Um Dia de Folga (2023)

Petite and perfect

My first Lee Na Young Drama was "Romance is a Bonus Book" I rated that 5.5/10, meaning that for me it was mehdiocre and at best underwhelming. THIS one could not have been more different. Everything about this Drama was outstanding, including Ms. Lee's great performance.

The episode lengths were perfect too. Any longer and they would have sagged, shorter and the opportunity to let the puases sink in would have been lost. The cast was ASTONISHING - getting Han Ye Ri was awesome, but then to see that tyhe Drama drew Shim Eun Kyung back to Korea after years of focusing on Japan was chef's kiss. That's a clear tribute to the writing too, which was exceptional. The clinching proof of that for me was the final episode when I was surprised to find my eyes actively leaking. BRAVA!

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A dive into human nature, your search for yourself and the meaning of life

A masterpiece full of poetry, human beauty, intelligent plot It is a deep dive into human nature, its conflicts, the search for oneself and the meaning of life, based on the complex universe of family and social relationships. The plot unfolds in the magnificent setting of important South Korean cities full of history, culture, rites, spirituality, cuisine. This set of aspects plays the fundamental role of connecting people with their own stories and alterity. Despite the different and multiple personal experiences of each character, the existential dialectic is a preponderant factor that unifies all the characters, reflecting on the existential dialectic of the spectator himself, who sees himself, unavoidably, as part of the plot, reflecting on his own existence. All the actors deserve applause. However, actress Lee Na Young's performance is sublime!

We get emotional and laugh, we get involved with the softness of the story, we recognize ourselves in the characters. Park Ha Gyeong not only opens her own door to go out into the world, but she also opens our doors, inviting us to walk, eat, let our minds wander and be comfortable anywhere...

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이젠 단팥빵 먹고 싶어 죽겠다

These 8 short episodes is not really a drama but more like a travel show with a fictional character and her background. Each episode is a separate short story that happens to Ha Gyong on her weekend trips.

🔸We get to know Park Ha Gyong through her relationships with students, colleagues, reactions to unusual situations and life regrets. Each novel is totally fictional, but in the 7th episode there is a long bakery ad, and, you know, it worked. I now want to buy a 단팥빵 when I go to Jeju. Yet that episode-long advertisement was off-putting for the main narrative, leaving me more or less indifferent towards the end.

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just one day off
to have fortitude
to lose yourself
and embrace the unfamiliar
arms of a strange town

to speak their food
and taste their language
to see their memories
and pretend you never had one
the sea waves embalming yours

dear prudence, you wrote
as you discover the art in
nothingness and emptiness
you empty yourself of such void
their rain water baptizes you

and their trees walk with you
their clouds accompany you
you are sheltered by their histories
and museums of tomorrows from yesterdays
and suddenly
you are filled
satiated with unproductivity
and you look forward to mondays
which are no longer much of a mundane
for only through them
you can breathe within a saturday
just one day off
to just be again

as slow, yet, fruitful as persimmons
as unsteady, yet, balanced as an empath
a community of hermits
and the solitude of flocking birds
the literature of life
it's art mirrored in humanity
and humanity is the likeness and visage of God
whom in the seventh day
rested and savoured its creations
slowly and adventurously
just one day off
and just be again

to rest is a virtue to the living
and to the dead, it is a privilege
just one day off
to have fortitude
to find yourself
and just be again

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I want to travel with Park Ha Young

One Day Off (2023)
"When longing to disappear, I take one day trips. I walk, I eat, and let my mind wander."

Likes
1. I absolutely loved the concept of taking one day trips and I love hearing LNY recite this line in every episode! It felt like she wasn't alone in her trips, that I was also with her enjoying every minute of her escape from reality. I wish I can do the same but I'm lazy and my country isn't that easy to go around if you just commute.
2. I think LNY was perfectly casted to play Park Ha Kyung.. her outfits, her hair, her soothing voice, her laidback attitude. I would love to have a cool friend like her.
3. I like every episode, they were different and each character she met and the circumstances were interesting. If i had to choose my top 3 episodes, i would say ep 3 when she had a meet cute with #KooKyoHwan during the BIFF, ep 7 when she followed a girl to look for bread in Jeju,and ep 5 when she met her favorite cartoonist #KilHaeYeon. The encounters may be random but she (and the viewers) get a little food for thought after them.
4. I also love the guest stars in every episode such as #ParkInHwan in ep 6 as the grandpa who was ranting about kids these days, #HanYeRi in ep 2 as the struggling artist who didn't let go of her dream, and #SeoHyunWoo in ep 1 as the novelist she met in a buddhist temple.
5. The last episode was a little melancholic and underwhelming, as we get to see her dead friend played by #ShimEunKyung and the reason why she took those one day trips. But i also think it was the perfect ending to a thoughtful show.

Dislikes
I cant think of a dislike, except that the episodes were not enough and I want a season 2! And maybe somehow she meets the cute guy from ep 3 again.

Overall this is a peaceful and relaxing watch. If I ever want to disappear, I think I will just rewatch this show again and feel better.

Rating: 9/10

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