Can This Love Be Translated?

Perfect Drama to Re-subscribe Netflix in 2026

As a male fans of Kim Seon Ho since Start-up, I watched this drama expecting only comedy part of it. But I can't deny the whole casts and chemistry have hooked me everyday for the past 2 weeks since release to watch it over and over again. It's truly heart-warming and inspiring romance story. I tend to be logical and my gf is very emotional. This drama helps me to understand my gf's language more. Recommended drama to watch for boy or husband to understand the language of their woman. I really like the Love Language OST, too. It's giving me back my band concert memory in high school. Hahaha

Read More

I enjoyed the cinematography and switches between Korean and Japanese ever since “what comes after love” I hoped for more Korean and Japanese kdramas. I like how the jobs are different in this K drama like she’s an actress and he’s an interpreter. We never really see like different types of jobs in K drama. We always get the same CEO and employee type of relationship here we get to see more in depth of being an interpretor. Muhee waking up famous makes up for the six month coma that director caused.

You can tell Muhee and Mr joo we’re both attracted to one another after the first meet. It’s just that I feel like Mr joo avoids his feelings he clearly like munhee but yet acts as if it’s because he’s just there to interpret. As the show goes on there isn’t much romance between the two main leads. Because Mr joo is so avoidant he lost his chance to confess to his crush before. He’s such a coward Ngl. Muhee is also avoidant as well but in a different way. As soon as Mr joo and her are on good terms she self sabotages and causes even more misunderstandings.

The second lead

Hiro is such an asshole especially in episode 4 . Like I get it u helped her from falling when she fainted and u expect a thank you . Sometimes when someone almost faints it’s not like have a memory cuz what they see is fuzzy kinda. He could now after having a translator bring it up instead of still acting all entitled. He so arrogant. I still root for Mr joo he helped her find hiro. Cuz hiro being a petty person was gonna keep letting go of balloon while moving in a bicycle making her run everywhere. Just because she doesn’t remember him catching her cuz she fainted like? So childish and inconsiderate. I feel like hiros contacts being lost was a lie after he said “this is the worse” to muheee leaf heart. He so mean for what?

Mr joo should tell muhee what hiro actually said but then again she’d probably freak out and ruin the filming. The filming is already ruined because of hiro so he could just tell muhee.

The translation

If muhee is having a hard time understanding hiro, why doesn’t she just use the translator that she’s been using since episode one. Like did the plot just drop that?

The split personality

The split personality doesn’t quite fit in with this show Ngl. It’s very minor and should fit in romance with Mr joo instead.

Jisun and Mr joo

Why doesn’t mr joo clarify he’s not into jisun anymore yet he still acts like he is when muhee is around. After the back n forth with Mr joo’s brother I ended up skipping her scenes. She was quick to get with yongu as well. Didn’t care for their relationship at all. It’s crazy how three guys wanted her when she’s like literally basic. She barely had any personality.

Mr joo and his mom

Mr joo reconnecting with his is just filler episodes honestly if I were him i wouldn’t reconnect with her she went no contact with him for 13 years and is now getting married it took someone who didn’t know that she was Mr joo mom for them to talk. could’ve just not shown the mom instead build more plot around hiro and the other characters.


Second lead vs First lead

The difference between hiro and Mr joo is that hiro isn’t a coward in love. He’s willing to tell the girl he likes in front of reality tv. On their other hand mr joo is avoidant to his feelings and doesn’t confess.

Even if hiro and muhee speak the same language he still won’t win her over. If was live at first sight in a way between muhee and Mr joo.

Read More

I love them so much!

Oh the drama! The pain! Yearning! It was a while since I rooted for a couple so much!
I did not read the synopsis or anything beforehand, so I was pleasantly surprised by all of this and binged all 12 episodes. I love tragic pasts and complex characters, so I quickly became addicted and couldn't wait to see it all play out.
I loved how ML tried to fully understand FL, got to know her inside and out and accepted her wholeheartedly - maybe because I would want that for myself. It's that unconditional love fantasy that always has me mesmerized.
The second male lead wasn't for me. I didn't feel bad for him at the end at all, maybe because of how he treated the FL at the start, mocking her without any real reason. He wasn't too annoying after that though.
I'm weak when it comes to characters with trauma and them finding someone, who soothes their pain. More of these, please!
And finally, we got more than just one, barely there kiss! I loved how they gazed at each other lovingly at the end and the scene in the dark - them kissing and "dancing" and how we could her their breathing, because they got together AT LAST.
It was like a reward.

