The Story of Park's Marriage Contract (2023)

Ms. Park and her husbands

Yeon Woo's opening section in Joseon is pretty fun with her being a woman that is too far ahead of her time, using her training in embroidery to sell avant garde hanbok designs and supporting fellow women artists. Her connection with the doomed Joseon Tae Ha is sweet as well, it was really sad to see him pass so soon. Her confusion being in modern times was only amusing up until after the point she meets reincarnated Tae Ha's nephew and learns the joys of a convivence store. After that it was pretty grating even though it would be realistic to need time to adjust, the schtick was just old. It was great to see Sa Wol take to the modern world like fish in water. She turned out to be even more of a woman ahead of her time than her agashi. Their sisterhood is really sweet as well.

I like how even though Yeon Woo is surrounded by dopplegangers with similar goals as those in Joseon, they're nuanced and different than those past versions of themselves like Hye Sook the step mother. I feel like the role of Tae Min could have been a very interesting wild card red herring had he been played by a stronger actor. It's a wasted opportunity that the writing didn't put some effort into fostering a brotherly bond between Tae Ha and Tae Min because the latter was on his brother's side, looking up to him the whole time.

While I do like that the drama portrays the two reincarnations are two entirely different people when other dramas stick the surviving lead with a reincarnation like it's the same person, it's also so sad that Yeon Woo kept Joseon Tae Ha at arms length after she manages to tip him off with enough of a head start that he survives their wedding night. It would have been lovely if she would have opened her heart to him too, just loving him as his own person different than reincarnated Tae Ha. He didn't have that long to live anyways with the medical abilities of the era no way being able to treat his lifelong heart issues. It's also weird that reincarnated Tae Ha's lifelong heart issue magically disappears and isn't an issue anymore.

Tae Ha's grandfather being the manipulative villain all along was nicely done, it seems to be a new trope having a seemingly loving parental figure who wants their child figure to be married to have been the one who is responsible for the death of the character's original parents. His ending of being just a happy guy all the time due to his head injury is anticlimactic though.

I really like how Yeon Woo and Tae Ha actually have a good physical intimacy, lots of kisses and they even have sex. I was half wondering if she'll be pregnant after going back to Joseon, passing off the kid as Joseon Tae Ha's, but they never went there, which is good. She and reincarnated Tae Ha used protection well.

The ending was okay, a vague connection of her jumping off a cliff and ending up in the modern day, although it looks like she just materialized by the tree all dry this time. Slightly better than just appearing again like a lot of other supernatural dramas where one character magically reappears with no explanation. They get officially married, but it's weirdly without any of their family like Sa Wol or Tae Min. It would have been a nice reversal from the fake one that only had his evil grandfather in attendance.

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Enjoyable overall.

May, 2024.
A time travel mystery rom-com, which has laughs, intrigue, threat, tragedy and romance.

Park Yun-woo (LSY), is not your typical Joseon woman and when she can no longer avoid getting married, her life takes an unimaginable turn. The emotions, characters and her life during this time, make for an entertaing watch, with the usual variety of characters from that period.

After finding herself in modern day Seoul, she becomes embroiled with a chaebol family, but holds her own. Faces are familiar, but out of time, and she has to adjust to modern life, whilst trying to find a way back to her past one.

This part of the story has the most intrigue and mystery, plus the most laughs. Her intelligence and tenacity help her adjust, but a big dollop of 'just accepting', is needed, in how well!

As the synopsis details, she meets a man who is the double of her deceased husband (BIH), with whom she enters into a marriage contract. There are times she feels like history is repeating and begins piecing things together, as so many links to her past begin to emerge. A strange but familiar character makes random appearances, guiding her, but rarely succinctly.

Her deceased husband was a lovely character, very different to his doppelganger; but they share a secret.

I really enjoyed this drama. It's classic romance, with many of the usual elements of the genre, plus some twists.

What I was disappointed with, and frankly didn't understand, was her attitude towards a key charscter, near the end of the story. It made no sense to me, given her feelings in the first part of the drama. I felt so bad and sorry for that person. It is possible to love 2 people, especially in this context.

Don't expect it to be logical throughout, and just embrace the fiction; then you might enjoy it, as I did.

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Perfect marriage

MBC will forever be to me the channel that doesn't do things halfway. They either have awful dramas or really good stories, I am glad to say The Story of Park's Marriage Contract is the latter. Another good example of why 12 episodes long dramas are sometimes better, no time to waste and unnecessary conflicts.

Lee Se Young and Bae In Hyuk gave great chemistry. They delivered solid performances and nuance characters. There is no perfect relationship but the leads of this drama come very close through proper communication, team work and love. Particularly when you take into account there's time traveling and corporate spies trying to take them down.

Joo Hyun Young, Jo Bok Rae and Oh Yu Jin are scene stealers. Every single interaction between each other or the leads is gold comedy with the added attribute that they are actually super cool characters that have full lives, apart from the main story. So, it's interesting to see well developed secondary characters. Same goes for the rest of the cast.

The story per se it's really fun and the mystery well done. Every week, I wanted to a new clue to resolve what was happening but also find out what new adventure leading lady was going to have. Her charm and openness to the world was invigorating. Definitely one of the best characters of 2024.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable story and I recommend it.

