I loved the entire show. Son ye Jin's acting was a huge hit for me though I didn't like Hyun Bin's that much(probably cuz the character itself was not very expressive). The accuracy of portrayal of life in north Korea seemed unrealistic in a few places based on the information I had gathered from interviews of various NK defectors. The characters seemed to get around and out of NK way too easily and dress code in NK was not seen as being followed as strictly as people are actually forced to follow. However, the other traditions, lifestyle and daily routine of north Koreans like their fixed hairstyles, food etc. were very accurately shown leading to this drama becoming a very liked one among South Koreans, defectors and international viewers. A very different thing about this drama is how it portrayed the positives and negatives of ordinary life in NK super realistically. (If you want to know if CLOY has a sad, happy or bittersweet ending, read the first line of the next paragraph.




******* SPOILERS FROM HERE ON**********

P.S. This drama has a bittersweet ending. If like me, you regret watching dramas that don't end perfectly with everyone being happy, then this is not for you. However, I felt that I learnt a lot of things from this drama and don't regret watching it.

Every time Ri Jeong Hyeok and Yoon Se Ri reunited, Se Ri would burst into tears and her face mostly looked sad. I really wanted this drama to be a little more happy atleast with the smaller details. However, the whole thing has tragic events that keep following each other after Se Ri first leaves NK. Till then, I felt that it balanced light hearted humor and serious scenes very well. However, later things just became gloomier and gloomier and like the cliche romance between lovers from 2 different worlds they were unable to have a beautiful and happy life together permanently even at the end. The end was bittersweet. They manage to meet in Switzerland but it was only for 2 weeks in a year. And realistically, I don't think that will give them a healthy relationship. If Seri would wait for those 2 weeks every year, she would have to love him that much and I think the few months they spent together isn't enough to foster that kind of serious romance. However, I would definitely recommend this drama as it should fit most people's tastes other than mine.

Re-watch value: I don't particularly enjoy tragic k dramas, so this one is not for me. I have only managed to watch very funny k dramas for the second time. But after I know the plot twists and ending of the more serious kind of k dramas, I don't particularly enjoy re-watching them.