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A romantic comedy that executes itself with maturity and few cliches. Park Min Young and Kim Jae Wook had overflowing chemistry. The looks in their eyes could deceive you for off-screen romance with their multitude of kisses being passionate. This drama had the most mature couple I've seen in a drama that really understood each other and helped each other achieve their own happiness. Park Min Young is truly a great actress, proven by her years in the industry. No noble idiocy, no misunderstandings - this IS the perfect couple everyone wishes to have in real life. The side characters like Cindy and her mom had a nice character development, and even our 2nd lead didn't get too caught up in his love triangle and redeemed himself. The story wasn't anything special, but the writers pulled it off so well. The OST is also fantastic and fit every scene. Was this review helpful to you?
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Festival of misunderstandings and a bit of clear thinking, highly enjoyable
Misunderstandings are one of those things that completely infuriates me when it comes to dramas. We know it very well, one of the characters mishears something and then we have to watch through five episodes how it spoils relations or leads to cringe situations. Complicating plot just because two grown ups cannot really articulate what’s wrong is just lazy writing for me. Saying that, I’m so happy, that those situations, in Her Private Life, even tough happen, ale so smoothly handled by well written and clear thinking characters. That was a great relief for me while watching this drama.I’ve seen someone already writing that this series could end on 14th episode and I kinda agree. It seems like writers had the main plot finalised at this point but were bound by the contract to write two more episodes so they’ve just unnecessarily overcomplicated some minor themes making them a bit too long. This unfortunately spoils reception of the finale, but without much damage to the drama as a whole. I’d say it’s just slightly annoying. Luckily characters are cleverly written so all misunderstandings that come from this prolonged motives are quickly resolved.
The main praise I have for this drama must be characters. I’d say that this is one of those dramas that defends itself solely by the characters, making main plot secondary (what is not necessarily bad thing here). I had the same with some other series (like What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim), where action is used more for character development, rather that the action itself. With Her Private Life, feeling is similar. Characters are just so well written and interact with each other so smoothly, that watching it itself is sufficient.
But of course we have an action and we have classic drama tropes that are so repetitive sometimes in drama world, that we could make a drinking game out of them already. So one of the characters must have some sort of childhood trauma that took its toll on his adult life, we have long lost acquaintances that figure out that they’ve met long time ago very late in the drama. At least one of the parents has to be slightly unhinged (this time not even slightly, but I can fully forgive it, since the character is so entertaining in her quirkiness that it makes amazing comic relief). And of course second lead syndrome must be there, but in this case I’d say it’s here only because someone decided it has to, since it’s not very convincing and certainly we can see that it’s not gonna happen. Honestly, I’d see someone else on this position.
This all luckily is overshadowed by high quality of the drama.
Overall I highly enjoyed this drama. It’s one of those that you watch with constant grin on your face by how cute some scenes are. I don’t expect very much from romantic dramas, for me all they have to be is enjoyable and this one delivered it fully.
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STORY:
This is the story of Duk Mi (played by Park Min Young) who is a fangirl (like a rabid fan – and a little too much like me). She just idolizes Cha Shi An, nicely done by One. She also has a real job curating an art gallery. Queue ornery but very breathtaking new director, Ryan Gold played by Kim Jae Wook (way to beautiful for comfort). It isn’t long before he realizes something is up with Duk Mi and well it all spirals out of control in a nice cotton candy flow-y way.
CHARACTERS:
Two leads aside, I liked the supporting characters a lot. Also, Duk Mi plays this part very similar to how she does in Secretary Kim so I’m concerned she might be a one note wonder. I haven’t seen Kim Jae Wook in anything else yet, but I plan to. Their romance is a little textbook but entertaining. The storyline of Duk Mi becoming an emotional support for Ryan Gold is touching and removes some of the cliché-like taint from the story.
Duk Mi’s friend’s Eun Gi and Seon Joo are good for some laughs (I do like Park Jin Joo’s Lee Seon Joo the very best). The co-workers including Cindy (fellow celebrity stalker) are interesting and Cindy’s mother is so out of control, its like watching a car accident. I admit I found Cha Shi An endearing and sweet and hoped he’d have more visibility in the show or at least at the end, perhaps a concert or something. I was a little frustrated his character never found out the identity of the fan (it was Duk Mi). That would have been nice to see his reaction to realize he knew her, but….it wasn’t necessary to carry the story to the ending.
