The Perfect Neighbor

I didn’t realize that I took a 3 weeks break from K-dramas! I must be too bored lately to be able to finish The Perfect Neighbor (SBS, 20 episodes)…

Perfect Neighbor Synopsis (from DramaWiki)
Baek Soo Chan has nothing in his hands but he lives a life under the belief that he will become the man any woman who sits next to him wants. However, his belief is questioned when he starts to realize true love. This drama will be focusing on the relationships of four persons who are living in the company's dorms. A professional con-man, a successor to the company, a lawyer and her meddling assistant.

Cast:
Kim Seung Woo as Baek Soo Chan
Bae Doo Na as Jung Yoon Hee
Park Shi Hoo as Yoo Joon Suk
Min Ji Hye as Go Hye Mi
Son Hyun Joo as Yang Duk Gil
Kim Sung Ryung as Jung Mi Hee

My comments:
The Perfect Neighbor is indeed peculiar. First, it’s hard to tell who is the main male lead in this drama: Kim Seung Woo or Park Si Hoo? Then, it’s hard to classify the genre of this drama. It looks like a rom-com but it’s not really one. It seems like a mystery drama, it’s not really as well. Well, it has mixture of familiar elements: bickering pair, Cinderella plotline, opposing rich mother, evil second female character and family secrets etc. The first scene starts with someone being potentially murdered to keep the suspense and by the end of episode 2, you already have three characters dead.

However, this drama didn’t quite work for me as I watched it in an on-off mode. The biggest problem is that it doesn’t have a central focus and the scenes just jumps here and there. I wasn’t particularly interested in the romance. Soo Chan and Yoon Hee are better and have better chemistry as friends while Joon Suk and Yoon Hee’s relationship is too cliched and too draggy. I find their fairytale love irritating before the exposure of the family secret. Joon Suk was basically a coward. He wants to keep Yoon Hee by his side but still plans to marry Hye Mi who he doesn’t love because of his mom’s suicidal threats! Yoon Hee is willing to be the ‘mistress’ and Hye Mi who I have trouble telling if she even love Joon Suk or not back then just follows her parents’ arrangement to marry him and accepts it as ‘fate’. Man, what are these people thinking? The ending is somewhat incomplete. There are a lot of matters left unresolved and unexplained…

The only thing I like about this drama is the bonding between the neighbors. It’s touching to see the neighbors supporting and encouraging each other during difficult times but they are also realistically portrayed as nosy people gossiping behind each other’s back. The kids are also fun to watch. Kids in K-dramas are always portrayed as extremely smart and aware of what the real world is…haha!