The Interest of Love

Is This Really Love? Or Interest In Love?

Ahn Soo Young is a beautiful, hard-working 4 year employee as Chief Bank Teller at KCU Bank. Due to her past experiences and personal difficulties whilst growing up, she does not believe that she is destined to be happy.

Even with her stone face and distant demeanor, Ha Sang Soo under her mentorship when he first joined the bank, gradually found himself drawn to her as he grew through the ranks at the workplace. One day, he finally musters his nerves and asks Soo Young for a date. However, he was late arriving the dinner venue and was seen by Soo Young hesitating for a moment before entering the restaurant. Soo Young re-acts in a devastating manner and hence the possible relationship between her and Sang Soo spirals off to different directions. They then inadvertently paired themselves with respective partners whom I found were really well suited to them. However, like a ‘moth to the flame’, Soo Young and Sang Soo continues to be drawn to each other.

Soo Young has self-esteem issues and does not easily give herself permission to be happy. Sang Soo is a guy who takes life and relationship seriously, making him cautious in his thought process. Will such two un-confident energy ever find love?

I found this drama really angsty as I yearned to see the two main leads coming together. One might even find many moments really slow, but these are the moments where this type of drama requires one to sink into the scenes and emotions, which had my attention. Whilst waiting for that moment, I thoroughly enjoyed the stories with the second leads as well as the entire ensemble of family, bank colleagues and office politics. The entire drama was cleverly weaved in these really complicated relationships. Moon Ga Young was ‘horribly’ good as Soo Young and Yoo Yeon Seok (normally, whom I always enjoy watching his macho go-getter roles) was ‘horribly’ good as the mild, cautious and hesitant Sang Soo. So frustrating to watch and yet able to make me appreciate the flow and the tension.

This is not your normal love story drama, and this is why I enjoyed this so much.

Read More

Challenging Watch with an Ambitious Realism Theme

This Kdrama was an addictive watch that had me tuning in weekly to find out what will happen to its 4 protagonists. There aren't any clear good guys and bad guys in this show - there are simply people who do sometimes do honorable things and at other times do shady or evil things. Sometimes, you're sympathetic to the situations that the characters find themselves in. Other times, you're mad because how-could-that-character-be-so-manipulative-and-why-won't-they-be-honest-with-each-other. This is the series' greatest strength and greatest weakness: it tries to capture the nature of the human condition with a lens of looking at love and interpersonal relationship. However, to me, it fell just a little bit short of this goal. Still, it's worth a watch.

The acting was mostly top notch. The cinematography of this Kdrama had a muted, melodrama tone, so it demanded a similar flat-affect from its actors and actresses, with the appropriate outbursts of emotion when the situation calls for it. Of the leads, I found Moon Ga Young, Yoo Yeon Seok, and Geum Sae Rok to be the most effective at displaying this kind of style where most of the time, they are just acting like normal people wearing typical faces, but occasionally, they need to dial it up to 10 and display tender love or extreme indignation. The only person I took a little issue with was Jung Ga Ram: he seemed a little stuck in that passive look most of the time, and I didn't really buy his moments of tenderness, and felt that his anger seemed unnatural but that may have just been how his fictional character was written.

The music was appropriate for its setting and has a lot of those tracks with a coffee-shop feel. I don't think it will go down in history as a legendary OST, but it had some pretty catchy beats. In particular, I enjoyed 손을 마주 잡고 ("With Me"), which ended up as the signature lovey dovey track.

I think the reason this Kdrama gets a bad rap around these parts is because it's pretty atypical: it isn't a wish-fulfillment-type of romance where you're watching two gorgeous, fictional characters fall in love on screen. It tries to capture some of the normal pettiness that comes with real human relationships, which involves a lot of things that don't make sense to an omnipotent viewer: characters lie or manipulate for their own purposes. I think this also makes it a hard watch. But, if you enjoy muted melodramas, I recommend you give this one a try - it's not perfect, but I think it tries to stay true to the realism of its source material to deliver a satisfying show.

