Light Rom Com with an Unconventional Heroine
The 'God of Romance' can't stand women and the FL punishes men by seducing them. The story is not new, the leads misunderstand each other, work together and fall for each other. Throw in a love contract and separation due to circumstances. However the situations created and the reaction of the cast to these situations is hilarious.Kim Ok Bin is brilliant as a competent human being and Tae Yoo plays an effortless superstar. The leads have amazing chemistry. The second leads provide good support to the leads.
FL is fearless and independent fighting prejudices against women while being wary of men, ML on the other hand has had his fair share of bad luck with women and is literally repulsed by them.
It is refreshing to watch the FL beat the sh*t out of ML, there was no big moment of love, just the leads being extremely funny together and a delight to watch. Interesting contribution by SML to bromance, good friendship between the FL and SFL. This 10 episode drama is wholesome, funny and endearing. Welcoming more skinship in k dramas, and even more independent female leads.
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had me giggling
honestly.. i really enjoyed this series. i remember watching it a year ago, it was a series i always looked forward to whenever i was done with classes or needed something to watch when i was eating or just bored in general. i am a SUCKERRRR for enemies to lovers. but the fact that they sprinkled a little fake dating in there had me undeniably hooked.INDEPENDANT WOMEN!!!! LIKE YES WE LOVE THAT I'LL EAT IT UP EVERY TIME!!
the comedy in lthy was comedying and the romance was romancing. i felt almost painfully single, it is genuinely one of my favourites.
I BEGGG PLEASE WATCH THIS!! IT'S SO GOOD
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It should have been called Love to Play You
If you don't want to take the time to read my long-winded review, I can recommend this show if you want over-the-top characters. Sometimes the characters seem like caricatures of real people, but that is for comedy effect. This rom-com could actually be called a rom-com. There was romance and a lot of comedy, which is refreshing if you are trying to cleanse your palate after a serious show.There were a number of things I liked about this show:
-Yoo Teo as Kang Ho. I enjoyed the way the actor played the part (doppelganger for Ok Taec Yeon, so what's not to like?!) as well as the way his character was written. I liked him almost from the start, he was wound a little tight, granted, but quickly redeemed himself.
-Kim Ji Hoon as Won Joon. Him and his beautiful head of long hair! I liked the way his character struggled to straddle the line between manager and friend, not always being successful. When, in the last episode, he said to 2FL "Are we still in our same life?" that gave me all the feels.
-Kim Sung Ryung as Soo Jin. I love her in everything I see her in. With her distinctive voice and the way she always plays slightly off center, I always enjoy her performances. I loved the character she played here - being the underdog and then standing up for the underdog. She seemed like the kind of woman that never had a woman friend before, and was glad of her friendship with Mi Ran.
-That it was only 10 episodes. It wasn't long and drawn out, with tons of filler.
-The playfulness of Kang Ho and Mi Ran in later episodes. Their chemistry was fire.
-The director that didn't speak throughout the whole show.
-The last episode was cute. This made me rate it a bit higher than I was planning to.
-The lawyers in Mi Ran's office, including the ex-boyfriend. What a misogynistic bunch of Neanderthals, but they redeemed themselves in the best way at the end.
However, there were some things that I didn't care for:
-The character of Mi Ran. Throughout this show, I didn't like her. First, her saying that she'd been with 100 men. I struggle with this in romances (for the women AS WELL as the men). Romance is about finding that one special someone. I've heard that you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince, but that doesn't mean you have to sleep with them. Her reasoning for sleeping with them was lame, and as a potential partner, I'd insist upon a clean bill of health before I got too close. I was hoping for some hate turned to love (tricks played on one another, etc.), but that wasn't the case. She found out early on that he wasn't the way she thought he was, but even after he confessed his feelings, she was still playing him. She continued to talk about a 3-month (maybe a year) relationship limit, and her not wanting to get married made me feel like she wasn't totally committed to him. They were awfully cute together toward the end, but I still felt like she wasn't willing to totally trust and invest in the relationship.
-The massive amounts of drinking done.
-It is possible to portray a woman being strong without her being a b*tch and beating people up all the time. I felt like she needed to get some anger management counseling.
-Why, oh why, do they need to bring in an ex-girlfriend all the time?!?!
I really struggle with shows where one of the main characters is not likable. That affects my enjoyment of the show in a big way.
