2018 ~ Asian Drama Queen

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Because This Is My First Life #review

Yibun Saengeun Cheoeumira / 이번 생은 처음이라

Today, I will be reviewing the Korean Drama, This Life is Our First, starring Lee Min ki and Jung So min.

Literal Title - This Life Is Our First

Writer - Yoon Nan joong

Network - tvN

Episodes - 16

Released - 2017, Oct - Nov

Genre - RomCom

CAST

A love story with three couples, their families, and their co-workers involved, focuses on what it's like to live as a 30-something in modern Seoul, and offers different viewpoints on careers, relationships, and marriage.
Nam Se hee owns his home, but he is heavily in debt. Yoon Ji ho has given up on dating due to financial struggles.
House-poor Nam Se hee and homeless Yoon Ji ho, both unmarried and in their thirties, begin living together as house mates.

Although he did make a brief appearance in the 2012 KDo, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, this is being touted as Lee Min ki's actual return to the small screen since 2007, when he starred in Dal ja's Spring.

I watched this at Viki.com (shout-outs, and a BTW: it's Scrimp & SAVE)

After a lengthy Kakao session with my friend in Seoul, she suggested I watch this.

I had seen ads but wasn't aware that it starred Lee Min ki until I clicked on the link, and then it became a must-watch moment.

What started out as a slow and somewhat awkward beginning quickly became an all-day/all-night affair.

And, by awkward, I mean... after going into this one with such high expectations (waiting so long for Lee Min ki to make a return), I am suddenly forced to have to wrap my head around the fact that he is an Autistic Robot in this 16-Episode Rom-Com!

Selfie Time

Let's face it, his character is well within the Autistic spectrum of things throughout this show.

If the writer(s) don't want me to believe it, they did a poor job of convincing me otherwise.

And because I work with affected children as a teacher, this isn't something I want to then turn around and view as a 'romantic' thing, because it isn't.

And, while it was eventually explained why Se hee bought such an expensive 'home' (which is actually a condo in a high-rise) (and a main plot device), I was never satisfied with his reason for staying or calculating the rest of his life in mortgage payments.

However, I did say this became a binge-watch affair, so for an entire day, I plowed through 15 of the 16 episodes when sleep forced me to wait until the next day to watch the final episode.

What I Enjoyed

Couples Therapy

I liked and enjoyed watching all three couples in this drama.

The lead couple in particular, and with my least-favorite being Ho rang and Won seok.

Having three, separate couples involved is nothing new to the KDo, we all know that.

They are never about just one couple working their way toward their HEA, because there are always outside factors such as friends/family/co-workers who get involved.

For a brief while, the viewer is forced to learn about someone else's problems before being returned to front-and-center main couple story line.

I understand that it is a plot device used to add spice, break monotony, give the viewer a chance to come up for air for a few, or, as in this case, to tell the same story but from a different or opposing perspective.

BTMFL Couples

It was embarrassing to see myself in Ho rang as much as it was delightful to see my fictional characters coming to life in an uneven mix of Soo ji and Ji ho (mainly Soo ji).

After watching Because... my grasp of character development increases.

These aside stories, including the family-oriented episodes, did not detract from the main story, nor did they work to confuse or confound me, which is always a good thing when investing time in a lengthy KDo.

I thought that Se hee and Ji ho had chemistry, looked good together, and complimented one another in as natural a way as possible on-screen.

It was easy to root for them, to hope that they work things out and stay together, and that they have a fantastic HEA, which isn't alway the case with some Asian Dramas.

Ho rang's neediness and Won seok's misguided values irked me for much of the show, making them my least-favorite couple.

But, when they faded toward the end, I found myself wondering about them and if they would be able to rectify the situation.

Also appreciate dramas that use friendship past/present as a backdrop and for levity/breather moments.

We refer to this as back story, and while a lot of readers seem to think they don't appreciate it in a novel, it usually ends up being what they most enjoyed about said novel, so go figure.

Dumping is one thing, but to break up the present with brief glimpses into the past works, making for some interesting and issue-resolving moments for both a viewer and a reader.

My only cautious inclination is that the writers are sticking to a formula for these instances (which is ironic considering they included a writer who always uses formulaic and boring writing of dramas within this drama!)

The Love Story

Although there were three, I was very anxious to see our main couple resolve their differences and come together for the sake of true love.

This was a more romantic drama than I am used to seeing, and I am noticing a change in this regard, which is great.

First Kiss

More touchy/feely, more kissing and hand-holding, and more discussing feelings than being confused by misleading and cryptic messages that take the lovers (and us, the viewers) on a 14 of 16 episodes cat & mouse chase that always grows tiresome real fast.

Comfort Zone

Se hee and Ji ho were an ideal couple even if Se hee is autistic and incapable of expressing (much less showing) emotion.

