We all love differently. We all cherish things, memories and people differently. We see and feel things differently. Differently, we put great value in things while others don’t or vice versa. That’s what makes us unique from each other, you do things your way and I do things my way. I remember things this way while you grieve that way. This drama is a good contrast of characters, needing someone, loving someone, looking at them from a far and looking at them closely.
It's one of those dramas that you had no plans on watching cause you already had a prejudice about it, that it would be boring. It's those that you never expected are usually gems that really struck you. It's nothing flashy or extravagant but the story and the way the drama made you feel, is what made you love it more.
I don’t watch melodramas for the reasons that I find it a bit dull or slow and requires too much emotional investment. And reading the synopsis for this and watching the trailers, it gave that exact vibe especially with the aesthetic of it all.
STORY
“We all love differently” is a good phrase to summarize the drama. Ha Won and In Wook’s love for Jisoo is different as are Seo Woo’s and Soon Ho’s love.
Ha Won and In Wook’s love for Jisoo and her memories are quite the opposite. Ha Won cherished everything about Jisoo. She was the sunshine on a rainy day, she was the light in a dark room, the fire during winter and the warmth during cold days. She was Ha Won’s rock. He was willing to drop his life for her (he did) and would never regret it.
Ha Won knew his place and never forced her, he waited and waited patiently and even when he realised that she loves someone else, he didn’t argue with it or fought, he respected her decision. Even when their lives moved on Ha Won held on to his love. Even with a tiny memory, he held onto it, he held onto her memories, he held onto her. Having a piece of Ji Soo was enough.
“I only want a small piece of her”
In Wook started loving his wife from afar. He watched her and loved her with all his heart. She was his partner and his other half as he did for her. She was his loving and supporting wife and he cherished and loved her just as much. He didn’t expect though that a past mistake could put a strain to their love and trust. In Wook loved her but his pride got in the way.
He expected her to just accept it and move on and when she didn’t he distanced himself thinking that it was the best way to let her heal. But there was a part of him that hated Ha Won for loving his wife, he was insecure and guilty. Unlike Ha Won, a piece is not enough, he wanted everything from Jisoo.
Seo Woo and Soon Ho both love someone and the way they approach their love was different but still kind of the same. Seo Woo at first just loved Ha Won just like he did for Ji Soo, patiently and quietly but when she saw that he was hurting, she didn’t comfort him with flowering words but rather slapped him with the truth.
While Soon Ho, she stuck on his side despite him pushing her away. She was persistent and that was her charm. She wanted to comfort him by being there she didn’t want him to be swallowed by grief.
His tears give me pain. I want to tell him it’s okay and that he shouldn’t suffer anymore. I want to be able to give strength to my husband.
-Ji Soo
Seo Woo had a question that I really liked and Eun Joo’s answer was even better.
Is one percent potential or false hope?
If you think, “I have a whole percent” it’s potential
If you think “I only have one percent” it's a false hope
I love the idea of viewing one thing differently. Depending on how you see it, it can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing. It's how you see it and how you believe it that matters.
There are a lot of lines in the drama that really struck me, especially when dealing with emotions from situations you can’t control.
Seo Woo would say to Eun Joo one out of the 100 reasons as to why it won’t work out with Ha Won but I say for every dozen of reasons for it to be wrong, there are thousands of reasons for it to be right.
“Being sad when you should be angry or annoyed is bad for you. Its okay to be angry”
I forgot who said it but I love that line.
“Its gonna be okay, the world changes on its own”
I love that the romance was slow at times, it was refreshing from other dramas since it was slow and values too much on each character's feelings, there's no villian who vows to ruin everything but it rather focuses on the grief of loss, the desperation of longing and moving on from pain.
There is a really good chemistry between both leads, they are the kind of pairing that you want to watch for a long time, which is why it's a bit sad that it got cut short into 12 episodes.
CHARACTERS
Moon Ha Won is the kind hearted genius who founded M&H and the leading innovator of AI Programming. Despite his success, Hawon is longing for his first love, Ji Soo. His childhood friend and only friend when he was still living in Norway with his mom.
