Individualist Ji Young

Individualist Ji Young

6.5/10

Individualist Ji Young

Genre:                                                  Episodes: 2                                          Year: 2017

Romance

Synopsis:

Na Ji Young prefers spending time on her own as she dislikes people and hates forming relationships. Her neighbour, Park Byuk Soo, hates being alone and craves love an attention from others.

Cast:

Min Hyo Rin (Na Ji Young)

Gong Myung (Park Byuk Soo)

Oh Na Ra (Jung Soo Kyung)

Kim Jae Hwa (Nurse Park)

 General Thoughts:

I always tend to like short series that lean towards a more serious story (which is weird cuz I tend to avoid super serious long dramas), and ‘Individualist Ji Young’ was one of the more serious mini-series out there.

Though it did have its funny scenes

It’s not to say that the drama didn’t have its lighthearted moments, because it did, but it lacked the silliness and amateurish vibe that a lot of short/web shows exude. Relationships were the main point of the story,

I was less appreciative of the super unprofessional psych

with our two leads having very different ways of relating to other people and each other. I appreciated that the show didn’t shy away from serious adult topics such as therapy and sex, but instead incorporated it into the story, and used these situations to develop the characters. The story itself doesn’t have a lot behind it (needy guy meets isolated girl and they bond), but it was how these two characters slowly bonded that was enjoyable to watch. There were no huge declarations of love or big dramatic moments, but the quietly understated love that the two developed was satisfying and sweet in its own way, and had a bite of realism. As polar opposites, of course they clashed and they fought, and the drama actually went ahead and showed that rather than sticking strongly to the whole ‘opposites attract’ as most other dramas do. Min Hyo Rin and Gong Myung were great as the leads. Min Hyo Rin does sullen and hostile surprisingly well, but always expressed just the right amount of vulnerability.

Betcha Taeyang didn't wanna watch this one

Gong Myung did really well with the character he was given. I love him most in cute, puppy roles, and that’s sort of how Byuk Soo was written. But Gong Myung took it a step further than that by being so overtly energetic and up that it became annoying. By playing the character that way it was believable that people around Byuk Soo didn’t really like him- he was exhausting and needy. Which aren’t words I usually use to describe Gong Myung.

Friendly to the point of encroaching

The directing and camerawork were all pretty smooth. Short shows tend to come off feeling a bit cheap, but not here. It didn’t feel like a budget job and it didn’t feel like a rushed job, which I always appriciate.

What Was Great:

New Characters:

The two leads were interesting, and aren’t characters you usually find as leading characters. Our heroine, Ji Young, definitely had some Candy traits that we see in heroines all the time (quiet, withdrawn etc.), but she was also sullen, moody and often openly hostile.

I do identify with her general dislike of people though

And those dislikable qualities don’t often find themselves making up lead characters very often. Yet the drama made a point of showing how Ji Young’s refusal to open up came from a place of hurt, and her hostility often came from exhaustion at people expecting her to behave a certain way. If asked by a neighbour (even if he was a stranger) to collect a delivery on their behalf, most people would just do it, whereas Ji Young questioned why she had to go out of her way for someone else. Yes, it’s the nice, polite thing to do, but it’s also not your responsibility to inconvenience yourself for other people. And yet these small inconveniences were often expected of Ji Young who just wanted to do things on her own in her own way. So despite her plethora of negative traits, Ji Young remained a likeable heroine- especially as the story progressed and she started opening up to those around her. On the other hand we have Byuk Soo. Byuk Soo is so desperate to be around people that he doesn’t even care that he’s disliked. Despite knowing that his coworkers find him annoying he still pays for dinner so that they can all go out together. He’s clingy and nosey and about as far away from a typical male lead as you can get.

I'd take this over a CandyXChaebol romance any day

While at times these unique traits made our leads dislikable, they always served to make the characters interesting. When characters are all the same it becomes easy and predictable, so I always love it when we’re given a couple of uncommon personalities.

What Wasn’t:

Quick Fix:

The issues were resolved rather rapidly. Of course, being a short drama that’s almost to be expected, but when you devote a solid 10 minutes to a cutesy dating montage, I kind of expect you to leave yourself enough time to wrap things up well.

She sure opened up fast for a person that hates opening up

I mean the whole conclusion is basically that they break up and Byuk Soo goes away and then Ji Young realises she misses him and they get back together upon Byuk Soo’s return. Kind of a light go-over for these two characters that had so many deep, underlying issues. Oh well.

Recommend?

I wouldn’t tell you to rush out and watch it, but if you’re just looking for something interesting (and not silly) to pass a couple of hours this is a good go-to.

Cute he may be, but I still wouldn't want Byuk Soo as a neighbour