We aim to provide an honest and comprehensive review, which means discussing key plot points and character development. Proceed with caution!

This short but sweet rom-com originally appeared on tvN. It was directed by Song Hyun Wook, who also directed other popular dramas such as  'The King's Affection' in 2021 and 'Melohoic' in 2017.

After moving to the United States 10 years ago, while he was still a high school student, a genius businessman finally returns to Korea.  And on his first day back, he runs into his former classmate and first love, in a cafe.  But she runs away before he can reintroduce himself.  Luckily for him, fate seems to be on his side when he discovers that she lives and works in the same buildings as him.  Determined to take advantage of this second chance, he hopes to win her heart.  But the scars of her own first love and a traumatic childhood will prove a difficult hurdle to overcome.

Lee Hong Ju is an animation producer who joined a company based on her passion for the art.  After her first love broke her heart, she gave up on romance.  But a chance encounter with her former classmate, Hu Yeong, begins to thaw her cold heart for the first time in a long time. 

But just when she starts to think that she might be interested in dating him, her ex shows up and says he wants to get back together. And Hu Yeong's mother is insisting he leave Korea and come back to the U.S.  Now Hong Ju will face some difficult choices as she tries to understand what her heart really wants and what fate has in store for her future.  

Lee Hong Ju has a deep fear of abandonment that stems from a childhood trauma.  So when her first love, Jun Ho, leaves her with no explanation, it hurts even more deeply.  But Hu Yeong's unconditional love for her will help her see that it isn't her fault and has nothing to do with her own worth. 

Kim So Hyun's bright personality was a nice match for this character.  The role played well into her strengths as an actress.  While I don't think it was a stand-out performance for someone as talented as her, she played the part well.  

Kang Hu Yeong's mom moved him to the U.S. while he was a high school student.  But he never forgot his first love, Hong Ju.  So he is thrilled when he runs into Hong Ju in a cafe on his first day back in Korea.  And even more thrilled to find that she lives in the rooftop apartment above his uncle's house, where he will be staying. 

Now Hu Yeong is determined to make the most of the second chance fate has given him to win Hong Ju's heart.  But although Hu Yeong is making plans to open his own business in Korea and stay there, his mother has other ideas.  

Hu Yeong was a talented student who has become a genius businessman for his family company.  He is also a dutiful son who has always done whatever his mother wanted.  But through his feelings for Hong Ju, Hu Yeong begins to realize that it is time for him to start living his own life.  

Chae Jong Hyeop is a charming young actor.  He tends to play these reserved, shy parts well.  Although we don't see a lot of development with this character, I enjoyed watching Chae Jong Hyeop in this role.  

Baek Wook is Hu Yeong's uncle.  He runs the Korea division of the family business.  He is close friends with Hong Ju, and rents the apartment above his house to her.  He also works in the same building as Hong Ju.  And Hong Ju's boss is Baek Wook's first love, although no one at either of their companys' knows that.  

Not All First Loves are Meant to Be

So often in kdramas, we see the romanticizing of the first love.  And for Hu Yeong, that was true.  But we also get to see through Hong Ju and Jun Ho that just because it's first love, does not mean it's better.  I do think Hong Ju was attracted to Hu Yeong from the beginning. But she was too busy fantasizing about her favorite author to realize it.  But regardless, although Jun Ho is considered her first love, he is not her fate.  In the same way that Hu Yeong is not Hye Ji's fate.  

Second Lead Couple

While Hye Ji's crush on Hu Yeong was obviously one-sided and not meant to be, I really enjoyed her relationship with Gyeong Tak.  The two of them were really cute together, and the fact that Hye Ji's father finally got the son-in-law he had always dreamed of was just icing on the cake!  Their shy, awkward interactions were endearing and I was definitely rooting for them from the beginning.

Closure With Jun Ho

I thought this drama did a nice job of resolving what happened between Jun Ho and Hong Ju.  And while it's easy to sympathize with Jun Ho's emotional challenges, the drama doesn't brush off what he did or expect Hong Ju to just forgive it all.  In the end, the fault for their relationship falling apart is his.  And expecting to just show up years later and have everything be forgiven is unreasonable.  But it's also important that Hong Ju has grown from it and she no longer carries the pain.  

No Guilt?

Obviously, it has been 10 years since high school and it's not like Hye Ji and Hu Yeong ever dated.  But still, you would think that, at least initially, Hong Ju would feel some guilt for liking a guy her best friend had a mad crush on.  It just would have been nice if they had made it seem like Hong Ju felt bad about the way it all turned out.  They seemed to breeze by that a little too fast for my liking.  

Hu Yeong's Mom

Hu Yeong is such a bitter, selfish character.  I really couldn't understand her. She yelled at Hu Yeong and Hong Ju for ruining Hu Yeong's life, while at the same time suing her own son to make him do something he didn't want to do. And although I'm glad Hu Yeong and Hong Ju found a way to stay together in the end, I really hate it that once again, Hu Yeong is letting his mom dictate his life.  

Too Much

This drama set out to do an awful lot.  The range of characters and storylines could have easily filled at least 12 episodes.  On one hand, it's nice to have bingeable shows that are meant to be light and breezy.  But I felt like they introduced too much and then didn't do a complete job with with any of the characters or their stories.  

'Serendipity's Embrace' ends with happy endings for most of our characters.  Jun Ho has finally made his peace with Hong Ju by telling her the truth.  And now it's time for him to move on with his own life.   Gyeong Tak finally confesses his feelings to Hye Ji and she and her dad could not be happier.

Hu Yeong's mom goes to Hong Ju and begs her to come to the U.S. with them, so that Hu Yeong will do what she wants.  At first, Hong Ju refuses and Hong Ju and Hu Yeong plan to just continue their relationship long distance.  But later, Hong Ju shows up at the airport with her luggage and tells Hu Yeong that she has some vacation time from her job, so she is coming with him after all, at least for the time being.

Unfortunately, the multiple storylines are also its biggest weakness.  By trying to pack so much in, we lose some of the focus on the lead couple and their growth together.  All in all, this drama makes a nice, quick watch, the characters are likable and the story is pleasant.  But I wouldn't say there is anything exceptional about it. The pieces were there, but it just came off feeling a bit ordinary and rushed for me. I give 'Serendipity's Embrace' a 7 out 10 ramen.

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Welcome to Kdrama and Ramen

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.

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”

'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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