The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry

The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry

6.5/10

The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry

Genre:                                Episodes: 16                          Year: 2010

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Lee Shin Young is a reporter whose fiancé dumped her once she decided to go oversees to pursue her career. Years later Shin Young is back in Korea and has remained single. At the age of 34, she fears that she will never get married. She reconnects with an old school friend, Jung Da Jung, who is also 34 and desperate to get married. The two women often seek advice from their friend Kim Boo Ki, a successful woman who ended her 10 year relationship to find her own happiness. 

Cast:

Park Jin Hee (Lee Shin Young)

Kim Bum (Ha Min Jae)

Uhm Ji Won (Jung Da Jung)

Wang Bit Na (Kim Boo Ki)

Lee Pil Mo (Yoon Sang Woo)

Choi Cheol Ho (Na Ban Seok)

Park Ji Young (Choi Sang Mi)

General Thoughts:

This drama came so close to being really, really good, but then started to fall apart in the later stages (but more on that later). The cast and characters were all pretty delightful, and the first half of the series was loaded with laughs.

Slapstick humour done right

Park Jin Hee did a good job as our heroine acting out some rather ridiculous scenes, and had great chemistry with the other actresses. Kim Bum was just all kinds of delightful, and it’s almost worth watching the show just for him alone. He’s been great in previous roles, but the character of Min Jae just seemed to fit him perfectly- the right amount of charisma, mischief and charm to bring an absolutely gorgeous hero to life.

Kim Bum was just SO perfect. SWOOOOON

However, despite how wonderful the leads were separately, the chemistry between the two wasn’t all that great. Sometimes the vibe between the leads was really strong and emotional, but there were also times that they felt awkward around each other. The chemistry was best during more serious scenes, with some of the lighthearted interactions coming across a touch forced.

Flirting > Dating

Sure, similar lighthearted scenes were cute and fun at the start of the series when Min Jae was flirting and Shin Young was responding while still keeping a barrier between them, but these same sort of scenes seemed childish and put-on once the two started dating. Most often it was conversations between the two that ended in giggling that felt most awkward. But considering how much time the show spent on the love story between Shin Young and Min Jae, the two actually had very few scenes that required killer chemistry, so it was pretty easy to overlook some of the uneasiness between the leads. On the other hand, the chemistry between the three ladies was just killer. There was a beautiful vibe between the three, and they could bring in humour and annoyance without ever making the love shared between the friends appear any less. Even when the girls had disagreements or got annoyed with each other, there was always a deep sense of love and loyalty between them. I wish that the boys had maybe been given a bit more screen time to develop their relationships, because as it was it was quite easy to forget that Min Jae and Ban Seok were extremely close. And poor Sung Woo just didn’t seem to have any friends at all.

All Sang Woo has in an ex who doesn't want to know him

The crossed relationships were really such a hoot too. It was all a bit unfortunate (for the characters) how tangled everything was getting, but for us it just meant an amazing amount of awkward. The writers did a great job at choosing when to make the situations funny and when to make them emotional. The same situation could often be played for either laughs or drama, and the writers just nailed which direction to go.

Sweet yet substantial

I never thought that humour was being added in a scene that could have done without it, or that a light situation was being taken too seriously. The drama just hit that nice sweet spot of being a fun, fluffy drama that had just the right amount of depth. All the characters were developed beautifully (except Boo Ki, cuz what do you do when you’re already perfect). Almost all of our characters were given a chance to grow and mature and were in completely different states of mind at the end of the drama than they were at the start. Our hero goes from an uncommitted playboy to a devoted boyfriend and our heroine figures out that marriage isn’t the most important thing in life. The drama also didn't drag conflicts out for too long, which can often be the case for dramas that have no other conflict than the relationship between the leads. Many times I was expecting a situation or a misunderstanding to be drawn out in order to up the angst and get through more episodes, but I was happily surprised when that didn’t happen. For most of the show’s run, it’s characters communicated effectively, and never held onto grudges longer than was necessary. It kept the characters as interesting and relatable, and ensured they never tried the audiences’ patience (mostly).

Conflict → Tension → Resolution → New Conflict

Conflicts were resolved in a precise and snappy manner, meaning that we could quickly move onto the next segment of the drama, satisfied that the previous conflict was fully resolved. Being 7 years old the drama did feel a tad dated at times, but that’s to be expected- K-Drama has come a long way in recent years. Sometimes the editing techniques felt a bit old or the soundtrack felt a bit out of touch, but as the whole drama fit the same tone it wasn’t too jarring.

What Was Great:

Gal Pals:

Perhaps it’s because it happens so much less than bromances, but I absolutely adore really solid female friendships in K-Drama.

So much fabulousness 

And boy were these girls solid. Despite having three completely different personalities and wanting completely different things in their lives, the three women got along splendidly and were always fun to watch. Having the women be so close gave the viewers opportunities to understand their minds that you just don’t get in dramas that don’t have these type of friendships. Rather than being left wondering why the heroine was doing what she was doing, we were right in on her thought processes as she almost always spoke to her friends about it. And this was true for Da Jung as well as Shin Young. Without this insider knowledge to her actions, Da Jung was highly likely to become a dislikable character (because she is just a touch crazy). But instead we are exposed to her fears and vulnerabilities through these late night girl gossip sessions, ensuring that she remains sweet and likeable, even if she is still a little naive and crazy. I also loved how the show didn’t feel the need to give all three of the girls a love line, and that Boo Ki remained single and confident from start to finish.