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Love to have Minor Misgivings about You
This review applies to Crazy Love as well—tenfold! I should've written something after watching it; I felt a lot more passionate about its failings than I do with Love to Hate You.Anyway, little tension or passion, no interesting relationship development. It's comical how little Kang-ho's supposed dislike of women and Mi-ran's scepticism towards men actually factored into said development, useful solely as an annoying gimmick. Specifically with the ML, his generalizations are played too straight and never genuinely contested, so they're neither irrational and silly enough to ignore, nor do they mean anything, The explanation as to why he has issues with women is too puerile when the entire purpose of his, uh, bias?, is to contrast the FL. Maybe he should've been red-pilled. At least it shouldn't be advertised as serious enemies-to-lovers. I've noticed newer dramas struggle to establish semi-antagonistic relationships with any weight. This has more to do with chemistry and audacity than depth. Since there's no proper romance/sex comedy push-and-pull (Pillow Talk (1959) is a fun, good example) the show's identity and tone feel annoying and artificial. Where's the purported self-awareness?
Though the second half is better, the conflict surrounding the central relationship was surprisingly trite and weakened everything somewhat interesting about it. I want this to remain spoiler-free, so I'm being vague. The ML and FL dealt with external pressure in a very corny way, and I have a hard time reconciling this writing decision with their initial behaviour. It's just so unserious. Everything felt as flat and forced as can be. Side characters did nothing but exacerbate this. Kim Ok-bin has a likability to her at least, which seems to be an unpopular opinion. I'll take her over Teo Yoo's character any day. Most of the negative reviews are incredibly prudish, bitching about the FL's sluttiness. That beginning part where she's sleeping around might've been the only bit I enjoyed, as it was topical and promised a zing that immediately disappeared.
Yet another review of mine about how a show isn't too painful to sit through, just unsatisfying in its unadventurous approach to a unique enough premise. Of course, all Love to Hate You needed to do well was the romance. I had many problems with Crash Course in Romance, but the romance worked for me and Jung Kyung-ho is great, so I didn't write a fussy review.
And I hated the music.
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Not for traditionalists!
If you throw What’s wrong with secretary Kim, Business proposal and Strong woman Do Bong Soon in a pot, the Love to hate you will probably be the result!If you like smart badass women and kind and brave men - you must watch it (and read below).
If you are traditional patriarchal type, who believes girls have to be weak and modest, borderline dumb but pretty and the boys have to be the hero of the society - don’t waste your time, it won’t be your cup of tea.
Dressed as a typical rom-com, this drama deals with very real and hot topics such as sexism, gender equity, cancel culture, social media harassment, right of privacy, and so on! All of it shown with lots of hilarious scenes and really swoon worthy moments!
Wrapped in just 10 episodes it shows the struggle of two people traumatized by the two side of the same social problem.
The FL is a smart and strong lawyer who rebels against the gender inequality. She fights, dates freely, and refuses to be seen as weak/shy/dumb girl.
The ML is successful actor who has anxiety being with a women. Yet when he gets over it, he is judged for his lover.
There is a reason behind their condition/behaviour, yet they face the reality being judged by the society.
Apart from the social issues, this drama is very light and binge worthy.
It is pure joy to see some real, modern day dating behaviour and not the dead fish kiss scenes of so many other Kdramas.
Personally, I started watching it because I read 2 completely opposite reviews. One was saying it is a very funny, light and binge worthy drama that deserves 10 stars and the other who hated it, gave 1 star and accused the FL of being a slut.
Such differences in opinions for the same thing is quite curious.
First episode is yes, provoking some mixed thoughts but then everything unfolds and takes its place. To me, it deserves 10 stars and is TOTALLY worth it!
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Hilarious (with a few buts)
With the random influx of murder mysteries into rom-coms recently, it was really refreshing to watch a drama that was just a pure romantic comedy, especially one that really made me laugh out loud at times. The chemistry between the leads was top notch too — they matched each other's energies in a really unique way and it really made the entire show come alive.The second couple was decent, but I think their story wasn't as interesting and might've not even have been necessary.
I do think there are some tropes and dialogues that didn't quite sit right with me — while the enemies-to-lovers aspect was mostly funny, I think this drama did suffer from "they're not like other girls/guys" syndrome. A lot of dramas have this but I think this one just made it a little too explicit in the dialogue, with lines like "all the women I've met were manipulative" or " I've never dated a man that was nice."