Ji ho's logic left me shaking my head a lot of times, but the writers did a good job of helping me to understand the why's and the how's of her thinking and actions.

They also kept me guessing (nail biting) a lot of the time, and I'm still not sure if I appreciated it or resented it.

But, I watched this because it was labeled as a Romance, which was what I wanted to see, and BTMFL delivered.

True Love

What I Didn't Like

S Korean Lifestyle

The Synopsis for this drama claims this is a story about young adults reaching their prime who are stuck between the old and the new.

It claims this is a drama that explores some of the issues these people face and a few of the different ways they choose to tackle those issues.

I doubt I'll ever really understand it or how it works to make life continue to exist over there, but it was still interesting and enlightening to hear and see how values, morals, and standards are beginning to evolve.

I continue to go into these dramas with my beliefs completely suspended, because it is, after all, their Hollywood and nowhere near the realm of Realistic.

Yes, the issues are likely realistic and the writer's thought processes on how they intend to portray them are realistic, but as for the story itself being life-like and the decisions made being believable... no.

While progress is no-doubt being made in some regards, I'd like to think that most S Koreans don't really mind their history, their upbringing, or their core values.

Getting rid of them (as the drama suggests) is always counterintuitive to real progress, because, believe it or not, if we don't learn from our past we are doomed to repeat it.

In all the years I've been watching these types of shows, and after a lot of discussions with my S Korean friend, I've come to realize that (from an American perspective) the real issue over there is Communication and their Age-Restrictive form of address that prevents it from occurring.

If you are taught to give respect based solely on age and nothing else, it stands to reason you are never going to be able to argue or discuss what is wrong with the relationship between parent/child.

If the holidays have become such a huge time of anxiety based solely on the passed-down-through-generations practice of the daughter-in-law doing a majority of the housework, then it should be more productive to have a family sit-down and not a boycott.

If you are going to change something, let it be the way in which you communicate with your loved ones and not an outright refusal to play a game (which, by the way, is what these 30's claim the old way is... a manipulative game based on out-dated notions regarding the age thing).

It just seems more wise and less stressful to decide as a family unit that a more festive occasion can be had by all if the work is divided, and that it would be a lot more fun to decide at whose house each of these important holidays will be celebrated.

Positive Changes seem more logical and productive than outright ban or refusal to participate.

Sexual Discrimination, Hegemony, and Disabilities are three issues I mistakenly assumed (based on other dramas/movies I've watched) are already being overhauled in that part of the world, so to see it still occurs (according to this drama) was a little shocking.

But, for the writer to address those issues by having Soo ji work in a Corporate setting, surrounded by men, yet remove her bra at random was way out of line.

I doubt that it would even become a thing over here, so... that Feminist-minded ideal didn't work, and her character could have been handled much more maturely and with a lot more finesse than that.

(And BTW, there is a thing called Pasties, you can order them online anywhere in the world, and they work just fine to hide what shouldn't be seen in public. ~~~Problem Solved).

Pasties

However, the way that her boyfriend, Sang goo, handled the issue DOES need to make a comeback.

I don't care about Feminism and their warped sense of what is right and what is wrong, and I see nothing wrong with a man thinking and feeling the way Sang goo did throughout this drama.

If any of these characters learned, grew, and matured in a positive manner, it was Sang goo.

If any of the characters in Because... understood true love, commitment, and possessed a moral compass, it was Sang goo.

Finally, for a nation that isn't entirely Christian, they seem to place a high moral value on chastity, so if a S Korean woman wants to shack up and forgo a wedding, that's fine as long as she never intends to give birth.

However, for the same nation, which isn't entirely Christian, to place such a high moral value on chastity, to make such a big deal out of shacking up or giving birth out of wedlock makes no sense, either.

Age-Old Question

us Viewers Want Answered

If it isn't the Wrath of God that will come down upon them for such things, and only an unwanted invitation to shame from their neighbors that is the problem, then there really isn't a problem, is there?

An unnatural fear of being ostracized is a bigger issue than not being married and, again, one that needs to be addressed properly, and as a family sit-down thing to be ironed out maturely... nothing more, nothing less.

The Soundtrack

Kind of iffy with me.

I wasn't overly thrilled with any of the tunes being played throughout this drama, and the theme song grew tiresome real quick as well.

Yet, when a few episodes in, Se jee and Ji ho are wandering around a street fair and happen upon a street musician singing said theme song, I felt a little bad about not liking it because the actual singer is so cute!

Guilt.

Still, it just wasn't all that great or anything I want stuck in my head for the next few days.

Sorry, cutie!

SO

To wrap it up, I highly recommend this drama if you are interested in true romance, can look past the leading male's mental issue, and are open to debate... and having sporadic bouts of inner monologue occur throughout the sixteen episodes.