What I really love about Ha Won is his consistent love and loyalty to those he values. He is very patient and calm, so it was quite different when he got mad. I love that he is such a cool boss and understanding uncle to Soon Ho, despite them being the same age or was he older by a few years?
I love Ha Won’s kind of love. He is not forceful, obsessive or constrictive but rather he was patient, understanding and sentimental. He’s not a high maintenance kind of guy (lol) he values simple things. He has this innocent look that you can’t help but fall in love with.
I love that his feelings (for Seo Woo) didn't just magically appear. It wasn’t love at first sight, he fell in love with her by understanding her. His feelings gradually developed the more he understands how Seo Woo thinks. When he first saw her, it wasn’t love but rather curiosity. He was kind of curious about her and the more he spent time with her, his curiosity morphed into something more.
Han Seo Woo is the recording engineer for a classical music studio. At first I kind of thought that she was just a normal person who is just trying to survive day by day but as the drama progresses, the more secrets of Seo Woo’s life unfolds which reminds of the saying “Don’t judge the book by its cover”. Seo Woo kept her pain inwards, like the majority of the characters in the drama Seo Woo is dealing with or have dealt with memories that are just too painful to handle alone.
There was a time that it seems like Seo Woo is in love with not the actual person but loves Ha Won's love for Ji Soo, do you get me? She said she loves looking at him when he is asking about Jisoo, the way he cherishes her, misses her the way he gives his all for Jisoo, not being negative or being pessimist but it seems like she is in love with Won's idea of love.
But after watching it all, I know that she genuinely loves Ha Won.
I kind of get her dilemma and why she did what she did. She was being thrown in this rollercoaster of emotions and a person can only take so much.
Moon Soon Ho is the biological granddaughter of the diplomat who sponsored Ha Won and his mom while they were staying in Norway. She is like the complete contrast to Ha Won, she is impulsive, impatient and opinionated but that's just Soon Ho’s charm.
I was a bit disappointed with her though, putting her crush over Ha Won, oh how much I wanted to rip her off the door but somehow I think it was for the better ‘cause Ha Won had the time to cool off and not do something impulsive.
Kang In Wook is the tormented pianist who records at the recording studio who is also Ji Soo’s husband. I actually didn’t like him at first but I was moved by his pain. He genuinely loves his wife but his pride is his downfall.
It hurt my heart watching him in pain.
ACTORS
I love the actors. Of Course I love Jung Hae In, although I haven’t watched a lot of his work since most of them are in genres or themes that I was not interested at all but everytime I do get to watch him, I always love him. Somehow this kind of genre and theme just perfectly fits him.
Then Chae Soo Bin is one of my favorite actresses. She is really pretty and really good at acting, I saw her on I’m not a robot and Sassy Go Go and I just fell in love with her. She is like a walking doll.
Although I was a bit disappointed with Lee Ha Na (Soon Ho), I can’t pin point out what but somehow I was kind of disappointed with her in this, although I loved her in Voice with Jang Hyuk not the following season (lol)
And for Kim Sung Gyu, my amazing and awesome Young Shin from Kingdom. I love him here and in the kingdom, he perfectly played the tormented pianist really well.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I rarely like OSTs or drama BGMs. I often find them subjective, like it fits for that single purpose alone and after the drama has passed, it's just no longer meaningful but somehow all of the music in this drama just gives me shivers (tbh, Idk why) but it just does. I find myself looking for it and constantly having it in repeat which is a big help for me right now since my insomnia keeps on coming back.
e Aesthetic for the drama is very soothing, warm and calming which perfectly fits the overall feeling of the drama. The cinematography is really great and the locations are breathtakingly beautiful.
Would I recommend it? Yes, it's a refreshing drama that nourishes your heart and your soul. It's one of those dramas that doesn’t need the over the top climax or horrifying or despicable villains. All the emotions that each character goes through from pain, desperation, grief to happiness is the main gem of the drama.
If you haven’t watch it, instead of being led by stereotypes and prejudices (like me from the start) that melodramas are boring and dull, watch it with open mind and open heart and then you can genuinely judge if its a good drama or not.
