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The camellia blooms from late December through March
A well written, well executed drama that is both a romantic comedy and a thriller.The cast is amazing and it's a perfect watch for k-drama neophytes (despite the 20 episodes) and families.
The male protagonist is interpreted by Kang Ha-neul, whom I've met in Scarlet Heart Ryeo. Back then I fell for his coward, mediocre bad prince with outrageous hair, how could I possibly resist the sweet and loyal goofball that is Yong-sik?
I couldn't.
He is so very precious that it is clear he was written by a woman.
Mind you that I also developed a soft spot for Jong-Ryul, but he is a bit problematic so I'll just lust after him without giving him all my heart.
The female lead is played by Gong Hyo-jin, a new entry for me (but I plan on watching Master's Sun soon) and in my opinion a terrific choice. She managed a surprising balance between fragile and strong and, moreover, between pitiful and endearing. There are good dramas where the unlucky backstory of the protagonist is so heavy handed in its tragedy that it feels absurdly comic to me.
Now, Dong-baek is one of those incredibly unlucky characters, yet her lighthearted kindness and her honest smile make her real. She is not bravely enduring her catastrophic fate with the tenacity of a superwoman, but rather she is trying her best while being scared, insecure, regretful and lost.
There are the glorious moments when she stands up for herself and finds her inner strength and there are the moments when she is meek and timid and this duality brings her character to life.
Go Doo-shim and Lee Jung-eun are the epic grandmas we needed. Honorable mention for Jeon Bae-soo, Kim Sun-young, Yeom hye-ran and even Jang Hye-jin (in a cameo). All my favorites in one place!
The plot is engaging and well paced, easy to follow.
Maternal love and life in a small community are the main themes, but the writer (Im Sang-choon) also includes a commentary on social stigmas (Moms can't be single nor open a bar in Korea, apparently), mental health and the hardships of finding one's self-worth and social identity.
Our relationships and the people surrounding us shape our view of the world and can make a heaven out of hell or vice versa. As our experiences mold our identity, we are also capable of making a conscious choice on how to react to uncontrollable events. Hyang-mi and Jessica are a sort of Dong-baek alter ego in that sense. They all cope with their childhood trauma in different ways.
I liked the speech about miracles and the one about happiness.
Everyone gets their closure in the end.
I laughed and also cried a little and it felt good.
It felt organic.
Female Empowerment Score 5/5: from the kickass grandmas, to the feisty neighborhood gang of ajhummas, no female in this drama is on the sideline. Wheter they decide to drag each other down, or build each other up, these women are the main characters in their story.
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“Can a person become a miracle for another?”
Originally written on Nov 06, 2022One of my biggest gripes with K-Dramas is how the story often gets dragged out because people aren’t talking about their feelings. It’s always something like having to choose between a career and a person, and instead of trying to make it work, they just give up on one of the two, even when it’s not what they really want. When the Camellia Blooms is the exact opposite, with Hwang Yong-sik declaring his love for Dongbaek in the very first episode, leading to her thinking he’s a big weirdo, which immediately sets the tone for the rest of the show.
At first, I was quite happy with this, until I started to notice that it’s literally the same thing, but instead of the story being dragged out because people aren’t honest to each other, it’s being dragged out because they are too honest. This results in When the Camellia Blooms being a ~12-episode story spread out over 20 hour-long episodes. The pacing, especially towards the middle, is really bad, and it feels like characters are just running in circles to meet the network’s 20-episode quota.
The plot revolves around Yong-sik, a police officer who falls head over heels in love with Dongbaek, a single mother who runs a café at the outskirts of town. While this is happening, a serial killer is on the loose and starts to threaten Dongbaek. It’s super obvious near the start of the show who this murderer is, making it incredibly frustrating to see a team of cops needing an additional 10+ episodes to figure it all out. What could’ve been one big, fantastic, interconnected story turns out to be two separate storylines that only intertwine when the love story starts to stagnate. The number of times the same thing happens multiple times throughout the story is insane. It’s like I’m watching Dragon Ball Z. There’s no character development at all, except for in the first and last couple of episodes. I really wish this was done better.
What I liked was the lead characters' groundedness. Yong-sik is a goofball who tries to cheer up Dongbaek every chance he gets, whereas Dongbaek is a very insecure but pure-hearted soul who just wants to be a good mom for her kid and keeps getting thrown into awful situations. They balance each other out almost perfectly. I just wish the writers made better use of this. The supporting cast was nice as well, although they felt a bit too much like caricatures for me to really like them. There’s the biological father who wants to get the mother of his son back even though they’ve been out of each other's lives for years and he’s married. There’s the mother who doesn’t want her son to be happy with the female lead for no reason at all, which goes on for like 18 episodes. There’s the shitty kid who doesn’t like his mom’s boyfriend one scene, while they’re best buds in the next, etcetera. You know exactly where this is going a couple episodes in, but it’s still fun to watch.
