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The World They Live In: Episode 1

Manseh! Thank god for Noh Hee-kyung.

When dealing with mediocre or iffy dramas, I often don’t know how I feel about them until I’m several episodes in; I want to give the drama time to grow on me. With quality dramas, though, you can usually tell right away, and The World They Live In (aka Worlds Within) is giving me very good feelings.

The World We Live In has the indie sensibilities of a few of my favorite dramas, like Que Sera Sera and writer Noh’s previous drama Goodbye Solo. Premise-wise, it may be compared to On Air, but it’s vastly different in execution — it has less ego and more professionalism, ergo it is MUCH more watchable without the shrillness and tantrums.

Will it topple East of Eden‘s solid 30% ratings, or even Tazza‘s mid-teen numbers? Probably not, although it may cut into them. But if it doesn’t become a success, it’ll be a mania drama, and (probably) a well-deserved one. I think this may turn into a show that Song Hye-gyo and Hyun Bin will probably be proud to have done no matter the end ratings.

SONG OF THE DAY

Oldfish – “청개구리” (Tree Frog). Remember Oldfish? He has a new album out, and you need it. Yes you do. (Buy here.) [ Download ]

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CHARACTERS, RELATIONSHIPS & BACKGROUND

The characters work at a broadcast station, with Hyun Bin as Jung Ji-oh, a PD (production director) at the helm of a popular Monday-Tuesday drama, “That Summer Love.” He’s got a quick temper but we can already see that underneath his hot-headed exterior, he’s a softie, especially when compared to Song Hye-gyo as Joo Joon-young. (I LOVE Ji-oh’s character. I’ll explain why below.)

Song Hye-gyo’s Joon-young is an up-and-coming director who’s not yet at Ji-oh’s level. She’s working on this drama as a second director and has earned a reputation for her skill (as strong or even stronger than Ji-oh), but while she has talent in spades, she’s still pretty inexperienced. She’s so driven that her work often trumps common sense, but she’s not our typical manipulative workaholic, and I’ll explain more later.

Oh, and she and Ji-oh used to date.

Here we have the station chief Kim Min-chul (played by Kim Kab-su), the star of the drama Yoon Young (played by Bae Jong-ok), and two assistant directors Chul-yi and Min-hee (played by Pan Yoo-geol and Lee Da-in). Chul-yi works with Ji-oh and makes mistakes; Min-hee works with Joon-young and has a refreshingly straightforward way of speaking.

Eom Ki-joon is Sohn Kyu-ho, another PD working on his own drama that’s currently in casting, which I think is a sageuk. Currently looking for a female lead, he’s overrun with young starlets with big boobs who can’t act. Jang Hae-jin (Seo Hyo-rim) has already auditioned, but hasn’t heard back from him and takes to hounding him at unexpected times — the bathroom, the parking lot.

Hae-jin is cheerful and persistent, and would probably be annoying if she were wrong about being a “really good actress.” We haven’t seen her act yet, but we can probably bet that she turns out to be good, especially since the other girls are shown to be so bad. Kyu-ho first looks on her with amused detachment, intending to cut her, but she starts to grow on him.

(Side note: There’s something about Eom Ki-joon that really reminds me of Eric (particularly in Que Sera Sera). It’s the way they talk and carry themselves. I’d love to see them playing brothers sometime.)

 
EPISODE 1: “ENEMIES”

I’m not sure if every episode will have a title and theme, but today’s is “enemies.” In an early moment of tension when she clashes with Ji-oh, Joon-young voiceovers, “The comrade by my side right now can turn into my enemy in one moment. When an enemy is clearly your enemy, that’s not such a dangerous moment. But when you cannot determine whether the person is your enemy or your friend, the situation turns dire.”

Also, a countdown clock indicates how many hours remain until the drama-within-the-drama airs.

We open in the midst of shooting for the drama “That Summer Love.” Ji-oh (Hyun Bin) is shooting on location, while Joon-young (Song Hye-gyo) is at home, preparing for a “reunion party” for her doctor boyfriend. The decorations say “Happy Birthday” but this is really for her relationship, which has now weathered three breakups.

