Full of life and colors right at its very first frame, Check Out The Event will make you instantly fall in love with Jeju Island and its featured characters!
Check Out The Event follows the emotional journey of two former lovers who pretend to be together and head on a trip they won at a couple’s event.
And with the opportunity, will they be able to save their old romance or find new love?
As the winning script of the 2020 MBC Drama Screenplay Contest, I have high hopes for this work somehow. Giving off a vibe similar to The Package (Lee Yeon Hee & CNBLUE’s Jung Yong Hwa), this Bang Min Ah and Kwon Hwa Woon starrer encompasses the concept of travel and romance. For viewers who want something refreshing and a real visual delight, give this series a try.
Opening Week Rating: 
Lyris watches Check Out The Event on iQiyi
Check Out The Event Opening Week Story
“There are things that show up even if they’re not welcomed. They always come all at once without warning. We call that luck or misfortune.”
Working as a botanical garden coordinator, Ha Song Yi (Bang Min Ah) is the kind of woman who is confident and honest with her emotions. She has been in a long-term relationship with Park Do Kyum (Kwon Hwa Woon), leader and vocalist of an indie band.
So when her boyfriend Park Do Kyum suddenly breaks up with her, she did not sit back and do nothing.
“Don’t look at me as if I’m a piece of trash you can’t get rid of. The person who was thrown out like a piece of trash was me, not you.”
Unable to accept that their relationship is over, Song Yi stalks Do Kyum’s social media and tries to find the reason for their break-up. She even stalks him in person, consistently calling him and visiting his house.
Song Yi struggles to believe the fact that they already split up, despite being told exactly 13 times. Not until she spotted Do Kyum with another girl. From there on, she realized that they cannot be together anymore.
“We need time. I tried to understand you. I had to try look inside your heart every moment. This time, you should try for me.”
Like a ray of hope that shines through her life, she receives a call notifying that they won the couple’s trip. That, she perceives as an opportunity to rekindle their relationship.
She convinces him to accompany her on the trip as the last thing he can do for her. The day arrives and Song Yi shows up alone at the airport but she realized that she forgot her phone at home. Do Kyum is nowhere to be seen so they all head to Jeju without waiting for him.
“The easiest and hardest man to seduce in the world is your ex. If you act clingy, you’ll get dumped several more times. So you must stop this trip. Or go, to forget about your love and come back with new love.”
Song Yi is not sure whether to continue the trip or not or just tell the truth. As she starts walking away to the airport, she bumps into their tour guide Seo Ji Kang (Ahn Woo Yeon) and mistakes him as someone who likes her. At the hotel, Do Kyum shows up late but Song Yi’s still glad.
We also see the two other couples; the older couple Kang Jae Nam (Kim Hee Chang) and Hyun Kyung Mi (Kim Young Sun), and the Gen Z lovers Song Jong Ho (Lee Jin Hyuk) No Hyo Jung (Nam Kyu Hee).
Throughout the day, Do Kyum is obviously cold towards Song Yi. She doesn’t seem to mind this, but Seo Ji Kang definitely senses something.
But the next day takes a turn for the worst during the maze event as Song Yi caught sight of Do Kyum behind the bushes talking with the same girl from before. Broken-hearted by what she just witnessed, Song Yi walks away. Ji Kang sees everything and watches silently at a distance.
“We used to like each other at first. But why is it just me now?” – Ha Song Yi
“If it hurts to love someone, you should know to let go.” – Seo Ji Kang
Hoping that what they need is time, Song Yi expects that this trip could help her bring back their relationship. But Do Gyum thinks otherwise. He thinks that it will be a farewell trip for their relationship and to help Song Yi get over him.
While at the bus, she is evidently dejected than ever. When she cannot repress her emotions anymore, she hops off the bus. To her surprise, Seo Ji Kang follows her.
Over some drinks, they talk about their respective relationships, with Song Yi getting emotional. Going back to their hotel, Ji Kang heads to his unit while Song Yi contemplates whether to sleep in the room with her ex. Morning came and we can see Song Yi waking up at Ji Kang’s bed.
Trying to run back from her original room, things suddenly got awkward as Do Kyum spots and chases her in the hallway. She has no choice but to return to Ji Kang’s room. As Do Kyum was about to open the door, Ji Kang grabs his forearm, preventing him to see Song Yi.
Check Out The Event Episode 1 Musings
Peppy and light-hearted, Check Out The Event instantly catches your attention with the beauty of Jeju Island. It has such lush filmography that is truly a feast for the eyes.
Though it looks like the typical K-drama, the editing and shots are striking, and the use of vibrant and breathtaking hues adds up to its rather generic appeal.
Contrary to the picture-perfect love stories depicted in other romance dramas, Check Out The Event features a realistic and extremely relatable perspective in relationships.
Rather than introducing a lovey-dovey type of couple, the drama begins with showing the genuine face of relationships, one of which goes through painful breakups.
By only introducing the main love line, it also makes us curious about the other couples’ background stories. Coming from different generations, we will be able to get a glimpse of the issues and plights faced by those of varying ages.
At first glance, it has a simple plot and average narrative. But as we take a closer look at the hints dropped on the first episode, there is something else going on, which might be well worth pursuing.
Take for example the couple’s break-up. I believe that there is more than his reason that he can’t write songs when he’s with her. For now, it is still vague. Either way, it will be really interesting and intriguing to see how it turns out to be.
More than the trite love triangle aspect, I still put my hopes on the rest of the episodes whether there will be some kind of twist. Based on the next episode preview, Seo Ji Kang starts being involved and interested in Ha Song Yi.
By the looks of it, this may push Do Kyum further to be completely honest with her, since it’s pretty obvious that he still loves her.
While nothing has been revealed except for the focal issue, I will gladly include this on my watch list given its short course consisting of four episodes.
Don’t miss streaming Check Out The Event every Sunday on iQiyi.
Watch the preview below for the next episode!
Photos: MBC
Videos: iQiyi
