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Enjoyable but a little too contrived and drawn out
My feelings on this show are overall positive, but I still think that there are elements that feel too artificial and the length is a tad too long. I was only able to complete this drama the second time I attempted to watch it. The first time, I dropped it after the first episode because I couldn't handle how outrageous Duk Mi's fangirling was. After a second watch, I still feel it is a little too over-the-top and contributes to an inconsistent feeling. To me, the idea of the story was intriguing, but unfortunately, I don't feel it was executed to a satisfying level.The show starts by establishing the essential plot element that Duk Mi is a hardcore kpop fangirl - not just a fan, a hardddddddcore fan girl. She's the webmaster of a fan site, has a ridiculous camera/ladder/privacy outfit, and her self-proclaimed, only hobby is following Si An of the fictional White Ocean. It's definitely an intriguing premise, but I personally found it extremely cringeworthy, even beyond just the feeling of secondhand embarrassment. Furthermore, the amount of effort she would have to expend to keep up her activities and fan knowledge in real life, far exceed the time required to form a real, adult career and maintain real, adult responsibilities, so I found it a little too unrealistic. My biggest complaint was how her fangirling personality was shoved to the side once she started a real relationship with Ryan Gold/started to explore their relationship. She suddenly shifted from a "giddy fangirl" personality to just a "reasonable Kpop fan who has a real boyfriend in real life". I couldn't buy this character change either, as up to that point, she had proven herself to be so immersed that she lacked self-restraint in certain situations.
Furthermore, I found some story beats too convenient such that they ended up just feeling super contrived. Eun Gi is Duk Mi's brother, but wait, actually he's not, he was adopted. He loves Duk Mi for real, as in he wants her to be his girlfriend, but wait she doesn't feel the same back, so he's just going to ignore it and go back to being besties-only. Ryan Gold is a foreigner who looks like a Korean and speaks Korean really well. But wait, actually he's secretly childhood friends with Duk Mi and lived with her family for a month when his mom accidentally abandoned him because she got into a serious car accident but ended up recovering. And also, Duk Mi doesn't remember anything because of trauma (and by the way she has a younger brother who died), but wait she suddenly remembers after a short conversation with her father. And Ryan Gold remembers everything too after easily piecing together dreams that he had. Oh and did I mention that Ryan Gold is secretly the brother of Si An?
I could go on, but suffice it to say, I think the artificial-feel of the story is the weakest point of the show. It gets particularly weak near the end, when the main leads have already gotten together already and it's clear the show is just looking for more ways to fabricate more watch time.
In contrast, the production of everything else is what makes me elevate this to a net-positive score. As is usual in a lot of Korean shows, I found the acting to be excellent. The OST was not my cup of tea, but I could definitely sense its high production value. The visuals are gorgeous and speaking towards the actors, as a male viewer, I saw Park Min Young as beautiful as usual, having that stereotypical girly, girl allure. I could tell Kim Jae Wook has that confident, sexy allure as well, for our female fans. Some of the comedy is well done, having that "funny because it's cringy" feel to it. You also grow to enjoy the side characters, even the sort-of-villain-turned ally of Cindy, who even has her own character arc.
Of special note, even though I couldn't totally buy Duk Mi's transformation from only-fan girl to someone else's girlfriend, her relationship with Ryan Gold was surprisingly refreshing in that it had very limited K-melodrama tropes. They respected each other throughout their relationship. Even when they were fighting about things, they sat down and talked about it. There were no ridiculous misunderstandings. The only thing that was contrived was the "amnesia-childhood-friends-relationship". But other than that, it seemed by all accounts a healthy, mature, adult relationship.
Overall, for me, this show was kind of an "OK way to pass the time". I don't hate nor regret that I watched it, but I don't see any elements of this that will make me want to go back and rewatch it.
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Disappointed.
Potential to be a lot more fun and also could have developed on her talented photography skills, since though not necessarily an 'artist' of the painting sort, her composition skills as a photographer were noted by both a renowned artist, Ryan Gold and renowned musician Shi An who would have been used to getting professional level photography done of him so her work was in that level.
Potentials of the starting story never realised. Strikes me direction/production team took safe route to end of story and ended up with one of his condensed milk coffee-less lattes, not even a hint of peppermint anywhere.
