agmtw logo
search
Welcome to Samdal-ri

Welcome to Samdal-ri

An entertaining hometown romance that relies a bit too much on all the tropes and illogical decisions

6.8

TV Show

South Korea
Korean
Drama
2023
CHA YEONG-HUN
Ji Chang-wook, Kang Mi-na, Kim Mi-kyeong
65 min

TLDR

Honestly, there are times when the antics get a little out of hand, but… sincerely praying that the assistant and the water kimchi boyfriend will get their comeuppance somehow.

What it's about

After years dreaming to leave and make it in Seoul, Cho Sam-dal, known professionally as fashion photographer Cho Eun-hye, returns to her hometown in Jeju Island. She reconnects with her ex, former child star and childhood friend Cho Yong-pil, who chose to stay on the island as a strict but accurate weather forecaster.

The take

For K-drama fans feeling the cold, Welcome to Samdal-ri might be a lovely break in a seaside town in Jeju Island. The show is full of the classic romance tropes we all know and love, like childhood best friends born within minutes of each other, reconnecting when the female lead returns to her small hometown. These plot points are familiar territory, though the show’s tone vascillates wildly as the lead and her sisters deal with crazy circumstances (and react accordingly). However, even as the show and the ladies go through their antics, there’s a careful consideration of how they compare and contrast Seoul and Jeju Island. The resulting plot is familiar, and there are certain plot devices that seem a tad too ludicrous, but it’s a fairly entertaining series, if you can tolerate the strange decisions everyone makes.

What stands out

Returning to your hometown to find that your childhood friend is actually hot now is a familiar romcom trope that it’s a cliche. That being said, Welcome to Samdal-ri uses this trope a bit differently. Cho Sam-dal shuts down every single thing that marks her as coming from Jeju Island, from letting her mom’s water kimchi mold over, to never visiting the island in years, to even changing her hometown-inspired name. By returning to her hometown, and reconnecting with her former lover, Cho also reconnects with her past and everything she denied about herself. It makes it feel like the stunning views of Jeju Island aren’t there just as a sideshow, even if the series still equates the protagonist’s and her sisters’ lack of a love life as personal failings.

Comments

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

More like this in

Ethos

A level of attention to aesthetics usually reserved for the most elaborate films, mixed with a complex and relevant story, make this series from Turkey unmatched in its quality

9.9

Caliphate

A psychological thriller that provides insight on what drove so many young people to ISIS.

8.9

Escape at Dannemora

Based on a true prison escape story, this slow-burn suspense thriller features once-in-a-lifetime performances by a star-studded cast

9.3

Unorthodox

A well-acted fact-based thriller about untangling the grip of a close-knit community

8.5

The Looming Tower

A well-written thriller miniseries about the rivalry between the CIA and the FBI and how they failed to prevent 9/11.

8.1

Unbelievable

Critics lauded the angle and feminist edge of this grim true crime miniseries.

8.8

Sex Education

Already a future classic, Sex Education is an explicit but endlessly charming teen comedy that will also teach adults a thing or two.

8.9

Lovesick

Heavy on the rom but also the com, this British series is an effortless watch based on an unlikely premise

9.4

The Last Kingdom

8.6

To the Lake

A Russian thriller about a deadlier pandemic where society goes violent

7.3

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.