Because This Is My First Life: Ibeon Saengeun Cheoeumira, aka Because This Life Is Our First
May 13, 2020 5:29 PM - Season 1 (Full Season) - Subscribe

Two housemates get married for convenience, but discover nothing is simple when it comes to demanding in-laws, or facing their growing bond. (Netflix, tvN Korea)

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Kdrama Kisses review: "Because This is My First Life is a nice romantic comedy that is both fun and sweet. It explores a lot of relationship issues in modern society concerning dating and marriage. It also tackles subjects such as the treatment of women in the workplace as well as what society expects of men and women in a marriage relationship. These issues not only affect their jobs but also their love lives. The drama really excels at bringing these subjects to light and conveying them in a sincere and relatable way."

Kdrama Love review: "I kept joking throughout watching this drama that the writer, instead of winning Best Drama Writer of 2017 at the Baeksang Awards (like our Emmy Awards), should win instead as a writer in a special category called ... Trickster Of The Year! She was constantly surprising all of us with her unexpected developments in her story, for ALL the characters. I love to be surprised instead of feeling like I'm watching "the same old, same old" K-drama tropes. On paper the outline of this story might seem rather unoriginal, but once you enter into that special world, and bond with the wonderful characters, and suffer along with them the slings and arrows of their outrageous fortune, you will quickly realize that this is a heartfelt, fantastic, often ebullient, and profoundly beautiful love story - for three couples, not just one! I actually feel intensely sorry for anyone who has not watched this incredible K-drama."
posted by oh yeah! (3 comments total)
 
I went in to this one thinking from the title that there was maybe going to be some reincarnation hijinks, but, no, it's a straightforward contemporary setting romance (well, 3 romances). Anyway, I really enjoyed it. I found the ending a little underwhelming in that I think it peaks emotionally at the second-to-last episode, but overall I thought this was really lovely.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:44 PM on May 13, 2020


I really loved the first three quarters of this or so... and if the last part had been a book I probably would have thrown it across the room. You feel like your boyfriend hasn't been emotionally open with you because he hasn't spelled out his feelings in words, hasn't cried in front of you, and hasn't been angry at you? Even though you've been in an explicitly romantic relationship for all of a few days, and you've behaved pretty much exactly the same towards him? So instead of communicating about it you purposely leave him with the plan of coming back after he's emotionally broken down by your absence?!

I also kind of wished the couple that broke up had stayed broken up, though it would have been sad. But how often do you see couples in romantic comedies breaking up because even though they love each other and work well together they want different things out of life? It felt a bit like a missed opportunity, since it seemed like the writer really wanted to write a "different" kind of show but ended up expressing that mostly through the messed up resolution to the main relationship.

Still, the actors were really charming and I loved the humor. A shout-out to possibly the best corporate motto I'll ever hear:
Boss: We are --
Employees: -- strangers!
Boss: Let's get paid --
Employees: -- for the work we put in!
posted by trig at 12:39 PM on August 4, 2020


So instead of communicating about it you purposely leave him with the plan of coming back after he's emotionally broken down by your absence?!

True enough. But I did so love the scene of Se-hee finally speaking his heart to Ji-ho when he thought she was just a dream, got me all weepy.

I didn't want Ho-Rang & Won-Seok to stay broken up, being a fan of happy-ever-afters after all, but I agree that the writing didn't really support it. Still, I haven't seen many cohabitating unmarried couples in Kdrama so far, so I appreciated their existence.
posted by oh yeah! at 2:13 PM on August 4, 2020


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