I agree on so many of these. What I have found in the ones I loved is that the crappily written/performed relationship became second fiddle to the rest of the drama. I can live with that.

With The Perfect Match, Itaewon Class, Descendants of the Sun and more – I fast forward through the relationship just to get back to the story.

I just finished The Perfect Match and was able to blaze through the last six episodes by ignoring the on again, off again strange relationship between the principles. Something in the Rain became so boring that I still haven’t finished it yet. I love Jung Hae In but, just about everyone else in this drama was disposable. So agree on Absolute Boyfriend but, loved the depth of Yeo Jin-Goo’s performance so much, I could put up with her lifeless presence and lack of emotional depth. For The K2 – I was glued for the chemistry between everyone else but, the love story. I see in comments universally, that everyone wanted Ji Chang Wook and Song Yoon-ah to end up together.

Hi Kfangurl! I check in on your reviews every time I’m done with an Asian drama, and have imaginary conversations with your posts!😅 I might have posted a comment or two a few years ago, but I cannot be sure.

I’m here commenting now because I finished watching Memories of the Alhambra only a few days ago, and it has had me in a haze of reflection since then. I’ve read your flash review on the drama. But after reading this post, and many of the comments below, it got me reflecting on the OTP.

To be honest, the moment I knew this was all about an AR game, I figured the romance was going to be down-played heavily. (I hadn’t seen any of the PR save for the poster.) Where the romance was concerned, I actually got way more than I had bargained for, and I thought it was so beautifully woven in with the rest of the story. It turned out to be an integral part to Jin-woo’s motivation to level up and find Hee-joo’s brother. Of course, there was the motivation to save the company from bankruptcy, not to mention to save his life. But as he got deeper into things, Hee-joo inspired him to stay alive and keep going.

I was truly surprised at how subtly this romance develops between the OTP considering the general fast pace of the story-telling. [I read in one of the comments above that the writer added in the romance only in the last minute, so to speak.] I enjoyed the nuanced acting from Hyun Bin which showed a man who was used to living in distrust and betrayal, suddenly encountering complete trust and lack of guile in a person. It was never in his words. It was all in his face. I thought Park Shin-hye’s character was one she quite often plays – trusting, innocent, easily-confused but fiercely frank and straightforward, and loyal. But when played off against the character of Jin-woo it was such a complementary mix of two very different personalities.

I loved how she was not afraid to let him know how she felt about him. The stars in her eyes began when he waived away her tardiness in signing the contract and gave her the 10 billion won. She probably saw him as a knight in shining armour, so to speak. But, from there on, her crush becomes something more. She appears to respond to the loneliness she sees in him, and perhaps it is the loneliness in her that initially draws her so close to him. He too is just as equally drawn to her. He can’t help but come look for her when he knows she’s in Seoul. He appears to fight the attraction initially. But later gives into it completely, especially when she begins to be the only person in the world he can trust and who in turn believes in him. She trusts him enough to leave him to bring back her brother. And I think it’s perfect that the series ends with her still believing in him, and that her belief is not misplaced.

I like that their relationship was not complicated. Should he have let her in on his thoughts more? Perhaps. But then, it was all completely in keeping with his character. Even his friend Park talks of how Jin-woo always plays his cards close to his chest. And Hee-joo appears to realise this and accept it in him without question. Does it make her weak? I don’t think so. If anything, it shows her to be a rather strong person, and shows that Jin-woo’s heart is safe with her. She also appears to understand Jin-woo’s need to protect her although it hurts her (and so she can’t help crying?).

I had been so worried about the series ending dreadfully with a hurried, hashed up, happy ending. Instead, it ended with the key characters in place for the viewers to draw their own conclusions or for a sequel without destroying the element of ‘hope’ that seems to be a thin thread running through the episodes.

So, yep! That’s it! Just needed to get that all out. I really enjoyed this series. It was fantastic and ranks among my Asian drama favourites. I thought the story-telling was tight, except for the Marco bug and the logistics that apply to how the ‘master’ functions – but then the little brother is back at the helm and there is so much potential for how Jin-woo can be rescued without the game becoming as dangerous as it had proved. The pace was perfect. I loved the shift in timelines. It was so well done. The CGI, of course, was fantastic!

