Korean Drama: 연애의 발견 Discovery of Love (2014)

Genre: romance, romantic comedy
Starring: Eric Mun, Jung Yu Mi, Sung Joon
Aired: August-September 2014 / KBS2
Watched: July 2019 on Viki

ERICCC!!!

WATCHED IT BECAUSE...

I was describing My Absolute Boyfriend to my friend, and she mentioned Discovery of Love which, although is from 2014, still looks very modern. Turns out both of these dramas put us (as the viewer) in complicated positions because we can’t quiiiite figure out who the main man is/who we want it to be, but ERIC!!

THE REVIEW

This drama was so fresh. The relationships felt real. It starts out showing Han Yeo Reum (Jung Yu Mi) and Kang Tae Ha (Eric Mun)’s relationship in the past. They dated for 5 years, but then they broke up. Five years later, Yeo Reum is dating plastic surgeon Nam Ha Jin (Sung Joon). The drama follows the characters as Tae Ha re-enters Yeo Reum’s life after Yeo Reum goes to confront Ha Jin about going on a blind date (set up by her mom). She ends up sitting across from Tae Ha, and they switch phones. It gets crazy and juice (:P) from the first episode. It turns out, because of the way they broke up, Tae Ha never fully got over Yeo Reum; additionally, after dating for 5 years, it’s not easy for Yeo Reum to not be swayed. Especially when trust starts to become an issue.

Yeo Reum and her friends decide it’s best for Ha Jin to NOT know that Tae Ha once dated (for five years…) when the Yeo Reum and Tae Ha start working together. Yeo Reum and her friend Sol (Kim Seul Ki) run a woodworking/furniture shop, and Tae Ha is the CEO of his construction/architecture company. Slowly, Ha Jin starts to suspect Tae Ha’s feelings. We also meet Ahn Ah Rim (Yoon Jin Yi), who is a girl who Ha Jin has been trying to find for a while. Through unfortunate timing and unnecessary secrets, Yeo Reum grows suspicious of the two of them.

The deterioration of their relationship is avoidable and annoying, but also understandable and sad. Will they be able to hold on to each other? Do you WANT them to stay together? Read the spoilers to find out!

This is one of the only dramas I’ve watched where you see like kiss scenes with different guys (two) continuously throughout the drama (although with Tae Ha it’s primarily through the flashbacks). Noting this because this is part of what makes the drama so realistic. You can see how much the characters feel, how much they try to fight their feelings, how much they try to stay together, but are bothered by things that are easy for others to tell them not to be bothered by, when realistically, it’s not that you can control how you feel so much.

I also still think that Korean people’s drinking habits—fine that they have them—but would really be considered unhealthy, if not bad, in the States…

Also, I love the side story/relationships of Yeo Reum’s friends, Sol and Do Joon Ho (Yoon Hyun Min), along with Eric’s friend Yoon Jung Mok (Lee Seung Joon). I wasn’t as into Yeo Reum’s mother’s side story with Bae Min Soo (the CEO/director? guy). Weirdly Ha Jin’s mother is also involved in this side story (but the connection was a little unnecessary to the point that it took me a few times seeing her in this side story for me to realize that THAT was Ha Jin’s mom….).

SPOILERS

(highlight below to read)

“So actually, Ahn Ah Rim is Ha Jin’s sister; Ha Jin was adopted. We find out this pretty early in the drama, but it’s stupid that Ha Jin doesn’t just tell Yeo Reum straight out. This is due to his mom… Which is a little ridiculous, but I guess that’s partially related to Korean familial values. It’s weird though, because Ha Jin is way too nice, and he’s not bad looking at all, so then OBVIOUSLY Ahn Ah Rim would start to like him. Which is weird, because siblings. But then later, we find out that they weren’t biological siblings, just orphanage siblings. The big thing about their relationship + Ha Jin’s explanation for why he doesn’t just tell her that he’s her brother is….. He feels guilty. Because they had tried to run away when Ah Rim (7) was about to be adopted, she ended up getting hurt. Instead, the family adopted Ha Jin (12) instead. Ha Jin lived a great life, he’s successful and loved. His guilt stems from the fact that they were separated and Ha Jin feels like he took her place; after all, the older kids in orphanages are, the less likely they are to be adopted. Ah Rim finds out who he is, finally, when she bumps into his mother at his clinic, and she drops the picture of the two of them when they were young. Ah Rim never tells him face to face that she knows who he really is, rather, when she goes to study abroad, she gives him a letter addressing him by his old name.

