Revista do Lar do Mês (2021)

Lesser than the sum of its parts

This may not be al all-star team, but "Monthly Magazine Home" has a high caliber of talent at the top of the credits. Kim Ji Suk may not have a history as a lead but he's been a standout as a supporting cast member. Kim Won Hae has an incredible resume'. Jung So Min is unquestionably a quality lead actor. Chae Jung An has stolen more than her share of scenes in previous work. And for a good chunk of of this series, they play a terrific melody together. But it doesn't last and, while it remains an entertaining show, "Monthly Magazine Home" falls short of making the memorable performance that this cast is capable of making.

Kim Ji Suk's Yoo Ja Sung is the character with the most significant growth, but while the character matures and grows, his charm vanishes. Ahn Chang Hwan has a series of episodes where he is scintillating but his tendency to overdo comedic scenes is unfortunate. Kim Won Hae, similarly, bright moments mixed with less than his finest work. Jung So Min is terrific where her character has material for her to use. But Na Young Won just winds up being rather bland.

There's plenty of criticism for the storyline in later episodes and there's merit to it, but things started to go awry much sooner. It really begins with some clunky direction at the halfway mark. Kim Ji Suk, in particular, has some extremely awkward blocking in what should be touching moments with Jung So Min. All the supporting characters are asked to recycle the same lines for rapidly declining comedic returns. And there's quite a bit of extraneous cast that are present for a large amount of the show but are given almost nothing to do. What's more disappointing is that there are multiple devices that work well for much of the series that completely vanish shortly after the halfway mark.

Credit to the wardrobe people for an incredible collection of sweaters. The Jo Yuri track "Story of Us" is terrific and one of the best soundtrack entries of 2021. The houses featured are absolutely stunning.

Overall, "Monthly Magazine Home" is a nice show. It has flaws and some are noticeable. It also has a nice collection of positives and quality moments. It's not strongly recommended, but recommended nevertheless.

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A woman who owns a house and a man who owns a home; nice drama but anti-climatic ending!

Monthly Magazine Home is a nice drama, it is filled with lots of simple things that make you laugh and smile a lot. It was a comfort drama. Sometimes, it was weird and over the top, while there were also times where I didn't know if I would cringe because it was funny or just feel butterflies in my stomach. It was good until—it wasn't able to sustain its sincerity until the end.

It is the drama of a man who buys a house and a woman who wants to own a home. It has an office romance, funny relationships with office co-workers and friends, and a love triangle that might introduce a conflict but still not a strong one, thank goodness. The main highlights of the drama for me are the incredibly funny moments of the side characters but still heart warming at the same time. I also loved the sincere and romantic moments of Young Won and Ja-sung. The drama was also lovely with its monologues at the end of every episode plus it has good OSTs!

At its core, the drama was simple and honest and I would've preferred if the writing could've pulled that sincerity until the end, because other than the laughs and the good things, you will realize that it is just plain. But it wasn't bad because you are enjoying this vanilla ice cream with your friends and loved ones. It is so sweet and that it has become the charm of the drama even passing clichés and its weak writing—not until you realized it is a 16 episode drama not a 12 episode one. And, this, I believe, pressured the writer in creating conflicts and challenges because this vanilla writing with lots of good moments could not just sustain a 16 episode drama.

When the writer could have focused on its sincerity and the reality of the hardships of becoming a homeowner in every episode, she opted for cliché plot devices that could invoke long-range conflicts in romance department. But, since the writer is also not yet mature in handling long-range conflicts nor the directing was suave in its execution. Sometimes the emotions were there, sometimes it was missed.
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The two main lead couple had an early romance, however, after that, I think the writing started to become misguided with its original concept and main intention. It lost some of its sincerity and instead had the sitcom vibe; I didn’t complain because it was funny for its short span. And, thank you to the story and craziness of the side characters, the drama lasted up to episode 11. Episodes 12-14 is where the major conflict happened. We had a break-up and a love triangle, but the writer proved that she could still make it work. As she tried once again to show her sincerity, the drama became warm and charming again. I remember loving the emotions felt through the end of episode 14. The writing was at its best when it is not trying to be too ambitious, when it was just honest and raw and when the directing is opting for honest and sincere direction.

