Absolutely the most perfect, infectious Korean drama for classic film fan lovers  ... like me! ... Melo Movie (which premiered on Valentine's Day 2025 on Netflix) proved a total delight, featuring characters who loved the art of film-making. The characters in the story loved all kinds of International and Korean films. How I loved that about them, since I've been a classic movie lover starting from when I was a tiny tot, when I would sneak downstairs late at night and watch old classic American films with my mother as she sewed and watched the Late Show on our old black and white television set. I probably knew who Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, and Gregory Peck were before I knew who the President of the United States was at the time (John F. Kennedy!). How I loved watching this drama when they would suddenly start talking about Hitchcock films, or classic Italian films like Cinema Paradiso or Il Postino, popular anime film classics, or when they would watch old silent films together! I even loved it when out of the blue they started discussing one of my top favorite Korean films, Christmas In August. I would wonder to myself: had I died and gone to heaven, finding this superb romantic drama perfectly suited to my own tastes in film? And to top it off, the drama was so wholesome, which I always admire! No premarital sex scenes, no adulteries, no nudity, no gangsters, no loan sharks, no murders, just sweetness and light and romance ... and some unforgettable, poignant scenes between the multi-dimensional characters. Maybe I should have known ahead of time I would love it like crazy because its director, Oh Choong Hwan, directed many of my own favorite Korean dramas over the years, such as Castaway Diva, My Love From Another Star, While You Were Sleeping, Start Up, and Hotel Del Luna.

Our lead actor and actress were absolutely perfect in their roles! Truly superb, unique casting! Adorable Choi Woo Sik (Rooftop Prince, Who Are You?, Pride And Prejudice, Our Beloved Summer, films Train To Busan, Golden Slumber, Parasite) and sublime actress Park Bo Young, Daily Dose Of Sunshine, Oh My Ghostess, Star's Lover, King And I, Mackerel Run, Jungle Fish, and films A Werewolf Boy and Concrete Utopia) livened up every scene they were in together, and I often found myself smiling or laughing out loud as their youthful characters awkwardly grew closer during the story. Their banter together was downright delicious, like unforgettable dialogue in classic old films!

Our second lead couple was played by intense actor Lee Jun Young (D.P. Seasons 1 and 2) and stunning Jeon So Nee (When My Love Blooms, Encounter, Our Blooming Youth). In many ways their characters' relationship was even more complex than the first lead characters' relationship, since they had shared a longer history together, falling in love as teenagers.

In addition, to complete my total joy in this production, I was thrilled to see long time favorite actor Kim Jae Wook in the cast, playing Choi Woo Sik's character's devoted older brother. What a spine-tingling performance he turned in, similar in intensity to the amazing performances he delivered in some of the best Korean dramas ever made, including Voice, Who Are You?, Bad Guy, Coffee Prince, Mary Stayed Out All Night, Dalja's Spring, and Ruler Of Your Own World. In particular there were a series of scenes in the second half of episode seven of Melo Movie that caused me to break down in tears, the scenes were so powerfully delivered! Truly electrifying. I couldn't remember the last time I had cried that hard while watching any Korean drama scene since I first starting watching them two decades ago. Many fans online also said that the two brother characters were their own personal favorites in the series.

The Story:

Orphaned brothers Ko Gyum (Choi Woo Sik / child actor Choi Ye Chan) and Ko Jun (Kim Jae Wook) only have one another to rely on after the deaths of their parents. They bond through the love of film, with young Ko Gyum allowed the run of the movie rental place where his older brother works. The store owner Park Sang Sik (veteran actor Kim Young Woong, Goodbye Earth, Remember) doesn't seem to mind the kid arriving every day after school to spend hours watching films, and sometimes he even recommends titles to him. Ko Gyum grows up with a dream of wanting to watch every movie ever made!

Not surprisingly, Ko Gyum attempts to become an actor once he is grown, usually gaining work as an extra or in support roles. Successful director Ma Seong U (delightful character actor Ko Chang Seok, Good Doctor, Encounter, Memorist) takes a shine to him, even though he can sometimes be a bit annoying when he suggests alternate shots the director might like to add to his production. Ko Gyum is a joyful person, finding humor in all kinds of situations.

