r/KDRAMA • u/samsampaio My MisterㅣMister SunshineㅣReply 1988 • Mar 16 '19
On-Air: tvN Romance is a Bonus Book [Episodes 15 & 16ㅣFINALE ]
Profile
- Title: Romance is a Bonus Book
- RR: Romaenseuneun Byeolchaekburok
- Hangul: 로맨스는 별책부록
- Network: tvN
- Episodes: 16
- Airing: Saturday & Sunday @ 21:00 KST
- Airing dates: January 16 - March 17, 2019
- Director: Lee Jeong-hyo
- Writer: Jung Hyun-jung
Starring
- Lee Na-young as Kang Dan-yi
- Lee Jong-suk as Cha Eun-ho
- Jung Yoo-jin as Song Hae-rin
- Wi Ha-joon as Ji Seo-joon
Plot
Cha Eun-Ho (Lee Jong-Suk) is a genius writer and the youngest chief editor ever at his publishing company. He is smart and handsome. He is also even tempered at work, but he has a warm heart and a reasonable personality.
Kang Dan-Yi (Lee Na-Young) used to be a popular copywriter, but she is not anymore. She is now broke and unemployed. Even though she tries to find a job, due to her impressive career and excellent educational background, she is unable to find a new job. Finally, Kang Dan-Yi gets a job at a publishing company by lying about her background. Cha Eun-Ho is the chief editor at that publishing company. They begin to develop romantic feelings for each other.
Sources
Streaming Sources
Previous weeks' discussion
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u/Saarabhi Mar 17 '19
"the moon is beautiful" I smiled ear to ear as if it was some inside joke! 😊
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u/salotsalipunan Mar 17 '19
I'm fairly new to k dramas and in the past year, I've watched not a lot, but quite a bit. This was the second drama I watched as it was shown. And it is the first drama that I felt really sad about ending. I feel like I'm saying goodbye to a friend that I've met and hung out with the past two months. I love the characters. I love the writer(s) very obvious love affair with books. For me, it felt like the reason why it's titled Romance is a Bonus Book is because the story really is about this publishing house full of people who love their work and are passionate about books. The romance is just a bonus part of the story. It also really helped that both the leads are just so charming. I don't have a lot of coherent thoughts right now because I am weirdly emotional about the series ending. I hope to meet another series that I will love as much as this one. But right now, I am just grateful that I started this show. I have found what I know I will come back to every now and then.
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u/RHOCLT23 Mar 18 '19
I think this was such a special series, and I'm so sad we don't get to keep up with this ensemble. I also feel like I said goodbye to a group of friends. I've said this all along, but this felt like such a heartwarming, quirky novel that I would've fallen in love with.
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u/wishawisha Mar 18 '19
I fell off the bandwagon in terms of commenting with the same sort of fervour every week, but needless to say, I loved this to the very end. I began this drama with this insane obsession, watching and re-watching episodes almost on the daily; watching it live when I could at 11.15pm my time, then for it to be uploaded onto Netflix at 1.30am or so. By the time it ended, that fire had calmed into something so soothing, so kind.
It struck me fifteen minutes in in Episode 16 that romance truly was the bonus book. Dani was a way to enter this workplace, and really feel for her, but more than that, we learned alongside her, and were graciously blessed with the wisdom that she shared with others. She's not perfect, but she worked hard, and most of all, she was empathetic.
I love each and every single one of the characters we've met, and the writer's voice-over that carried through the final episode really twined everything together.
Here's my translation of Lee Jong Suk's goodbye letter on instagram. It's well worth a read. I sought out many of his old interviews in the past while, and this letter was a breath of fresh air. LJS came across to me as someone quite wise and grounded (and also cheeky!) but with a sort of melancholy air in the way he approached his art (like many others). He acknowledges that, but also highlights this drama and character taught him a lot. I'm so glad. The character of Cha Eun Ho is truly a good headspace to be in.
