Welcome to Samdal-ri (2023)

Wasted Potential: The Bittersweet Journey to Samdalri

This show was a mixed experience for me with some episodes being enjoyable while others left me frustrated. Despite this, the standout performances and compelling storylines justified watching it.

Now i will discuss what i liked and disliked.

What I Liked:

Great Acting: The performances were superb with impressive portrayals from the main leads, veterans and even minor roles. Kim Mi Kyung and Shin Haesun in particular excelled in their roles.

Compelling Supporting Storylines: Samdal's sister's narratives were surprisingly engaging, occasionally surpassing the main plot in interest.

Breathtaking Jeju Visuals: The show beautifully showcased Jeju's natural charm, perfectly in line with its healing genre, thanks to the director's skillful capture of landscapes.

Yongpil and His Mother's Bond: I absolutely loved Yongpil and Ko Mija's relationship. Im mentioning Ko Mija as Yongpil's mother's because he genuinely considered her as his own mother and she reciprocated the same feeling. Some may have misunderstood some of Yongpil's actions towards Ko Mija due to his love for Samdal but to me he was doing everything for his own mother, Ko Mija. He even chose to break up with Samdal to protect Ko Mija, sacrificed his dream, which truly reflects his immense love for his mother, Ko Mija.


What I Disliked

Flawed Writing: The writing here was poor, particularly in crafting the lead characters. FL's character is poorly written lacking the ability to stand up for herself, very disappointing, especially when she had evidence against Eunju but chose silence. Its perplexing how forgiving she appears towards someone who made her life miserable, forcing her to give up her career. While some argue its not a revenge driven show, standing up for oneself isnt revenge. Yongpil, initially a promising character comes off as clingy at times, seemingly oblivious to personal space. The writer neglected to properly develop his character, the first half focused on establishing FL's character and the second half's attempt at Yongpil's story was unconvincing. Equal importance to both leads from the start would have improved the narrative.

Second Male Lead: Despite not being malicious or negative his storyline was unconvincing and felt like filler, a major dislike for me. His scenes in the second half of the drama were particularly irritating. I find it hard to comprehend how he could be in one sided love with Samdal for over 30 years. While i can understand Yongpil's feelings given their past relationship but what about him?? Samdal never viewed him romantically, she never dated him or provided any hope yet he couldnt let go of his feelings for her for such long period of time.

Yongpil's Dad's Arc: The storyline involving Yongpil's dad was poorly written. While the actions of other characters in that track like the main leads breaking up were somewhat understandable, Yongpil's dad's treatment towards Samdal's family was childish and unreasonable. Despite understanding his pain from losing his wife, making his son's life miserable just because of that is unsympathetic. His entire storyline could have been handled much better.

Inconsistent Engagement: My connection with this show was strange like i would enjoy one episode but the next one would annoy me the most. The inconsistency in writing was evident and i didnt appreciate it.


Talking about the chemistry between the leads, i would say they had more of a best friends dynamic than that of lovers. Honestly, throughout the entire time, i never perceived them as lovers but rather as best friends forever. This could be seen as both positive and negative but given the romance genre here, my opinion tends towards the negative.


In conclusion despite its wasted potential, the show provided a decent pastime experience.

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A healing drama filled with love, acceptance, dreams and reunions.

Choi Samdal and her people. Just a simple story of people in Samdalri. People who can love with their whole heart and hate with a passion too, if you provoke their loved ones. A drama which showed "Many people may support you at your highest but the ones who support you at your lowest is the ones that truly loves you, and eventually you realise that those people are your home. A place where you can be yourself and be supported."
The leads were the reason I was waiting for the drama and they truly delivered what I was hoping to see. Their emotions and acting was truly heartwarming. Every character was really giving their all.
It was a slow paced second chance romance filled with love, acceptance and reunions. A drama filled with people following their dreams with a strong home to fly back to.
I really feel sorry for those who stopped watching this after first 2-3 episodes. Because heartwarming dramas like this doesn't come often.
???

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Love it!

I love this drama! Heart fluttering indeed ???

I recommend this to those who are tired from chaebol dramas.

Simple and realistic as it can get. Relatable characters. The greenest flag of a Male Lead there can ever be.

Roller coaster of emotions every episode. One minute you are laughing your ass off, the next minute you are bawling. I also love the Director. Big fan of his work in When The Camellia Blooms.

It is sure to steal your heart away with just few episodes.