In a way, episodes 1-14 were delivered well. It had good moments, there were hits and misses, but it was STILL balanced. Then episode 15 came—it was sweet, crazy, funny and for its content, I believe the main message of the drama was already delivered well—“home is a container that holds life”.

But, of course, we still need to complete the 16 episodes and one thing was missing—the resolution that it promised from its original concept—becoming a homeowner. However, it was already too late and the weakness of the writing started to become evident as the writer probably did not know how she could produce that kind of outcome. The last episodes, although delivered well, failed to provide the progress of its major concept, therefore, with an hour left, they needed a diversion that could fast forward the concept they promised at the start and finally show the female lead owning a house on her own. And this became the main problem and probably the weakest link that drove the drama to its anti-climatic and disappointing ending.

She pulled off a last-minute "plot twist" that you are very tired of because that conflict already happened in episodes before and what's amusing is, she used that unnecessary conflict to give back to its major concept, pulling every kind of cliché that it can and creating unnecessary suffering for the main leads and covering it with a bad aid saying “starting over again”. You know I am not picky, I don’t really mind if they wanted that one last “plot twist” but we still got a cliché trope of misunderstanding, so yeah. The ending was bad because it failed to invoke the right emotions to the viewers, it was bad because the writing was weak from the very first start, it was in many ways bad because it erased all its sincerity and tried to be ambitious when it couldn't.

In the end, the drama still failed to deliver its main concept of becoming a homeowner; while Ja-sung finally owns a home now, Young-won only owns a house. Isn’t it sad? Yeah. But, of course, you still have an open-ending and while I interpreted the ending as anti-climatic and bad writing, you could be hopeful that as they found another one in the end and just as they are starting to rebuild their relationship step by step by being friends, someday, together, they will find themselves building a house that will eventually become their own home. Have a good day!

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The best drama in the 'happiness to viewers' category.

The reason why i gave this drama a rewatch rating 9.0 is that it spreads happiness. You know my favorite drama till date is full house (2013) and you know what, i gave it a rewatch ratings of 8.0 and that's the highest i gave till now. This drama, may not be the best if you consider a more romantic, more story, etc etc categories, but it will give so much enjoyment that you will be sleeping with a smile after you watch an episode on the relase date. I'll always support you Monthly Magazine Home. I'm in love with cast, especially ji soek and so min. I love you guys😍😍🥰🥰

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This drama has a Unique concept it makes interesting

I love this drama cause it's unique concept and it's very entertaining and realistic and I got so many life lessons in life. I hope this drama will be discovered by the young generations they really needed this. And to the cast Kim Hi Seok a little bit older but I can see their undeniable chemistry. Maybe because Jung So Min charm makes good chemistry to all her leadingman. And now this drama is ep7 is getting better and better can't wait ep8❤️. Maybe because of its unique concept the others cannot find this interesting that's a big no! U need to watched this and see you goona like this.

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If you like drama born from immaturity, then this show is for you!

I just can't with this show. It's love-hate - and mostly hate it at this point. It look me awhile to figure out why this show grates on me so much. There are many reasons but the main one is that the show has 30 and 40 year olds going around with the emotional maturity of teenagers. It's bewildering and, in my eyes, a complete waste of storytelling and talent.

The female lead is a complete pushover devoid of personality and severely lacking a backbone. Let's just turn the feminist movement back by a century, why don't we?

The male lead has redeeming moments, but the show somehow thinks it's okay/endearing/funny for him to display circa 1990 kdrama toxic male behavior?!

The only redeeming factors about this show and why I continue to watch are Kim Ji Seok (Ja-sung) and Editor Nam, who are delivering great comedic and dramatic acting gold.

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Cliché

At first I was a little hesitant to watch ( because i don't like concept of poor FL and rich ML) ,but anyways I gave it a try .Till now I never regretted it. THIS IS MY FEELINGS AFTER WATCHING 4 EPISODES.

