Can This Love Be Translated?

One big miscommunication after another . . .

I get it - see he's a translator but he has trouble communicating! Irony! But, I just can't with this type of miscommunication. No one says what they mean, mobile/cellphones go dead constantly no one can ever be reached at the key critical moment. When one character tries to say something explicitly, the other one responds in riddles, and vice versa.

Cha Mu-Hee and Joo Ho-Jin circle each other in a classic push-pull, anxious-avoidant style, only opening up once the other is pulling away. I found this massively unenjoyable.

The only reason to watch this is 1) the cinematography is gorgeous, befitting a travel plot, and they went to real locations! 2) there's a whimsical intrigue in the hallucinating element

Otherwise this plot is interchangeable with many over the years, just two people emotionally immature and stunted, fumbling and missing, trying . . . and failing to connect.

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An Enjoyable Journey Towards Love

“Can This Love Be Translated?” is the latest K-drama to hit the Netflix catalog, presenting us with a pleasantly surprising show. The story follows a very guarded and reserved interpreter who becomes intertwined with a rising actress who wears her heart on her sleeve. Their polar opposite personalities draw them to each other, but they soon learn that, just as the title suggests, love isn’t so easy to translate. This is one of the central themes of the show: learning to understand ourselves and making an effort to understand the people we love. Much can be said about this show, but I will keep it short: for me, this was an enjoyable watch with wonderful performances from the cast and beautiful cinematography that elevated it even more.

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no denial denial club

sumpah ini ga bisa berhenti nontonnya the chemistry is cooking really well, suka banget sama penggambaran karakternya yang kaya manusia umum aja ga lebay second leadnya ga ngebet pengen ke female leadnya jadi ga terlalu terasa terganggu gitu pas nontonnya, dan adanya karakter dorami disini bikin cerita makin menarik soalnya ini drama yang personally sangat kutunggu sekali karena go younjung dan kim seonho tapi aku mikir juga kalo romcom kaya biasa drakor apa ngga bosen ya ceritanya, sempat kepikiran kaya dulu tapi pas nonton ada dorami jadi cegil mampus oke ini menarik hahah. tapi jujur bodo amat sama ceritanya karena tujuan utamaku nonton ini adalah go younjung yang cakep banget damn

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NOT ONLY A ROMANCE !!

This drama had been on my watchlist for a very long time, mainly because I am a fan of all three leads. Kim Seon Ho is such a warm and gentle presence on screen; he often plays similar roles, yet he always manages to make them feel sincere and comforting. Go Youn Jung, my second favorite actress, shines once again in a role she knows so well — a beautiful, slightly clumsy female lead with a subtle badass edge. And Sota… whether in thrillers or romance, he is always charismatic, radiant, and deeply engaging.

A love triangle involving these three was honestly painful for me — but in the best way possible. Thankfully, the drama handled it with great kindness and maturity. This is actually one of its strongest points: the love triangle never felt exaggerated, frustrating, or unnecessarily dramatic. It was balanced, respectful, and emotionally grounded.

The story itself isn’t particularly original, but it truly shines through its execution. The performances are solid, with each character perfectly placed in the narrative. The filming locations and cinematography are stunning and diverse, giving the drama a very immersive and cinematic feel. Beyond romance, the drama also touches on post-traumatic stress. While this theme isn’t explored as deeply as it could have been and mainly serves as a metaphor and emotional bridge for the romance, it still adds an important layer to the story.

What really captivated me was the blend of cultures — the use of multiple languages and the diversity of the cast felt refreshing and meaningful. Above all, the chemistry between the leads was beautiful, whether it was with the main lead or the second lead. Even the secondary romance was incredibly sweet and heartwarming. I was also genuinely impressed that Sota learned Korean for this drama despite struggling with the accent — his effort truly showed.

The OSTs were beautiful and emotionally fitting, and I have to give special praise to the kiss scenes: intense, well-executed, and full of emotion.

Overall, this is a gentle, warm drama with a sincere heart. It’s not perfect and does have its flaws, but despite that, it left me with a very soft and lasting impression. A truly comforting watch.

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Starts out Quirky & evolves into convoluted confusion I did not find likeable

So despite all the negative things I will say about this drama, I did find it entertaining until 3/4 way through episode 6-where it stopped being novel & cute & interesting. here's why:
The female lead is not only needy, but can't restrain herself from constantly doing cringy, obsessive things. She won't accept rejection but then sabotages herself when she finally gets positive reactions to her efforts . The guys are supposedly attracted to her sunny disposition, but "sunny" does not really showing up all that often.
The male lead's default face is "bemused" & the rest of the time his expressions seem out of sync with what's going on.
By the middle of episode 6 I got annoyed & disgusted with the story line as the lead's feelings for each other get sabotaged by themselves .