And that’s the strength of When the Camellia Blooms. It’s not that well written, and it drags out way too much, but it’s incredibly wholesome and heartfelt when it needs to be, which makes this show a great comfort watch. My last couple of nights have been spent hanging out with my homies at the Camellia café, watching them try to catch a serial killer. And even though I didn’t love it, I’m sad that it’s over. It was a fun time.
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When the Camellia Blooms Korean
I was pretty hesitant going into When the Camellia Blooms. I knew it was a hit with fans both in South Korea and internationally, but I’m so picky with more simple dramas like this. But thankfully, I loved it!And I can totally see why they chose Gong Hyo Jin for this role. She seems so natural as she plays these realistic and slightly awkward characters. Her mannerisms are just so spot on.
The town is then filled with so many great supporting characters including the gossiping women, the man vying for Dong Baek’s attention, that man’s wife who is onto his games, the woman always looking to get money, Yong Sik’s mother, as well as Dong Baek’s son and mother. Talk about a wonderful group!
ways with its focus on the characters and their relationships. Yes, it had the mystery surrounding the serial killer, but that felt like more of a subplot for the bulk of the drama. And this is a prime example of how a simple story like this can be just exciting as any more complex series or an action drama.
The show is written incredibly well, and it handled everything so beautifully. It peeled back the layers of the characters and their stories in just the right manner for maximum impact. It also dropped small hints at a variety of things early on and then tied everything together later in very satisfying ways. It pulled on all kinds of heartstrings!
I was thoroughly invested in these characters and their lives, so their experiences captivated me. This drama held my attention and charmed me from start to finish. What a lovely surprise it was!
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It's All Good In The Hood❕️ °Excellent°
Is this a romance, or an exploration of parent child relationships?It's both. It's actually more the latter. There's loss, longing, loneliness, laughter and love, with scary tension mixed in for good measure. The neighborhood is a character on its own. The place to which they've taken us is so charming. Good directing, good acting, good writing and a good soundtrack all come together beautifully, like Donbaek's pork stir-fry. The romance between the two leads is sweet. The mystery surrounding the murders is also handled very well. Most of the character arcs are satisfying.
Dongbaek is uncomfortably passive and within herself in the first few episodes. Watching her develop... and bloom... is a treat. I've become a big fan of Lee Jeong Eun, Dongbaek's mom. She's a stellar talent and currently my favorite actress. I first saw her in Oh My Ghost which is a romcom that's cooked up to perfection. She, along with the other 3 leads deliver magnificent performances in that show and I have had a love affair with all of them ever since. (The other three are Kim Seul-Gi, Jo Jung-Seok, and Park Bo-Young).
This show is 95% excellent. Here's a complimentary sample of unimportant nitpicks:
It doesn't quite make sense to open a restaurant/bar because you can make one good dish.... .
It would have been fun to see policeman Young Shik catch a few more criminals, but it is understandable that one case started to consume all of his time.
I wasn't pleased with the treatment of Jong Ryul, Pil-Gu's father. It seemed more severe than he deserved. He truly cares for Dongbaek. He never had a chance to know his son. He made mistakes when he was immature, and has since grown up. The reason for the break-up and her attitude toward him is less in focus than other plot lines. I'm glad they didn't make him a cartoonish bad guy, at least. That's a played out stereotype; he has more complexity.
The efforts to catch the Joker had some holes, or flaws. Obvious things that should have been done were not, mostly to maintain the plot.
Any criticisms are easily overlooked due to the overall excellence of the show. Hwang Yong-Sik's energy alone is worth the time spent. Kang Ha-Neul is really terrific as the ML. So grab the peanuts and Soju and enjoy your stay in Ongsan.
QUOTE〰
"I scratched on cement that hasn't hardened." (Meaning that since he's a kid it will mark him, hurt him, and stay with him for life).
〰IMHO
Directing 8
Acting 8
Romance 7
Flutters 5
Thought provocation 6
Suggested Age 14& up.
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This drama was jam packed with wonderfulness. While the serial killer part of the storyline takes a backseat to the town life of Ongson, it definitely added some spice to what might have been an otherwise unpropelled storyline. This does focus more on how everybody influences each other through everyday life. While the drama did move a little bit slowly, and I did feel like they could have condensed it a little bit, they chose instead to cover every minute detail. There were no loose ends in this bad boy. I do think one of my favorite parts about this drama was that Young-shik's character was just an honest-to-goodness gem. He wasn't one to play games and beat around the bush, and he only wanted the best for Dong-baek. It was refreshing compared to the copious amounts of cold-hearted male leads in many dramas. I like a good dramatic romance as much as the next one, but this one definitely felt more real. It was sweet and the Ongson community aspect had me cheering.
The drama pulled everything together nicely and the character development was great. (So much character development, yass) All in all a nice watch.
