Judging by the first 2 episodes, this promises to be a good one.

There are so many familiar faces among the middle age actors, that it's like old home week. A mai plot centers around a divorced couple. They divorced because their son was killed by a car while they were fighting. The wife went to pieces, and her EMIL wasn't helping matters in any way. Flash forward 1 year, and he isn't seeing their daughter on the weekends, and has forgotten to pay his child support. Worse, he's with a young widow whose son has the same name as his dead son.

There's little comic relief, and lots of drama. So far, the writing is top notch. If it keeps up, this could rank right up there with the best.

I'm really liking this show. It delves into several aspects of relationships, and shows how devastating divorce, and its aftermath, can be to a small child. It also explores the older man- younger woman, and older woman- younger man relationships. But my favorite is the 50 year old virgin. How unbelievable is that?

It would be nice for the ex-husband to give up on his claim that he should be raising the little girl. He is grasping for straws especially since his refusal to give adequate alimony causes his ex-wife to work which results in the supposed neglect of the little girl. I doubt he would be able to do a decent job of raising his daughter and his EMIL mother is one of the reasons that the divorce took place, so EMIL shouldn't have any right to be raising the girl either; especially since the girl wants to be with her mother. I'm curious to see what the result of the marriage to Mi-Jin will be like. She is pretty perfect (she's reasonable, gentle, kind and understanding), so if the marriage to her fails and the EMIL starts to hate her, it just proves that the ex-husband and his mother were the cause of the divorce.

As for landlady, I wish she would just reveal the fact that she went on a date with her tenant all those years ago. I understand that she's hurt for not being remembered, but not everyone has as good a memory as she does, so she should just give it up already and start being nice to him. Oh.... and after seeing her get ready for her date last night (wearing those curlers and that smock outfit) and the way she acted on her date, I still contend that she is way better looking and appealing on 'Happiness in the Wind'.

As for younger sister, I don't blame her for not wanting to get married, especially since her parents were divorced and her sister went through a bitter divorce also. Unfortunately her boyfriend is a bit idealistic and should be heeding her words because nobody goes into marriage thinking that they will get divorced. I think he might be a bit naive in his outlook on life. The smart thing for him to have done, would be to not break up with her but rather to stay friendly with her, (but not like as an affectionate couple) and spend time with other women also and see how she compares to other women. If he finds that she's worth investing the time in, then stay friends with her until she realizes that she doesn't want the relationship to end and will view marriage as the next step. Their mistake is rushing to become a couple. They need to be friends first and establish a common foundation of trust and dependency, this way younger sister can realize that divorce is not always inevitable and would be less likely to want to leave him.

I think Ha Yong (younger sister) is the child of her parents, and not of Dad's first wife. The sisters are half-sisters.

I liked the way Chef stepped in and stopped the Jerk from hitting his ex-wife.

Why does Sung-Jaerk insist that the law is on his side and that he should have custody of Eun-Soo? Last I recall, they never went to divorce court and got a verdict as to who has custody. And that is the main cause of all these problems. If they would have gotten a legal verdict, then nobody would have to worry about where Eun-Soo goes and how much alimony should be paid. Why does he assume that he should have custody, when he really has done nothing to show that he is capable of being a decent father.

The person that I feel sorry for the most on this show is uncle. Sung-Jaerk decides to move in with him and uncle just lets it happen. Uncle should have put his foot down and told him to get lost. And now the annoying EMIL feels it's her duty to come by the house because her son is there. And the only reason that Sung-Jaerk is trying to get custody of Eun-Soo is to impress Mee-Jin and also get revenge on his ex-wife by reclaiming his daughter and taking something away from her. It's really sad that the uncle and Eun-Soo have to be caught in the middle of this mess.

As for Mee-Jin, I used to think that you were pretty perfect, however after today's episode you have fallen from grace. You are naive in your thinking and should listen to the advice of your friend. You do not need Eun-Soo's or the ex-wife's approval. I admire your willingness to step aside if they want to get back together, however do not be surprised when there is animosity amidst a divorced couple, especially in a custody battle that depends on who the child wants to be with.

BG wrote:

Why does Sung-Jaerk insist that the law is on his side and that he should have custody of Eun-Soo? Last I recall, they never went to divorce court and got a verdict as to who has custody. And that is the main cause of all these problems. If they would have gotten a legal verdict, then nobody would have to worry about where Eun-Soo goes and how much alimony should be paid. Why does he assume that he should have custody, when he really has done nothing to show that he is capable of being a decent father. .

I think we had a discussion about this somewhere else...

Doesn't Korean law side with the father getting custody?
Or is that only in ancient times?

I can't believe they did it. Those freakin' nerds blew up the BuyMore.

~Big Mike




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I recall that Sung Jerk got legal custody in episode 1, when the divorce was finalized.

I'm really liking the Ha Yong character. She's a real loose cannon. She goes well with the dour what's-his-name (I'm lost without KoreanWiz) she wants to marry.