Preparing myself when the drama is over and I am yet again missing the characters.

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A story about where you can find yourself !! GREAT CAST ! FINEST DRAMAIC EXPERIENCE !!

_The beauty of Healing rom kdrama Visual aesthetic of Jeju Island _

Don't get low ratings, This is one of the best drama in kdrama land placed All time top 50 kdramas in South Korea and also worldwide.. I enjoyed every episode, highly recommend to every kdrama lover. Don't let negative reviews negative comments ruin your drama.. just go and watch and enjoy the show, if you haven’t started watching it yet you’re literally missing out, its so good every episode has the perfect balance of laughter, sadness, romance and friendship..the cast is so good and the mains have chemistry!

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➥ LET'S SEE -

After suffering a fall from grace, a photographer returns to her hometown and bumps into her childhood friend — rekindling an unfinished romance.

The perfect teamwork between director Cha Young-hoon and writer Kwon Hye-joo plays a big part in the spotlight of "Welcome to Samdalri" as a clean life drama.


- PERSONAL THOUGHTS/REVIEW -

_THE BEST PART OF THE DRAMA_.

- best siblings trio
- best friendship/support system
- best romance
- great family dynamics
- best moms!!!
- great hometown people
- great life lessons
- great story unfolding
- quality cinematography.

(Story progression, acting.)

Welcome to Samdal-ri offers a simple and familiar package, but unlike many other K-dramas it offers rounded characters, most of whom share strong chemistry, and evinces a confident sense of humour. And the story gives equal importance to all characters, what i observed mostly in healing dramas the plot/story mainly focuses on main protagonist stories but what I like in Welcome to Samdalri is how it's given more important story scope to side characters.

The structure of the story, which has been densely stacked since the beginning, is showing its light toward the second half and showing its backside properly. This is because the story that have been sprinkled slowly are recovered one by one in an unimaginable way, giving a pleasant feeling.

The show’s early comedic highs make way for a more emotional tone after Sam-dal makes peace with what happened to her in Seoul. With the tension of her career hiccups growing distant in the rear-view mirror, the drama turns to the issues between Sam-dal and Yong-pil’s families

➥ _BEST MAIN CAST & SUPPORTING CAST ( ACTING )_

Acting/cast 10/10 :-

Not only Ji Chang-wook and Shin Hye-sun, but everyone is the main character! a colorful smoke feast that fills Samdalri. Welcome to Samdalri" features various characters with dense narratives that can be written in a mini-series with each character as the main character, filling the play with abundance.

The reason why each story could shine more was because of the actors' stellar performance, which could not be found as a hole in acting. Ji Chang-wook and Shin Hye-sun created a romance unicorn couple with their hard work. In addition, he captured all the detailed emotions and sublimated each character's narrative perfectly into his own. Kim Mi-kyung, Seo Hyun-chul, and Yoo Oh-sung captivated the small screen every time they appeared with their deep emotional performances. The reason why the tangled thread of their emotions and the process of finally unraveling them were able to come convincingly was because of the actors' luxury acting.


Cho Jin-dal (Shin Dong-mi) and Cho Hae-dal (Kang Mi-na), the first and third of Samdali's official "Three Sisters of Horror," are their own distinct characters, and they have perfectly built up the chemistry of the three sisters, which is not common on the small screen. In addition, Ha-dal's daughter Cha Ha-yul (Kim Do-eun), who sends a fact bomb with sharp insights that are not like a nine-year-old child, joined the team, completing the invincible laughter hunting combination.

⁠|| ♡ The best slice of life & healing drama with deep message ||

However this drama perfectly balances multiple stories. Excellent storytelling, well-developed characters, and heavy emotional depth, also this drama masterfully connects themes of resilience, self-discovery, and the enduring power of friendship. I would like to say, This series holds the viewer's interest, promising a captivating narrative journey that explores the complexities of love, destiny, along with family relationships. Life in a city is intertwined with people. Countless people who are so involved seem to be "my people," but it is when they face difficulties that the substance is revealed.

There's a scene the title of the photo exhibition, which was canceled due to controversy over power abuse, is "Human, My Person." Cho Yong-pil, who came to the exhibition, which was considered to be my person but was eventually canceled, leaves his name in the guest book that the exhibition staff is about to throw away. The drama is trying to convey the warmth of a person who stays by their side until the end even if everyone leaves, such as a hometown and makes Viewers were deeply immersed in the story of each and every one of them, and they cried and laughed with the people of Samdalri.


