Dal Ja's Spring (22 Episodes)

(EPISODE 01-22)

((summary taken from dramawiki))

‘Dalja’s Spring’ is the story of Dalja, a 33-year old single at a crossroad of whether to remain single or get married before she gets older. The drama aims to comically and candidly portray the reality and undying pursuit of romance of a thirty something single woman.

The love triangle of Dalja, Taebong and Gijoong brews conflicts over love versus marriage. Taebong, a hunk six years younger than Dalja, works as substitute dates and becomes Dalja’s fake boyfriend. Gijoong is the type who dreams of an ideal and rational courtship. The drama also highlights the life and work of women in their thirties through Dalja who is a talented managing director at a home shopping channel.




My Rating:


I started this drama for one reason and one reason only: I wanted something to distract me while waiting for new episodes of the Korean drama, Coffee Prince--my oh, so unhealthy, current obsession. And in that way, Dal Ja's Spring did not disappoint.

I can't honestly say that this drama was fantastic--or that it even came close to making it on my top ten list--but it was still cute and fun in its own little way. I thought Dal Ja was just adorable--she has a beautiful smile, and her laugh is really contagious. Watching her on screen made me happy for some odd reason, and now I'm really curious to see some of the other dramas she's been in. Tae Bong was cute too, though I did find him frustrating at times... he really grew throughout the course of the show though, so all was forgiven in the end. Plus, all the characters frustrated me at one point or another (don't even get me started on Seon Joo and Sae Do).

Surprisingly enough though, rather than the romance, my favorite thing about this drama was how they managed to realistically portray friendships; friendship between women, men, co-workers, and lovers. Normally, I wouldn't say this, since I'm a die-hard romantic, but it was this aspect of the drama that I loved, not the romance between Dal Ja and Tae Bong.

Yes, I loved the characters... but frankly, there were moments when I was watching it, and I would just stop and stare, and think, "it's so obvious they're acting." And that's the last thing you want to pop into your head when you're watching a drama! Again, I love Dal Ja and Tae Bong to death--their characters are innocent, fun, and sweet--but I just didn't feel the chemistry between the actors. And in romances I want to believe it's real... here, at times, I didn't.

I can't really say anything bad about it overall. The plot had several over-used cliches and every time they tried to include a bit of a "twist" I'd see it coming a mile away. But really, I didn't mind so much... the characters were original enough to overlook the overused plot points. And really, this drama had one of the cutest final episodes known to man! I'm a huge sucker when it comes to fate!

Overall, I had fun when I was watching it, and it did a great job of taking my mind off Coffee Prince (which is really the only reason I started it in the first place). It is a little long--I think they probably could have wrapped this up in 16 episodes instead--but it did flow really nicely, and went by fast. Plus, I LOVED the drawings they had at the beginning of each episode--so pretty! And it would give you a small peek into what the episode would be about. I wish all dramas would do that actually!

Anyway, I liked it. In the end it's kind of forgettable, but while watching it, I enjoyed it a great deal. Definitely something to pass the time. ^_^