"Petals with many wounds smell sweetest"
"Love in Contract" takes the basic relationship contract trope to the extreme with Park Min Young as the ideal bride for hire to dozens of men over the years. There's a wide range of reasons these men need a wife and much like her role as Secretary Kim (which I loved) here she plays Choi Sang Eun, a practically perfect and always-prepared companion who's avoided love in her own life while focusing on her work.I think the concept could've easily just been cheesy and is played up to be exaggerated and not very realistic, but I think Sang Eun is an interesting character, and her backstory and her desire to change her life was a way more unique and engaging story than I expected it to be. However, the true star of this drama for me is Go Kyung Pyo as Jung Ji Ho, her Monday-Wednesday-Friday client, and the one she plans to be her last contract husband. I loved them together, but it's his performance that kept me caring.
Like Park Min Young, Go Kyung Pyo is in a few of my favorite dramas ever BUT in those dramas, he was always the 2nd lead. I finally get to see him as the main love interest and even with such a socially awkward and often blank-faced character he did not disappoint. Ji Ho is clearly depressed and at times close to robotic but his charisma shines through making it hard not to empathize with him. The leads have a straight-talking banter similar to what was so great in "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim" but instead of the classic arrogant male lead Ji Ho's softspoken low voice is more reminiscent of Eeyore from Winne the Pooh. There is an initial mystery to his character's social awkwardness and cold directness so I won't reveal too much but he made me laugh, brought me to tears, and gave me butterflies while always staying true to his character. I love actually getting to see a character's growth and he delivers that.
As for the true 2nd lead, we have Kim Jae Young as Heartthrob Actor Kang Hae Jin. Anyone who hates love triangles will certainly be annoyed by his character but I found him to actually be likable and empathetic as well. I also found his rivalry with Go Kyung Pyo pretty hilarious. Sang Eun is the classic woman caught between two great men, but her real plan is just to go off on her own and live her own life. I thought it was nice to have a female lead whose ultimate goal isn't falling in love but instead finding herself but know that this is still 100% a romance drama. There are melodrama elements too, and a convoluted conglomerate families war plot, but it's the relationships in this drama that made me like it as much as I did. There are so many great performances including Kang Hyung Suk as BFF Gwang Nam, Ji Ho's boss, and his wife (#goals), as well as his quirky coworkers. Then there's Jin Kyung as the classy and calculated Svengali Ajumma from hell Yoo Mi Ho! This is a drama where the cast makes the story work!
Would I watch this drama again? Yes! The greedy family scenes repeated ad nauseam are definitely skippable, and those characters are pretty cartoonishly bad, but thankfully they don't take up too much time. The story is all over the place, changing focus several times throughout, but I liked how things resolved for most of the characters by the end. I would probably want to skip to scenes with the main couple but I liked most of the other characters enough to rewatch some of their antics again too.
Overall, "Love in Contract" is a modern open-minded version of an old-school cliché rom-com. One where marriage is a little less idealized. Watching two people eat dinner may seem pretty boring but I think it was a nice benchmark for their journey together. Shout out to Tiffany for finding a great way to do product placement for so many rings, but the Kopiko candy scenes were too much! If you want a love story with some light drama and laughs then I would give this a chance. This may not be a favorite of mine but it was different and I absolutely loved Go Kyung Pyo as Jung Ji Ho. He is enough of a reason to make me recommend this drama. There's a line that says "petals with many wounds smell sweetest" which is a perfect analogy for this drama. This drama is also imperfect but the sweetness shines through.
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Just go for it
i don't usually write reviews but this drama is worth itI'm someone who often drops several drama's because they get too boring and i have a shitty attention span but THIS DRAMA kept me hooked!
i love the ML and FL and this is the first drama where a second lead annoys tf outta me
and i really relate with jung jiho (ML) who struggles with socializing and yeah it was portrayed nicely how people misunderstands and dislikes the one's who are straightforward and introverted
tbh i really didn't expect a plot this good i thought this was going to be an another mid rom-com but boii was i wrong. The story is so interesting so if you're doubting whether to watch it or not? just do it, it's worth your
time.
enjoi <3
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One of the most delightful, charming, and heart warming Romance series
I decided to watch ‘Love in Contract’ as it starred Park Min Young, my favourite actress, and the premise looked intriguing. After seeing so many negative reviews on MDL I was prepared to be disappointed but found myself smiling, engaged and entranced till the last moment of the last episode.
