It’s been a while since I saw a Kdrama that could actually be categorized, perfectly, as a romantic comedy. From the silly Inspector Gadget music, as Gun creeps around an art gallery trying not to be seen, to the sweet “first time” Gun and Mi-Young are together, Fated to Love You was a joy to watch!
This Kdrama is actually a remake of the Taiwanese drama by the same name. To be fair, I haven’t seen the Taiwanese one so I can’t give a comparison but this version is so wonderful, I can’t imagine another one being better. At first, I thought the comedy in it was a bit too silly but when I realized that’s what they were going for, I enjoyed it. There are things like Lee Gun ordering his manager to freeze and it showing fake ice form around the guy, and Lee Gun hoping over chairs to get to the bedroom where his new bride is. But my favorite was when he’s trying to sneak by Kim Mi-Young and there’s, literally, the Inspector Gadget music playing in the background. It might sound corny but, in this show, it works. The romance is just enough to keep us satisfied – things the characters are thinking, the looks they give one another, fireworks going off when they are dancing, the kisses that aren’t just lips meeting… And Fated to Love You actually had me in tears at one point. It’s a wonderful love story that involves three people – a mother, father, and their child.
After being drugged with a powder two men have invented that they call “Korean Viagra”, complete strangers, Gun and Mi-Young, spend a passionate night together which they can’t remember the next morning. As a result, Mi-Young becomes pregnant. It’s a 20 episode drama and that’s all I’m revealing. The plot is very simple so if I give you any more information you wouldn’t even need to watch the show.
Fated to Love You is void of any evil characters, which is nice for a change. There is an ex-girlfriend you don’t like because she lies and does some manipulating but she’s not a main character in the show so we don’t have to see a lot of her. All of the other characters are lovable which adds to the appeal of this drama. There’s no one that shows up on screen that makes you think, “Oh no, not him/her again.” The main conflict is just life coupled with the fact that people don’t communicate well. I just didn’t see much wrong with the show.
Jang Hyuk plays Lee Gun, the somewhat arrogant CEO of a chemical company. This was my first time seeing Jang-Hyuk act and I thought he was wonderful. In fact, as soon as the show was over I checked to see what else he had been in so I could see him in other roles. I appreciated the fact that they had Gun change his look throughout the show, three times to be exact. Kdramas will often have the female leads change what they look like to show the passage of time but it doesn’t happen very often with the male leads.
Jang Na-Ra is sweet, soft-spoken Mi-Young, known at work as the “post-it” girl. She’s the type of girl that can’t say no to anyone so she’s used just the way a post- it note is – do the job and then throw it away. But with the encouragement of Gun she slowly changes into a “super glue” girl. Mi-young is so kind and tender-hearted. You can’t help but love her. Jang Na-Ra is perfect for this character. I’ve enjoyed her in several other shows but Mi-Young is, by far, my favorite character. Jang Na-Ra is so popular in China that the right to the online broadcasting of Fated to Love You cost $120,000 per episode. To date, it is the second most expensive Korean drama ever sold to China.
The music complimented the drama well. In fact, during the 7th Korea Drama Awards the song Goodbye My Love won for best original soundtrack. It’s a beautiful song. If you’d like to hear it you can listen to Ailee sing it on YouTube. Her voice is perfect for that song.
Fated to Love You was filmed in South Korea and Macau, a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. Mi-Young wins a trip to Macau where that one fateful night happens. The filming doesn’t show a lot of Macau but what we do get to see is quite lovely.
If I’m going to be totally honest I need to mention the editing. It wasn’t without mistakes. I noticed three different places where the editors dropped the ball but, then again, the goofs weren’t major.
If you’re ready for an honest to goodness romantic comedy then the Korean version of Fated to Love You is what you should turn on. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry… And isn’t that what a romantic comedy is all about?
Score: 9
The Good:
Jang Hyuk and Jang Na-Ra’s chemistry
Fun plot
Good writing
Likable characters
Real comedy
Lovely romance
Pretty soundtrack
The Bad:
Editing
Heart and Seoul 