General Information

Drama: Her Private Life (English & literal title)

Revised romanization: Geunyeoui Sasaenghwal

Hangul: 그녀의 사생활

Director: Hong Jong-Chan

Writer: Kim Sung-Yeon (novel)

Network: tvN

Episodes: 16

Release Date: April 10 – May 30, 2019

Run-time: Wed & Thu. 21:30

Status: Completed

Genre: Romantic-Comedy

Language: Korean

Country: South Korea

Source: Asian Wiki

Drama Synopsis

Sung Deok-Mi (Park Min-Young) is a full time Art curator and a part time secret manager of a fan-page known as “Shin An is My life”. Her part time job is kept a secret from her co-workers and parents. This part-time work is a voluntary one from her obsession with White Oceans Member Cha shi An (One). However, this secret is known to and supported by her best friend Lee Sun Joo(Park Jin-Joo) and her childhood friend turned brother, Nam Eun Gi (Ahn Bo-Hyun).

She had to hide the fact that she is a fan girl to get her current job as a curator when she realized her boss Eom So-Hye(Kim Sun-Young) was against fangirling because of her Fan girl Daughter.

At a business trip in Shanghai, Deok-Mi bids for a painting which Cha shi An had an interest in. She wanted to gift him that as a birthday gift was bent on resorting to every possible means available to get the painting. she went as far as calculating how much she would have left in her account should she buy the painting.

Deok-Mi however lost to the Korean guy who sat next to her during the bid. She tried later on to bargain and buy it from the highest bidder using her knowledge as a curator but lost because the guy was an art critic. This guy is none other than Ryan Gold (Kim Jae-Wook).

Sung Deok-Mi meets Ryan Gold again as the Art director of the Gallery she worked at. And as faith would have it, Ryan misunderstood Deok-Mi’s sexuality and agreed to be her fake boyfriend after a scandal between her and Cha Shi An broke out. As they begin to have feelings for each other, the fake relationship becomes real and changes are made.

What this Drama Reminds me of:

This drama reminds me of what is “Wrong with secretary kim” probably because of the genre, cast, performance and story line. i found similarities like how the main character knew each other from their childhood yet grew apart because of some reasons.

Characters and their roles

At the center of the Drama Her Private Life is sung Deok-Mi, Ryan Gold, Nam Eun-Gi, Cha Shi An, Cindy, Lee Sun-Joo, Ko Young-Sook, Sung Geun-Ho, Choi Da- In, Eom So-Hye, Yoo Kyung-A, Kang Seung-Min,  and Joo-Hyuk. Among all these characters, i would talk about four of them.

Park Min-Young as Sung Deok-Mi

An art curator who falls in love with her boss after a fake relationship between them. Living a double life as an Art curator and Fan girl page manager, Deok-Mi is on time with both and makes sure she is never caught with her part-time work. Because of her role as a fan girl, Sung Curator forgives the other fan girls who assault her due to the scandal between her and her idol, Cha Shi An.

She beats up Nam Eun Gi for giving her an umbrella which was given to him by a girl who has been making passes at him because to her, she understood the girls feelings.. She showed in so many ways how much she liked Cha shi An and still supported him after she got Ryan as her Boyfriend. Her role as a fan girl and what it entails was great and a must watch for fan girls. She did well to evoke all emotions when needed making it easier to relate her character.

Kim Jae-Wook as Ryan Gold

Ryan Gold is a one with a kind heart and always willing to help. This can be seen when he offered to be the fake boyfriend to Sung curator. He gave his support to Deok-Mi when he found out she was a fan girl and joined her fan page to know more about her. When Ryan found out who his mother was and the complexity of his childhood, he was quick to forgive her everyone. He also  welcomed Cha Shi An to his room even when he did not like it. Above all, he protected Deok-Mi’s Identity as a fan girl from being caught.

Yoo Yong-Min as Joo-Hyuk

Joo- hyuk was a part timer at Sun Joo’s coffee shop. Good at breaking glasses mugs all the time, he ask for them to be deducted from his pay. His dream was to be a musician and for this he needed a guitar which he plays for a concert. Upon hearing his boss Sun Joo could be rich, he ask her to buy him a guitar. Sun Joo who is a fan girl begins to idolize him when she realizes he is a potential Musician. she supports him and this dream of his comes true when his music becomes a hit.

Kim Bo-Ra as Cindy/Kim Hyo Jin

Kim Hyo Jin is the daughter of Director Eom who was the previous director the Cheum Art gallery. The name Cindy is a well known fangirl who exposes her face unlike Shi An is my life.  After the denial of Cha Shi An and Deok-Mi’s relationship, Cindy believes the relationship between Ryan and Deok-Mi is fake and for that reason, she begins to work as an intern at the cheum Art galley. As time went on, she begun to love the work she did and fought with her mother who was against an art exhibition because Cha shi An was involved. she left home to stay with Deok-Mi’s parents. She grows as a person as she works at the Art gallery.

Opening Shot/Exposition

A voice-over by Sung Deok-Mi saying “All children are artist, however, the problem is how they can remain as artist when they grow up.” This is so true because Drawing or Painting is a part of our course of study, however how we keep that skill as we grow is up to us and how our interests shape and change us. The opening shot or episode speaks about Deok-Mi’s diligence and passion for both her full time and part time jobs. Enjoying what you love or your work gives you a fresh energy every day and shapes your understanding of the world.