So many K-dramas are driven by situations created by information not shared between the main characters. I was particularly delighted at how open Choi Sang-eun (Park Min Young) and Jo Ji Ho (Ko Kyung Po) were with each other saving hours of unnecessary tension. Considering some of the complicated plot twists, I thought the writers did a wonderful job of making all the strands of the stories make sense. This was aided by first class acting from top to bottom.
What can I say about Park Min Young except that if anyone on the planet has more beautiful and radiant smile, I’ve yet to see it. She lights up every scene she plays whether comic or serious. If I could be like any K-drama character, it might be Judge Chung Ji Ho for whom kindness and integrity would appear to be instinctual.
For me this was not only a comedy but a healing lesson in empathy, being true to oneself, and to the ultimate moral superiority of honesty.
As a musician, I was struck by how a few piano chords could summon up the depths of the love between Sang-eun and the Judge.
I imagine I will be re-watching this feel good story again and likely soon. My thanks to everyone involved in this.
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It was actually a good drama......
It was actually a good drama. There were some frustrating moments but still it was good.I loved how our ml is a green flag, he is so patient with everything, he trusts and doesn't misunderstand!!
The relationship between leads was really non toxic and till the end they were so good to each other.
Second leads character was not so impressive in this drama but the actor who played it did a very good job. I want to see him in a main role.
I read negative reviews before watching the drama that's why I digested the frustration i felt sometimes. So just ignore some things and you will enjoy the drama.
Overall 9/10 👍
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Surprising… in a good way.
I’m not sure if I enjoyed this drama due to my low expectations or if I just have a weird taste in dramas..? I was looking for something light hearted and so I decided to give this a shot as I’m a huge fan of PMY. I wasn’t expecting to like this due to the reviews but omg… I actually liked it!? I don’t understand the hate.I found the male lead pretty refreshing! Awkward, cute and endearing - I thought he was well casted for his character. In fact I like this awkward CP pairing more than her previous work with Song Kang (whom I adore). I must say though, yes it’s cliche and the storyline is pretty shallow but in the first place, I didn’t expect it to be anything more. It’s actually so bing-able I unknowingly watched all 16 eps in 3 days. Maybe I’m weird, but I enjoyed the pacing and the way their romance panned out which was what I came to see anyway. Loads of screen time for our leads (yay!)
I found myself rooting for their relationship and they didn’t disappoint. It was a mature one with no unnecessary drama (between them), I loved all their scenes together. I’d say… maybe lower expectations, go in with an open mind and give this a shot. It’s not even nearly as trashy as some of the cdrama romcoms out there I swear!
That said, I do hope PMY takes on chirpier romcoms such as this one. I’ve missed the fluffiness~
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Loved this drama!
Someone has to post a good review to offset this mixed bag of miserable ones lol!!I thought it was great, I’m prone to skipping boring parts, and didn’t feel the need here. Yes, some elements are a bit predictable- but that’s what we love about K-dramas. I loved both the ML’s and the writers and actors did a good job at me rooting for them both at different times.
First episode if rammed full of very quick paced overview of what the FL does as a Single Life Helper, so fast that at times it was starting to get a bit confusing. I was glad when that was done and we could settle into the story.
The intro of the ex-wife was a bit annoying at first, but hey we needed someone from the past to show up right? The typical kdrama “break up” was pointless if you ask me- and my only gripe was after all the tension and emotion they build up - the reconciliation was a dead cat flop. Some sparks or a bit more emotion from them both would have been so much more satisfying and we are right back into the quirky bit of planning future.
Overall though I loved it and would watch again.