Read More

It takes time to learn how to translate love

I binged this drama over two days because I saw the hype and I refused to get spoiled, and I'm glad I did so. Interestingly, I would say this show can't really be spoiled, after all. There's a story being told, and though I do think it works best if you go in without expectations, it doesn't really matter because there are no stakes. There are things that this drama did really well, but others that it dropped the ball on. Overall, I would say it was underwhelming but enjoyable.

THE GOOD

- Let's start by naming the stand-out of this whole show--the acting. Every actor on screen delivered, and none more than our leads, especially our Cha Mun Hee. I've marked this review for spoilers but I'll be vague regardless. If you've seen the show, you know why whoever played this character would need to have range--and boy did Go Youn-Jung deliver! She really brought the FL to life (over and over again....like a zombie...haha). I was blown away by her performance, and really appreciated seeing the quality reflected back by everyone whom she shared a screen with.

- Next--the characters. Every single character was fleshed out and characterised thoughtfully, even for throwaway moments in the background. It truly added so much to the world that we were being invited into. I would've happily gone down any number of side roads to learn more about the side characters, which I can safely say is a first.

- Speaking of the characters and how they were directed on the screen--the cinematography and direction of this show was phenomenal. It was beautiful and scoping, and artistic in a way I really appreciated. Small touches, like FL's flashbacks and the dollhouse, changes in lighting, parallels and symbolism in the visuals--they really added a lot of depth to the narrative. One of my favourite examples is when FL is crying and Do Ra Mi is dancing in a thunderstorm. The contrast!

- The story and genre were refreshingly original. I've already talked about the characters, so I'm going to skip them here, but the story itself and the way several plot points unfolded were so deeply satisfying. The drama starts with classic set-ups--a first love ML can't forget, unrequited FL pining, childhood trauma, secrets--and ends after resolving each one without falling into the pitfalls of kdramaland--love triangles, ignored yearning, amnesia, emotional reunions. It was such a pleasant surprise to constantly underestimate how characters would react and the story would unfold. Every attempt at manipulation failed because the main leads kept no secrets from each other, for example. Or the delightful one-sided love line with Hiro, who is in reality a complete opposite to his Prince Charming persona. Oh, and my favourite call-out: "I heard all that. What is wrong with you?"

- This is a continuation of the last point, with a focus on genre. I wouldn't call this show a rom-com. I know that's what it's tagged as, and it has both romance and comedy aplenty. But there's more to it than that. It's not slice-of-life. It's not thriller. It's not a melo. But somehow, it's all of those at once regardless. There is something very comforting about this show. It plods on at a steady pace, making progress without you realising it and suddenly you're on episode 6 and you wonder, what could possibly take 12 episodes??? And yet you keep watching, and it keeps you hanging on. Romance is definitely the main story, but it's not the only story, and I think that made it stand out even more.

- I really need to shout-out the character of 'Do Ra Mi' on its own. First, the zombie dancing killer from the movie FL shoots--oof! I wish that were a real movie! The scenes we got were fantastic and FL killed it! And then the Do Ra Mi that emerges later....she was such a contrast to Cha Mul Hee and it was so much fun watching her on screen. Definitely a highlight of this show.

THE IFFY
Most of my gripes with this show stem from the writing: it wasn't super neat, and although the characters and their relationships were refreshing, certain plot points and situations weren't developed cleanly enough. It's one of the biggest reasons this drama isn't rated higher.

- The pacing was a little choppy at times, especially with the time skips and flashbacks. They were positioned oddly sometimes, making the timeline a little difficult to follow. And certain situations could have been resolved easily with a translation app (aka, all of the scenes with Hiro and FL), but because it wasn't convenient for the plot, the characters never used it. That was a little frustrating in terms of the writing.

