Info in Movie News | JTBC is ending the year with one of its most emotionally grounded projects, Love Me, which is the Korean remake of the Swedish series Älska Mig. The drama will be aired on December 19 and is a mixture of family tension, slow-burn romance, and themes of healing that can reach the adult viewers who are going through complicated relationships in their lives.
According to Soompi, Love Me is about a family that looks perfect from the outside but each member of the family has emotional wounds that they have been fighting inside themselves without making a breakthrough. The Korean version is a movie of Jo Young Min, who really knows how to make deep and character-driven movies, just like Do You Like Brahms? and The Interest of Love. and penned by Park Eun Young and Park Hee Kwon. Their method is very different from the norm as they mainly focus on the realism of the story, the subtle emotional changes, and the characters themelves who show their development arcs and they seem to be taken from the daily life.
The central point of the serial is Seo Joon Kyung who is played by Seo Hyun Jin. Her career as a doctor is only a facade for a buried tragic past. It has been over seven years since the cataclysmic events that shook her family killed off her father and younger brother. Still, this lady is a competent and fiery character in the office but is hiding a huge secret of solitude behind her exquisite and elegant look. She goes on a path to find out what happens to those loners persons who have been through enough to the point that they do not know how to share with others anymore.
One of these days she gets to see her neighbor's face repeatedly. The neighbor is none other than Joo Do Hyun (Chang Ryul), a caring and reflective music director, who happens to be next door. Do Hyun is very composed and serene and has a natural ability to see and acknowledge those things and people which are not considered by others. Chang Ryul shared that he shaped the character by imagining a man who values things deeply rather than owning many belongings, choosing outfits that feel lived-in and meaningful. He even purchased a classic guitar to understand Do Hyun’s emotional language, believing the instrument’s tone best represents the character’s quiet sincerity.
Do Hyun is able to see Joon Kyung's isolation and this is not because he is some kind of heroic figure who comes to the rescue, but rather because he knows what it feels like himself. Their relationship doesn't burst out immediately or artificially, but they progressively become more and more acquainted and this turns from brief chats in the corridor to sharing times in which the characters talk without words and these words mean more than they had ever realized. Joon Kyung sees in Do Hyun a source of heat which is rare for her, a person who does not cheer her up by mending her problems but simply by giving her his presence so she can confront them herself.
The drama also follows the path of Seo Joon Seo (Lee Si Woo), Joon Kyung’s younger brother. A graduate student who is desperate for recognition but is still uncertain of his way, Joon Seo represents the dread that accompanies confusion and that is what he is in his twenties. Lee Si Woo referred to the character as an imperfect but lovable one and focused on his innocent desire for love and stability. The character with whom he has most in common is Ji Hye On (Dahyun of TWICE), an editor with aspirations to be a novelist. The long-term friendship between them gently transforms into love, giving a nice and fresh youthful storyline which stands in contrast to the heavier emotional arcs of the Seo family.
The next very important element that is deeply interwoven in the drama is the life of Seo Jin Ho (Yoo Jae Myung), the father of the family who is exhausted but still has lots of guts and strength to persevere. After the fire that altered their lives, Jin Ho not only bore the financial burdens but also took on the role of a caregiver giving up his own emotional side with the aim of keeping the family intact. Yoo Jae Myung rounded out the character with small gestures of the face and the personality, careful not to overemphasize the role, but still managing to feature Jin Ho as a “regular middle-aged man” who is very kind but not very much appreciated. He is very alive in the interaction with Jin Ja Young (Yoon Sea), a loving natured traveling guide who conceals her own loneliness, thus offering a delicate story about the discovery of getting connection later in life.
The drama, Love Me, is different from other dramas in the way it understands that love is not a perfect cure. Rather, it shows how real love develops with the characters opening up to each other, being truthful and also, by their readiness to see the hurts of the other. Every romantic relationship symbolizes different ages and different levels of emotional maturity, thus, presenting an in-depth, complex study of how folks get back to love after losing it.
Thanks to a powerful ensemble cast, impressive writing, and mature, heartfelt emotions, Love Me has all the qualities of a great drama which will be a big hit on JTBC in 2025. The audience is going to be told a love story which will also be about finding oneself again and the people we used to push away.
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