Seeking to quash my disdain for Noona-romances. Suggestions on where to start? Possibly something with a smaller age gap first, please and thank you.

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    Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food is a ~5 year age gap.

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    What have you seen thus far?

    P.S. Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food comes out in approx. three (3) weeks (03/31).

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      See, that’s the thing!! I’ve never been able to get past the first 3 episodes of any of them. I’ve started I Need Romance 3, High School King of Savy, My Love From Another Star (though I’m not sure that counts?) I Remember You, and I Can Hear Your Voice. At some point, I do a long eye-roll and that’s it. But, I’m trying to work through my issues.

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        I remember you is not a noona romance. Although there is a real life age difference, they play the same age in the serial I think. Also I may be shallow but jang nara doesn’t really look old when compared to her costars. plus romance is not the main focus of the serial. The mystery thriller crime procedural part is more prominent. And the show has one of the best bromances.( Ok I am a little biased). But give this show a chance.

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          Thanks for clarifying! I guess it was presumptuous of me to assume the real life age difference translated into the drama. My husband and I were JUST debating whether they were the same age. Now, I’ve got to admit I was wrong…

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    I never cared for noona romances until I Can Hear Your Voice. There’s a 6 year difference I think.

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      I started this today but I need to know, does he stay in high school throughout the drama? If so, I’m out. (I’m trying really hard not to read the recaps)

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        No, but I think he’s in high school for half to most of it. It’s been awhile, but I’m pretty sure he comes of age before she really goes for him. He’s the one whose super persistent which I think helped me get over the age gap since it definitely was not an older woman trying to take advantage of a minor by any means.

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    The Woman Who still Wants to Marry (2010) might look a little dated but the noona romance was lovely (she was 34, he was 24). And the friendship between the ladies was amazing.
    But I can hear your voice is my definitive favorite.

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      It might be difficult to find small age differences since a noona romance needs to have a significative age gap to become an issue in the couple dynamics. I have found that the resolution of this age gap matters more (to me) than the age difference: for instance it worked beautifully in Witch’s romance (14 years’ difference) and not so much in High School King of Savy (I think it was less than 10 years of age difference).

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    What do you not like about them @lookieloowho? If you’re looking to avoid grown-up people dating high-schoolers (and I can’t blame you), you could always watch Secret Love Affair which has a biggish age gap but everybody is very much an adult. And it’s seriously fantastic.

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      I have a grocery list of issues with the genre. My biggest issue, however, is that they typically portray a woman in her mid/late 30s who’s so swept up in her career that she’s become an ice queen that needs some Junior to save her. That the only person who can give the woman a new outlook is a child who barely has himself together.

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        ha ha, okay, it’s possible then that Secret Love Affair will tick all your dislike boxes. But I still recommend it because it is just so good – it’s not a romcom and much more melo/serious than your average noona romance. Oh and it’s a must-watch if you like classical music.

        Maybe all these points will totally turn you off from ever watching it 🙂

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          And it’s gorgeous. And Yoo Ah-in.

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            Still haven’t seen that one. I’ll have to check it out when I’m in the mood for more serious fare. Classical music and Yoo Ah-in are always a plus.

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          I’ve seen bits and pieces of it but never finished it. I’ll have to try it again. Can’t really remember why I didn’t finish unless the infidelity bothered me. Excuse me and my issues…

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        Oh I know! You could just fast forward through all the medical bits of Romantic Doctor Kim and treat it as a noona romance for the OTP.

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        Haha, your biggest issue reminded me of How Stella Got Her Grove Back for some reason.

        Noona romances by their very definition should portray an age gap. If the age gap starts at a younger age, one of the biggest problems that would arise in the drama is the difference in where each person is at that stage in their lives. Usually the younger person is a drop out/studying/now getting their career going and the older person is already established/there or needs to make a big change. Then you have the parents who want to see their daughter married versus a younger guy who might not be thinking about marriage yet. Thankfully, there are some noona romances that have a “Junior” who is more mature and put together for his age. I think Dal-ja’s Spring might be different from what you’ve seen already. The male lead might surprise you in the second half. I can also recommend Kimi Wa Petto. The male lead is mature for his age, but there are time where he can’t help but act his age (which makes it realistic). It’s odd but really good.

        As much as I want to recommend it, I really do hesitate to recommend Temperature of Love. It has an amazing start witch depicts the issues with the age gap beautifully, but then goes to shit in the middle. Sigh.

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          I second Dal-ja’s Spring. I’m rewatching bits of it right now and it has cemented its status as my favorite noona romance. Admittedly, though, I haven’t seen an awful lot. It’s stylistically very 2007 but most parts of the story are still very much relevant today. I think it was a bit ahead of its time in some ways. There are a few funny subversions of usual older drama tropes and jokes made at their expense. It’s a nostalgic watch without being infuriating.

          She’s not an ice queen—she’s a romantic whose standards are too high. And her career isn’t really used as an excuse for her singledom. It’s made clear that it’s a result of her many flaws and that she hasn’t been able to really connect with anyone yet because of them. She is constantly at war with herself over whether to do what’s “logical” and expected of a woman her age or to do what she really wants. It can make her seem wishy-washy/indecisive at times but I think it’s pretty realistic. She’s a flawed person but you still root for her.

          Also, her growth isn’t facilitated just by her being with a younger man. The friendships she makes are just as important in her journey. A large part of the show is her learning to connect with and understand other people in general, not just the love interest.

          Oh, and the age gap is 6 years. She’s 33 and he’s 27.

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          Not sure if you know but ‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back’ is based on Terry McMillian’s real life romance. Their marriage in a seriously nasty divorce. Maybe that’s where my discontent for noona romances originates.

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        Oh my gosh, I share the same disdain for noona romances for the same reasons you do.. lol!

        Honestly, I find myself wondering how the heroine, who is usually a successful independent career woman would want to saddle herself with someone she’d need to care for/provide support for. Or maybe that’s just me being prejudiced. lol

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          Thank you!! Like, WHY does this woman need a project? If she wanted a child, she’d have one.

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            Exactly! Like it can all be about the feelings and the chemistry at the start but how long will the female lead support the male until she becomes exhausted? I don’t know, maybe I’m being too pragmatic about it. lol.

            To this date, I veer away from noona romances. Although I might be interested to check it out when the male lead is actually a responsible, successful man too. But then again, I’m not sure if that’ll count as a noona romance anymore since from what I understand, the power imbalance has to be with the woman

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    Maybe give Witch’s Romance a try. They had sizzling chemistry. Can’t go wrong with hottie Park Seo Joon. I remember loving it.

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      Seconding this — I watched it recently and was in love with the female lead. Yes, she was a career-driven ice queen, but she didn’t need the male lead to rescue her, and I don’t think he really did. And she never compromised her life and goals for him which is one of the things he admired about her.

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      Yes, that’s a good one as well! And it introduced me to Park Seo-joon!

      I was a bit disappointed at the choice made with his character at the end, and the second lead guy was annoying, but other than that I remember really enjoying it.

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    Baby faced beauty, witch’s romance, hospital ship and i hear your voice are my recommendations.

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