Her Private Life (2019)

Wow wow wow. Adorable.
But I think I have a cavity.

Story (6.5):
This show was pretty much perfect for quite a ways. There was a great premise and set up, plenty of romantic drama and potential sabotages, media frenzies, fan greets, drama, romance, will they won't they... And then stuff calmed down.
And then the story went bonkers. I don't want to offend anyone, because the story is actually emotional and moving and it's not stupid or like I hate it, but it did change the tone of the drama. In my eyes, it broke up with most of the realism and down to earth maturity of the drama I'd felt to that point and got a new girlfriend called all the k-drama cliches you can think of.
I'm not going to lie, we saw some of this stuff coming from miles away and there are sooo soo many coincidences riddled throughout this drama, but as that ending kept going and oh wait another secret thing and okay that's convenient now that I think about it that's super coincidental... it's great but kicked me a bit out of starry eyed love into dispassionate appreciation mode. :)
I think if it had fewer episodes it would have been great. Either that or they need to change up their drama. Some of that stuff I was okay with but eventually I stopped caring all that much.
By far my favorite part of the plot was her undercover fangirling which also suffered a hit when the end drew near. I felt that particular storyline lacked full conclusion compared to other aspects. The last two episodes were twiddle my fingers candy. :D
Okay, enough criticism, now everything else is perfect.

Acting/Cast (10.0):
Park Min Young is (and has been) one of my favorite actresses (perhaps even my #1) and Kim Jae Wook is great in this drama. I was hesitant about the pairing at first and it's still not my favorite pairing (I much prefer Ji Chang Wook), but combined with their chemistry and Jae Wook's brilliant portrayal of a perfect boyfriend, you can't hate on this lead couple.
All of the other cast is very well done (yes even crazy director), but I think one of my favorites was the actress Kim Bo Ra who played Cindy. After watching this show, I realized I've seen her in a handful of other shows, most recently Ghostderella. I would honestly love to see a spin off show of her and that potential romantic interest at the end (not gonna spoil it guys). That would be such a fun show :D

Music (9.0):
That main opening song kept getting stuck in my head! I'd be going around thinking "All I want is you, all I want is you!" lol. There wasn't a whole lot else that stuck out, but there are other good songs throughout this show even down to the background music playing in the Cafe.

Rewatch Value (9.0):
There's such an assortment of fun and cute moments in this show, it's highly rewatchable. I'll admit, I'll probably stick to the first half, but don't put down the rest so easily.

Overall (8.5):
So overall, some mixed feelings; well over halfway, this completely topped What's Wrong With Secretary Kim (WWWSK), but as it kept going so much felt thrown on to keep the show going and also made the show lose some of it's credibility that it'd done so well holding to for awhile. We could see some of it coming for awhile, and I'd groaned a bit, but expected it... and then they just kept adding on... But if I'm really bored of a show I have trouble watching it, and that was not the case here. I watched every episode the day it came out... so yeah.
Compared to WWWSK they come up about even in my recollection, though this has the lead in the first half.
Recommend to all rom-com fans especially if you're sick of people who don't communicate and stop talking over minor mis-understandings and act like teenagers when they're in their 30s. This show is for you!

Leggi di Più

Story
The story is a nice feel good Romance without too many dramatics like Romances often tend to have. What I really liked about this, is the fact it feels very slice-of-life without having the drag that slice-of-life sometimes tends to get (in my opinion). Characters communicated and because of that, the plot was allowed to move forward easily.
I like how the plot mostly focused on the development of the characters. Though at first it tends to focus on the romance aspect, slowly it begins to focus more on in-depth. Kinda like how you begin to know another person while being in a relationship. So though the plot wasn't super intense, the tension (or better put excitement) was mostly to find in the way the romance and friendships developed. How common life struggles can be overcome quite easily, if only you communicate. Honestly - I loved the communication message in here. Along with the message about family and friendship. How together you can overcome struggles.

