light and entertaining
Past and present collide in this rom-com about a city lawyer with a mysterious ancient curse and a civil servant with whom he shares an "unseverable destiny". If you are undecided on whether to watch a modern or costume drama, this show will deliver both.While there are all the usual ingredients of a rom-com, this show is more entertaining than average. There wasn't the usual shy, denial of feelings, but rather a full on "Sorry - Not Sorry!" head first dive into love. Shin Yu believes he is under a love spell cast by Hong Jo and struggles to fight it. "You're not pretty, but you are to me!" It's a funny internal battle between a newly awakened heart and a seasoned analytical brain. A few scenes were too slow but, before you get too bored, the story manages to move along with hints into previous lives, dark magic, murder and suspense. However, the draggy scenes were during the modern portion of the show and I felt more time could've been spent on the historical back story. Rowoon and Jo Bo Ah change pace smoothly and maintain their chemistry between the two settings.
The overall cast is very funny and work well with each other. However, it was almost uncomfortable seeing Park Kyung Hye being very over the top; she has had better roles. The comic timing between the 2 ML's as they compete against each other in 1 of 2 intersected triangles is spot on. It's also nice to see two decidedly unglamorous people in their own romantic story arc; it counters the expectation that only young and beautiful people can fall in love. Rowoon, noticeably freakishly tall (his height is mentioned several times), is good at comic scenes and his fans won't be disappointed. He is maturing into a decent dramatic actor as well.
If you're not looking for anything too profound, this show is light and entertaining to watch.
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Nothing Life-Changing, Still a Decent Watch !
First of all, let me make this **easy** and clear: this is **not** the kind of drama that will change your life, heal your soul, or make you rethink existence. Easy. Calm down.But at the same time—it’s **not bad either**. Easy watch, easy vibe, easy entertainment.
Now about the story… the writer definitely chose the **easy route**. I mean, how the hell do you fall in love by drinking a **glass of water**? 😭 Easy love? Instant romance? One sip and BOOM—feelings unlocked? Okay, I get it, it’s fantasy, but still… that was *too easy* to digest, even for fantasy standards.
The acting had some **easy flaws** here and there. Their chemistry could’ve been **a little more spicy**, not this *easy-going simmer*. It felt like a slow burn, but not the delicious slow burn—more like the **easy microwave kind**.
BUT—and here comes the easy plot twist—I still **enjoyed it**. Despite the gaps, despite the “easy explanation for everything,” the drama somehow kept giving me **interesting vibes**. The cast was **easy on the eyes**, the rituals were **easy to appreciate**, and some plots were actually **addictive enough** to keep me watching till the end without skipping.
So overall?
It was **easy fun**, easy entertainment, easy watch.
Not groundbreaking. Not unforgettable.
But if you want something **easy, chill, and mildly addictive**, then yeah—**you can easily give it a try** 😉 A Tiny Poem for This Drama
One glass of water, love so easy,
Fantasy logic feeling cheesy.
Not life-changing, not too deep,
But somehow fun enough to keep.
Flawed, slow, odd—but vibes were nice,
An easy watch, I won’t think twice.
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Only for Jo Bo Ah
Only for Jo Bo Ah, If you are not satisfied in this drama you can watch her in Tale of the Nine-TailedThe story is not complicated
But the director, screenplay makes it complicated
Actor and actors are done their best
As usual [ Jo Bo Ah ] her cute acting in screen presence is mesmerising to me
First 7 episodes you must be patience from 8th episode the drama becomes interested
Thankfully Drama has happy and good ending
May be part 2 for destined with you if there is chance
So don't worry worth to watch
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Keep clear
I'll keep it very short. This drama is sht. I don't know why it has such a high score....Plot-driven story. Everything happens because the writer intended for it to go exactly that way. And in order for it to happen, the characters do dumb things, act in strange way, otherwise the next step in the story wouldn't be possible. And even more weird, new plot elements are introduced and dropped later without any real reason. So basically the story is dumb and it gets cluttered with extra stuff, for no real reason. Beside that, cringefest. Lots and lots of cringe moments. Probably that was supposed to be comedy. Well, it missed.
