Love Scout

When writers listen to my prayers

Finally, a romantic comedy that feels pure, authentic and doesn't feel compelled to overcomplicate its plot unnecessarily. It's great to see how naturally the story unfolds, how authentic the characters are, and how their “mundane conflicts,” whether it's raising a child as a single parent, having an unresolved childhood trauma, dealing with a work rivalry and feeling like you can't show anything less than perfection in your job. It's all quite believable through the subtle writing and the authentic and sympathetic performances.

I wish writers would learn a thing or two from these stories. I don't want to see stupid plot twists or one-dimensional villains. I want to see adults dealing with adult situations and resolving them like adults. I absolutely loved this cast, both main and supporting.

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"Han Ji-min and Lee Joon-hyuk’s Stellar Chemistry"❤️

If you're considering watching Love Scout, here's a detailed review to help you decide:

Plot and Themes

Love Scout is a workplace romantic drama featuring a fresh storyline with elements of humor, emotional depth, and heartwarming moments. It follows Kang Ji-yoon, a headhunting company's CEO, and her secretary, Yoo Eun-ho, a single father. The drama explores themes of personal growth, professional ambition, and second chances at love, offering a mature take on romance.

Strengths

1. Strong Chemistry: The leads, Han Ji-min and Lee Joon-hyuk, deliver stellar performances with palpable chemistry that makes their evolving relationship believable and engaging.

2. Refreshing Take on Tropes: While it incorporates common K-drama elements, the series adds a unique spin, avoiding clichés and keeping the story dynamic.

3. Realistic Characters: The characters are well-developed and relatable, particularly Yoo Eun-ho, whose single-parent narrative adds depth.

4. Cinematography: The visuals are polished, with vibrant shots of office settings and intimate moments, adding to the drama's charm.

Criticisms

1. Pacing: Some viewers have noted that the initial episodes start slow, but it picks up momentum by the third episode.

2. Side Stories: While entertaining, a few side plots might feel underdeveloped or unnecessary.

Who Should Watch?

Love Scout is perfect for fans of workplace dramas, slow-burn romances, and those looking for a balance of lightheartedness and emotional depth. If you enjoyed shows like Her Private Life or Something in the Rain, this drama is a great pick.

Overall Recommendation

This drama is highly recommended for viewers seeking a mature, heartfelt romance with a modern workplace backdrop. With its strong performances and engaging plot, Love Scout is likely to leave a lasting impression.

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A slow 'slice of life' relationship story between two completely unrealistic adults.

Our two main characters Ji Min and Eun Ho are just naive children hiding in serious adult shells. Despite being highly competent ambitious sharks at work, once they have a crush they are willing to completely throw work aside to sneak glances. Despite Sun Ho being divorced with a 7 year old kid, and Ji Min being in her 30s, they are giddy at the prospect of holding hands.

Ji Min is the head recruiter at her own head hunting firm, and yet is portrayed as someone who feels awkward around other people, does not network or socialise, and has no idea how to build human relationships and so relies on Eun Ho to do that work for her. Eun Ho, who has been in an internal HR role for years and had so little a network that he had to rely on a childhood friend to get a job.

These are just some of the many contradictions that were built into these two characters. They are not interesting and complex contradictions, just contradictions that make no sense.

On top of that, the 'stories of the week' about the the candidates they are trying to recruit and place are similarly unrealistic, and the 'mysteries' of their pasts not particularly interesting.

Why watch this at all then? In the first few episodes, Eun Ho is quietly competent and protective. It's satisfying and intriguing to see him take care of Ji Min and softly fall for her in careful way, but once that initial tension resolves there is nothing left.

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worth watching

Lahh man, where should I even start? This drama is really nice! Normally, I don’t watch ongoing dramas because I hate waiting for the next two episodes every week. I’m really an impatient person. But this time, I gave it a try, and I honestly wasn’t expecting it to turn out so good.

