Love Scout is such a sweet, simple drama that fills your heart with giddiness and warmth. Definitely one of the best this year!

ABOUT

It’s a love story between a CEO of a successful headhunter company, Kang Ji Yun (Han Ji Min) who is terrific at her work but clueless in everything else and her highly competent secretary Yoo Eun Ho (Lee Joon Hyuk) who is also a single father.

REVIEW

It’s such a delight to watch a mature romance with mature characters and actors. The drama is all about subtle romantic feels — stolen glances, shy smiles, shared silences. The leads don’t start on friendly terms but as we move along their story, their relationship turns into cordial, then turns into friendship and finally romantic. What begins as a professional relationship, it blossoms into a profound connection, challenging both to embrace the possibility of love. I also liked the role reversal of a typical boss-secretary romance trope — the woman is the boss and the man is the secretary.

The drama efficiently plays out different elements of the ‘single dad’ and ‘workplace romance’ tropes. The former provides heartwarming moments whenever we see Eun Ho and his daughter Byeol’s scenes, or her scenes with Ji Yun. I love that Ji Yun develops a bond with Byeol independently before she becomes aware that she is Eun Ho’s daughter. Their library scenes are so cute.

Eun Ho is such a mature and thoughtful person, not to mention hard working and skilled in his work. He has lots of compassion and sincerity in him. He also has a sense of humour that adds to his charm. Ji Yun is also a mature person but she is dealing with past trauma when we first meet her — that explains her cold nature where her entire focus is on her work. But through her friendship with her best friend/ colleague Seo Mi Ae, we get to see her warm and affectionate side.

It’s beautiful to see the two leads falling in love and how they support each other and evolve in the process. I do think there was no need for the show to give them a childhood connection, even if not direct, but it gets a pass as the drama did need something to give a hurdle to cross during the last few episodes. I’m really glad though that it does not take a long time to get resolved and is handled maturely by the characters.

The chemistry between the leads is undeniable — in a soft, slow-burn kind of way that feels real, mature and endearing.

I also loved the hero’s friendship with bookstore owner Lee Kang Seok. It is so natural and candid.

We also have second leads in the form of Jung Su Hyeon (Kim Yoon Hye) who is a single mom and Eun Ho’s neighbor, also in one-sided love with him; and Woo Jeong Hun (Kim Do Hoon), who is Ji Yun’s work partner and in love with her. I enjoyed their love story as well as they develop friendship and help each other move on from their respective unrequited love and later develop romantic feelings for each other. I love this arc where second leads move on from the main leads and fall in love with each other, instead of joining hands to create problems for the main OTP — something that used to happen a lot in older Kdramas.

Love Scout takes up the premise of headhunting industry which gives it a fresh layer. As always, there are cases of the week in parallel to main romantic story — they are related to recruitment and hiring and are pretty dramatic, but mostly engrossing. The workplace team is full of amusing characters who provide laughs and fun moments in the show.

My interest level reduced (as always) once the main story was done. The last arc of another company CEO trying to destroy Ji Yun’s career was predictable and uninteresting. But with a total of 12 episodes, the drama doesn’t drag too much. I also wish the show had spent little bit more time on second leads’ romantic story.

Talking about performance, Han Ji Min is effortless and solid in the role. Lee Joon Hyuk is swoony and charming in this romantic role. He has an endearing manner about him. Kim Yoon Hye is impressive. Rest of the cast lends a solid support to the drama.

IN A NUTSHELL

If you’re in the mood for a sweet and heartwarming love story, this charming romantic drama is just the ticket.

MY RATING: 8.5 out of 10