Hwangkidong

Usually in revenge stories where the victim lays out an elaborate plan to exact revenge years later, the protagonist would hide his/her true identity and motivation until the climax of the story when he/she is ready to strike the final, lethal blow on his/her perpetrators. In this case, despite being poor and powerless, our heroine has the guts to confront and taunt them face-to-face, "your time is up", with a deadly cool smile that sends shivers down their spine. If this is not class, I don't know what is.

This is modern Korean thriller at it's best. If the story were to take place in US, the victim of school violence (or torture to be precise) would likely just grab an assault rifle from home (for self-defense purposes only of couse) and shoot dead her tormenters. A much more efficient approach certainly but the drama would be over in one episode... Here we get to watch each move our heroine makes like the Go master she is evolving into, making small wins one after another. But will she ultimately prevail? And if so at what cost? Will she be able to heal her scars one day? Can't wait till part 2!

I really enjoyed this drama. Who has never dreamed of leaving the soulless life in a big city behind and escape to the countryside and do nothing? I love seeing how the friendship develop between the female lead and people in her new town but in my opinion don't think the huge shock late in the show was necessary for the storyline. The protagonists already have a sufficiently tough life as it is and I personally don't think we needed a tragedy of such magnitude for the show to demonstrate how they survive adversity and overcome yet another hurdle. Plus it takes away time and focus from the romance, which I like even though it was very timid and of a very slow pace. The ending is fortunately not overly dramatic but believable and uplifting. In retrospect, the story only lasted the short time of a summer in our characters' lives but we are happy they found each other and came out strong, ready for the future, together.

I agree with several top reviewers here who commented on the heart warming portrayals of the these working class people. Most of them lived their whole lives in their small seaside town, are not educated beyond high school, have the most unglamorous jobs, live very simple lives and work even harder. Halfway into the show, none of the adults have a happy marriage or relationship. So what do they live for except those with kids? I must say I didn't enjoy the first few episodes from a purely « fun » perspective because their lives are just too hard. However, several episodes more and I am completely invested in them. Despite their unsophisticated manners I came to totally respect their work ethic and integrity. Most importantly, as a spectator, these characters have become authentic people whom you cannot fail to love. I don't expect, or want, a fairytale ending for all of them but there is also no reason to believe they cannot succeed and achieve what they want in their own terms. Let's see.