[Kdrama] ‘Because It’s My First Life’ ~ 1-16 END review/impression/opinion ~

Because It’s My First Life came to me at the right time, when I was looking for a romance story sprinkled with some comedy while it still stirred my curiosity. The actors and overall the production staff managed to nurture my desire of looking forward to new episodes thus I can wholeheartedly say that this drama was a lovely watch.

Marriage isn’t about just the two people who marry, but about those around them too? Or not? Well, I think that this drama explained quite good that marriage is something that affects and includes other people as well however we should never forget that what are the most important factors of marriage, the actual two people who are promising each other to live together sharing values, ideas and most importantly love and respect.

What I liked the most about this drama and also the thing that made me enjoy it was the fact that it seemed well planned. From the story to the characters and even to the PPL. The product placements were made to blend with the characters’ personalities. Like for example the fact that Se Hee and Ji Ho enjoy drinking beer. It was never seen, from my point of view, as something forceful as “HERE IS THE PPL, DEAL WITH IT!!” thingy like we normally face in other Korean dramas.

The writer outlined the characters for us and the story was progressing at a nice peace enough for all of us to understand and get attached to it. The feelings of each character were explained nicely in a way not to lower the importance of other character’s feelings.

Since we came to that, Se He and Ji Ho’s relationship is something I longed for in dramas. A relationship where they not only care and love for one another but they respect each other and think about their feelings and, again, their values. Sometimes, they were a bit too careful. Se Hee rarely said what he wants, if not he never said. While Ji Ho was expecting for him to openly say his desires, Se Hee was mild in expressing himself and always ended his sentences “if you want that” or “if that’s what you want”. As he was hurt with words in the past, Se Hee knew that if he says anything, it will affect Ji Ho. Given her personality, she would keep his words deeply locked in her heart thus he refused to say out loud his own wishes scared that it might make Ji Ho turnaround from her already set road. Ji Ho is a female character which I started to gradually like to the point that she’s up in my favourite female characters list. She’s not the typical frail girl, as the drama progressed, Ji Ho was shown as becoming stronger and stronger. I’m not talking about physical power but the fact that she was being aware of her feelings and always true to her ideals while never letting others trample on what she believes it’s important or not.

A major scene where it shown Ji Ho being a strong character was the moment she met Se Hee’s father on one on one. Another scene was when she met his mother. Be it with the father or the mother of Se Hee, Ji Ho didn’t let her guard down and continued to believe in her own ideals (after searching for a long period for them). In a way, those two were imposing their ways of thinking onto her but the moment she didn’t let herself dragged, she become a favourite  female character to me.

The relationship between Ji Ho and Se Hee was build nicely, step by step. Nothing felt rushed but also it wasn’t dragged. I can say that about the other couples as well. Soo Ji and Sang Goo were at some point the main attraction of this drama.

Despite Sang Goo’s goofy personality, he was someone who gave time and understanding to the other party. Even if Soo Ji would be harsh towards him, he gave her space and time while showing that he’s understanding of her. From afar, Sang Goo could be seen as a comical character with little understanding about serious stuff, yet I felt that he was the most complex out of all the characters. The way he searched for reasons and ways to help Soo Ji or even Se Hee was interesting and it gave me a new perspective on him. I did get annoyed with Soo Ji around the middle. I saw her as someone who didn’t think about anyone else’s feelings and made it seem like she’s the only one facing problems, when that’s clearly not the reality. Moreover, from the way I saw it, Soo Ji was the one making her life even more complicated.

Regarding Ho Rang and Won Seok, I was fast in getting bored of them and their relationship, wonder how they didn’t get bored of it themselves. It was a toxic relationship and dragged out for way too long. Their relationship was clearly at a point where both didn’t felt right and all that kept them with each other was the habit of being together every single day for 7 years. Both were scared of something new and they didn’t give new opportunities a chance. Yes, Ho Rang went to dates with the new guy while Won Seok was seen with Bo Mi but they weren’t openly trying to get knew people as they were lingering about their past relationship. The two love each other yet sometimes you need to know when to put a stop.

Personally, I think that the director did a good job in focusing mainly on the face of the actors. Feelings are quite easy to see and I liked that aspect of using close ups to created not only the mood but to express feelings.

Of course there are things I didn’t like about this drama. Like for example, the relationship between Ho Rang and her boyfriend were a total bore for me. But it wasn’t such a big issue to make me think that it’s a bad thing. Just that their relationship didn’t click with me.

As a whole, I liked this drama and if I were to marathon it, I would’ve probably liked it even more. It was a nice blend of acting, producing, story and character writing with a steady development that made Because It’s My First Life a drama worthy of our time.