are interesting. All the sub-stories are cool. It's great how the drama starts, it's great how it ended and the quality stays consistent throughout. Normally I prefer dramas like WWwSK, or Fight for My Way, but this was a nice relaxing experience without the epic/cathartic moments that those kinds of dramas are known for. It was very funny, but not embarrassingly funny, It was just unreal enough to be interesting.

The casting is basically perfect, even more so than in R88. I hope that I'll see more of these actors in the years to come. The OST was good, though it could have been a bit less repetitive. +

Just to say some negative things: They took the fart jokes way too far and there were some dramaception moments that felt a bit immersion breaking.

Overall it's an easy 10/10, I hope it becomes a cult classic outside of Korea. Looking at the ratings leaves a sour taste in my mouth, I hope it's not because of the gay character, but with Korean viewers you never know...

Leia Mais

Be Melodramatic! Damn this is a good one.

I really liked search WWW, and I thought that I would never see a better trio of female leads for the rest of my drama viewing life.

Then Be Melodramatic happens. These women might not have the same snap to them as the Search WWW cast, but the dialogue here is second to none. Every time they are just sitting around the couch and gossiping or philosophizing, I was completely sucked in to the conversation. That's not even something I am normally in to, but the writing is so damn good here.

Everything is here. Clever writing. Comedy that doesn't involve putting the character in a funny situation, but actually is derived from well written and delivered lines. Very little cliches, and when there are, they are very self aware. At the end, ven some character development that you aren't expecting for a side character. In your heart you wanted to go one way, but the writers dragged you another, and it actually worked, and you aren't left bitter at all about their choice. That is rare for a drama. Usually when the writers do something you are rooting against, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. They someone turn that on it's head.

Not much else to say here. This is a 10/10, and of the 87 dramas I have now watched, this is only the 3rd perfect 10 I have given out.

Leia Mais

This is my first time posting a review for any kdrama, and I have watched over 50. I am writing this because it might just be my favourite drama to date. This was something that I could never say about the previous dramas. It takes this title so confidently as it a truly sweet, realistic, touching story of 3 women who are in their 30s. This drama can make you tear up and laugh out loud within a span of a few minutes. It is sweet yet sad, reminding you how realistic it is. It leaves you with a warm feeling and things to think about. You ponder on why certain things happen and how people coped with it. The ending left me with a strong desire for a second season. Just so I can see them grow and also see what their future holds for them. Even if I don't get that, the ending leaves you satisfied in a very warm, for me, it meant wishing the characters all the best and leaving them with warm goodbyes. All I can say is, this is a must-watch drama. Hope you guys give it a chance and see how it and the warm feelings stay with you.

Leia Mais

If you are tired of the same drama pattern, this is a drama for you. It s something like Age of youth but for grown-ups in my opinion. *THE STORY* is quite unique, showing the lives of 4 friends that live together and get through hardships by supporting each other. They give you a little bit of everything: love, comedy, sadness, unusual, weird etc. *ACTING*- I really liked the characters and how they were portrayed by the actors. There is a scene in the last episode where they fight while whispering and I found that really unique and random. It s really nice how everyone managed to play a different type of a person. There is no character like the other and each one had something very distinctive in their personality. *MUSIC* There weren t many songs that drew my attention but the ones that did...ofc they were cool and unique as well. *REWATCH VALUE* I Will watch it again for sure and it is worth it. I still cannot comprehend the number of characters and personalities. God! The drama has a really chill vibe so that some of you might say it s boring but I really like that kind of approach.

Leia Mais

It's an absolute masterpiece But...

If you're more into just Swoony romance and Rich chaebols in your shows then you might not like this one.

Also The show didn't do great in ratings(averaging around 1 percent viewership) because it's not part of the major TV broadcasting studio like KBS(ratings range in 2 figures).
And smaller studios (like JTBC) ratings range in around 3 to 5 percent on a good day.
Despite that, it's a criminally underrated show.


It's A very character driven show. And the leads are very relatable. The drama described itself the best, as the main lead is writing the show which is the story we the viewers are watching.(Things will be fine when you are Thirty)

But it's never really a fourth wall break. Rather Just a peak at the fourth wall which makes it more fresh

It's deeply poignant in places and hilariously funny throughout its run.
Like seriously funny, the show uses dry humour but it doesn't feel as dry as British dry humour and has a very nice balanced feel to it.

The OST is so organically a part of the show and is the most fitting with the shows story and brand of funny.

The monologue by characters are really thought provoking.

If you liked "age of youth"(hello my Twenties) or Reply series (Answer me series). You'll love this one for sure.

If you didn't. Well.. This one's not for you.

Also the PPL in this one's is actually really funny as most of the time it's under some reference (since one of the lead works in marketing).

It's it's own brand of genius.

Leia Mais

One of the OST titles is Consolation. It tells a feeling of having someone we know will always be there in every difficult situation that we've been. That's pretty much what I feel throughout the drama. Not only this drama reminds me of those who console me, but those who need me the most to console them.

Sometimes, unlike what they say, people don't change. When facing the same problem over and over again, it's hard for one to deal with that issue of theirs. However, if only they have others to walk with them and hold on, they can pass through that problem safely and sound and they can continue their life. Because to move on, you need energy, you need courage, and more than a friendly attitude, you need sincere friends.

This drama gives me a big burden in the beginning. As I watched more episodes, I thought there were fewer problems. Now I know I was wrong. The problems kept on coming to the characters. They never get used to it. But they will to walk through it and move on.

This drama is very meaningful to me. Every time I cry when I watched this, I feel both bad and good feelings. The weird part is that...the gut that I had was consoling me.

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Now go to the real review of the drama production. Gosh, so good! The cinematography fits the concept. It looks pretty yet resembling the tone of our everyday life. The OSTs are all so touching. The plot is enjoyable, although I find that the plot is not really mattered when it comes to this drama. The character itself is very charming already, you would want to watch this because of the characters. They don't fall into the mainstream stigma of each character. Instead, they bring the characters to come to life by giving them the most natural attributes I've ever seen in Korean Drama. Not to mention, the casts play these characters so well.

In conclusion, this drama taught me lots of thing and it does warm my heart.

Leia Mais