Head over Heels

A Strong Motivation of Love

I primarily watched this drama because of the two leads - Choi Yi Hyun, whom I had seen in The Matchmakers and Choo Young Woo of Trauma Code. With the title Head over heels and promo photo, I just thought it was an ordinary young love, but there were so many twists in the whole story.

The Characters:
1. Choi Yi Hyun as the Shaman Seong-A:
She is really cute and could really pass for a high schooler. As an actress, I believe she gave her best, showing different depths of emotion. Her face is very expressive, much more her eyes.
Her character started off as a young person who just carry on a side hustle of a shaman but not too attached to any of her clients until Gyeon-U came. You may say she is obsessed and her desire to save him is because he is her first love. For 10 episodes she is very actively involved with him, but we lost her after taking Bong Su with her. The character has a transformation, a maturity that didn't go to the dark side and kept her mission as what her spirit mom told her.

2. Choo Young Woo as Bae Gyeon U:
He played quite a different role here from Trauma code, and as a high schooler with dark secret. It is good to see him play two different characters which are extremely opposite to one another. Good acting as the melancholic Gyeon U and the playful young Bong Su, that made us guess his age.
Gyeon U thought that he is really doomed forever, and only Seong A was able to give him hope. He needs to find his purpose after his grandma died and that purpose is in archery.

Other characters that really played their parts very well are Seong A's spirit mom and Yeom Hwa. I love the tenacity of the General and the sacrifice she needs to do in order to save Yeom Hwa. And whatever is the future for Yeom Hwa, actually I don't care, at least she left them in peace.

Somehow, I felt the last 2 episodes jumped too fast forward many years without giving a story of Bong Su in Seong A, or what was Yeom Hwa doing within those years if she has already lost the power of a shaman. I had wondered when Bong Su left the body of Gyeon U and followed Seong A, where they went and was surprised later that he is in Seong A already. He is a boy and went in a girl, but acted like a girl? That seemed out of character for Bong Su. They could have made Seong A tomboyish instead if Bong Su is in her.

Am not really loving it. I only finished it to see if they were able to be free from being possessed. I don't usually watch stories of ghosts, with the exception of The Master's Sun. I wonder if Shamans are still existing in modern day Korea. I watched this because I was after redemption and the love story. I don't think I will rewatch the whole drama, perhaps just pick a few episodes that will bring joy to my heart.

What do you think?

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Great premise but very ragebaity

The acting was great, especially loved the ML's ability to switch between Gyeon oo and Bong su, it was very fun to watch. The female lead was also able to strike the perfect balance between cutesy and naive (necessary for her role as a lovestruck teenager to be convincing) all while being brave and daring enough to protect her loved ones without being annoying. Too many times these female leads come off as lowkey annoying in their pursuit to come off as strong, but that was NOT an issue here. In this aspect, the show was a 10/10. HOWEVERRRRR, the Yeom-Hwa thing irritated me to no end (10/10 acting by the actress). It just made no sense to me. I got the point that she was a grieving mother and was the spirit daughter of the General which explained why she was allowed to get away with so much but I literally do not understand what the motive of the writers and directors was with her character. Like, she was literally SADISTIC at the start of the show towards the male lead who was a LITERAL KID, had no qualms about manipulating the lives and spirits of people in order to achieve her goals or just be nasty just BECAUSE, literally caused her spirit mother to DIE and I'm supposed to just be cool with her getting away with it all because "Well, she regrets it now"?? Screw that! I was so bewildered by how unbothered they all seemed by her despite the amount of evil she was doing. She literally manipulated the spirit of a fallen child soldier, turning him into an evil spirit who ended up possessing the body of the human child she tortured and they just CASUALLY HAD HER IN THE HOUSE WITH SAID BOY WHO SHE TORTURED? Make it make sense! The General was upsetting me too because yeah, I get it, she's your spirit daughter. But at the end of the day, she is HARMING people and spirits and you KNOW about it. So why aren't you doing more to stop her?? While watching the last episode, I was just begging them to let her character *poof* because it made zero sense to me that she was able to just go on and live her life after all the harm she had done. If it wasn't for this absurdity, I'd give the show a rough 8/10 (1 mark docked for the rushed ending). But yeah, good watch but very rage baitey.

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The middle part is the best part

==Breakdown==
Background plot - 45%
Romance - 35%
Misc comedy - 20%

Background plot -Good
Romantic chemistry - Good/Sweet
Misc comedy - Good
Production value - Good

This was a good drama and worth watching. Definitely on the sweeter side. No substantive complaints. My favorite character was the second male lead; he seemed the most realistic and had the best lines.