Read More

The Interest of Love. A story of four imperfect flawed people learning to love

making their mistakes, falling and picking themselves up again. Yes the plot of the drama can be frustrating hence my rating but it's a drama that makes you think. Certain scenes ect can be dissected non stop getting a different outcome every single time. And well that's life. I think that's what both the writers and the director wanted to achieve. The characters here aren't perfect and cardboard cutouts. They are flawed and realistic. Sometimes their choices leave the viewer scratching their head with either confusion or frustration.
At it's core tho, it's a slow and interesting story that shows a complete different side to love. Love isn't all rainbows and sunshine. Sometimes it's pain and heartbreak. The Interest of Love shows that well. SuYeong and SangSu are two very damaged characters trying to find their place in the world and their lives. One is idealistic and romantic while the other is emotionally damaged and closed off. The second leads carry their own pain and burdens too. MiGyeon(SFL) especially is someone who has been hurt heavily by both her past and SangSu and although she makes you hate her at times she also makes you root for her. She is the one who picks up herself the most and learns from her mistakes. The best character of the drama and my favorite. She made me proud. In the end I think both SuYeong and SangSu let go of their past trauma & learn the lesson they are meant to but not as well as MG.
The realism, slowness of the drama and the open interpretation of the ending can turn people off but I'd say give it a chance. It's a deep drama that makes you look at love in a different way and think about things differently. I enoyed it even if both SY and SS frustrated me at times. Will I recommend it? 50-50 it depends on taste. If you want a simple, slice of life drama then IoL is definitely not for you. If you want a slow, true to life drama then I suggest watching this: may not regret it. I didn't.
I think the cast did an incredible of portraying these characters. I have found some actors I really liked while watching this.
Overall I give this an 8.0 because there were certain parts I really enjoyed while others left me frustrated. While I re watch? probably not. As much as I liked the cast, I think it's a one time drama. It might lose it's appeal with re watches.

Read More

An imperfect story about imperfect people

This drama is not for everyone, especially if you’re looking for a definitive happy ending. This is a tale of love and love lost. It’s thought provoking and challenges you to question your own willingness to take risks for the sake of love and happiness. It evokes deep emotions and makes you reminisce on all the missed opportunities and what if’s in your own life. The pace of the story is well suited. There’s no timeline on love. If you’re destined to be together, fate will find a way to bring you back to each other.

Kudos to the actors and production team for putting together a piece of work that I’ll continue to enjoy. The ensemble cast was fantastic and their character portrayals were skillfully executed. The OST was perfection and captured every emotion of these flawed characters.

Highly recommend.

Read More

What a drag…

The premices looked good. Men and women getting to know each other and their true feelings. Hesitations, compassion, social pressure.
I really was looking forward to the journey for the male lead to eventually get the girl but even when it happened the show kept dragging on and on and on and I simply lost patience. The very slow pace of the show didn’t help either. I am not a big fan of these slow shows to start with.
And the. The characters are all cold fishes. Especially the two leads. They look good but my god they are not sexy to watch… they hesitate too much and definitely don’t listen to their heart. They rationalise love and it takes aaaaaaaaaaaages. I dropped it simply because I lost patience and therefore interest

Read More

The Frustration of Love Interest

I like where the series is going, it was frustrated to watch at first couple of episodes
but it started to get better after ep7, below is a summary after watching ep8.

FL is frustrates me but I cannot stop watching!
After watching up to 12 episodes the one character that frustrates me the most
is the FL Soo Young, she answers questions with a question if it has anything to
do with who she likes or who she is interested in. The conflict and frustration of
this is she want to date the ML but she doubt herself as she feels she is not good
enough for him as she did not go to a university. After the 2FL joined the bank and
formed a relationship with ML, it was clear that FL had a love interest in ML but she instead
took a turn and started dating the 2nd ML who is a security guard who has his own financial
and career goals problems. This has created more tension between the M & F leads.
Once you pass the first couple of episodes, the story will start to unfold with her but she
keep us on our toes after each episode.

Turning Point for M & F Leads!
I loved the fish market scene in ep8 with Sang Hoo trying to sell fish
and this was my favorite scene so far and also the turning point of the drama with the scene
where Soo Young found out Sang Hoo helped report on the Bank Manager's behaviour
against her. When she offered to help sell the fish, I was like finally something good might
happen between them now as they are attracted to each other.