The second part that sort of didn't sit well with me was that "scandal" for the ML was a gay rumor. There was a throwaway line by the FL about how it wasn't wrong, and I'm aware that the sad reality IS that attractive male celebrities will lose support in SK if news like this comes out, but it felt kind of icky to me to use that plot device and not address more the issue of cultural homophobia.
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This review may contain spoilers
Regardless of execution, I am glad that Korean media is fostering some gender dialogue - it's a start, and we've got a ways to go... I'll be honest. I could relate to her initial opinions, her distrust of men, etc. Why the h*ll did she fall in love with a misogynist borderline incel? I'm sorry, dude get over your bad breakup. Like he literally hates women and cannot even have a normal conversation with one, let alone touch one. Move on!!! Get some therapy! There's no closure to his misogyny either (by episode 8, when she reciprocates his feelings). Not much of a feminist, in the end she still ended up with the kind of man she hated. Sorry, the ML is so not charming.
The FL is a hot mess. It's like a man's idea of a modern woman? She sleeps with 100+ guys but is strong and violent and is like a succubus to them. She isn't really a person with depth, she's just "not like other girls...
I enjoyed the first episode or two, as it was different and interesting. But damn, it got boring and ridiculous. Why did the FL's friend and the ML's manager/friend start dating-ish? I never got to the end obvi, but I could tell they were going to. So lazy.
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Unique
This drama is definitely one of a kind and in a different league than other dramas. The bizarre story, along with good directing and synchronized acting, gives this drama a different vibe from the usual Korean dramas I've watched. The main key point while watching this is don't try to use a lot of brain cells to understand it and just enjoy whatever the drama throws at you.To summarize the story, it's about a woman who is close to a Radical feminist who looks down on men and a guy who has trust issues with women and looks down on women. Circumstances led each other to fake-date each other, and they agreed despite their contradicting feeling for the opposite sex. Both of them aim to make the other person fall in love and later break their hearts. Little did they know that things won't go as they planned. Little by little they end up understanding each other and get rid of their prejudice against the opposite sex and learn to respect each other. Eventually, they end up facing hardships together as a beautiful couple. The story is laced with many misunderstandings. The way that the actors portrayed their characters was truly very refreshing. The leads are strongly supported by the second lead who also did an amazing job.
The female lead's feminist ideas can be very extreme at times to a point that she is paranoid but her mindset is created after growing up under a very sexist father and seeing her mother greatly wronged by his sexist ideas.
The male lead's revulsion towards women stems from an unsuccessful relationship.
The OST is good, the vibe is good and I binge-watched it through the night. A beautiful story (although unrealistic) and enjoyable. Def worth my time.
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Charming and Delightful Kim Ok Bin Gives Us A Strong Woman While Exposing the Hypocrisy of Society!
This is a simply delightful and incredibly hilarious romantic comedy that succeeds largely due to its originality and not going down the pitfalls of overused cliches. I haven’t laughed this hard since “Hospital Playlist,” and there are too many numerous moments that will either have you laughing out loud or possibly even rolling on the floor with laughter.However, as with so many Korean shows, not everything is for comedic value as the writers expose the incredible sexism and hypocrisy of the entertainment world that is largely in place due to warped religious, societal, and cultural values that are in place because of male chauvinistic rules about what is proper and what isn’t. Sadly, society loves to build up a hero, but it loves to tear one down even more. Whenever anyone is placed upon a pedestal—which is always a skewed and warped version of the real person—expectations will always inevitably take a hit because people refuse to see such people as human.
Nam Kang Ho is on top of the world as far as the movie industry goes. He’s the top-billed star in the highest demand. What people don’t realize is that he has a fear of being intimate with women. Even doing kissing scenes with female co-stars causes him to have a negative reaction. Of course, as with all rumors, it’s assumed that he doesn’t like women.
Yeo Mi-Ran is a lawyer who is also a master martial artist. Nothing brings her so much pleasure as exposing men for what they are (or what she believes them all to be): liars and cheats who look down on women. She also has no compunction about beating them up if they push things too far. Her relationships never go further than one-night stands, and usually done to prove that men are exactly what she believes them to be.
