Secret Affair is a drama that was on my to watch list for a couple of years. When I finally saw it available on Netflix, I knew this was the moment. I’m just sad I didn’t watch it way earlier.
Written by Jung Sung-joo and directed by Ahn Pan-Seok, ‘Secret Affair’ tells the story of Oh Hye-won (Kim Hae-ae) an accomplished pianist who retires and starts a very successful career as a director of an art foundation, and Lee Sun-jae (Yoo Ah-in) a genius pianist with a very humble background who is not fully aware of how talented he is until he meets Hye-won and her husband.
Beyond Stereotypes
This drama narrates the love story between Hye-won and Sun-jae, and how it developed based on mutual feelings and respect towards their art.
Some viewers might see this drama from its description as one where a mature forty-year-old woman falls in love with a twenty-year-old man, but this drama didn’t fall in that stereotype. The story gives a completely different perspective of their relationship.
Their relationship grows from not just mutual attraction, but also the tormented artists inside these two characters looking for that moment in which they can both feel fulfilled and happy. This happens while they both are playing together.
Hye-won leads a life full of lies, cover-ups, schemes and corruption, whilst Sun-jae is down to earth, doesn’t expect much and he just wants to live a normal life. They are opposites brought together through the power of music, and every single scene between them shows that.
Music and Vision
Ahn Pan-Seok as a director has a very interesting style of shooting scenes and providing each character and their relationships a unique setting that gives off specific vibes that compliments the dialog and chemistry. He did something very similar in the drama ‘One Spring Night’ and ‘Something in Rain’, but there was one element that intensified the settings and it was the music.
The OST for this drama is INCREDIBLE, intense, heartfelt and absolutely beautiful. It consists of classical music, piano sonatas and concertos. Throughout the full story, the music was a main character that showed up with its own soul, intensifying the feeling of the scenes, making them look even more real and overwhelming viewers (like me) with feelings.
I had never felt such a thing in a drama because of the OST, but the writer and director did an incredible job giving the music its own body and presence in every scene.
Make sure to check out the full soundtrack, if you are into classical music, you will absolutely love it.
Soulful Acting
Kim Hae-ae delivered the role flawlessly, her acting was beyond imagination. I felt the struggle, the pain and even the love in every scene. She portrayed her role gracefully and I was absolutely astonished by her chemistry with Yoo Ah-in.
Yoo Ah-in’s role is more light hearted, he goes through hardships but he overcomes it with determination (and a bit of unwanted help). His character is adorable, intense and super lovable, and he did an incredible job portraying the emotions and the pain he was going through. I particularly loved every scene where he plays the piano.
Before shooting this drama he practiced piano and listened to classical music, and his hard work paid off, I could feel the emotions of the notes through his expressions. It was such an interesting viewer experience.
The rest of the cast also portrayed their roles well, but a lot of the emotional weight was given to the main roles, and given the plot I can totally understand why.
If you are planning to watch this drama, I would highly recommend not to get too stuck or think about the age difference between the characters. Their story goes beyond that, their souls are connected through art and “Music will always Rule”.
Check out the trailer below.