Hi kfangurl! I really enjoy all your reviews. Thanks for the great insights, advice and good reads! I must admit I do agree with you in all those poor OTPs you mention above (I the dramas I have seen)… except for one: Secret Garden. I watched SC for the first time recently, and I have watched it many many times since. I love this show dearly and I LOVE the character of Kim Joo won. I agree that problematic dynamics can spoil a love story in a show and I admit Joo won has some problematic domineering tendencies, but for some reason, I am able to overlook them in this show… Joo won is a very unique, complex character full of contradictions: he’s both rational and irrational, preposterous yet also matter of fact. He’s arrogant and self satisfied, yet at times surprisingly self-aware and self-loathing… what I’m trying to say I suppose is that I take Joo won’s inappropriate acts, his stalking, his rudeness and arrogance, his force kissing and bed-pinning as part of a character that deep down is tender, childlike and whose growth has been somewhat stunted… I don’t know. I do not love everything about this drama but I love the way Joo won is written: Everything he says moulds his persona so incredibly well… and, of course, Hyun Bin’d performance just gave him that extra flair of fun and depth That it’s no wonder the character became so very iconic back in the day… For me Joo won is up there with Darcy and Mr Rochester. I know, these are big words indeed, but sure… 😅

Hi kfangurl! I really enjoy all your reviews. Thanks for the great insights, advice and good reads! I must admit I do agree with you in all those poor OTPs you mention above (I the dramas I have seen)… except for one: Secret Garden. I watched SC for the first time recently, and I have watched it many many times since. I love this show dearly and I LOVE the character of Kim Joo won. I agree that problematic dynamics can spoil a love story in a show and I admit Joo won has some problematic domineering tendencies, but for some reason, I am able to overlook them in this show… Joo won is a very unique, complex character full of contradictions: he’s both rational and irrational, preposterous yet also matter of fact. He’s arrogant and self satisfied, yet at times surprisingly self-aware and self-loathing… what I’m trying to say I suppose is that I take Joo won’s inappropriate acts, his stalking, his rudeness and arrogance, his force kissing and bed-pinning as part of a character that deep down is tender, childlike and whose growth has been somewhat stunted… I don’t know. I do not love everything about this drama but I love the way Joo won is written: Everything he says moulds his persona so incredibly well… and, of course, Hyun Bin’d performance just gave him that extra flair of fun and depth That it’s no wonder the character became so very iconic back in the day… For me Joo won is up there with Darcy and Mr Rochester. I know, this are big words indeed 😅

I haven’t seen all of these shows, but I totally agree with everything. Like, Memories of the Alhambra (which I am struggling to end). The show would be so much better without the silly romance. Not to mention that Park Hye Shin, even though an adequate actress, is always wooden when it comes to romance.
Lee Min Ho to me is the king of failed OTPs. I am really not a hater, I think he’s an ok actor that gets better and better, plus he’s really nice to look at, but all his characters have this arrogant jerk vibe that would probably make any woman in her right mind more eager to slap than kiss him. And I totally agree with you on Boys over flowers. What an unhealthy relationship that was, second only maybe to the one in Playful kiss (the k version, the one with Oh Ha Ni). Oh, and Cheese in the trap was also bad in that way. It made you want to scream “just get out” to our girl Seol, because that boy had issues and instead of treating them properly, the writers hesitated between a thriller and a rom-com.
In my book, Cheese in the trap is the perfect example of an OTP that has good chemistry, good actors, but which is also highly disturbing.

I had been waiting to watch Goblin/ Guardian – all my research on Kdramas listed it as a ‘must watch’. Every list has it among its Top 10 best dramas of all times etc etc. It just came to Netflix where I am and I cleared the decks to devote my evenings to it – not that anyone is going anywhere these days, but still…..

Anyway, 2 days after watching the show, I decided to write here because I had to vent 🙂

I felt terribly, terribly let down by the OTP! To the point it just ruined the show for me. I mean Gong Yoo was a General, a legendary warrior, waited an eternity for his bride – and we are asked to believe that bride is some teenager in a school uniform? Did it not feel slightly- for lack of a better word- icky?? She’s a kid!!

Worse still, there was no chemistry between Gong Yoo and Kim Go-eun, the romance seemed so forced and most of the time poor Gong Yoo looked like a fond uncle taking his sister’s kid to lunch!

I so wanted to love Goblin/ Guardian – and I adore Gong Yoo (and his lovely, lovely hair and crooked smile) in it, just to be clear- but I can’t finish it or watch it again because Kim Go-eun just ruined it for me. I’m sad.

