Starring:
- Park Seo Joon as Ko Dong Man
- Kim Ji Won as Choi Ae Ra
- Anh Jae Hong as Kim Joo Man
- Song Ha Yoon as Baek Seol Hee
Acting: 8.5
Storyline: 8.5
Overall: 8.5
Grade: A-
人生并非要一帆风顺，而是不管人生给了你多大的苦难，人始终都会克服的。
人生，本来就是不停的战斗。
We fall but we all get back up on our feet.
因为我们都是这样在不断的磨难中, 才学会了成长，杀出一跳属于自己的路。
This is probably one of my more favourite dramas in the 1st half of 2017.
Other than no other very strong contenders during this period, this drama is successful due to the following main reasons:
- The chemistry between the 4 leads, not just between Park Seo Joon (Ko Do Man) and Kim Ji Won (Choi Ae Rae), but also Anh Jae Hong (Kim Joo Man) and Song Ha Yoon (Baek Seol Hee). You can easily tell the 4 leads and production crew had such a happy and conducive atmosphere for filming.
- It has a very Down-to-earth and relatable storyline. We all can relate better to ordinary folks, commoners, underdogs like you and me and we hope to see their success after much struggling, so as to motivate ourselves.
- The very relatable quotes that are so apt to our daily lives.
- There was much tears, laughter, comfort and support to everyone who watched the drama. It takes you down the memory lane for all that you have been through, the current struggles in life and hopes and fears of the future. It didn’t even feel draggy at any point in time.
- The funny scenes and how the leads just went all out to bring the funny scenes in a light-hearted manner but also makes your heart cringe with the heart breaking moments.
One very strong message that we get from the drama is, no matter what others say, we lead the lives we want to. We are the ones who determine our own worth. Life is never fair but you need to be good to yourself. Just don’t ever give up on yourself.
There are many quotes that you will love from this drama:
Quotes
Ep 2:
Aera: 没有男人，没去留学，没有了不起的工作，是不是就是苦难户? 我过得很好，我过得挺开心的。我觉得我的人生很好，你们凭什么小看我的人生?
Aera: 人要做自己喜欢的事情，才能活过来。
Ep 3:
东万在对于梦想和现实之间，做了最贴切的比喻。
Dong Man: 只有有钱，才能怀抱梦想，才能用心。。
我以后老了，不能打了，也能靠拳击维持生计吗?
Coach: 比起钱, 梦想，努力心, 这些才是更重要的.
Dong Man: 只有有钱，才能怀抱梦想，才能用心。。
想给我妈没房子，也想给我爸换个新车，这些才是我的心, 可是这些都是钱啊。
都骗人说钱不是最重要的, 要用心的话, 都是需要钱的.
可是不能因为我自己，就只我自己想做的事情。。。 还有我需要照顾我们东熙, 不能不挣钱，让她饿肚子呀
Ep 5
Ko Dong Man on his decision to do boxing :我决定了今生即便是赢不了，也要拼一场。
Ae Ra: 世界上不时遍地都是希望你骑着白马，去让她们享福的女人。 可是那种灰姑娘戏码，连在电视剧里都不吃香了。真正的现实，哪怕是自己的人生糟透了, 也有很多疯女人靠着底气活着。
Ep 8
Interviewer: “热情不时用血气证明，而是简历”。。
Aera: 别人在出国留学，做慈善时, 我赚钱去了。
Aera: 我们一直没有时间。比别人早起，比别人睡得晚, 也没有时间。比谁活得认真，什么都不懂的简历，却装作很懂我曾经的时间。
Ep 9:
Interviewer: 其实想做的，和能做的，是不一样的。能早一点领悟这天地之别, 才能在自己的一片天地，取得成功啊。 每个人都有自己的能力。作为人生前辈，我忠告你一句。。
Aera: 不要说。反正你不会选我。那你也不要上海我。我也有不被伤害的权利。我的能力，我来决定。
Ep 12
Hee Seol: 我有梦想，早就有了。你们练跆拳道，手握麦克风闪闪发光的时候，我也静静地有过梦想。我的梦想是当妈妈，成为好妈妈，好妻子，就是我的梦想。难道世人都要开发自我吗?你们都有出息，都为了自己而活着，就我一个只为我的家人而活着不可以吗?啡这一点也不比你们差。
Dong Man: 太珍惜青春也会变成屎。
冲刺，拼命，受伤也没关系，就按照你的想法过人生。
越懂事梦想就会消失。
Ep 14
Dong Man: 你的梦想究竟是当主播，还是握麦克风?
