A romance with level-headed lead characters! WOW
Anyone who has watched enough romance dramas knows that the main couple usually has a disagreement at some point during the series that could be easily resolved with a little bit of communication. For me, this can ruin an otherwise perfectly good show. We all know they're doing it to give themselves another episode or two of conflict before they let the leads settle down and be happy, and I usually find it more annoying than anything else.The best thing about Her Private Life is that the leads act like real adults the whole time. It is so refreshing to see in a show that is otherwise your run-of-the-mill romance drama. Yes, there are quite a few of the usual tropes in this one (contract "marriage"? secret identity? Heck yeah!), but without the annoying misunderstanding ploy to throw a wrench in things, I could find it fun and not contrived and irritating. The leads talk through their problems, guys. It's amazing.
Also, you can't miss the chemistry of the leads here. Like, wooooow. There are no overtly sexy scenes, but again, adults behaving like adults. I am buying whatever Kim Jae Wook is selling, let me tell you.
There are some lows, and they, predictably enough, come at the end once our leads are together (and not arguing, because, you know, they're adults). They clearly felt like they needed to spice up the script with some more tired drama tropes to drag us to the end. You should be able to see what's coming if you've been paying attention, but you might not like it. The bright side of this attempt at creating drama is that both of our leads are still both perfectly level headed while the script is flinging stupid shit at them, so even while I hated it, I kinda loved it. In a different show, that would have been at least four episodes of plot.
Honestly, I might recommend skipping episode 15 and just watching 16 to get the wrap up episode, if you feel like you need it. You could even stop at 14, but then you'd miss the steamy makeout session at the very end, and isn't that part of the reason you're watching this show?
Basically, if you are an adult and you're looking for a fun romance drama that won't irritate you because the entire plot wouldn't exist if the main leads just got their shit together, pick this one. It is everything you want and not too much of what you don't.
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Kdrama version of a sweet snack
If dramas were meals, the really good ones like Hospital Playlist, Prison Playbook, and Move to Heaven are balanced meals. They provide you all the nutrients a body needs while also making you feel full.Her Private Life is a slice of boring chocolate cake. Low in nutrients, sweet, and delicious. It doesn't make you think. The relationships are basic. Plot is nothing special.
But it is fun. There are tons of things to nitpick about this drama. Critics eviscerate it rather easily. But if you want to turn your brain off and just be enamored by romance, this is a good drama to watch.
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It's a romcom people. Sure the title seems to be deluding because then you would expect the whole plot to be just about deok mi's fangirling life. But it's not. It's about deok mi the fan girl and deok mi- an adult woman with the very same sets of hopes and dreams and fears as most ppl. This is a lighthearted drama with a nice arc, like a full bodied wine, with just a hint of dry finish at the end ( and yes I'm also referencing the actor Kim jae wook here...swoon). I think the writers made use of the cliched plots and tropes excellently here, without falling into the same outcomes and thus I found that very refreshing and it drew me in more into the development of the relationship n characters of the two main leads.
A romcom that follows familiar K-drama lines in that we are met with a somewhat alpha male, but hello...hes not the storybook one dimensional hero, but a real multifaceted human who is lucky enough to know having feelings doesn't make you less of a man, and neither does apologising when you know you're wrong(he's just amazing ok) and also a female protagonist who is just as strong if not stronger as the male lead and at the same time does not lose her femininity, harbors a 'weird'hobby( I mean what modern age woman doesn't right?!!)but yet is still responsible and mature....
I like the fact that in this storyline, the woman supports the man. Like power to deokmi!
And last but definitely not the least.....
The tension between the characters...the lead up to the romance, the banter...
The fake kiss, dreamt kiss, and the Kiss...and kisses thereafter....holy mother of cows Are just the tastiest icing on the creamiest of cakes.
I would watch this again if only to see the most realistic kiss on K-drama to date in history of kdramas. The feels....I can't stop stressing it how good it is. I cheered with them when it happened because it looked so real and good and so deserving of being kissed by each other....you know what I mean. Kim jae wook excelled in this role because he was Ah-mazing(although I've always known he could be amazing as an actor from antique days). Park Min Young top notch as always but it is her forte so it's nothing new for her.
If you expect to watch a drama with heavy plots to unravel then please be ready to be disappointed because this is all about two strong individuals finding meaning in being together.