Park Seo Joon is my Ultimate Favorite, but i really couldn’t stand the OTP in She Was Pretty. I found their chemistry middling to meh, largely because she didn’t seem that much into her, or at least i did not feel it come across the screen. Their connection, and the turnaround from him being so mean to her to eventually falling for her even before her makeover and great reveal, felt a bit forced to me. Maybe i couldn’t see the logic behind such a transformed perception and feelings on his part? Was it because she reminded him of his long lost first love? Was it because they had shared interests? One can have shared interests with someone without necessarily falling head over heels for that person all of a sudden.
Finally, it felt and seemed to me that she was not so much into him romantically. Her words did not translate to the romantic vibe she was supposed to show off. I felt like she was still in the platonic zone, that she lacked real DESIRE for him (nothing wrong with remaining in the platonic zone, except that it won’t serve the script), and that at times she was even subconsciously disinterested in him or maybe more interested in her female best friend. For instance, she came across as more excited to see Ha-ri than PSJ who was abroad for months.

I never hated an OTP the way I hated Something in the Rain. I guess it’s because of the way they OTP took us so high on the romance. One of the worst female lead characters. I want my swoons refunded tbh lmao

Someone just sent me this:
https://youtu.be/eVDL9ugf0yw

It’s Ji Chang wook and Yoona having more chemistry in 3 minutes than they had throughout the entire K2 series run.
Most of this is BTS. It’s almost as if every time the director said “action” the chemistry fled the scene.
This makes me wonder is it really the writer or director’s fault when there’s no chemistry with actors whom we’ve seen have chemistry plenty of times with many other actors before but then they get a show that nothing comes across.
In any event, I’m sure the dancing noodles scene must’ve lasted 3 nauseating minutes and we could replace that with any one of this tiny few seconds scenes and the romance would’ve come out much, much better.

Not even game to comment on this one other than to say I either like an OTP or I don’t. I know there are some OTP’s I have liked and the majority have said the interaction is a bust! However, I did like this post very much and throwing things is highly recommended 😂

I have seen all the K-dramas mentioned here. I completely agree with you! 100% !!! First time to your blog. Impressed with your views 🙂

Well I thought your post was supposed to be controversial and scandalous, but the comments here are pretty much in agreement with you. Sigh!

Kidding. I love this. Seems newer viewers are learning about kdramas from you. And that’s always a good thing.

I agree with a lot of these OTPs and realize that most of those I agree with involve dramas written by Kim Eun Sook (Secret Garden, The Heirs, Descendants of the Sun, Memories of the Alhambra). And this is also why I won’t get into The King: Eternal Monarch until I have more of a sense of how people whose opinions I trust (like you ^^) think of it. What do you think of Kim Eun Sook’s writing, and are there specific writers that you follow for how they always seem to just get it?

Well, two of them I really liked (Love & Destiny, Extraordinary You) . I can totally agree with your opinion on L&D. I never saw it from that point and Wow, it is so true. Darn! I confess I really liked her very much with the “evil” guy (even when in the buddy way and not OTP) since he was the more interesting character. Extraordinary You was more something for my heart (than the brain) and I think they had a good chemistry (they are young and not the best actors -no, LJW was wooden in that- but the OTP actors at least where enthusiastic). It is just the script that when into nowhere like Cheese in the Trap so that this Drama ended for me earlier.

Have you tried Well intended Love 2? I never finished it since it bored me out for my mind, even while quilting what made me through the first season. Even when they had the better script (better, but not good) and more money this time, the OTP actors still are terrible together. Even when the FL actress surely advanced the ML actor did not. He was terrible in each Drama I saw him yet. How does he land his roles?

I’m so down for this. I have so many opinions on drama OTPs. And I find many of them quite different from most people that are into Kdrama when so try to talk to about OTPs that drive me crazy. ^^ I haven’t seen all of the dramas you’ve listed but I’ll comment on the few I have seen.

DOTS —this was the second Kdrama I ever watched. At first I found them cute and fluffy. Since I didn’t have much else to compare the ship to I kinda shipped them. However I quickly became so much more invested in the secondary couple… also kdrama’s greatest bromance ever to exist (I would also say the single best thing about DOTS).

Itaewon Class —I actually just finished this. Fantastic. I really enjoyed the chemistry —I agree it wasn’t “electric” …but it very real not forced. They felt like very real people with a relation connection/friendship. I also liked how all their friends (or most) also shipped them eventually. They work great together and they’re honest with each other. He made her want to be a caring person. She hates him for it at the beginning. I have more thoughts… but I’ll keep it to that. ^^

Well Intended Love = Cringe fest on so many levels… I physically could not finish this one…

Hotel Del Luna —I dropped this one because… a lot of reasons… I could never figure out what was going on —and not in a good 365 Repeat kinda fantastic way… the OTP felt borderline Stockholm syndrome… also flat.

Love and Destiny —I actually was unable to finish this one as well… (I just… I have a hard time with the 10 miles of love gloop as I refer to it… I think I hopped on the Li Jing ship to early and never got off. Also dear netizens, please do not murder me in my sleep) just kept comparing Nini’s character in LAD to her character and her chemistry with the Chen Kun in TROP (If you’ve seen it… you get it…).

