Can This Love Be Translated?

Battle between reason and feelings

I have never been this confused trying to understand what the characters are thinking, but that didn't stop me from enjoying their push-and-pull dynamic. The first half shows Cha Mu-hee chasing Ho-jin and getting rejected three times, while the second half is the opposite, with Mu-hee being the one pushing him away.

I really liked the male lead. If it wasn't for him, I don't think they would have ended up together. Though credit goes to both—if it wasn't for Mu-hee, he wouldn't have fallen in love. But most importantly, I would give all the credit to 'Do Ra-mi'.

I actually thought I would hate him. There were times I even tried to force myself to dislike Ho-jin whenever he rejected her—but I couldn't. He is just very respectful and sets clear boundaries, which is his right. It wouldn't be fair to hate him just for being honest.

Thankfully it's only 12 episodes. It's not too short and not too long—it's perfect.

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Potencial para ser kdrama del año?

me atrevo a decir que este es uno de los mejores dramas que nos deja el 2026, de principio a fin la historia es encantadora y atrapante. Desde que vi a Kim seonho y go younjung como protagonistas, supe que iba a ser un kdrama que valdría la pena ver, y felizmente confirmo que fue así. Me gusta cómo llevaron a cabo el proyecto, desde la simbología de carteles, "idiomas" y demás detalles hasta el abordaje de la salud mental. Como una amante de los idiomas y de viajar, conocer, experimentar, es un drama que ha dejado una gran impresión en mí, por lo que si estás en un bloqueo y ya no sabes qué mirar, lo recomiendo muchísimo.

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A classic by the Hong Sisters

This is a solid classic. I loved it and stayed up way too late to binge it last Friday night.

Listen to no one, not even me. Proceed with caution, and try this out for yourself. The summaries given out publically before the show aired may have been somewhat misleading.

The frame is that of a crew and actors shooting a romantic dating-reality show. The two stars of this show-within-the-show, the Korean actress, suddenly made famous by a role as an axe-wielding zombie, and the princely Japanese romance lead, have to summon romantic feelings as part of their jobs. The basic genre which develops inside of that frame is that of a psychological thriller, because it turns out that the actress has crazy difficulty with romance. The issue of sincerity -- how do you know if someone means what they say? -- is thus handled very cleverly at both levels.

The misunderstandings of the OTP turn out not to be linguistic, since both the interpreter and the lead actress speak Korean. The ML, played by the legendary Kim Seon Ho, struggles wryly, as will you, to understand the FL. The SML, Hiro, the Japanese co-star of the dating show, also struggles; he doesnt know Korean, she understands neither Japanese nor English, so he ends up learning Korean.

Go Yoon Jung really shines. The actress she plays, MuHui, constantly hallucinates an intensely funny, mischievous and irresponsible alter. She suffers from a classic case of dissociative personality disorder due to a very traumatic childhood. Do-Ra-Mi, the alter, takes over MuHui's personality in her off-hours and meddles with MuHui's love life..

Zombie love. Most of MuHui's energy and joy is captured in her alternate self. She slept in a coma through the growth of her fame. The ML, a classic taciturn lead, is still enraptured by a love he could never achieve. He has a richly difficult family life, swiftly introduced but not given as much visual time as his amazing house full of books tottering on every surface. The house itself is allusive, literary. It is inhabited by a wild-haired author, a family friend; also by the love rival from the frozen past, a bohemian brother. Many more secondary characters are clearly drawn and reflect issues brought up by the OTP. without their own entire arc made visible.

The script and dialogue of Can This Love Be Translated are classic Hong Sisters: heavy on metaphor, difficult to translate into English, thick and rich with all sorts of plot textures. THE HS ARE NEVER EVER PREDICTABLE. HS shows often involve some incredibly creative twists on currently popular genres which put them at the top of the class. Some love the HS, some hate them. Find out who you are.

My favorite visual trick amongst many lovely scenes, shots and sequences, is that the show starts out in the open light of day, in Italy, Japan and most notably in the wide open spaces of the Canadian West. At the end of the Canada episodes the crew chases the spectacle of the Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis, only to fall asleep exhausted and miss the show. The lovers, up late by chance, do see it. The show, then moving to Italy, dives into darkness psychologically and frequently visually, as the two begin to heal her illness. The show finishes in Korea at a dark sky reserve where the lovers stargaze under the brilliant night sky. Nice, huh?

But before we get there there is a lot of translation to be done by the viewer. Does Hiro fall for MuHui, will MuHui and the interpreter ever wake up and fall in love, why ever does MuHui appear at one point to try to seduce poor Hiro? Why are certain conversations between the ML and FL completely opaque; how do they suddenly turn into fights? (tbh, this is a RL experience for many of us, right?) At some points at the ends of one or two scenes the actors' dialogues are left unsubtitled -- horrifyingly, this may have been deliberate?

The romance is a bit old-school, for my taste. The structures of the 12ep plot may seem old-school too, since the HS wrote that book on 16 episode romcom that you are reading from. The halfway mark is hit at ep6 -- the lovers commit. Troubles and travails begin in episode 7 right on cue. Instant resolutions and sudden wrap-ups are held in the final episodes 11-12, as a vestigial representation of the old scramble of non pre-produced shows. I was actually happy that this took up two episodes instead of the often crazy old-style one episode wrap.