Short summary: the reason we all look for someone to be with.
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This review may contain spoilers
This show is a solid 5.5 on a good day or else it should definitely be less. I’m not with people that say she was too old to be a fan girl. It’s not the fangirling that makes this show a fail. I found myself fast forwarding through most of the episodes because the content was just dull.Two attractive leads does not make a rom-com. CONTENT matters. I was able to quickly guess who was who and what the relationship was from the get go so the mystery was out. The love triangles were unimaginative. I couldn’t find anything exciting to look forward to from episode to episode.
Music was unmemorable. You know how you hear a song and it reminds you about a certain sweet or sad or tragic or some sort of moment? You are instantly transported to that scene and you can picture it and remember the dialogue very well? Well none of that here. I can’t tell you whether it’s because the music wasn’t that impressive or the drama was just not memorable, that you’ll have to decide on your own.
Now I’ll say the show has it’s funny, cute, a handful of decent lines moments. There was no toxic relationship so that was a plus. The acting is good as well, but none of this was able to save this show.
After What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, I expected more from Park Min Young. This bland, sporadically cute/funny project was not what I expect her to land on.
It would have been tolerable if it had ended on episode 14 but the additional unnecessary plot to stretch it to episode 16 left me even more dejected. Is there some unwritten rule that says there has to be some childhood connection for couple to be faithed that this has to be a throp in every other drama? (you’ll understand what I’m saying when you reach episode 14/15)
Personally, l’d say an overall 4.5 rating but I tend to be generous so i’m upping it to 5.
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Excellent
I loved the idea used in this K-drama. We hardly ever see a storyline based on a super fan. Kim Jae-Wook did an excellent job in brining Ryan Gold to life. Park min-young does not disappoint in being a giggly and fun character. I do wish there was a big super-fan scene in the final episode. But it was still an excellent watch.Was this review helpful to you?
Probably my favorite drama of all time
If I watch more than 10 episodes of a drama, that means it's a good drama. If I watch all the drama, that means it's a really great drama. If I'm willing to watch a drama a second time, it's one of my favorite dramas. But when I watch a drama for the second time, I can never finish it. Let alone watch it a third time like I did for Her Private Life. It's just that legendary for me. I think it's the combination of good plot, good chemistry, good acting, good comedy, good OSTs, + that I'm also a hardcore kpop stan (so this drama is quite relateable to me) that made me like this drama so much. I'll never get tired of this.Was this review helpful to you?
A fun series to watch!
A fun series to watch! One of the most balanced endings with the most constant plot I've ever seen in dramas!!! Congratulations to those involved!! Seeing my Coffee Prince oppa having his first romantic comedy was wonderful. Who says it was the first?... At first I thought he was a bit tough acting, I confess hahaha But throughout the plot he started to loosen up, just like the character (was that intentional?)... And the references aaahhhh outbreak.... I only say one thing: DO YOU WANT ME? oooowww Collective outbreak hahaha I highly recommend it, as I said, it's all well balanced. Don't expect peaks of euphoria in the itinerary, because there won't be any. But also, on the positive side, there were no slopes in the script.... Well balanced. I loved!!!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Likes: Kim Jae Wook!! The OTP’s off the charts chemistry. Those kisses! PMY & PJJ’s BFF fangirling moments. The natural progression of the romance between KJW & PMY.Dislikes: Some of the unnecessary storylines (hello dad’s obsession with rocks). The toe curling cheesy parts. The end reveal that was unnecessary.
Overall this was a very easy breezy watch. I completely fell for Kim Jae Wook who exudes this natural sexiness that I haven’t really felt in any Korean actor so far. So many men come to mind when I think of good looking, hot, or even cute…but sexy? KJW wins the title for that in my book. Always cast as a second lead, KJW finally gets to show everyone what a leading man he can be.
Park Min Young is always this bright shining star who is adorkable as a curator with a “secret” life as a fangirl. As a fellow fangirl, there were definite moments that I could relate to, but there were also moments where I cringed at the almost stalker-ish behavior being portrayed. Just because it’s wrapped up in a cute way, doesn’t make it any less stalker-ish.
However, I’m a sucker for chemistry and man, did these two have it! Because the chemi was so hot (I mean, those kiss scenes, come on!), I was able to overlook some of the eye rolling flaws in the drama (read above dislikes).
I would recommend checking out the Behind the Scenes Videos as well!