你在的地方才是你的联队。你喜欢的地方才是你的联队。 还是选择让你更心跳的地方吧。
Joo Man’s Mum: 每个人都觉得自己的孩子是最宝贵的, 却也忘了要对别人的孩子好一点。
The story is basically about how 4 adults struggle with everyday life (work, love, family), blossoming romance between long-time friends and still being immature even though they have reached adulthood.
Whether you dream of being a professional boxer, a broadcaster, department lead or even just a simple wish of being a mother, there’s no dream too small or big for anyone.
The world is your stage.
However, as you age, your passion will get bogged down by the realities and struggles in life. They ended up being a worker at a pesticide company, front desk concierge at departmental store, customer service operator and a home-shopping network manager.
We may all be ordinary, but we all do harbour dreams, that may be simple or far-fetched.
Because they are struggling with everyday life, you wouldn’t find it too hard to digest as they try to resolve issues and you wouldn’t be bogged down by the melodramatic elements like in most dramas.
This is like a drama for you and I, a drama that belong to the very ordinary us.
I think the highlight of the entire drama would be the chemistry between the 4 leads “The Fantastic Four”. Dong Man and Ae Ra may be one of the funniest male and female leads we have seen up to date and they were not even holding back, be it the sweet and funny moments or the painful ones.
I bet they would be laughing a lot off screen and it definitely is a very harmonious working relationship on set.
Park Seo Joon made the wise choice to enlist immediately after high school. After “Kill Me Heal Me” and “She was pretty”, Park Seo Joon has become one of the most sought after actors below 30. As he approaches his 30s and beefed up his physique, you can see that he’s slowly shedding the boyish image to a manlier one.
Dong Man is a simpleton and kinda 后知后觉 even when it comes to realising that he actually loved Ae Ra and she liked him all along.
He is gifted in taekwondo and was once almost a national player. Later on he decided to go for his dreams when spurred by his ex coach who had tried his best to persuade him for the past 10 years. It was till he saw his longtime rival when he decided to bravely take on mixed martial arts.
Ae Ra is pretty but very 大剌剌 and definitely a 小辣椒. She is a direct and straightforward person, who will own up to her faults and also mention what she wants. But she is definitely no pushover if she stepped on her toes. She would get back at you in her crazy ways.
However, she transforms to another person when she holds on the mic. Due to her age nearing 30, it became harder for her to get shortlisted for interviews as a TV Anchor.
There’s one scene that I find very apt to most of us. Interviewers would also compare which school you graduate from, where you used to work and what are all the things you have done in your previous jobs. If you did not graduate from a good school or branded company, does it mean that you are not as good as anyone else?
Not everyone has the ability to study overseas, go to good schools etc given their family income. If they just went to work to gain working experience and also to earn their keep, should they even be penalised?
Sad to say, that’s how materialistic our world is.
Interviewer: “热情不时用血气证明，而是简历”。。
但我觉得简历也不能代表所谓的人生经历，人类的韧性，和工作态度。
Nonetheless, I admire the part whereby Aera told the interviewer to stop giving her life lessons or lectures since they are not going to hire her. She has the right to not get her and the ability to determine her own worth.
This is very much relatable to personal experience. Many a times, I meet very unprofessional interviewers who will penalise you from your age, your current job designation, to how much you are earning and which level you should be at now.
Just like Aera mentioned in Ep 2, does it mean that if you do not graduate from an overseas uni, married by the age of 30 or have a high post, equate to you being unsuccessful in life?
I definitely do not think so. It’s just like Seol Hee’s ambition to be a virtuous wife and mother. Who can say that this is not a noble ambition? It is indeed the most difficult to be a mum in life.
They are one of those friends who grew up together as 青梅竹马 , but are 欢喜冤家 at the same time. They would bicker all day long but that is also their way of showing their care and concern for each other. They were there for each other through their best and worst times.