A few quibbles:
1. The FL had better romantic chemistry with the male actor when he was possessed by the ghost, which was odd. to realize and watch.
2. The spirit sister was THE WORST and I was left unsatisfied with her ending.
3. The ending dragged and then was suddenly rushed with no resolution regarding what happened with the ML's family. It's strange to me that none of his family stuff was at all addressed or resolved.
4. As I mentioned, it just sorta ends, leaving no time for us to know how the main characters lived their lives.

Overall, not perfect, but definitely enjoyable and worth the time spent watching it.

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Good but drags for too long

The initial plotline of this drama is quite intriguing – a young shaman tasked with helping a cursed boy survive until his next birthday. The series features plenty of fun quests and shenanigans, with a new threat introduced in each episode, making it fast paced and entertaining. However, the plot takes a turn when the ‘final boss’, Bongsu, appears.


Instead of culminating in an 'epic' battle, the story veers into a comedic direction that drags on for too long. By the time the final episodes arrived, I was eager for the series to wrap up – I had lost interest. While Bongsu's backstory was fascinating, it felt unnecessary in addition to the already established plot, ultimately making the narrative feel prolonged.


Now, regarding the romance – was it really necessary? I'm not sure.


I believe Cho Yi Hyun and Choo Young Woo had good chemistry, but their character arcs didn't work in their favour. The love story between Park Seong A and Bae Gyeon U often seemed like an afterthought; it became more relevant once Bongsu was introduced, but the relationship lacked the challenges or dynamics needed to make it compelling. Moreover, I think that if the romance were removed, the story could still develop nicely and would still be worth watching. Thus, I wasn't particularly concerned about whether or not they ended up together.


Overall, the drama is enjoyable but not essential viewing; you can easily watch it, but it won't keep you on the edge of your seat with its content.


Honestly, I think K-Dramas often struggle with the tradition of extending these series over 12 episodes – sometimes, it’s better to finish sooner, especially if there isn't enough strong content to sustain that length.

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A romantic horror-comedy done WELL.

Ep 1- A fresh storyline: a romantic horror-comedy. Seong-ah is a typical bubbly FL and Gyeon-woo is a typical cold ML but I’m all for it. The chemistry is chemistrying👀 Jiho: a new SML- a chill guy who’s besties with the FL😳 The whole high schooler shaman FL saving the high schooler cursed ML is was chaotic- I love it!

Ep 2- Most of this episode is insights into Gyeon-woo’s life. What a pitiful boy. I hope he gets all the love he deserves. I felt so sad when his grandma passed away😔

Ep 3- I’m enjoying seeing a variety of ghosts. The villainess has also just been introduced so I’m curious as to how she ties into the story. I went from crying to giggling in this episode😂

Ep 4- May archer Gyeon-woo thrive! THEIR CHEMISTRY IS SO SO CUTE! I honestly love this pair! Defo gonna watch their other school drama after this!

Ep 5- My eyes welled up when the baby ghost returned to its mother. At first, I thought Gyeon-woo was done with Seong-ah after finding out she’s a shaman, but the library scene gave me hope ONLY FOR IT TO BE CRUSHED WHEN HE DISCARDED THE LIP BALM SHE GAVE HIM!!

Ep 6- Is this a bl or what?! Why is Jiho having 10x more physical contact with Gyeon-woo than Seong-ah?!🤣🤣🤣

Ep 7- Call me crazy but this evil spirit that has entered Gyeon-woo’s body is kinda hot👀 I CANT TAKE HIS RUNNING SERIOUSLY😂😭 Also, he has fabulous chemistry with Seong-ah soooo… Can we keep him?👀

Ep 8- I know what the villainess did to keep her child in existence is spiritually wrong, but I deeply sympathise for her.

Ep 9- I cried when Gyeon-woo won a gold medal, and for the first time, his grandma wasn’t there to congratulate him. I also cried when Yeom-hwa found out her child’s ghost was stuck in a coffin on her back. One minute I’m crying, the next minute I’m laughing. This drama really is something.

Ep 10- Oh, poor Bong-su… I know he has to leave but my heart really hurts for him. However did he become an evil spirit? His heart in his original life seemed so pure.

Ep 11/12- I cried… The ending was expected yet fitting for the story. You will be remembered, Bong-su. Second lead was pitiful but I rooted for the main lead the whole way so I hope he finds happiness in something else.