Something goes wrong and the broadcast tape of the next episode is damaged. With less than eight hours till airtime, production is thrown into chaos. Ji-oh apologizes to his boss, station chief Kim, then turns his ire onto Chul-yi, his assistant director who was supposed to check the tape a week ago. This is the first of several times we’ll see Ji-oh’s volatile temper flare.

With crisis impending, Joon-young rushes out to reshoot. In stark contrast to Ji-oh, she is calm and unruffled, focused on how to fix this rather than exploding. Joon-young will re-create the original scenes (which Ji-oh shot), while Ji-oh rushes to the editing room to work on the new footage as it becomes available. He tells her to forget the impressive last scene they’d shot, and instead get general coverage, nothing fancy.

However, once at the shooting location, Joon-young tells her crew to shoot it the way Ji-oh had shot it initially. She knows they have time and doesn’t want to half-ass it.

The scene — which involves stunt driving between cars on a highway — is shot successfully, and Joon-young calls the “OK,” but almost immediately afterward, the stunt driver careens off the side of the highway. He survives with minor injuries, but this is still bad for production.

While the stuntman is sent to the hospital, Joon-young and her crew rush back to the station while Ji-oh busily edits. They barely manage to finish in time to send the tape to air.

Although the broadcast goes out successfully, Chief Kim vents his fury on Chul-yi for his error, and Ji-oh is chewed out by another superior.

That night, Joon-young heads out to a PC room with Min-hee, sitting idly around while Min-hee plays computer games. In a dejected mood, she ignores her phone calls, telling Min-hee that she’s going to catch hell from Ji-oh tomorrow anyway, so she might as well wait till then.

She’s also ignoring her boyfriend, Jun-ki, who has come home to an empty party after losing a patient on the surgery table. When she finally makes it home in the wee hours of the morning, he’s upset and ignores her attempts to be cheery.

Joon-young tries to make conversation, but he’s icily silent. She starts to defend herself, asking if he’s regretting their decision to get back together, if he’d only agreed because she was pathetic for begging him to come back. She starts to get irritated, but he cuts her off and tells her, “Yesterday, a patient died while I was operating.”

Open mouth, extract foot. She immediately feels bad, but the damage has been done. This is a very clear indicator of what Joon-young’s problem is: her tendency to make things about herself without considering that the issue may have to do with the other person. Oddly, though, I don’t hate her for this, because she’s not actively selfish — she’s more clueless, and that evokes pity more than anger.

In a similar fashion, at the office she’s ignored by a still-furious Ji-oh. The other PD, Kyu-ho, pragmatically tells Ji-oh to let it go because their episode made it on the air and brought in 20% ratings (and marvels at Joon-young’s directing skills), but Ji-oh’s a “matter of principle” type of guy and remains upset. He requests to have Joon-young removed from his production, and says he’ll manage alone till the end. Chief Kim takes her off the drama.

Joon-young apologizes to Ji-oh, admitting that she overdid her desire for a good scene. He yells at her for her lack of sense, telling her that if everyone had tried to stop her, “Shouldn’t you stop and wonder why we’re all telling you to stop?” Instead she stubbornly did things her way and caused an accident.

Joon-young asks him to keep her on the project, saying with cool logic (and too little humility) that he can’t handle all the shooting alone: “Let’s finish the remaining 20 days well. Calm down.” SO not the right thing to say to someone who has a legitimate reason to be pissed off at you. Ji-oh has no sympathy, saying that he’d been up all night in shock after the accident, “But you showed your face at the hospital, turned off your phone, and went home to have fun with your boyfriend. And you tell me to calm down? Let’s end well? Do you even know how many people got screwed over because of you!? ”

In a lovely, bittersweet moment, we see a glimpse back to a younger, happier time when they first got together — they’d been waiting for a bus together when Joon-young turned and kissed him out of the blue. Back then, this was a sweet moment, but now, as we see through Ji-oh’s eyes, the memory has been tainted. He sneers now, “You have to do everything your way to be satisfied — everything.”

(This juxtaposition is an example of an excellent moment of subtle, careful writing.)

Ji-oh refuses to talk to her, so Joon-young follows him into the editing room, defending herself, “I’m really sorry about the accident, but did I know it would happen?” She again asks him to let her back on the team as producer, even if it means taking her name out of the credits.

