I have nothing against the upcoming MBC drama My Spring Days, and in fact quite like the leads Sooyoung of SNSD and Kam Woo Sung. Not to mention the return to acting of second male lead Lee Joon Hyuk who has been in the army for the last two years. I’m just mostly uninterested because MBC dramas by and large have been a snoozefest for me ever since Miss Korea, and yes that includes mildly cute but totally been there-done that Fated to Love You. The kicker is that My Spring Days sounds exactly like a very well known Hallyu classic melodrama Summer Scent, a drama I’m not ashamed to admit I watched more than once because of my love for Song Seung Heon and because Son Ye Jin was so glowing and luminous in that drama it was like watching blooming female beauty in motion. But SS was as slow and plodding as it comes, about as exciting as watching your toenails grow, the story of a man who falls in love with the woman who got a heart transplanted from his dead ex-girlfriend.
Here in MSD the ex-girlfriend is actually the dead wife of the male lead and there are even poor motherless children to boot. Talk about upping the stakes. I found Sooyoung charming and winsome in last year’s frothy cable drama Dating Agency: Cyrano and have no problems with the age gap between her and Kam Woo Sung. I’m just totally blanking on whether my like for them is enough to induce me to check out a drama that I feel like I’ve seen the entire story before already. They fall in love, angst ensues after they discover she has his dead wife’s heart, but through perseverance they convince everyone around them to accept this “fated” relationship, and then they live happily ever after. Oh yes, somewhere towards the end there will likely be a moment when her new heart fails and she might die, but through the miracle of maybe the dead ex-wife’s holy blessing, she pulls through and it convinces the leads more than ever that their love must be cherished.
The stills and teaser look quite pretty so if folks who haven’t had the (dis)pleasure of watching Summer Scent want to check out this, be my guest and hopefully if it wants to redo SS then it can do it better.
Previews for My Spring Days:
I have exactly the same feeling about this drama. On one hand, I’d love to watch it because Sooyoung really impressed me in Cyrano and I’ve heard great things about Kam Woo Sung, but melodramas about ex-wife’s heart and guilt are not my usual cup of tea. I think I might wait for reviews after a few episodes before deciding whether or not to watch.
Sooyoung really look good with an old man!..
“…the ex-girlfriend is actually the dead wife of the female lead…”
I’m confused about this sentence.
She’s comparing the dead ex-girlfriend in Summer Scent to the dead wife in this new upcoming drama Spring Days.
*** Koala, I have to correct you though on that. In Summer Scent it was not his ex-girlfriend. It was his dead fiancé who died on the day of their wedding. If it was an ex-girlfriend I’m sure he would have not cared as much, but it was his soon to be wife.
Hi haha Ms Koala has actually corrected her sentence. Female lead was supposed to be male, as I’d suspected. Cheers!
I did have the (dis)pleasure of watching the teaser at the end of another drama I was watching… Didn’t know the name of it till now but I felt absolutely nothing of inclination or desire to watch it. ZERO chemistry in the teaser did it for me. Which in my IMO a teaser should be loaded with it, even if the story sucks.
And the age gap is only believable if he’s SUPER RICH and she’s a GOLD DIGGER!
And on top of that I keep having a mental pic of her & her real bf!
Didn’t watch the original since that kind of melo is not my mug of cappuccino at all. I like both leads & Sooyoung is so at ease with older partners, I’m not worried for the believability of the couple. Still, I will probably pass & just watch the highlights on YT…
I’ll watch the last episode. LOL.
I hope this one’s better than SS/ Even the last episode was:
Blah blah blah blah things happen blah….end..”well…. that’s it?”
I guess I am the only one anticipating the drama then. Maybe because I am such a big Sooyoungster and that I didn’t watch Summer Scent so I can’t really do comparaisons but to be fair, most KDramas nowadays look the same. You always know how it’s going to end so the most important is the processus. I really really don’t like melodramas because too much unnecessary tears but I will check it out for Sooyoung and the rest of the cast members. The trailers, stills and posters are all so pretty that I feel a good cinematography/directing. No worries for acting and so, the upper hand will be given to the writing. I hope it doesn’t turn super makjang just to rack/increase viewer ratings. I hope the drama does well though. Especially because I want to see the reactions of KNetz after writing and writing how the drama is going to be a flop, ha 😀
The only reason why this is the only drama I’m going to watch is because the other two dramas doesn’t look promising to me. We have emotionless ShinSeKyung in IronMan and it’s crazy/weird plot. While She’s So Lovable casts are full of idols with Rain, who I think isn’t good at acting (the only drama I could finish watching of him in it is just Full House, but I was so sure it’s because SongHyeKyo did most of the work) and Krystal who I find having problem with her tone in speaking when acting..
