Most of the Korean dramas I've seen so far have been more of a romantic-comedy sort of vein. There is nothing wrong with that, and I've enjoyed a bunch of them, but this is not one of those. This show actually felt quite real and honest.
A bunch of aspects about this show stood out as great to me: The depictions of family life are incredibly realistic, with love, bickering, boredom, and hope all woven together at once. Romantic relationships are very well done; a bit multi-faceted or imperfect (as in real life), and you definitely find yourself rooting for each of the main characters. Depictions of the inner dialogues of introverted characters were spot-on. Even just the fact that this show mostly features introverted characters completely flies in the face of all of American television. From a basic plot standpoint, the show was never boring or predictable. And (spoiler alert) the depictions of the loss of loved ones were also incredibly relatable and realistic... I definitely had some memories come back.
Honestly, Korean television is such a welcome breath of fresh air from 90% of what else is on Netflix or American media. Kind of awesome that a show made on the other side of the world is so incredibly relatable.