➥ DIRECTION, WRITTING, SOUNDTRACK and DEPARTMENTS 10/0

-- Well directed Despite some flaws writing is impressive, Quality cinematography. I will 10/10 to direction, director well known for his previous projects, but this works of his standout from his previous projects. His work brandish on every character role, succeeded in using actors potential work.. Director Cha Young-hoon, who has a warm gaze on people, focused on the detailed emotional lines of each character, but created a calm wave in the hearts of viewers with his delicate directing ability that does not miss the clean Jeju
scenery.
-- Soundtrack, It remastered 10 colorful tracks across all generations with comprehensive emotions such as dreams, hometowns, youth, and friends, words that often appear in Cho Yong-pil's music, giving viewers warm empathy and deep lingering feelings.
-- Cinematography provides a quality framework, each frame adds more beauteous to scenes. Especially the Jeju Island view just wow..
-- Well-formed SCREENPLAY and superb EDITING i loveeee them..i love how the flashbacks are shown...at the exact moment when it's needed..
-- Bonus plus point is " EPILOGUE" story telling section, they show perfect short stories in Epilogues at the end of Episodes.
-- Writting is impressive but writter failed in to create more dynamic characterization of ML & FL. except this flaw, his work shines in every scene, especially the Second Half grandstand as his best work, the dialogues and conversations between main characters helps to get emotional from Watchers. It will be best of best drama if the writer concentrate more on subtle plot like choosing emotional not as comdey track..


➥ FILMING LOCATION JEJU ISLAND:-

Jeju Island provided a quaint countryside setting that contrasted the bittersweet life and love story of each character. And it has been memorable. Welcome to Samdal-ri' stands out not only for its engaging storyline but also for its beautiful cinematography capturing the charm of Jeju Island .

➥ MORE MORE -- why watchers are saying disappointed

As a Ji Chang-wook fan, I'm extremely happy for him to get accepting the portrayal of Young Pil, considering that based on his filmography, this character role is unique to those in his previous dramas, indicating his versatility. Ji Chang-wook and Shin Hae Sun are two acting powerhouses. Everyone knew that Kdrama fans are expected more rom from them, but I feel they disappointed. What I'm trying to say here is the fact that there is nothing to be disappointed about it, because this isn't a full-fledged romance drama; it's a slice of life/healing drama with a romance subplot. But the scenes between Ji Chang-wook and Shin Hae Sun give us pure rom vibes, which is enough to fill those as rom.:)

Due to not big enough marketing and promotions by JTBC Production House, Welcome To Samdalri didn't succeed in creating buzz among kdrama viewers. However, what is more surprising is that Welcome To Samdalri ranked #1 some convective weeks on Netflix in some countries solely due to the masterclass acting of Ji Chang-wook and Shin Hae Sun, as well as the performances of other actors and the drama's quality content. This highlights the quality of the drama is gain popularity without proper promotions. Yes, I accept that there are certain flaws in the writing, but the writer and director did their best to perfectly convey what they wanted to show us.

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➥ ( ABOUT 3 MAIN SUPPORTING CAST/ACTING)

Some are saying the 3 main supporting characters are dragged on screen and captured more screen time, let's see about for their, they are strong point in emotional development of story, especially second half hits with their phenomenal acting.

1) Kim Mi-kyung( Samdal mother ) who is stimulating the tears of numerous daughters in the small screen with her deep maternal love like a "people's mother," portrays various aspects of the character by enthusiastically playing Go Mi-ja, the mother of Jo Sam-dal (Shin Hye-sun), the chairman of the Haenyeo.

2) Yoo Oh-sung ( Young Pil father) the owner of the inaccessible acting inner workings, is showing a heavy presence by exuding a different aura in every scene that appears as Yong-pil's father, Jo Sang-tae, who has been missing his late wife, Boo Mi-ja, for decades in his heart. He is a very friendly father to his only son, Yong-pil, but he stands upright like a huge mountain that can't be crossed when it comes to three months. At the same time, the complex state of mind that sometimes softens due to the past times we have been close has been revealed everywhere.

3 On the other hand, Seo Hyun-chul plays Ko Mi-ja's husband, "Cho Pan-sik," showing the charm of Samdal-ri's other pure man and cute younger man, he is taking care of his wife, who is suffering from heart pain, until the middle of the day. His presence as a father also shone.