Ji-oh turns to her and asks, “Are you really sorry?” Perhaps sensing that she can’t BS him, Joon-young answers, “No. Honestly, I don’t know what I did that was so wrong. I was doing my best, so I don’t know what the problem is.” He answers, “That’s why you and I broke up,” and turns back to his console.

He continues to ignore her the next day, so Joon-young confronts him again: “No matter how I look at it, I can’t understand what I did wrong. Tell me.” Still chilly, Ji-oh responds, “Someone got hurt and the broadcast was thrown into chaos because of you. Do you need more reasons? Does the sky have to fall and the earth cave in for you to take it seriously?”

Joon-young: “He wasn’t very hurt, and the broadcast went out.” She adds, “Why did you break up with me? What’s the problem with me? I don’t want to revisit the past, but you brought it up, so tell me.” He doesn’t answer.

This inability to figure things out is recurring issue for Joon-young, because she has dinner with her boyfriend, who’s facing a lawsuit for his dead client. She sticks up for him by calling the lawsuit ridiculous, but that’s missing the point. Jun-ki interrupts her, saying meaningfully, “A person died. The lawsuit will come later. The person is what’s important.”

Joon-young tells him gently that she knows it’s hard on him, but he cuts her off and says, with finality, “Let’s really end things this time. When these things happen, I need someone who can be by my side the whole time. When I went to you the day before yesterday, I really missed you. I was ready to forget all our past issues and start again. But you weren’t there.” She starts to say she had work, but Jun-ki is tired of breaking up for the same reason.

Joon-young vents to Min-hee about how both Jun-ki and Ji-oh are being impossible, but Min-hee is very matter-of-fact and points out that Joon-young is acting kinda weird. She’d thought it was strange that she, as the PD in charge, didn’t show more concern over their injured stuntman. Maybe this finally gets through to her, because Joon-young visits the hospital.

Once she’s face to face with the stuntman, she starts to feel bad for how she’d behaved earlier. The man is all smiles, and comments how the other PDs have been so thoughtful and caring, which makes her feel worse.

As she exits, she calls Ji-oh (who’s sleeping on the crew bus): “I called to say I understand why you were so mad at me. Why are there so many things I don’t know? How could I say that I didn’t know what I did wrong when a person was injured? What’s wrong with me?”

Now that Joon-young has realized her error, Ji-oh’s anger completely dissipates, and this is when I totally fell for his character, because he hasn’t been giving her hell to be mean or to punish her. Rather, the anger is an extension of his worry — so once she turns her anger toward herself, he’s back on her side. For instance, she tells him it’s late and that he should sleep, to which he answers, “I’m not sleepy” — and then stifles a yawn.

He suggests meeting up to eat, worrying if she’s been eating properly, and she tells him she’ll be at one of their familiar hangouts. Ji-oh hops off the bus with a smile to meet her.

At the bar, she tells Ji-oh that Jun-ki broke up with her again, and asks again why Ji-oh had dumped her. She can’t stand not knowing.

Ji-oh: “If I tell you, will you fix it?”
Joon-young: “I’ll decide after I hear it.”
Ji-oh: “It’ll hurt.”
Joon-young: “Then don’t tell me. I’ll live not knowing. [pauses] Tell me. I’m ready.”
Ji-oh: “I don’t want to tell you, because you’re a good friend.”
Joon-young: “It must be really bad. Tell me anyway.”
Ji-oh: “You’re too thoughtless. And you’re too easy.”
Joon-young: “Which means?”
Ji-oh: “There are times when we should think about others, say when a co-worker is injured. At those times, you are really thoughtless. Easy refers to you going to a new man quickly after ending things with the old one. That’s easy.”

That does hurt. She asked for the truth, but accuses Ji-oh of purposely making it hurt. She stalks off angrily, and he calls after her, “Produce the drama!”

Ready to accept the relationship’s end, Joon-young reminds Jun-ki of her breakup habit — calling at night one week after the break — and tells him to ignore her phone call. But she has one thing to argue about: “When I was shooting, there were times I was lonely and hurting and needed you, too. But I never once asked you to be there—”

“Because you didn’t ask, that hurt me,” he cuts her off. She asks why he got back with her three times if he’d known from the start that they wouldn’t work out, and he answers that he liked her that much.