Relationships in the movie

Romantic Relationship:

Deok-Mi and Ryan Gold:

This couple moved from having a fake relationship to a real relationship. They went through everything together and helped each other overcome every trouble they encountered. There was a course for break up between this couple like every couple in the drama land, however, they chose to love each other more.

Scenes where Deok-mi comforts Ryan and encouraged him to find out the truth about his mother when he recognized her first was lovely. Ryan also reciprocated same comforts when Deok-Mi regained her lost memories of her brothers death at a young age.

When it was revealed that Deok-Mi’s mother was the one who left Ryan at the orphanage, i thought this could lead to a break up since Deok-Mi was avoiding him but that did not happen. Their romance and genuine happiness is what kept me glued to the screen. The scene where she found out Ryan was actually Latte, and had signed up as a member to her fan page was fun to watch.

Sun-Joo and Seung:

In the beginning, they seemed like the best couple. Seung-Min supported sun Joo in good times and bad. He also allowed her to do what she wished for and that included fangirling over idols. Their relation turned upside down when he betrayed her by changing a show against her. she felt he sold her as a wife when he titled his show “The chaser K”, The feeling of betrayal almost ended that relationship but due to the love and advise from their friendship they came back together.

Yoo Kyung-A and Kim Yoo-Sub:

This couple made advances towards each other from the beginning of the show and it was no news when they ended up together at the end of the show. Their romance was kept on a low key throughout the drama but was fun to watch.

Cindy and Eun Gi:

I first thought Eun Gi would end up with Da-In because of the drinks they had to cheer each other on. The relationship changed to my suprise to Cindy, Watching both run a channel was funny. Their relation grew when she called him Aggushi instead of oppa since he was not grown.

Friendship

Eun Gi, Deok-Mi and Sun Joo: The three best friend since childhood. They did everything together, they cried and laughed together. They also get drank together as friends, comforting each other. Just like any friendship, there are issues that arises and with this friendship, the Love Eu-Gi had started it.

Ryan Gold and Choi Da-In: Although Da-In liked Ryan, he made sure to draw a line and keep his friendship with her.

Young-Sook(Kim Mi-Kyung) Deok-Mi’s Mother and Eun Gi’s Mother Nam Se-Yeon (Park Myung-Shin.):

Deok-Mi’s mother took care of her friends son so she would be able to work and put food on the table. They were practically family living together although they were friends.

Office Romance: Between Deok-Mi and Ryan Gold, Yoo Kyung-A and Kim Yoo-Sub.

Performance Worth Watching

Every part of the drama is worth watching although some scenes were boring at a point. I continued to watch the drama because the characters, Ryan and sung Deok-Mi were too captivating thus, I decided not to drop it for another drama.

Performances worth watching from the Drill’s Perspective are:

1. The scene were Ryan forgave his mother. Ryan forgives easily without taking into consideration the status of a person. He has the heart of Gold just as his name suggests. This is because not everyone could forgive someone who left him or her at an orphanage so easily like he did to his mother who neglected him at a stage in life where motherly love was a necessity.

2. Another performance worth watching was performed by the character Cindy. She grew from fangirling to actually liking her job. She left home to work on her dreams for both herself and her fan. It was was worth watching.

Closing shot;

It would be a lie to say the ending is not likable. Every misunderstanding was resolved and every dream was accomplished. It took years but Ryan regained his ability to draw. Deok-Mi was also able to travel although not as an artist. Although it ended, I wished there was more to the Drama like a wedding as an alternate ending. It is expected for a drama to come to an end. Creating a fake relationship and turning it into real one was worth watching despite the fact such events are evident in some series like Great Seducer, among other.

Places to stream And Download

This Drama is available for steaming ad downloading at Korean Drama sites such as;

Viki

Dramacool

k-vid

The Drills Decision;

Stream or download the drama because “Her private life” because it is worth watching although the ending was predictable because it was a romantic movie. Suspense as to who could be the one who abandoned Ryan after his mother denied she did was intense. The untold brother of Deok-Mi and the relationship between Deok-Mi and Eun Gi being rebuilt after he developed feeling for her is worth watching.

However, I believe the drama had some loopholes which were overlooked. I think some of them are better left unsaid. I was waiting for Cindy’s reaction after finding out that Deok-Mi was a fan girl. There were so many things pointing she would find out but she never did . I mean, She returned the CUPATCH pictures to Deok-Mi, stayed in her house, slept in her room yet never found out.

This however tells how well she kept the secret but I felt finding out would have added some interests for the drama by audience due to the tension that might have created. Also, Cha shi An would have loved to know Deok-Mi but it was kept a secret to him that she was Shi An is my life. It’s still good he got to know she was a fan at the end.

Ratings:

Screenplay:  8/10

Cast: 10/10

Acting: 9/10

costumes: 8/10

overall: 8.8/10

Drama Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya4jtUE_yf0&t=15s

What do you think of this Drama? Comment in the discussion Box below! Did you like or Hate The Drama Her Private life?