As for the trope, it’s definitely about a strong businesswoman with some past trauma and a single father who’s handsome and super popular with girls whenever he appears—like a typical K-drama male lead, you know?

In the first episode, they just introduce the characters, and the dynamic between the FL and ML is really chaotic. It turns out to be the best—like, better than I could have imagined. I’d definitely recommend this drama, so go for it!

Also, Lee Jung-hyuk is so, so, so cute and mature here. He totally shows a different kind of personality compared to Love Scout and 365: Repeat the Year.

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An alright office romance

I am tired of sad trauma pasts for main leads in romance kdramas, why is it always something in rain scenes, something in fire etc. Can't two people come from normal family and fall in love? The drama mostly revolves around the work theme "scouting" a lot. It is a slow burn romance, although I personally didn't feel any burn due to lack of chemistry but if I strictly go by story, the love progress between two main leads it is very naturally written and is mature in its approach which is one of the plus sides I liked inititally.

But as I continued to watch, the biggest dowside for me to drop this drama is the dramas focus on two genres at once, slice of life with love story and the office genre which takes nearly 80% of screentime. Either be an office drama or be a love drama, especially when you have only 12 episode committment. Ok maybe this drama can carry all kinds of stories like the drama Attorney woo. Attorney Woo had love story, friendship, law firm, trauma issues all going on. But here's the difference. all those different things had progress, they had 16 episodes to address everything and they had dedicated storyline and screentime that flows naturally. Most importantly there is progress that shows the story is going forward. Not saying attorney woo is absolutely perfect, but I am just giving example on top of my head for comparision.

In this drama also so many things are going on. but even at episode 6 they are still left unaddressed. So far I watched half the drama and there is no progress except for male lead and female lead getting closer and starting to feel liking each other. Both leads have past trauma but they weren't addresed even at episode 6 and it is always those typical flashback scenes only, FL started the company all on her own, she also has a rival aka the villian but even that isn't going anywhere. ALso FL relationship between her and her investor isn't unfolded properly as the investor is pushing female lead to marry his son. Also the worst love traingle where both second leads like both the main leads for so many years and so far nothing towards it had happened, like are they going to pursue or they going to give up? Like I said except for the love story blooming between the main leads and work place situtations nothing else really happened. 80% of time in every episode goes to office genre and 20% goes to love progress between FL and ML. Also talking about the second leads, why do we even have second leads if they barely have two minutes screentime in every episode, at that point why even call them second main leads when they are not contributing anything significant to the main story.

I cannot wait progress of all the pending things in later episodes where everything is rushed. I am already past 6th episode and I didn't find it clicking for me personally. I don't like watching dramas when it tries to be like an all round drama but only the female and male lead gets character growth and no one else. It is fine if drama focus in only on the leads but this drama is trying to be inclusive of all by contributing 80% of time to scouting situtation at work, yet shows no real development towards secondary characters except for little tid bits now and then to show they are important.

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The story itself is nothing special. In short, one could say that out of spite a woman wants to take the company away from its rival and even succeeds. But the best part is the relationship that develops between this director and her assistant. I like how he is attentive to everything that concerns her. A true gentleman and also a sweet father.
Then I was struck by certain shots, such as zooms on the hands which were scenes that speak without words, as well as the good OST, I particularly liked them.
A small note to the make-up artists, they could have dulled the protagonist's face a little, who always seemed sweaty.

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Excellent

==Breakdown==
Background plot - 25%
Romance - 60%
Misc comedy - 15%

Background plot - Pretty good
Romantic chemistry - EXCELLENT
Misc comedy - Good
Production value - Good

I don't think I had to fast forward more than 5% of this drama, which-- for me-- is basically nothing. Sometimes when the villain appeared, I skipped a few seconds ahead. She repeated herself quite a bit.

The main couple is magnetic. The progression of their relationship felt realistic and was a joy to watch. The side stories in each episode (of helping talented people find a good professional fit for their skills) was also enjoyable. The second couple was very cute and I would've liked more screen time for them; I hope the actors are in another drama together. I didn't even mind the kids' storyline! They were adorable and added a great element to the overall plot. The only reason this show doesn't get a 10/10 is because I wasn't absolutely obsessed with it while watching it and didn't have a problem waiting between episodes.