Next, character development. Too few and not where it should've been. The chemistry is ok, mostly because of the ML. The FL tries too hard. Even her acting is a little bit off (and the "sexy" scenes are cringe and used only to boost the viewing numbers). I've seen her in other series and she wasn't this "bad". Of course, a lot of it can be blamed on the script and maybe even the director, but still.
What else? Annoying soundtrack. The production value is decent. The pacing is awful. Well, you get the idea. Give it a wide pass. The ML made all the heavy-lifting ( I even suspect some improvs from him, to make the scenes a little bit sweeter), coupled with some of the supporting cast. But not even the cast should make you curious about this one. Clearly the people who gave this drama a high rating did it only because "Omg I like X actor/actress. I'm so happy I got to see them again" or something like that.
Have a lovely evening.
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In the past life and in this life.. I love you.
Thumbs up from my mom to Rowoon for being handsome ahahaMight not be a big hit, but it was a good drama.
I started watching not expecting much, I'm new to these actors, the story might not sound new, but I don't pay too much attention to pointless comparison these days, since everything depends on actors and production team and they managed to keep me interested and the last half I simply binged. Strictly speaking there are always hit and misses, but speaking truthfully it's not as horrible as some people say.
What I considered to be good.
Acting. I had no idea who Rowoon was before watching and I must say he has the face and skills for you to remember him on the screen. What can I do, who doesn't like handsome guys. Oh! And so far the only actor I've seen who could act drunk so well ahaha like honestly when it comes to drinking or being sleepy many actors don't look drunk at all. You can put a ton of blush on their faces, but they can't do it, but his scenes were on spot ahaha. Same for Bo Ah. Although it wasn't her fault there was so much emphasis on her acting shy at the beginning, which was later dropped, but overall she did a good job with her role. I noticed he acted with actresses older then him in several dramas? :)
All other actors did a good job too.
Romance. I'm not against characters having prior relationships. It's not a bad thing having a character who is not a blank piece of paper when it comes to love/relationships. This is why I found the initial entanglement interesting. After all the mistake Hong Jo made gave a strong sense of "fate". And from initial almost enmity they came to love. Tbh those episodes when he couldn't control himself were quite funny, because we could see the rational and emotional sides clash constantly. Eventually her life was filled with him and his life with her and their feelings shifted in the direction towards each other. On screen chemistry was great :)
As for the storyline. You need to watch it completely to see the writer's idea. I think the story would have tasted really different if the backstory (past life) would have been dumped from the get go. Basically, we as viewers get the glimpse of the past life together with the characters themselves, which was quite fine. And if someone says something about sub-plot.. *sigh* don't you see why it was brought up. If not this it would have been something else because what should have happened must come, don't forget the settings of the curse after all. I try to speak spoiler-free as much as possible and keep things vague.
PS: The only thing I couldn't get was actually HongJo's co-workers. They acted vile and I couldn't wrap my head around why. You can justify it by saying that because she reported Gong, who in return kept mentioning her, they might have accumulated negative feelings towards her, but this was the part that felt fake to me. Maybe because despite justification I couldn't get why they acted like that, so it felt forced.
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A wonderful surprise
I wanted to watch it because of Rowoon whom I had seen in other dramas before and whose performance I always admired .The beginning of Destined with you is slow and Rowoon 's part of an upright , haughty and stiff lawyer , who 's always sour looking did not inspire confidence . I thought it might be a rom com but there was little evidence of that . But then the plot developed into a thrilling , engaging , intense love story , with suspense , compelling supernatural mystery , which had me on edge until the end when everything is very well tied up together . it has a happy ending and I would say well deserved for the main characters after all they went through ! I would watch it again .
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Do not care about bad rewiews here, it's worth the watch
At the start, I thought that wasn't that much worth my time, even though I've been a huge Rowoon fan (also SF9) for the past years, and I've also been influenced by the other reviews there, but decided to give it a try!Honestly, not the best 2023 drama, but is well done. Loved their chemistry, also the support roles actors and actresses did a really good job, the storyline is dumb and that is why is good, is supposed to be a lighthearted drama that doesn't need to be taken seriously. I love some random phrases of Rowoon and the bickering with the second lead, also his parents are hilarious in certain moments.
I would give a solid 8 to this!
