Currently Watching: Her Private Life

Hello, drama fans! 

The spring K-drama season is rocking it so far! There are so many good dramas airing now and also some promising ones that are yet to be released. 

Today, I will introduce you to my favourite currently airing show - Her Private Life, which is a new tvN rom-com drama starring Park Min Young and Kim Jae Wook. I was sooo excited about this drama and I was pretty sure that I will be writing an article about it before it even started because our Jae Wook is finally getting the main role he deserved and I couldn't be happier! 

        WARNING! The article might contain spoilers from episode 1 - 4!        

          PLOT INTRODUCTION:          

Sung Duk Mi (Park Min Young) works as a curator in an art gallery. Meanwhile, she hides the fact that she's a fangirl and a fansite master of an idol group star - Cha Shi An (One). Despite living a double life, Duk Mi is doing her best at everything. Being a fangirl affects her dating life and she does not have any interest in other men except for Shi An. One day, Ryan Gold (Kim Jae Wook) who was once a famous painter, starts working as the new boss in the gallery where Duk Mi works. After he finds more about her and her life, he becomes interested in her and soon falls in love.

                      This series is based on the web novel "Noona Fan Dot Com" by Kim Sung Yeon.                       

        MY THOUGHTS AND WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH IT        

First of all, Her Private Life is a romantic comedy K-drama. It has many cliché tropes we have already seen hundreds of times - dating at work, the second lead who has known the Female Lead for ages, fake dating, etc. You may ask ''Aren't you tired of watching the same plot over and over again?'' I'm personally not tired at all. Because if a drama is well-made if these tropes are shown well, if the characters are strong and if it makes me feel happy, then why wouldn't I like it? Because Her Private Life does all those things the best way and I couldn't ask for more!

I'm very surprised that many people are complaining about Her Private Life is the same as Touch Your Heart, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim and other rom-com dramas. In my opinion, it is not. Her Private Life has its own charm, it gives me different vibes from any other drama of this genre I've watched. Plus, I believe that all romantic comedy dramas are somewhat similar to each other and it's hard for the scriptwriters to change this fact. There is no point in comparing though.

Since the female lead is a fangirl, fangirling is an important part of the plotline. I was very annoyed by it at first, although I'm a fangirl too. Duk Mi's behaviour was very dumb, she was saying that she loves Shi An, constantly acting as if she knows him very well. We all hate this, right? Because we all know that idols are not what we think they are and we don't know them at all. Especially after the latest K-pop scandal, her behaviour towards Shi An seemed even more irritating. I thought she is a sasaeng at first because she was following the boy all the time while taking pictures of him.

But episodes 3 and 4 made me realize that she isn't that bad and definitely not a Sasaeng. You know, sasaengs are creepy and disgusting. (For example, there was a sasaeng who wrote a letter to Taecyeon in her period blood.., Creepy, right?) But you don't have to worry, Duk Mi is nothing like that. Yes, she takes pictures of him everywhere he goes, but this is a part of being a celebrity. There was a scene in episode 3 when Shi An was looking at a picture of him that Duk Mi took even before he debuted and he said how grateful he is that there are fans who support him.  There are appearances by sasaengs though.

Duk Mi is a true fan. She doesn't intend to hurt her favourite idol, she only supports him. Yes, she is quite obsessed, but not in a bad way. And that makes the drama more enjoyable since it shows a more positive side of fangirling. And we can all relate to it, we all have a favourite celebrity that we admire.

I've said this many times before, but I will say it again - strong and compelling characters are what makes a drama with a cliché plotline good. This fact applies to Her Private Life too.

Sung Duk Mi - our female lead is very passionate and straightforward. She is not afraid to tell you the truth in the eyes. If she does something wrong, she is not afraid to admit it and apologize. She takes care of the people around her but has a sharp tongue. She is honest about her feelings and respects other people's feelings too. For example, she has considered the fact that Ryan doesn't like holding hands. She didn't think it was strange, she just accepted it. She is a broad-minded person with a warm heart. Yes, you may think that Duk Mi is a coward because she is hiding the fact that she's a fangirl, but she only wants to keep her workplace peaceful. Since people's reactions when they understand that someone is a fangirl is awful, sometimes they even hurt your feelings and make you uncomfortable. Duk Mi just wants to avoid this, who would blame her? I'd do the same.

Ryan Gold - our male lead is somehow different from all the male leads I've seen before. I don't know if it's because of Jae Wook's performance, but I find him very unique. He is not the arrogant jerk we always expect to see, yet he is not a sweet candy boy. He is somewhere in between - he seems cold at first, but when you get to know him, you will see his soft heart. In other words, he is a tsundere. He doesn't like being around many people, not because he lacks confidence, he just feels uncomfortable. He is more of an introvert than an extrovert. But in spite of this fact, he is being very honest with Duk Mi which makes me love him even more. He talks to her without having boundaries, he somehow trusts her, maybe he sees that she is a very good person whom he can rely on.

I absolutely love the growing relationship between these two! Somehow pure and passionate at the same time - I live for this. I'd love to see their progress and what's going to happen with Duk Mi and her one and only - Shi An lol. Kim Jae Wook and Park Min Young's chemistry is on fire, but what can you expect from such great actors?

The second male lead her is actually not Cha Shi An, my stupid self thought it would be him. It's Nam Eun Gi (Ahn Bo Hyun) who is like a brother to Duk Mi. They were raised together and are very close friends. But we have the usual trope here - he is secretly in love with her. Of course, there is no chance for me to suffer from the second lead syndrome, I love the main couple and I prefer Kim Jae Wook's character. But Eun Gi is a cutie, I like him. Usually, the second leads are a big pain for me, I always find them pointless, but he doesn't disturb me... Let's continue this way, right?

And now there's Cindy (Kim Bo Ra) and I know nothing about her so far. She is a fan of Cha Shi An and her appearances are very annoying. I don't know if she will continue being like this or we will see character development, I don't know if she'ill have more screen time, I have no idea what's the point of her character but I guess we'll see.

My favourite character is Lee Seon Jo (Park Jin Joo). She is Duk Mi's best friend and she is also a big fan of Cha Shi An. Well, there is a difference between them - she has a family. Her scenes are the funniest, I adore the sismance between Duk Mi and her. She is that supportive friend you need in your life. Ryan is also a big fan of them and he basically thinks that they are dating. Like, for real. The misunderstanding is hilarious, I swear. I don't know how he came up with this conclusion, but I'm cracking up.

          WATCH IT IF:          

I will end this messy article here. Overall, I think you should give Her Private Life a try. It has a solid storyline, which is somehow simple but has depth. We have a great cast with even greater chemistry! The side characters are fun to watch, even the scenes with Duk Mi's family are meaningful - the drama does not waste time pointlessly. It's the perfect drama to watch when you are feeling down and you need to cheer up. The first two episodes might be a let down for you, but don't worry, it gets better. Believe me, you won't be disappointed!

        If you are watching Her Private Life: What do you think about it so far? Do you like the main leads together or not? Do you think they will get together soon? And what do you think is the connection between Shi An and Ryan? / (Do you think they are brothers?)

        If you are not watching Her Private Life: Do you plan to? Did this article help you decide?

Author's note: Some images/gifs do not belong to me, I only edited them. All credit goes to the respective owners.

Thank you for reading!