MUSIC:
The music wasn’t bad but forgettable. Truly, I can’t remember one song about this show, but I wasn’t annoyed by it. I don’t make a habit to download songs but over the summer I found a few shows with music now firmly planted in my playlists. (Is that a good thing or a bad thing?)
RECAP:
Park Min Young, like Secretary Kim, has fabulous hair and costumes. I want fabulous hair and costumes!! I will say that considering her last two shows were with Kim Jae Wook and Park Seo Joon, she must be the luckiest actress in all Asia. I’ll admit that I want to watch all her movies just for the leading men.
If you are looking for earth shattering, scenes that make you want to scream or cry, political intrigue, or high art, please don’t watch this show. Her Private Life is something lighthearted and friendly that you can detox with when watching too many c-dramas. When your done watching, I promise, you’ll be smiling….however, also ready to move on.
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This show was awesome. There were a few missed opportunities, like I was anticipating Ryan to greet Dokmi with "Shian-haseyo" and I also wanted for ShiAn to learn of her being ShianIsMyLife, but that never really happened. I could nitpick about how little sense the childhood backstory made (or the bubble series paintings forming a .....), but honestly it doesn't bother me too much, in this genre if the story is not terrible it's already a huge win & good news it's not terrible at all! Except the issues mentioned above it's the perfect romcom show. It checks all the boxes that I want in a kdrama romance. Park Minyong was much better in this drama than in What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, like there is no contest. In WWWSK I felt that the chemistry just wasn't that good & she had some scenes where she looked almost like a wooden woman, I even doubted her acting ability for a while (until watching Healer a few months later that is), but in HPL the chemistry was off the charts & her acting was excellent too. I especially wish to applaud the writer (the manwha artist) for not forcing the love triangle too much..
The OST is a bit average, but it's a good fit for this cheesy romance. The cinematography was outstanding, but lately this is true for almost all new kdramas I watch. Knowing myself I will almost certainly binge watch this again in a month or so.
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Beautiful Love Story
I absolutely love this drama! It was well written and the lead characters were very relatable. The FL was so adorable with her fangirling lol I found my self rooting for this fictional couple and sharing in their highs and lows! Truly a beautiful written work of art. If you love romance comedy I definitely recommend but have your tissues nearby because you’re going to have your awww moments, shocked moments and even some sad moments it’s worth it!————————————————————————————————————————————————________
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this drama is perfect for fans....
Her Private Life is a romantic comedy about an idol fangirl (Park Min Young) who has been passionate about her idol for many years. She works as a curator at an art museum and tries to hide her fangirl side, but her secret becomes in jeopardy of being exposed after a new director (Kim Jae Wook) arrives.Park Min Young plays our idol fangirl Sung Deok Mi. Deok Mi is classy, composed, and very good at her job as an art curator. But in secret, she is a true fangirl of Si An of the pop group White Ocean. Her home is decked out in all kinds of merchandise, she’s always ready to snap amazing pics of him, and she even runs a popular fan site dedicated to him. She is all in! I just knew Park Min Young would be perfect for this role. She wonderfully showcases the duality of being a mature working woman with being a dedicated fangirl. I loved watching her try to navigate both worlds and the lengths she had to go to in order to keep her secret. And things get so complicated as Ryan ends up involved with each of her identities while not knowing she is actually both of them.
Kim Jae Wook is Ryan Gold, the new director of Deok Mi’s art museum. He’s a bit prickly and closed off, but of course he’s pretty great underneath that. And he’s got some trauma stemming from being abandoned at an orphanage as a child.
We also have some important supporting characters. Park Jin Joo plays Lee Seon Joo. She is Deok Mi’s best friend, and the two have a very close relationship. Then there’s Ahn Bo Hyun as Nam Eun Gi. He’s our second lead who has been like a brother figure to Deok Mi, but he actually harbors feelings for her. Ryan was quite unappealing those first couple episodes because he was just so callous. But once we start getting a window into his past as well as seeing that he is a genuinely good guy, things start to improve. Then things get really fun when he starts getting tangled up in Deok Mi’s fan life all while not knowing she’s actually a fangirl.
Then rounding things out is the oh-so-sweet object of Deok Mi’s fangirling, Cha Si An (One) of the popular band White Ocean, as well as the trouble making sasaeng Cindy (Kim Bo Ra) who is well known in the fan community and bit of a rival of Deok Mi.
