I Need Romance 2012

I Need Romance 2012

5.5/10

I Need Romance 2012 

Genre:                                   Episodes: 16                                   Year: 2012

Romance

Comedy

Melodrama

Synopsis:

Joo Yeol Mae and Yoon Seok Hyun were in an off-and-on relationship for 12 years before breaking up for the last time three years ago. Although they have been broken up for quite some time, the two remain incredibly close friends and continue to live together in the house they grew up in as children. Yeol Mae still has lingering feelings for Seok Hyun, but he appears indifferent towards her. Shin Ji Hoon, the owner of the coffee shop Yeol Mae frequents, confesses to her and tries to sway her feelings from Seok Hyun to himself.

Cast:

Jung Yu Mi (Joo Yeol Mae)

Lee Jin Wook (Yoon Seok Hyun)

Kim Ji Suk (Shin Ji Hoon)

Kang Ye Sol (Woo Ji Hee)

Kim Ji Woo (Sun Jae Kyung)

Kim Ye Won (Kang Na Hyun)

Heo Tae Hee (Kim Tae Woo)

General Thoughts:

No. This drama can p*ss right off if you want my brutal, honest opinion. What even was that? A monstrosity of an ending that’s what. Seriously, that ending gives ‘Big’ a good run for its money in ‘Worst K-Drama Endings of All Time’. Okay, seriously though. It’s not all bad- on the contrary, a lot of it is very, very good. Very good. I enjoyed a large portion of this drama immensely. Which sadly only made its slow and gruesome death that much more upsetting.

It just...didn't meet expectations

It turns out, it’s the exact opposite of ‘I Need Romance 2011’, in which I disliked a large portion of the series, but its beautifully poetic and justifiable ending made everything make sense and left a sweet aftertaste. In contrast, ‘I Need Romance 2012’ was an interesting and well-crafted drama whose unexplainable and absurd ending made everything make less sense than when we started, and left a rather vomitus aftertaste.

And it was at this point my love for the drama died

The writing in ‘I Need Romance 2011’ was so subtle that the audience was gently guided toward the ending the writers had in store, and everyone left remotely happy. Over the course of the whole drama, the couple acknowledged their mistakes and learned from them, giving the couple an authentic, long-lasting feel. The writers were like a parent holding the back of your seat while you learn to ride a bike, letting go only when you have the confidence and balance to ride on your own. The writing in ‘I Need Romance 2012’ however, was like a parent holding the back of your seat while you learn to ride a bike, letting go when their arm got tired and they couldn’t be assed supporting you anymore, only to watch you fall. And break your arm. On the road. Where you’re hit by a truck. I trusted the writers the way I trusted them for ‘INR 2011’ and they betrayed me. The sad fact is, Yoon Seok Hyun is a weak character with little development that only becomes open to the idea of changing himself in the last episode where he then promptly runs away from everybody after quite splendidly ruining everyone’s life. Top bloke. Throughout the drama he was short-tempered, uncommunicative, and selfish. By the end of the drama he has made no visible changes, yet a year has passed and suddenly he’s an enlightened man who knows how to communicate and treat his woman well. Believable? Not in the slightest.

He cried for a year, then magically learned to love

Joo Yeol Mae was a bit abrasive and could come across rude, but was likeable for the most part. She voiced her opinions and feelings and wanted Seok Hyun to do the same so they could discuss their problems, address them, and move on. She gave Seok Hyun every opportunity to grab onto her, but he didn’t, and right up to the end Yeol Mae was the one seeking out Seok Hyun to comfort him and help him while he sat in his puddle of self-pity tears.

Actually too perfect to be Man No. 2

And then there’s Shin Ji Hoon who is apparently perfect in every way. He’s supportive, understanding, and is able to communicate in order to resolve misunderstandings and fights. And he just gets massively screwed over here. Because apparently the writers (and Yeol Mae) are totally bipolar, and a little bit masochistic. The support characters are actually quite delightful. The acting’s not spectacular and does seem a little forced on occasion (particularly from Kim Ji Woo), but it quite nicely gets the job done. While not without their flaws, Yeol Mae’s friends and their men are constructed as continually changing and developing characters who learn from their mistakes in order to shape their future (unlike our supposed ‘hero’). The story arcs for our support characters are interesting enough and come to logical, satisfying conclusions. The relationship between the three girls was refreshing, and while they didn’t have that initial spark of chemistry that the girls had in ‘INR 2011’, they felt more like real, functional people than our original girls as they could talk about things other than just sex. Like work, social problems, and emotions.