To make this drama more unique, it's about a mature woman who is still a fangirl. Being a fan of a boyband myself, I could relate to this. For humor's sake, of course some things were exaggerated (though that doesn't mean it doesn't actually happen in real life) , but it was amusing cause it was just SO relateable for me. Definitely amused me well.

Also - the main couple is just relationship goals honestly.

Acting/Cast
I think the cast did a great job portraying their characters. Everyone was unique in their own ways. The characters were pretty diverse making for interesting interactions and each actor did well on their part. And I think the development their characters went through was shown well too. Honestly, I can't say much more other than I enjoyed the acting. (The only cringe worthy part for me was the obvious commercial scenes. But those hardly ever feel natural.)

Music
I can't say this was anything super special, but the music was catchy and overall suited the drama well. Oftentimes on the background you could hear other well known Kpop groups/artists and I loved when I recognized for example Ha Sungwoon's song. So the diversity of artists/music chosen on the background was REALLY nice for me.
The OST specially created for the drama was pretty average, but not bad. Catchy and enjoyable but I don't feel like listening it outside of the drama. (But I rarely do anyway haha.)

I have to admit though, 'Precious Little Girl' is still echoing inside my head. And I did love the pingle-tune that re-occurs a lot throughout the drama.

Rewatch Value
It was a really nice, feel good ride. It was nice not to have complicated plots. I personally probably won't rewatch it for a good while to come, but maybe in the future I will. I can definitely understand others would want to rewatch this though! But since the plot isn't very exciting, you won't be left with much new things to explore. But if you're in for some good fangirling over the relationshipgoals - then it's a very pleasant rewatch.

Next time though, I would definitely try to spot more mistakes. It's amusing to see the director or editors didn't notice some recording flails. But those weren't too distracting. I just couldn't help from noticing though.

Overall
I don't regret watching this drama. I really enjoyed my time, though I do admit I -sometimes- missed a little more action. But honestly, it was just too much of a feel good not to keep watching. I also shed plenty of tears because you just start to feel for the characters.

I can't say it's a favorite of mine (I'm too picky for that), but I can definitely advice anyone who enjoys Romance to give this a try!

Leggi di Più

A Very Poetic Drama

If anyone asks me which drama is the most visually beautiful, poetic drama I've ever seen, it would be Her Private Life. The camera angles in this series are just simply brilliant. I came for Kim Jae Wook and he did not disappoint. The storyline itself is also very warm and touching and cute at the same time. The chemistry between the leads are off the chart and is simply one of the best three chemistries I've ever seen (besides Crash Landing On You and My Roomate is a Gumiho). After watching, many beautiful and meaningful scenes have stayed with me and simply make this drama one of the most favorites of mine. I highly recommend this drama to everyone!

Leggi di Più

There are a few times when I rated a drama with 9. But this one really desrves it. The couple was adorable, and they had great chemistry which helped a lot with the progress of the story. Actually, the love story was really good, sweet and cute. I espicially loved the leading lady, who was fangirl goals. The addition of that in the plot mix was very clever. The plot, in addition, was well constructed and the story didn't get boring or frustrating. The events followed one another, even though the plot twist in the end was too cliche, as it has happen to too many dramas, but I will forgive them since the rest of the show was good. I also enjoyed the OST.
So, 9 out of 10.

Leggi di Più

A Really Lovely Drama

Her Private Life is a great drama that has a good plotline and great actors. There are multiple storylines that all have a connection to the main plot and there are a lot of deep scenes and shocking moments. The storyline regarding fangirling was done very well and didn't diminish or tarnish fangirls/fangirling, it was very mature and charming. Ryan Gold was definitely suave and intimidating at first but once he got closer to Deok Mi he was super cute, sweet, and extremely handsome. Eun Gi is a sweetheart and I loved Shi An. Deok Mi's best friend and her family had a nice storyline but I wish her cute cafe employee had more of a storyline regarding his band! I thought Ryan and Deok Mi had really good chemistry that was mature and fun. The drama wasn't too slow but the pace was just perfect and I was eager to watch each episode. The last few episodes were really great and shocking. The soundtrack was enjoyable throughout the show as well! I really enjoyed this great drama and definitely recommend it.