- Similarly, some of the dialogues were clearly set up to have an impact, but I couldn't tell what the build up was so the scene fell flat. I don't know if this was a translation issue or a writing issue, to be honest. The translations on Netflix currently suck, which is horribly ironic.

- The biggest issue for me was the back-and-forth that happened between the ML and FL. I couldn't follow their reasons for staying away from each other. It felt a little contrived, especially when Do Ra Mi was introduced. That also contributed to the confusion because she would speak FOR the FL at times to progress the plot, and we wouldn't really see how FL felt about it all. For example, at one point she says FL is too embarrassed to speak to ML...okay...but what exactly happened? There was so much stuff happening between event X and Y that it was difficult to follow. It also felt like ML and FL had several emotional 'breakups' only to get back together. That normally would have rage-baited me, but it was tolerable here because there was still progress, you know? But it definitely made the overall writing weaker. I think the writers could have developed it better (as we do see Do Ra Mi make excuses for that behaviour at times).

- One thing I would have loved would have been increased anchoring of the story with quotes and references, like in 'Because This is My First Life'. The set-up was there, with ML being widely read and living in a house full of books, as well as his professor friend. Not to mention the many languages featured on screen! It would've added some great emotional depth to the story, as well as backbone for the ML and FL's arc.

- One last point: Do Ra Mi drugged ML. No one speaks of it again, even after they learn the actual circumstances of how FL's parents 'died' and how her aunt and uncle were afraid she was just like her mum. That should've been resolved because drugging...that's crazy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I really enjoyed this show for what it was. If you're in the mood for a binge-worthy romance that is satisfyingly sweet, that has great side characters, and beautiful cinematography and costuming, definitely give this one a go. Give it a miss if you're looking for a story that has realistic depictions of mental health and emotional arcs of love and reconciliation. While I liked that they were a part of the story, neither of those things were anything more than a plot device. The introduction of the dissociative identity was interesting and made sense for the story, but it would have been less gimmicky had it been rooted in FL's trauma in a more realistic way. REGARDLESS.

CUTE ROMANCE, EXCELLENT ACTING, BEAUTIFUL SHOTS.

(I will admit, some part of me watched this show because I was searching for Park Chung-Seob from When Life Gives you Tangerines...)

Read More

Great cast but inconsistent character

Overall, I enjoyed Can This Love Be Translated?. Visually, the drama was stunning, with beautiful cinematography that elevated even quieter moments, and the music fit the tone of the story well. The cast also delivered strong performances across the board — there were no weak links acting-wise, and that definitely helped keep me engaged.

That said, while the premise was interesting, I had a few issues with how the story was written, particularly when it came to the male lead.

My biggest problem was how inconsistent and jarring his character felt. Throughout much of the drama, he is harsh, emotionally distant, and highly critical of the female lead. He repeatedly pushes her away, judges her reactions, and refuses to work through her insecurities with her — even though those insecurities make complete sense given that he was in love with another woman for years. Rather than offering reassurance or communication, he coldly criticizes her and repeatedly says he wants nothing to do with her.

What made this especially confusing was how abruptly his attitude changed once he learned about her serious mental illness — something that would understandably overwhelm or frighten many people. Instead of struggling with this revelation, he accepts it almost instantly and suddenly becomes someone who knows her deepest secrets and helps her cope. The shift felt unearned. Even then, he often still seemed reluctant rather than emotionally invested.

Because of this, I was never fully convinced of his love for her. This wasn’t an issue with the actor’s performance, but with how the character was written. The emotional progression simply didn’t feel natural, and it made the romance less believable than it should have been.

I also didn’t care for the final plot twist. It added nothing meaningful to the story and felt unnecessary — almost like a last-minute attempt to end the drama on a dramatic note rather than a satisfying one.

Despite these issues, the drama was still enjoyable overall thanks to its strong visuals, music, and performances. While it didn’t fully deliver emotionally for me, it had enough strengths to make it worth watching — even if some of the writing choices ultimately held it back.