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From Why Secretary Kim to My Stranger Hero and now Her Private Life it seems like my kdrama rom-com slump is finally over. I say slump since for few years I didn’t really enjoy those rom-coms like I used to, and I didn’t really write any reviews for those dramas.Her Private Life went in a bit of a circle for me. I wasn’t too keen on it at first. I wasn’t a fan of the humor and the whole fangirl aspect of it wasn’t really doing it for me, even if I consider myself a fangirl myself (just not that much like Deok Mi).
It wasn’t until the romance really kicked in, with all the fake dating shenanigans - one of my fav rom-com tropes ever - that I almost sold my soul to this drama for a few weeks.
The drama toned down the humor and sort of became sweeter and light, which I enjoyed. I really liked all the pining in the beginng and the start of the relationship. It was very predictable at times, but I could not get enough.
I would personally have wanted more depth into the whole fangirl business and the whole culture of that. More focus on Deok Mi and Cindy - which was one of the more interesting side characters in the drama - and them finding a balance in their fangirl activities. Not just the worry about how Ryan would react to Deok Mi being a fangirl.
For a drama about the private life of a fansite manager and all of that, I expected more of the plot to revolve around that and not about the family drama of Ryan Gold.
The success with this drama, with me and other, is kinda thanks to the actors and how well they played these characters. They had very nice chemistry together. Deok Mi and Ryan was the sweetest couple and treated each other with such a respect and tenderness. It was wonderful.
There was not a whole lot of conflict in this drama, even if it used some very well known tropes in it story lines that usually really amps up the conflict. The characters sat down and talk things through, which I really liked. I thought that was sweet and I like how things didn’t drag too much.
But that also left the story kinda conflict-less and therefore not a whole lot happened toward the end. It slowly ran out of story to tell. If you are going to have such a non-conflict like story then you kinda have to fill it with side characters and plots that make the story a bit more exciting.
The romance, as sweet as it was, wasn’t always enough. Especially when some of the side characters and their stories were really not fun at all. The ending suffered a bit from this, in my opinion. The story was over before the drama was over and I was starting to fast-forward through certain scenes.
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A mature relationship = communication ❤️
First of all, the chemistry between the ML and FL is off the charts !!! It’s really heart fluttering and gives you a very honest reminder that you’re single 😂.But that’s not the best part of the drama. I think you really cannot overlook how much mature their relationship was in the sense that they were able to share each other’s pain and help each other heal. One of my favourite moments in the drama is when Ryan starts to paint again with Deokmi’s encouragement. She is was really a safe space for him to process his childhood trauma and come out on the other side as someone who has processed the pain of the past and had something else to live for. Similarly with Deokmi’s past hurt. I think he open up a side of her beyond what we see as Deokmi the fan girl ; and adds more colour to her life.
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Shocked by how much I liked it
There were times during this drama that I was bored and annoyed with the otaku/obsessive fan theme and some of the irritating tropes used, but I stuck with it for the gorgeous leads/great chemistry, excellent casting, good writing, etc. and I was really rewarded! The character growth was great; even the villains were tolerable, actually they're very entertaining! And I personally enjoy villain redemptions. I also don't mind the childhood connection trope because it helps supercede any claim the second leads might feel they have on them. The childhood connection in this made it more poignant, and that's not always the case in other dramas. It's often done really sloppily and feels disconnected and unconvincing, so this was nice for a change.Despite a few annoyances, the end result was extremely satisfying and in hindsight it made me feel like it was really well executed overall. I saw that some others felt the last few episodes dragged, but I actually really appreciated the time spent galvanizing the relationship of the main couple. I think a lot of other dramas make the mistake of blowing past that and force us to just pretend that they have had sufficient time and experience to bond on a deep level.
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a masterpiece and a must watch
How can all the characters of a single drama be so cute it is amazing Sian then Huijin and even FL are so cute I just am squeeeling every time I see them.I loved the ost it is the 2nd soundtrack with every song on my playlist which is amazing.
The bond between the leads amazing
The story unique
The background wow
The characters Beautiful and cute
I am in love with this story and tbh I am watching it a second time and decided to write a review for this masterpiece
End review- Must Watch
I am deducting that 1 mark cause tbh the past trauma thing with the dead brother is unnecessary and quite sudden I got all the painting connecting but that memory loss was unnecessary
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