Love Is for Suckers (2022) poster
7.5
Your Rating: 0/10
Ratings: 7.5/10 from 5,238 users
# of Watchers: 14,448
Reviews: 37 users
Ranked #6280
Popularity #1104
Watchers 5,238

Goo Yeo Reum is a television producer in the tenth year of her professional career. Although she works harder than most producers, the shows she makes all seem to flop. Then she's selected to produce a new dating-themed reality TV show called “Kingdom of Love.” Her neighbour and best friend of twenty years is Park Jae Hoon, a plastic surgeon who has lost all his passion for work. Their relationship is close but purely platonic. Park Jae Hoon is jaded by his experiences and has also essentially given up on love. As such, he only ever pursues casual relationships. In the planning stage of the show’s production, Goo Yeo Reum runs into struggles, having difficulty finding suitable bachelors to appear on the programme. She eventually turns to Park Jae Hoon in desperation. To help her, he agrees to become a contestant on the show. But in this unfamiliar new dynamic—as a producer and a cast member—they unexpectedly begin developing never-felt-before romantic feelings. Will “Kingdom of Love” turn friends into lovers? (Source: Viki: edited by MyDramaList) Edit Translation

  • English
  • ภาษาไทย
  • Arabic
  • Polski
  • Country: South Korea
  • Type: Drama
  • Episodes: 16
  • Aired: Oct 5, 2022 - Dec 1, 2022
  • Aired On: Wednesday, Thursday
  • Original Network: ENA Viki
  • Duration: 60 min.
  • Score: 7.5 (scored by 5,238 users)
  • Ranked: #6280
  • Popularity: #1104
  • Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Where to Watch Love Is for Suckers

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Reviews

Completed
ureshii
39 people found this review helpful
Oct 10, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 8
Overall 6.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

Watch for the plot, not the romance

A lighthearted easy to watch drama with the main focus being the dating show.

I had very high expectations for this drama after watching the first two episodes, it was right up my alley (providing an old kdrama vibe). However, it slowly lost that charm. Don't get me wrong, it's still a reasonable drama, I really like the dating show concept, it kind of feels like watching one, the only difference is being able to see the behind the scenes chemistry of the cast and how it's all put together. But just a heads up before jumping into this, the first half and second half are quite different due to its shift from focussing on the mains relationship to only mostly focussing on the dating show.

As much as I absolutely adored them in the early episodes, towards the second half of the drama, I began to lose interest in Yu Reum and Jae Hoon's relationship. I was worried this would affect my overall view of LIFS as waiting for their romantic relationship to actually develop was tiring. However, I chose to focus on their individual stories, rather than their romantic ones and I think, with that mentality, I was able to stick with this longer and enjoy the drama more. And for that, I recommend starting LIFS for the plot and less for the romance between the main leads, because, even 11 episodes in, there is little to no romance between the two. The title 'Love Is for Suckers' summarises this drama pretty well.

Lee Da Hee and Choi Si Won are an amazing kdrama couple (perfectly casted in my opinion), but they sadly just couldn't thrive the way they were meant to with a plot like this... They had so much potential, but the writing was lazy, giving no tension or hook.

There is a love triangle, but the second female lead is sweet and likeable, no overly rude and annoying SFL's in this drama - just means viewers might root for her happiness more.

Overall, it's cheesy but not to the point of being unbearable and cringe to watch, the acting is pretty good and most of the characters are likeable in their own quirky way. The plots rather simple (and slow paced), but it's reasonably interesting despite being a bit messy and occasionally going backwards rather than forwards in the development of characters. Also, the actual story doesn't start until episode 5; the first 4 are more just an introduction to the characters and their backstories.

The writer did one thing right - giving a good character development to John Jang. I was so much more invested in his story, he’s surprisingly a really likeable character as the story progresses. Park Ji Wan too! Those two are lowkey my favourite characters. ^^

If you read my review and still think you'll watch it, why not - go for it! Despite its flaws, it's still worth checking out.

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Completed
Meineke
16 people found this review helpful
Dec 5, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 4.0

Watch for the outstanding romance just not between the leads

Before you decide to write off this drama due to the bad reviews, hear me out.

This drama suffers from a case of split personalities. It is both very very good and absolutely awful at the same time. But do I regret watching it? Not at all.

The bad:

The drama started off decently with a best friends to lovers trope and it was engaging enough within the first half of the show. In the second half, the chemistry between the leads fizzled out. As a fan of Lee Da Hee, it pains me to say that her character was incredibly frustrating. Also it takes special talent to make someone as gorgeous as her look terrible, but this show managed to do it with the awful fashion choices. As for Choi Si Won, his character was too selfish. In short the leads were very unlikeable and over time I completely lost interest in them.

The good:

While the reality show aspect was fairly engaging, there was an unexpected couple that developed and they really stood out far more than anything else in the drama. Individually, these two characters showed the greatest growth and together their love story was swoon worthy. While they had limited screen time, their presence is what kept me obsessed and coming back for episodes week after week. Maybe the actors aren’t well known but they had great chemistry, engaging character development and an interesting background that could easily be expanded into a full series. I would give anything to have these two get a spin off show . If not that, then at least to see their crackling chemistry again as in Goblin/ Touch Your Heart.

To summarize, this show is mediocre at best if you consider the story of the leads, and most of the supporting characters. They show limited growth, and have few redeemable qualities. While they tried to tackle a lot of concepts, eating disorders, obesity, trauma, etc, I don’t think it was presented very well. Poor writing is ultimately the source of the show’s downfall.

This is also where the concept of split personalities come in. While the main story is so dull and poorly written, the story of the side pairing is so amazing that I would gladly fast forward through the rest just to watch them over and over again. Even if you’re not won over by how adorable they are together, you would still enjoy watching them. The two actors have a great screen presence and their characters evolve throughout the story. The male character ‘s arc in particular deserves special appreciation. To me these were the most interesting and fleshed out characters. It’s a shame the show didn’t give them enough screen time. Had they been the focus, the show could very well have ended up being a 10 for me. The writers have missed out on a brilliant opportunity to show something unique and special.

My parting thought is the following: give the show a chance and make your own opinions about it. There are few dramas where the romance has gotten me this excited in recent years. I really did enjoy the side pairing and will continue to rewatch their scenes whenever I feel the desire to watch some sweet romance. It was an unconventional pairing but absolutely delightful to watch. If you need one reason to watch this show, it is to watch these two characters as they grow and to see how their romance blooms. I promise you won’t regret it.

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Single’s Inferno Season 2

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Details

  • Drama: Love Is for Suckers
  • Country: South Korea
  • Episodes: 16
  • Aired: Oct 5, 2022 - Dec 1, 2022
  • Aired On: Wednesday, Thursday
  • Original Network: ENA, Viki
  • Duration: 60 min.
  • Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Statistics

  • Score: 7.5 (scored by 5,238 users)
  • Ranked: #6280
  • Popularity: #1104
  • Watchers: 14,448

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