Ironically, what we have here is a bit of a role reversal. In some ways, Nam Kang Ho behaves more like how a woman would react to relationships that never pan out. And Yeo Mi-Ran has almost masculine traits in how she deals with men. She makes absolutely no apologies for how she lives her life. And why should she? Because she’s a woman? Hence, the hypocrisy of today’s world which is always at the forefront for entertainers thanks to social media. So, a man can sleep with as many women as he likes, and there is virtually no negative feedback. However, if a woman is caught doing the same thing, a cascade of negative feedback is always inevitable. And this series beautifully exposes such insane and sexist views that are largely created by men and promoted by everyone.
At first, Yeo Mi-Ran has a strong dislike for Nam Kang Ho when she misunderstands something that he says to his agent and friend. She vows to destroy him and put him in his place. Before long, she’s hired by a law firm that represents people in the entertainment industry and—of course—she ends up working with and representing Nam Kang Ho. Thus begins a very cute and often hilarious relationship where both Yeo Mi-Ran and Nam Kang Ho begin to realize that all is not what each believes the other to be. One of the absolute funniest moments is Yeo Mi-Ran attempting to teach Nam Kang Ho how to fight so that he can properly do a fighting scene in his new film. Little does he realize that he’s dealing with an expert and quickly finds himself subdued and knocked out. Of course, we already know that Yeo Mi-Ran is no wallflower, no damsel in distress who needs to be saved by a man in any circumstances.
One of the all-time great scenes in the series is when Nam Kang Ho and Yeo Mi-Ran profess their feelings and proceed to make love. What makes the scene work so perfectly is because the characters are allowed to be who they are. It isn’t Nam Kang Ho who initiates things—as we’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands, of times in romance movies and shows. Believe it or not ladies, men actually also enjoy having their female partners take charge sometimes too! I actually clapped my hands when the scene played out because I was thrilled to see the female character take matters into her own hands—and in this case, literally!
Some of the greatest of entertainment stars live outside of the limelight. Now, I realize that this is much harder to do in a small country like Korea, but basically, no apologies or even explanations should ever be made for how they live their lives. If you care too much about what people think, then perhaps you’re in the wrong business. The life of any celebrity is always wrought with the highs and lows, the positive and negative views of the media and the public. You’re a hero one day and a goat the next. The courageous make no apologies and never feel that they have to explain themselves to anyone, for that merry-go-round is literally endless.
This is an absolutely terrific series that tickles the funny bone and warms the heart, and like so many Korean shows, has a heartfelt message to expound to its viewers. Be careful about putting people on pedestals for they will always disappoint you in the end. Just because someone makes their living in the spotlight doesn’t mean that they are any different or more special than anyone else.
Performances across the board were incredible, but frankly it is Kim Ok Bin who steals the series for me. She’s able to create a character who doesn’t come across as overbearing or some uptight man-hating feminist. Despite being tough and independent—a great example for women to follow—she also has a soft, feminine nature that she takes great pride in demonstrating. She also helps to change the outdated perception that just because she’s a woman, she’s hardly weak. In many ways, Yeo Mi-Ran is a champion for women to follow and also for men to help them realize that there is true strength in being a woman and exhibiting strong, feminine qualities. And Kim Ok Bin handles this masterfully. It was so refreshing and also inspiring to see this kind of woman portrayed in this series.
These ten episodes went by fast, as I was watching at least two per day, but it was just long enough to encapsulate everything the writers wanted to convey without the need to prolong things unnaturally. Even the end didn’t feel like the writers had to delve into the “romantic comedy” playbook to wrap things up. They stuck with the characters and allowed things to evolve organically and naturally. Such are the hallmarks of a great series!
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Whatch this if you need a pick me up!
Perfect, cute, little romance drama. No dragging, no misunderstandings, just love.What really got me was that the lead woman wasn’t this timid, little woman that needs saving but actually a woman that takes care of herself and isn’t afraid to lead. I appreciated that she was the one who initiated the kissing scene, because I’m just so tired of women always being the shy ones.
And the fact that there wasn’t misunderstandings!!! I’m ready to marry the scriptwriter, because THNAK YOU!! As soon as I feel that there will be the miscommunication trope in a drama that I’m watching, I drop it immediately, because life is too short for that.
also the male lead knew his feelings, want afraid of them and went for it, I wish we all could do that in real life.
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One of the best rom-coms out there!