➥ FINALLY/CONCLUSION :-

Every detail is connected to the story. Its like a big ball of puzzle unfolding and solving itself. Every single Actor is award worthy. Subtle emotions of Ji Chang-wook & Shin Hae Sun make you swoon! A journey to healing and self discovery.
A must kdrama for every kdrama fan and this drama gives a simple message to the current generation that it's very important to have loving people in life, whenever if world turn against us there's always ready to remind that have "our people" to us who support us unconditionally and give us warm and arms when we are in trouble. I will recommend this drama to watch/enjoy with your family ? best drama for family weekend to watch..


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Welcome To Samdalri Actors about their drama

Ji Chang-wook - https://naver.me/xn64ZQU
Shin Hae Sun - https://naver.me/xmtFZge8
Kang Mina - https://naver.me/Fsqxp2HK
Shin Dong Mi - https://naver.me/IMnoTisz
Cho Yoon seo - https://naver.me/F40O4P83
Yang Kyng Wo - https://naver.me/5JVN93bG

News&link source from Korean News Naver.



Brought by :- Shinnosuke_Lee

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Cho Sam dal's homecoming to Samdal-ri

This drama serves us a delicate narrative by the concept of "Isn't it nice to have a place to return back to?"

Cho Eun Hye, the famous photographer who hits rock bottom in her career has to return to Samdal-ri, her own sweet hometown where she spend her childhood... Samdal-ri situated in the coastals of Jeju is a friendly neighborhood where people live an unembellished life away from the bustling rush of a big city like Seoul.

Eun Hye (originally called Cho Sam Dal) returns back to Samdal-ri and comes across all the people she used to cherish, spent her teenage with, had bittersweet entanglements with eventually finds herself in the process.

This, this particular concept of healing after a big downfall in life, I love such stories and that took me to watch this drama... The setting in itself is very comforting, we have the beautiful riverside locations and some sunset shots you can stare for hours at, that countryside homely feeling with all kinds of clumsy, gossipy characters that bring cartoon-ish comedy ( I know its unrealistically dramatic at times but ngl it usually worked )

Their warm bonds of friendship and regrets of past heartbreaks with actors like Ji Chang Wook, Shin Hye Sun it made me weep a few times too. "Emotionally" Welcome to Samdal-ri stood out strong...!! and how can we not talk about their chemistry. Its "CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO LOVERS TO EX TO REUNION TROPE" Sounds interesting right!? XD It was so natural and cute! I wanted more of their dating era lol.

Tbh this is not only her story but it is also about her two sisters, her mother and their family overall, I liked the down to earth healthy dynamics of their family... the thought provoking lines in every ep like "are you okay?"... "you're not alone"... were like cherry on the top for an emotional script.


What still takes away that 1.5 ★ star rating from Welcome to Samdal-ri is —

• some typical worn out tropes like a love traingle

• the slow pacing (it was okay for an airing watcher like me but for binge, people are going to find it draggy at some point)

• less screen time to some supporting characters story (the dolphin lovers family - their story was so adorable, I wish they gave it more depth and maybe a proper closure)


Overall, a decent, emotive drama with great acting and amazing Jeju visuals!

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Lackluster and Ultimately Disappointing Series With Cowardly Characters!

By the time you reach the last few episodes, the series becomes like a plate of mushy carrots. You choke them down just to get through them, so you can move on to something better.

I’m going to start this review by saying that Shin Hye Sun is one of my favorite actresses, and I started watching this series because I saw that she was in it. However, I will say that this is the worst series that I’ve seen with her. It’s not her fault, however. As always, she gives an illustrious performance, given the lackluster and convoluted story and a very unappealing character in Cho Sam Dal.

The series is pretty solid through about the first eight episodes or so, but then it’s all downhill from there. No, it’s actually more like dropping off a cliff because the lack of story, quality, and direction, are suddenly nowhere to be found.

Cho Samdal is a prominent photographer, rising to near the top of stardom as one of the most sought-after photographers in the business. She photographs model and celebrities. Her protégé torpedoes Samdal’s career, forcing her to retreat to Jeju Island, where she is from. She hates the island, viewing it as a primitive locale where no one can possibly succeed in anything. What we end up having is a character who whines, drinks, and cries—often in that order too! At heart, she’s a true coward and unable to deal with her thoughts, feelings, or desires as well as her inability to stand up for herself. There is very little that is actually appealing about Cho Samdal.

