KDrama to Miss: Because This Is My First Life (2017)

Because This Is My First Life (2017)

Grade: D+

16 Episodes, 1 Hr each

Viewing Platform: Netflix

Yoon Ji-ho is a struggling assistant drama writer, and when she is almost sexually assaulted by a coworker, she decides to quit writing altogether. Then her younger freeloading brother gets his girlfriend pregnant and Ji-ho's father kicks her out of their city apartment she'd been making payments on for the past 5 years. A mutual friend finds her a room in someone else's apartment though, and a solid week goes by before Ji-ho meets the owner: the socially withdrawn computer programmer, Nam Se-hee. (Each had assumed the other was their same gender.) Ji-ho and Se-hee have simliar fastidious, clean habits however; also, Ji-ho just wants somewhere safe to live while Se-hee wants everyone to stop nagging him to marry – so they end up getting married (in name only) to meet both their needs. But what happens when Ji-ho starts to develop feelings for the taciturn older man she's married to? Will Se-hee be able to confess why he's given up on love for himself? And what about their friends' relationships?

*This is NOT a rom-com but a dreadfully tedious commentary on society. Sure, there are a couple funny moments, but the romance is not the focus. Rather, it's an exploration of adult life of a particular generation (1980s babies) and a criticism of traditional Korean values & societal roles. All the main characters have sex out of wedlock (at least, I think 2 of them are divorced when they get together – it was hard to follow at that point); marriage is looked down on; and there are several uncomfortable instances of workplace sexual harassment (towards/against women – which, if it needs to be said, then fine, but I don't like watching it when I'm trying to be entertained). It's not a fun show and I wouldn't be surprised if Netflix removing it from their platform is because it didn't do well ratings-wise. Wouldn't recommend and won't watch again.*