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This show left me in a tight spot. If you look at the show summary, you can tell the storyline is lame. And it's actually lame, how the heck a student ends up with a shaman? However, they transformed the lame story piece by piece into a beautiful and fun parts. Each part of the story is enjoyable, and it has a generous amount of comedy. The comedy quality is really good and consistent here, thanks to Park Seong A, Pyo Ji Ho, The Flower Master Shaman, and all the casts playing them. Then when you try to think about all of it by connecting each piece of the show into one story you'll start to think it's lame again, especially on the last two episodes. Looks like they've lost it from there.

The casts delivered this story beautifully. Cho Yi Hyun was astonishingly excellent in this show, she played the highschooler and shaman very well and fun. Cha Kang Yoon also did a great job. Choo Young Woo was also good, although I prefer the Bong Su version of him rather than the original Gyeon U.

This show lacks of backstory telling. The backstory of each characters were rarely told, several even left behing. I can't understand why Seong A actual parents left her when she was their "moneymaker". They didn't told us what made Gyeon U family tied so hard to Yeom Hwa, and where's the closure between Gyeon U and his family? Pyo Ji Ho was often left behind, and even had no backstory. His parents didn't even attend his graduation, I wonder why. It looked like he had been put aside especially since Seong A left the school. Yeom Hwa accused General Dong Cheon of resenting her after separating her from her deceased baby, but what kind of "resentment" was never clear.

This show has good music. Overall it's very funny and fun to watch and rewatch, even though the storyline could make you scratch your head.

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Flawed, but a heartfelt story

Characters:

Characters were overall very good and well balanced. We had complex male and female leads with Seong-A and Gyeon-U. Yeomhwa as the villain was very interesting, but I felt like her character arc didn’t have enough time to unfold properly. I also didn’t fully understand her backstory because it was never explicitly explained what happened between her and her spiritual mother.
I really liked our second lead Ji-Ho, who was selfless all the time and basically a loyal puppy. I also really liked the chemistry between all the characters. Not just the leads, but also the mother-daughter bond was really nice. The classmates had great dynamics as well, especially Do Yeon and Seong-A, which surprised me in a good way. I would say the characters themselves are the strongest part of this drama.
But let’s move on to the parts where it could have been better.

Story:

The concept and idea behind the drama were nice, but what I didn’t like was that they didn’t really follow the main thread of the story. At first, everything was about saving Gyeon-U from his death, but they kind of resolved that halfway through. Keeping that conflict until the end would have made the drama much stronger and kept the tension alive. Instead, the focus shifted and things became messy.
There were a lot of plot holes, and characters like Ji-Ho suddenly didn’t act like themselves anymore. This was especially apparent when he went to Yeomhwa to find a solution for his friend. Why didn’t he just communicate with his friends instead, especially when he already thought Yeomhwa was sketchy? A lot of things suddenly stopped making sense, which was unfortunate.
I also felt like the main leads didn’t really develop as characters. They weren’t flawed enough to gain or learn something significant along the way. After the halfway point, some plot points also started repeating themselves, like Bong-Su first inhabiting Gyeon-U’s body and then later Seong-A’s.
It also didn’t feel like much was truly at stake. The first time Bong-Su appeared, I thought that would be the end for our group, but he ended up being a little child. The same thing happened when he later possessed Seong-A. I thought, “Okay, now our group is really in trouble,” but again nothing serious happened. Because of that, it always felt like there wouldn’t be real consequences, which made the tension weaker.
Other than that, I liked the ending. It was a happy ending, even though our spiritual mother died in the end, which made me really sad.

Production:

Production-wise, it was good. I liked some of the OSTs, and the cinematography was nice.

Final Words:

Overall, it’s a cute drama to watch if you enjoy bonding with the characters. Even though it has quite a few flaws, it still grew on me and ended up being a nice heartfelt watch.

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Cheap trashy SOAPY soap dangerous fantasy for teenagers

OK..... teenagers love "interesting" stuff but this kdrama is plain DANGEROUS, as it portrays some scary and dangerous things that are not to be meddled with. This is beyond Hogwarts and into the realm of soemthing super creepy and infectiously dangerous.

There are much more high quality fantasy stories for teenagers, like Twinkling Watermellon etc

Here we have the FL talking with puckered lips and affectionating yet chasing life or death situations
and the dude not acting much, yeah he is handsome but he is more handsome when he smiles and talks etc when he is more ALIVE
ML is acually more fun as the evil deity. And FL too...

The plot is the cheesiest possible soapy soap - so many twists and turns that are .... makjang to the max...and worse.... all kinds of curses and ghosts etc
and the soap of love loyalty betrayal etc

fascinatingly flasy trashy hodge podge that doesnt lead anywhere nor improves anything.