ABOUT THE DRAMA
Synopsis
An innovator in the world of artificial intelligence programming, Moon Ha Won has made quite a name for himself in the AI industry. The founder and brain behind the popular portal site, M&H, Ha Won is a man everyone knows. A man devoted to his work, everyone knows he doesn’t take what he does lightly and expects his employees to follow suit, but he’s also known as a kindhearted, rational thinker, who never gets angry and never loses his cool. An ideal man, with a soft heart, Ha Won believes that when it comes to love, having even a small fraction of his love’s heart is enough to sustain him. But that theory is put to the test when Han Seo Woo wanders into his world.
A classical music recording engineer, Seo Woo hasn’t had the easiest life. With no family to support her, and no place to call home, Seo Woo has spent the majority of her life wandering and alone. Despite her difficulties, Seo Woo has managed to keep an open and optimistic mindset, believing that all things happen for a reason. Wandering down the path life has laid before her, Seo Woo soon finds herself crossing paths with Ha Won. As the two begin a journey together, they come to find that sometimes two different halves really can make a whole.
Episodes: 12
Aired: Mar 23, 2020 - Apr 28, 2020
Aired On: Monday, Tuesday
Original Network: tvN
Duration: 1 hr. 11 min.
Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older
Director: Lee Sang Yeob
Screenwriter: Lee Sook Yun
Genres: Romance, Life, Drama, Melodrama
Source:https://mydramalist.com/38491-half-of-half and google
It is no nuance November and boy oh boy do i have opinions. I hope they make you laugh, so here goes;
1. Baek Seung Jo - Playful Kiss Dude me when I fucking GET this guy. This. Bitch. He has a superiority complex and treats the main girl like shit while keeping her wrapped around his fucking finger. The WAy I would send this man directly to the Hospital He Works At.
2. Yoo Jung - Cheese in the Trap I would put this man in the ground. He is a violent sociopath. He ALSO acts better than everyone else in the show. The man follows her around like a stalker and (its been a long time since I watched the show but if I remember correctly) he basically ruined In Ho’s life for a little bit there.
3. Ha Baek - Bride of the Water God / Bride of the Habaek I don’t remember much about this drama other than the pure, unfiltered, rage I felt 70% of the time. Both of the leads are insufferable. They’re both little brats who won’t say how they really feel and all they ever do is complain.
4. Kim Joo Won - Secret Garden I watched this in 8th grade. I remember nothing. But that’s irrelevant. I simply do not like him. I would deck the shit out of him. Nuff said.
5. Kim Tan - Heirs At the start of this show I was like “I would punch Yeong Do” and “Tan is just a himbo. Good kid” but then we fast forward to the fucking closet kiss and I’m like “sir I will literally knock the wind right out of your controlling, overly-jealous stomach”
6. Nam Do-San - Start Up Ok so I would grab this man by the shoulders and be like “you are in desperate need of therapy. You need some serious help” and he’d be like “no” and that, is when I would just fucking clock him. Knock some sense into him because he certainly has the potential to be a good boy. P.S. I value my life. There is fear in my eyes while writing this. This is a joke. The man makes me mad but I don’t hate him like places 1-4 of this list.
Honorable Mentions:
Seo Hwi - My Country the New Age I love Hwi. He is a sweet baby. My bisexual son-in-law. However, there were a few scenes where I was like “pls stop bullying my son Nam Seon-Ho he’s just m i s u n d e r s t o o d”. P.S. I love my dead gay son and his dead bi boyfriend.
Moon Ha-Won - A Piece of Your Mind / Half of Half Listen I really like this guy. He’s soft. A sweetie. Good lad, look at him go. I just also really liked Kang In-Wook and I didn’t like when he yelled at him and stuff :c. I just wanted them to be friends bro.
Moo Myung / Sun Woo Rang - Hwarang This guy is really great when he’s not around A-Ro. When he’s around her, or when he’s fighting with Maek Jong over her, he’s overly aggressive and borderline whiny. Or he says something hurtful to her that he doesn’t mean.
This is all mostly a joke, please remember these are just characters, and its not worth arguing over. Also I would never punch anyone, I hate violence. I hope you have a fantastic day, or night, whether or not you agree with me. This post exists to make the reader laugh, so I hope you liked it! :) as always, thank you for reading
