We are back with a new drama recommendation and this time we are sharing our thoughts about a K-drama with an unconventional plot. Let’s talk about ‘Lovestruck in the City‘.
Written by Jung Hyun-jung and Jung Da-yun, and directed by Park Shin-woo, ‘Lovestruck in the City’ narrates the story of six people talking about their dating life. In this production, these six individuals are interviewed and asked about their perspective in life, love and relationships, and they all happen to know each other.
A new persona
One of the interviewees is Park Jae-won (Ji Chang-wook), a talented architect who loves surfing. He meets Yoon Seon-a (Kim Ji-won), during a holiday trip to the coast.
During his stay by the sea, he becomes closer to Seon-a and they both have what many would call a Summer Romance. The fantasy comes to an end once he comes back to the city and asks Seon-a to meet him when she goes back, but she disappears after a short call and he becomes heartbroken.
Yoon Seon-a whose real name is Lee Eun-oh, is a marketer who goes through a rough patch in life. Before meeting Jae-won, she loses her focus in life and decides to reinvent herself and take a break from everything by becoming Seon-a, the vibrant and lively girl she believes she can’t become.
Eun-oh is afraid about everyone else finding out about her life as Seon-a and she decides not to meet Jae-won, however, their destinies are linked by their mutual acquaintances and friendships.
It’s Ok to be Laid-back
This leads us to the second pair, Choi Kyeong-jun (Kim Min-seok) and Suh Rin-i (So Joo-yeon). Kyeong-jun is an architect who works in the same firm as his cousin, Jae-won. He is in a relationship with Rin-i, and they are cute together, however, they want different things in life.
Rin-i lives working many part-time jobs and lives in the same neighbourhood since she was a child, in this place she meets her life-long best friends Eun-o and Kang Geon. She has strong beliefs and wants to carry her life in a simple way, without much complication. She enjoys her part-time jobs and her life as it is.
Kyeong-jun on the other hand, wants to give Rin-i the best of the best, spoil her with expensive things, but she doesn’t feel comfortable with it.
Emotional overflow
The last two who are interviewed are Kang Geon (Ryu Kyung-soo) and Oh Seon Yeong (Han Ji-eun), they were in a relationship, however, they had quite a bumpy end.
Kang Geon is a writer, who has issues with dating, one of his last relationships was with Seong Yeong, a teacher in high-school with an explosive character. Their relationship seemed to be going well, but once it ended, they both argued and had quite a complicated end with a lot of lingering feelings.
In their interviews, they keep it real and raw, making it super funny to watch.
Final Thoughts
‘Lovestruck in the City’ is a romantic drama with an open end, I was slightly underwhelmed with how some topics were discussed in the story. After Eun-o disappears, Jae-won goes through a rough patch where he ends up drinking a bit too much everyday.
He was seriously going through some issues and Chang-wook’s performance of it was spot-on, but very little was discussed about how he overcame this issue. We just see his cousin trying to help him out and removing all types of liquor from his home.
Eun-o’s personality in the story had me slightly shocked, she knew about all the stress her disappearance caused on Jae-won. She kept it quiet even though she knew through their friends the rough time he was having.
I would say that this drama is a hit or miss, it is a romantic drama, and we do get to see a bit of romance especially in the flashbacks on the beach with Seon-a and Jae-won, however, I would have loved it if the story had ended up a bit differently.
However, shawols get to see Minho in the little cameos he had in the drama and even an extra episode dedicated to his storyline (wholesome content).
You can watch ‘Lovestruck in the City’ on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.
