Presentation
Korean Title: 도시남녀의 사랑법
Aired in: 2021 (17 episodes)
Channel: KakaoTV, Netflix
Grade: 7.5/10
Actors: Ji Chang Wook, Kim Ji Won, Kim Min Seok, So Ju Yeon, Han Ji Eun and Ryu Kyung Soo
For more…
Ji Chang Wook:
– Healer
– Backstreet Rookie
– Melting Me Softly
– The K2
– Empress Ki
– Suspicious Partner
Kim Ji Won:
– Arthdal Chronicles
– Descendants of the Sun
– The Heirs
– Fight for My Way
Han Ji Eun:
– Kkondae Intern
– Be Melodramatic
Kim Min Suk:
– Descendants of the Sun
– Because this is my First Life
– Age of Youth 2
So Ju Yeon:
– Romantic Doctor Kim 2
– A Love so Beautiful
Analysis
Synopsis
A documentary/drama revolving about 3 love relationships, completely different involving Park Jae Won, Lee Eun Ho, Choi Kyung Jun, Seo Rin I, Oh Seon Yeong and Kang Geon.
My Opinion (No Spoilers)
Frankly, when I started the drama I was actually really glad that the format differed entirely from what we are used to see. The 17 episodes, each 30-minute long, are filmed like a documentary or reality show, which really brought some freshness to the story. That being said, I also quite appreciated the idea of following the love struggles of 3 very distinct couples, while trying to relay and empathize with each.
However, my fondness of the drama rapidly started to fade around episode 10, if not a bit after. By the end, I was really left with the feeling that it could’ve been so much better and could’ve told so much more.
Despite that bitter feeling, I would still recommend you take a look at it, it is quite short and the format is somehow quite novel.
Analysis (Spoilers Alert)
The couples:
Lee Eun Ho/Park Jae Won: Park Jae Won (Ji Chang Wook) is an architect, who earns his life properly and is passionate about photography. After having decided to take some holidays, he goes to Yang Yang, where he usually goes on a retreat in order to relax and surf. He meets Lee Eun Ho (Kim Ji Won) there, who goes under the name Yoon Sun Ah. They fell in love and promise to meet again in Seoul. Yet, when the time comes for them to finally reunite in Seoul, Lee Eun Ho is nowhere to be found. For more than a year, she vanishes without giving Jae Won a proper explanation.
Their relationship, in my opinion, is literally a roller coaster. The reason why it becomes so complicated at some point, is because both are very stubborn and incapable of letting go. Park Jae Won can’t forget the woman he supposedly married in Yang Yang, while Lee Eun Ho can’t accept the fact that he may discover her past. They both stand their ground, to the point that it almost became ridiculous. Despite that, their unwillingness to bend makes them even more attracted to each other. I had the impression that I was witnessing a power struggle in a relationship, in which there was no reason to fight in the first place. Both have feelings for each other and can’t even make the best out of it.
At the very beginning of their relationship, they seem to lead the perfect love story: love at first sight, kiss under the moon and on the beach, dates on a surfboard and wedding in a vast landscape. Even though, they give us the impression that their couple is going to be solid, it appears that lies and secrets destroy it all.
Indeed, Lee Eun Ho/Yoon Sun Ah is concealing her real identity. Later on, we discover that she has been betrayed by her ex-fiancé, then fired from her job and left without a home. As she needed somewhere to breath, she decided to go to the sea. I think that it is pretty obvious she went through a serious life, as well as, identity crisis, that shook her world, to the point that she was completely lost. Because she couldn’t accept herself anymore (and because her ex-fiancé made her think she was responsible for him cheating on her), she endorsed a new identity and even personality. One that would help her running away from her own self and be somewhat free from her past. I agree on the fact that it could’ve been a good idea, had she not met Park Jae Won.
Indeed, Lee Eun Ho has in fact a plurality of personalities, one sweet and kind before her ex-fiancé’s betrayal (as reminded by her best friends), one bold and free, that she shows to Jae Won, and one more secretive and rough, that she has when she comes back from Yang Yang.
Considering the fact that Jae Won only “met” the second personality, if I may say so,it is totally understandable that he is confused and shocked to learn that everything was a lie.
However, there comes the twist. I actually believe that each personality is the exacerbation of Lee Eun Ho’s qualities/defects. Each of them is a part of her and Jae Won is clever enough to understand that if he really loves her, he has to accept the whole package. That’s when Jae Won’s stubbornness comes right into play. Because he desperately holds onto her, or one of her past self, he forces Lee Eun Ho to accept herself for who she really is, that is to say, personality 1, 2 and 3. He shakes her to the extent that she has no other solution, but to admit that she has been hurt in the past, she has feelings for Jae Won, she loves herself despite all that and is finally willing to move on.
Park Jae Won is a trigger that enables Lee Eun Ho to stand on her own two feet and get out of her identity crisis by the end of the drama.
