“Love that was there all along” encapsulates Korean drama Bubblegum.
Top-billed by Lee Dong Wook and Jung Ryeo Won, the series takes a wordy narrative, but engaging nonetheless.
- Main Cast: Lee Dong Wook | Jung Ryeo Won
- Network & Episode Count: tvN | 16 Episodes
- Official Website: Bubblegum tvN
- Streaming Site: Viki
*Originally published on abbyinhallyuland blog in December 2015.
Quick Review
- Plot Trajectory: The middle of the story is the best part of it
- Plot Pace: Slow but knows when to speed up
- Character Portrayal: On-screen chemistry of love pairing saved the day
- Writing: Smoothly penned until the bland ending
- Watch on a binge or intervals?: Intervals
- Crowning Moments: Unfeigned love pairing on-screen chemistry
- Romance/Healing/Addictive Meter:
- Overall Rating:
- Rewatch Value:
- K-Dramas of Similar Vibe: More Than Friends | I Need Romance 2 |
Quick Plot Summary
Brought by their parents’ friendship, Kim Haeng Ah (Jung RYeo Won) and Park Ri Hwan (Lee Dong Wook) grew up to be childhood best friends who always rely to one another. Haeng Ah’s mother died early as Ri Hwan knew nothing about who his father was.
His mother, a former daughter of a rich household left her family to raise her son alone, and with the help of Haeng Ah’s father who ran a restaurant, she has managed to finish her residency in the hospital by leaving him in Haeng Ah’s father’s care.
Unfortunately Haeng Ah’s father passed away early too and so she was taken to stay with a distant aunt. Her uncle came to rescue and asked Ri Hwan’s mother to let her stay in their house while he provides financial support for her.
Haeng Ah was taken in but has always been careful in the presence of Ri Hwan’s mother who has mixed treatment towards her because she reminded her of her father whom she used to love.
Working as a Radio PD, Haeng Ah gets involved in a cold relationship to a Senior/high-ranking officer in the radio station. Though she has loved the man deeply, she got tired of not being able to hit his priorities.
The love that was there all along
When Ri Hwan learned about her new love misfortune, he did everything in his power to help her moved on, and in the process realized that his brotherly love has progressed to a romantic one.
Haeng Ah who has learned early that she cannot date Ri Hwan because his mother will not agree to it, mustered the right reasons and denied Ri Hwan’s love declaration. But, soon enough she falters and accepts the love that should have been hers all along.
Ri Hwan, who was set up to date a chaebol family daughter politely declines the one sided love and also chooses to be with the love he had not realized to be there all along.
When Ri Hwan’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the couple battled the odds and was initially defeated. Ri Hwan is left with no choice but to give up on Haeng Ah thinking of a future she will have with him, if his mother’s disease will be passed on to him.
Persistent Haeng Ah refuses to be despondent and dauntlessly works on making Ri Hwan realized that he has nowhere else to go but in her arms. In the end, they both chose to be happy and got back together while taking care and building memories with Ri Hwan’s sick mother.
Bubblegum Peak Points + Hitches
I think out of all friendship-turned-romance dramas I have seen already, Ri Hwan and Haeng Ah’s story in Bubblegum is perfect for 30-ish working people who struggled and are struggling to keep up on the sad truth that dealing with a broken heart and learning to accept a new love have different approaches as you age along.
It was such an enamoring narrative that drew strength from the free spirited and natural on screen connection of the lead couple.
Also, it was sadly evident that the conflicts raised in the story were not tied up neatly. Probably hoping that Lee Dong Wook princey face can cushion the misses of its narrative.
It came very strong with how the characters communicated intrepidly and genuinely. However, it fell short because of the wayward movement of the story. It was a case where the beautiful characters were not justified by a well written fiction.
Bubblegum Musings
Although it got derailed on the closing episodes and the mom-doesn’t-want-us-to-be-together was misplaced and later on forgotten, I have enjoyed the heartfelt confrontations, the peaceful conversations and the life and love realizations.
It was a consoling chronicle until the mom-got-Alzheimer’s plot, and less that annoying cliché, it would have been a perfect melodrama as a whole.
It did end up warm and happy for the love birds but the writing was obviously not polished. It was ardent but somehow all over the place. If not for the unfeigned portrayals of the lead couple, I would have given up on it.
But because it had me hooked on fast to cheer for the literal written on the stars love between Haeng Ah and Ri Hwan; and the blossoming of the romance from the friendship tested through time, I sent them off with a smile on my face.
Bubblegum is not a solid offering but it will keep you calm and comforted.
Photos: tvN
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