After I finished watching Let’s Fight Ghost and began writing my review, I discovered its star, Ok Taec-Yeon, had been in a webdrama called Touching You so I decided to give it a try. A webdrama has to be better than just “okay” for me to enjoy it, and I enjoyed watching Touching You, so that should tell you something.
The plot is very simple to follow. Do Jin-Woo has the psychic ability to see someone’s near feature if he touches them (but it has to be skin to skin contact – shaking hands with someone wearing gloves wouldn’t work). Unfortunately, when two girls come to him in order to have their futures read, he sees one of them, Jin Hee-Young, tumble down a flight of stairs and land motionless in a heap, her head in a puddle of blood. Startled by the image in his mind, Jin-Woo thinks it’s best to keep the grisly details to himself and only admonishes her to be very careful. Oh Young-Dal, the guy who owns the cafe’ where Jin-Woo works, has a crush on the girl with the deadly future so Jin-Woo decides to tell him about the vision he saw when he touched her hand. Worried about his “angel”, Young-Dal talks him into following Jin Hee-Young to keep her safe. Jin-Woo gets a job at the cosmetic store where Hee-Young works to keep a watchful eye on her but the closer he gets to Hee-Young, the more he likes her and that’s a problem because she has a boyfriend she’s hoping will propose to her soon. Is there a chance Jin-Woo can save her life and win her heart in the process?
Because this is a webdrama we don’t get a lot of details into just who the characters are and what makes them tick but that isn’t a problem with this show. There’s enough we do know to like them and that’s what keeps us watching.
Do Jin-Woo has dated a few girls in the past but never allowed himself to get close to one because of what he calls his “visions”. He’s very uncomfortable as the only man who works in the cosmetics store and really dislikes having to hand out make-up samples to people walking by.
Jin Hee-Young has qualities most men (I would imagine) find attractive. She is pretty, soft-spoken, sweet, a good friend, and well liked by others. She has a boyfriend who isn’t stingy with declarations of love but is overly cautious with a permanent relationship commitment. She has romantic desires and wants to be a wife and mother.
It seems Ok Taec-Yeon’s been quite busy lately, filming two shows that overlapped each other – Touching You was broadcast from July 4th to July 19th (2016) while Let’s Fight Ghost was aired from July 11th to August 30th (2016). Three years ago I saw him in the variety/reality show We Got Married (the global edition) and was impressed with his easygoing personality. He seems to be a generous, down-to-earth kind of guy. Too bad he wasn’t partnered with someone less selfish and immature. I thought he dealt with her shortcomings very well, though.
As I was watching this show I thought Song Ha-Yoon seemed familiar. Since I couldn’t think of where I had seen her I decided to look up the things she’s been in. I’ve seen her in three dramas, two of which I can’t remember her being in at all- Sang-Doo, Let’s Go to School and Reset – however I was able to clearly picture her in the webdrama Dream Knight. She is wonderful as a teenage girl who has lost her family and is being cared for by her stuffed dolls that come alive. I remember being surprised that she looked exactly like a high school senior but was actually much older than that (28 at the time) in real life.
Don’t expect good kisses in this drama. It’s just the lips-touching-don’t-move kind. Why do directors still think that’s okay? We know how real people kiss, Mr. Director, and that ain’t it.
The music in Touching You is quite good. There’s not a huge variety but what we hear is top notch. The different instrumental background scores show beautiful simplicity and every single vocal song is wonderful. You Are the One For Me is sung in English by a Thai/Chinese actress and singer named Darancharas Sukheviriya (her nickname is Data). The woman is beautiful, sings like an angel, and can speak four languages – Thai, English, Korean, and French! I don’t know for sure but I think she is the actress that plays the part of the spokesperson for the make-up company the characters Jin-Woo and Hee-Young work for.
The scenery that stands out in my mind is a big wooden swing covered with vines and flowers that Jin-Woo and Hee-Young swing on together at night (now that’s romantic) and the good-old wall of locks at Namsan Tower.
I feel the quality of webdramas is picking up. If ones like Touching You continue to dominate internet dramas, the regular TV Kdramas just might end up with some competition.
Score: 7
The Good:
Original plot
Likable characters
Interesting mystery I wasn’t able to guess
Great soundtrack
Good acting
The Bad:
Motionless kisses
Heart and Seoul 