While it always seem that Ae Ra is the tough 大姐头 who keeps a lookout for the simple-minded Dong Man,it is actually Dong Man who always helped her at the backend.
He would lend her a shoulder to cry on, hide her crying face in his jacket, whenever she was ditched, he would hit people who bully her, and he would lend her his shoes to walk in when she walked around bare-footed. He’s such a loyal and dependable friend that we would all hope secretly that we could have such a good guy friend as well.
There is just a very thin line between being BFFs and being 暧昧.
They began to feel weird when they found each other’s crying face to be pretty or felt heart thumping moments if they had some kind of body contact. They began to be more conscious about how they look and would dress up when they meet each other and also felt jealous when they see each other dating.
Now, the question is… Is there really no platonic friendship between a man and a woman?
I guess this is a debatable topic but more often than not, it turns out that most “friendships” between the 2 genders can stay totally platonic.
You may have some close guy friends but would still never be as close as Dong Man and Ae Ra. It’s always easy to cross the line when you are overly concerned as a “friend”.
Dong Man and Ae Ra only got together after 20 years. The story of how long-time best friends turned into lovers. However, once you become a couple, it seems like there is no way back to being platonic friends.
Ae Ra couldn’t bear to see him being beaten every single time and after he lost his hearing temporarily, she made him choose between his career and her.
They are definitely each other’s best supporters but that was her way of protecting the man she loves. I think that’s real. Imagine if you have to watch your loved ones putting their life on the line. Every single moment would be a torture to you.
While Dong Man and Ae Ra may be the type of couple we would enjoy watching more on dramas, it is Joo Man and Seol Hee’s very 平凡 and 平淡 love story that we see more commonly around us.
Joo Man and Seol Hee meet with the biggest challenge of their stable 6-year long relationship. Men will start to take things for granted while women would usually make their man their world and slowly lose themselves.
Unlike most women, Seol Hee only has a simple wish to marry the man she loves. She doesn’t care if he has been promoted or earns a lot of money. Her world only revolved around him for 6 years.
However, Joo Man began to change after this very rich and 主动 intern confessed to him. He had a good intention to want to earn more money so that he could get married and give Seol Hee a better life. However, in the quest for such material stuff, he began to feel unhappy and wanted more.
The story was also better because of the extensive list of supporting cast who added more fuel and sparks to the drama. The ex-girlfriend of Dong Man, the nerdy student turned into a snobbish doctor, the rich intern, the parents of the characters, their colleagues and also the every supporting coach.
You meet people for a reason. They are either a blessing or are here to teach you a lesson.
There’s also a lot about family problems. How parents want the best for their kids but both Dong Man’s dad and him just did not know how to communicate with each other and show their concern in a better manner. Both would always end up quarreling.
The fact is his dad feels bad that he had to give up Taekwondo because of something that happened 10 years back and Dong Man gave up his dreams since then, leading a very ordinary but not motivated life.
Ae Ra’s dad often asked if she has eaten and wanted to send money to her as a form of concern but she did not like the fact that her dad still wants to do this when she is already old enough to earn her own keep and she should be the one to send him money instead. It made her feel useless.
Joo Man’s mother and sisters loved to bully Hee Seol around, treating her like a maid as she does not come from a rich family. He did not like Hee Seol being so nice to always help out. Thus, his ties with his family members are not good as well.
Seol Hee’s family run a pig trotters store and are very humble and down-to-earth people. The mum couldn’t stand Seol Hee being bullied by her future in-laws.
Well, every lady is a precious daughter to their parents. How would any parent bear to see their daughters being ill-treated by their future in laws?
All in all, this is a drama that stays relatively closer to the ground than those fantasy, thriller, melodramatic dramas. It gets viewers hooked on the daily issues of 柴米油盐酱醋茶.
Though of course, the ending can always be better.
Well, we are all gonna miss the Fantastic Four real bad. It’s been a very enjoyable 16 hours with them around.
Hopefully, there can be a sequel or a 翻外篇.
Watch it, you wouldn’t regret it.
It’s like a 温馨小品 that would warm your heart a little and also re-lit some of your long buried passions.
It’s never too late to do something you are good at or you like, as long as it keeps your heart beating.