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historical modern drama

Historically modern drama, where I was happy that Bae In Hyuk is in the main role. Overall, Lee Se Yeong is very good at historical dramas. When she got to the present world, she was out a lot, but she could have been more :D. It had a lot of funny moments and a nice story. But then again, I was disappointed that two adults finally kissed, and after that, both were like adolescents. I missed the adult approach. Also, I didn't understand two things: how Bae In Hyuk's heart problem was related to her being in the present world (he already had an issue with the heart and also underwent surgery). She had to come back, and then he miraculously healed. And that picture of her locked away at his grandfather's like a treasure. If anyone has an explanation for this, let me know please.

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the ending is a no

I was so in love with this drama until we got the last two episodes, was part of the plot dumb absolutely. I really wish we got a glimpse of grandpas character change we met him he was happy and goofy and them he showed up evil. Why was there only one surgeon in the hospital and if it was the grandpa’s decision why was there a need to go after the step-mom. All of those things I was able to get over but trying to convince me that she couldn’t love both versions of the ml was insane to me and it made the last two episodes boring and annoying. What was the meaning of the flowers dying and coming back, and why did her outfit change. Lastly I really wish we had gotten to see fl reunite with so wol.

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Manipulation, Mystic and Romance makes for an Unpredictable and Intriguing Marriage Contract

Park Yeon-woo is a free spirit determined to live life on her own terms. So when her parents arrange for her to marry the “ugly old” master I figured some type of marriage contract would come out of the union. Imagine my shock when the “ugly old” master ended up being young and hot, then ends up keeling over on their wedding night. And that’s pretty much how this story went with some predictability but having a few great twists.

It’s always difficult for shows to do the fish out of water stories but the writers did well with this one. They addressed some of the bafflement Yeon-woo would have with living in the future without it overwhelming the story. Though the series was supposed to center around the marriage contract this element had little relevance to the overall story. It played no role in the drama and tension within the story, which actually worked. The game of chess between Tae-ha, Sang-mo and Hye-suk over the future of SH Seoul and SH New York generated enough tension and entertainment to keep the story interesting.

Moreover, the relationships between the friends, enemies , families and lovers was fun to watch. Though I didn’t care much for the stepbrother to start, he seemed like an annoying spoiled brat,. He actually turned out to be a good person whom I grew to enjoy. The villains had their “reasons”, but thankfully no one was at a mustache twirling level. Sang-mo could be nasty but she had some layers once her backstory was revealed. Though the story had its serious moments it also had some really funny comedic moments. The leads had great chemistry and the romance was well done. It started off as a slow burn but then built and built until it became swoonworthy.

The present’s tie to the past was done in a way where some found themselves in the same place while others had an alternative setup. The stories intertwined nicely in both timelines. The show did drag just a little in the last couple of episodes. At times it seemed like the writers were using filler until they were ready to move the story forward. I did think they kept present day Yeon-woo and Tae-ha apart a little too long in the final episode, but overall this was a really good show. The story, acting and chemistry of the characters was great. The love story was beautifull and the business shenanigans was entertaining. Its definitely worth watching and is a show I’ll rewatch in the future.

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Great drama and concept studip abrupt ending.

The drama as a whole was really good. But as always, the end left a lot to be desired. It felt forced and way too abrupt.
The suspense, the goods times, the funny tines, I had a great time watching it thats why i was disappointed in the abrupt end and how they ended up not being together even though they were trying to sell us this "she meets him again in new joeson" and have the men say the same things proving their hearts are in the fact the same and they're both the same, she rejected the poor man who was her original husband and who loved her and she left her parents greiving on the other side, thinking she was murdered by that guy who never paid for killing her. He was sentenced to beheading but I guess he escaped and they didnt show him paying for it. I just feel like there are holes all over that ending and it should have been better thought out

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could've been a 9.5 but...

I would've rated this drama a 9 or 9.5 had it not been for the last few episodes. I enjoyed this story and how it flowed. The leads were great. I remember thinking OMG, how will this end? I love the current Kang Tae Ha, but I wanted justice for the one from the previous timeline as well. I loved how the past and present intertwined with the faces from the past making an appearance in today's world. I don't have anything bad to say about the first half of the drama. My issue came in the end when the female lead had to go back to the previous time and correct the wrongs. I don't particularly appreciate how that part of the story was written I feel like she should've gone back changed the past and then come back to the present sooner so the viewer could've got a little more interaction between the leads in the end. Instead, the viewer is taken back in time where she corrects the past only for the ML to lose his life still at which point she goes and stays in a cabin house away from her family where she is then attacked by the person who killed her in the beginning trying to kill her again. She jumps to her death and reappears back where it started in the current time with the male lead and that's the end. The viewer doesn't know what happened between the time she jumped and the time she returned. I just wish the last 2 episodes were written better.

sidenote: I loved the best friend and her relationship with the ML's assistant.

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A very short review since I was not able to connect with the story

This story has a lot of potential, but I do not know; the story was so boring for me because it did not make me focus while I watched. I keep falling asleep. And maybe because I kept falling asleep I was not able to focus or make a connection to any of the characters, which was a letdown because I was looking forward to this story since this is the only series that offers this kind of time travel. Also, I was not convince with the reasoning of the villain (if you can call him that) especially the one in the Joseon time. However, I will not tell anyone to not watch this because maybe it will be your cup of tea and will enjoy.

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