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Mixed feelings but enjoyable
Being completely honest, I was going to drop it around episode 6-7 because it didn't have any interesting progress, but I decided to give it a chance and watch it. Yes, I did not regret it. I started falling in love with the actors and I wanted to see more and more. I get that the plot is a little weird and cliché, like, another drama with past life relation, but overall it was pleasant to watch and the kiss scenes were 🤌🏻 . I think it deserves a watch, it has many promising scenes and Ro woon's the epitome of good acting, despite his latest controversy ...Was this review helpful to you?
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This drama was really good but the kissing scenes at the beginning was really weirdWhat I dislike about it during the events the too much sacrifices from both leads towards each other
It wasn't normal
I dislike also her colleagues at work
But in total it was really good strong plot drama
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Destined With You – A Journey of Conflicted Feelings That Eventually Wins You
I started Destined With You without many expectations, and while I ended up enjoying it, the first half really tried my patience. Until around episode 8, both leads were stuck in messy feelings. Jang Shin-yu, a skilled lawyer burdened by a centuries-old curse, was still entangled with his girlfriend Yun Na-yeon, unwilling to end things openly. Meanwhile, Lee Hong-jo, a kind-hearted civil servant who stumbles upon a mysterious spell book, lingered around her crush Kwon Jae-gyeong, a reserved and seemingly perfect mayor’s advisor. This dragged-out love-square made the early story frustrating, and it was especially painful to watch when Jae-gyeong began to flirt back with Hong-jo, even though it was clear her heart wasn’t fully in it.It was a relief when Shin-yu finally broke up with Na-yeon, though he kept it private out of respect for her request. Jae-gyeong’s character, however, never worked for me—he constantly felt like a forced third wheel, especially in the early episodes.
The show truly improved once Hong-jo became certain of her feelings for Shin-yu. Their romance blossomed beautifully, with heartfelt kisses and intimate moments that made their growing bond feel real.
Side plots like Shin-yu’s mother and the Miss Ma–Mr. Kong storyline didn’t ruin the experience, though they occasionally pulled focus.
Despite its rocky start, the drama delivered: a truly evil villain, engaging conflicts, and unmatched chemistry between Shin-yu and Hong-jo made Destined With You a satisfying watch.
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Lot of kisses in this drama!
I'm not good in reviewing drama so I'll try my best.First of all, I like the cast of this drama. Second, the OST is really good tho I like it too.
The downside of this drama is that, the director didn't give much detail about the backstory in the past life. However, the past life arc was so good! It was pure love that need to end in a sad way.
You see the headline? yes, there are tons of kisses.
The comedy in this drama also are enjoyable and some of the scenes i was laughing so hard because it was so funny.
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Reincarnation & Spells
Everything was so average here with the exception of high production value as it was to be expected.A tragic forbidden love story between a shaman girl and an aristocrat's son, replays when both are reincarnated 300 years later.
The drama meanders between comedy, romance, tragedy and thriller. The characters were interesting. Rowoon in particular since he went from rigid and too serious lawyer to a funny man in love who believed himself to be under a love spell so he explained repeatedly the symptoms of love. Hilarious. The female lead was the usual K drama heroine: tough, kind and brave in the beginning but loosing every braincell after falling in love and giving us a string of bad decisions and ridiculous actions.
Most of the support characters were the comedy part: her work colleagues were the usual gossiping lot, more annoying than funny and his parents bickering. Then there were the "bad guys" his girlfriend and a gardener. They were the most underdevelopped characters because their motivations for being evil was never really explained. Why was the girlfriend, rich and pretty, so jealous of our FL, poor and stubborn? Why was the gardener so obsessed with the FL, so much so he wanted to have a soul wedding and kill her (what is all that about?)? I liked the second ML, whose character was never really clear: was he honest or power hungry?
What about spells? We never learned if they really worked? They did 300 years ago but not today? And the curse he was put upon apparently disappeared when he died and was brought back! Why? The previous sufferers from the curse also died but the curse remained.
Plotholes galore!
But in spite of that, it was a nice watch, nice cinematography, basic story, correct acting. Just that Rowoon is too tall, so when he puts his head of her shoulders, he looks ridiculous!
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