Up to this point we have a guy who likes his calm well ordered life and keeps trying to keep the looney chaos bringer out by communicating clearly that he does not want her in his life.
The writers want us to see this as a "screwball comedy" as they give us a female lead who fluctuates between selfish demanding persistent to damsel in distress "cuckoo for cocoa puffs" debby downer.
So despite all the negative things I will say about this drama, I did find it entertaining until 3/4 way through episode 6-where it stopped being novel & cute & interesting. here's why:

The male lead's default face is "bemused" & the rest of the time his expressions seem out of sync with what's going on.
By the middle of episode 6 I got annoyed & disgusted with the story line as the lead's feelings for each other get sabotaged by themselves (?) It seems the explanation for why this happened & keeps happening is convoluted & confusing.
So into the middle of Episode 7, things even out, (which didn't make sense ) but then suddenly we are given yet another detour ,So frustrating ! Really a whole lot of drama zig zags around spastically
with build up to what could be meaningful moments that just get ice water dumped on them. My interest is strained it's just not satisfying .Whatever charm kept me watching has has worn off. I know there is a happy ending, but there is so much about the plot & a good many characters that I don't like, that I don't think it's worth it.


The plot jerking me around is super annoying.....
SO I do the thing I feel driven to; skim through the next episode trying to find an indication that this feeling of discontent won't last, & then I find myself skimming through the next two episodes because what little I've seen is even less appealing & disappointing.
so spoilers as to why I'm dropping this, & hacking my once rating of 6/10 to a 3/10
Female lead is schizophrenic- due to some trauma she had as a child-which might be interesting, but she's playing around with the male lead & second male lead's hearts & they are rightly confused. It's not all that amusing. Her kissing two men does not "sell" you on her sincerity for one man in the end.(I mean ,if her subconscious prefers another guy, or she simply likes being promiscuous, then how much do we trust what she thinks are true feelings ?).
That both male lead & 2nd male lead find her fascinating is inconceivable, it certainly didn't convince me & it's sad & pathetic watching them care about her.(anyone who ends up with her will be miserable & that's on them!)
Female lead's manager has some heart fluttering moments with his girlfriend, but she's yet another woman not worth the time, but at least HE knows how to deal with things (grab & kiss solves things every time !)
It doesn't seem fair that the second male lead gets strung along only to open his heart to being rejected. It also feels sad knowing that the male lead will end up choosing a girl that will be a pain in the butt for as long as they are together...are we supposed to be happy for them ? These are bad romances & not worth the time

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So I really wanted to watch this drama as all the teasers gave very cheesy and fluffy romance kinda vibes. But boy I was in for a ride. While yes the ML helped her overcome her trauma and become stronger. but I feel the show totally undermined psychology as a science specially in parts where the doctor said (or what Netflix translated to) that everything is good with your brain and current medical science cannot explain the hallucinations you are seeing.

And also the ending where her parents were apparently still alive was just cruel to the FL. They were better off dead.

In some parts of the drama I ended up crying as well,

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an overall very positive review

I finally finished this drama and it took me longer than I expected because it's the kind of drama you need to watch very carefully and attentively to enjoy every detail. This drama wasn't my most anticipated of the year but it ended up surprising me. I knew the chemistry between the leads would be good because I like them both, but I didn't expect everything else to be at the same level or to be able to keep up with them.
I must say, this drama is beautiful in every aspect, from the cinematography to the OST, and it's one of the few kdramas that hasn't disappointed me in terms of writing. Everything seems to fit together perfectly and nothing feels forced, especially when it comes to the languages.
I really didn't expect to enjoy this drama so much for some strange reason but I'm glad I was wrong. As I always say this is just my opinion, and I definitely think you should give it a chance and judge for yourself.

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In the words of Jisoo: NOT BAD BUT NOT GOOD

I neither hated the plot nor could enjoy it properly. I didn't watch it one go, I watched it slowly but I really felt there wasn't a need of 12 episodes, it could have been finished in 8-10. The concept was different and I wanted it to be little more enjoyable but was just average. Confused me a little but the acting and chemistry was good enough to hold on to it. I really really loved Go Youn-jung and Seon-ho's chemistry. Really was adorable. And Muhee was such a relatable character- clumsy, flustered easily and innocent. 😚 This was truly unexpected. I only watched the teaser and didn't watch the trailer, so on the basis of teaser I expected a fluffy kdrama but this was so much more. I think it is a good one time watch.

