All About My Romance is a 16 episode Korean TV Drama that aired during the Spring to Summer of 2013.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Shin Ha Kyun and Lee Min Jung paired up in a KTV drama that's primarily a pure romantic comedy?...I'm sold!
Here's your story: Ha Kyun plays the hot shot new electee to the dominant Korean congressional party, and, Min Jung portrays the young leader of the upstart 3rd party. His conservative party is all about maintaining the status quo for the ruling body and the nation's elite, and her tiny liberal party is all about reform and the betterment of the lives of the average citizen. Both representatives have fiery personalities and disagree on most everything from the start, but they soon begin to understand each other a little better and begrudgingly find some mutual common ground over time. They're both attractive and single as well, and a romance soon develops between them. From there, is just a matter of observing their push and pull relationship unfold, and, to see if these two can/will eventually be together despite their ideological differences & personal circumstances.
This show is primarily geared towards the thirty-something aged viewer (though it is suitable & agreeable to both younger & older audiences). It does come with some typical melodrama of course, but I'm warning you right now that there's ultimately very little of that stuff here in comparison to most other K-dramas. This show tilts heavily on the romantic side of the KTV drama scale, with some numerous comedic moments mixed in. It is generally very upbeat in tone, and I don't recall a single character in this show that was ever sick, dying, handicapped, etc. So if you're looking for a despair filled makjang drama with an all-out abundance of angst, crying, and absurd situations, this is likely not the show for you!
The oft employed 3 act play method of storytelling is utilized here, along with the typical two secondary love interests. As usual, the 2 secondary leads don't stand a chance to get the guy/girl they want, and they basically serve as impediments to the central love story; these characters push the limits of being too antagonistic at times, but hold back just enough so they aren't totally unsympathetic...Park Hee Soon and Han Chae Ah fill these roles effectively enough as Min Jung's character's former step brother, and the spunky reporter girl, respectively.
There's a bunch of supporting characters as well, and they all serve their purpose satisfactorily enough. Several veterans and a couple of younger actors are on hand to fill out the roles of various aides and party members; most of these parts are devoted to dispensing advice and/or providing a good bit of side humor along the way, and most of this was done well enough...the semi-incompetent ruling party spokesman (i.e. "porn man") is particularly useful as the never ending butt of jokes throughout this show, and, many of these side characters (at least under a certain age) have their own little romantic relationships to deal with. There's only one child on the scene, and she's mostly hilarious in a limited role as the astute and acerbic niece of Min Jung's character.
The behind the camera crew holds up their end quite well. The show is sharply written and well directed, and there's some effective use of post edit screen captions & effects along the way. The soundtrack is pretty solid too, and it evolves nicely over time to suit the nature of the unfolding story. In addition, the transition of the 3 acts is done rather seamlessly without wildly changing the overall feel of the show (which is a frequent problem with some of these shows).
Basically, this show gets all the "little things" right for the most part, which brings us around to the performance of the two leads, and they are both fantastic. This is a real nice pairing of two stars that have excellent chemistry together, and neither of them disappoint. Shin Ha Kyun is a terrific actor who's starred in a number of big screen productions over the years (several of which are some of my all-time favorite Korean films); he hasn't been in many TV dramas to my knowledge until just recently, but he obviously has no problem making the transition to this type of production. For her part, Lee Min Jung is outstanding in her role; she brings a nice mix to the table of everything you could possibly want in your female rom-com lead. There are lots of talented and attractive Korean actresses working in this genre, but it's hard to imagine any of them doing a better job with this material than she did.
This show is quite good for what it is, and the demographic it's aimed at. There's hardly anything to even grumble about. My only real complaint is the eventual incorporation of a hidden bloodline & secret family back story (which seemed a bit forced and unnecessary). For the life of me, I have no idea why Korean TV seemingly can't make a single show without invoking some type of melodramatic trope like this somewhere along the line; this show was perfectly fine as just a straightforward romantic-comedy, and it would have been better served if it just stayed that way from start to finish. There is plenty of opportunity to include that type of melodramatic story line in any number of other shows.
This is not the type of show that's likely going to pull in big Korean TV ratings numbers, because it really just doesn't fit the mold for a KTV melodrama that most fans & viewers of this genre are looking for. That being said (written), this show is very witty, and it's often both charming and amusing. Personally, it's one of my favorite K-dramas from 2013!
Bottom Line; If you're looking for a mostly lighthearted Korean TV rom-com series for adults, this show is Totally Recommended!
8 out of 10 stars!
