Unemployed Romance (2013)

This is a romcom from a slightly different angle. The story is told in flashback & from each of the main leads own perspectives. I found this approach refreshing and felt that the story was told in such a way as to maintain the narrative flow and does not confuse the viewer.

Its only 10 episodes of about 50 minutes each - it is concise although I did find the last episode a little rushed and would have preferred more time spent on the resolution of the story.

The side characters were engaging and hilarious. My personal favourite was Seung Hee's inept boss. There are also a few funny cameos along the way. The acting by the main characters was good and believable.

This drama's depiction of a relationship seemed REAL and not like the stylised, overly romantic, fantasy type romances usually depicted in Kdramas. It shows the characters from the very first meeting to gradually forming a relationship over a period of several years with all the accompanying ups and downs of life, I really liked this aspect.


The music - I remember a couple of pleasant tracks but nothing particularly striking.

My rewatch score is always low as I never re-watch dramas.

I enjoyed it overall and wish more people would discover this little gem.

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It's interesting how having lower expectations increases your ability to appreciate a drama better.
Despite its short length and the limited scope to prove its mettle, Unemployed Romance delivers and how.

In ordinary rom coms, we see that either the male lead is financially in the ruts or it is the heroine who scrounges for every penny and works a million part time jobs. Rarely do we see a rom com in which both the leads are going through financial troubles and have more or less achieved nothing in life and, quite possibly, never will. What do they do in such circumstances? Dare not have a romance because they're poor and unsuccessful?

Unemployed Romance is yet another example of the cliche of 'love conquers all' being stretched in to a realistic story. Jong Dae and Seung Hee overcome various odds from jealous new romantic interests, poverty, sick parents to unemployment and bitter memories of a break up, to finally get together in the end.

The drama has hilarious moments which arrive in the form of Jong Dae's hopelessly silly friends and Seung Hee's irresponsible boss. It also has its fair share of emotionally poignant scenes in terms of Jong Dae's conversations with his hapless, generous and amiable father. And this is not to mention the excellent chemistry between Nam Goong Min and Lee Young Ah - both of them should be applauded for their realistic portrayal of two individuals who have never had it easy in life.
Everything put together, 'Unemployed Romance' is a really cute, funny and heart-warming drama which does not veer off completely from reality at any point.

Definitely worth a watch.

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