Things that Come After Love (2024)

What comes after love is stronger love!

I try to not to give any spoilers but at the risk I do, I went ahead and gave caution so read at your choice.

I like the idea of cross country romance and Lee Se-Young is one of my favorite actresses so this is exactly up my alley. When earlier news of this collaboration came, I was excited yet couldn’t help but wonder if it would flop. I wasn’t aware of actor Kentaro Sakaguchi (definitely a fan now and will check out his works) and in the clips of first readings, i wasn’t drawn to him that he could pull it off. Fast forward to the actual drama five episodes in, i can say that i really love it. As expected Lee is killing it in her role and Kentaro is perfect.

Here’s the thing. I’ve seen a lot of comments hating on the character of Jungo (Kentaro) because he comes off as nonchalant, selfish not being in tuned to Beni’s (Lee) needs. As i see it, two people met and fell in love quite quickly. They hit it off almost spontaneously so i don’t think cultural differences had too much effect, if any. In my opinion, they just had so much going on in their own individual lives that along the way, they couldn’t find balance. Before they met, they had goals and aspirations. In finding his, he seems aloof to her needs. In her needs of loneliness being in a foreign country among other things, she felt he was selfish and didn’t care about her. In all relationships to healthily progress positively, there’s got to be much compromises, give and takes. They definitely loved and were happy (wonderful chemistry) except, love alone does not sustain a good relationship.

In the gap of many years apart, one thing never changed. They still loved each other. So, going into what will happen is anyone’s guess as ending in last episode comes next week. This is my ideal. They loved fast. What comes after love? It’s knowing each other better, clearing misunderstandings, appreciating each other, compromise and love even more. That’s my hope.

I thought writing is really good and engaging. Because it’s short, i am able to absorb every word and actions. It’s a good flow. Acting is really good. Jungo is as his character calls. He’s quiet, stoically so that he can come off as boring and frustrating. His personality derived from a hurtful past that molded the way he is. I like his character because he’s himself, never changed. People should never change who they are even for someone else. Adjustments to compromise with your partner (give and take) yes, but stay as you are. Beni i find hard to sympathize with. Her early development with Jungo was so sweet and she radiated. Her latter self as shown after they meet up again seems puzzling too harsh on herself. She should have been happier, she’s engaged, back home and progressed in her career yet, her demeanor is that of a spurned woman. She acts cold, sad, dejected all around. Huh? Why? That’s an oddity i found and didn’t understand that part. Yes she hated Jungo but other than showing it towards him, she just came off as a real cold person to a point of, if looks can kill. Ha

I find this series so good that it’s definitely on my rewatch list. It’ll move up lots if i get the ending i am hoping for.

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Rare True Poetic Love

WOW! I mean WOW!
From the actors to the poetry. My deepest gratitude to the writer, producers, directors and actors! I am in awe of the creative writing, the emotions of the actors and the story line. The real life lessons I will keep forever. It really helped me understand how real love can vary depending on the situation. This POV was amazing. It makes me want to dance in spring blossoms and snow.

Thank you for your life contribution to our world.
I may not be Asian fully culturally but even as an American this was felt. It just goes to show you that POV is not always by culture but by experience.

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Poesia em forma de dorama.

Literalmente foi uma poesia em forma de dorama. Nossa, fazia tempo que uma série não me deixava tão apaixonada como: O que vem depois do amor.

Tudo simplesmente é belo, desde a fotografia, o ost, a química do casal, a atuação de todo o elenco. Conseguiram captar nuances que nos deixa reflexivos e com aquele sentimento do que de fato vem depois do amor?

Eu assistia cada capítulo com sentimentos a mil dentro de mim: chorava, ria, me encantava, uma verdadeira mistura de sentimentos. Não tem como não se encantar por esse dorama.

E apesar de ser curto, não me deu aquela sensação de tudo estar corrido ou até mesmo poderia ter mais; ao meu ver terminou como deveria ser. E eles correndo lado a lado foi a cereja do bolo. Pois é ai que se percebe que eles finalmente estão conseguindo se conectar e o amadurecimento do amor deles.

