Maybe we should have stopped at 12 episodes
I didn’t read any reviews before I started this drama, and if I had, I would have known that this drama became incredibly boring as soon as the leads got together. Don’t get me wrong, the romance was one of the best I had seen with no stupid drama and only the funny, entertaining types of misunderstandings (God, I hate angsty misunderstandings so much lol). It seems this drama only had the romance line as the only substantial storyline, and it was obvious since as soon we got closure with the main couple, the rest of the plot became completely stagnant. I nevertheless appreciate the mature writing, and I did enjoy the scenes of our two leads just being lovey-dovey together. The drama has a great ensemble of characters, fun music, and a *fairly* original fangirl element to it. It’s a great rom com to relax to as long as you don’t expect too much substance from the plot, and I’d probably be open to rewatching it a few years later since the drama gave me consistently good vibes throughout.Was this review helpful to you?
Deok mi and ryan gold are incredibly cute before and after they get into a relationship. Even when their relationship was on the rocks i was still laughing with them.
This is a chill and relax show, that avoided unnecessary conflicts between characters. Certain issues that needed to be addressed were addressed in a well handled fashion. I really did appreciate that this drama avoided the cliche break up scenes that is common in kdramas. This was honestly so enjoyable, i really do recommend.
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Definitely a new favourite
I loved so much about this show. I saw it time and time again while looking for recommendations and I kept avoiding it for some unknown reason. I finally decided to have a look and I was hooked right from the start. For me, this show was perfection... both of the leads were engaging and their parts were acted beautifully. There wasn't a lot of that angsty drama, misunderstandings and all the other BS that frustrates me in these shows.If you, as I was, were looking for a drama where all of the characters have depth and the main lead chemistry is off the charts, this is the one for you. I was especially looking for a caring and devoted male lead and I am head over heels in love with Ryan Gold. This actor first caught my eye in Coffee Prince, so I was curious to see him in something else and oooohmygoddddd, he played this role to absolute perfection. I also wasn't expecting Shi Ahn (the pop star) to be as lovable and genuine as he turned out to be. The friendships, family relationships, love stories... it's all just so, so beautiful and heartwarming in this drama. Love love love!
Another thing I really loved is that the mature relationship between the two leads. HOT kisses and mature communication... none of that lips pressed together with no movement while the camera pans around nonsense.
Don't do what I did and skip over this one for too long, you will really miss out!
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Shakesperean perfection
I was both happy and sad to reach the conclusion of this heartwarming and superbly acted drama. As all the interwoven stories reached their satisfactory conclusion, I was reminded of how Shakespeare brought all the multi-faceted strands of his eternal tales to their inevitable end. So many Korean dramas, including many of my favourites, leave too much unexplained or end in a way which does not live up to the excellence of everything to that point. 'Her Private Life' is a uniquely happy exception. While the 'fangirl' thread - and how two mature young woman and their families deal with it - is considered by some to be the main point of the story. I would disagree: it is about reconciliation and family; negotiating the difficult paths of self-discovery. As someone who was adopted, I was particularly attuned to the search for family. And one is given many opportunities to think about the truth of art.The mix of romance and comedy is perfectly balanced: I was happy that the protagonists did not let misunderstandings - a natural part of life - linger too long to create unnecessary tensions. (How often do I find myself asking the screen - why doesn't he just explain what happened to her!)
Others have commented on the remarkable chemistry of Park Min Young and Kim Jae-Wook, I couldn't agree more. They are one of the most mature couples in Dramaland with a level of understanding, fun, and forgiveness when necessary. Their back stories - lost memories, recovered at precisely the right moment and their reaction to those memories - only reveals the depth of their characters and the characterisation of these superb actors as well. I admit to be being a particular fan of Park Min-Young's - just something about her in every drama to which she lends her extraordinary beauty and smile.
The secondary cast is superb as well, in particular Kim Mi-Kying - the amazing hacker in 'Healer' as Park Min Young's mother and the exasperating but very funny Kim Sun-young as the bizarrely eccentric head of the cultural foundation that runs the Art Gallery at the center of the story.
I will rewatch 'Her Private Life' to relive the experience of these wonderful characters.
