I'm Breaking Up Now (2021)

Jang Kiyong unconvincing as creative, Paris-based, free-spirited, rebellious, footloose photographer

"Now, We are Breaking Up" tries to tell a love story in reverse (e.g. it has been there already). This would be an interesting project in itself, yet...

The plot is emotionally quite complex, the characters are in principle jucily interesting and ambivalent. If a KDrama can't take care of a multi-layered, complex mixture of feelings, then who can? Unfortunately, I have to say that (in my opinion) this project doesn't really work out so well with the casting.

Regarding her emotional intensity, Song Hye-kyeo is (as so often) a major factor for watching. As the heroine, here and there her reservedness, sobered by life, is perhaps a bit much. But in places this cracks open. It is this well dosed mixture and subtleness, that makes her role convincing - the experienced fashion designer in her late 30s has turned away from flirtation and rather concentrates on her work, into which she throws herself completely. Being the talented and experienced professional she is, hardly does she ever get upset by anything. ... until her encounter with the young photographer Yoon Jae-gook, that throws her (emotional) life (supposedly) upside down. Her reservedness so far operated as shelter and imprisonment at the same time. Circumstances don't really offer a chance to free herself from the corset of reason, which is protecting her deeply injured heart - never mind let herself fall and trust emotionally. This inner dynamic is not so nice to look at - or rather endure - for the viewers. But I don't think you can blame Song Hye-kyeo, as she handles this inner tension and the ambivalent moments of her complex role very well.

On the other hand (unfortunately) I don´t buy Jang Ki-yong in his role as a creative, Paris-based, free-spirited, a bit rebellious, footloose, and at the same time successful photographer. For me he behaves way too reserved, well adjusted, well-behaved - a sympathetic, dear, rich, successful boy. So unfortunately, HIS ambivalence doesn't convince me. Perhaps actor Jang Ki-yong lacks the life experience (on the rebellious side)? And since he can´t really fill this side with life, I am not convinced by the chemistry between the two leads. It doesn't get to me how the young man in his supposedly fiery manner, would be able to reignite on an EMOTIONAL level the fire of lust for life and joie de vivre (beyond work) that is still blazing somewhere deep down in Ha Yeong-eun... So the key to all further makjang doesn't really fit into the lock. Too bad. Thus the experiment of telling love in reverse didn't really work out that well.

The KDrama is not bad because of that (...though admittedly disappointing ...). On the pro side: There are freshening subplots, each with actors in good humour, who have actually won awards for their spirited performances. The setting in the creative industries is kind of charming, too. Finally, the Korean family values are (once again, but successfully as always) playing with fire on the drama front...

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Run!

I USUALLY DON'T REVIEW DRAMAS I DIDN'T LIKE BUT I THINK THE RATING 7.6 IS MISLEADING.
[Edit: as of 05/12/2022 the rating is 6.9 still very high for such an abysmal drama]

This drama has no redeeming qualities.

I was excited when I learned that the two leads were cast in Misty's screenwriter's next. Misty was such a good drama with a geat story and acting.
Then the stills and title were good too and I won't lie ; the rated R got me all the more excited because I thought it would be a mature and more realistic than drama like Misty, Something In The Rain, The World of the Married...

But my expectations were smashed by the reality that was this messy drama.

In Misty, the female lead was a career woman who chose her career over everything. She was a complicated woman who hurt herself and her loved ones to achieve her goal.

In Now We Are Breaking Up, we were served with a goody two shoes who somehow won everyone over with her upright attitude and Song Hye Ko's acting or lack thereof didn't help understand or empathize with the character she embodies.

THE STORY

The story was poorly written. It's supposed to be about a great love story and the hardships the main leads will encounter and try to fight against.

Instead, it's about a 38-year old woman who has yet to move on from a 2-month relationship that happened 10 years ago. Said woman is traimatized from having been ghosted by a guy she met in a foreign country and dated for 2 months... I personnaly tought it was ridiculous.