E essa mistura de Coreia e Japão? Ai gente que coisa mais linda. E Lee Se Young como sempre arrasando e mostrando a razão, na minha humilde opinião, de ser a melhor da Coreia. Essa mulher é fenomenal! Ela simplesmente conseguiu transmitir uma leveza em sua atuação, que você fica angustiado junto com ela.

E foi a primeira vez que vi um trabalho do Sakaguchi Kentaro, e agora preciso ver mais, kkk. Que ator! Ele transmitia apenas no olhar todo sofrimento e arrependimento que seu personagem carregou durante esses longos anos de separação.

E sabe o que para mim foi mais belo? No final eles simplesmente não ficaram acusando um ao outro, pelo término. Mas sim reconheceram que cada um teve sua parcela de culpa, já que eles não foram maduros suficiente, há época, para perceber isso. E isso é o que torna tudo ainda mais perfeito e brilhante.

Agora vou ficar com aquele sentimento de nostalgia por um bom tempo, pois vai ser difícil achar um outro dorama que me transmita as mesmas sensações. Deixa eu aqui escutar mais um pouco da OST perfeita…

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So authentic, it hurts.

If you've ever loved and watched that love slip away within a mist of misunderstandings, watching this will hurt. It reminded me of several relationships where the love is still so clearly buried underneath, but the fantastical leap it requires for both to acknowledge their part in the breakdown, and dash all the hurt and hesitation to try again costs too much for most of us to see it ever fulfilled in the real world.

Every word, yearning, loud silence, look, and emotion was compelling and true to form in how most of us would react seeing a lost love like this after so long.

Perfect cinematography, mood, OST, acting, and symbolism to do such a deeply altering experience justice. Watching this was like living through wistful poetry with a soft, lingering note of hope.

Just exquisite.

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storytelling as a way of understanding personal experience

Memories of a love affair in Japan from both ex-lovers. 6eps at 1hr ea. Meditative and beautiful, not for those who need action and a fast-moving plot. It is a story about writers and about storytelling as a way of understanding personal experience.

In Japan, sublety in small spaces, a soundtrack devoid of balladry, mostly piano. Nice contrasts in perceptions of the past. In Korea, in the present tense of the drama, more open views, bigger spaces because the two ex-lovers are now successful grownups and have a better perspective.

Lee Se Young is more beautiful than I have ever seen her -- I think the director let the individual beauty of each actor shine through by releasing the cinematographer of the iron chains of kdrama beauty standards. Her voice-overs give her character more interiority than she normally projects. Via voice-overs, both actors 'author' the narrative in turns as it moves along.

I am glad I watched this on air. The experience depends so much on one's own sometimes slow realizations, understandings and intellectual or emotional resolutions of the events. One episode a week was hard to wait for, though. My advice would be to pace your viewing on your own and savor it.

ps.I am not sure how the cinematographer did it but while in Japan, I felt I was seeing visually what a Korean woman looks like in that setting, and while in the Korean setting, the same thing occurred with Mr. Sakaguchi's visuals (in RL he has attracted a lot of attention in Korea).

Their miscommunications were represented as being due to their youth, but also the two characters participated in intra-culturally-specific stereotypical behavior which in each case produces miscommunication: the strong and soulfully silent Japanese guy who cannot articulate feelings and the soulful, dramatic Korean woman who talks around the salient point as if she is silently expressing her real true feelings by that empty space in the middle of her discourse.

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“A Love Story That Heals: A Poetic K-Drama for Heartbreak”

I first got into this K-drama because of the clips circulating online—it seemed like a lovely story, and I was intrigued. Right from the start, I enjoyed it; the love story felt sweet and genuine, something simple but charming. But as the episodes went on, my feelings changed, and I found myself disliking parts of it, feeling frustrated at times with the back-and-forth between past and present. I’m not usually a fan of stories that blend timelines within episodes, and that did lower my rating a bit.

Still, by the end, I had fallen back in love with it. It’s a rare show that can take you on such an emotional journey, making you feel conflicted but ultimately touched.

