Welcome to my More Than Friends – Unspoiled Review.  The story of a young woman who has spent the last 10 years with a crush on the same guy.  Twice she has gotten up the nerve to confess her feelings and both time she was rejected.  And yet, their lives have continued to be entangled and they have tried to maintain a kind of friendship.  When a new guy appears in her life, the dynamic in their years of friendship suddenly shifts.  Maybe he did like her all this time and just didn’t know it.  Is it too late for them to have a romantic relationship?  Can he make it up to her for all the times he hurt her in the last 10 years?

Ong Seong Wu as Lee Soo

Lee Soo is a cool, good looking guy who works as a travel photographer.  He met Woo Yeon and her friends in high school but he moved away to study abroad.  He has always missed Woo Yeon but he believes those feelings are nothing more than friendship.  But when he moves home and runs into Woo Yeon again he is immediately drawn her her again.  And when she starts dating another guy, he is consumed with jealousy and frustration.  In a flash of understanding, he decides to fight to convince Woo Yeon that he is the one for her.  

Ong Seong Wu plays the role of cold, withdrawn, and misunderstood hero well.  Lee Soo has struggled with relationships his whole life.  His relationship with his parents has never been easy and he doesn’t seem to believe love is something that is even possible for him.  He turns down Woo Yeon’s confessions because he thinks he is being honest with her.  But he eventually realizes his mistake.  Doing his best to make up for all the times he has hurt her already, Soo throws himself into a fight to prove that his feelings for Woo Yeon are sincere and that he understands the mistakes he made.  I found his transformation endearing and genuine.  Ong Seong Wu has grown as an actor and I thought this character did a nice job of highlighting his own professional transformation.  Oh, and his contribution to the OST was beautiful.  What a wonderful voice!

Pyo Ji Hoon (P.O) and Baek Soo Min as Jin Sang Hyuk and Han Jin Joo

Jin Sang Hyuk and Han Jin Joo are probably the sweetest and cutest couple of the 3.  Jin Joo is a hard-working prosecutor who’s mother has always promised her that the perfect guy would just show up once she was successful.  Because of that, she has never has a boyfriend.  Sang Hyuk owns his own restaurant where the gang hangs out.  Like Woo Yeon, he has had a crush on Jin Joo since high school, but unlike her, he has kept it a secret from everyone.  He ends up blurting it out in a fit of frustration, while defending her from some creep who had taken advantage of her.  Once things start, they take off in a hurry and, of course, these 2 beat the others to the alter!

♥ Wide Range of Jobs

We see a lot of office workers and the likes in Korean drama.  I appreciated the idea that all 6 of these characters from a similar background came to represent such a wide array of careers.  A prosecutor, restaurant owner, office worker, teacher, photographer, and calligraphy artist.  From the creative to the academic, it was a fun list of interesting careers.  

♥High School Friendships

I realized, as I watched this drama, that it is very unusual to have a whole group of friends who all knew each other since high school.  High school friends are not uncommon, but they usually bring in significant others who get added to the group after the fact.  I liked the fact that these 6 were together from start to finish.  That universal history gave their relationships a fun dynamic that I enjoyed.     

1 Year – All or Nothing

So, the only option for Soo and Woo Yeon was for them to either spend every day of the next year travelling together or they don’t see each other at all.  They couldn’t possibly find a compromise in there somewhere?  Surely they could have split their time somehow; Woo Yeon could meet up with him from time to time and he could take some lay overs in Seoul.  There has to be a better option than this all or nothing.  It felt extreme for a couple who had spent 10 years waiting for each other.  

Soo’s Parents

It’s not actually that I didn’t like Soo parents, but they were easily the strangest parent relationship I have ever seen in a kdrama.  It’s no wonder that there son is confused about what a healthy relationship looks like.  The only thing he can know for sure is that his parents are not the example.   It’s not that divorced couples can never be friends, but not when they are still in love with each other.  I was happy that they eventually started to get their act together, but watching their confused back and forth just about drove me crazy.

More Than Friends has a nice happy ending, which always scores points in my book.  After their year of separation, Soo’s mom convinces Woo Yeon to go see Soo’s photography show.  Once she finally goes, she is able to see that he was sincere about his feelings and they reconcile.  Jin Joo and Sang Hyuk get engaged and invite the whole gang on an engagement trip.  Once there, Jin Joo dresses her friends in white dresses, that have the guys dropping their chins, and amazing tuxes, and they take their wedding photos.  Afterwards, the 6 of them go camping and Hyun Jae and Young Hee finally get back together and decide to get married.  Soo and Woo Yeon aren’t to the marriage stage yet, but they are together and happy for now.  And they all lived happy ever after.