This is a very, very good show

I'm not watching this but... if the child is listed on the father's family record... I think that may give him an advantage.

it's called definitely neighbors here--didn't know the board was watching---I am enjoying the old-young old aspect. I'm waiting for the chef to stop calling her Misses (lady) last night's ep explained why uncle didn't see landlady again--thought that was an important scene--Divorce: it may be the subs--She had custody but now there's talk she could lose it---for the past few yrs-Korea has stopped it's automatic custody to father--just as about 20 or so yrs ago we stopped automatic custody to moms
I'm guessing the end will be that they'll live next door so the little girl will be happy--but then I like happy endings

Sung-Jaerk made a statement to uncle, which gets to the krux of the problem in regards to his marriage. When Uncle told Sung-Jaerk that in order for him to live at his house, he would have to pick up after himself and do the dishes. Sung-Jaerk response was to smile and chuckle and say that he could not do that because as the eldest son, he was taught to never lift a finger. I believe this is the reason that Sung-Jaerk's marriage failed. He expected to be waited on hand and foot, without helping out. The only reason that he agreed to help out at uncle's is because it's not his house and uncle is his elder and his goal of getting Eun-Soo motivates him to help out. If he had been willing to show this kind of effort and respect in his marriage, then his divorce would not have happened. I'm not saying Sung-Jaerk needed to do housework to save his marriage, but I'm saying that he needed to appreciate and respect the work that his wife did, rather than take it for granted.

Bad ex husband changes for the better like when he washes unc's dishes---like some ex-marrieds, he has decided to do things differently (by slowly improving) I think the writers did a beautiful job of showing two people who married for all the wrong reasons---this is further complicated by the death of their son--there are many instances in life where somone won't forgive the one who has moved on--- I like ajumma--her temper comes from a lifetime of hurt--some real (loss of child) some blown -up like the way she was raised--hopefully the man who loves to cook will see her through---
gosh this is corny--but so am I

I love the characterizations in this show. The characterizations are key to the relationships: the vibrant Ha Yong with the dour Ki Hoon, the two volatile personalities, Ji Yong and Chef, et al. This is the best SBS show since Happiness.

Link to the cast on the SBS site: http://wizard2.sbs.co.kr/w3/template/tpl_iframetype.jsp?» vVodId=V0000342782&vProgId=1000593&vMenuId=1012108

Oh that is a familiar cast! Should be comfortable to watch.

Like I said at first, this show is old home week for middle aged actors.

I just love the fencing between U Jin and Yong Sil (the 50 year old virgin). It was so funny when she was down on all fours, puking in the bushes, while U Jin looked on, helplessly.

This is the kind of show I wish could go on forever.

Ha Yong's immaturity is hilarious. Ki Hoon is going crazy having to deal with her.

Looks like Chef is starting to get serious with Ji Yong. Imagine, getting an expensive set of knives engraved with your name on each one. What hell there will be when he introduces her to his snooty family.

Kim Mi Suk looks so much better in this show than she does in HITW. Must be the bangs.

Jim wrote:

Ha Yong's immaturity is hilarious. Ki Hoon is going crazy having to deal with her.

At times, Ha Yong might act like a cute girl that hasn't grown up yet, but I give her credit for being responsible enough to know that her marriage could become a divorce, especially when Ki Hoon is rushing to get married so that he won't burden his sister anymore. If I were Ki Hoon, I would have haggled her down from 1 year reviews to every 6 months, especially since she said that she was willing to negotiate.

Jim wrote:

Kim Mi Suk looks so much better in this show than she does in HITW. Must be the bangs.

I have to disagree with you on this one. The bangs ruin it for me. But to each his own. However, I will say that she does manage to pull of this character rather nicely, which shows that she has quite a decent range as an actress as this character is completely different from her HITW character.

EMIL can't seem to hurt Ji-Young enough; now she won't even let her go the funeral of one of the few family members that actually liked her.

As for Mee-Jin, she is finally being smart in saying that she wants to end it with Sung-Jaerk. He and his mother are finally showing their true colors. Hey Mee-Jin: run away from this family; as they only want to bring you down. Sung-Jaerk wants a substitute for Joon-Seo and EMIL wants another slave to do her bidding. You do are way classier than them and deserve someone who won't give you problems.

Is Ha Yong's jealousy toward Ki Hoon's old girlfriend an over reaction? Not really. It's very typical of Korean women to go overboard when their 'claimed' man displays any attention toward a woman he's previously known - in any capacity.

Chef singing to Ji Yong was really cute - and funny too.

Glad to see Sung Jerk finally grew a pair in order to stand up to his mom.

Nice wedding. No reception? That was when CEO should have put the move on Yong Sil. But I'm glad to see he now realizes he has feelings for her. The scene between Yong Sil and her sister was very moving. Yong Sil, essentially, sacrificed everything to keep her family together. She deserves a comfortable, happy life, with CEO, living in her big, expensive house. But it will be interesting to see how she puts up with Ha Yong.

Mi Jin and Sung Jerk is getting pretty boring, and is the least interesting part of this show.

I hope we get to see more of Chef's psychiatrist sister in other shows. She was in Daring Woman, early on. She's got a lot of personality.

I thought there was tragedy in the making when Yong Sil said she was feeling cold, then, cut away to Ki Hoon standing on the rock above the ocean. But it was just the old 'she gets sick and he comes to find her' ploy.

I think the restaurant manager has a thing for Chef's sister.

Seeing Dad's ex-wife and her son is very sad. A teenage boy having to deal with that - what a terrible thing. I wonder what will become of him?

Last night's ep seemed to be short by about 10 minutes.

I was right about manager and shrink.

Yong Sil's reaction to U Jin's admission was a sight to see! Her giddiness when she was finally alone was overwhelming. I love her character! So much better than the Ms Lee she plays in HITW.

I'm surprised Ha Yong hasn't dragged her husband to Chef's restaurant to see him again, now that she suspects Ji Yong is involved with him.

Interesting development with Dad's ex wife's son moving in. Wait til Mom finds out who he really is. I wonder how she'll react?