Like Flowers in Sand

It's hard to review this series.

The first half of the series I was somehow bored. It didn't felt like a love story, the mystery story wasn't strong either. I didn't know what to think.

Kim Baek-uk was portrayed as a naive "boy". I didn't like at all that they made him look stupid. In fact he was just a warmhearted guy growing up at the country side and was just happy either way with the simple things in life. He was so caring for others. So beautiful! They didn't need to made him look stupid.

The villagers had an important role for the setting of the series. The way they talked was marvellous.

From half of the series the mystery story became more interesting and the relationship between Baek-uk and Du-sik had more depth. Although I kept missing cute love scenes.

The wrestling theme was nice and the games were thrilling, although predictable I especially liked the last one. A shout-out to Jang Dong-yoon for the wrestling part. Must have been tough. And he even changed his physique for that role. Wow!

If you watch this series for the warmth of the ML and the atmosphere of the town, you will like this series. If you watch it for the love story - like I did -, you will be disappointed.

This show is both comforting and interesting. I felt like I was a part of the small town of geosan as we went on a journey through the eyes of Kim Baek-Du wonderfully acted by Jang Dong-Yoon. He is an absolutely green flag of a guy and I genuinely rooted for him over and over.

I hadn't heard of ssireum (Korean wrestling) before watching this show and by the end, I felt wholly invested in the sport.

Although a murder mystery circled the central plot it doesn't overwhelm the main plot or become gruesome in any way.

This drama keeps the story tight with just 12 episodes so at no point do you feel like it's dragging. I would definitely recommend this for a watch.

A ssireum wrestler Kim Baek-doo played by Jang Dong-yoon is thinking about retiring as at thirty two he thinks the opportunity to be a champion has passed him by. Before he makes the decision he runs into Oh Yoo-kyung played by Lee Joo-myung who was his best friend when they were children but who disappeared from his life due to an incident which took place in the town. The plot then looks back at the earlier incident and how it impacted on the group of friends and the townspeople who are all involved with ssireum and how they all turned out. It is a well acted series from the entire cast, a gentle comedy with the funniest moments between the two leads and an easy watch.

I don't always seek out a drama with sports as a central theme, but when it's done well they can be really enjoyable. This series does that, but also believably weaves past secrets, murder mysteries, small town beauty and not so beautiful issues, friends, and a slow burn romance. None of those subjects take over the entire experience, they are gently and expertly woven together at a pace that keeps you interested.

The cast was wonderful and it was nice to see so many familiar faces. I was a big fan of the ML's mother, and all of the child actors. The kids made me cry real tears. Both leads were great in that the FL was very good at showing the different sides of herself; while I felt the ML was outstanding with his athleticism and expressiveness. They had great chemistry in all the ways.

The only reason I didn't give it a full 10 was because occasionally the ML would be a bit much for me in his persistent ways, sometimes the dialogue would drag a bit with characters taking quite a while to spit out what they were trying to say, and the ending could have wrapped up a little tighter. But this was still one very worthy and thoroughly enjoyable watch that I highly recommend.

Korean Drama '' Like Flowers in the Sand '' is a slice of life drama with many other genres blended nicely in the main plot.

The drama is a sports drama that handled it well, with some training, some games, and a championship of course.

However, the drama didn't forget the rest of its plotlines. The mystery case was solid and blended nicely with the story of the friends and their backgrounds.

The romance was, in addition, subtle, but cute.

Finally, the performances were all great by everyone in the cast. Especially the leading man was really enjoyable and had a sweet character.

So, overall, seven out of ten.