Can This Love Be Translated?

Beautiful Cinematography and a well written plot

This drama started on a very good note, just as I expected. The trailer was good, and I was really enjoying the first few episodes. I thought it was a fun romcom with beautiful visuals until Mu-hee’s split personality was introduced. I was confused because I didn’t remember seeing this in the trailer lol, but I soon found myself pulled in by that sudden plot twist.

However, I also ended up feeling disappointed by a few things. Mu-hee was always clear about her feelings from the very beginning,literally from the first episode. Ho-jin could have told Mu-hee at any time that he had moved on from his first love and actually liked her, but instead he complicated things. Then Do Ra-mi started showing up more often and made their relationship even more complicated. This part of the drama honestly felt like the plot was being dragged a bit too much.

Another thing is that I usually don’t care much for second male leads because I almost always ship the FL with the ML, so I tend to ignore them. But God, when I tell you I felt so sad for Hiro. I felt like he got dragged into all their complications and ended up getting rejected. From the confession scene, I could tell he really fell hard for Mu-hee. That doesn’t mean I like Ho-jin any less though. Even if his character was frustrating at times, he was still the ONLY one who consistently supported Mu-hee emotionally throughout the drama.

So to sum it all up, I wouldn’t say this drama was overhyped because it delivered exactly what the trailer and previews showcased. KSH and GYJ had INSANE chemistry!! The way they looked at each other whenever they wanted to be together was beautiful they genuinely had the look of love in this drama. Even the second couple was pretty cute too. After the slow burn of the main couple, the fast-paced relationship of the second couple was really fun to watch. The cinematography was insanely beautiful, and I’d give it a solid 8. I really enjoyed watching it in one go!!

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Not worth the time

Don’t watch it. It is absolutely not worth it. Even by the end, I could not figure out what genre they were aiming for—was it horror, psychological, or romance? The entire story revolves around Mu Hee’s belief that she can never be loved and her tragic past. I despised her uncle and aunt throughout the series, only for the ending to reveal that everything was merely a delusion. That delusion turning out to be her mother made things even more confusing, especially when they showed her supposedly romancing Ho Jin at the same time. Nothing made sense.

The sheer number of misunderstandings in this series is unbearable. I have lost count, and they did not even spare the second lead. On top of that, the second couple’s romance came completely out of nowhere. It felt like the writers suddenly decided to include second leads and forced a romance without any proper development or thought.

I watched this drama after a long break, and now I feel like taking another long leave from dramas altogether because this one emotionally exhausted me. They wasted four to five entire episodes just showing the characters sorting out their feelings, finally deciding to express them—only for yet another misunderstanding to appear like a plague. I had been rooting for them to get together for what felt like centuries.

Overall, this drama left me extremely frustrated and mentally drained. I could not make sense of half of what was happening. I definitely do not recommend it unless you want to frustrate yourself to the point of exhaustion.

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Its not that good

Writing this review for the first time. Ive been hearing mixed reviews about this drama. I personally did not enjoy it very well at all. I love mostly all kdramas but this one went wrong. The story is really messed up and so is the plot. The main characters don't really get to be romantic until the very end and it's gets very boring when the main lead goes back and forth with her multiple personality disorder 😐 😕 🤔 it just went wrong somewhere.... I'm just dragging myself to finish this one.... don't waste you time... don't get me wrong the actors did a great job and the cinematography of the locations is nice and all but the story is horrendous... only one time watch ⏳️ ⌚️

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It wasn't bad but it wasn't as good as I thought it would be

I think the casting was great, each actor played their role very well so it was easy to get into the story.

The first half of the show was great but unfortunately it went downhill after that. So many side stories felt unnecessary and didn’t add anything to the main plot. The love story between the second female lead and Mu-hee’s manager could’ve been completely scrapped. The same goes for everything surrounding Hiro, none of it served the story and only dragged the pacing down.

At first, Mu-hee’s love for Ho-jin was cute and relatable, but after a while, it became soooo frustrating. The writers turned her into a desperate girl who seemed to have no self-respect, endlessly chasing someone who rejected her multiple times. It was disappointing because she’s clearly capable of being so much more than that. And honestly, the fact that they only get together in the last two episodes, just to immediately start talking about breaking up, was ridiculous. At that point, I almost wished they hadn’t gotten together at all. The love story just wasn’t convincing from either side. Ho-jin’s reasons for rejecting her felt shallow, and overall, the writers completely wasted the potential of their relationship.

But my main issue was with Do Ra Mi.

