The Sand Flower

I don't always seek out a drama with sports as a central theme, but when it's done well they can be really enjoyable. This series does that, but also believably weaves past secrets, murder mysteries, small town beauty and not so beautiful issues, friends, and a slow burn romance. None of those subjects take over the entire experience, they are gently and expertly woven together at a pace that keeps you interested.

The cast was wonderful and it was nice to see so many familiar faces. I was a big fan of the ML's mother, and all of the child actors. The kids made me cry real tears. Both leads were great in that the FL was very good at showing the different sides of herself; while I felt the ML was outstanding with his athleticism and expressiveness. They had great chemistry in all the ways.

The only reason I didn't give it a full 10 was because occasionally the ML would be a bit much for me in his persistent ways, sometimes the dialogue would drag a bit with characters taking quite a while to spit out what they were trying to say, and the ending could have wrapped up a little tighter. But this was still one very worthy and thoroughly enjoyable watch that I highly recommend.

Korean Drama '' Like Flowers in the Sand '' is a slice of life drama with many other genres blended nicely in the main plot.

The drama is a sports drama that handled it well, with some training, some games, and a championship of course.

However, the drama didn't forget the rest of its plotlines. The mystery case was solid and blended nicely with the story of the friends and their backgrounds.

The romance was, in addition, subtle, but cute.

Finally, the performances were all great by everyone in the cast. Especially the leading man was really enjoyable and had a sweet character.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

I look forward to this show every week. It is the perfect balance of comedy, sport, romance, and mystery. It reminds me a lot of When the Weather is Fine without the dark elements. I have watched hundreds of dramas and love this one.

It follows the reunion of childhood friends in a little village. You get all the humor of the village dynamics, along with the fun backdrop of the sport of Ssireum. It was so nice they casted actors that looked like they played the sport. They are all regular people, no CEOs or chaebols in sight.

The chemistry of the ML and FL is palpable and of course the ML character is so well acted. You can't keep your eyes off the ML whenever he is on. He is nearly unrecognizable from his earlier works, like Tale of Nokdu, but his acting is 100% better. He makes you listen to every word and expresses every emotion. I absolutely love his character.

This is not a roller coaster of emotions or adrenaline murder mystery, but instead a very entertaining steady and moving story with so many memorable characters. I have lost interest in so many weekly releases, but I absolutely love seeing these characters every week. My only complaint is it is only 12 episodes.

This show is both comforting and interesting. I felt like I was a part of the small town of geosan as we went on a journey through the eyes of Kim Baek-Du wonderfully acted by Jang Dong-Yoon. He is an absolutely green flag of a guy and I genuinely rooted for him over and over.

I hadn't heard of ssireum (Korean wrestling) before watching this show and by the end, I felt wholly invested in the sport.

Although a murder mystery circled the central plot it doesn't overwhelm the main plot or become gruesome in any way.

This drama keeps the story tight with just 12 episodes so at no point do you feel like it's dragging. I would definitely recommend this for a watch.

This is on UK Netflix under the title Like Flowers in Sand. I found it to be a gentle, interesting drama with light-hearted moments. The story is interesting and gives a nice insight into Korean culture, especially around Ssireum (Korean wrestling) which I'd never heard of before.

There is some great acting - I thing the actress who plays Du-Sik as a young girls is particularly good at conveying her emotions.

The story revolves around the reunion of two friends - one a wrestler and one a police officer investigating possible match fixing. I've watched a lot of k-dramas and I thought this one hit a perfect balance.