Encounter

남자친구 ‧ Drama ‧ 2018 - 2019
Completed
5hakes
1 people found this review helpful
Feb 9, 2023
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 10

Made my heart flutter

Wow! Either I'm getting old or this is one of the most beautiful dramas I've seen to date! It's become a frequent occurrence that since getting into Kdramas I've missed my late father so much - none more than while watching this Encounter. I can just hear him say with a tear in his eye "she suffers so much for other people" 😅

Please go watch this beautiful wholesome love story - stellar performances from Song Hye Kyo and Park Bo Gum - their love for each other is so genuine and the journey that Song Hye Kyo's character goes on is truly heartwarming. When she smiled, my heart fluttered! Park Bo Gum plays to his strengths and is great.

The supporting cast are great, and the wicked mother-in-law is suitably evil. There are very few plotholes and if I have to pick a negative then I would have loved a few more episodes, but only because I didn't want it to end and would be nice to see a bit more of the relationships of the supporting cast develop.

Once my heart recovers, I will be rewatching this several times! GO WATCH IT!!!

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Completed
princessofchina01
1 people found this review helpful
Feb 23, 2019
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
I've just finished watching this amazing drama. I have lots of reasons why I love it, and a few reasons why it wasn't a 10/10 for me.

1. THE MAIN CHARACTERS
The storyline aside, the lead characters were quite unique. Park Bo Geum's character was my favorite male lead characters of all times probably! The personalities of male leads are normally quite similar to each other: they can be rich and cold hearted amazingly handsome, or the most skilled person in the field of whatever is their profession. Anyways, I love that Kim Jin Hyuk was just a normal guy, that fell for this beautiful and lonely woman in his own way.
As for Song Hye Kyo's character, I loved how it's showing a different side of a rich career woman. It's focusing more on her loneliness and hardships she had in her entire life instead of being a classic bitchy boss. Even though she had a really difficult life, her heart still remained as soft as it could be, and I love how she puts Kim Jin Hyuk before anything. She chooses him over her career that was her everything so many times without thinking about it twice. I love how bravely she is embracing her love.

2.THE STORYLINE
I think the writers did a very good job with this one. The love between the two characters start and develop very naturally. I loved the gradual development of their relationship: they went from being friends that are attracted to each other to a pre-relationship phase, then they start the relationship and in the end their love exceeds everything else. I think this part of the show was written very brilliantly

3.ACTING
I mean the show has Song Hye Kyo.. In my opinion she is one of the best actresses in Kdramas. She can deliver all the emotions with her eyes which I love. I also love love love her drunk scenes where she becomes just so funny. For me she is the star of the show for sure. Park Bo Geum is also one of the actors that I admire. He really made a great job especially towards the end of the show.

4.CHEMISTRY
This one for me is the only reason why I can't rate this show 10/10. Even though I love the characters, and I love their story which was so beautiful, I couldn't sense a very strong chemistry between SHK and PBG. It wasn't because of their acting or anything, because both of them gave brilliant performances. But it was just lacking a good chemistry I guess. Perhaps the love story of this show is better compared to the Descendants of the Sun, but I still can't get over the chemistry between Song Hye Kyo and Song Jong Gi. I mean yes they got married in real life which meant they had chemistry in real life too when they were shooting. But still on-screen chemistry can be very strong even when the couple isn't dating in real life (ex: Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum, Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won, Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun Hye, Gong Hyo Jin and any korean actor ever, and the list goes on and on)

Overall, I think it's definitely a drama worth watching!

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Completed
0dc64
1 people found this review helpful
Jul 20, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly,..... Song Hye-kyo

I loved this film. sometimes K-drama can have too much drama. this was romance. and what a romance! Song Hye-Kyo made me add one person to my most beautiful women ever list. Classic, elegant, eternal beauty. I saw The Glory, which was brilliant. but the way she was shot for Encounter was special. and yes, I am just about to watch descendants of the sun. regarding the movie itself. I loved the Cuba location, I wish more kdramas had some international locations. The rest of the story was standard, but great because of execution and the chemistry between the 2 leads. biggest downside was the rushed completion of the secondary romances. The characters in relationships were too well set up for them to conclude so abruptly.

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Completed
anananita
1 people found this review helpful
Aug 31, 2025
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

historia de Studio Dragon… no decepciona

Si ud es MUY nuevo en lo Kdramas, no arranque por aquí.
Terminé de ver Encounter.
No recuerdo porqué la tenía en mis pendientes en Viki, pero se le llegó la hora.
Melosa en el bonito sentido de la palabra, porque el protagonista de la serie es una historia de amor; tan bonita, que ni lo cliché de los kdramas se sintió así. Amé cada capítulo y cómo se desarrolló cada personaje. Amé la banda sonora y como hizo que cada capítulo fuera aún más real.
No hay escenas más tristes que en las que Park Bo-gum llora (no importa la serie)
Soy una total romántica, qué puedo hacer pues.