With the premise of Her Private Life focusing on a fangirl and the life that comes with it, this is something that I’m sure many people will be able to relate to. Watching every video your favorite group or idol puts out, fantasizing about them, waiting for a new album to drop, collecting merchandise, meeting other wonderful fans online while also contending with toxic fans. It’s all too familiar to those involved in the fan community. The show highlights many aspects of the fan culture in South Korea quite well. There are varying levels of it with some being very innocent with the simple joys of admiring an artist while other parts are very disturbing and can lead to obsessive and dangerous behavior. The drama worked all of this into the story so nicely.
Ryan and Deok Mi get off on the wrong foot with several initial encounters that end badly. Then he has some pretty humorous misunderstandings about her early on too. But as he gets to know her, he becomes intrigued by her. And when she ends up in the middle of a scandal with her idol, we get a good old fake relationship between her and Ryan to allow the pair to grow close while trying to make things better.
Her Private Life was always completely engaging with wonderful pacing that never felt draggy. That’s frequently a challenge in romantic comedies, and I sure do appreciate how well this drama put everything together to deliver a very entertaining drama.
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This lucky girl... And I thought no one would ever top Park SeonJoon!? She must have a magic aurabecause everything I see her in she has perfect chemistry with her lead actor. I really really loved What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim and didn’t think I’d like her with another actor besides Park Seon Joon. I absolutely loved Kim Jae Wook in this role. He’s like the male version of Park Min Young ! Perfect for a super romantic K Drama. I pretty much drooled every time he was on the screen (sorry Park Seon Joon) The love story with the two leads was so well written.. very honest and they never lied, or gave up on each other. I really liked how grown up and mature the relationship was. The icing on the cake was Park Min Young fan girling over One who was her k pop crush... she was just perfect in this role! The chemistry was amazing and whoa those steamy kiss scenes.. not the usual for a K drama ... I will def hope they film
together again- you can’t find that kind of chemistry very often!
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I just love this story! In many ways, this reminds me a lot of "What's wrong with Secretary Kim?" and not just because of Park Min Young. The crazy and funny edition, the jokes and exaggerating characteristics of the characters... Everything was amazing for me! Starting for our female lead, Sung Duk Mi was captivating! Her passion and the way how she maintains her personality during all the process made me love Park Min Young even more. Every drama with this woman makes me satisfied! She is a beauty (undeniable fact) but her charism makes her compatible with every male lead. I thought that I never would be able to overcome her and Park Seo Jun, but here she is also perfect with Kim Jae Wook. Here I left my note: Why this man doesn't participate in more funny dramas? He is amazing with this! I was searching for him and realized that he is in many thrillers and horror dramas, but I laugh so much with him that I couldn't imagine him being scary. The character of Ryan Gold was a masterpiece for me. A man who just loves a woman knowing everything about her and respecting her, without trying to change anything about her behavior. I had chills when I saw him protecting Duk Mi's passion as if was his passion too. THIS IS A MAN! And making a big note here: WHAT A CHEMISTRY! These two just set fire together!
About some things that I don't like... The Eun Gi (Ahn Bo Hyun) plot. It wasn't awful, but I'm a little tired of this kind of friend that appears just to make a twist in the story but you know that don't go anywhere. It's a waste of time for me. I also wish that the "fan thing" had a bigger space in the story. The plot is about Duk Mi hiding her passion and how this affects her life but kinda fades away with the process. But I'm just trying hard to point bad things here.
We see a lot of traumas and childhood issues in dramas like this, and we saw something very similar in "What's wrong with Secretary Kim?" (yes, I'll keep comparing), but here I could felt the things fitting with more fluidness. The story is equally "no way" when we think about everything that happens, and I can't imagine any of them happens in real life, but here I could believe a little more and wasn't so absurd. Also very impossible, but not absurd.
This is not a real-life drama but does its job. It's funny, VERY CUTE, made me cry... It was just AMAZING! (★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★) If you are looking for something to wash your dark heart and expel every bad feeling, this is your drama! Go for it!
See you soon!
XOXO, Mari.
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The value conveyed Very well, I love how they tell about family, friendship, and relationships very well through this drama.
KJW plays as Ryan Gold very well and PMY plays as DoekMi very Well! This drama makes me realize how important communication toward each other too!❤️
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