Loved this one and will likely re-watch my favorite scenes.

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A non-toxic mature series for adults - Yoo Eun Ho is the greenest forest ever!

I love mature romance stories, with healthy relationships where nice people fall in love and treat each other right. This series is like that. Plus, I've watched Lee Joon Hyuk since her debut projects and it's really rare to see him be a male lead in a romance, and he's paired with Han Ji Min! Both are my beloved actors, so why can I miss out on this series?

"Love Scout" is a lighthearted slow-burn mature romance Kdrama where both the leads equally love and respect each other. I'm satisfied with it. The leads have great chemistry, while both second leads are very nice, and them ending up together is the best part. There's no toxic love triangle, no toxic ex coming back and meddling between the leads. And the ending is just perfect. I would feel awkward if they got married right away at the end but luckily it didn't happen, because it's not realistic in their situation.

Most of the characters are likeable. The leads are surrounded by kind-hearted and supportive people, except for the female lead’s business rivals who go shady against her. That is understandable, as our female lead Ji Yoon is a CEO. Being a businesswoman means you have a lot of rivals and have to go through hardships.

This is also a realistic office-themed and slice of life series with great messages about self-value, self-discovery, and what to prioritize in life. There is great career advice as well. I relate so much to the characters that want to quit and change jobs but they're still stuck in the same position because of the money and other things, or they don't know what is suitable for them. I wish Ji Yoon's company really existed so that I could register as their candidate.

Besides being a supportive partner to Ji Yoon, our male lead Eun Ho is also a role model as a loving and caring single father. His daughter is his first priority and he always tries to be with her when she needs him. It’s rare to see a single father like him in Kdramas. It's usual to see single mothers like this. That's another thing I love about the show. I hope it will help to break the stereotypes and help people realize that men can be a caring father too.

I love how Eun Ho talked about parenthood and said how his daughter had 'raised' him so that he could become a great person like he was at the moment. I also love what Ji Yoon told Byeol that quality is more important than quantity when it comes to love, that having both parents doesn't mean that you receive double love from them, but one parent loving you wholeheartedly is enough. I agree with this to the bone. This is actually quite a new concept in recent Asian series too, since a lot of Asian people still consider divorce as some kind of a crime and think that being a single parent is not good for the kids.

I also love the relationship between Eun Ho and the second female lead. I find it very interesting. Both are single parents and they are 'parenting friends' who help each other take care of the kids when the other is busy with other schedules. This is a new type of relationship recently and I think it's a beautiful platonic relationship in this modern society.

Another light of the show is the two little kids. They are just so adorable. Byeol is such a cutie pie! I love watching her father-daughter relationship with Eun Ho, and especially love her interactions with Ji Yoon as well.

There are only 2 little things I didn't like much about this series, but it didn't really affect my viewing experience in general:

+ First, why don't they just let the leads meet each other in a natural way when they are adults? Why do they have to add a traumatizing childhood past to make them be more like "destined to be together"? When I watched the episode that showed Ji Yoon's father had died in a fire accident, I really whispered to myself: "Please don't let the leads be related to each other through that accident". And what I had feared came true! The moment Eun Ho freaked out when hearing the sound of a fire truck, I knew right away that Ji Yoon's father had died while saving him. What happened next was quite predictable to me. After years of watching Kdramas, I'm too used to this situation. Luckily it didn't stir up any drama between the leads, and instead it gave them some space to reflect on themselves and their relationship. That's a great thing.

+ Second, why don't they just let the second female lead be a real single mother, instead of an aunt adopting her nephew as her own son? This situation is also quite familiar in Kdrama plots. I found it not very creative but it's not a big deal either. Anyway, as I've mentioned above, our second female lead is a nice person and kind at heart. I'm happy that she finally meets another great person who cherishes her. Although it was obvious that they would end up together from the beginning, it still felt nice to see their love growing through each episode. Besides the leads, their romance story is also slow-burn and mature.