With tears in her eyes, she tells him, “If I call, answer the phone.” With tears in his eyes, he avoids her gaze and walks away.

And here’s the scene that solidified my appreciation for Ji-oh. Ever since the tape fiasco, Ji-oh has been cold and dismissive of his assistant director, Chul-yi, who has been given the cold shoulder by his peers as well. During lunch, Chul-yi sits away from the rest of the team when the mid-level boss comes by to scold him some more, hitting him on the head and telling him to keep his head bent down (i.e., in shame).

When the boss walks off, Ji-oh sees Chul-yi looking down and feeling awful, and waves him to their table. Now that Chul-yi has been adequately punished, Ji-oh’s anger has evaporated entirely, and he’s once more the friendly hyung, looking after his junior colleague.

Bus ride to film shoot. Joon-young is feeling quietly angry at Jun-ki for breaking up with her, at Ji-oh for previously dumping her, at men in general, but most of all — and this is key — at herself for not understanding why.

She challenges Ji-oh for calling her “easy,” asking if he likes to live complicatedly instead, dating a married older woman.

They bicker back and forth a little, but the bite is gone from their tone. When Ji-oh leans his head back, Joon-young puts her scarf behind his head as a pillow, and he replies that he’d prefer her shoulder.

She offers her shoulder, and he leans on it. With his eyes closed, Ji-oh advises her to call Jun-ki and get back with him: “He seemed like a good person.”

Joon-young tells him, “Jun-ki cried. Not a lot, just a little.” Without opening his eyes, Ji-oh answers, “Men are weaker than we seem.”

She answers, “It’s annoying. And I miss him.”

And then, they film.

 

ACTING

I haven’t decided yet whether Song Hye-gyo is doing a better acting job than previously — that remains to be seen — but I DO think that this character is much more suited to her abilities than the previous ones she’s attempted. She is much better at this professional woman who is emotionally a little slow on the uptake. By which I mean, Joon-young isn’t malicious, she’s not cold-hearted, and she’s not necessarily Machiavellian, even if she is super-career-oriented. Rather, she tries to understand the emotions of others (what we might call “normal” emotions), but it’s almost like she’s missing an emotional chip (call Brad Pitt?). So she can try to mimic others’ behavior, but she doesn’t feel or think of things like other people do — or at least it doesn’t come naturally to her.

These qualities are actually very similar to what I’ve felt about Song’s acting style in the past. I don’t think she’s a BAD actress, but there are times when she’s just not empathetic. She doesn’t really feel like she’s embodying her characters — it’s like acting is an out-of-body experience for her. In this sense, she fits right in as Joon-young. What will be interesting to note is whether she (and Joon-young) can grow out of that as the drama progresses.

Hyun Bin is also, in my opinion, better suited to this role than he was in his past ones, or maybe he’s just matured. I never fully *got* him in My Name Is Kim Samsoon, because I thought he wasn’t quite 100% emotionally there, either. He’s doing a good job so far as Ji-oh, though, and I really dig the character.

 

 

GENERAL IMPRESSION

The music is great: sometimes spare, sometimes tense. It definitely has a different feel from the “glossy” type dramas out there, and reminds me most closely of Que Sera Sera, both in music selection and in direction.

I appreciate that we start off the series in media res, which is to say, in the thick of the action. We don’t see when these characters meet; we jump right into their relationships with all their baggage and issues there in front of us in a tightly wound-up knot, and we get to unfurl it bit by bit. The great thing about these types of beginnings is that we don’t have to deal with the question of when the two lead characters will fall in love and figure out that they are Meant To Be. Instead, we see the surface of their relationship now — seemingly cordial, seemingly all tidy and organized and “dealt with” in the past — and we will then have to figure out where it went wrong, and if they will be able to reclaim their relationship.

But most importantly, I care more about the characters’ growth than wondering who ends up with whom and why. Because, The World We Live In is not necessarily a drama to watch for plot. It’s a drama to watch for the acting, the relationships, the interplay, and the writing. And it’s a drama that lives in its quiet moments as much as it does in the quick dialogue.

It also has a lovely way of dealing with quiet, in-between moments. Kind of like how My Sweet Seoul found a way to make the mundane seem beautiful.