Read More

The Death of Romantic Comedy's

This is a perfect example of how Romantic Comedy's are dying. Im not going into this show, who started from a good premise to a Romantic Comedy and was butched of his purpose with plot twist's and cliff-hanger. In the same way a dessert shouldnt be good for you health, but full of sugar and bad for your health and good for your soul, a romantic comedy should be heart warming, should make you believe and conforting, not this that make the viewer full of anxiety with more sad and "painfull" moments than good and happy moments. If you want to make a drama, a suspense, a thriller full of those plot twist's, that's fine, i like those too. But when i choose a show described as a romantic comedy iam for sure dont want this.
Anyway, looks like more and more we see this happening. Looks like Romantic Comedy's are dying.

Read More

A Very Mixed Bag

Kim Seonho's performance in particular was subpar, often one-note and flat, though he had a few nice moments with the FL. The acting of the leads makes up a huge part of my enjoyment of romance dramas so I was never as invested as I would have liked.

The writing likewise managed to create some nice moments but mostly it didn't really capitalize on the "interpreter in the middle of dates" reality tv setting. The scenery was very picturesque and clearly a lot of money was thrown in the production but what for?

I was initially skeptical about the inclusion of Do Rami but it turned out alright, even if the writing flip-flopped in quality when it came to that plotline too.

Watchable but also forgettable.

Read More

A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME ! GIVE MY TIME BACK

I’m writing this review while feeling extremely disappointed, so yes, this is going to be blunt.

I stopped at episode 8, and I don’t regret it at all. For a 12-episode drama, this felt painfully long, repetitive, and pointless. Nothing moves forward, the story goes in circles, and by that point I truly felt like I had wasted my time.

I started Can This Love Be Translated? because of the cast. I really like both lead actors, especially the actress after Alchemy of Souls. The trailer and the concept looked promising. I was expecting a soft, slowly evolving romance. Instead, I got frustration.

The main couple is the biggest issue. Their relationship is just constant back and forth, with no emotional logic and no real progression. There is zero chemistry between them. No connection, no tension, no spark. Even by episode 8, nothing has evolved, and their dynamic feels stuck and exhausting.

The male lead is emotionally distant, cold, and driven by pride. The female lead, on the other hand, comes off as obsessed. She constantly runs after him, has no boundaries, and her behavior quickly becomes uncomfortable to watch. It doesn’t feel romantic at all, it feels UNHEALTHY, creepy, and borderline like stalking. This kind of dynamic should not be normalized!!!

What makes it worse is that her character is clearly not mentally stable, yet the story frames her obsession as love instead of something deeply problematic. She doesn’t need a relationship, she needs professional help. Watching her chase a man while clearly struggling feels wrong, and anyone who sees this as “romantic” is honestly missing how disturbing it actually is.

Both characters are problematic in their own way. He enables the situation instead of setting boundaries or encouraging something healthier, and she spirals deeper into obsession. As a couple, they make absolutely no sense together.

To be clear: both actors do a good job. This is not an acting issue at all. They play their roles well. The problem is the writing : the characters are badly written, incoherent, and emotionally disconnected.

The only positive thing is the production quality. Visually, the drama looks good, the actors are beautiful, and the filming is solid. But that’s it. The form is polished, the content is empty.

I’m dropping this drama. I don’t recommend it, I won’t finish it, and I won’t suggest it to anyone. Huge disappointment. And honestly? Netflix really needs to stop producing K-dramas like this. This one was just bad.

Read More

A real-life translation.

What do I mean by that? You can't interpret everything perfectly. Some things might get lost in translation, literally. You have to pay attention to understand everything!

"Can This Love Be Translated?" is a perfect title for the show, because love or any personal connections can't be translated perfectly. Just like Yeong Hwan said, everyone uses their own language, and you have to listen carefully to understand them.

This drama is not your typical romcom with cute romance, perfect characters, a prince, and his princess. It's not a hardcore real-life story about real people either, but it tells an important story about personal struggles, mental health issues, and other relevant topics. There are many shows with similar subjects, but I can't name another one that showcased childhood trauma like this. I wouldn't say they did an amazing job with it, because the Hong sisters didn't delve into Mu Hui's past that much. To be honest, that's my biggest issue with the drama. I think with 2 more episodes, they could've done more with this.