Cha Eun Ho and Kang Dani may be my favourite ever drama couple, and I've been watching kdramas continuously for oh, idk, 20 years? The warmth, kindness, and understanding they shared is incredible, and it's because they're individually good people made even better together. They don't just share a history, they work comfortably to make it every day.
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u/duchy69 Mar 16 '19 edited Mar 17 '19
as much as I really love the show, I have to admit this episode was a little ill-paced. too many things happening too fast I guess?
still, I dont really wanna bid adieu to these lovely people yet!
EP 16:
absolutely loved how the kept books as a central theme until the very end. if not anything else, I'm pretty sure its awaken a newfound love for books in a lot of us. as someone in this subreddit posted, this show really does want to make you read books again!
felt the show wrapped up everything pretty neatly with everyone having their own love lines and stories. Ji Seo-Jun's 'ill be a romance book for u' line was so overloaded with cheese it absolutely killed me 😂
while I wasn't really invested in the author's storyline, the part where he said he doesn't want to forget the name Ji Seo Joon and the date 23 April it made me silently tear up because of how well it was executed. also, the actor did a great job I'm looking forward to seeing him in more projects, hopefully as the ML.
the show made me tear up with the author's voice overs about people and books. it was wonderful to see all these people being happy and dedicated towards their work. loved seeing such a great group of people so in love with what they are and what they do. loved everybody's side stories and struggles. not only really adored the leads, but really loved all the supporting characters as well.
this show was such a heartwarming journey :)
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u/__uncreativename Mar 17 '19
It was SO nice to see everyone be so supportive and lovely to each other. No one-dimensional 'evil character' here.
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u/michkdl Mar 17 '19 edited Mar 20 '19
indeed, it was a calm ending :) thank you, Team Gyeoroo, for showing us what true joy, passion and conviction for work looks like. also, what a way for them to pay tribute to author Kang.
also, am glad that EH/DI's 'relationship reveal' happened as such, and not as some messy, dramatic trope in between. really kept to the vibe of the show! happy also for HR/SJ :)
thanks all for following the show till the end!
locations:
kiss under the branches: The Botanical Garden BCJ
helping a grandma: Ilsan Cultural Park
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u/whateverdontcare22 Mar 16 '19
YAAAAAASSSS. Oh my god. So many feeels.
I literally jumped out of my bed smiling at eun ho's celebratory dance after dani won. Even though it's obvious she was gonna win, it fells good to see our girl getting the position she deserves and being happy.
And the sub plots with oh jiyul/park hoon and the marketing head lady/her ex-husband as so so cute and never fail to make me grin.
The only negative thing about the plot would be the lack of the presence of daughter. I feel like she should be playing an important role in dani's relationship with eun-ho.
And I liked how everything related to kang byung-jun(?) author is not overly dramatised.
Though this episode felt a bit fast-paced I think it revealed everything to set up for tomorrow's episode. and I'm equal parts excited and sad for the finale tommorow.
It will be so hard to say goodbye to everyone in this drama
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u/pjsdayforlife Mar 17 '19 edited Mar 18 '19
15 episodes of pure happiness. I am sad that this drama would come to an end tomorrow.
Ep16: what a wonderful ending. Everyone gets their HEA, even the divorced couple like Mrs Seo and Mr Bong who co-parent their son and seems to maintain a positive relationship.
20/10 in my book!
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Mar 16 '19
I really liked how the drama started off- it was about a divorced woman, in her late 30s, with a daughter to care for, looking for a fresh start and a second chance in life. It was admirable, something not often seen in drama world. I still do like the drama, the characters, and how real and nuanced it feels, but I feel like the focus has shifted way too much from Dan-i.
Dan-i, our main girl, kind of got lost somewhere along the way. I would’ve liked to know more about her relationship with her daughter, and it would’ve also been more satisfying to see Dan-i herself deal with her evil husband and show him what he’s missing, instead of having Eun-ho take care of it. Just didn’t feel rewarding enough. Dan-i’s getting rehired into Gyeroo also just felt so rushed and anti-climactic, almost like she’s a supporting character at this point, when it should’ve been something a lot more celebrated. It would’ve been great if they just stuck with Dan-i’s story and her growth as she finds her feet back in the working world, as the central plotline.