Who is Mi Kyung?
One thing is clear now is that Mi Kyung is trying way too hard and her intentions
are not genuine with Soo Young and she knows Sang Hoo likes Soo Yang.
She prepared her plans to work at the Bank to get her College crush to want her
but this seems very forced. She pretended she could not skate but her mommy dearest
spilled that she was an amateur figure skater lol. What an ambitious liar!
I will get back to this twat of a character....
2nd Female Lead is Doing Too Damn Much!
Mi Kyung's true colors are finally showing by forcing herself into this new relationship,
she kissed him first, she calls him first, she showed up at his place uninvited, and so many other events she had
been doing ongoing to getting Sang Hoo to like her.
Soo Young is only playing along with Mi Kyung but she knows she is not a genuine friend.
Mi Kyung bought the painting Soo Young liked and placed it in her bathroom,
such a savage move knowing that Soo Young would see it as she is coming to her house
for that fake birthday surprise with the mats. That is when FL realized the 2nd FL is
being fake and what kind of a gift is that to give someone for their birthday?

2nd ML Will Bounce Back But .....
This story emphasis on social ranking and sadly the 2nd ML is the lowest rank in the workplace,
he is dating the popular teller but falls short after paying for his father's surgery and
failing his test. The thing I admired was FL gave him back some hope, the living situation
is not the best but might be the only option to help him get back on his feet to prepare to
take the test again. It's crystal clear there is no chemistry between them but her intentions
are genuine to help him get in the police academy. I think 2nd ML might find love at the Police Academy
once he passes his test.

What Drew Me In!!!
The ending is giving hints of something going to happen between M & F lead but what
if those hints were a trick as we did not see them in the same shot?
I want something good to happen and I'm really liking where this is going finally!


After watching Ep8 I gave it a 7.5/10 as I saw where the story is getting smoother and no more frustrating scenes.
I will update my review along the way.
After watching the entire series, I went through a rollercoaster of frustration as the FL was just a sad character.
If you like slow-paste dramas that will drive you up the walls and back down , then this is it.
One thing though, the actors played their roles very well. I will leave it there.

Read More

This drama got me hooked the most

I have been a kdrama fan since the start of the pandemic, and I would follow the release schedule and watch episodes as soon as they're released. I've had shows that got me curious about the next episode so I rewatched them a couple of times before the finale. But never have I had the need to actually reflect and process the story until The Interest of Love came.

When it was first released on Netflix, I thought it wasn't worth watching. But I gave in and was glad to "binge-watch" 4 episodes in one seating. I was immediately hooked! At first I thought it was similar to Our Beloved Summer in a sense that it's a start-of-the-year summer drama with a really cool OST, but set in a bank. But there's more to that.

I have probably rewatched the entire series up to the current episode (14) at least 3 times already, and here are some of the things I love:

1. It's super uncomfortable to talk about class disparity, but that's the reality. Opportunities are never equal, and more often than not, the rich would easily get what they want without much struggle: education, network, career opportunities, promotion, material things, and even a relationship. The lower your social class, the harder it will be to achieve a comfortable life. Further, it's a huge challenge for those in the lower ranks to be accepted by those on top. Power tripping, impossible criteria, and even unfounded gossips will be thrown at you.

2. It's difficult to understand love and the dynamics of relationships. I tried to dig deeper into the characters and found that their past (including family background, events, experiences etc) defines who they are right now and why they react this way. I read somewhere that the characters in The Interest of Love definitely need a therapist to start with their healing process, because they are all broken at one point. Just like all of us need healing first before being in any form of relationship.

3. The decisions the characters make are very frustrating. While watching the first few episodes I always thought, why did this person choose another lover? Why did this guy suddenly have a girlfriend when finally the one he wants has just broken up with her boyfriend? Why did this guy marry another, then regrets leaving his ex immediately after the wedding? Just like reality, we often regret our decisions immediately after making them, but just choose to stick to it for convenience.

