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Get ready to immerse yourself in the captivating world of Korean dramas and indulge in the delicious flavors of ramen. Here, you’ll find in-depth reviews, unspoiled recommendations, and all the latest updates on your favorite Kdramas. Join me on this exciting journey as we explore the best that Kdramas and ramen have to offer. Let’s dive in!

This review contains significant spoilers for the Korean drama ‘Yonder’. If you haven’t watched it yet, I recommend reading the unspoiled review and viewing the series first, to fully enjoy our detailed analysis.

The drama features stellar performances by Shin Ha Kyun, Han Ji Min, and a talented supporting cast. It was directed by Lee Joon Ik

Air Date: October 14 – 21, 2022

Episodes: 6

Where to Watch: Paramount +

Genre: Sci-Fi Melodrama

Starring: Shin Ha Kyun and Han Ji Min

Yonder is created by a famous “doctor” as a place that exists from the memories of loved ones we have lost.  And as questions about the ethicality of Yonder surface in the media, he will be forced to make a choice about what defines life and what he is willing to give up to be with his wife again.

Kim Jae Hyun is heartbroken that his wife’s cancer is taking its toll on her life and happiness.  He agrees to help her end her life legally, to end her suffering.  But after her death, he begins getting mysterious messages that say they are from her, asking him to come and see her in By and By.  At first he ignores it, but eventually he gives in and finds an AI generated world created from her memories.

And when the AI invites him to leave his life in the real world behind and join her in this new “reality” called Yonder, he agrees.  But what seems like paradise in the beginning starts to show its limitations.  Will he be able to say goodbye to his wife again, knowing that it is forever, to go back to the “real world”?

Kim Jae Hyun is logical and loyal.  His love for his wife makes it impossible to ignore her messages, even when they seem like some cruel joke.  And that same loyalty makes it harder for him to leave Yonder once he goes there.  But even his love can’t stop him from wondering if this alternate reality is really life at all.

Shin Ha Kyun is a talented actor and I love that he isn’t afraid to take such a wide range of roles.  This character allowed him to explore a softer, more introspective role, and I enjoyed watching him show so much emotion.

Cha Yi Hoo was living a blessed life with a husband she loved, dreaming of having their first child.  But a shocking cancer diagnosis changed all of that.  As the illness begins to take its toll, she decides to end her life.  But first, she contacts an organization that promises to save her chosen moments on a chip that will create an alternate world where she will live on through the memories.

When her husband finally comes to join her in Yonder, he finds not only his wife but also their daughter, alive and well.  Their days fall into an easy, carefree rhythm until Yi Hoo starts to feel the emptiness of living the same day over and over.  And when she realizes her daughter has not grown a single inch, the futility of their new life becomes overwhelming.  Yi Hoo talks with Jae Hyun and they decide to end it all by drinking a potion Yi Hoo got from Dr. K.

Cha Yi Hoo is thoughtful and full of a contagious joy.  But all of that changes after her illness.  And even the “perfect” world of Yonder can’t bring her any real happiness.  Her realization that Yonder has no “future” for them or their daughter is the final straw for her.

 Han Ji Min plays this kind of role well.  She seems slightly ethereal as the perfect memory of herself and her life with Jae Hyun.  There is a quiet grace to her that made Yi Hoo’s struggle and sacrifice feel genuine.

“If you can’t forget about what you’ve lost, then it’s not losing”

Peach is the first person Jae Hyun meets on his visit to Yonder.  She goes there regularly to visit her father.  She also introduces him to others like them who go to Yonder to see loved ones.  

‘Yonder does some interesting things with stunning, dreamlike sequences.  The views and colors shift and change with what is happening in the story in ways that give a full immersion kind of feeling.  As Seiren rockets the sports car down the road toward Yonder, we feel catapulted into the new world with Jae Hyun.  No shot feels wasted and all of it seems ripe with meaning.

Peach’s story was really intersting.  The idea of Yi Hoo and her memories makes sense.  But Peach’s whole memory world is founded on her own delusion. That takes the idea of Yonder to a whole new levels where people can create and live in whatever fantasy they want.  This is also a nice intro into the idea of Yi Hoo’s baby, who never actually existed.  

I don’t necessarily hate short dramas or open-endings.  But this one seemed to leave way too much vaguely unanswered.  If Jae Hyun can be brought back into his body from Yonder, than what is happening to the bodies of everyone else who stay there.  Do they slowly age and die in some kind of coma?  Who actually has the “agency” to decide the memories?  In Yi Hoo’s case, it’s the one who has died but in Peach’s case she, as the “surviving” family member, created her father out of her imagination.  

I want to understand the characters in this drama, but it’s a hard one for me.  I can’t imagine being selfish enough to expect my loved ones to die just because I am no longer with them.  To ask the living to willingly walk away from the world they exist in just for me seems entirely unfair.  Likewise, I can’t imagine packaging an alternate reality as a heavenly religion that obviously takes advantage of someone in the midst of their suffering.  

‘Yonder’ ends with Yi Hoo and Jae Hyun deciding to share the potion given to Yi Hoo to help her “leave Yonder”.  Jae Hyun is saved by his hacker buddy and his new side-kick Eun.  He wakes up sometime later to find the world fully embracing Dr. K and Yonder.  He confronts Seiren, who tells him she can’t give up on the idea and that some day it will be perfect.  The final scene shows Jae Hyun leaving By and By, looking like he is ready for a fight!

‘Yonder’ is a slow, thought-provoking drama that delves into the complexities of life, death, and what lies beyond. At 6 short episodes, it feels more like an extended movie than a full drama of developed characters.  But the concept is fresh and I found myself thinking about it long after I had finished the drama itself.  The cinematography is sweeping and beautiful.  I give ‘Yonder’ a 7 out of 10 ramen.

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