This is a Noh Hee-kyung drama, so there are no careless actions. For instance, after Jun-ki tells her that their breakup is for real this time, Joon-young goes home and sees a photo of them together. She picks up her toothbrush, then stops as she decides to rip up the photos, then returns to brush her teeth. Then she remembers more photos, throwing them to the floor and stepping on Jun-ki’s face as she walks off. She tries to sleep, tosses and turns, and gets up to reassemble the torn photos. All done without a word. Just little beats built up in brief images, threaded into a quiet narrative.

Another example is in the end scene on the bus: Ji-oh and Joon-young talk in a casual tone, which belies the fact that they’re really saying Very Important Things about what really was going on when their relationship failed. He talks with his eyes closed, as though asleep but not really. Then she closes her eyes, and he opens his. It feels like they are both really attuned to each other but still missed each other in a perfectly mistimed moment. These are tiny details, but they have an impact, and no moment is wasted.

 
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So happy that you took the time to recap this eppie.
Just before you posted this, I'd sent a longer email to hjkomo and Auntie Mame saying how well I think this show is produced. And you are so right, it has that indie feel with the simply guitar interludes to keep us company as we watch. and I appreciate the courage of the PD to use quiet, silent moments for us just to watch the characters think about their day, their activities, their gains and losses. I was very much impressed with ep. 1 - not for all that it included - but for what it was able to leave out - so that we could fill the silences with our own thots too.
thanks javabeans and I'm so happy WITHS2 has picked up this series. It will be great to work on...

It has a natural feel to it - much like I felt while watching ALONE IN LOVE.
2 people with history - still able to find a comfort zone with one another.

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You will be doing a blow by blow recap for this one? Cool!

Can't wait for it to come to KBS World since you gave it such good reviews!

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This series looks great, hope that you continue recaps
Hyun Bin looks so Handsome

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thanks for the recaps dramabeans...didnt even realize that this drama has already started.

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"ergo it is MUCH more watchable without the shrillness and tantrums."

VERY good to hear :D

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*echo* Manseh! and thank God for dramabeans.com hehe...
I have my silent reservation about this after watching the special, but just knowing that you're doing recaps on this one, it somewhat gives me a reassurance that it'll be okay after all *still crossing fingers for the ratings* :)

Noh Hee Kyung does have that special 'magic' in her writing... *nodnod*

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thanks for the recap!! last night streaming near impossible. im glad to have caught snippets. :) so i resorted to dling. it was ok for the first one. it was done nicely. good BGMs and a nice laidback feel. i didnt feel like forwarding.. it was a good pacing too. im excited for the next one later.

i also agree that SHG's role here seems better suited. she's more natural so to speak and the acting isnt that much bothering. im not sure if its a complete improvement. but nice one so far.

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Haha....yaya beat me to it! :P

I really enjoyed the first episode - its quiet moments, the music, the baggage-ridden relationship between the two leads (I love their comfort and frankness with each other). The writer and the PD have definitely made everything fit nicely together. Looking forward to more eps and, of course, your recaps. :D

I also loved Eom Ki-joon's character. He gave me some belly-aching laughs. :P

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That was so fast and thanks for the recap you're positive feelings about this drama has encouraged me to watch it. THANKS!

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I thought this wasn't going to start until November?

Anyways, your recaps make it sound very interesting. I'm not one to analyze my dramas, as I prefer to just let my eyes feast on the eye candy.

However, your insightful comments will definitely add another level to my viewing of this drama.

Oh btw, thanks for the Oldfish tune. Love their sound.
Thanks a lot for your efforts.

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Thank you for the recap!

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Oooh, I was pretty iffy about watching this drama before, but now I'm in!! Sounds great. ;)

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thanks for the recaps and review
I don't care about rating
this series look good

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Gosh, I love that way you dissect every episode summary, pulling out the subtle moments, scrutinize it then finally pulling it back altogether.

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I've been waiting for a drama that I could really get into, watching every episode right when it comes out, and for the full 60 minutes - not just bits and pieces. I skimmed episode 1 today not understanding any of the dialogue, but somehow, it still piqued my interest. It made me watch to understand all the stories of each character. And I absolutely love the fact that the two main characters already have history with each other. We don't need to wait 9 episodes for them to become familiar with each other, et cetera. I am waiting for the chinese subs to come out tomorrow. I'm on board for this drama, and this post has made me more excited. Thanks for the summary and the interesting points! :]

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Thanks for recapping this drama... Now I'm tempted to watch it for Hyun Bin!! I wasn't so sure about it earlier but now I am.... :)

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...missing emotional chip (call Brad Pitt?) You are funny, Dramabeans. You gave me a wide smile in my face with this. Wit, sharp wit.

