DNA Lover
DNA 러버
TV Chosun (2024) 16 Episodes
Romantic Comedy, Suspense, Grade: A
Korean Drama Review by Jill, USA
(Some Spoilers)
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A quirky yet mesmerizing romantic comedy with an excellent cast, DNA Lover (2024) never once bored me. I was watching two other Korean dramas at the same time I was watching this one and the other two tended to be predictable, whereas this one kept me guessing the entire time as to who would end up with whom! As a Korean drama fan for two decades I like to be kept on pins and needles wondering how a story will turn out. This drama was written by Jung Soo Mi and directed by Sung Chi Wook, who had done a phenomenal earlier job directing masterpiece Kairos. DNA Lover can currently be watched on the Viki and Viu portals.
Leading lady was Jung In Sun, whom I had enjoyed in the 2023 film My Puppy, and K-dramas Circle: Two Worlds Connected, Naked Fireman, and My Secret Terius. She is excellent at playing comedy and this role certainly required that talent, big time, since she was playing an unusual part of a genetics scientist who got it into her head that romantic love was a matter of matching DNA qualities in couples, and not simply a matter of the heart alone. Her leading man was the always adorable Choi Siwon, a favorite of mine going all the way back to the classic 2006 Korean drama Spring Waltz. I had also particularly loved him in She Was Pretty, Oh My Lady, King Of Dramas, Love Is For Suckers, and his cameo in Dramaworld. He is especially adept at playing straight man to comedy partners on screen, and is also a member of Super Junior Boy Band. There was a funny karaoke scene in this drama that made use of that talent of his.
Our second leading actors were handsome Lee Tae Hwan (Pride And Prejudice, W) and the always intriguing Jung Eugene (Romance Is A Bonus Book, Snowdrop, Something In The Rain, Curtain Call) who really needs to jump to leading lady status instead of second banana all the time! She's earned it. Come to think of it, so has Lee Tae Hwan earned it! Come on, Korea, give them both some leading roles now! Actually I would enjoy it if you could pair them up as a couple in a story. They had nice chemistry together onscreen.
I would definitely be remiss in not mentioning the WONDERFUL third tier characters in this Korean drama. How I laughed and smiled at the darling Lee Si Hun (Goodbye Earth, Encounter, Moonshine, Something In The Rain) and his hilarious portrayal of a doctor --- who was afraid of blood! LOL! His character ends up falling in love with a firefighter lady (Bang Eun Jung) who loves to practice martial arts - which sometimes requires her to shed some blood! What a funny duo they made!
Last but certainly not least, I was extremely impressed by young actor Lee Chul Woo (Love Is For Suckers) who played a mysterious priest in DNA Lover. His character held some secrets that would end up shedding some light on apparent murders and attempted murders taking place in the story. The actress whose character held a not so secret crush on him was Lee Soo Bin (My Liberation Notes) and she gave an excellent performance as well.
The Story:
Pretty Han So Jin (Jung In Sun) is a genetics researcher in her thirties at the Iroun Genetic Center in Seoul. She has had a string of disappointing romantic relationships in her life and in a last ditch desperate effort to try to find Mr. Right she decides that if she can find a man who has as many DNA matches to herself as possible that she might finally experience lasting success at love.
In a rather roundabout way her search focuses in on a handsome obstetrician named Shim Yeon Woo (Choi Siwon) at the nearby Sim Hospital. They both end up trying to save a pregnant suicidal patient (Yun Seul) together, and grow closer through that experience. Yeon Woo is also friends with one of So Jin's childhood male friends named Seo Kang Hoon (Lee Tae Hwan) since they both play sports together on their off hours. Kang Hoon's Dad (Jung Min Sung) also owns a popular cafe near where they all work so they all often run into each other there as well.
By mistake So Jin picks up Kang Hoon's jersey at a tournament, mistaking it for Yeo Woo's! She has the skin/hair evidence on the jersey tested for DNA and it's a very close match to her own! So Jin becomes convinced she has finally found her "DNA Lover", not knowing that the DNA evidence comes from her childhood friend, the firefighter Kang Hoon, who has been secretly in love with her since their childhood days together.
Kang Hoon's shyness in restraining from telling her that he loves her gives an opening to Yeon Woo, who at first is amused by her fixation on DNA as a possible love connection match between them, but who eventually grows to fall in love with her for real. They enjoy time together more and more, and even take a trip together, building romantic memories. Meanwhile Yeon Woo's funny best friend at work, Doctor Yeo Jung Tam (Lee Si Hun), encourages him in his love life, while at the same time falling in love with someone quite different from himself, a lady firefighter named Nam Seong Mi (Bang Eun Jung), whose physical strength convinces Jung Tam that he needs to work out more and improve his own strength and health. No sense being a doctor if you yourself are out of shape, he reasons. Seong Mi gets a kick out of his affection for her and starts to like him, too.
However, there are family problems in both So Jin's and Yeon Woo's lives that create stresses that might prove insurmountable to a successful love relationship between the two of them. So Jin's Dad (Jung Eun Pyo) had committed suicide when she was younger, and she is estranged from her Mom (Seo Ji Young). Yeon Woo's parents (Park Sung Geun, Yeom Jang Mi) have a very strained relationship due to his Dad's frequent adulteries. Therefore Yeon Woo has trouble believing that True Love can really exist in this world.
LOL! How Do You Stay In Shape Eating Out All The Time?
His Dad's cheating had even resulted in an out of wedlock birth of at least one son with another woman. This young man had become a Roman Catholic priest so that he would always have his own home, but one not connected to an intact family or a woman (though there is a young lady in his church, So Jin's roommate Son A Ri (Lee Soo Bin), who has a terrible crush on him (I laughed out loud when after one encounter with the priest she goes home to read a book - and it's The Thorn Birds! LOL!). Then in a tragic fire Yeon Woo's Dad is found dead, and his Mom unconscious. Who could have tried to kill them both?
Also, an old lover from Yeon Woo's past, named Jang Mi Eun (Jung Eugene), a popular love counselor / author, keeps reappearing in his life, insisting that she still loves him and would like to make their relationship permanent. However, as time goes on it becomes apparent that Yeon Woo can no longer love any woman but So Jin.
What will happen if So Jin finds out that the DNA evidence she had acquired had come from her longtime male friend Kang Hoon? And what if Kang Hoon finally confesses his love for her? Will that impress So Jin enough to abandon for good any hope she had of ending up with Yeon Woo? Will she ever come to the realization that love is not a matter of DNA, but a matter of the heart instead?
If you are a relative newbie to Korean dramas it might take you a little while watching this series to understand that you are watching a story quite different from the norm. You might wonder why a legit geneticist would become hung up on a theory that many DNA similarities would signify a possible true love match between couples; after all, identical twins have matching DNA and they don't fall in love and get married! However, this doctor isn't really looking for an exact match, just enough shared qualities that they would see eye to eye on the major issues in life: love, compassion, patience, the value of hard work, sensitivity toward others, etc. If a K-drama newbie quits on this drama too soon they won't begin to understand these sweet nuances that develop in the story. I loved it and will no doubt watch DNA Lover again in the future. I already miss the characters, only a few hours after concluding the drama. Enjoy!
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