Also, she doesn’t study abroad. Ha Jin also goes abroad (Cambodia) to help children in need, and they finally reunite then. But it’s weird because… I don’t know what happens to them. They just smile at each other, and we don’t know what becomes of their relationship.

Another important hidden part of Yeo Reum’s backstory is that her father committed suicide and she told all their friends that he died from a car accident. And WHAT. SHE NEVER TOLD TAE HA that her father died all this time, because she was going through a hard time and he was so busy at work and never went to her and she just NEVER TOLD HIM, which is why they ended up breaking up basically. This happened a month before they broke up; after they had dating for like 5 years, she didn’t think that this was something that she should just tell him, rather than make him come to her about. This part was a bit unrealistic in my opinion. So she was holding the grudge of resentment and the feeling of not-caringness and that their love was no longer exciting, etc… But to finish up the story with the grown ups, the director/CEO guy and her mom remarry. I’m not sure if her dad had another child? He had been cheating on the mom I think. There’s like a middle school-aged kid that the mom watches sometimes. Eric also had a good relationship with her dad and was upset to find out that he had died without his knowing.

So anyway, on to the most important part. YES. I WIN. ERIC WINS. But not right away. Yeo Reum and Ha Jin break up. Slowly though. Ha Jin kept hiding Ah Rim’s identity from Yeo Reum and that make their love and her trust deteriorate. He proposed to her again and they were engaged for a while, but then Ah Rim’s existence and her hidden identity made Yeo Reum so suspicious. But also Ha Jin’s suspicion of Yeo Reum and Tae Ha (rightfully so), especially since he doesn’t know what their relationship is, but he knows SOMETHING is happening—especially because he witnesses Yeo Reum crying in front/because of Tae Ha TWICE. And he’s like, I’ve never seen you cry like that before… When he angrily demands that she tell him why she was crying the second time, she doesn’t tell him but breaks off their engagement, giving the ring back. She said that they were at the bottom of their relationship. I think they try again or something or maybe I’m getting mixed up already, but then one day he discovers the memory box that Tae Ha gave to Yeo Reum (which she never opened herself). When he finds out about their past relationship, he finally agrees to break up with Yeo Reum. That part was so intense though.

One of his character flaws is that he always tries to be happy and hides his true emotions. Yeo Reum understands his personality and knows that saying to break up for them is not in his character, so that’s why she initiates the break up. Later, something that annoyed me, is that he says that he was never happy in their relationship. That’s so mean… But I guess in his eyes, that what Yeo Reum deserved. But I would say that he was happy, even if he was insecure.

And now let’s get to Ericccc!! Tae Ha obviously never got over her and through having him around again and him constantly bringing up their memories and challenging her to challenge herself, she ends up wavering again. Yeo Reum doesn’t want to act on these feelings, and in the most part, she doesn’t… But obviously the fact that she has them can’t be ignored. I could hear my heart beating with parts like… After one time they ate and drank with each other (ep 13), they were walking together, and then it skipped forward to the next morning and everyone was looking for Yeo Reum. EVERYONE THOUGHT THEY SPENT THE NIGHT TOGETHER. When they didn’t (she went to her ma’s house).

So actually, she doesn’t accept/go back to Tae Ha right after. She decides that she’s bad for both of them. A year passes, and then has bangs, which makes her prettier (hahah, irrelevant. She’s cuter without bangs., prettier with..) And through a client, the two reunite. But also, Tae Ha meets Ha Jin before Ha Jin leaves Korea, and Ha Jin (who wasn’t fully over the breakup and still wearing their couple ring) lies to Tae Ha and says that their wedding is soon. When they reunite, Yeo Reum obviously wants to believe is fate, but Tae Ha tries to act cold, especially since he thinks that she’s getting married soon.

Fast forward to the end of the episode (the last episode): Yeo Reum had stalked him on SNS and found that he was going to be looking at this tree somewhere, so she meets him there. They kiss and the end. Yayyy!

Oh. And also, Sol ends up with Joon Ho, which is cute.