Cho Young-Pil is a weather man based on Jeju Island and Samdal’s former boyfriend. Young-Pil is a man dealing with the tragic death of his mother—a haenyeo diver (women who dive for mollusks and other sea life) eight years prior. At the start, all we know is that Young-Pil and Samdal broke up, leaving the viewer to question why the breakup occurred as well as who instigated it. We find that one of the most cowardly characters of the entire series is Sang Tae, Young-Pil’s father.

A drowning man will always try to pull someone down, and Sang Tae is the spitting image of a man so lost within his own grief, that he sabotages Young-Pil and Samdal’s relationship. He holds Samdal’s mother responsible for the death of his wife, despite the two women being the best of friends. What is sad is that Young-Pil never really confronts his father about his irrational and self-destructive behavior. Even when Sang-Tae is verbally abusing Samdal, Young-Pil simply stands there without offering any defense or attempt to pacify. Sang Tae is a man who can’t see anything beyond his own pain, which literally mars and threatens to destroy the true memory and love of his wife. However, nobody bothers to even bring up this point with him. He spends his time drinking and sulking. The ultimate coward is the one who won’t let go.

In the midst of this, Go Mi-ja (Samdal’s mother) is suffering from a heart condition, which we might well connect with her own grief and guilt. I found her character the most appealing, and I wished the story had focused more on her and the friendship she shared with Young-Pil’s mother.

One side-story that was also far more appealing than the main one, involved Hae Dal Cho, the youngest sister and widow of Samdal. Her interactions with Ji Chan—a dolphin expert—were sweet and far sweeter than anything between Samdal and Young-Pil. I would have preferred a story surrounding her than Samdal.

By the end of the series, we have a cast of characters who are largely cowards at heart. Samdal is unable to deal with her past or even truly fight for her future. Doormats are only appealing because you can wipe your feet on them, and yet Samdal allows her protégé to use her as one three times throughout the course of the story. Samdal only wags her finger at her protégé, which does absolutely nothing. And I’m not entirely sure why Samdal would allow her ex-boyfriend to work with her after he betrayed her. So many things in this series made absolutely no sense at all.

It's sad how everyone believes that a “better life” must be in Seoul rather than in Jeju. I would have preferred seeing everyone make a success in Jeju, rather than treating it as the hindquarters of Korea where success goes to die. Who said you have to go to a big city in order to be successful? Not only is this deluded thinking, it’s also untrue. Samdal only succeeds in revealing her level of immaturity by how much disdain she has for her hometown.

Also, are you seriously going to tell me that someone with her wealth and notoriety doesn't have an attorney on retainer?! That was about the most ridiculous thing of this series as if the writer had no clue!

The writer and director clearly had no idea where to take the story, and we have everything magically being resolved within the last few episodes without any viable explanation. Samdal doesn’t bail herself out. Everyone else does it for her, leaving the viewer to realize that she’s still never grown up or known how to take care of herself. True strength isn’t as much about helping someone out of trouble as it is about helping them figure out how to get themselves out of trouble! The story would have been far better served had they chosen that road.

Despite having some truly hilarious moments—especially the seaweed fight—Samdal is just a very annoying and largely unlikable character. She acts like a 14-year-old child most of the time. She gets angry with Young-Pil over the smallest things. She peeks at him through her bedroom window, and then gets angry when he confesses his feelings for her. She then runs off like a scared child and barricades herself in a shed because she can’t deal with any challenges or forms of confrontation. She’s about as big of a coward as you will ever find! I also lost count of how many times she hits Young-Pil. It was supposed to be humorous, but by the tenth or eleventh blow, it just becomes silly and tiresome.

Given the great cast and acting performances that this series had, it’s a real shame that it was all wasted on this unappealing story, which lacked both charm and sophistication.

I went back and watched “Our Beloved Summer” again just to get the bad taste of this series out of my mouth. I wanted to revisit a series that was well written with smart, likeable characters, because this series just doesn’t have either one. “Welcome to Samdal Ri”? More like, stay away!

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Visuals and Vibes Only

So everyone gets a redemption apart from the evil incarnate assistant whose arc isn’t even properly closed. When does she appear in the story? Only when it seems like Cho Sam Dal is seemingly happy and not having a visible breakdown every single episode. The story focuses on the downfall and the eventual big comeback of a well know photographer, but everything feels so half done. Many times the plot and subplots felt so forced. The small town portrayal of the village folk didn’t really pass, the trauma arcs were dragged for too long throughout the story. Sometimes it made me wonder if they are actually almost in their mid-30s.