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The leads have fantastic spicy chemistry and depth develops as the episodes progress. There are some ignorant reviewers of this show who don't understand Korean culture at all. 1) The entire point of this story is the fact that she is an Ajumma fangirl, she is supposed to be over 30, that's part of the reason she hides her fangirling. That's the plot, so a younger actress wouldn't make sense as her age/job is the conflict. Also, I hate to break it to those who want younger actors, but Korean dramas air late night and so are usually made for adults 25 and older, teen and young adult dramas are usually summer, web, or weekend dramas. Korea puts too much academic pressure on students so there just isn't a young viewer audience they cater to like in China, Chinese dramas have a lot more for your age range. 2) Korea typecasts on a whole other level so even though PMY is capable of darker or more complex roles as an experienced actress, she is seen as a bubbly rom-com actress and those are the roles she'll be offered. For instance, the actress who plays PMY's mom has played a similar mom character in countless dramas. If you want a cute rom-com that doesn't take its self too seriously but has some character development similar to Secretary Kim, you'll love this. Also, this is the first drama I've watched that has a very forward, positive dialogue about the LGBT community in spite of the conservative Korean audience, for that alone, I love it. You should watch this until episode 4 at least before giving it up as I feel that the first 2 episodes don't really show how great the characters and story are, but by episode 5 you will be hooked. Was this review helpful to you?
Finally I found a drama whose main couple isn't one bit problematic!
The plot is really good. A lot of people in the comments were complaining the drama was boring and that it lost its initial spark. I somewhat disagree. I didn't find it boring at all; the plot simply took another direction. And although some of the "explanations" we got could have seem like easy plot devices used by the writers to justify the characters' attitudes, it still made sense. Everything was connected since the beginning of the drama and to me that was really satisfying. I lived for the humour moments here and there and the sweet moments were so amazing I couldn't help but smile.
The actors did a PHENOMENAL job. Their interactions were so natural I doubt they were acting most of the time. They gave genuine answers and smiles. Even the characters I did not like at first ended up growing on me later on so there wasn't not even one character I disliked. I also enjoyed the fact that they all had their own little plot going and weren't completely ignored by the writers and were only there to serve the main couple. Cindy and Eungi (and Cindy's mother by the end) weren't my favorite at first (although I didn't necessarily dislike them) but as the story progressed they became soooo good to me!
And shall we talk about our main couple? Wow. Like I mentioned previously, this couple was one of the healthiest, most genuine, sweetest I have ever watched. So incredibly mature, supportive and understanding. Kdramas have really gone a long way since Boys over Flowers haha Jun Pyo could never! Park Minyoung and Kim Jaewook are incredible actors, hands down of the best rom-com performances of 2019. Their chemistry was amazing so hopefully we'll see them act together again in the future.
Your precious little girl ohohohyeahoh hahaha, it's really addicting. I really liked the soundtrack so I have nothing else to add here. Not sure if I'll rewatch this anytime soon but I'll certainly rewatch some scenes here and there. The chemistry is too good not to.
If you're looking for a drama with a non-problematic couple that literally does not fight over stupid things, you will really enjoy this one!
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First of all, I am a big fan of Kim Jae Uck from Coffee Prince's time wayback 2007. As well as all his previous works: Another Way, Two Rooms Two Nights, Voice and The Guest. Since this was his first RomCom and first lead in a drama series I was ecstatic since he was always the second lead. I will gave him the benefit of the doubt. At the start of the story, they depicted the unhealthy relationship of fans to their idols which is somewhat a true story in Korea I think? Fans are so obsessive that they have so many expenditures for their idols which is scary to the point that they seem to feel that they control the lives of the celebrities that they are idolizing.
I thought that Cha Si An will end up with Sindy but what an unexpected twist Sindy end up with Nam Eun Gi. I did not see that coming cause I thought that Eun Gi might be getting involved with Choi Da In.
The drama went sideways with the story I admit since the flow of the story should revolve on fangirling/fandom. I know that the writers should place another dramatic story to feed the viewers but starting with episode 11 when they are digging the story of Ryan Gold's adoption thing and abandonment I was a little disappointed with the flow and how they convey the suppose to be connection of Deokmi and Ryan Gold/Heo Yeon Jae. It was actually unnecessary to begin with since they started the drama with a strong motive towards the relationship of Deokmi and Ryan Gold. I kept watching till the end because Park Min Young and Kim Jae Uck's chemistry is just superb. They portray a very mature relationship that I haven't seen in some RomCom dramas that I already watched. Their interactions are unbelievably executed, no awkwardness or hesitations just pure Love, Understanding, Commitment and Loyalty towards each other. ALTHOUGH, the writers seem to add the fake relationship plot whatsoever. ????