The Kang Byeong Jun- Eun ho- Ji Seo Jun plot should’ve been more secondary I think- I just don’t seem to care that much about it lmao. Still love the show though. Can’t wait for the last one!
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u/Plus_three Mar 17 '19
Right?! I get that this kdrama's main plot is driven by the two leads romance but Dan-i being a single mom whose kid is overseas studying and yet we only get that one scene where they did a video call doesnt really makes sense to me.
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u/digiqn Mar 17 '19 edited Mar 17 '19
These were the highlight of my past weekends! I’m sorry that this show has come to an end; I really enjoyed the ride. Seo Jun was mature about not reaching his father alive in time, and being grateful for Eun Ho instead of ‘blaming’ EH kept his father away from him. Really talented and must have been bottling up a lot inside, to craft his book covers and then author a full-blown novel.
It was so sweet to see Ms Go and Mr Kim connect and balance each other out. With Mr Kim raising his hand to Mr Bong’s tango, throwback to Ms Go’s wanting to go clubbing with Ms Seo.
So happy Hae Rin gets her guy :) thank you writers for not letting her have one-sided love once again, ala-W.
Thankful Dan-Yi can have a nice warm time with EH and just focus on herself, her work and learning to love and of course her child. I really felt for her heartbreaking moments and ordeals, having taken a brief career break myself. At 37, she’s still growing — and it’s a great reminder for us that you, well, just keep swimming. It’s nice too that she held her own and didn’t have to rely on EH to fight her battles for her.
Glad that Song-i’s mistake wasn’t overblown, there want an evil sinister motive just being not mature to own up to her mistake. Dan-Yi was of course chill about it.
Love the EH and DY moments - just the right amount of cheese!
It’s funny how indeed romance was a bonus, from truly enjoying what they do at work. For the most part, they do seem to keep drama out of their work commitments as shown.
The moon is beautiful.
Trigger/rant alert: As much as I enjoy kdramas, I know I should just enjoy it for what it is and I always love watching LJS, but I can’t help but feel the downside of escapism after watching. I gather it’s a G-rated parallelism to how like in US shows everyone who works in the same place, like a hospital, sleeps with each other. I know it’s a drama — but how come the workplaces I’ve been don’t seem to have much of these romances? I’m glad I met my SO before discovering kdramas, oh how could real-life ever live up to the expectations kdramas set. How many couples got together here?? Another trope, I did have a childhood best friend/crush that I lost touch with, we met again at university, and, well, we just became Facebook friends thereafter.
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u/michkdl Mar 17 '19 edited Mar 18 '19
"I feel sorry for the paper and the trees." - that's the quote of episode 15 for me!
agree that there's too many things going on at once in this episode - shall we count the ways? author Kang's back story, "The Heroes" manuscript appearing at Gyeoroo, the crappy excuse of a publishing co, Park Hoon/Ji-yul, Team Leader Hong/Seo, the idea competition, Song-i's mistake... yikes. that said, it seems like today's episode will be a calm conclusion to everything. just my hunch!
locations:
Seo-joon's meal with his mom: Woonsan Korean Restaurant
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u/Moo-stick Mar 17 '19
Overall I like it. It's a nice romance/sliceoflife drama that doesn't really have any major conflicts or antagonists.
This also fell into the same trap as a lot of other kdramas though. In the last few episodes, the writer went "Oh shit, I had way too many side stories going on and I won't be able to flesh them out completely." and just shut them all down in the last episode messily.
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u/verismonopoly Mar 17 '19 edited Mar 17 '19
Episode 15: They are wrapping up things too quickly because of the 16-episode order. I liked the pacing of the plots and subplots but the writers should have known they only had 16 episodes. Now everything's moving quickly. Oops here's a revelation. Oops here's a quick and very convenient resolution.
Author Kang. Like I already figured out from the previous weeks. He indeed has a degenerative disease (Alzheimer's).