Then one day on set he happens to notice a lovely young lady around his same age who handles technical issues and script deliveries. Someone calls out to her and says her name, Kim Mu Bee (Park Bo Young, child Jo Eun Sol). The perfect name for a film lover, with Mu Bee sounding like Movie! Ko Gyum becomes obsessed with finding out more about this quiet, reserved beauty. In time he discovers that her Dad, Kim Hun Dong (Kim Da Hwin), had worked in the film industry but had largely ignored her as she grew up due to the demands of his jobs working on different sets. He was the one who had given her that name, to reflect his love of movies. After he had passed away Mu Bee felt great sadness that he had spent so much time away from her and she determines, in an odd way, to do a better, more effective job in the film industry than he did.

Despite her initial coldness toward Ko Gyum on the sets of the movies they work on together she eventually warms to his endearing ways and actually makes a move to kiss him first! He is thrilled, to say the least! But then, just as they were growing closer, Ko Gyum completely disappeared. No one knew where he had gone. Now Mu Bee has anger at being deserted by both her Dad and her first real boyfriend!

Also sad that they are split, and under such mysterious circumstances, are their mutual friends Hong Si Jun (Lee Jun Young) a wannabe composer for films, and his girlfriend Son Ju A (Jeon So Nee) a wannabe screenplay writer. To make ends meet, while they wait for their big breaks in the film industry, Si Jun works at a bar (run by the same man who had run the movie rental store years before), and Ju A finishes up school; they both have an active presence online, with many social media fans, so they feel encouraged to keep striving toward their goals of eventual success in the film business.

However, years go by and only Ju A has had success professionally, having a script of hers being turned into a movie, while Si Jun still works at the bar and needs active encouragement from Ju A to continue working on his music. She knows he is super talented, but he has huge doubts that he will ever achieve success. She eventually breaks up with him, yet after her success she still tries to have him hired as a composer for her new film.

Mu Bee eventually becomes a director and takes on her friend Ju A's script to produce as a film. She continues to live with her widowed Mom, Kang Yeon Joo (veteran actress Kim Hee Jung, The Suspicious Housekeeper, Mystic Pop Up Bar) who runs a butcher shop. She still keeps in touch with a male childhood friend named Woo Jeong Hu (Cha Woo Min, child Choi Ja Yoon) whom she had protected from bullies when he was little. He sometimes tries to flirt with her now that they are both grown up but Mu Bee has never really been able to forget Ko Gyum.

 

Nor could Ko Gyum forget Mu Bee. Eventually he moves back near her, even across the street. It becomes obvious that the reason Ko Gyum had had to leave the area years earlier without notice was because his older brother Ko Jun had been severely injured in a car crash and had become disabled. He required major therapy only available elsewhere to be able to walk again, function again. Whereas when Ko Gyum was little his older brother Ko Jun had taken expert care of him, now the roles were reversed, and it became necessary for Ko Gyum to become the main caregiver.

Ko Jun struggles with clinical depression and Ko Gyum worries that he might actually try to end his own life. In order to support them both financially Ko Gyum becomes a successful professional film critic for an online publication, and gives up his ideas of becoming a lead actor. Mu Bee wonders what his future review will be like for her own movie after it is completed. Their romantic relationship warms up again and promises to become even better than it was before their forced parting years earlier.

Will Mu Bee and Ko Gyum be able to live successful lives, both personally and professionally, especially when the depressed older brother might require extra care that might test their romantic relationship in various stressful ways? Will their friends Hong Si Jun and Son Ju A be able to re-establish their own romantic relationship despite their previous bitter break up? Will Ju A's and Mu Bee's new film be a stunning success, or a dismal failure?

Whether you are a classic film fan, or not, you are bound to enjoy this exquisite Korean drama, Melo Movie. The performances from everyone in the cast, both leads and secondary cast members, are superlative. I definitely got the feeling that the screenplay writer, Lee Na Eun, was evoking her own profound love for classic cinema with this project. I will definitely be watching this Korean drama again. There are so many brilliant scenes; you will be dazzled (especially do not miss the second half of episode seven, daebak!).

I definitely highly recommend Melo Movie! It might just end up being the very best Korean drama of 2025! 

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