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Completed
coedmess K
1 people found this review helpful
Jul 11, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10
This Was my 2nd Korean Tv show I watched
I loved both ML & FL both have they own point of view and Identity
Even though it was a romantic series it doesnt have any villan

Storywriter & director made a unique story, I really respected ML with his cuteness made bold choices not to let go of things that he wished but to attain them in time and working on it with all the supporting character, I loved ML laugh and smile

I can never forget this drama and this was the best romantic korean show i ever watched
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Completed
dramallamareviews
1 people found this review helpful
Jun 14, 2025
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.5
This review may contain spoilers

A Fateful Encounter

Brought together by fate, a woman who seemingly has everything & a younger man who seems to have nothing decide to give up an ordinary life to be together. Will the world allow their love to blossom?

The Leads have a chance encounter while in Cuba (such a meet-cute!) They share a magical time together, where moments become memories neither will ever forget. He’s immediately smitten & wants more time with her, but real life calls them both back home. Unbeknownst to either of them, their lives are about to collide once again in Korea when the ML gets hired on in a company under the FL’s leadership.

Honestly, there’s a lot of potential for drama-trauma in this show. There are so.many.people who believe their opinions should dictate how the Leads live their lives, constantly trying to manipulate & control the main protagonists. And OhEmGee, such toxic mother’s (except the ML’s)!! 😡 I legit wanted to scream at them. They made me so irritated that I actually started skimming through their scenes just to preserve my sanity….

But oh, the Leads…🫠 Their interactions are so precious & wholesome that they made up for all the icky stuff surrounding them (& Manager Nam - loved him!)

The ML is so pure & devoted in his total adoration & pursuit of the FL. Their age difference concerns her, as well as her status as a divorcee - she fights their connection due to feeling unworthy of him. But he steadily & sweetly breaks through all her barriers & shows her a love that heals & soothes. And she in turn protects & encourages him at every turn. Their romance is so beautiful & their chemistry can melt your screen! 🔥

_________\\__________//________


-⬇️ S P O I L E R S 🚫 B E L O W ⬇️-


.





….


……

The things I always want to know 😏😉…
- First(real)Kiss : ep.8💋
- Together : ep.6 👩🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻
- BreakUp : ep.15 💔
- BackTogether : ep.16 ❤️‍🩹

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Completed
DarkEyes
1 people found this review helpful
Aug 20, 2025
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 3.0
Story 2.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 2.0
Rewatch Value 2.0

Can you walk away?

My earnest advice is leave after ep 1. Treat it like a play or novella; it is lyrical, romantic, the cast is beautiful - watch it and walk away.
Because the rest is boring. And annoying. Its slow, clichéd, predictable. Awful music (like constipated cat singing). I disliked ML - he's smug, self-righteous, a bully and a narcissist but everyone loves him. And the actor cannot act. Song Hye Kyo and the seniors do their best, SHK is heart-stoppingly beautiful in this but the show cannot be saved.
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Completed
idkwhyiamdoingthis
1 people found this review helpful
May 5, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

UNIQUE AND DEFINITELY WORTH WATCHING!

I watched this drama solely to kill some time, and I was pleasantly surprised and it was definitely a breath of fresh air. The story isn't really a new concept, but the execution is what made this show a treat to watch. The story is realistic and isn't filled with unnecessary and unrealistic drama. The whole ordinary MALE LEAD with the older, rich, superior FEMALE LEAD , and the whole politics, gave off the vibe that it could have turned into another overly dramatic ordeal, but it was done just right! The whole journey and the character development was what made me watch the show. It is not a cheesy ROM-COM, which was definite refreshing. The cinematography and the overall energy was very poetic and rather classy. The casting, and the performances of the characters were great, and the ending was quite satisfying which is always a positive. DEFINITELY RECOMMEND YOU GIVE IT A GO IF YOU ARE FAN OF ROMANCE!

(side note: the product placement is a little annoying at times)

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Completed
crayrules
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 9, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 5.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
I finally got around to watching this and honestly, Park Bo Gum's smiling face as male lead Kim Jin Hyuk was probably the only thing that got me through this.

While this was a nice, slow-paced romantic series, I was disappointed in the writing of the female character Cha Soo Hyun played by Song Hye Kyo. I felt like her character lacked any real depth or personality. She plays a guarded CEO mostly throughout the entire series. In the end, I wondered why Jin Hyuk even liked or fell in love with her. There wasn't enough to her personality to make her a loveable character. Most of the time, I either felt sorry or pitied her or just felt uninterested.

This is a story of a guy who chases a girl to the end of the world and you have no idea why.



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Completed
ltspada
1 people found this review helpful
Jun 22, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Very predictable and little chemistry



7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2018/2019 South Korean television romance drama with 16, 60 minute episodes.

