Summary: Du Ri An, a noble lady in the Joseon era, gets transported to the present time together with her daughter-in-law, Kim Seo Jeo. The two ladies are taken in by the Dan family, who are mostly reincarnated relatives from the past. Du Ri An, who lost her son gets reunited with him and Kim Seo Jeo too gets reunited with her husband, however he doesn’t recognize both of them.
Durian’s Affair Trailer
Genre: Period, Time-travel, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery
Episodes: 16
Stars: Park Joo Mi as Du Ri An
Kim Min Jun as Dan Chi Gam / Dol Soe
Lee Da Yeon as Kim Seo Jo
Yoo Jung Ho as Dan Deung Myung
Choi Myoung Gil as Baek Do Yi
Likes: What can I say when my favourite genres are consolidated in one kdrama, finally someone has heard me right. We’ve got a combination of past and present here, highlighting vital scenes in Joseon era when all things begun. Time-travel is one of my favourites too! Fantasy, romance and mystery completed the whole roller-coaster plot which involves two noble ladies who time-traveled to the present and meet their long-gone relatives. Crazy but brilliant idea!
Durian’s Affair. Whatever happens when you watch the show, never forget, it’s all because of Durian’s affair. So it’s about the impossible love of a servant and a noble lady who was given a chance to sleep with one another to give the lady a son that her husband couldn’t possibly give due to declining health. The two involved were kind of thankful for that impossible chance. The servant especially couldn’t believe his luck and he was anytime ready to accept his bitter fate after that. This affair obviously complicates and twists the lives of the reincarnated people involved.
How the story told. I’m impressed with how the story unfolded. It started in the present time presenting this great, wealthy, good-looking family. The family seems very nice. Wealthy but good people. Their lives were suddenly shaken when these two noble ladies from the past appeared, and Du Ri An, the older noble lady knows that the wealthy family members are mostly reincarnation of her loved ones from the past. I liked the going back and forth, past and present unfolding of stories. The slow revelation of things (but not draggy) makes the drama so interesting and exciting.
Very well defined-characters. Everyone has a story, everyone’s character especially the main ones were built-up properly, creating very important roles in the story. Everyone is likeable and relatable because of that. We understand the feelings and the reasons involved because of how defined the characters are. We understand why Du Ri An was scared of the mum but at the same time respectful of her. We understand why she was uneasy with the youngest son but also couldn’t help getting curious about him. We fully understand how she felt when she saw her dead son alive in front of her. How these important characters are connected to one another, is so well-architected in this drama.
Good-looking cast. Everyone was just stunning! The two noble ladies from the past looked great in their Hanboks, primmed and proper, and exhibited classic elegance! The rich family in the present time also exhibited elegance, luxury and never dying beauty!
Park Joo Mi as Du Ri An – her beauty suits her role. Simple, serene and exuded elegance. She really did a great job portraying lady Du Ri An as someone so soft-spoken, respectful, choosy with her words, and so demure when she moved around.
Lee Da Yeon as Kim Seo Jo – I find her sooo pretty! Loved the way she spoke, so soft and shy. The role was a young grieving woman who lost her husband, and she did an amazing job portraying that. The way she would look at her reincarnated husband was so full of love and longing!
Choi Myoung Gil as Baek Do Yi – I loved the role. First you would think of her as someone evil, but she was not. That’s what Du Ri An thought as well. She feared her mother-in-law, but she respected her. In the present life, the Baek Do Yi was still the centre of them all, a beautiful, powerful, and a reasonable lady, who unbelievably got along with all her grown-up sons. Truly remarkable.
Gorgeous wardrobes. I’ve got to give credits to the stylists of the show for coming up with a solid, gorgeous outfits for everyone. My favourite showdown was the first episode at the birthday of Baek Do Yi when everyone was dressed up for the event and all her kids and grandson gathered, looking handsome and rich, including the beautiful daughters-in-law. They were all consistently well-dressed throughout the show. It’s fun to watch.
Of course, the Hanboks worn by our Joseon ladies were also top. It was like a battle between the traditional and the modern. Both were so tastefully worn.
The addictive intro. I never got tired watching the intro everytime I watched an episode. It just sooo good! Loved the music, the timing, and everyone looked great here. Check it out… Durian’s Affair Intro!
Cliffhangers! It would make you binge-watch, well, if you have all the episodes ready. Unfortunately for me, had to wait for the next two episodes every week. But yes, awesome cliffhangers!
Favourite quote. “If there is the sun, there is the moon. If there is the moon, there is the sun. If there is happiness, there is misfortune. If you oovercome the misfortune, there is happiness.”
The ending. The whole story is about reincarnation and karma. In the end, these two women who came from the past, who fell in love and who spent time with the person they loved, but then later in life lost them, kind of got rewarded when they made it to the present and met the love of their lives again. However, it wasn’t as simple with Du Ri An, maybe because of her affair. The father of her son became the son’s uncle and her past husband became the brother of her’s son’s father. Entangled relationships! And in the end, Du Ri An realized that her life in the past was about to repeat itself, and she was unhappy about it. She would rather go back, and be alone than being with someone she doesn’t love. I agree that the ending was too abrupt, but I assume Du Ri An disappeared with Chi Gam, the reincarnation of her one truly love.
Baek Do Yi’s (the mother-in-law) fate was very sad. She lost her favourite son and her husband. Everything was going well with her but then maybe because of what she did in the past, her present took a different turn. I actually really loved her present personality, couldn’t see a fault in her. But I guess karma had spoken and there she had it.
I loved Kim Seo Jo’s ending the most, as she stayed with Deung Myung. She became a famous actress herself and has a son with him.
Overall, it was a great drama. Kept me hooked every week. Loved the setting, great story, well-developed characters and with such brilliant acting.
My Rating: 9 stars! (10 as highest)
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