Actually ... this is exactly like Harry Potter stories. Lots of stuff happens and actually nothing important happens. IT IS TRASH CONTENT

Yeah if you are a teenager you might like it but this is not a quality teenage drama

And just one word of warning, this drama exposes you to some images and concepts that you should not be fooling around with. It is actually quite dangerous. Like ... ojiba board or something. DO NOT MEDDLE WHERE YOU SHOULD NOT

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An interesting look into Shamanism with excellent performance by the whole cast

Subjective Gut Rating: 8.75

I had a surprisingly fun time watching “Head over Heels”. I wasn’t expecting much despite the general positive reviews and I also didn’t pay much attention to the synopsis. All I knew it’s that the female lead is a shaman and the drama was set in high school.

It turns out “Head over Heels” kept my attention and interests almost throughout all 12 episodes in my 2-day binge session. It has a great combination of shamanism, high school friendship and romance, mixed with tragic childhoods that work well with the shamanism and exorcism themes in the drama.

The acting is great. I’ve seen the leads in previous dramas before, but never thought their acting was excellent (they weren’t bad). But I have to say, both Cho Yi Hyun and Choo Young Woo are excellent. They play roles that appear to be typical high school students. However, their characters are more than meets the eye, but layered and display different personalities based on who they are interacting with. Emotional scenes are heartbreaking, yet sweet scenes are heartwarming. They toy with my emotions quite a big in this drama. They are also pleasing visually, and have great chemistry together. Cha Kang Yoon is adorable as the second male lead, and though his character might not be as challenging, he is pretty good himself. The veterans do not disappoint, especially when you have everyone’s favorite ahjumma Kim Mi Kyung and the always funny Yoon Byung Hee. Choo Ja Hyun being the villain of the show really tested my patience and that’s of course in part because of the great acting.

Another aspect I really enjoy is the focus of shamanism. I’ve seen other K-dramas with shamans, but I don’t think I’ve seen one with such a strong theme and focus. I enjoy watching and learning the culture, rites, and costumes. The dance done by the female leads with the lanterns was beautiful. The rituals look like it’s a lot of work, physically and mentally. I have no way of knowing how accurate the portrayal of shamans is, but I enjoy every aspect of it shown in the drama.

The romance is sweet, even though I am not a fan of love at first sight. At least there’s a reason why FL needs and wants to approach ML. Mmm… not sure if I would categorize the romance as slow burn but if you want to see the leads together, you will need to be patient. I also don’t think there are enough cute and fluffy scenes, especially after a somewhat long wait. There is of course, a sweet and adorable 2ML. But the love triangle is healthy and supportive. In fact, the bromance between the male leads is fantastic. The trio really are best friends and they are very supportive of each other through thick and thin.

If I have to criticize, the writing in the last few episodes was not as strong and tight when the focus switches to the villain. Even though the leads are still very much part of this plot, I felt the villain’s story took up too much screen time and I didn’t feel like I got a proper background story. We had a few flashbacks but not enough to persuade me that her actions are justified. It was difficult for me to feel sympathetic to her situation. Her constant lies became repetitive and I wonder why any of the characters continue to believe her. At one point, I thought she was de-shamanize (can’t be a shaman anymore) yet she continues to perform evil rituals and cast evil spells. Did I miss something? The evil spirit was introduced as something truly horrific and then we got… Bong Su? Definitely not what I was expecting, and I also felt the writing of his story lacks fluidity and clarity.

Having said all that, I truly had a fun time watching “Head over Heels”. The engaging plot, excellent acting, great friendship far outweigh my problem with the writing in the last quarter of the drama. It also toys with my emotions 'beautifully' by making me laugh, grin, and cry. Objectively, this drama might not be worth my 8.75 rating, but from an entertainment perspective, it deserves it.


Completed: 8/7/2025 Review #611

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Made for a Teenage Audience

Already after the first episode, it becomes clear the series is obviously aimed primarily at a teenage audience.

Apparently, there was no real synopsis at all; it seems to me that it was being made up on the fly during filming—otherwise. Compared to a theme like shamanism, one could say that "The Book of Our Destiny" with Ro Woon etc... actually looks like great . At least there was a simple but quite charming plot and a likable main couple—Ro Woon and Cho Bo-a. Here, they cast young, still-rising actors (the guy, yes, has some interesting projects, but he looks thirty, while the girl looks eighteen; the combination is completely unconvincing).
This shamanic storytelling, aimed primarily at teenagers, offers nothing truly worthwhile. Two excellent actresses—Kim Mi-kyung and Chu Ja-hyun—seem to have participated only for the paycheck. On top of that, the school setting is already pretty tiresome. They clearly released this project right after "Hunted Palace" to capture the same “vibes” . From a popularity standpoint, it may have worked, but definitely not for me.

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