Welcome to Kdrama and Ramen

A rich CEO of a monthly magazine hires a struggling writer to be his personal PR representative.  Yoo Ja Sung is rude, arrogant and impossible to work for.  As a real estate mogul who has made his fortune buying and selling houses, he knows everything about the practical aspects of the market, but he knows nothing about how to make a house into a home.  Na Young Won dreams of owning her own home some day, where she can find comfort and security.  But she has a hard time seeing a house as simply a way to make a profit.  Now the two of them must learn to work together and hopefully,  teach each other something in the process

Jung So Min as Na Young Won

Na Young Won is a struggling writer looking for work until a former co-worker calls her about a job at her magazine.  What she doesn’t tell her is that her new boss is an unreasonable perfectionist who is impossible to work with.  He is also the one who evicted her from her last apartment.  But Young Won is determined to make this job work, no matter how difficult her boss is.  And the more time she spends with him, the more she realizes that Ja Sung is kinder than most people think. While she hopes to learn from his real estate expertise, she is hoping to show him there is more to owning a home than making a profit.  

Na Young Won’s life fell apart when her parents got scammed and lost the chance to finally own a home of their own.  Carrying that scar through life, she writes a blog about the value of making a home where you can find comfort and security.   Although Ja Sung’s methods lack warmth and emotion, she understands that his knowledge is valuable and she appreciates him for that.  Jung So Min is one of my favorite actresses, and part of why I was so excited to watch this drama, but I don’t feel like this role fit her style.  As an actress, her strength lies in emotion and deep character development, and she seemed almost out of place in this silly, over the top style of comedy.

Kim Won Hae as Choi Go

Choi Go is the editor-in-chief at Monthly House.  He has worked for the company for years and helps the business run smoothly.  He is married and spends his life catering to the needs of his kids and his demanding wife.  He lives in an apartment that is supposed to be redeveloped, but the project keeps getting put on hold while the residents are stuck waiting for better living conditions.

♥ Voiceovers

Though a bit out of place for the tone of the rest of the drama, I enjoyed the voiceovers that reflected on the idea of the value of a home from Young Won’s perspective.  These gave a warm, personal touch to the episodes and gave a heart-warming message.  The contrast between a house and a home is an interesting over-arching theme for this drama, and the voiceovers did a nice job of highlighting this.  

♥ Ja Sung and Gyeom

I enjoyed the sweet, brother-like affection between Gyeom and Ja Sung.  Their quiet support for each other is touching with just enough awkwardness to make it realistic.  Maybe the fact that this is the only understated relationship in the whole drama made it stand out even more, but I looked forward to their heart to heart moments.  

Over the Top

Pretty much everthing about this drama was over the top and a bit tiresome at times.  From the acting, to the humor, and even the more serious emotional scenes; all of them were taken to the extreme.  As someone who embraces subtlety in my dramas, this definitely got irritating.  Maybe comedy fans liked these moments more than me, but I think it could have been toned way down.  

Kye Joo Hee

Has there even been a more invisible character than Kye Joo Hee?  The masked intern drifts through this drama with no real character development.  The only thing we find out about her personally is that she lives in a basement apartment.  While she wanders around delivering gifts and messages for her shy co-worker, we see no trace of a personality or storyline.  It just seems a shame to introduce a character that has no real purpose or role.  At least she finally becomes an editor in the end.  I guess that is something.

“Monthly Magazine Home” comes in for a messy and unsatifying ending that left many viewers frustrated.  Young Won finally finds her father, which is great, until she realizes he is the one who scammed Ja Sung out of all his money years before.  So she plans a final date for them, and when the date is finished she confesses everything to Ja Sung and breaks up with him.  Then she disappears for 3 years.   Though most of the supporting characters did get their happy ever afters.  After a 3 month time jump, Sang Soon and Eui Joo got their dream wedding. And Eui Joo even got to invite her father, so their relationship seems to be on the mend.  Gyeom is finally moving on to pursue his dream of studying Fine Arts, although he has given up studying abroad to stay close to home.  Chan will be taking his place as head photographer, and he and Mi Ra seem to be heading toward a romantic relationship.  A final 3 year jump shows us that Editor Choi’s son has graduated and their home is finally going to be re-developed.  And now back to our leads.  Ja Sung sees a Youtuber who he suspects is Young Won.  He goes to find her and is disappointed when it turns out to be someone else.  But after forgetting his keys, he goes back to discover Young Won there after all.  The two take a walk, talking casually as she shows him the home she had built.  The drama ends on a voice-over asking viewers how they like their home.  There is no clear indication of what the future holds for our leads.  Whether friends or lovers, I guess the ending is up to your imagination.