The way her storyline was handled was such a missed opportunity. They could’ve explored a much deeper narrative about mental health and the emotional toll acting takes, especially for someone’s first major role that ended with a traumatic accident. There was so much potential for an honest look at how difficult it can be for actors to detach from their characters.

Also, I guess her seeming to have no physical issues after such a huge fall and being in a coma for six months was a bit unrealistic, but okay. And the fact that she barely saw a therapist until the very end? Like come on. But anyway, I guess that maybe wouldn’t have helped the plot that much (especially seeing how the plot was lol).

Instead, we got a messy and unresolved subplot about her family which ultimately went nowhere. The whole “she looks like her mom” revelation had no meaningful payoff. If her parents being alive was meant to be a big twist, why leave it hanging like that? That kind of storyline needed to be introduced earlier and explored properly, not dropped at the end with no resolution. If the goal was to show Do Ra Mi as a product of childhood trauma, the writing simply didn’t go deep enough.

And while we’re on that, they could’ve made Do Ra Mi genuinely dangerous. When one of the producers said, “Do Ra Mi doesn’t kill anyone, the only person she kills is the man she loves,” I expected the show to actually do something with that idea. The split personality concept was introduced well, but it should’ve gone muuuuuch further. Imagine if Do Ra Mi started seeing Ho-jin as both the source of Mu-hee’s pain and her greatest weakness, trying to hurt him for real, maybe in an attempt to “protect” Mu-hee from heartbreak. That could’ve added real suspense and emotional depth, blurring the line between love, obsession, and self-destruction.

Ho-jin saving Mu-hee with his words and his love could’ve been such a beautiful and powerful thing for the show. Seeing him reach her through his feelings, helping her find herself again, would’ve given so much more emotional weight to their relationship and tied everything together perfectly. But instead, everything stayed very surface level and unresolved.

Finally, the language theme had so much untapped potential. I think the show was trying to say that everyone has their own “language” and sometimes we struggle to understand each other even when we speak the same one. That’s a beautiful idea, but they could’ve done so much more with it, instead of the endless misunderstandings. Since the story takes place in both Italy and Canada, they had the perfect opportunity to explore English and Italian idioms, cultural nuances, and emotional expressions. They could’ve shown how certain feelings are expressed differently depending on the language, how love, heartbreak, or longing can sound or feel different in another tongue.

The opera sequence was a lovely touch, but imagine if they had woven more of that linguistic richness throughout the show. Since they’re filming a romantic variety show, they could’ve played with the idea of “romance in translation,” how words of love mean one thing in English and something entirely deeper in Italian. It could’ve been poetic, symbolic, and so so beautiful. Sadly, they only scratched the surface of what could’ve been a defining part of the show’s identity.

Honestly, this show should not have been a rom-com at all. It would’ve worked so much better as a melodrama with hints of comedy, something that leaned into the darker emotional themes and psychological depth instead of trying to keep things light and cute all the time. The tone they went for just didn’t fit the story they were trying to tell.

There were glimpses of brilliance in the acting, the setup, and some of the ideas, but it all felt underdeveloped and rushed by the end. It’s such a shame because this could’ve been something truly special.

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Great but Not Satisfy My Expectation

Overall this is a "great" drama. However, I don't know, but somehow i think the middle episodes didn’t really make sense to me. When the FL runs into the ML to stop his meeting with the SFL and confesses her feelings, somehow the ML doesn’t understand, gets mad, and pushes her away. It felt odd—rather than reassuring her and saying everything was okay and that they could face things together.

Furthermore, to be honest, I felt less excitement toward the end of the series. The chemistry gradually dropped, and the love story became quite plain. Of course, this is just my personal preference, and it might also be because I’ve watched many different types of K-drama romances.

A solid 7 ⭐ for story, but because my beloved Go Youn Jung is there, i added 1 more star. So, 9 ⭐ from me.

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Beautiful until the last word

This drama completely won me over. I binged it in a day and a half and loved every moment. It made me laugh a lot and also hit emotionally in the right places. Visually, it’s stunning: the scenography, colors, and overall atmosphere were breathtaking and perfectly chosen.

Go Youn-jung was incredible, and Dorami deserves special mention. She’s a beautifully written character: wild, unfiltered, and fearless, bringing chaos and honesty exactly where the story needed it. Kim Seonho delivered a subtle yet powerful performance, especially through his eyes, and I have to give him huge credit for the effort he put into learning so many languages, especially Italian. As an Italian, I was genuinely proud. Their chemistry was completely on point, natural and electric, carrying the drama effortlessly.

The story was sweet and well-developed for most of its run, but the final twist disappointed me. The sudden reveal about her parents and her leaving felt rushed and unnecessary, hurting the emotional payoff. Still, despite the messy ending, this drama gave me so much and I genuinely loved it.