Scholar —For as beautiful as Joon G…*coughs*… everything was, The OTP was the most lacking (besides the plot). Let’s talk about the big power imbalance between leads with zero chemistry to over come it. (beware-quarter-life-crisis-rant-ahead) I also found it really hard to swallow that someone over 200 years would fall in love with a teenager. I’m in my mid-20’s and I find most teenagers and I quote myself, “….uuuuhhhnnn….” But he’s been around for 200 years? Im not buying it. So in my opinion If you want good chemistry and Joon Gi try Scarlet Heart Ryeo. You can argue with me. But it’s my favorite Kdrama and I will defend myself. xD

Boys Over Flowers —I really tried to get into it since it’s the first Kdrama I remember hearing about years ago, but I 100% agree with your comment here…

I haven’t seen every drama on your list but of the ones I’ve seen (including general crowd pleasers such as Descendants of the Sun and Hotel Del Luna, both of which I couldn’t finish), I agree with you 100%! Scary.

There are some tropes that bother me a lot, like stalker elements and forced kisses or worse. It’s very difficult for me, perhaps influenced by my own experiences and those of friends, to enjoy dramas that portray those actions as merely misguided romantic gestures or that play them for laughs. Other than those tropes, the biggest problem that I have with bad OTPs is how predictable and formulaic they can be. Please, Korean drama gods, do we ALWAYS have to tack on a happy OTP ending? There are also some actors that I find not very convincing, such as Sung Hoon, Suzy, and L, all pretty faces who have never moved me by their acting and thus make for leaden OTPs, at least to me.

Having said all that, I do keep watching a drama if there’s something other than an OTP that piques my interest. For example, I was surprised at first to see Warrior Baek Dong Soo on your list…because I didn’t remember a romance at all! (I guess that demonstrates how bad the OTP was.) One reason why RomComs are often a bust for me is because unless the “Com” is really good, I’m easily bored by the “Rom.” Instead of melting into a puddle when the OTP gaze into each other’s eyes, I think, oh my god, here comes the damn music. That’s why I tend to prefer (1) historical dramas (there’s nothing like a little death staring one in the eye to add some perspective); (2) political or mystery dramas (but only if the crazy is kept to a minimum — I always feel like having an insane villain is kind of a cop out); (3) fantasy worlds (I loved “W” despite its flaws and its requisite happy ending but then I didn’t like Hotel Del Luna, 365 Reset the Year, and Extraordinary You, so go figure); or (4) family dramas (because, to misquote Tolstoy, all romances are alike but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, and that makes for some fun drama).

I feel like I should add my own caveats to the above. These are just my thoughts and I recognize that some (or all) of you might disagree. But I stand by my opinion of L. hehe

And also a Korean dramas and almost had me throwing up all the time due to its chemistry was playful kiss

Well honestly I have to say I am a little shocked to see dramas like hiers,extroordinary you,scholar that walks the night,boys over flowers,hotel del Luna,descendants of the sun. Because these dramas I specified we’re recommended to me as dramas with good story lines and chemistry but anyways thanks for your time on this reply and well I guess I will have to look closer on these dramas and their chemistry before I decide on which to watch

Hi! I have a question.. What can make you drop a certain drama? Like what are the factors..?

This post is savage and I love it 🤣😂😂

Haven’t really seen most of the shows here since I’ve been avoiding hardcore romance dramas. But when I saw Secret Garden on the list it made me sad since it was one of the few kdramas that I loved in a time when I disliked kdramas. Although I doubt I would love it as much if I ever watch it now…😅 And so, so, so agreed on BOF!! Interesting how it was BOF who started the Korean Wave back then and I remember hating the show so much. I’m wondering if you’ve seen the C-drama remake? It’s just as bad but with much better production HAHA. I could barely last two episodes of it.

To me the otp in Itaewon Class didn’t feel rushed but dragged. I firmly believe that pining after one person and trying to make them love you for years is not healthy. It might make a great drama, but I just get annoyed when it goes on for too long. At the end it felt more like she was playing a game rather than having a real connection. I really liked both female leads, but their treatment was poor. The show had two accomplished women essentially fighting over one mediocre guy whose greatest love was the revenge.

Well intended love was terrible and the English name makes it even worse. Were they trying to trick us or what? I actually watched the second season and was surprised that they fixed most of the problematic things. There was less manipulation and kidnapping and more focus on characters. I stiĺl liked the second couple better(they had some really swoony scenes) but the main couple wasn’t as cringy as in season 1. It’s a mystery why they made the first season the way they did, when they were capable to deliver something better.

