jTBC
K-Drama
K-Drama Review: “When The Weather Is Fine” Bestows A Healing Experience Loaded With Many Cute Moments
When The Weather Is Fine beautifully portrays the feelings of happiness that comes from the little things in our daily lives.
Sometimes we just need to step back and take a break to find the true happiness that matters. When The Weather Is Fine evokes sweet, warm and comfortable feelings as it gives a glimpse of a mundane life in a small town.
Headlined by Park Min Young and Seo Kang Joon, the drama also stars Lee Jae Wook, Kim Hwan Hee and Moon Jeong Hee in key roles. Park Min Young plays Mok Hae Won, a young cellist with a cold heart, while Seo Kang Joon plays the kind-hearted Im Eun Seop, the owner of a bookstore.
Title: When The Weather Is Fine
Network: jTBC
Theme: Drama, Romance
Length: 16 Episodes
Broadcast Date: 24 February 2020 – 21 April 2020
Main Leads: Park Min Young | Seo Kang Joon | Lee Jae Wook | Kim Hwan Hee | Moon Jeong Hee
Highlights: Unique and likable characters | Memorable little scenarios | Interesting side stories
Overall Rating: 
Re-watch Value: 
Related Dramas: Because This Is My First Life | Reply 1997 | Chocolate
Quick Plot Round-up
Fed up with her city life in Seoul, Mok Hae Won quits her job and moves to live with her aunt in Bookhyun where she also had spent her high school life. There, she meets her old classmate, Im Eun Seop who now owns a bookstore in the town.
After their encounter, the daily lives of Hae Won and Eun Seop begins to change.
Highlights
Unique and likable characters
Rather than the plot, what drives this drama are the characters. Every character in this drama are realistic yet they possess their individual charms. Applauds to the creators because they showed great character development for all of them.
Mok Hae Won is initially cold and blunt but as she starts interacting with Im Eun Seop and other people in the town, she learns to be happier and smiles more often.
On the other hand, Im Eun Seop is the kind of person who brings warmth to everyone else but suffers by himself. Subsequently, he begins to share his feelings after he comes across Hae Won.
Lee Jang Woo (Lee Jae Wook) is such an adorable goofball. While, he is extroverted and gets along with everyone, he is a blushing mess in front of his crush. Whenever, he appeared on screen, he stole the show and we could only wish that we saw more of him.
Im Hwi (Kim Hwan Hee) is like a fresh breath of air. Unlike her brother Im Eun Seop, she is hyperactive and speaks too much. However, she is annoyingly cute and definite scene stealer.
Shim Myung Yeo (Moon Jeong Hee) is the cool yet the savage aunt that everyone aspires to have. Though she carries a cold demeanor, she actually cares a lot but her way of expressing it is through tough love.
Aside from these people, the entire cast that is shown throughout drama create strong impressions.
The small details that matter
When The Weather Is Fine perfectly captures the intricate details of the daily life in a small town. Be it the festivals that brings in the entire community together or the gossip talks- the drama perfectly depicts how life in a small town looks like and how life over there is entertaining in its own way.
The Good Night Book Club is obviously one of the best highlights of the drama. Through the book club, viewers also got a glimpse of various interesting books, poems and stories. The discussion that follows after someone narrates their piece, is too relatable. Also, interestingly the lines from the books are also used as the metaphors for the happenings in the drama.
Another small yet cute detail from the drama, is Eun Seop’s private diary blog. Since Eun Seop is not much of an expressive person, the viewers get to know about his innermost thoughts through the contents of diary that is revealed at the end of every episode. Those beautifully written words in the diary evoke warm and cozy feelings.
Interesting side stories
When The Weather Is Fine is a culmination of multiple stories that involves the main leads and the people around them. Aside from Mok Hae Won and Im Eun Seop’s story, the other characters too get good amount of screen time as their stories get unveiled. Each story is as intriguing as the others.
Mok Hae Won and Im Eun Seop’s love story is very sweet and adorable. Beginning from the one-sided crush in school to a requited love many years later, Im Eun Seop came a long way. His flustered reactions towards Hae Won are cherry on top and how he refers to her as Irene is quite endearing.
Additionally, a lot of flashbacks occur in the story. The trip down the memory lane to the main leads’ high school days is definitely a treat. There were bad days for the leads but there were also good days because of some people that came along.
Viewers also get to see the younger versions of Hae Won’s mother, Shim Myung Joo (Jin Hee Kyung) and aunt, Shim Myung Yeo. Though the stories of the two sisters is extremely heartbreaking.
The story arcs involving Cha Yoon Taek, Lee Jang Woo and Im Hwi are noteworthy and quite entertaining too.
When The Weather Is Fine Series Afterthoughts
Just like the drama’s title, When The Weather Is Fine, the journey with this drama is like the transition from winter to spring. The setting is beautiful with the calm surroundings and bookstore that serves warm coffee.
A heartwarming drama, there were many laugh-worthy moments while there were also many moments that made us cry.The stories of broken friendships and families, unspoken truth, bitter memories etc. were executed well. Conclusions for some of these stories were not perfect or happy either which is why they felt so realistic.
Park Min Young and Seo Kang Joon have a great chemistry and it was an over explosion of cuteness whenever these two come together. Lee Jae Wook does not disappoint in this drama either and Kim Hwan Hee was definitely the biggest scene stealer in this drama.
Recommendation
When The Weather Is Fine is not a typical romance story. The drama is slow-paced yet it still engages with the small adventures that the everyday life brings. Along with that, it also carries many important life lessons.
The message of this drama is quite simple. Happiness comes from the smallest things such as reading a book, having a warm coffee and being surrounded by the people we love.
This drama is recommended for anyone who prefers a slice of life genre. The true hero of this drama is its characters. As they narrate their stories and show us their perspectives, we relate to them even more.
Images Credit: jTBC
