Ho Goo's Love, the seemingly superficial rom com that starts off bumpy and looks way too light-hearted but ends up hitting you right at the core of the feels. Who'd expect? I certainly didn't!
So what was so extraordinary about Ho Goo's love? The drama without straying away too far from the usual kdrama cliches, like archetype characters, or absurd coinsidences and ridiculous comedy, manages to deliver something unique, be different and adress specific issues that not only are taboo when it comes to the dramaland but also ignored and overlooked in reality as well.
Ho Goo's love doesn't shy away from several problems that are incriminated by society like unexpected pregnancy, different sexual orientation, plastic beauty, single mothers working and taking care of their family simultaneously. As well as adressing several society issues like domestic psychological abuse, sexual assault, bullying, dating-sexual abuse, suiside - i can seriously go on. Sounds pretty heavy already?
Well, you can rest assured, it's not. It centers around Ho Goo, an adorkable character and his crazy life full of coincidence and absurd situations. His first love reappears after 6 years but this time she has a secret and everything just keeps getting more and more tangled from there.
The drama actually comes off as way too cute, even fluffy. It relies a lot on comedy but this is exactly what i loved so much about it. The perfect blend of absurd and hilarious coincidences that might make you raise your eyebrow a bit, together with the severity and intensity of all those society issues that people tend to turn a blind to. The drama is a perfect mixture of melodrama and comedy, one of the best i've watched. It starts focusing on comedy and it gradually turns to darker themes without losing its funny spark.
I have to admit that the characters were a little difficult to warm up to. The whole drama actually was hard to get used to. The characters are ridiculous, the situations are bizarre and they take some time to become likeable and feel real/acceptable. The drama gets drastically better after the midway point and it gets seriously addicting too. The main reason i don't rate it higher besides the warming-up-to-the-characters and the unreal coincidences parts, is that i felt that they over-ridiculed a few very serious matters and it felt borderline offensive. However, this was the best way to showcase them without making it too sad, appeal to a larger audience and still send a few messages along the way.
I have only positive things to say about the acting. It wasn't exceptional but it was satisfying.
Choi Woo Sik, exceeded my expections, but i doubt i even had any coming in. He was hilarious and absolutely adorable. A perfect fit for this role. Uee's performance was spectacular, she aced her dramatic scenes, more than anything else. Lee Soo Kyung needs more roles. She was entertaining beyond imagination. Im Seul Ong was another pleasant surprise, his performance was realistic in a questionable character, and always amusing. The whole supporting cast was amazing.
Overall the drama is not the masterpiece of our time, but it's definitely worth checking out. It brings something old and something new together and the results are commendable! I'd recommend this to everyone feeling like watching a significant but still light rom com. Rom com fans will enjoy this immensely, while melodrama fans if you ever feel like something more light-hearted than usual, this is a great choice.
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