There are a lot of remakes nowadays.. The main synopsis is the same with a different here and there in the process of the story and yet, these kind of dramas still capture our hearts. I wouldn’t say completely NO to My Spring Days but I would give it a chance because the trailer (IMO) looks really promising. I don’t care about age gap. This is dramaland after all, why bother? And plus, this is the only drama with the best main and co-stars actors/actresses.. Give me the best drama plot in the world, I still cringe if the acting is bad.
As soon as I read this post I started scratching my head because this plot seemed familiar. It reminded me of something else besides “Summer Scent”.
And I finally remembered: the Jdrama “Platonic”. It also has to do with heart transplants and complicated love affairs.
I hope this Kdrama ends up being actually good. Right now I can’t see anything romantic in it.
Wut? Platonic is a complete different story.. The man she loves is the one who donated the heart, not the guy’s ex donating her heart to the future gf. The only same thing is heart transplant. One Tree Hill also has something to do with heart transplant and complicated love affairs~
I hope this drama didn’t fail me. Or else, I don’t have anything to watch on Wed-Thurs..
I loved Summer Scent. Still watch it every now and then.
In SS it wasn’t the plot that I liked, but the nostalgic scent and taste of summer they succeeded to create.
As for the esoteric part (ex-girl’s ghost haunting the present girl), the problem seemed so ridiculous and easy to resolve, not worthy of developing it into a drama. At least, to me.
I’m not pumped but I will check this out to fill my wed-thurs drama hour.
With a premise like this, there’s honestly not much the writer can work with meaning that it will be predictable. I am hoping at least the writing is stellar and consistent (doesn’t fall apart at the end) and the cast delivers a good performance. Still going to watch though for the motivation to finish homework quick so I can have drama time lol
I am really bothered by their age difference. Why would they put beautiful Sooyoung with that guy? It’s the main reason why I won’t be watching.
LOL. What does it matter if there’s an age difference? It’s a vital part of the storyline and Sooyoung has shown before that she can act with older actors.
This drama is a great opportunity to show how she’s grown as an actress and to improve even further. So watching it would be supporting her.
Too bad you prejudged it. The relationship and love that grows between the two leads is very beautiful and natural. The age difference was not even a factor. They were perfect together!
I am so happy to see Kam Woo-Seong actually working. I pray this thing will be successful, so he might get hired to act in something worthy of his talents. Then again, maybe this will actually turn out to be really good, after all. (And by the way, 43 is not old – that’s the prime of life. When you’re 43 and discriminated against, because of your age, I hope you’ll feel ashamed of this attitude.)
i want to see leejunhyuk so i will watch this, surely and very much expected to it.
I’m not a fan of melodrama, I hate it in fact. But I’m curious about this one, maybe because of the leads? I’ve never seen those two before in a drama. I may give it a try IF the ending is not a sad one.
I like her but I’ve had my qualms over her acting opposite KWS when there were more experienced/age appropriate actors around… But seeing the trailer had really pacifies me..I can see this pairing working but like you I’m not sure if I’m interested enough with the storyline… And yes the SS flashbacks are no t the least bit encouraging
I just read your aticle!!
Just wanted to know if you watched this drama afterall?!
I watch it and really loved it!!
I guess, you had spot out the main things….they felt in love….her heart failed…..etc… But the way the story was built, was so much more and no cheesy at all!! The pairing was really good and had chemistry!
Beautiful drama with an unexpected ending!! 🙂
Wow, can’t believe anyone would have a single negative comment about this drama. It’s very sweet and romantic. A bit sappy but it’s one of our 16 episode dramas that actually are most times more fun to watch. Love the beef lead guy and think him and girl w/transplanted heart fall in love in a very slow and true way. He falls for her because he connects to her personality. She falls for him because her heart (his dead wife’s heart) draws her to him. It’s a good drama and i’m enjoying it a lot. NO BAD COMMENTS PLS.