The drama is only six episodes, which I think worked perfectly for the story. If it had been longer, I imagine they would have dedicated one part to the past and the other to the present. That could have been interesting too, but in the end, the shorter format brought an emotional intensity that hit me deeply. The reunion in the final episode was incredibly moving—it felt as though the actress was speaking directly to me, reaching out in a way that felt personal and genuine. It’s one of those rare scenes that stays with you, especially if you’re someone who’s experienced heartbreak.

I’d highly recommend this K-drama to anyone going through a tough time, particularly if you’re healing from a breakup and seeking something comforting and gentle. It’s a show that won’t overwhelm you with excessive drama; instead, it’s soothing in its simplicity, filled with quiet moments that feel like a balm for the heart. And I have to say, I’ll definitely be buying the book. It’s beautiful, truly a work of poetry that stays with you long after you’ve finished watching.

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Separation means a small death..

One of a kind, one of the best .
What a drama …acting, story line, actors, music, i don’t have enough words to say what i feel. T
Honestly, purity, disclosing feelings, going through a maturity process, being able to say what you really feel, insight, ability to admit “ mistakes” , knowing how to say or not say things. Life. Unfinished business, closing circles, everything is in it. I just didn’t want the drama to end..
Last part was so delicate, fragile, but so many emotions in it that it could burst into pieces, but wit of the leading heroes did it.
I saw a great end. Reconciliation, love wins and putting the past behind after closing it, understanding each other and each own feelings and giving a chance to continue- together!
Thank you .

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Not your typical Korean Drama

I've finished watching all six episodes of What Comes After Love. I should say I enjoyed watching it as if you were reading the book. I love the cinematography, love the musical scoring, love the direction, love the story, the screenplay was well written, and leads insane chemistry. Lee Se Young proved once again her amazing acting skills. It was refreshing to see her in curly hair, her big eyes that speaks without uttering any words. Her face is too beautiful that radiates onscreen. I rarely recommend any Korean Drama but What Comes After Love is highly recommended. It may take a while before I can get over it or can I get over it? It's 10/10 for me. Congratulations to everyone involved in this masterpiece. Good job!

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Comforting in a painful way

I really loved the vibes of this drama. It's a cross between kdrama and jdrama, but I actually found it to feel more similar to the latter; it felt very raw and gritty, while kdramas typically are more polished and touched up. The show really lets the acting and chemistry shine.

The theme of cultural differences between Japan and Korea is really interesting. We see the effects of it from an external source when Choi Hong faces discrimination at a ramen shop, but we also see its internal effects and how it shows up in the relationship between our leads. We see how the ML and FL are not able to speak their minds, and how this leads to CH's increasing loneliness in a foreign country. The way the language barrier is portrayed is so interesting and relatable, especially one scene where CH reverts to her native language when she's upset and overwhelmed.

It's such a good premise and it's why I wish this drama was more than six episodes, because I feel like the cultural differences was established well as a conflict, but not resolved quite as cleanly. The last episode feels a little rushed and it left me with more questions about how their relationship would work in the future in terms of where they would leave, what language they'd communicate in, how to deal with different customs and traditions, etc. It feels like the ending went for a "they both apologized so it's all okay" direction, whereas I would've preferred them have more conversations about the issues that arose in their relationship. We already knew they loved each other and that they would be okay in a vacuum, but I'm of the mind that love isn't always enough.

Overall, I still really enjoyed this and liked the melodrama vibes a lot. Despite how angsty it is, this drama actually felt very comforting to me. And I hope I see more K/J collaboration dramas in the future.

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What really comes after love

Angst and yearning throughout. The show captured the feeling of love and longing really well. Great acting makes you feel the emotions even better. Both the leads pulled off the roles with so much ease and chemistry is just oozing out naturally. It was quiet and beautiful in its own way. The story has you tugging towards both ends because their love was beautiful and their mistakes were human. Only con was the ending, could have been more detailed and settled well. A beloved drama with excellent takeoff but just the ending didn't pacify the angst that was present throughout the drama. A delightful melodrama watch and made me reminisce how much it emotes well when the leads can really really act !!

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