But anyway, I realllyyy liked this drama because I could feel how much Yeo Reum really fought with herself. I teared up when Yeo Reum finally says aloud to Sol that she was shaken by Tae Ha; that’s when she finally admits to herself too. It’s like… You really love someone, but how can you ignore past feelings if they’re right in front of your face (ESPECIALLY IF IT’S SOMETHING AS GOOD LOOKING AND FUN AS ERIC. I mean Tae Ha. (HAHA * _ *~) But to relate to myself a little bit.. In the long long past, I still remember there was one time when I had to force myself to ignore my feelings, pushing away the person I liked, because that was the right thing to do. These feelings don’t exist anymore, but thinking about how sad I was in this situation is just so sad. So to be in an actual relationship (Yeo Reum with Ha Jin) and having these feelings for your past lover of FIVE YEARS, must have been 293480298432 times as hard. Even though I felt bad for Ha Jin, I really wanted Yeo Reum and Tae Ha to be together.”

</spoilers>

OST/MUSIC

* Acoustic Collabo - 묘해, 너와 / It’s Strange, With You
Of the two Acoustic Collabo songs on the OST, I like this song better. It always played at the right places in the drama, and while it’s not like SUPER EMOTIONAL, it’s like gentle emotional (hahaha, if that even makes sense).

Ah. I actually didn’t pay attention to each of the songs on the OST (since I binged watched it all at once), so I didn’t go out and find each of the songs when I heard them. I thought there were more songs that I liked, but I guess ^ is my favorite? In general, all of the songs were good and cute and pretty.

* Shin Hyesung has a song on the OST!! How cute is that * _ * ! Eric <3 Hyesunggg! (SHS was my first celebrity crush, and the reason I started liking Shinhwa). But actually I didn’t think the song was super standout, I just like that he sang a song for Eric’s drama. He has prettier ballads…

* Brown Eyed Soul - 정말 사랑 했을까 Did We Really Love?This song isn’t on the soundtrack, but it was in the drama and they talk about this song. So pritty * _ *, it’s a classic. (Obviously my favorite parts are the “눈 부셔~~” and “두려워~~” parts, second to the last lines of the choruses.)

OTHER COMMENTS

I was Eric-biased in this drama. Throughout the whole drama I would ask Wei, “Who do you like better?”, “Who do you want her to be with?” and he would respond in his great Korean, “진짜 남자” (real man), which I don’t know why he’s so into saying that to describe Eric, but said that Sung Joon looks more boyish. (‘-’) Anyhow, and I would say, “Do you think he (Eric)’s good-looking?” and he would say, “Yeah, don’t you?”; and one time he said that Eric was similar to So Ji Sub style… Which… I guess I can sort of see what he means, but I’m like, “He’s Eric o_o.” To this, Wei said, “You sound like you know him in real life.” Yeah, I wishhh. But also, Eric is Eric and I’ve loved Eric in Shinhwa since 2003, which is like 16 years ago, more than half of my life, so basically. :P. (He wasn’t my bias, but who doesn’t love Eric?!)

“그 긴말이 토씨도 하나 안빼고 다 기억이나. 말을 어디서 끊고 어디서 이어갔는지 어디서 숨을 쉬었고 어떤 억양이었는지 그게 하나도 빠짐없이 다 기억이나.”

- 강태하, 12회

(SPOILER: This is Tae Ha’s (basically) self-monologue, following Yeo Reum yelling at him for coming to see her so many times, to the point that she finds herself waiting to see him.)

“약속의 유효기간은 사랑이 끝나기 전까지 일 뿐이라는걸”

-하진, 16회

(Basically: Promises expire [when relationships end]. / Promises are only valid before the love ends.

SPOILER: This is sad because it’s basically Ha Jin’s way of reassuring himself for not keeping the promise that they’d never break up.)

Also. I just laugh every time I see the flat out advertisements in the dramas. You can see them for Caffe Bene, Samsung (vacuum), foldable bikes (? Although I don’t know what brand is was), whatever phone they use with circle case?, Subway…

OVERALL

- Did I cry? My eyes watered (@ see spoilers)… But I think there were definitely a few times I SHOULD’VE cried, but since I wasn’t like in isolated spaces (i.e., I was watching at home in the living room with my parents walking around), I didn’t cry like T__T… But again-super raw emotions happening in this drama, so if you have real feelings, you should be able to cry.
- Should you watch it? Omgggg yessssssssss. It’s so refreshing and T_T Ericccc.

-huay