Leggi di Più

fangirl depiction is so divine

●FIRST IMPRESSION
Wow, I enjoyed it a lot. The whole fangirl scenario was awesome depicting true fans, crazy fans, and obsessed fans. Any fan could relate to this show and be engrossed with the story. I wondered what I did in the past as a fangirl was cutting pictures out from the newspaper and sticking them to my diary.
but the shift of track from Sung Duk Mi to Ryan Gold wasn’t smooth. It felt like the title should be changed to His Private Life.
Kdramas taking a childhood trauma is nice but at times it felt forced into the story and creating more and more layers until I was bored. I wish if they kept the story focused on the Fangirl thing.

●ACTING/CAST
The cast is amazing. Park Min Young and Kim Jae Wook had charm oozing from them. Particularly their chemistry was so killer to watch. Park Jin Joo as a best friend was my favorite.

●FAV SCENE
When Ryan gold comes to know from Sun Joo Just friend relationship.

●MUSIC
OST is awesome. Especially “Help Me” shows the fangirl feelings with its lyrics.

●REWATCH
I loved to rewatch rom-com scenes. They are so light and heartwarming.

Leggi di Più

Best KDrama!

This is my number one all time favorite romance drama! This drama kept my interest from beginning to end even on the second watch! It is a really well written and well executed story!

Storyline- was well written! Loved it all! Usually I see errors or a part of the show that was incomplete or left you hanging... not this one! It flowed so smoothly! The storyline I really loved! I laughed and cried. It was heartwarming. And thank goodness the ending was perfect! They worked out each issue like grown adults and no meddling parents or grandparents. The “love triangle” was short and worked out perfectly. Just really well done!

Acting/Cast- love love LOVE Park Min Young! I watched her in a few others and I really think she is a good actress. This was my favorite show of hers hands down! The main male lead... sigh... so cute haha but he did an excellent job also! The rest of the cast did great!

Music- I own the soundtrack and my 7 yr old daughter and I go to sleep every night listening to it and all my 500+ Asian drama songs. ? It is one of my favorites to fall asleep to.

Rewatch- yes definitely will. Watched twice now.

Leggi di Più

I watched this drama long ago and while editing my dramalist almost bingwatched it again ( with 200 dramas behind at this moment (i am more of anime person) it is a big thing.

The drama itself was very pleasant and easy to watch. the Fangirling and Fanboying made this drama very lovely.
The cast was excellent for this love and there was really good chemistry in this drama.
Plot is well written, no major disturbing holes or never ending breakup period.
Overall I would give 10 to the drama- very few in this genre that can be watched easily and enjoyed till the end.

Leggi di Più

I'm struggling to think of things I *didn't* like about this drama.

I'm a fan of Park Min Young and that was the main reason for picking this one to watch, she always delivers an amazing performance and does a great job creating a realistic and believable character on the screen.

First drama i've seen with Kim Jae Wook and I enjoyed his performance as well, initially he came across as a bit of an arrogant twit (which is fully intended I suspect) but as his character develops it quickly becomes one you can really understand and believe.

The title of this one is "Her Private Life" and it implies focus on the dual life of the main character - as a museum curator professionally, and a fangirl for a pop idol privately. She has a separate name when fangirling and it's a completely separate part of her life. In reality, this same concept applies to other characters when you consider the hidden pasts and different lives.

I thought the overall pacing was really good, if perhaps let down in the tiniest of ways by a slightly *too* drawn out conclusion. Seeing the directors husband get out of jail was pointless, I had no real care for him (first time you'd seen him) and honestly the directors character herself was one I was happy when she wasn't on-screen anyway (though I do like the Actress in other things).