Third otp that really made me angry was the one in My first first love. Kdramas rarely give me the second lead syndrome, but here the second lead was so good. He was really given a good story as why he should end up with the FL and the ML was given nothing, not even a personality. We were just suppose to believe that them being childhood friends was enough connection. Nothing the otp did in the present supported this. The ML could show up to support the FL only because he had money and thus free time. The second lead was busy supporting his family and planning for the future. He couldn’t just drop everything and the ML took the advantage of this. So during the supposed swoony otp moments I just felt sorry for the other guy. I should have dropped this drama, but I kept hoping for some kind of last minute miracle. Kudos to Ji Soo though, he’s talented at playing jerk characters.

I haven’t seen many of these, but I do wish to talk about Descendants of the Sun. I began watching it because the writer Kim Eun Sook also was the writer on Mr. Sunshine, which was really an encyclopedic discourse on serial drama plotting. But Descendants, although it had a stellar cast, was nothing of the sort. It was kind of a cheesey B military adventure tv series with a hokey love interest meant to be a hook for keeping you going from one episode to the next. It was the first thing I saw Song Joong Ki in and all I can say about that now that I have seen him in a variety of vehicles is what a waste of talent. He does suffer a bit in other things I have seen him in when all he is allowed to do is be the pretty but macho adventure hero, rather than playing on his range of acting chops, including his sense of humor, and ability to enact really eccentric characters, but any one of a hundred actors could have played the role he played in Descendants of the Sun, And getting to the OTP, it was hard to tell for me if it was just how cheesey their relationship was or more simply how meh the whole show was. Likewise Song Hye Kyo’s role was similarly cliche ridden, as a prototype competent liberated woman, yet really devoid of any flavor to bring out that charisma. And they seemed almost like a boy/girl version of an adventure bromance vehicle, with a bit of infatuation back and forth thrown in. Anyway, I agree with you on Descendants of the Sun.

I have been meaning to write in to this blog for sometime now ever since I started K-Drama with CLOY this Feb and reading your review of it; I admit I am new to kdrama world and I am yet to get over Hyun Bin (finished most of his serials and watching his movies now)

Descendants of the Sun;

I so agree with it; Thank you; I really didn’t understand the hype around this drama and except for the hero and the second heroine lead, everybody else was in OTP zone….and for god sake most of them were doctors…and the last few episodes were like WTH…

I think you are being unfair to Memories of the Alhambra and Secret Garden; I saw your review of SG;
Here is my 2 cents on it:

Memories of the Alhambra;

Park Shin is a vital part of the gaming plan designed by her brother and she is there for a reason; And she is the one who helps crack the “Fatima” key code; It makes so much sense for her brother to place the “peacekeeping” trust on his sister look-alike; And its the same trust that Hyun Bin places on her in the virtual world when he gets back in the last episode;
The romance did work albeit the limited time and may not be as developed as in other dramas;
I think Park Shin did a great job and kudos to Hyun for letting her shine in whatever scenes she had with him; And many felt upset with the ending because they all so badly wanted him to come out of the game for a happy ending with Park given what he had undergone over the last 1 year ever since he started the game at level 1;

Secret Garden;
Agree it was a bit difficult in the first few episodes and he was being a real jerk; But for me this is the catch because here we have a character who undergoes a complete transformation from being a jerk to a hopelessly in love guy who is willing to let go of his position/money/mother even before knowing that it was her father who saved him…. this part comes in episode 16 I guess…Infact his transition from episode 14 is a great watch and thats what makes this drama very interesting at least from a woman’s perspective;
(I agree that I myself was very worried for her until episode 9 when he really starts having a positive transition for good);
And the good part is they ended it with her still working as a stuntwoman inspite of being married to him and having 3 kids; If he had really looked down upon her until the end, he wouldn’t have allowed to work in that field and at one point he even wants her to quit but she puts it down; And both had an amazing chemistry and no OTP at any point;

Compare this with CLOY where we know from 1st episode that this guy is a real gentleman and there is nothing great to root for as a character arc except for the fact that we all like the gentlemanly Captain Ri and want the lovers to unite across borders; Infact in CLOY I will give more credit to the heroine character for her character development arc;

I haven’t seen the others….so no comment on that;

Btw, I started Coffee Prince since you are a big fan of it and I decided to give it a try as it keeps popping in my Netflix;
Based on my initial few episodes, its fun but in all honestly its really weird that the guy doesn’t know its a girl but then I like the girl character as she is very clumsy and hard working and I am all for fun not so perfect characters in drama world;

Thanks for your writing; You are absolutely great in it; Keep up the good work;