Not Just Fluff:

This drama actually had far more substance to it than I was initially expecting. Usually dramas that aim to be light and fun tend to skimp on the more emotional, in-depth aspects of its characters and plot, but here the drama was more than happy to explore some deeper aspects. The noona romance was cute and fun, but the show was always ready to remind us that there were some pretty hard factors to deal with as well.

Cute but not without consequences

While Shin Young wants to get married quickly, once she starts dating a young guy that dream pretty much flies away. It’s an interesting point that not a lot of other noona romances actually deal with as their heroines tend to be work focused (‘I Hear Your Voice’), not looking for romance (‘Hello My Teacher’) or totally prepared to marry a guy that’s just way too young for marriage (‘High School King of Savvy’).

That grey hair is one of the worst K-Drama fashions I've ever seen

It’s a look in on the sort of sacrifice that older women have to make when they choose to date a guy that is that much younger than them. Because she decided to stay with Min Jae, Shin Young has to accept that she might not get married until she’s 40- and even then it’s not a guarantee as she and Min Jae might break up before then. The drama really explored just how much Shin Young was willing to risk for a chance to make things work with Min Jae. Because as much as it’s ridiculous and as mad as it makes me- men tend to not really want to date/marry a woman who is still single by 40. Another conflict that was often raising its head was the idea of work vs relationship. This played a part in not only the main romance but the side romance as well. Shin Young has already given up one relationship to pursue her career, and she is well aware of what that lost her the first time. It’s wonderful to see her make the same choice again, as she is fully aware of what the consequences of that choice are. Yet despite the fear and uncertainty, Shin Young still decides to do what it is she really wants, even if it means giving up something important. Similarly, Da Jung struggles to balance her working life and her home life. Unlike Shin Young, Da Jung has never really had to make a choice between her relationship and work, but it often became a problem in her marriage to Ban Seok.

Marriage isn't just weddings and honeymoons

We see Ban Seok’s father telling her than Ban Seok’s wife won’t even need to work, and Da Jung’s big conflict comes as a result of wanting to study and work rather than spending time with her in-laws. So while the drama was very fun and extremely enjoyable, it also didn’t shy away from commenting on some pretty heavy social issues that our main trio of ladies had to face, meaning that the drama remained memorable rather than just fading away like many other fluff dramas.

What Wasn’t:

Unresolved Issues:

Oh my golly goodness this drove me nuts and is ultimately where the show lost my love. The drama introduces all these really interesting, thought provoking conflicts and then just…ignores them.

Why did you have to let me down show?

It felt like the drama was gearing up for some pretty big explosions, but instead it just fizzles out. Da Jung encounters some extreme unhappiness in her new marriage which is awesome. Not awesome for her, but awesome for us viewers who get to see some of the downsides to Da Jung’s choice to rush headfirst into marriage with this man she barely knows.

All this angst for no real payoff

He meets all her criteria, but still isn’t the ‘perfect’ man, and she suffers a hard whack of reality. It felt like all this time we were waiting for Da Jung to stand up to her husband, say what she was feeling and then either choose to work together to solve their issues or walk away. But instead she only half-heartedly tells Ban Seok what the issue is and fails to really do anything about their disagreements. Then she falls pregnant and Ban Seok decides that he’ll just do whatever his wife wants. It was a pretty unsatisfactory resolution for the only really conflict that Da Jung has to face all series long. It doesn’t give off the feeling that the couple has the foundation for a strong marriage or that they’ll be able to work though issues together in the future. Instead it kind of feels like they're walking into an unhappy marriage that will turn them both bitter, but the writers didn’t want to go there so they tried tying things up with a big happy bow. Only I’m not buying it. Then all these issues that the drama brought up in the last few episodes between the main couple are just ignored. There’s no real thought given to how the two will cope with Min Jae’s mother’s partner being Shin Young’s ex-fiancé. Or to any of their other issues. Love conquers all. Which is fine for a fluff drama, but I was really expecting something a lot more substantial from this drama.

Aw, look at you just ignoring all your issues

Another thing that annoyed me was that all series long Min Jae never really had any consequences for his actions. Each time he wronged Shin Young he got off extremely lightly. I mean, he makes fun of her age in the middle of an apology so he dyes his hair grey and that apparently makes everything better?

I know he's super cute and all but please let him know he's being an ass

As it was early on in the series I could let it slide, but when it really annoyed me is when Min Jae stood Shin Young up for their last dinner to hang out with friends after Shin Young has given up hanging out with her friends to meet him. Then he’s doing love shots with some other young girl while his actual girlfriend is home alone waiting for him. 100% not cool. I was expecting some major grovelling. I was so on Shin Young’s team when she was giving him the cold shoulder because no matter how you look at it Min Jae messed up. While he wasn’t encouraging the young girl’s advances he wasn’t shooting her down either. He didn’t even tell her he had a girlfriend (which is a whole other barrels of worms)! And to act that way when you know your girl is at home waiting is pretty high on the d*uche scale. But instead of grovelling he gets in bed for some snuggles and it’s all good. Like, he doesn’t even apologise. Even though it was only one moment, it really made me lose confidence in Min Jae and his ability to love and support Shin Young and actually showed how young and immature he really is. So while most of the drama was really excellent, the lack of decisions from the characters and lack of consequences for their actions really made the drama quite infuriating.

Recommend?

Maybe- if you like noona romances this drama would be one to watch, otherwise probably not.

So, so, so, so, so close to being amazing