I really liked the development of the early antagonist Cindy / Kim Hyo Jin played by Kim Bo Ra (she was also in SKY Castle and I enjoyed per work there too). Starting out as a typical Ssaesang fan and see her character develop when around the right people and influences was really good to see. It was good to see her product design make it to being sold but some kind of "we sold out already!" would have been a really good reinforcement that not only did she deliver the product but it did actually sell well too, just to back up the reward for the hard work that was put in by her character.

The main leads chemistry was spot on, their relationship was believable and natural, there were never bad moments or stupid breakups. The story does get to the inevitable "throwing popcorn at the TV" moment for a while where you just want to slap them both upside the head because they're drawing stupid conclusions - but otherwise they both resolve problems easily through good communication, it's a blueprint for how all couples should be with each other in my view.

Aside from the romance storyline there was an undercurrent of sadness through a tragic past which bubbles up eventually and creates some tearful moments late in the story, as with the rest - it was all handled superbly by everyone. It's a bit convoluted and unlikely - but hey - this is kdrama, put those thoughts outside and just sit back and enjoy the story.

There was only ONE thing that didn't happen that I wished had, I won't say what it was because technically I guess that would count as a spoiler, and in the grand scheme of things it's minor.

The final episode did feel a bit like the air was now all out and we were coasting a bit. It didn't have the remarkable intensity the rest of the series had but honestly i'm exhausted from the emotional energy that this series demanded anyway :) It's not an ending to be disappointed with at all, just compared to every other episode it felt a bit loose.

Great to see Park Jin Joo in a lead role and I hope to see more dramas coming out and utilising her skills and instantly recognisable and unique face.

Should you watch it? If you want a fluffy romance, positive, no stupid breakups, tons of emotions throughout and some really great and believable characters, imo it should be on your watch list, yes.

Leggi di Più

Watch it for Park Min-Young

Sometimes a show is made by the cast and not the story. This is the case with Her Private Life. This show is about Park Min-Young. She is just incredible in every single scene. Her facial expressions, the subtle shifts in tone, were always delicately done and yet so brilliant in creating a character suffused with this inherent warmth. I cannot emphasis how much I became infatuated with her acting. The only other actor who had an effect like this on me was IU in Hotel Del Luna and My Mister.

Min-Young's chemistry with Kim Jae-wook is incredible. The two fill the show with this beautiful, tender energy. Their relationship reminded me a little of Because This is My First Life but it works better here I think because both these characters are more animated. In fact what I appreciated about Kim Jae-wook was that he wasn't closed-off. I was worried that the trope of the quiet, good-looking man would lead to a wall-off heart and mind and episodes built around Park Min-Young's character trying to unravel his secrets but he was largely open and honest with her. This was refreshing because the show didn't need this as a conflict. Nor did it need the love triangle/square planted in the show but that's a predictable kdrama cliche you are now prepared for. I wish that amount of screen-time had been devoted to showing Kim Jae-wook's character troubled by his early memories.

The plot twist near the end isn't surprising. We all knew immediately why those paintings mattered to him, and that makes it more gratifying that we didn't waste an episode of him not telling Park Min-Young's character what we could all see.

The main blemish is the support cast. I simply wasn't sold on them and that was enough to make me score this a very high 8.5 rather than a 9. I think k-drama writers need better conflicts than love triangles that simply aren't plausible. There was something a little incestuous about this one because of how one of the characters was initially introduced to us in the beginning episodes. Once that was established, it was jarring to suddenly reconfigure it.

I would say though that Park Min-Young was consistently a 10/10 in this show. She made it extremely enjoyable and I'll always rewatch it simply for her acting.

Leggi di Più

This drama is one of my favorite light hearted rom-com dramas...The main leads Sung Deok Mi and Ryan Gold had perfect chemistry and it is fun to watch them get close to each other. At times it felt that they weren't acting and that makes it even better. Their relationship was was very mature and sweet and very honest. One thing i loved about the drama was the unique storyline which shows that Deok Mi is a fan girl which is very relatable and it's very fun and interesting to watch. The way this drama was produced, the OSTS, the acting....it was amazingg!!! I definitely recommend watching it!

Leggi di Più