Uncontrollably Fond (2016) poster
8.1
Your Rating: 0/10
Ratings: 8.1/10 from 34,474 users
# of Watchers: 79,298
Reviews: 132 users
Ranked #1870
Popularity #92
Watchers 34,474

People change but can the heart adapt? Sin Joon Young and No Eul were in love in their younger days. But uncontrollable circumstances separated them, and they went their separate ways. Joon Young is now a superstar actor and singer, while No Eul has become a producer-director of documentaries. When their paths cross again years later, Joon Young discovers that No Eul is now a very different person than he remembered — materialistic and willing to do anything to get ahead. Is there any hope for Joon Young and No Eul to rekindle their past relationship? (Source: Viki) Edit Translation

  • English
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  • Русский
  • Čeština
  • Country: South Korea
  • Type: Drama
  • Episodes: 20
  • Aired: Jul 6, 2016 - Sep 8, 2016
  • Aired On: Wednesday, Thursday
  • Original Network: KBS2
  • Duration: 60 min.
  • Score: 8.1 (scored by 34,474 users)
  • Ranked: #1870
  • Popularity: #92
  • Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Where to Watch Uncontrollably Fond

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Cast & Credits

Photos

Uncontrollably Fond (2016) photo
Uncontrollably Fond (2016) photo
Uncontrollably Fond (2016) photo
Uncontrollably Fond (2016) photo
Uncontrollably Fond (2016) photo
Uncontrollably Fond (2016) photo

Reviews

Completed
Charming92
165 people found this review helpful
Sep 8, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 7
Overall 8.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 3.0
I’ll cut to the chase. Uncontrollably fond is melodrama 101 and while I can see how this translates into “this sucks” for some people, for others this initially means “this is daebak”. The drama features a lot of one dimensional characters who don’t think rationally most of the time, a lot of nerve-wrecking and heart-wrenching situations, while the direction of the whole thing can be easily seen as unnecessarily overdramatic. But as I told you, this is melodrama 101, all those are to be expected so people who cannot tolerate heavily overdramatic melodrama it’s time you left.

Story
Introduction to melodrama. One character is a self-hating guy with mommy and daddy issues who is dying from a terminal illness, one character is seemingly the knight in the shining armor who is a coward and makes the wrong choices for noble reasons, one is a bad raging bitch who things she owns the world, and lastly one is a fighting hero who tries her best to stay sane and survive but fails miserably furthering the overdramatic nature of the whole thing.

The backstory and plot here is probably the best thing this drama has to offer but will probably be appreciated only by the melo fans; others will find it rather stretched and too fake and I won’t say it isn’t. However, in all its greatness it is nothing new. It gathers all the clichés, car crashes, illegitimate children, hit and runs, terminal illnesses, rich vs poor people, and lastly the legendary –at this point- cycle of the leads chasing each other. Female lead wants male lead but he’s a bastard and 5 episodes later male lead wants female lead but she’s a bitch while they love each other like crazy and they have barely any reasons to act this way. This is probably the worst part of the drama imo but then again it takes a special viewer to appreciate it.

The story has nothing new to offer, and the plot gets heavily dragged midway due to the chasing around, but does this mean this is the worst drama ever? No. Does this mean this is totally unwatchable? No. It is just addressed to a certain type of viewer who will love it and its flaws completely. That’s all. If you like usual melodrama you’ll like this, there is no funny side character, there is no comedic relief, there is scarcely any rationality in the writing, and the whole plot is over the top, but to be honest that is melodrama’s charm. Take it or leave it.

Acting
Stellar performances by everyone; however Kim Woo Bin is probably the only memorable actor in this one. His acting was very emotional and he was very pleasant to look at.

Syzy won’t be winning any awards for her performance but her acting was way better than expected and didn’t bring the show down at all.

Recommend/rewatch
We all know what melodrama means. If you like overly emotional and depressing stories, you want to cry and watch a doomed romance then go ahead. This not the best melodrama i've ever watched but it isn’t bad at all, on the contrary i'd say. However if you expect smiles, fluffiness, butterflies and funny cute situations give this a pass. I will never rewatch this.

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Completed
Marshmallow-Chocoholic
29 people found this review helpful
Feb 27, 2021
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 8
Overall 5.5
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 5.0

A Problematic Tearjerker...

If you ask for a drama watcher’s recommendations of “ saddest dramas they’ve ever seen”, it is probably likely that you’ll hear or see “ Uncontrollably Fond” ranked somewhere on that list.

The series focuses upon successful superstar Sin Joon Young ( Kim Woo Bin) who awkwardly meets his old flame from his youth, No Eul ( Bae Suzy), a producer of documentaries. When their respected careers awkwardly make their paths cross once again, No Eul is surprised to learn how much Joon Young has changed into a shallow and materialistic individual, rather than the kind-hearted person she once fell in love with, however, Joon Young also begins to stumble upon a life-changing truth which may finally ruin his relationship with his former love...