Choi Kyung Jun/Seo Rin I: Choi Kyung Jun (Kim Min Suk) is the perfect epitome of resilience and determination, especially when applied in a relationship. He has been in love with Seo Rin I (So Ju Yeon) for 10 years and has fought tooth and nail in order to finally date her. He is sweet, kind, warm-hearted and attentive. He is also Jae Won’s cousin.
Rin I is quite different from him actually, she is more down-to-earth, doesn’t care about the norms and rules imposed by society (marriage especially) and wants to live her life the way it pleases her (that’s why she has so many part-time jobs). We thus have here very different personalities, that somehow made it work for many years. While watching the drama, I realized that their relationship happen to work well only because Kyung Jun was willing to give in most of the time. Yet, he is also incapable of putting himself in Rin I’s shoes and tends to dictate her the way she should live, which Rin I totally refuses.
They are thus not really compatible, because not on the same wavelength. Their relationship, though being very different from that of Eun Ho and Jae Won, highlights exactly the same issue: are you willing to accept the other for who he/she is? While Eun Ho and Jae Won accept each other, the task appears way more complicated for Rin I and Kyung Jun. They are both prisoners of their own way of life, that are too distinct from one another. This gap leads inevitably to a break-up, despite their long-term relationship. If you wish to change someone instead of accepting that person, how can you start a sane relationship?
Oh Seon Yeong/Kang Geon: This duo was quite interesting as well. Oh Seon Yeong (Han Ji Eun) is a high school PE teacher, very affirmative, self-confident and strong-minded. She has been in a great number of relationships, that all ended in a disaster. She first begins her story with Kang Geon (Ryu Kyung Soo) with a one-night stand. A mutual attraction that was supposed to last only a few hours. However, they continued their relationship after. In the end, it didn’t work out, because of Seon Yeong’s jealousy over Geon’s childhood friends Rin I and Eun Ho. To that, I would add Kang Geon’s inability to reassure Seon Yeong and tell her that he loves her, when she requires it the most. After this failed relationship, Kang Geon chose to lead a single life.
This couple is actually for me the epitome of the impact that the lack of trust can have on a relationship. Once again, the lack of trust is also very synonym to either a lack of confidence in yourself or the inability to accept the other’s lifestyle, past and entourage. Kang Geon, Rin I and Eun Ho are indeed childhood friends, who always relied on each other. Their mutual support is therefore only natural for them, since they have always followed the same dynamic. They have never experienced other feelings toward each other, that would imply romantic love, or so it is said in the drama.
Seon Yeong is incapable of understanding this kind of bond, that can also be compared to love in another way. Because of that, she takes her lack of comprehension on Kang Geon. On the other side, Kang Geon is also incapable of seeing that Seon Yeong doesn’t quite comprehend the bond that unites him and his friends, because she has never felt it before. This leads to resentment, hatred up to a point and of course break-up. Though by the end of the drama, they get closer again. They are finally starting to see what went wrong in their relationship.
All in all, these 3 couples emphasize clearly fundamental elements for a relationship: accept the other, don’t try to change him/her ; put yourself in her/his shoes and try to see things from their perspective.
If I had to remind all the themes tackled in relation to love and relationship, I would say: jealousy, trust, betrayal, break up, one-night stand, long-term, mutual respect and understand, love at first sight to a certain extent (between Eun Ho and Jae Won).
Without forgetting another important type of love: friendship. I laughed so hard, as I watched our crew play Halli Galli for night game. There really were some heart-warming and tender moments between our 3 main friends: the revelation of Eun Ho’s past for instance with a candle.
The original format: Now, moving on to the format, I have to admit that I was quite satisfied with it. The drama is filmed like a reality show/documentary, focusing on one character answering to questions (from the fictive crew) and reacting to live comments. This sort of stream of consciousness is combined with actual fictive moments, that we can find in any drama.
I really liked the fact that questions were written directly on screens and actors were almost sort of improvising the answers. This gave some depth to the emotions expressed, as well as surprising reactions.
Despite this originality, some questions remained in the back of my mind. Do the characters actually communicate, while being filmed? I clearly understood that they knew who was being filmed, like the cousins, but is there more to it? How come they don’t all recognize each other? What is the goal of that documentary? What is the context?
The absence of real answer, I have to say, made me quite confused and prevented the drama from being completely crystal clear on his intents. However, I could probably imagine that the drama didn’t try to tell a love story, but rather to take a glimpse at several relationships. That is the only plausible answer I found to explain why it lacked fluidity.
City and paradise: This distinction is probably the second most important element in the drama and for several reasons.
The landscape: First, I don’t think we can talk about that drama without mentioning the beautiful landscapes and spots, either it’d be in Seoul or, even better, in Yang Yang. Indeed, an important part of the drama takes place at this excellent surf spot (a real one in South Korea). Just like the characters, we are as viewers completely under the charm of this peaceful and relaxing place, where only the sun, the rain and the ocean exist.