Better characters, but slightly worse acting

The soundtrack was rather unexceptional and forgettable- bar Lasse Lindh’s ‘I Could Give You Love’ which I’ll be singing for the next week.

What Was Great:

Initial Character Setup:

The original character set up in the drama felt similar to the 2011 series. We have an interesting, driven woman with two extremely close friends, and a man she’s had a close relationship with for an extended period of time. Enter new, younger girl that puts a strain on the relationship between the main couple. Enter new, younger man that steps up to comfort the heroine while main man acts like a butt. Two side friends have their own story arcs with separate men.

New characters spice up a familiar situation

Very similar, but also new enough in that the characters were sufficiently different from the original. Yeol Mae was outspoken and headstrong, not afraid to chase after what she believed was her own happiness. Seok Hyun was withdrawn and mildly mysterious.

Got his happy-ever-after a year later (in true K-Drama style)

Ji Hoon was open, understanding and willing to let our heroine search for her happiness while simultaneously insisting that it was with him. There were enough differences with our characters and their relationships that it was interesting to imagine where the writers would take us this time with the differing dynamics. Spoiler alert: they take us to the same place as last time. Also, it was hilarious and interesting to see Heo Tae Hee return as Kim Tae Woo- who happened to be the ex-fiancé of Kang Hyun Joo who he dumped in ‘INR 2011’ for not being sexy.

Second Male Lead Syndrome:

So basically Kim Ji Suk is adorable, and he plays an adorable character. Shin Ji Hoon is every woman’s dream and the most unrealistic thing in the whole series is that he would still be single at 30. Because he’s more or less perfect. Granted, Lee Jin Wook is pretty gorgeous when he smiles- but sadly for him, his mopey character doesn’t do that often. Which means that Kim Ji Suk/Shin Ji Hoon was able to brilliantly outdazzle him in both looks and character. 

This is what we wanted. This is what we all wanted.

What Wasn’t:

F*ck Off:

This male protagonist just didn’t cut it for me. I felt he was selfish, irrational, and his decisions made less than no sense. For starters, he had clearly given Yeol Mae up and was not interested in having a relationship with her that had any sort of definable future.

His puppy-eyes are like a dead puppy's eyes

Why, you may ask? Because his family has a genetic disease which he may or may not have inherited, so he may or may not die. And yet he sticks around not having enough guts to bugger off, starting weird undefined relationships with our leading lady on a whim, then breaking them off on a whim- all while openly flirting and toying with the feelings of his younger co-writer Kang Na Hyun. Sound like a bit of a jackass? Probably because he is. He constantly hurts and pushes away this woman who he says he loves (in voiceover no less), then when she is finally moving on, being happy and forgetting him- he butts in to try and take her back. Only when she comes back…he doesn’t want a relationship with her. And he moves house…and vanishes for a year…so he can…cry? C’mon bud, get your sh*t together. Had there been an understandable reason behind why he’d been so secretive and pushing her away, his character may have been halfway acceptable. But there wasn’t. So he can’t promise a future to her because he might die and he wants to spare her that pain. Okay, acceptable reason- if you then let her go and have a future with someone else. But no, he keeps her hanging around in limbo, where his death would still end up hurting her just as much.

Once a wanker, always a wanker- that's what I always say

Also, what a selfish, d*ck move to not tell her about his sister’s death? Yeah, he’s trying to keep his family illness a secret or whatever, but he wasn’t the only one Yeol Mae grew up with. Yeol Mae had a relationship with his younger sister that was all her own and extended beyond ‘my boyfriend’s sibling’. She had every right to know about that death and mourn it in her own way. Seok Hyun just flip-flops more than any character ever should, and with no clear, understandable reasoning behind his decisions.