Cha Soo-hyun (Song Hye-kyo), has lived life in the spot light serving as a poster child for her politician father. Her mother, who sees her daughter as a pawn to further her husband’s political career, marries her off to a chaebol whose family has wealth and power sufficient to support her families‘ political ambitions. The loveless marriage soon falls apart when Soo-hyun’s husband declares he wants to marry one of the women he had been having an affair with. There are conditions to the divorce on both sides, Soo-hyun’s mother-in-law insists she continue to attend family gatherings until her son remarries. Soo-Hyun requests to be CEO of a hotel owned by the family which is on the verge of failing financially. Soo-Hyun makes the hotel so successful that she goes to Cuba to strike a deal to expand her hotel brand. It is while there that she has several chance encounters with Kim Jin-hyuk (Park Bo-gum), who saved doing part time jobs for a fun filled trip too Cuba before returning to South Korea and settling int his career. Soo-Hyun takes an impulsive trip out without her staff to see a highly recommended beach sunset and winds up being pick pocketed and stranded. She asks Jin-Hyuk to help her and they wind up spending a spontaneous and eventful evening together. They planned a good bye meeting the next morning but Soo-Hyun gets delayed and they return to South Korea separately thinking they are unlikely to see each other again. Fate has a say though and Jin-Hyuk’s new job is with Soo-hyun’s company. Differences in age, social class, and her ex in laws and parents desire for her to remarry her former spouse all stand in the way of the developing romance. Can the two overcome all the obstacles?

spoilers** Overall I would characterize this as boring. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t particularly good either. The entire story line was very very predictable. When they were in Cuba it was slightly interesting as it was intriguing knowing neither one of them really knew who the other one was so there was anticipation in that. Also, in Cuba, they were doing some interesting things in that cultural space. When they were back in South Korea there was a moment of uncertainty when it turned out he worked for her and her company and when he had to go to an office farther away. The female lead character had a very “flat” personality. It was supposed to be due to her upbringing but, other than a few more smiles, the character did not change or grow significantly. It made it hard to understand why the magnanimous male character would be so madly in love with her. I thought that her conflict with her ex‘s family would turn out to be a way bigger deal than it actually wound up being. The fact that her father took care of it made the entire struggle leading up to that kind of a mute point. Even their small break up was very predictable and the fact that they got back together even more predictable. If it seems like I’m using the word predictable a lot it’s very intentional there were no major surprises or twists which for me made the story very ho-hum. His mom and her actions is something you would expect within the context of a Korean drama yet I still found it very mean and irritating. I know it’s the American in me that finds the way parents in Korean dramas interfere in the lives of their children annoying. When it is just them disapproving and working on their own child it is one thing but when they harm someone else emotionally it is just abusive. I was disappointed he was not angry with his mom about it. The father was and I liked that. I was glad she finally came around but it was almost too late. Not one I would rewatch or recommend unless someone is a serious fan of one of the leads or just likes very predictable romantic dramas.

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Completed
KpopChef
1 people found this review helpful
30 days ago
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 8.5

An Amazing Comfort Drama for romance lovers

Now this is my first review ever since using this app and I must say this drama had me smiling on days where life got tough. I am from the Caribbean so seeing cuba also represented in this kdrama it really hit home for me and I loved the cultural nod to cuba, the perfect blend to me. I loved this drama I still see clips on tiktok and I remember the happy feeling I got watching it. If you’re a hopeless romantic then this one is definitely for you and you wont regret it, from the acting, plot and slight humorous moments. Park Bo Gum has a unique charisma to him that whenever he shows up you can’t help but be amazed by his skills as well as the FL

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Completed
Salatheel
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 7.5

A film script became a drama that works

Initially I dropped this show but came back to it later, and I’m glad I did. There’s a lot that could be better about it, but the heart of it is very good. What interested me was that a film writer (Yoo Young Ah), wrote a drama that filled 16 hours with a plot that could have serviced a two hour movie, and managed to pull it off.

Movies, like short stories, revolve around one basic idea. To try and do more is actually to do less because you don’t have the space to properly explore them. So, here she takes the basic noona/chaebol romance, stripped of any excess emphasis on politics, secondary romances, plot twists (the normal complexities written into long dramas) and plumbs the depth of it. Although I don’t think the characters had enough shade written into them to give them the full three dimensions, Park Bo Gum acted his heart out and gave a a really convincing performance, particularly towards the end.

I doubt there’s anything more than that comment, insightful enough to add anything to the already abundant comments in other reviews.

What my rating means: 8+ A great drama with interesting content and good writing, direction, acting, OST, cinematography. But didn’t quite have the requisite sparkle to bump it into my all-time fave list. Worth watching.

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Encounter poster

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  • Score: 8.1 (scored by 22,135 users)
  • Ranked: #2180
  • Popularity: #303
  • Watchers: 55,499

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