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I really enjoyed the fan-girl portrayal - it was fun and kinda made me feel not so alone in having an obsession deemed inappropriate by the society I live in. What *did* unfortunately disappoint me though was that the fan-girling was mostly forgotten once the MCs got together and the celebrity never found out about her, which was kind of disappointing.
In regards to cliches, I didn't mind the cliched plot twist about the MCs childhoods, as many apparently did. It's a romantic comedy *shrugs* it's gonna have cliches. And in comparison to other rom-coms, the cliches included were well handled.
But what really needs to be noted and taken away from this drama wasn't the plot. It was the characters. Her Private Life is truly character driven and it's a mature watch. Forgiveness and acceptance were large topics in this drama that were handled very maturely with little to no drama, which was refreshingly clean and quick to watch. There were also quite a few steamy scenes (our main actors have some amazing chemistry) that I must sheepishly admit had me completely enamored. I also really appreciated that the "love triangle" wasn't unnecessarily drawn out or petty. It was neat and the second leads dropped out gracefully.
The ending....hmm...I think the last 2 episodes were necessary to tie-up loose ends, but they *did* drag quite a bit in comparison to the pace of the rest of the drama. I could have easily forgotten or lost interest to watch the last episode and still had a general idea of what happened in "the end." And for some reason, I get a Coffee Prince feel for the ending. *shrugs*
What kept me watching this drama in binge-style viewing over 3 days was the laugh-out loud comedy (I literally replayed certain hysterical scenes multiple times just to laugh again), the quick pace, and the extremely well selected actors for our MCs (their chemistry was through the roof and I couldn't help but eat it up! :*}). Her Private Life isn't a must-see and it *does* have its flaws, but enjoyable and infatuating just the same.
**Side Note:
I know that some people have often mentioned and criticized how the female MC's best friend treated and regarded her husband poorly as well as found the extreme fan-girls to be beyond extreme and borderline criminal. I acknowledge these 2 points and absolutely deem them valid. I would just like to say that they didn't stick out much to me because the genre of drama has certain tropes, characters, and cliches that I am personally expecting. Honestly, these 2 criticisms, while valid, are the much preferred plot devices compared to some other, more extreme and/or cruel plot devices I've seen employed in dramas before, which is why I didn't mention them in depth above.
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FLuffy office rom-com fun
An art gallery curator—posh, cultured, professional, etc.—is also a die-hard K-pop fan and photographer who runs a famous online fan site for a particular idol singer. Her job and her hobby clash violently, culture- and topic-wise, so she keeps them 100% separate and hidden from each other. Our female lead gets a new boss—cold, arrogant, aloof, the usual—from whom she desperately tries to keep her hobby a secret. But mostly she just ends up accidentally looking incompetent and revealing too much info—oops! Their paths start to intersect with her K-pop idol, with his dangerously passionate young fandom, and with other characters whose sole purpose is to create ridiculous levels of drama. A little deeper commentary around adoption, art, and abandonment, but mostly just a fun, sweet ride.Was this review helpful to you?
The story is not solid and is quite unrealistic if you'd ask me, and the acting was so-so. I feel like they tried to make this drama similar to What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, but failed to do so.
Now if you'd ask me why I would recommend you to watch this drama, I'd say that Kim Jae Wook is the reason. His character is not an asshole unlike most men in K-drama world and I think that's enough reason to watch this for a breath of fresh air.
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It was an okay watch. I loved the first five or so episodes as it's fun, refreshing and the main lead's chemistry is on point. It explores what exteme fangirling is like in a light hearted way. But then it is extremely slow paced, boring at times and I fast forwarded last episodes as there is nothing much happening. It also have the second lead syndrome which I'm absolutely dreadful of after watching a lot of kdramas including it. Also I wish dramas stop including the factor that the leads are destined to be together as they knew each other from childhood and then something happens they loose their memories then they meet again when they are old. Common I think it's time to stop it seriously,! But overall the leads have great chemistry it feels so real at times and if you are looking for a light hearted romcom go for it! Was this review helpful to you?
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Romance for Days!