"Should I dump you? Nah. Should I date you? Nah."

He was so sweet and thoughtful to start (though still rather uncommunicative), then randomly became bitter, closed, and disagreeable, before arriving at expressive, communicative and understanding in the last 5 minutes. It was unbelievable that he could have such a turnaround in the space of 1 year when he’s spent the last 12 or so years making the same mistakes and being unwilling to change. From 2/3rds in right until the end, all I could think when Yoon Seok Hyun was on my screen was ‘F*ck off, buddy’.

Not Expressing Love:

Ji Hoon was actually the only character that was able to express his emotions through his words and actions. With our leading couple, unfortunately the writers relied far too heavily on the voiceovers as a tool to explain what our characters were feeling. I don’t want a voiceover telling me that Seok Hyun has realised in an instant what he couldn’t see for the last 12 years. I want you to show me how he came to that realisation, and how he’s going to express this change of heart to Yeol Mae. I don’t want to hear a voiceover telling me Yeol Mae is in love with Seok Hyun when all I’m seeing is her being perfectly happy and in love with Ji Hoon. It’s the tricky balance that the original struck just right that the sequel has sadly fallen short off. We heard about the apparent unbreakable connection between our two leads, but we didn’t see it. What we saw (and didn’t hear) was the connection between Yeol Mae and Ji Hoon, which led to their relationship being much more understandable to the viewers.

That tree got more loving looks than Seok Hyun ever did

What was so magic about the original ‘I Need Romance’, was that it was blaringly obvious that the main couple loved each other deeply and belonged together- and some sort of witchcraft kept the main male lead from coming across as the world’s biggest prat. There was also a viable reason behind why the newer relationship wouldn’t work that went beyond ‘I think I might still love my ex’. Sadly, in this drama our main couple was just plain unconvincing. While there was undoubtedly some chemistry between the actors, they sold an unbelievable couple.

Re-watch?

No. I repeat myself: f*ck off Yoon Seok Hyun.

Perfect example of how a sh*tty ending can ruin an otherwise fantastic drama

I Need Romance 2011

I Need Romance 2011

5.5/10

I Need Romance 2011 

Genre:                                   Episodes: 16                                   Year: 2011

Romance

Comedy

Melodrama

Synopsis:

The story follows Sun Woo In Young and her two friends, Park Seo Yeon and Kang Hyun Joo. Sun Woo In Young is a concierge manager at a hotel, and has been dating Kim Sung Soo for around 10 years. Bae Sung Hyun is her junior at work who has had feelings for her for quite some time. After In Young discovers that Sung Soo has cheated on her, Sung Hyun sees it as an opportunity to confess his feelings. Kang Hyun Joo is a divorce lawyer who is left at the altar, but hires a man to pose as her husband to prevent embarrassing herself in front of her many wedding guests. Hyun Joo is distraught after finding out that she was dumped because her fiancée does not find her sexy, and sets out to lose her virginity. Park Seo Yeon is the president and model for a popular online clothing store. She is a serial-dater with a unique, open-minded view on love.

Cast:

Jo Yeo Jeong (Sun Woo In Young)

Kim Jeong Hoon (Kim Sung Soo)

Choi Jin Hyuk (Bae Sung Hyun)

Choi Yeo Jin (Park Seo Yeon)

Choi Song Hyun (Kang Hyun Joo)

Kim Hyung Min (Kim Deok Soo)

Ha Yeon Joo (Yoon Kang Hee)

General Thoughts:

I’m so conflicted about this drama. I absolutely HATED the first half, but I absolutely LOVED the end, and I know there’s no way we could have had that ending with any other start but the one we had. While I wouldn’t go as far as saying I liked the drama, somehow I still have a weird fondness for it. It makes me feel like a schizophrenic.

I don't know how to feel

I wasn’t particularly drawn to any of the characters, but they were developed well. The writers were very clearly able to easily and accurately display who our characters were, and they were consistent throughout- none of this character flip-flopping we often get in K-Dramas. All the characters were very unique, without coming across as over-fictionalised or unrealistic.