This beautiful landscape and relation to nature actually allow for a deeper analysis. The beach in Yang Yang is indeed a place, where one can feel free: the ocean can lead you anywhere, you can be whoever you wish to be, you don’t need to justify yourself to anyone and your only problems are probably fishing and tanning. It is in fact a place out of time and reality, where one can escape and leave his burdens at the entrance of the beach. In this idyllic place, Jae Won and Eun Ho meet. They create their own bubble, away from real life. This is the only place where they can actually focus entirely on their feelings and their relationship.
Opposite to that paradise, there is the city. It is a cruel, difficult and complex place, following the law of the jungle. In Seoul, there is no escape, no way out. You can’t run away from your problems and have to face them head-on. Moreover, you are somehow bound to encounter or re-encounter the ghosts of your past. This is actually what happens between Kang Geon and Seon Yeong and Jae Won and Eun Ho. The city forces you to accept your reality and to make choices. It is also a place where you are forced to take into account other variables such as the norms and rules of society and the influence on others on your life. As pictured in the drama, these two variables are actually at the root of the break-ups and tend to destroy relationships as well. Yet, they can also bring you closer together: Eun Ho stole Jae Won’s cameras, the law in Seoul forces both of them to reunite and compromise. This order, that is also chaotic to be honest, enables to unveil some precious secrets (Eun Ho’s identity), that the peaceful harmony in Yang Yang never would have revealed.
The title: The Korean title, grossly translated, means the Law of Love of City Couples. I really wondered a lot as to why they chose that title specifically. It could’ve been anything else, yet they went with this one. I would actually hypothesize that Law of Love is in fact quite close to the Law of the Jungle and Law of Attraction. The first hypothesis would fit with my interpretation up above.
As for my second hypothesis, I couldn’t help but note that characters were one way or another, indisputably attracted to one another. When I say attracted of course, I mean more than simply liking each other before you are a couple. I really had the impression that they were like magnets, pulling each other closer and further away from each other at the same time.
Kyung Jun has been holding on to Rin I for quite a long time before she actually started dating him. In the end, his love for her became too much to handle (he wanted the best for her to the point that he was invading her free will), which pushed her away.
Seon Yeong and Kang Geon had an immediate attraction for each other after their one-night stand. However, Seon Yeong’s possessiveness and her rejecting him to make him come closer, destroyed their story.
Finally, Eun Ho and Jae Won love each other but still keep a distance. One pushes and the other one pulls, creating a sort of chaotic relationship.
I don’t know if there are ideas regarding this title, if you have you can still tell me in the comments below.
Water: I think this one is pretty obvious, but water in the drama has quite a great role to play. Jae Won and Eun Ho met at the beach, had fun in the rain, and met again in Seoul along the Cheonggyecheon stream. Water here is a sort of red thread in their love story. Interestingly, water, just like their relationship, is two-sided. It can embody peacefulness and serenity (their dynamic in Yang Yang), but it can also be quite violent, stormy and deceitful (they second dynamic in Seoul).
The ambiance: In terms of ambiance, the drama successfully combined emotional sequences (the heartbreaking face-to-face between Jae Won and Eun Ho at the restaurant) with humorous scenes. The leitmotiv of this humor is probably the red thread of Eun Ho being the camera thief. This adds to the chaos in their relationship. Other very good moments can’t be quoted: all the scened at the police station with the police officers, the amazing PPL announcements (very clever by the way) and probably all of Ji Chang Wook’s scenes in front of the camera. I really had the impression that he was crazy!
The negative points: Despite all of these great elements, I happened to find some problems within the drama, that truly bothered me. The ending, or rather the two last episodes, left me composed. I didn’t understand why Choi Min Ho’s character had an entire episode almost dedicated to him. He was throughout the drama a second lead and the focus on his love story, though showing yet another side of relationships, appeared a little bit out of nowhere. Plus, it was totally irrelevant and unrelated to the context, which added to my confusion.
Apart from that, they also decided to stop the drama in a very abrupt manner. It really lacked a sense of closure. Even though, I understood the idea (we only want to have a glimpse in someone’s existence through the media of a documentary), it still gave the impression to be incomplete and rushed through.
Finally, I believe that at some point we started running in circles by mid-drama. The story was not evolving, the plot was stagnant, characters’ relationships didn’t move an inch, yet I was still watching episodes! I don’t even know what happened from episode 11 to 15, if something actually happened.
All of this were a bit of a disappointment. Too bad for a drama that started quite well.
P.S.: Very nice presence of photography in the background, that also served as a red thread. It also introduced lots of twists of the story. So big up!
P.S.2: Some great cameos should also be mentioned: Choi Min Ho, Pyo Ye Jin, Lee Sang Woo, Park Jin Joo, Lee Sang Yoon.
Once Upon a Drama 