Witch's Romance

Summary: Witch's Romance is a 16 episode 2014 k-drama produced for TvN. This romantic comedy explores the unlikely romance between Ban Ji Yeon (Uhm Jung Hwa), a jilted-at-the-altar 39 year old reporter with a difficult personality, and Yoon Dong Ha (Park Seo Jun), a 25 year old professional part-timer still grieving for his dead girlfriend. As they both try to mend broken hearts, they find the companionship they've been missing in one another and the courage to fall in love again.

3 1/2 Hearts for Lots of Laughs

 Recommendation: I loved this k-drama! It is so much fun that I often found myself giggling like a little kid as I watched each episode. The strength of this series rests entirely on the cast as the plot is fairly standard for this genre and doesn't offer up a lot of surprises. Park Seo Joon and Uhm Jung Hwa do most of the heavy lifting with great chemistry and an aura of playfulness that lights up the screen whenever they are together. Maybe I'm a little boy crazy because I'm a fan of all the bromances popping up in k-dramaland lately. Park Seo Joon and Yoon Hyun Min were completely adorkable as BFFs and roommates. I couldn't get enough of them. As expected, all the loose ends in this k-drama are tied up neatly by the last episode and the audience gets to walk away with a big smile.

Other Thoughts (And Possible Spoilers): I finished Witch's Romance a couple weeks ago and I have been sitting on this review for a while. But, what I distinctly recall is that I felt so happy after the final episode aired. There's something about this k-drama that brings out a smile. It definitely will brighten your mood if you are feeling down.

So, let's get down to business and talk about the good and the bad of this k-drama.

Good - The first episode of this drama is one of the best that I've seen this year. It's unbelievably funny and immediately sets the tone for the series. Uhm Jung Hwa, in particular, sells the "I can still fit into my high school uniform" scene perfectly. This is my first experience with her work and I found her to be absolutely enchanting as Ban Ji Yeon. She exudes confidence, sexuality, and fearlessness, which is what I want to see when a strong and successful female is the main character. Ban Ji Yeon is one of the best written female characters so far this year.

Good - Park Seo Joon shines as Yoon Dong Ha. I took some notice of him in I Summon You, Gold! but I don't recall being super impressed or considering it a "stand-out" performance. This k-drama was a better showcase for his talent.

Really Good - I just recently wrote a review of Inspiring Generation and I had highlighted some of my favorite characters. Yoon Hyun Min did not make that list even though he had a prominent role as Aoki Denkai. However, he caught my attention as Yong Soo Cheol. It turns out that he's a phenomenal comedic actor and I think he has the stage presence to be a great romantic lead in his next project. He and Park Seo Joon were also a great compliment to one another throughout this k-drama.

Bad - There's nothing that is really bad about this series. It lagged a little in the middle as the script dealt with the return of Ban Ji Yeon's ex-fiance. The audience already knows what the ultimate outcome of that situation will be so it didn't offer any startling revelations and never felt like a true cliffhanger moment. This is part of the reason why I took a break from this series at about episode 7. Once the ex-fiance steps out of the picture... it's back to good times and giggles.

I mentioned previously that these early summer k-dramas are on a roll with soundtracks. Witch's Romance is one of them - alongside Beyond the Clouds and Angel Eyes. It's listed under a slightly different title in iTunes. TIP: Search for - A Witch's Love (Original Television Soundtrack).