Andante – Sometimes Slow Change Makes Life Better

“Andante” is a 2017 Korean drama series, with 16 episodes, and categorized as Family, Coming-of-age, Youth or Teen drama, Romance and Comedy (Rom-Com); streaming on Viki. (NOTE: Not to be confused with “Love, Andante”.)

SUMMARY: You know life is hard when you have to go live with your mother-in-law. You’re the heartless daughter-in-law who left with the mother-in-law’s only son and came back later, widowed with two (2) teenage kids. The mother-in-law resents you because when you married her son, instead of everything coming up roses, only the prickly thorns came up! Why go where you’re probably won’t be welcomed? Because you’re that desperate and even willing to beg!

♦ We Have to Go Live With Your Grandmother

In “Andante”, Lee Shi-Kyung has become addicted to playing games. He spends most of his time at an Internet cafe in front of a PC. Not only is he good at playing video games, but Lee Shi-Kyung has become proficient in lying to his mother. He’s so good he even knows how to fake a good report card. He can’t show his mother his real grades because he’s been skipping school and his grade have gone way down. Lee Shi-Kyung witnessed a bullying incident. Initially, he agreed to testify but then the bullies came after him. They threatened him to be their witness and say they didn’t do it.

Lee Shi-Young is Lee Shi-Kyung’s sister and she’s rather weird and strange. She isn’t a model child, but she hasn’t gotten to the point where she lies to her mother about her school report card.

Oh Jung-Won is the mother of Lee Shi-Kyung and Lee Shi-Young. She is a widow and after her husband’s death, she has been working hard to financially support herself and her two teenage kids. They don’t really know hard it is for her to provide for them. She is in debt and the debt collectors are harassing her for their money. Oh Jung-Won goes to the school because she needs to talk to his homeroom teacher. She is shocked to learn that her son has not been telling her truth and he’s in trouble academically; and doesn’t know about the bullying incident. As if it isn’t bad enough to find out her son has been skipping school, her debt collectors are relentlessly pursuing her.

Oh Jung-Won financial situation is so bad that she decides to pack up everything up, go to her mother-in-law, and ask if she would allow them to move in. Lee Shi-Kyung and Lee Shi-Young object! They don’t want to move from Seoul to go live with grandma, way out in the country away from civilization. But they can’t object because Oh Jung-Won’s the mom. She’s already decided and they will go where she goes. The matter is non-negotiable. Lee Shi-Kyung and Lee Shi-Young have to adjust to life with grandma, attending a new high school, and hopefully making new friends.

♦ Goodbye City Life! Hello Countryside!

Lee Shi-Kyung and Lee Shi-Young tried to run away and go back to Seoul, but their escape attempt failed. They got started at their new school which looks like a typical high school but it has an odd curriculum. All juniors must participate in a death experience. (O.o) It’s REQUIRED. They have to lie in a coffin, write their own epitaph, and do volunteer work at a hospice. WHY? (O.o) Uumm … they’ll understand the reason later. Meanwhile …

Lee Shi-Kyung made friends with Park Ga-Ram, a model student who is very intelligent and mature. He has already decided that he wants to be a doctor and works part-time at a mortuary to gain experience by handling cadavers. He suggested that Lee Shi-Kyung get a part-time job working at the same place to help him earn money to support his “gaming addiction”.

In addition, Lee Shi-Kyung developed a fascination with a student named Kim Bom, the first time he saw her face. It turns out that she is also a transfer student and her behavior is sort of mysterious. He wants to get to know her, but he doesn’t try to rush their relationship. He’ll move slow. You know? Andante.

The lifestyle in the countryside could be described as “andante”, i.e. life moves at a moderately slow tempo. It was nothing like living in Seoul. Moving to the countryside to live with their grandmother turned out to be a life-changing experience, especially for Lee Shi-Kyung. The change was definitely for the better.

Main Characters:

• Lee Shi-Kyung (played by Kai)
• Kim Bom (played by Kim Jin-Kyung)
• Lee Shi-Young (played by Yoo Jae-Yi)
• Park Ga-Ram (played by Baek Chul-Min)
• Oh Jung-Won (played by Jeon Mi-Sun, “The Moon Embracing The Sun”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 6.7 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.4 out of 10 stars
• Viki viewers rated this series 9.1 out of 10 stars
• Letterboxd: 3.2 out of 5 stars
• Google users shared a public rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
• Amazon customers rated this series: 5 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers.

“Andante” was added to my watch list because when I searched for the Kdrama titled “Love, Andante”, it popped up in the search results. I did not recognize any of the young actors, so it made me curious. Quite a few reviewers wanted to share a rating and that made me even curiouser. LOL.

This series is absolutely nothing like “Love, Andante”.

“Andante” is much more relatable. Anybody who has raised teenagers knows how trying and challenging it can be. It’s even more difficult when you’re a single parent and you are facing extreme financial hardships. “Andante” is a wholesome, heartwarming story about a family that finds themselves in a tight spot. A single mom, raising two teenagers, takes a chance and makes a major decision to change the course of their “ship of life”. It’s 50/50 and could go either way. But she is hoping life will only get better.

Haven’t many of us “been there, done that, bought the T-shirt”? Some have been faced with situations in their life and they have to do something! It’s 50/50. That means SINK or SWIM.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Andante, Ep.1-3: A Family Comedy Wrapped in Death | Seoulbeats

K-Drama Review: EXO Kai’s “Andante” Hums A Spirited Yet Melancholic Tale About Life Realizations & First Love | Hello Kpop

Andante Korean Drama Review | Kdrama Kisses

TRAILER/TEASER:

KBS WORLD TV. “Andante.” YouTube, Video, 6 Apr. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS9mTc1jnhA.

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