I was not expecting much from this drama, but it gave me the same vibe I had with 'Shooting Stars'... just wholesome and filled with all the sweet cliches I love in a romantic comedy. Yeo Mi Ran + Nam Kang Ho progression from enemies to lovers was both hilarious and so romantic. I loved how mature their love was & there were no misunderstandings once they got together!!! Thank goodness!!I absolutely loved Kim Ji Hoon as Do Won Joon. I was waiting for him to play a character I can root for since Flower of Evil and he was perfection in her. He ALMOST stole the show from the ML for me, BUT the Kang Ho just kept making me swoon. Speaking of, I never heard of Yoo Teo, but he needs to act some more because I am ready to devour any drama he has. As for my girl Kim Ok Bin, she did her thing! I have loved her since Arthdal Chronicles and feel as though she needs to act more as well!
The bromance & the sisterships were top-tier. The soundtrack elevated every scene and great acting. from the 3 main leads! I can see myself re-watching this when I am in a drama rut!
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Very Nearly Perfect
The impact of Netflix's involvement in Korean dramas has been the subject of a lot of debate. This drama shows that its involvement has not been all bad. Love to Hate You was an outstanding example of the genre that for a long time seemed to be dead, or dying, in K dramas— the pure romcom.There were no serial killers, no dark, malicious arc at all. Instead, this drama did something quite revolutionary. It was a pure romcom with a powerful, positive message about gender roles and hypocrisy in Korean society.It shared that message without preaching by the simple medium of creating a female lead who lived the message. Throughout the drama the point was made that Yeo Mi Ran's behaviour was in no way different from that which is not merely tolerated but almost expected of men in Korea, but vilified and socially criminalised for women.
A perfect propaganda puff piece is very difficult to pull off, but this drama managed it and the casting of Kim Ok Bin in that lead role was inspired. I have followed her career since being involved in the fan subbing for her 2014 drama Yoona's Street, and one thing that annoyed me about that drama was that despite being (at the time) a 4th Dan in hapkido, not only did her character never get to show that, she also needed rescuing by the male lead. In the years that followed, I learned that this was quite common - female actors with serious martial arts skills having to play characters who were nothing more than damsels in distress needing to be saved by a man. In this drama, Mi Ran explicitly condemns that trope, and free-diver/boat-driver/martial artist Kim Ok Bin gets plenty of opportunities to demonstrate her own action junkie skills. Kudos to all involved for that decision.
Seeing a female lead who was literally empowered to take care of herself and stand up for others was refreshing, but just as refreshing was the fact that this romcom was genuinely funny. As a general rule K drama comedy and I get along almost as well as Seoul and Pyongyang, but I laughed so much throughout this drama. The romance was well handled too. For once there was a romantic K drama with a thirtysomething female lead who was not a giggling virginal child, and that fact was central to much of the story. It was refreshingly realistic, and kept cringing eye rolling moments to a minimum. I also loved the way the drama showed different sets of exes coming to terms with their past and moving beyond it. Using their words - mature, adult, thoughtful behaviour, almost unheard of in KDrama romcoms.
On a personal note, I loved the casting of this drama. Three of the actors have been favourites of mine for some time. First of all Kim Sung Ryung: when I started watching K drama is back in 2013 she quickly became my Noona crush - so gorgeous, so glamorous. So it was great to see her given a role here that was a celebration of women in her situation and stage of life. Next up Go Won Hee. Another actor I've always found aesthetically appealing, but this drama was perhaps the most satisfying sidekick-dongsaeng role yet. She seems to be making that kind of character her own, and in this drama she got to deliver laughs and love. Brava! Finally Choi Yoon So. She caught my eye in the very first time I ever saw her in and then she disappeared from Dramas of the genres I watch. Her introduction in this Drama as the apparently telepathic interpreter for the mute director was very entertaining, and her character avoided all of the usual stereotypical pitfalls of that particular kind of role.
I was very close to scoring this drama 10/10, until the public proposals. I absolutely HATE public proposals, and consider them as nothing less than crude emotional blackmail. It is my serious wish that every single person proposed to publicly, whether in a crowd of people on a street or on a Jumbotron at a stadium, emphatically rejects the proposal. The final episode of this Drama contains TWO. I was actually prepared to let the first one slide because it made sense in context. The second however was stereotypical, clichéd and just plain awful. Even in drama this good there can be no excuse for that kind of blatant manipulation. For that unforgivable lapse , I scored this drama all the way down from 10/10 to 9.9/10. Putting it inside the top 5% of the 330 3K dramas I have finished as of the time of writing.
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