Everything in this show is mature. I love it so much!

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Real romance is BACK.

I’ve been craving a soft romance like this for a while and finally got it: a drama that is slow and quiet (with a soothing OST) and gives the characters and the story time to breathe, but one where it’s not quite a melodrama either because it’s full of life and has dashes of humor in all the right places. I was just so impressed with the story of this show and the pacing it was given. The case-of-the-week subplot style really works in tandem with the overarching growth of our characters.

The two leads are fantastic. Ji-yun is a headstrong and ambitious female lead, but she never comes across as cold or rude (which many male CEO characters do); she’s just passionate about her job and very very good at it. Eun-ho is such a green flag male lead as well; he’s soft and warm, an amazing father, and good at his job too. In fact, Eun-ho is the character that owns the

I feel like it’s actually pretty rare to see a drama where both main characters have equal footing in the story, instead of one being the lead and one being the love interest.

I also just love how mature they both are and what that did for the romance. There are the butterflies and the nervousness of falling in love and not wanting to overstep your bounds, but the communication between the leads was actually really great and the romance never felt frustrating.

The second leads and side characters are really great as well. Yes, there’s some unrequited love (as dramas always have) but it’s also not stretched out unnecessarily, and they also approach everything with maturity. The side characters are surprisingly memorable even without much screen time, and they really add to the feeling of closeness at their workplace.

I’ve seen a few comments about how the addition of childhood connection is unnecessary, and I actually do agree. The characters had built up a very solid foundation already, and it would’ve meant even more if they grew from their past without it being forcefully shoved in their faces.

Although this is probably the only reason why this isn’t getting a full rating, but honestly the addition of this plot didn’t affect my enjoyment of the drama that much. The main leads’ communication and maturity stopped the show from getting frustrating, and other than this trope, I was pleasantly surprised at how this show subverted most other clichés.

Love Scout is one of the few dramas this year that stayed strong until the very end, and I’m SO happy that it’s what I started the year with. Highly recommend!

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It's quite good! (maybe a tiny bit overrated, there is less substance here than in Run On)

Kdramas do this thing where they pick a profession or an organization & then over-romanticize it. In this one that is the headhunter profession. I have mixed feelings about that, while this topic seems somewhat decently researched, it's a rather hard sell for me for various reasons.. Anyways,I can look past that with some difficulty. At the very least the show as an office drama -most of the day to day company happenings etc- works rather well. (discounting maybe episode 11 & the big shareholder guy's few scenes)

The romance is pretty good, it's not the best thing ever or anything, but nothing particularly annoying happens and there is quite a bit of fluff & cuteness in the final episodes. The bickering early on & the the minor enemies to lovers thing works well too. Considering the subject matter, the whole single dad + wealthy woman thing, the writers really sidestepped most of the mines that plague pretty much all such kdrama relationships that I've seen thus far.
The triangles are very minimal, so that's obviously pretty great too.

All things considered the writers did an acceptable job, overall more good than bad. However the pacing is a bit weird & some character personalities really shift too suddenly in the early episodes. Kind of like how sometimes in Hollywood there is a Pilot episode shot for the studio & then they change a bunch of things for episode 2 once the whole season is on order. I don't know, could be that kdrama writers are still not very comfortable with the 12 episode format, I cannot help but feel that the sweet spot for this kind of storytelling would be 13-14 episodes. Though at least in this one the final episode is reasonably well done, albeit the preceding `collapse of the company` plot is pretty dumb and sudden.
Also good god, "Peoplez" & "WE Company" are both incredibly stupid names. (sure real life Korean entrepreneurs have come up with countless awful brand names, but Koreans cannot even pronounce that "z" consonant, was there really a need for this?)

The child actor or rather actors are the best in this one. I just cannot believe a 7 year old kid can be this good.

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