The story between Deokmi's fangirling towards the end was not really emphasized, maybe because at the last 4 episodes they focus on Ryan Gold's storyline. I was just a little disappointed cause they did not show if Deokmi still fangirls over Cha Si An after she arrives from New York with Ryan Gold. Did she stop since her idol is her fiance's brother? Or the support that she gave Cha Si An was long gone since she was so inlove with Ryan Gold that she doesn't have time to fangirl anymore? Sure thing that this drama gives us fans the hearts and sweetness of the Labbit couple but unfortunately the story was just saved by Deokmi and Ryan Gold's excessive and mature romance(which I am not complaining cause I really love their loveteam). I was a little disappointed that there was no wedding event that happened between DM and RG but the proposal and the end were they kissed was a bit emotional for me cause I somewhat feel that not only Deokmi and Ryan Gold was doing the scene ???? I feel that Park Min Young and Kim Jae Uck also feels the scene since they were so into it (watch the BTS for reference) ????
Overall all, this drama is good. Satisfied with the romance afterall.
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Great, mature characters with a sweet romance!
STORY 9/10Kim Jae Wook and Park Min Young were perfect and had great chemistry. I love the maturity of the characters. They didn't get overly jealous, but they were reasonable and talked things out. I felt like I was watching a married couple who were deeply in love. There was lots of feel-good and sweet moments. Kinda disappointed that they weren't married by the end, just engaged.
I would've given this drama a 10/10 if it ended at 14 episodes. BUT, I still liked the last two episodes. I just didn't like the "met each other during childhood and somehow forgot" trope. I'm just glad it wasn't the "almost siblings" trope, which would've made me gag. I like the life lesson taught that we're humans and we make mistakes, maybe even big ones. But we're still good.
MUSIC 10/10
Music was excellent! It went well with the art. It was beautiful, light, and refreshing.
Things I wish they would've done:
- Since Ryan was adopted, I wish they would've introduced his adoptive family. Maybe he had a sister, maybe it was just parents. Either way, their interactions with SDM and/or her parents with western culture vs eastern culture could've been COMEDY GOLD!!!
- I was hoping that as SDM fell in love with Ryan, she would gradually get rid of CSA memorabilia at her place. I was hoping that she would pass on the duties of fan page manager to someone else. (Also, it's weird thinking that SDM is basically fangirling over her future half brother-in-law, and Ryan's totally okay with it.)
- SDM gave up her art dream years earlier. I wish she would've been able to fulfill it
Biggest plot hole EVER: SDM's mom should've brought Ryan to the police when his mom didn't return. Surely, someone would've filed a missing child report with the police. I know SDM looked it up and didn't find anything. The show didn't specify how long Ryan's mom was in the hospital for. But there was still the grandpa who trashed her paintings. Why wasn't he looking for him and filed it if she was in the hospital for >1month?
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The romance in here is so heartful and they way they stand by eachother through thick ND thin. They are this sweet couple!! The fangirling parts are amazing and funny also relatable. The other characters also did their parts so well . A definite must watch.
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I'm just so thankful for Kim Jae Wook for having portrayed Ryan Gold without any reservation. He embraced the character and brought such an authentic acting to the viewers. This definitely gave an opportunity for him to explore the romcom genre (hoping more to come *crosses fingers*).
All in all, this drama would not stress the hell out of you. Yes, there might be some scenes where you would get frustrated over Sung Deok Mi but you'd eventually pass it lol. Just hang in there. I loved how they showed that a healthy relationship roots from two people being honest together. No lying, no keeping secrets. Transparency it is.
In addition, l am delighted as to how this especially appealed to us, people who have lived their lives fangirling over a band, an actor/actress, movie, series, an idol star, etc. It is indeed hard to supress our feelings when there are times we need to. It is heart-warming to know that there are people who openly support and appreciate us.
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I enjoyed this drama as it was light-hearted yet it hit home in terms of loss and also focused on the various relationships one experiences within their day-to-day lives. The references to fandom slang made me laugh and Sung Duk Mi's reactions to Cha Shi An is a BIG mood. When I heard about this series I was drawn to it because I wanted to see how the writers and cast would portray that of a fanatic, being one myself. It's common knowledge that the media often portrays fangirls/boys as those who have an unhealthy obsession, whether it be towards an individual, franchise, tv series etc. and who always seems to push the boundaries that often leave a negative impact. This can be the case, of course, but ninety-nine percent of the time a fanatic leads a normal life and is drawn into their desired fandom because it is a form of escapism and it brings joy for them. Her Private Life portrayed this perfectly and truly showed that fanatics are average people who happen to find solace in a particular person etc. and know the difference between being a fan and a stalker.
The only thing that really put me off was the last two episodes with the one redeeming quality being the main couple. It was very clear from the get go that Sung Duk Mi and Ryan Gold had amazing chemistry which helped massively with the ending .
Overall, if you're looking for a soft rom-com that will make you laugh then this is the one for you.
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