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Thank you!
Oh my gosh. I can't wait for this to get subbed and for it to all air.
Thank you for summaries!
I'll be reading them all and then watching the drama!

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thank you for taking the time to write a recap of episode 1... from what i've read so far, it seems like it's going to be an interesting drama! i can't wait to watch it! =)

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thanks for doing recaps!

i agree... SHG actually seems a lot more fit for this role than I initially imagined since it's so different from her previous roles. i actually think she might be having more fun with her character here since it's super rich and more complicated and versatile. and i do actually think her acting might have improved a bit... if she wasn't good her character could have become really annoying or over the top cold... but i think she's doing a good job in portraying the fact that joon young is still young and lives very much in the moment. she works her ass off and doesn't run crying when she gets her ass handed to her. she takes it. i feel as if this episode showed her tough (and hard headed) side, but it also hinted at a more softer, more vulnerable side (with insecurities) when she was alone.

and i love HB in here too :] he's such a softie!! tough love, tough love. and while i think his practicality and fairness are amenable characteristics, i also feel like they'll become his greatest hindrance, making him err on the side of caution at times. basically playing it too safe. what i like about JY and JO's relationship so far is that she is outspoken and fearless, while he is more grounded and realistic. They seem to balance each other out, and basically fill in each other's holes or flaws. Both characters seem so much more real than previous roles the two have acted in. and the writing is sooo good. i loved the ending scene! it was so full of undertone and reading between the lines. my favorite.

i hope the drama only improves... because it is fun and more juicy excavating what their relationship was, is, and will be. rather than the typical boy meets girl etc. we're picking up at a point where boy met, dated, broke up, and stayed friends with girl. now what? keke. my hope is that it will be a character driven drama, and not simply a plot driven one. they're so much more fulfilling.

i was also actually happy to see that they have really great chemistry together and appear very natural :] i was laughing so hard when all the guys were calling her bad names and yelling at her..so unlike her past dramas. but you could totally see sparks when the two fight... ;]

wah. i cannot wait for ep 2!! and thanks again for posting so fast! :D

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WW is giving me good vibes too... and seeing u recapping makes it all the better...
will enjoy following this drama and your recaps....

Indie sensibility indeed, and really not a moment wasted....
a stellar support cast too. I like the realism in this drama. No fantasy fairytales and terminal illnesses. I think in the special SHK herself said that she liked the drama for the real interaction between the couple...and i saw what she meant after the 1st ep.

I noticed that they played Epik High lovelovelove in the 2nd scene where she is setting up the b'day party. I'm really curious on what songs will surface as the series progresses. The music in the first ep is definitely to my liking so far...

HB and SHK definitely matured a lot since their last work.
The characters definitely fit them well....
Glad to see drama without the Melo!

IAnyway, I'm HOOKED!

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thanks for the recap...bad me that I forgot that it premiered last night but based form your recap, this is something to watch out for, I really enjoyed Noh Hee-kyung's Goodbye Solo so I'll take a look at this one ^ ^

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Caught my attention! Can't wait for the English subbed to come out.

BTW, Javabeans, you probably already know this, but your recaps are excellent. Thank you so much for all your hardwork. Much appreciated!

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THANKS, Javabeans!!! I am so looking forward to something seriously good and deep to watch after so many shows that were "off" for me this year. Thanks again!

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seems interesting.
hope for their sake future episodes will get better ratings.
thank you for the recaps.

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Thanks for your hard work. Obviously you like the drama so much, that the recap of 1st episode came out really early. Thanks again.
I like the fact that you pointed out: this drama is about life. It does not have a story slowly built up. It's like a camera which captures one moment of life, then continues to film for a certain period of time. You don't watch only the story, you feel the story, actually, you feel that part of the life of those characters. All the emotions, tensions, love/hate, work, rest, every thing in their life in that short part of time is so real. They are not just acting, they are living their character.
I used to watch one movie from Tran Anh Hung (a French - Vnese director) about 3 sisters - The vertical ray of sun- with the similar method - which I like a lot.
Thanks again and I am glad that we have a good quality sweet drama to watch at the end of the year.

