One Spring Night

Three luminous sisters-the oldest one, Lee Seo-in (played by Im Sung-eon), is in a marriage that's gone from bad to worse; the middle one, Lee Jeong-in (Han Ji-min), is in a 4-year relationship that's gone sour; and the youngest one, Lee Jae-in (Joo Min-kyung), is a maverick who's not yet entangled with a partner-have each others' backs as they come to terms with themselves and the men in their lives. Their mother, Shin Jyeong-seon (Gil Hae-yeon) stands by them-and stands between them and the men in their lives, including their father, whose ideas about marriage are more traditional than those of his wife and daughters.

The plot revolves around Jeong-in's internal and external conflicts as she tries to extricate herself from one relationship (with Kwon Ki-seok, played by Kim Jun-han) and forge a new one with Yoo Ji-ho (Jung Hae-in, who also was a main character in "Something in the Rain"). Jeong-in seems to know where she wants to go with her life, but she can't quite find a path forward. Her performance is nuanced and evolves sweetly and strongly over the 16 episodes.

"One Spring Night" was directed by Ahn Pan-seok, who won awards for his work on "Something in the Rain." The cast of "One Spring Night" also includes several outstanding actors who worked with Ahn in the earlier series. Once again, the ensemble cast work together very well.

In "One Spring Night," Ahn seems to push the envelope for women even further than he did in the earlier series-or is he only reflecting ongoing cultural change in South Korea? The sisters are strong, wrestle with difficult choices, support each other, and are supported by their mother, who in middle age has begun to reclaim control of her own life. The sisters' female friends listen to them, share stories, give advice. The conversations among the sisters and their female friends are smart and sensitive. The men in their lives-many of them dressed in gray, black, or white-are often problematic, but some of them give sage advice and support to each other and the women in their lives.

The soundtrack is excellent and includes several songs-Rachael Yamagata's "No Direction," "We Could Still Be Happy," and "Is it You," as well as Oscar Dunbar's "Spring Rain" and Carla Bruni's "Spring Waltz"-that announce and accompany scenes with no dialog in which actors are thinking, lying in bed, walking in the park, riding in taxis, etc. In several slow-motion scenes, the music is synchronized to the actors' steps.

This is not a plot spoiler: Remember the rubber band in a drugstore scene in Episode 1!

This series warmed me-heart and soul. Check it out!

And if you're lucky, grow love with new soil. Either way, you have to get rid of the dead leaves for new blossoms. This movie shows the reality of relationships and different situations we may find ourselves in whether it's a fresh start from stagnancy or leaving a painful situation.

As a guy who normally only watches romantic movies to accompany my wife, I created my account here after watching One Spring Night so I can write my very first review. While cheesy romances are not usually my cup of tea, unless they are really funny, I do like a good character-driven story that is interesting and hopefully believable. Despite being a longtime fan of Korean movies, I only started to watch k-drama several months ago and since then my wife and I are hooked. However, after almost a dozen shows, while the majority are very enjoyable, most of the story lines start to feel over-the-top and formulistic. After searching for a slower-paced drama I watched Something in the Rain. I loved it as much as I was frustrated by the flawed characters' unbelievable actions in the second half and the rushed ending. Despite its short comings however, I was still in the mood for another "serious" love story and was excited to find One Spring Night from the same writer and director.

I was hooked by One Spring Night after the first episode. I loved the slow burn of the leads' relationship after their love at first sight encounter 5 minutes into the show. I liked watching the characters live as they chat, eat, drink, get drunk and talk some more. The actors are fabulous and it's hard not to root for them despite, or because of, their flaws. The male villains are annoying and pathetic, I find their character reasonably three dimensional (for a drama series) except for the elder sister's husband. I was relieved to find the subplots are not too convoluted or overbearing with unsatisfactory ending - though I would have happily paid the director to shorten the scenes between the ex-boyfriend and evil brother-in-law and give more screen time to the couple and the kid towards the end. Also, the lack of a truly psychotic and indestructible villain (like in Rain) meant our couple's up-and-down journey felt more organic and believable, as they don't need external help to create more insurmountable obstacles, a common trait in many dramas.

Despite it's slow pace, Spring is ultimately uplifting in its portrayal of friendship, family, and, of course, the courage to trust the other person and to take risks in the name of love. It's hard not to be emotional when the sisters came together and support each other. While laugh-out comedy is mostly absent, there are many touching moments that would put a smile - and a tear or two - on your face. My favorites include the dinosaur-sticker-on-the-phone and proposal scenes. Priceless.

Lastly, the cinematography sometimes remind me of In the mood for Love. The soundtrack, while repetitive and admittedly overused, are lovely so I am not complaining.

To those tempted by this drama but are concerned by the slow pace, I'd suggest watching the first episode. You should know by then whether this is for you.

To those hesitating between Rain or Spring, I'd say both are wonderful. To me, the first half of Rain is incomparably adorable. Overall though, if I had to rank them based on viewer satisfaction, coherence of the story line and character development, Spring comes out on top mostly thanks to the personality of the heroine. But the good news is, there's no need to choose. Go watch both of them if you haven't yet.

The only complaint I have is about the constant reuse of the same song in every episode - it's a good song, but by the end of the show I was like, "Do I ever actually want to hear this song again?" That said, I love the song(s?) that Rachael Yamagata contributed to the soundtrack. All in all, music was one of this show's strengths.

The acting and the 'realism' of the story was the other thing I loved most about it (same goes for the other show I just finished watching by this director, Something in the Rain, which I ADORED). Obviously it was a sweet romance, but unlike some K-dramas out there, it was a little more realistic in the sense that it shows more what everyday Koreans may go through as part of their dating lives (I say this as a non-Korean who is no expert on the culture/typical lifestyles).

I can certainly see myself watching this show again, however it was fairly slow moving, and if you're into more action packed dramas, this one may not be for you. If you're into character-driven, realistic and relatable dramas about everyday Koreans (oh, and a beautiful leading man), then I'd certainly recommend it.

A bit too slow and repetitive for my taste. Yet the story and characters are very realistic and relatable.