The Hong Sisters have written 14 shows, each distinct, in many genres, It is a mystery how they manage to hit the public sweet spot every time. If you want your favourite romantic recipe, this isnt for you. But this is the real warning: they mostly write smash hits, so you may miss out.

ps. I normally strive for short, somewhat condensed reviews. Apologies for this one. It confuses me that my own view of the show was so different than most others', so I tried to lay out why. Probably not very well, but whatever.

pps. here is another way to look at it. People always contrast the Hong sisters' top shows to those of Kim EunSook, the writer for Goblin and most recently, for Genie Make a Wish. For me the imperfections of even the best of the HS still have more heart and sincerity than the slicker and often more entertaining KES. Both brilliant. Both classic.

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refreshing drama

everything about this drama is beautiful, the actors, the acting, the cinematography, the song, the languages. i didn't expect it was physiological-romance, i thought it was a silly rom-com. i would say that there are many plot twists in this drama.
"Kindness is scary. There is nothing more terrifying than kindness that you believe will come to an end." many quotes in this drama that makes me learn something new and opened my mind.
i'm here for kim seonho and go younjung but i'm still stuck with this drama, their chemistry is top tier and also their characters are well written.

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amazing acting

Go Youn-jung absolutely delivered a phenomenal performance as both Cha Mu-hee and Do Ra-mi in this show. She made the two personas feel like completely distinct individuals—Cha Mu-hee with her grounded, vulnerable actress energy, and Do Ra-mi bursting with that bold, enigmatic charisma. The contrast was so seamless and convincing that it really elevated the entire storyline, especially with the emotional depth she brought to their shared history and the surprising reveal of the second persona.
The translator's velvety, smooth voice was such a treat to listen to, particularly when he switched between languages effortlessly—it added this layer of sophistication and intimacy to every scene. Bringing in Do Ra-mi as this unexpected second identity was a bold twist that caught me off guard, but the execution was handled so skillfully that it felt natural and impactful rather than forced.
And Hiro was portrayed by a really talented actor whose presence was magnetic. His chemistry and screen time made me wish he had even more leading roles in future projects—he has so much potential to carry entire series with his charm and acting range. Overall, this drama's cast choices were spot-on, and Go Youn-jung's dual role stands out as one of the highlights to me.

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goods na dili na very goods

started out by good that i literally binged episodes 1-7 in one go with full energy and was expecting that adrenaline to keep up until i finished the entire drama in one go, but when i got to ep. 8, i was already starting to press the skip button several times per scene. this drama was branded as a cute romcom throughout the whole time everyone was waiting for it to release that when the plot twist hit, it was unexpectedly unpleasant.

first, i understand how muhee’s past and current traumas have affected her and eventually formed into something that completely influenced her mental state. it was actually very interesting to see because i think this happens to a lot of actors; they get really immersed in their role or get really connected with the character that it manifests in real life. second, i personally really liked the plot of hojin being a renowned translator/enterpretator but cannot, for the life of him, decipher muhee’s mind and actions, hence why he needed a ‘translator’ of his own.

however, i completely feel like this could’ve all been done without the ‘horror’ aspect. despite how many times “do rami” was shown—and probably, forshadowed—her actually ‘fronting’ was a bit of a whiplash to me. i think they got overly ambitious with trying to cover many genres at once to make it more interesting and, because of that, couldn’t focus too much on the psychological part of the plot. (speaking of, we never really heard of hojin’s brother ever again LMFAO) i honestly would’ve given this a 10 if it just focused on being a silly romcom.

still, i really liked the overall vibe and especially the cinematography! also really enjoyed the soundtracks they used—i think it really so well with the scenes that i sometimes replay it just to listen to the first beat dropping at a great scene. i’ll definitely rewatch this as a fan of all 3 leads (2015 me would NOT believe it if someone told me THEE sota fukushi would be in a kdrama!!!!!), but i think i’ll still skip on the horror scenes.

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Love Is a Language That’s Hard to Translate—and This Drama Captured That Perfectly

I went into Can This Love Be Translated thinking I’d just casually watch it, but I ended up completely emotionally attached. This drama made me feel things so deeply, especially with how it showed that love is its own language—one that isn’t always easy to understand or express, even when the feelings are real.

Every episode felt gentle yet powerful. The story didn’t need loud drama to keep me hooked because the emotions, the silence, and the small moments were more than enough. I found myself hanging onto every look, every pause, every almost-said feeling.

THE ACTING was easily 10/10. Every emotion felt so real that I sometimes forgot I was watching a drama. The chemistry between the leads was soft, natural, and incredibly touching.

The cinematography was also stunning. Every episode felt like watching a film—the scenery, lighting, and framing made even the quietest scenes feel intimate and memorable. The music was the perfect final touch, making certain moments stay with me long after the episode ended.

This drama has huge rewatch value for me. It’s comforting, emotional, and the kind of story you go back to when you want to feel understood. Can This Love Be Translated reminded me that love doesn’t always need perfect words—sometimes, it just needs to be felt

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Delightful start of 2026

It's a very fresh, not very very cliché but with some triangle there. A bit of it gets lost in translation because multi language show but the cinematography & direction is so innovative for that very complex character of FL dealing with split personality disorder and traumas.


It's still a light watch, great chemistry like every time you see them together you want them to be together but they keep parting ways. I wasn't expecting much maybe but I loved the whole show & it's presentation.

Reminds me of Hyun Bin's Not very popular but absolutely brilliant Hyde, Jekyll Me character. It's good if not the greatest work of Hong sisters. Definitely a mature theme.

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