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first of all 20 episode was too much for this drama and make it slowbut not slow enough to make me get bored or dropping it
the usual 16 was more than enough and reduce all these unnecessary details
the last five eps. was all about Son Dam bi and investigations more
the acting was great specially son dam bi
and Kang han neul although he is not handsome but really he was brilliant and amazing actor
i've to say the directing was great and made the drama rich
i hated so much the FL character i found it annoying many times and i saw her weak, selfish towards the ML
every time she concedes easily and said let's break-up
even when she had the choice, she conceded him easily without trying to convince her son by time
i liked the ML character so much and i saw what happened to him really unfair from the FL
and they kept telling the ML stick to her
don't leave her
bear her ..... what about her guys ??? isn't she had to do the same ???
And she Deprived him from being a father
for the first time i supported what the ML's mother did to her
she was really unfair and selfish
i saw the psychological part wasn't convincing
because the killer was insisting to hurt the FL although she didn't humiliate him once
and told her i'll kill every one around you with no logical reason
and at the end, he just left her ???????????????????
for me the end was a little flimsy and lukewarm
but the ML's romance was really amazing and delightful which made me keep going on watching ^_^
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The drama had, first of all, great performances, especially from the three main actors and actress. The characters were pretty interesting too. Another thing that worked for them was the mystery. Although the episode before the last on seemed like it had wrapped up everything, the last one was pretty intense and had a nice, unpredictable twist. The romance, in addition, was good at first, but, honestly, it got a bit boring towards the ending. But the family drama was just right.
So, overall, eight out of ten.
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YONG SHIK: EL MEJOR PROTAGONISTA JAMÁS CREADO SIN DEJAR SU LADO HUMANO
Todo el drama en conjunto y todos esos elementos que lo hacen tan especial es lo que logró encantarme por completo. A pesar de ser un romance cotidiano en un pueblo ordinario, el drama es único y rompe con muchos clichés que vemos continuamente en los dramas coreanos.Primero que nada, los personajes: Dong Baek es una mujer que ha pasado por muchas tragedias, es reservada y tiene miedo de salir al mundo y enfrentarse a las nuevas oportunidades que la esperan, ya que para ella su prioridad es su pequeño hijo por quien ha luchado tanto por sacar adelante, pero detrás de todo eso Dong Baek es una hermosa mujer, admirable y valiente que merece recibir un poco de amor de alguien que la ame y respete sinceramente. Es ahí cuando llega uno de los hombres mas maravillosos que he conocido (y que tristemente es ficticio), nuestro protagonista Hwang Yong Shik, él es el ejemplo perfecto de ''un personaje escrito pensado en todo lo que una mujer quisiera en su pareja'', es un hombre tan lleno de vida y luz que llega a la vida de Dong Baek con la única intención de hacerla feliz y ser alguien con quien pueda contar, un hombre donde llorar y ser ese pequeño momento de felicidad de cada día.
Además de ellos dos, los personajes secundarios me tenían tan entretenidos como los protagonistas: Desde Hyang Mi y todo su aura misterioso, Pil Goo quien realmente se encontraba en un conflicto con todos los cambios en la vida de su mamá pero que no dejaba de ser un niño pequeño, la pareja de la abogada y su esposo quienes no creí que fuera a disfrutar tanto, la unión de las señoras vecinas e increíblemente incluso me entretuvo toda la historia de la vida y el pasado de Kang Jong Ryeol.
Sumado a este romance aparentemente común se ha presentado en el pueblo de Ongsan una serie de asesinatos extraños y por supuesto Dong Baek está muy involucrada con ello. Me sorprendió mucho el balance entre el romance y el suspenso, no es la primera vez que veo estos dos géneros opuestos combinados pero sin duda este ha sido mi favorito y he quedado satisfecha cómo lo manejaron todo hasta el final.
Es un drama lleno de pequeñas lecciones de vida, de cómo algunas personas simplemente llegan a nuestra vida como una recompensa, de aprender a aceptar y aprovechar las consecuencias de nuestros esfuerzos, luchas y sobre todo nunca rendirnos sin importar los prejuicios o las opiniones de otras personas.
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The plot is quite realistic and the whole story strongly emphasizes how important mothers are and that they can do anything for their children. This drama teaches you that family and relationships are very important and that you can get through any obstacles thrown at you by helping each other. When the Camellia Blooms is an incredibly funny, heartwarming, and at the same time heartbreaking drama coming from the relationships of the characters and their backstories.
The acting/cast of this drama was also perfect, each role given was perfectly suited to them. While all of them seriously portrayed their characters perfectly, I'd have to praise Kang Ha Neul for totally nailing everything! He did such a great job acting as some kind of over-the-top, straightforward, a bit idiotic character. Much love for you Kang Ha Neul!
Overall, this drama was an absolute treat! This is a must-watch drama! I wouldn't have ended the drama any other way; no loose ends, just perfect!
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