This was mostly enjoyable and this just made me realize how much Park Min Young is stellar. The whole cast was good but she is a star for a reason. She is efforlessly, funny, sweet, and likeable. Kim Jae Wook was pefectly cast as the Korean born American raised Ryan Gold. He and PMY have some of the best chemistry I've seen on screen. Their scenes together were funny and fire! The other standout in the acting category is Kim Sun Young she played director Ohm brillantly. I have never scene her in anything else but this made me a total fan. I also love the wardrobe departments bold choices for her character.What this drama did right for me is that there was not too much drama or push and pull and it was the better for it. The leads worked thru their issues by talking instead of shutting down. I mean Duk Mi did do something stupid but it was wrapped up quickly so I'm forgiving her stupidy. They also, nail the obnoxious fan behavior to a T.
What I did not like was the unnecessary childhood trauma to an already traumatic situation re the leads. It didn't elevate the story at all; it didn't even make effing sense. But overall this series was just what I wanted and needed in the romance department!
8/22/23
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The main couple should do more projects together!
Little Geon Woo was the MVP of this drama. So freaking adorable! He stole all the scenes he was in.Also loved the friendship between Duk Mi and Seon Joo. It was very genuine and realistic. At times I wanted to fangirl with them.
Besides that, this was another typical romance with some twists thrown in to tug at your heartstrings.
Good OST, great chemistry, quite a bit of physical affection between the leads and a nice enough story to keep my interest (and one of the BEST kissing scenes I've ever seen in a k-drama).
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Muito fofo
Este drama é o cumulo da fofura. Eu me senti tão bem enquanto assistia, os personagens são fofos, o romance é incrível. O drama é repleto de tramas e personagens interessantes. Eu adorei os personagens secundários, principalmente a Sindy, no inicio eu odiava, mas depois de um tempo eu comecei a realmente gostar dela. Apesar de amar a Sindy, eu não posso dizer o mesmo sobre a mãe dela, eu ODEIO ela. Ela me tira do sério e me enlouquece, o jeito excessivamente calmo e lento com que ela fala me irritou demais. O casal é incrível e sem igual. Enfim, um romance muito fofo que vale a pena assistir.Was this review helpful to you?
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It's Ryan not Lion
This was a fun little drama. Somethings were overdone like the bitchy boss and childhood storyline but other than that the romance storyline really overpowered all my complains.The main reason I watched it when it came out because of the fangirl summary and back then me being a huge fan of certain idol group lol. So to me, Dukmi was highly relatable with her full time job and still continuing her fangirling.
At the beginning they portrait Ryan as this rude full of himself guy but when the show progressed and we see how Ryan was really just a polite, charming absolute softie you cannot help but fall for him.
Both Dukmi and Ryan start out with misunderstanding to then become colleagues and then start a fake relationship which spirals and as we all know the trope they end up falling for each other.
Would watch this again 100%
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Sexy Mature Relationship
Very well done. This was a fun series that had its twists and turns. The different art curator/k-pop fan element. felt fresh. Both ML (Kim Jae Wook) and FL (Park Min-Young) did a very good job in feeling relatable and believable within various situations. The roller-coaster of emotions with this series just kept coming. However, I must admit that they did not feel forced. You could see and feel the natural progression with the ML and FL and it made you root for them all the way through. The supporting cast was very good, and I appreciate that their storylines did not override the main. OST was memorable. This is worth the rewatch!Was this review helpful to you?
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Started super strong ended up being boring with very crappy Korean drama trope
I think someone here mentioned this show should have ended at episode 14 I think he or she was right. Because they ramped up the drama when it wasn't neeed.His mom found him after years apart and because she had some accident and stuff that's where they should have stopped, we found out exactly what happened and there wasn't anything more needed to be added.
But of course, they had to add that his lover's mom was the one who dropped him at the adaption agency because she was having hard time with bills but there's more, of course the FL met the ML when they were little which means they were meant to be together and stuff.
I couldn't believe they had to throw that in there.
There was no need to add the FL mom was the one who dropped him at adaption agency and they knew each other as kids.
I'm tired of these shows that add random unnecessary drama. I was rolling my eyes and I also guessed it miles away too.
Last few episodes felt very exhausting to get through.
Everyone here is great though.
The FL lead is always nice to look that. She's very elegant and her acting skills are pretty good.
The ML is also good.
He got good chemistry with the FL
He's not boring and he got screen presence.
If they didn't do that lame trope at the last two episodes. It would have gotten better score.
I don't think I'd watch this again but since I do love the FL in what's wrong with secretary Kim. I've decided to give this one a try.
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