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I enjoyed it enough but could be better.

This is an updated review after rewatching the drama. I still think it could have been a lot better than it was but compared to the earlier review, I feel the scores here are more accurate. I felt that I'd given it a higher score than deserved but that was largely due to me watching it at a bad time. I think I can recommend the show to other now just don't expect a typical romcom.

First, The Good:

The actors were good, especially the FL. I think they all played off each other really well, both the leads as well as the supporting cast.

The story sticks to the concept of "can this love be translated" right to the end and does a decent job of answering that question. I found the pacing to be good enough as well, especially in the first half.

The OST was beautiful. Typically, I find English heavy OST to be terrible, but this one was good. The score was beautiful as well, nothing felt out of place at all.

The story had a lot of unique beats, so it stays engaging enough to get you interested in the fate of the characters here.

Weakpoints:

The story progression felt rushed especially given the mental health theme. I'm not really a fan of the whole love healing every trauma since it always cheapens such issues. So that's my biggest issue with the plot in the drama. I think the mental health aspect of it could have been handle a lot better (how exactly? I'm not sure), but the condition portrayed in the drama is often hard to nail and I think that's where it failed to convince viewers. I would have loved a more show don't tell when it comes to the main theme of understanding each other's language. While the theme exploration was satisfactory in a sense, I feel they dropped the ball still. A better developed plot here would have been really beneficial, especially to the ML.

While the actors were good, I think the writing for most characters wasn't up to par. Only the FL and the uncle stood out in terms of performances (The uncle's is always great). Let's start with the ML. Of the roles I've seen him in, this was one of the weakest. I think the ML's character could have used more development. The character was bland and I think it shows in the performance as well. To be fair I do find a lot of lead roles to not really take advantage of or showcase an actor's range, especially ML, and that's why I really like the FL's role here.

Hiro's actor was also not given much to work with acting wise. I've seen him in other roles as well which have also not been as well written, so I don't know much of his capability to judge his acting, but the character did have interesting aspects. Perhaps my only qualm would be him not having more moments with the FL (and not using translation apps 😂)

I won't really mention the rest of the actors/characters

Character wise, the show could have done a lot better. I think FL was almost close to being one had that mental health reveal been handled better. But like a mentioned, a lot of the other characters seemed lacking. I think this is where the show suffers most (outside of a few issues with the main plot progression). To me, shows often stand out based on how strong the characters are, both supporting roles as well as the main.

I'll probably rewatch this in the future, because despite my ramblings, I liked it a lot more after the rewatch. So this is something I'd recommend, just don't expect too much like I did the first time.


THE EARLIER REVIEW (Spoilers)

These are just my random thoughts after finishing the show. I may update it later (or not)

The production and the OST are the highlights. I read a few comments about a lack of chemistry between the main actors and went in expecting that. It was true to a point but largely due to the writing decisions, but the moments they were allowed to just be, I think it was just fine if not great, including in the first episode.

I loved the cast; everyone played their parts perfectly. My favorite character is definitely the uncle. I'd have loved to see more of his interactions with the main lead.

Now, I enjoyed the show but there were quite a few issues. First, the conflict between the main leads wasn't executed well at all. Even the use of dissociative identity felt like a cop out. I disliked the sometimes-callous nature of the male lead. I don't think it was necessary for him to be written like that at all. Just easing his dialogue at points could have made for better moments overall. It created conflict to drag the show on, but I think the male lead (and the show) suffered for it. It will probably be a sticking point for many who watch the show. I guess that's my biggest gripe with the show.

Like most dramas, most elements were there for it to be truly brilliant, but it ultimately fell short due to a combination of editing choices, dialogue (I know the English subtitles were poor here as well) and repetition. I think the drama could have had the characters fall for each other later rather than having it happen early then introducing all the misunderstandings to fill out the runtime. This drama could have been shorter than it was given the route they chose.

I did like it enough to not regret watching it but not enough to be sure about recommending it. Weirdly, these are the kind of shows I like rewatching (Abyss and Extraordinary You are the other ones) despite finding them so frustrating in terms of lost potential.

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Can This Love Be Translated? Maybe Not for Everyone.

I finally finished Can This Love Be Translated? and honestly, I don’t understand the level of bashing this drama has received. Is it the best K-drama out there? No. But is it the unwatchable mess social media is making it out to be? Absolutely not.