The story actually begins with the heroine having a one night stand with the hero. They don't exchange names or number and spend the night together. It's supposed to be mysterious and hot but it's actually a dangerous behaviour imo


I had a hard time understanding Song Hye Ko's character. She was supposed to be a successful career woman in the fashion industry but she was too soft and forgave betrayal such as the leakage of some of her designs.
How can someone keep an untrustworthy person in their team ? That untrustworthy person was also someone who wasn't loyal and was ready to jump ship when things went south.
So how can a successful career minded person keep such a liability on their side ? How are we supposed to believe that ?

Then the drama opening with a ONS is supposed to show us how modern and independant FL is but then her friends implied it wasn't customary for her to see men.
So what is actually the state of her love life ? Did she have ONS during these 10 years? Was she so emotionally stunted that she forgot about men for those 10 years ? If so, what was so special about the ML fot her to have a ONS with him ? There was no build up to help her understand this.

And now this 38 year old independant woman lets her parents and the ML parent's interfere in their relationship? Had she been younger I could have enpathise but she being successful, independant (lived abroad alone and has her own flat), it's ridiculous and annoying that she'd let parents run such interferences because she's at an age were she's supposed to understand that even if her parents disapprove of her relationship, they most likely won't cut contact with her (especially since she always gives them money) and with soften after some years or/and if they have children.

When her mother yelled at the ML like a banshee, she didn't even try to intervene and we are supposed to think they are so in love and can't live without each other... but how can you let someone you love be disrespected in their own shop ?
The worse thing is that she left with her mother instead of staying to confort the hero.


The Male lead played by Jang Ki Yong is an empty vessel. One cannot understand what attracts him so much about the FL.
She's pretty but she's cold, unresponsive and too much hassle.
His only purpose is to give the FL props to resolve some of the issues she encounters while managing her brand. Otherwise he's uninteresting.

When he realized he took a fancy in his brother's ex, he keeps going even though the relationship is at an early stage and everything could have been stopped.
It seens unresonnable and illogical especially since we don't see what is the great connect between the two leads. Why are they throwing I Love You's around when they barely spent and spend time together.

The FL parents are something else alltogether. They are agaisnt the relationship when they both liked the ML ar first because FL dated his brother for only 2 month in a foreign country. Why is it a bad thing ? They are supposed to want their daughter's hapiness but are against the relationship for something that can be deemed as trivial because she was neither engaged nor married to his brother and no one would know they dated.
The mother was the worst imo because she threw tantrums about wanting a divorce when she was the one saying she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize her daughter's future marriage. But in SK, divorced parents are bad news and won't help... she doesn't even make sense and is seeking a divorce instead of trying to talk with her husband about the reason she wants out.
I also found her cringey for always wanting to hook up her daughter with the rich woman's son. She was really desperate for it.
But she was crass for saying what she said to the ML's face for things he can't help (his lineage and family condition) and acting as if her daughter was such a great price.
It seemd more like she was releasing her frustration on someone who would take it without doing anything.

The ML's mother is more easy to understand because she's someone who has yet to do her mourning but I didn't understand why she kept acting as if ML was like her real son when her interior showed that their relationship was anything but. They were no pics of the two/three of them together ; ML was sent away since his youth when his brother got to grow up in the family household.
I could understand her opposition to some degree but not her acting as if ML was her son and not some replacement.

The subplots with the best friends weren't any better.
The director was childish and incompetent. At 38yo it's not cute anymore but downright ridiculous.
I thought she could have been a good negative character instead of adding to the mix the ML's brother's crazy ex.

The ex-model who is dying from cancer is one of the most mature character of the drama.
My hung up is that her subplot included cheated and a terminal illness. Would'nt it have been better if her husband would have come clean sooner or if she'd died without knowing ? Because it's really bizarre how she's trying to set up her husband with her affair partner and saying that woman is a good person. A good person won't knowingly sleep with a married man with a child!
I feel there was so much to say in this section for the best friend to have closure but it all became messy and non sensical.

Finally, the brother's ML who everyone is regretting was a dishonet coward.
Why did he tell the heroine he was an only child ? Why did he date her when he was already engaged ? It was pure nonsense especially since these fact weren't exploited more in the drama.

THE ACTING
The main leads were really bad and the only thing they brought to the table was their looks. The ensemble cast did their job but they couldn't do much woth thr roles they were given.

THE MUSIC
It was the only decent thing in the drama though it wasn't groundbreaking.

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