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soooooooo happy that you decided to recap this drama.
I was Laughing Out Lout just by readin your summary.
it looks like a great drama indeed... and I was really impressed by both SHG and HB.

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Thank you for posting the summaries ! I am very excited for the series to progress :)

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Yea! You liked it-- I am so glad Binnie is finally in something that makes the most of his talents. Thank you for the wonderful and detailed recap.

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Oho this looks better than EoE and as good as Tazza. Gotta say that this may bring down the ratings of EoE

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yey... i'm so happy that you've decided to recap WW, javabeans! it tides me over until the subbed episodes come out~

looking forward to the characters... SHG & HB seem to be doing great so far

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Oh how I wish I was in South Korea! or had satellite dish that broadcast the drama! I will problaby have to wait until it's released on sites(with subtitles), but I can guaratee you that I will buy this on dvd! Hyun Bin and SHG in it! I have no choice but to buy it! Patience is a virtue!!

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When I first heard about this drama, I had very mixed feelings - great hope intermingled with skepticism/apprehension. I so wanted it to be good at the same time that I was so sure it wasnt going to be. It seemed too much to ask that these two much adored actors could co-star in an enjoyable drama. Reading your recap has only heightened these feelings for me - my relief that the first episode played out well is countered by my fear that once we get past the introduction of the story, everything will unravel. I tend to give every drama 3 episodes before I decide whether to commit to it - however in this case I think I'll await your judgement once we get into the meat of the drama before I even commit to episode 1. Id rather retain my fangirly love for Hyun Bin (sorry but Im a diehard MNIKSS fan) than risk marring it with a bad drama.....

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but dont u think that it is already obvious that in the end they will end up together?

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arrrrrgh! too many good dramas! i think i will keep this in the neutral position for now. but the recap makes the drama very interesting! thanks!

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thanks !!! hmm , i'm really curious to know about rating of the first episode

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I haven't finished reading this yet but just from the first paragraph, the drama already made a good impression for you. Always encouraging to hear!

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Ok finished reading and from your summary, it gets my seal of approval (which means squat but wth). The drama just feels like something right up my alley.

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thank you so much!!!So far i'm loving this series...

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thank you sarah.. i really like the first episode too.. your recaps made it much better to appreciate - muah :)

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Oh! What a surprise this morning! I even forgot the premiere aired yesterday, and you've already come up with the recap! Thanks so much! I wasn't really sure neither if this show will be good. But now that I have your confirmation, I am looking forward to watching this show and your future insights.

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looks interesting.. i want to watch it, but i hate the fact that we are going to wait for 3 months for the ending... (it is 3 months right)

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omg... so good.

im stuck on my essay n here i am. i lve ur blog n writing style.

seems like a good one,but i hve to wait for awhile b/c of school work n stuff. so depressing.

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Thanks so much Javabeans.
I haven't watched Ep.1 and might only watch this show when it reaches final episodes. But I am so happy that you praise this drama.
Excellent recaps, as always.
.
"But most importantly, I care more about the characters’ growth than wondering who ends up with whom and why. Because, The World We Live In is not necessarily a drama to watch for plot. It’s a drama to watch for the acting, the relationships, the interplay, and the writing".

--> Love your writing. That's what I care the most for a drama too.

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woot! thanks for the summary. I love this show.

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*rejoice hyun bin is back. well not that he was ever gone out but after "my lovely sam soon" there wasn't anything that great that came from him so my hopes are up on this one. and i am literally on the edge of my seat.
btw, has anyone picked this up yet? subs.subs.subs.

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thanks.. im really looking forward to this drama - really can't wait for the subs..

i do not know why but i actually teared while reading yr summaries..

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definitely watching this...

thanks for the caps, beans!

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thank you. oh man. i cant wait to watch this drama. love the pictures and the recap!!!

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Your summary definitely made me want to watch this drama.
I never be a fan of Hyun Bin or Song Hye Gyo, so I was not interested with it at first.

While waiting for the sub, I will read your summary, because you always make the best ones.

Thank you.

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