I've never done this before on my Korean drama themed website, that is combine two drama reviews on the same page, but I felt compelled to do so after watching both these dramas at the same time, with very similar themes. In most Korean dramas, especially over the past few decades, we usually see two young people fall in love and they remain pretty steadfast in those romantic feelings over the years until the conclusion of the story. Sure, there can be secondary leads who vie for their attention and commitment, but those relationships almost never succeed.

With these two dramas we see single, childless, workaholic women characters in their thirties falling in love unexpectedly with single men in their thirties who have young daughters to take care of; in each case the two mothers of these two daughters deserted their families, including their very handsome husbands, to go to Miguk (America) to "find themselves". Both daughters are emotionally scarred from the desertions so their Daddies have to spend more time with them taking care of them, arranging appropriate child care and schooling, taking them on trips, helping them with homework, listening to their dreams, etc.

Love Scout
나의 완벽한 비서
SBS (2025) 12 Episodes
Grade: A

In Love Scout we see studdishly handsome Yu Eun Ho (Lee Jun Hyuk, City Hunter, Stranger, Naked Fireman, World's Within, Star's Lover) be kicked out of his company for taking a long leave of absence to take care of his young daughter named Yu Byul (Ki So Yu, The Good Bad Mother, See You In My Nineteenth Life) who was suffering a nervous breakdown at her tender age due to missing her deserting mother. The corporate heads disliked that Eun Ho put family first over his job, and fired him. (Oh, you could be sued for doing that in America today!).

We also meet the indomitable workaholic Kang Ji Yun (Han Ji Min, Rooftop Prince, Hyde Jekyll and I, Padam Padam, Behind Your Touch, Cain And Abel, Resurrection, All In) who runs her own successful headhunter firm called Peoplez. On one headhunter case she had run into Yu Eun Ho who ended up convincing the candidate Ji Yun was trying to entice away from their company to actually remain with the firm. Oooh, this had NOT pleased Ji Yun. She was used to winning in these situations.

Then after Eun Ho was fired a shared acquaintance named Seo Mi Ae (Lee Sang Hee), director at Peoplez, convinced Ji Yun to hire him as her personal assistant. Ji Yun was not warm to the idea but everyone in her office knew she needed help with organizing her work load, since she tended to be on the clumsy side, so she eventually tentatively agreed. Eun Ho proves himself indispensable to Ji Yun, and they slowly warm to one another.

She also spends some time with his little daughter, and since they both love to read they share the love of books together. They will meet at a small city bookstore run by Eun Ho's dear friend Lee Kang Suk (Lee Jae Woo). The Director at Peoplez, Mi Ae, happens to love him. Two people close to Eun Ho and Ji Yun also end up growing attracted to one another, Woo Jeong Hoon (Kim Do Hoon, Moving) and Jung Su Hyeon (Kim Yoon Hye, Goodbye Earth). It's cute watching them grow closer.

When trouble arises at work, usually due to the interference of a jealous rival named Kim Hye Jin (Park Bo Kyung) who wants to destroy Ji Hyun's professional AND personal life, there is devoted Eun Ho to circumvent Hye Jin's interference. As time goes by it's obvious Ji Yun and Eun Ho are falling deeply in love. But will it last? What if the ex-wife suddenly shows up again in his life?

My Favorite Korean Pianist Playing The Love Song

Love Scout got very nice 12% ratings for SBS and proved very popular online. You can watch it on Viki at this THIS LINK. Enjoy. And while I waited for new episodes to arrive I also watched Fanletter, Please, which also made my heart melt....and in some ways, even more. :)

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Fanletter, Please
 팬레터를 보내주세요
(MBC, 2022, 4 Episodes)
Grade: A

In some ways even more mesmerizing, this short but sweet four episode drama, Fanletter, Please, gripped me immediately and I watched all four episodes over one evening's time, and over the next two days watched it again! I couldn't help but see some parallels to Love Scout, but the chemistry between the two leads was even more intense, especially in silent close-ups, as the characters conveyed exactly what they were thinking and feeling, and sometimes without even any voice-over narration! These two could have been silent movie stars together!

Our two main leads were gorgeous Girls' Generation's Sooyoung (If You Wish Upon Me, Squad 38) and attractive Yoon Park (Cinderella At 2AM, Radio Romance) and you could practically see sparks emitting from both of them when they were in the same scenes together!

Bringing them together in several unique ways was the young actress playing Yoon Park's young daughter, Shin Yeon Woo (Alice), who played a young girl suffering from leukemia. What an outstanding performance for a little girl! Sometimes she even stole scenes away from the adults! Amazing!

The story begins with our two main lead characters meeting again after many years since they had been in high school together. Han Gang Hee (Sooyoung) is a famous actress in Korea now, with mobs of fans who follow her every move, and Bang Jung Seok (Yoon Park) is a lawyer who lost his job with a contentious big firm and struck out on his own. Money is still tight for him since he has a young daughter named Yoo Na (Shin Yeon Woo) who is suffering from leukemia and spending all her time in a children's hospital taking painful chemo treatments.

Yoo Na's only distraction away from her painful treatments is to spend time writing fan letters to her favorite actress, who just happens to be Han Gang Hee, her Dad's old high school classmate. Gossip is that this famous actress never responds to fan letters so Yoo Na's letters seem to be ignored with all the others this busy actress receives. Then Jung Seok decides he can't stand his daughter's heart being broken by Gang Hee's silence anymore and drives off to see if he can reach her in person, after so many years, and ask her if she can make an exception in his case and write a letter response to his sickly daughter.

When he sees her again she recognizes him at once. He intercedes for her as she is about to be struck by a drunk goon who works in her drama production company, then he claims to be her designated driver to the others standing around, and manages to save Gang Hee in his car. He mentions he has a daughter and Gang Hee looks rather alarmed. "When did he get married?" she wonders to herself. She looks rather upset so Jung Seok decides he will just impersonate her to his daughter and write her a response to look like it came from Gang Hee herself.

Daughter Yoo Na is thrilled when she receives the first letter and lets it be known to the other children in the hospital that she received one from this huge star. Word quickly gets around and it becomes big gossip in the hospital and eventually even reaches the media! When Gang Hee hears of it it doesn't take her long to figure out that this little girl belongs to her old high school classmate Jung Seok. She decides to break precedent and show up at the hospital to meet Yoo Na in person! Now this is really big news! Jung Seok is embarrassed because he knows he was the letter writer and not Gang Hee. She tells him not to worry about it, that it will be their little secret. This brings Gang Hee and Jung Seok even closer, and it becomes obvious they are smitten with one another. However, Yoo Na still misses her mother who deserted the family. Will this woman reappear and cause trouble for our now romantically committed couple?

There was quite a lot of realism mixed in with romance that made this drama seem quite topical to modern relationships. I will definitely return to this wonderful short drama in future to watch it yet again! It will definitely leave you with a warm heart. You can currently watch it on Viki at THIS LINK. Enjoy!

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