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 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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