For some odd reasons i dropped it. I think i watched up to 7 -8 episodes, after that i don' t feel like continuing it any more. It does feel like its not interesting anymore.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Even experienced actors couldn't save this

Not sure what happened here. A story about the troubles of the property market viewed , through various characters circumstances, and make it a rom, com? It just wasn't funny, and seemed to suggest that its OK to put up with bullying and abuse, by your boss, your 'friend', work colleagues, ex ,and even your parent, and just about every sort of abuse, which the FL just had to put up with to keep a job, and find a home. It was set in a modern day office, so really there is no excuse for promoting this idea of the work place. Not sure what the writers were thinking, did someone get an idea, and then just not understand how to write the rest of it?
The last straw for me was about episode 6, something happens to the FL and her reaction is just so wrong, I book ended it, watched the last three episodes just to check I hadn't missed something, nope, it was worse.
All the actors in this are talented,it seemed to be directed to act to extreme caricature, to work the poor script. Well done to them for trying,
I watched this about two months ago, as of writing this, and it still makes me cringe with its awfulness.

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Great start, fell off

The first ten-ish episodes were amazing. First of all, the plot was light but also very fun to watch. The last 5 episodes or so reminded me of literally every drama that I've watched: the ML/FML running in circles, and away from each other. If you enjoy these types of romcom plots, binge tf out of this drama! It'll probably be a 8/10 or higher for you.
Though I have to admit, the comedy aspect of this whole show was off the charts. The cast never failed to make me laugh every episode

Is this drama for you? Yeah, if you like
- Minor love triangles
- Wholesome, cute relationships
- A happy ending for everyone
- *light* frustration due to the plot

// SPOILERS, FINAL THOUGHTS //
I feel like the drama could've ended on episode 10, or even better, 8. Some might think I'm exaggerating, but I really feel like it should've ended when they confessed to each other. The writers were obviously adding in some cliché events (taking a trip together and breaking up at the end/love triangle/angst through small fights/time skip, it's endless) to drag out the drama for 6 whole eps imo. It was worth watching, but some would see the last episodes as a bunch of extras/filler episodes :) they were nice to watch though

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Feel good, light rom-com

If you are like me and you're watching Devil Judge and Penthouse; sometimes you need a breather from all those dark, heavy scenes.

This rom-com is just right up my alley. First off, I love that the setting is bright and sunny. The casts each lend their talents to portray a group of co-workers with just the right amount of sense of humor. It is a workplace which I can only dream of.

The storyline, particularly when it comes to house surveying, is a bit unique. I enjoy learning about the different Korean locations and real estate prices. The subscription angle is also something new to me, so I had to research it first to fully understand why you need a subscription to own a house.

I am glad that Kim Ji Suk is being given this break. He delivers his line comically and his role suits him well. Both he and the FL also show great chemistry together.

Still, I am only half way through this drama; but I don't find anything boring about it so far. Although from what I hear, the ending could have been better

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an underrated balanced combination of realistic plot+cute romance

i wont deny,it is a typical trope BUT i would still recommend you to start it. what impressed me the most was the plot. although the male character is shown to be the typical "rich man" he has risen from hardships and efforts. plus points for that. it is going to be a typical rom com trope but hey its not like we dont like our typical kdrama romance. the side story of the male lead is quite intriguing too! its a nice and different mixture with cutesy romance. everything shown tho typical, its very realistic. how the female does small small things to save up its very easy to relate because of the realism. it makes the drama even better! love it! id recommendit for a nice light romcom drama :)))

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Primera comedia del absurdo que veo hecha en Corea

Perdón amigos, no han entendido un carajo de esta brillantes comedia de absurdos.
Llegué a esta película siguiendo a JUNG SO MIN a quien encuentro adorable, incluso desde el punto de vista sexual. Me sorprendió apenas vi la primera escena, eso de lanzar a alguien a la calle es propio de dramas tristes, pero algo ahí estaba raro, la pataleta y forcejeos de Na Young Won encaja en una comedia común, pero poner al CEO de la inmobiliaria, actuando como gangster y muy avieso, me fue indicando que aquí había algo más, luego de invitarla a comer para sacarla del medio y recibir de vuelta una bofetada, siendo el dueño de la empresa (después se sabe)
La trama sigue en situaciones disparatadas que se van superando unas a otras. La bella chica se presenta a escribir en una revista inmobiliaria y aparece el payaso que nunca desaparece, el tipo de la flauta. Aparece el dueño y un sinnúmero de personajes absurdos de comportamientos irreales, pero muy queribles. Las razones que se argumentan para las acciones que hacen NO TIENEN LOGICA ALGUNA. Hay una escena memorable cuando la bella se ARRODIKA a llora por pedon del dueño. Un disparate total.

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