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Expertly, thoughtfully, beautifully crafted storytelling

Just finished this drama. I committed to not watching more than 2 eps in one sitting and I'm glad I didn't rush through what ended up being a visually gorgeous, spiritually profound story about how much effort and patience it actually takes to make love work. The result was such a well-earned happy ending, it's right up there with my most well-earned happy ending of all time, Hometown Cha Cha Cha. (Thanks, Kim Seon Ho, for both!)

The storytelling was superb. To me the most enduring and endearing part of this drama was how Ho Jin -- even though his defenses were way up -- recognized Mu Hee was in a state of emergency, and instead of running away, he leaned in. How many sleepless nights did he chaperone and protect her nutty alter ego? And in return? She taught him how to understand Mu Hee. He knew he was learning a new language that came from Mu Hee's personal trauma, and it was going to be daunting. This is definitely fairy tale territory and so well done.

That's why Mu Hee tries to explain to Hiro that even though he was the prince she'd always dreamed of, she knows that only one person is capable and brave enough to take on her trauma and meet her at her most vulnerable.

The other characters' stories didn't disappoint, either. Even some of the peripheral characters were endearing.

Acting was superb (and these roles were not easy), casting was perfection. In spite of feeling like the English subtitles were often way off (ironic for this drama, right?) this is a 10/10 for me.

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Welcome back to K-drama land sisters!

After getting lost in Chinese dramas for the last 2 years, "Can This Love be Translated" has managed to redirect my attention back to k-dramas again.
This is an appreciation review for my15 year obsession with Korean dramas and commend this drama for pulling us hallyu viewership back to finding something worth watching again.

I was not aware that Hong sisters had so many anti-fans. I am a follower since Master's Sun, they do quirky-funny very well , DoRaMi is their signature style for heroines - over expressive, a bit neurotic, a bit excited hinging on anxiety.,. of course FML (Go youn Jung)doesn't compare to Gong Hyo Jin however this is a good attempt by her specially as Dorami.
ML and 2nd ML (Kim so Hyun and fukushi sota) are both amazing, both softly endearing, both speaking so much with their eyes. I already like KSH, however Fukushi Sota left a lasting impression and has gained a new fan.

I loved the multilingual writing covering both Japanese and Italian. I read a few reviews about Japanese dialogues not being written in the right context and I think this is an important critique for future dramas. Like I want something that has the trifecta of Korean, Japanese and Chinese being used fluidly (writers are you listening??!!) .


Overall, beautiful landscapes, lovely chemistry bw FML, ml and ml2., some good music. Some bad editing in between but salvaged towards the end. This love was translated rather well!

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Hmmm... A lot of fast forward but good comeback for KSH

So, I just finished "Can This Love Be Translated?" and I have a lot of feelings! I watch a lot of K-dramas, and sometimes you can guess what will happen next. This one had some of those familiar moments, but it also did some really unique things that stuck with me.

The Good Stuff:
The Main Couple's Chemistry: The two leads, Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung, were amazing. Their romance didn't feel rushed. It was a slow build based on quiet understanding, which felt very real. Kim Seon-ho can say so much with just his eyes!

A Unique Story Twist: The coolest part for me was how the show handled the female lead's mental health. She has a dissociative disorder, and the show made her other personality, Do Ra Mi, into a real person that the male lead could talk to. It was a powerful way to show her struggle and made their relationship much more interesting.

It's a "Feel-Good" Watch: Despite the heavier themes, the drama has a warm heart. The side characters aren't annoying, and you really root for the main couple to find happiness.

The "Hmm..." Stuff:
A Few Predictable Moments: Yeah, there were some classic drama tropes. A big misunderstanding keeps them apart for a bit, and you just want to yell at the screen for them to talk it out!

The Ending Fell a Bit Flat: This was my main issue. The show did a great job building up the female lead's past trauma. But the way they solved it in the final episode felt too easy, like a quick fix. I wish they had gone with a more realistic ending about healing, which would have been braver.

The Parents' Storyline: Specifically, bringing her parents "back to life". For me, it didn't help and felt unnecessary. It took away from the powerful, real healing she could have had on her own and with the male lead's support.

Lastly, the breathtaking landscape - OF COURSE!

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