It's Alright, That's Love

Title:	It's Alright, That's Love
Alternate Title(s):	It's Ok, It's Love
Network:	SBS
Year Produced:	2014

Summary: It's Alright, That's Love is a romantic dramedy about family, love, domestic abuse, and mental illness. Ji Hae Soo (Kong Hyo Jin) is a psychiatrist that suffers from an anxiety disorder that prevents her from experiencing physical intimacy. But she's determined to overcome it with her own efforts. Jang Jae Yeol (Zo In Sung) is a famous author and radio personality suffering from OCD as a result of physical and emotional abuse experienced as a child. But he's accepted it and lives with the condition as a fact of his life. The unlikely pair meet when they serve as special guests on a talk show and their personalities clash both on and off the camera. When they are reunited as roommates, they come to realize that they may be more alike than different and set off on a journey of healing and self-discovery.

4.5 = Just About Perfect

Recommendation: It's Alright, That's Love is easily one of the best k-dramas of 2014. This is what a grown-up k-drama should look like once it graduates from the school of bathroom humor, love triangles, and social status conflicts. The dialogue is smart, sexy, and fast paced. The characters are complex. The writers manage to deftly sidestep the presentation of k-drama stereotypes while giving the audience relatable characters with realistically messy relationships. I am not familiar with Zo In Sung's prior work but for me this was a stand-out performance. He captured the essence of mental illness without going over-the-top. In fact, it was the "quiet" moments where he most often brought me to tears. While the director executed the plot perfectly from start to finish, I found one small miss. The final episode was a little too... happy. Yes, I want my k-dramas to end on a positive note. However, mental illness is a predominant theme in the series, which is a lifelong struggle. The ending should have been less, "...they lived happily ever after," and more, "...they worked hard to make each day better than the one that came before it."

Gap Dong

Summary: Gap Dong is a 20 episode k-drama, loosely based on real events, produced for TvN. The central plot of the story involves the investigation into the serial killer Gap Dong, who is known to have committed 9 murders in the early 90s. Ha Moo Yeom (Yoon Sang Hyun), a child at the time, watched as his father was accused of the crimes and ultimately driven to commit suicide. 20 years later, Ha Moo Yeom has become a police detective living in the shadow of Gap Dong. When a new murder occurs that bears all the trademark characteristics of a Gap Dong killing, Ha Moo Yeom is forced to reconcile with his troubled past while searching for clues that will identify the "real" Gap Dong.

Recommendation: I am going to start off by saying that I really enjoyed this k-drama as a whole. It is a little difficult to write about it without giving away key details that will ruin the series for those that have not seen it yet. That being said, I will recommend avoiding my "Other Thoughts" as it will definitely contain spoilers. Without giving away too many details, I found the story to be complete, the acting good, and the treatment of the "catch the serial killer" genre very clever. It doesn't try to hide the identity of the villain(s) but still manages to maintain its unpredictable factor. As always, Yoon Sang Hyun is AMAZING. He is clearly the leading man and does his job well. But he is fully supported by an ensemble with a high level of talent. If not for the poorly written female characters, this k-drama might have scored better.