Undeniably, Uncontrollably Fond isn’t the type of drama to watch if you’re looking for something” fun and fluffy” ; the focal point of the series centralises upon terminal illness, tragic love and angst with Lee Kyung Hee’s ( The Innocent Man, Chocolate) screenwriting hoping to tug at heartstrings of viewers , rather than relish in a sweet romance tale (as shown in his more light-hearted works). The show is certainly effective within inflicting heartache onto viewers towards the particular fate of our characters, however, it is still certainly problematic when it comes to characterisation, as well as clearing up the evident inconsistencies which arose in this angst-ridden ride as well.It is important to note that the acting in the show is certainly quite good. Kim Woo Bin and Bae Suzy are undeniably brilliant actors, however, it is fair to say that their characters are tackled interestingly, to say the least.

Bae Suzy’s character, No Eul is undeniably a kind-hearted soul who is passionate about her work and desperately tries to make amends with Joon Young over the course of the series . On the other hand, No Eul often felt too dormant within her actual role and presence as a fleshed-out individual onscreen. Whilst it is important to stress that a show doesn’t necessarily need to go into a whole life story upon a character in order for viewers to “ get to know them personally”, it’s hard to really distinguish or get a grip upon No Eul as a character outside of her “ necessary flashbacks “ and past relationship with Joon Young. Even minor details such as her interests, interactions outside of her workplace and reactions to prominent obstacles over the course of the story , often felt passive and lacking in emotional depth to truly portray her as a well-written female lead.

Then of course there is Kim Woo Bin’s role as Joon Young. Undeniably Joon Young goes through several terrible ordeals even before the main events of the series, which fundamentally shapes his certain outlook upon life, relationships and characters (No Eul, being the evident subject of Joon Young’s changed interactions and feelings). No Eul’s entry into Joon Young’s life again comes nearly simultaneously with his life-changing news. This consequently causes him to try pushing No Eul away, as she becomes his saddening and haunting reminder of a past that he’s tried to reject, and he can never return to.

This of course leads us down two routes of “ problematic” characterisation; the first within Joon Young’s behaviour, and secondly towards this behaviour is inflicted towards the female lead No Eul . It’s important to say that Joon Young’s reactions and attempts to drive No Eul away by flirting with other women, did add a slightly realistic reaction towards the male lead’s scenario. Joon Young is supposed to be only human and naturally intrinsically driven like most people towards rash decision-making.

However, Joon Young’s often anger-driven emotions and reactions towards his situation by throwing things or beginning a screaming match, soon became both frustrating when he began to lash out at times upon No Eul. A lot of fans of Uncontrollably Fond’s pairing often seem to gloss over the fact that ,for the majority of the series, Joon Young was emotionally abusive and physically harassed the female lead upon several occasions ( not least throwing her out of the car in the middle of nowhere, grabbing her arm often without consent and often manipulating her feelings rather than merely being honest).

Again, this is not saying it was “ wrong” for Joon Young to have feelings anger or for the show to touch upon emotional abuse or physical harassment, but it was concerning that the drama neither raised this up prominently as a terrible issue or relationships, and suddenly tried to “ sweeten” this by Joon Young and No Eul’s more “ romantic” feelings before the finale. This sudden transition from Joon Young tossing No Eul out of a car to hugging her several episodes later, wasn’t just nonsensical, but ridiculous in terms of character and relationship progression.Nevertheless, despite the questionable relationship between the two characters, the finale did leave a sucker- punch for viewers’ feelings. Without spoiling too much, it is fair to say that upon reflection the ending isn’t “ sad” per say because of the fate of our characters, but rather the blinded acceptance towards what is happening in their present, rather than their pasts or futures.

Overall Uncontrollably Fond wasn’t a bad show with some well-written qualities of the psychological complexity of coming to grasps with terminal illness, relationships, love and an emotional ending. On the other hand, Uncontrollably Fond had little greater character depth, straying away from cliches and explanations ( not least the “ unexplained illness”) ,a healthily progressive portrayal of relationships and problems of sugarcoating issues of emotional abuse and physical harassment within the main couple as well. As a drama to pass the time and as a tearjerker , Uncontrollably Fond is undeniably a good-binge watch, however, if you’re looking for a show with genuine depth and a well-written relationship between our leads, then look elsewhere because Uncontrollably Fond certainly isn’t the one that you’re looking for.

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Recommendations

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Come and Hug Me
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Chocolate

Details

  • Drama: Uncontrollably Fond
  • Country: South Korea
  • Episodes: 20
  • Aired: Jul 6, 2016 - Sep 8, 2016
  • Aired On: Wednesday, Thursday
  • Original Network: KBS2
  • Duration: 60 min.
  • Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Statistics

  • Score: 8.1 (scored by 34,474 users)
  • Ranked: #1870
  • Popularity: #92
  • Watchers: 79,298

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