The humour was quite slapstick at times. The only positives for me were the scenic visuals and the leads who are amazing at what they do. The storyline is weak, and the execution is underwhelming. If I wasn’t watching as it aired, I would have probably dropped it.

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Realistically Wholesome

Slice of life kdramas are my favorite genre to watch. It embraces everyday life stories and events. There's no fantasy, no chaebol family drama, no serial killings or murder, just real life situations and welcome to samdalri served that well.

Away from the busy and bustling city of Seoul, a successful photographer (Cho Sam Dal) who has experienced a fall from grace and has become a topic for ridicule due to betrayal from her assistant relocates to her hometown, jeju. There, she reunites with her old love (Cho Yong Pil) and childhood friends. Adding more liveliness and stimulating tourist instinct is a peek into the life of jeju inhabitants and beautiful parts of jeju island. That is the story of welcome to Samdalri.

The storyline is simple, lightweight and very relatable.The drama portrays the fact that hatred, envy and jealousy mostly doesn't live far. It comes from our circle and people close to us. Who would've thought that Samdal's assistant who wanted to debute as a photographer at all cost would be the same person Samdal's boyfriend cheated on her with.

One likeable thing about this drama is that it focuses more on self-growth than revenge, that's on Sam Dal's part. She could have decided to get back at her former assistant for what she did and expose her but instead, she focused on herself, embraced and discovered other parts of herself and ones she has forgotten and grew through the process bearing in mind that her talent could not be taken away from her. Thus, she came back stronger. This show is a classical example of "people can try to imitate you as much as they want but they can never truly be you". Also, Yong Pil's father let go of the grudge he was holding against Sam Dal's family for a long time and allowed her to be happy with his son.

Additionally, the romance in the drama is subtle. It is not too intense and it is not too dull and that complements the drama well.

The entire drama gives off a warm, healing and peaceful vibe and captures realism in the most beautiful way. I loved it.

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Welcome to Samdalri and the Power Rangers!!?

Ah, I’m sad it’s over.

The negative first:
1) The handling of Eun Joo at the end felt rushed and wasn’t satisfying at all because we didn’t see any consequences. We know that the truth came out, but her suffering should have been part of her karma!

2) The beginning of the drama felt like the writer didn’t quite know where to go. While I enjoyed the early episodes, I think it’s only starting episode 7/8 that I really, REALLY enjoyed the drama since it seemed like the writer finally knew where to go with this drama. Especially because…

3) … the characters finally stopped consuming so much alcohol. In the beginning, the alcohol consumption was astronomical, it was terrible and a bit of a turn off!

The good:
1) The cinematography was amazing!

2) The OST gave the perfect coastal-drama vibes: some up-beat cutie songs, but also some ballads, I like!

3) The acting and especially the emotional depth and delivery of the lead actors and whole ensemble at that was undeniably great. I like JCW anyway, and know he can deliver, but Yong Pil’s breakdown in front of his father was truly a great scene. Acting in love is also one of JCW strengths, his eye-acting is always great, so all the scenes we got with him and SHS were just – 100% believable. This was my first SHS drama (and not my last). The subtle acting, the changing expressions in a heartbeat, the conflict, heartbreak, everything is controlled and yet so natural and easily believable. I really enjoyed her performance and I am so(!) excited to watch more of her dramas because her talent really came through in this drama. Kim Mi Kyung is generally known as everyone’s mom in Kdrama-land (or also hacker ahjumma in “Healer” lol), but I think this was the first drama of hers where she had something more to play with. When Ko Mi Ja confronted Cho Sang Tae after 20 years of keeping her suffering and pain to herself – that scene went straight to my heart like a knife. What a great performance. The overall performances were charming, heartbreaking and always 100% perfect!

4) I enjoyed the overall final episode! Everyone got a good ending; it was a little sentimental yet happy. Everyone was able to go after their dreams without having to compromise for the other, and I really liked that.