So, we should ask one simple question. Do we need to see Mu Hui getting real medical treatment for her problems? Do we need to delve deeper into her past? Not really, because technically, the only thing she needs is someone who loves her and supports her. She never had that until Mr. Papago (Ho Jin) showed up. So I think the writers did a good job overall.

I know many romcom fans won't like the darker tone of the second half of the season, and it's a slow-burn romance, not cutesy, and it's more mature than other shows. If you can accept this, I think you're gonna love it, because it's well-written. The acting, the cinematography, and the OST are amazing as well. There are multiple characters you can like, even tho all of them can be irritating sometimes, just like real people. I have to give props to the writers because the character developments for pretty much everyone were handled well.

Some might say it's not a fast-paced series, but I think the pacing was perfect. It was kind of like the main story. Traveling around the world. You just want to see everything, walk peacefully, and do anything you want.

I was afraid of the potential love triangles because that's a usual cliche in romcoms, and most of the time it's annoying, but they handled this well too. I was surprised by the behavior of the characters, because they didn't ignore the problems.

Seeing Kim Seon Ho and Go Youn Jung's duo on screen with all the bickering, having fun, and doing crazy things was a joy to watch. They really are one of the best actors of their generation. Acting is not just about saying words, and these two are the prime examples of that. Their face-acting is out of this world.

The most important characters were complex enough. As I said above, it's well-written, and I feel like, if you watch this more than once, you can find more details because a lot of times they didn't spell out everything for the viewers.

Overall, this is a good drama, a lot of fun, two amazing lead actors with great chemistry, meaningful story, not really a typical romcom, so it can stand out a bit more than the rest, but not perfect, and I don’t think it has to be. It provides everything a show like this needs to, and thankfully, they didn’t mess up the finale either.

It does what it should without throwing too much unnecessary stuff in it.

Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Read More

Well its not like a usual rom com..it has a special knack for itself to make it unique

So after watching all the trailers and clips released obv i fiigured it will be a smooth ride of rom com
But i kinda liked tht they not only fully focused on the romance thingy..
The mental and psychological part was fine though they didnt show wht happend with her mother
But still its good to know she left it all and started a fresh beginning
I just want to say every drama is not fully perfect they have their own flaw ..and i kinda liked the flaw in this..many plot twist was one of the flaw i think like every was pushed in the final ep not a clear ending on the past..but for the future they gave a clear meaning too..
So watch it like its good i promise the visuals and all are breathtaking the osts are good too

Hope u find this helpful and sorry for my bad English 💙
Xoxo..!

Read More

GYJ's Performance, Wendy's DAYDREAM, and CINEMATOGRAPHY Make This Worth the Watch

Look, I had plans for this drama. I was hyped, ready to binge, already planning my breakdown for the finale. The first 2-3 episodes came out swinging premium cinematography, the kind that makes you pause and screenshot. Episodes 4 and 5 kept that energy going. It gave me serious LOVESTUCK IN THE CITY vibes with how beautiful and exciting everything felt. I couldn't control my happiness, I was on cloud9. But then... the dragging started. Scenes that should've taken half an episode got stretched across two. The momentum just died. I found myself checking how much time was left in episodes.

Go Youn-jung's Performance
I need to mention GYJ because her acting was above excellent. She carried scenes that could've fallen flat and brought real depth to moments that the script didn't always earn. Even when the pacing frustrated me, she kept me somewhat invested.

The OST Situation
Honestly? I only really vibed with one song, Wendy's DAYDREAM. But it's that good. Good enough that I'm giving the OST a 10/10 just for that track alone. It hits every time it plays and honestly does more emotional heavy lifting than some entire episodes.

Bottom Line
Strong start, weak finish. Beautiful to look at, Go Youn-jung delivers, and DAYDREAM is on repeat. But the quality follows an xy=1 curve, as the episode numbers went up, my interest went inversely down. The second half drags badly enough that it's hard to recommend without major caveats. Watch the first five episodes and decide if you've got the patience for what comes after.

Read More