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This review may contain spoilers
Has some cringeworthy but fluff romance
This drama seemed fluffy but had a sensitive topic of an FL with multiple divorces. I said divorces instead of marriage because our society sees a divorced woman as an immoral, bad woman who doesn't know to keep a happy marriage.I started with the drama to know "how she had two husbands at the same time but guess what I was wrong she had one husband at a time and get divorced to marry another. It was the trailer that created the confusion of Mon, Wed, Fri, and Tue, Thur, sat husband. she had more contract relationships than contract marriages for various reasons of male family drama.
The story was stretching in the last couple of episodes filled in with more fluffy romance which was supposed to be happening just after the confession. The great big traumatic accident of 13 years was petty. That incident didn’t weigh much impact to put the present drama meter happening.
PS. I too felt bad for what she experienced at a young age.
Honestly, there was mature chemistry in both pairs. But the FL being hyperactive was too much. I wish it remained a mature romance drama. Acting I was so impressed by Go Kyung Pyo as Jung JiHo, he was that middle-aged man having a boring life. He nailed it with his chubby straight face. Kim Jae Young was nice due to the story, I felt pity for his character Kang Hae Jin but I didn’t like him for being a brat cause most of the problems were created by him only. Park min Young was fine but not impressive, this is like a repetitive role of she has played in her previous dramas. Kang Hyung Suk was playing a gay character, he was balanced not doing fun stuff. He was a manly gay guy who liked men but not every man.
I would rewatch all the fluff romance of the Jung ji ho and Choi sang gun
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Mature and well-handled drama with some pacing problems
This drama has some pretty phenomenal writing and maturely tackles many serious issues. I was pleasantly surprised since I went into this only knowing it was a romance series with a love triangle. The depiction of abusive relationships was handled with a delicacy that I've been missing in Asian dramas since they tend to play it up for the audience.However, there were times when the writing lost some traction, and two characters in particular suffered from a lack of attention from the writing team (Jung Ji Eun and Woo Gwang Nam). It's a shame since the rest of the series is so well-executed.
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people negative coment in this dráma
this dráma IS very underated i love par ming young in this dráma her All drámas IS very romantic, interesting,funny,and All with Happy ending.i love this dráma She IS Queen of contract marriage 😂 they chemistry IS amazing .her 1.fake husband and romatte2is gay 😀 and he have boyfriend .She in love with her another 2. fake husband but he IS very sad and very understand,but they chemistry IS fire this dráma higlly recomend must watch because3 i love this story its another story than in Korean drámaWas this review helpful to you?
Worth a watch.
I am new to Korean Tv only started watching them this year and have been binge-watching them for the past 3 months, PMY is one of my Favourites actresses along with Seo Hyun Jin, This was the third PMY show I have watched after the big 2 What's Wrong with Secretary Kim? and Her Private Life and as a lot of other commenters have said it, unfortunately, does not match her previous performances.PMY looked stunning back in 2018 and 2019 with that infectious smile and glowing eyes and she looked healthy, but in this show, whether it is just weight loss which she seems to have lost a lot of her legs and body overall not just her face look thinner the clothes she wears she doesn't; fill them as she did back in 2019, as others have said she looked stiff when she first appeared in episode one it took e a second to realise it was the same person she was so gaunt I thought she had been ill.
I won't bother with mentioning the plot the show is worth a watch if you enjoyed her previous outings but it is nothing special so I would not be to exited.
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This review may contain spoilers
Like many people before me had said, this drama didn't live up to its potential at all. There was something lacking, although I can't quite put my finger on it...I started this drama because of Park Min Young and she shone in the drama, majority of her outfits was amazing (some of them were quite ugly on the other hand) and I loved her character, how she was able to do so many things, it was nice to see her horse riding for example. And her character's relationships... idk, that was the lacking part, it wasn't even that much of a love triangle (which I appreciated) but there was something missing.
On the other hand, there was some things that positively stood out to me: the gay supporting character, Ji Ho's boss and his wife (they were the best, especially how he kept calling her "my Queen", honestly they were the best part about the drama), and I also loved how Sang Eun was the one, who proposed to Ji Ho, that was so cool. And Ji Ho's coworkers were funny and nice to watch. And it was nice to see a shy and introverted male lead.
My rating is 8.5/10 as I liked the themes I mentioned and also because I adore PMY so this review is slightly biased. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't probably even start drama with this synopsis/tags.
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