5) The representation of grief. Sang Tae is definitely not a great character for the majority of the drama. However, he is a good example of how grief can make a good person bad. And how grief is really ugly sometimes. We see through Sam Dal and his own memory that he used to be a kind man, a man that took care of Sam Dal (and her sisters, I might assume) like an uncle and how he accepted her as his daughter. Because that is what the two Mi Ja’s of Samdal-ri decided: Yong Pil is also Ko Mi Ja’s son and her own daughters are Bu Mi Ja’s daughters. Sang Tae’s grief made him resentful, petty and selfish. It doesn’t erase the pain he caused his own son and Sam Dal’s family, but grief is never fun. And we can see at the end that he is working on his relationship with Sam Dal and her parents.

Overall, the drama was great and made me laugh, cry, giggle and kick my feet. I had a great time and will surely miss the Power Rangers!??

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Welcome to Samdal-ri 2023: A Heartwarming Escape to Jeju Island

Ah, "Welcome to Samdal-ri" 2023. The title itself evokes a warmth that lingers like the salty Jeju Island air, promising tranquility and whispered secrets. It wasn't just a drama; it was a portal to a simpler life, a refuge where I found myself returning week after week.

The characters became etched in my memory. The fiery photographer, Eun-ju, grappling with a hidden past, had me rooting for her journey of self-discovery. She's paired with the enigmatic Haebang, a talented weather forecaster who's not quite what he seems. Their chemistry? It simmered like the island's volcanic hot springs, building in intensity until it erupted in undeniable connection.

But "Welcome to Samdal-ri" wasn't just a love story. It was a vibrant tapestry woven with the lives of the quirky villagers, each with their own stories and genuine warmth. They welcomed Eun-ju like a long-lost family member, their laughter echoing in my living room, their struggles tugging at my heartstrings.

And the setting, oh the setting! Jeju Island was the star of the show. Lush green hills cascaded down to turquoise waters, painted with the vibrant colours of tangerine farms. It wasn't just a backdrop; it was a living, breathing character, whispering tales of resilience and the healing power of nature.

The narrative wasn't flawless. There were detours, moments of confusion, and even occasional frustration. Yet, like Eun-ju's arduous climb towards self-acceptance, the show found its rhythm, its heart. The finale? Let's just say I wept like a cleansing spring shower, leaving me hopeful and renewed.

"Welcome to Samdal-ri" 2023 wasn't perfect, but it resonated perfectly with me. It was a warm embrace on a cold day, a reminder that beauty and kindness can bloom even in the most unexpected corners. So, if you seek a show that will make you laugh, cry, and believe in the power of second chances, set sail for Samdal-ri. Just pack your tissues, maybe a tangerine or two, and prepare to be swept away by the Jeju magic.

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OVERRATED DRAMA OF 2023

Why it is overrated??
Because it doesn't deserve to be 8.4 rating. My brother recommended this and said one of the best of 2023. But it doesn't. For me, the least likable drama of this year.

Here are my complains.....

we watch slice of life dramas because of realistic and relatable characters , character developments, refreshing moments. But the makers offer us the unrealistic, poorly acted , poorly written characters. There is nothing refreshing...

The drama had a good 1st episode.but FL comes to village. Everyone in the village, starts gossip about FL. I know... In the village setup it is natural. But this is too much. Not just villagers ...The ML friends only care about FL and FL 's problem. And they don't care about their life also. There is nothing happening. .. their flashback romance scenes are so immature, over the top , some scenes are so cringe.. especially the FL acting is very bad... FL is such a great actress .. I have watched lot of dramas of her. But in this drama her potential got wasted by her characterisation. There is hardly few moments..few scenes standout of the first 8 episodes. At some point ...you don't care who break up first in the past, you don't root them for their romance.. you want to watch the side characters more than the leads. And then , they add the love triangle also....

The problem of this drama is ......
• Dislikable FL character
• Poorly written ML character
• FL acting is very poor
• Unrealistic, over the top acting in the flashback
• Poorly written side characters..

My main Dislikable part is their younger version in flashback . You don't have to act so immature, childish just because of few years younger. That makes the scenes so cringe..

The only likeable characters are fl's sisters and the child character.. but they are just used as female leads puppets....Their romance part shows only after 5 episodes... That too hardly 4 or 5 mins per episode..

Similar village backdrop dramas are :
HOMETOWN CHA CHA CHA
THE GOOD BAD MOTHER
When you watch welcome to samdal ri after watching these two G.O.A.T dramas, you will definitely disappointed.

Verdict:
Is this a terrible drama?? Decently no..
Will I recommend?? No...
Girls/women will like this drama more than boys/men
For me.. strictly average . Just overrated drama

(Sorry... If my English is bad)

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