I started this drama on a whim after coming back from work, mostly because Kim Seon-ho was the male lead. I noticed the low ratings and harsh comments but decided to continue anyway, partly out of curiosity and partly to test my patience. And while I do agree that the ending was underwhelming and the drama lost momentum in the middle episodes, I never went in with huge expectations—and maybe that made all the difference.

As someone who has been watching K-dramas for over a decade (with 400+ dramas on my list and a very high drop rate in recent years), I’ve seen enough slumps to know that modern K-dramas don’t always hit the way older ones used to. So instead of expecting a flawless rom-com, I approached this as a casual watch—and overall, it worked for me.

The drama starts off strong, slows down midway, and ultimately falls short of what many viewers might expect from a typical K-romance. The genre itself feels a bit confused. What initially seems like a light romantic comedy slowly leans into something more psychological and emotionally layered. That tonal shift wasn’t handled as smoothly as it could have been, and much of the emotional depth—especially the female lead’s backstory—was revealed too late to fully resonate.

That said, I appreciated that the drama tried something different. It didn’t rely on the usual tropes: no over-the-top villain, no unnecessary love triangle, no second female lead scheming to break the couple apart. Instead, we got a male lead who was genuinely understanding—of the female lead’s past, her emotional struggles, her impulsive decisions, and her inconsistencies. That kind of emotional maturity is surprisingly rare in K-dramas these days, and it was refreshing to see.

Acting: Kim Seon-ho carried the role effortlessly. His subtle acting, expressive eyes, and calm presence did a lot of heavy lifting. Go Youn Jung delivered a solid performance as well, portraying the duality of her character convincingly. Their chemistry was one of the stronger points of the show. Sota Fukushi and the supporting cast added warmth without unnecessary drama, which made the overall viewing experience more comfortable.

Visually, the drama was pleasing, and the lack of forced conflict made it feel quieter and more introspective than expected. However, the writing—unsurprisingly for a Hong Sisters project—started strong but gradually lost focus. This isn’t new for them, and long-time viewers will recognize the pattern.

In the end, Can This Love Be Translated? is far from perfect. It could have been much better with tighter writing, better pacing, and earlier emotional groundwork. But it also didn’t deserve the excessive hate it received, especially so soon after release. If it’s not your taste, that’s fine—but no one is forced to watch it.

For me, it was a decent, imperfect, but enjoyable watch.

Rating: 7.5–8/10
(Mainly for the chemistry and performances by Kim Seon-ho, Go Youn Jung, and Sota Fukushi)

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Was it worth the hype ( one of 2026 most anticipated dramas)

Like many people, I had been waiting for this drama since it was announced. I’m a fan of Kim Seon-ho, and I’ve always enjoyed the Hong Sisters’ dramas—from their iconic early works like My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho to underrated ones such as The Master’s Sun and Hwayugi. Their most recent drama, Alchemy of Souls, was incredible, so naturally my expectations were high. I was also curious to see them try a different genre.

Story

I went into this drama expecting a rom-com, or at least something with more comedy, since the Hong Sisters are known for their hilarious moments. That wasn’t really the case here. While there were a few funny scenes, nothing stood out enough to be memorable. That was my first disappointment.

Although I enjoy melodramas, this one felt like the characters were constantly going in circles, especially in the dialogue. It’s hard to explain, but it felt like I understood what the writers were trying to do,yet it just wasn’t landing emotionally. Visually, everything was stunning: the cinematography, the actors, the atmosphere. However, it often felt like the drama was trying too hard to be “poetic,” without the story having the depth to fully support that tone.

Characters

The acting was undeniably strong. However, when it comes to Kim Seon-ho’s character, I was a bit disappointed. I usually love his roles, but here, aside from speaking multiple languages, there wasn’t much that made his character stand out. That said, he still did an excellent job with what he was given. ( he didn't have those charming vibes as usual)

As for Go Yoon-jung, she was fantastic. I haven’t seen much of her previous work, but this drama made me appreciate her more as an actress. Still, I think the writers wanted her character to be deeply touching, and for me, it didn’t quite work. I understood her trauma, but the way it was portrayed felt fragmented and underdeveloped. Personifying her mental struggles was a good idea, but it wasn’t taken far enough. Dramas like It’s Okay, That’s Love handled similar themes much more effectively. Here, it felt more like an attempt to create a “cool” character,somewhat reminiscent of Wednesday Addams,rather than offering a nuanced and impactful portrayal of her inner struggles.
Conclusion
Overall, I didn’t dislike this drama. It was an enjoyable watch and visually beautiful, but not particularly memorable. Slow-paced melodramas are difficult to execute well; this one was decent, but not groundbreaking. Honestly, I’m not sure I would have watched it if it weren’t for my interest in the actors.

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