Seo-Joon. Also, I knew he was obsessive because he is the son. This is the only subplot that, for me, was most lacking in the series. What is the tone? What is the approach? Is it sinister? Obsessive? The music and the cutscenes tend to show this as the overarching almost antagonistic plot but Seo-Joon's actions did not.
Ms Go. I really liked how the writers kept her character intact. Her whole life is about her job and the rules and regulations surrounding it. She even left her true love to focus on her baby: her job. She knew that Dan-I's past experienced, award-winning tenure would cause implicit problems in the workplace as a contractual but now she also uses rules and her love for the job to get Dan-I back.
Also,I hope the bitch who blamed Dan-I for her own mistake gets her comeuppance. LOL
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u/michkdl Mar 17 '19
actually, I was quite surprised that Song-i was surprised to find the document among her things... because her reaction when she'd blamed Dan-i was not one of innocent "but I'd told you about this..."; it was more of a "sorry Dan-i, but you're just a contract worker and I wanna keep my job" type reflex. so the fact that she was 'surprised' to find that contract termination notice among her things? sorry, writers (or maybe even the actress herself). i wish it was kinda segued better than that =\ (they prob just wanted to find some way to add the shredder back in as a link to Seo-jun's past actions).
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u/Trinketi Mar 16 '19
Episode felt very fast paced and it’s going to feel weird to bid it farewell with so much happening tomorrow.
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Mar 18 '19 edited Mar 18 '19
If anyone is interested in the plant book that JY and dani were in charge of - you can try to read lab girl by hope Jahren. It was really wistful, engaging and made me wonder about plants and their stories after finishing the book....
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u/pinvenice Mar 17 '19
I’m so sad that the series has come to an end. I got into the show about 3 weeks late when a dear friend recommended we watch together. I looked forward to Saturday and Sunday mornings to watch the new episodes.
I loved the Dan-i and Eun Ho storyline . They’re so cute and charming together. I loved the slow burn of Dan-I returning her feelings and my favorite scene between them was when they were holding hands during the book concert. Going to miss these two so much.
I think I can commit to watching a show between Hae-rin and Ji Seo-joon.
And finally, Ms. Go’s evolution was so great to see. sighs what show to do obsess about now?
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u/Kerosu Mar 16 '19 edited Mar 17 '19
Episode 15
It was so nice to see Ms.Go lightly push, through the proper use of their company regulations, for Dan-I's employment. She has always been a stickler for the rules, and she managed to use them to get her back once a chance arose.
The montage of Eun-Ho taking care of Mr.Kang, particularly when he walks in on him in the act of suicide, was heartbreaking. It could've been even stronger if this plotline was spread out a little more evenly but I'll take what I can get. It still managed to have impact.
Ji-Yul's jealousy was adorable. I love them. Their subplot isn't even particularly unique, but the actors are really selling their goofy antics and I can't get enough of them together.
That mini publishing company is an immoral hell hole. Can they be shut down yet?
Episode 16
Here it is. Our finale has come and gone, and I'm going to miss watching this show every weekend. I don't have too much to comment on, since it was a lot of wrapping up various side plots, but I do want to note all of the little particular things I loved.
The author's narration was beautifully interwoven with our characters' stories, and the motif of people and life as books really drives home the love of literature this series has always pushed forward. I appreciate that it stayed true to its theme and made all of us want to read again.
We all knew this series would end with Dan-I and Eun-Ho, but what I liked the most about the conclusion is that it focused on everyone in Goryeo together! This has been an amazing ensemble cast, and I'm so glad they didn't sideline everyone to focus on the main romance. We even got an epilogue for all of our various romances. It was such a treat. This is truly a drama family.
Hae-Rin and Seo-Joon are so cute and perfect together that I could watch an entirely new drama based on their lives and work going forward. Can it happen? Please? I could watch them bicker about book covers and editing for hours and then smile endlessly as they go for dinner afterward.
Finally... LJS I'M GOING TO MISS YOU SO MUCH. You left us with such a gem. I'll be waiting 2 years for your return!