Moral of the story:
Jeong Hoon can cheat on you as many times as he wants cuz he has killer puppy-eyes

Apart from the continual relationship developments, there wasn’t much else going on plot-wise, but there was so much happening with relationships that this didn’t really matter. The main love-triangle was also nice and unpredictable- right until the end it’s hard to tell which way the main female lead will swing. I actually spent a good portion of this drama believing she would end up with nobody. Which was totally possible, because this drama does not follow any sort of common storyline with any K-Drama I have seen so far. The acting was all brilliant- you can’t fault anyone there. Kim Jeong Hoon makes the greatest abandoned, remorseful, despairing boyfriend ever. Choi Jin Hyuk makes a pretty top-notch chaebol too.

What Was Great:

Unpredictable:

The leading female character has a mind that is all over the place. This results in a plot that is damn near impossible to predict. A lot of the unpredictability actually came from In Young acting in very realistic ways. While it’s easy for an audience to see what the ‘better’, more sensible choice is, as a character In Young is not privy to all this information. As a viewer, we can also detach our emotions from the situation and view it rationally, while our characters (rightly so) cannot do this.

I'll admit- it's a tough choice

One of the fantastic aspects of this drama is seeing In Young debate the two paths she has in front of her. She has a pretty good idea of which man she should rationally be choosing- but a very human lingering attachment keeps her looking back at Sung Soo. And after 10 years, who can blame her?

Female Characters:

While the bulk of the main plot circled In Young and her two very handsome men, the underlying friendship of the three women was consistent throughout. It was just such a nice change to have more female main characters than just the leading lady and her love rival. It was actually extremely enjoyable that the love-rival, while very present, took a backseat to our heroine and her two friends.

Because who need boys?

It kept the b*tch levels down and prevented us from falling too deeply into the tired and overused plotline of a jealous side-girl messing with the main female lead for the attention of a man. This common plotline did peek its head in a little, but was thankfully kept minimal. Hyun Joo and Seo Yeon both have interesting storylines in their own rights and are cute, unique characters that differ widely from the main female lead.

Snogging:

It’s nice to have some decent kissing and not just the frozen-in-place, camera-spin-around kisses we usually get.

Are you taking notes, Park Shin Hye?

That Ending:

Oh it was perfect. I was so surprised. I had virtually checked out of this drama- I didn’t really like anyone, but I wanted to know what happened, and then that wonderful, masterpiece of an ending. It wasn’t showy or cheesy, but it was so, so, so deeply satisfying. All at once everything just clicked into place, and you understand why the beginning of the drama went the way it did.

What Wasn’t:

Instant Depression:

In the beginning, all our characters were pretty crappy. I appreciate flawed characters, but so many of characters didn’t even have redeeming qualities.

My emotions at the start of this drama

The situations, paired with these awful people, left me feeling pretty darn grim. While the concept is not exactly bad, I detached myself pretty fast. It’s understandable that drama requires conflict, but when everybody sucks and does sucky things, it just plain sucks. And that’s not why I tune in to K-Drama.

Over-Sexualisation:

While it’s a nice change from the overly-innocent, naive female characters we get in most dramas, it was overplayed. Do these women do nothing more than sleep around or cry about not sleeping around? Really. I appreciate that our characters were supposed to be modern, free women who don’t adhere to society’s rules on women’s sexuality. However, it felt counter-productive that these women defined themselves based on their own sexuality, when they are criticising the rest of the world for doing just that. Kang Hyun Joo is ‘naïve’ because she’s a virgin, Park Seo Yeon is ‘strong’ and ‘independent’ because she’s had multiple sexual partners, and Sun Woo In Young sits somewhere in the ‘healthy’ middle. The whole time I was watching, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that the drama was trying way too hard to be ‘American’.

Because nothing says 'independent' quite like sex

Re-watch?

No. After finishing the drama I can appreciate it for what it is, and I totally understand why so many people love it. Focusing on the friendship between the girls is a definite bonus- but it just isn’t the drama for me.

It does have its own kind of magic though