4. I love how symbolisms were peppered across the series. Circle (of life), cigarettes, coin, car, calendar, food (ramyeon vs porridge, offering food and accepting it as a sign of accepting love or forgiveness), even the references to the novels and classical music. During my rewatches, I often had to pause and reflect as to the meaning of what they said. Even the characters' names and meanings reveal a lot about their decisions.

5. The actors are all amazing! From the main leads to the support, they all deliver and exceed expectations. I even had to drop everything that I was doing just so I can process the emotions I felt through the actors! This drama does not require exaggerated moves, but the smallest gestures and voice modulation of all the actors really hit the spot!

6. The cinematography, music, editing, etc are all intelligently done. The reason why I'm so hooked to this drama is because of the emotional attachments that were built up by this team of geniuses! Ep.13 is my favorite because I can still remember how my pulse rate kept on raising through the episode with all the plot twists and revelations! No wonder that episode also gained its highest ratings, thanks to the build-up towards the end of Ep12 that kept us wanting for more! Heck, there was even no preview of the next episode at the end of Ep14 but everyone's still curious as to what will happen at the finale.

I find it hard to move on to another kdrama after being immersed in The Interest of Love. Before, I can easily watch a handful of series at a time and move on easily, but whenever I watch something lighter I miss watching TIOL and end up rewatching a scene (or the entire series) all over again!

Read More

Want-to-be-romance that got lost

What a mess of a story. If this was the planned ending, then there was no need for 16 episodes - could have been cut by half.

The poor actors all did their best, but the energy level of the story was low, dull, and prooooolllllloooonnngged. It dragged on and on. Then having watched 14 episodes you finally hope the ending will forgive the wasted 14 hours, but no!

There is the most awkward, strange and ludicrous kissing scene in 15.
Who goes for a smoke right after only a kiss? A kiss that we didn't know was supposed to intensify or just cut short - but the ML goes for a smoke right after that. Gosh.
Does the FL go back home that night?
Aaargh! So incomplete.

Is this supposed to be for a prudish regional audience? And it's okay for a married mother of two grown kids to have an affair but not okay for a 30 something single woman to spend a night out?

And my favorite ML - Yoo Yoon Seok- agreed to work in this drama and bring his rating down?

Why why why did you do that? I absolutely fell in love with you in Mood of the Day - and to watch you in this pathetic role was heartbreaking.

Would you like me to be your agent and pick better acting gigs???

Read More

You don't want to recommend this drama to anybody

Some people say this is a realistic drama. I beg to disagree. I hope nobody's life is that messed up. The writers tried their best to show us some reality in work life, I must say many of these work-life experiences is real. But, about the personal life, the writers made it a total mess. It was a ride full of angst and negativity that the viewers had to witness for the last 8 weeks. You don't want others to experience the same angst and negativity unless you have some enmity toward that person.

Story: The drama does have a story. It is a story of hesitation, misunderstanding, and wrong choices. And also the story of cheating. Full of negativity. I could give this drama 8/10 for the story because the writers showed perfectly what they wanted in this drama. They were successful in their job. But, I don't approve of them spreading that much misunderstanding and negativity in this drama. This is bad, this is not a good practice. Although this is a work of fiction, you don't want to learn anything from this drama. You just want to forget all those bad things that happened in this drama and don't want to affect your real life in any way. So, I gave 5/10 for the story.

Acting/Cast: 9/10 for acting cast. Both ML and FL are good actors. They showed they can act in any role they are given. They perfectly portrayed what was needed for their characters. Yoo Yoon Seok is a very good actor. Just like his character in hospital playlist, he showed very good acting in this drama too. Moon Ga Young exceeded my expectations. She did a tremendous job. I hope to see her in more mature roles in the future. Other supporting characters also did their best. Overall, Acting/Cast was very good.

Music: The music was also good. The background music and OST's were good, I must say. So 9/10 from me.

Rewatch Value: 1/10 from me. Sorry, Nobody wants to experience the same frustrations and negativity again for a second time. It's better to forget the drama. Don't think of rewatching it again. One time is more than enough.

Overall ratings: 6.5/10

I don't recommend this drama to anybody. If you want to make your mood down for some reason or want to get frustrated for some reason you can watch it.

Read More