I NEED ROMANCE 3
The hit romantic comedy gets another season, I Need Romance 3. Airing Mondays and Tuesdays on KST at 22:00 centering around three characters in a complicated love triangle. Shin Joo Yeon, a bitter over-30 fashion marketing director at a home shopping network; Joo Wan, the young songwriter raised from a tender age by Joo Yeon and her mother before leaving for America; and Oh Se Ryung, fashion designer and bitter rival of Joo Yeon. You can watch the trailer here:
I Need Romance 3 Trailer
=== Warning: Spoilers Ahead ===
RECAP
The first episode opens with a charming montage of the main characters as children, and narration of events by Joo Wan. After 17 years Joo Wan has returned to Korea. His memories of his childhood friend are sweet.
The scene shifts to Joo Yeon talking with her friends and colleagues. Her mother has told her that during her stay in America she inconvenienced Joo Wan's household, so now she tasks her daughter to return the favor and let Joo Wan stay at her house. Joo Yeon calls him and refuses to let him stay, citing several excuses, and ends the call abruptly. She apparently has no fond memories of him.
We see the goings on at the home shopping network where she works, and we see her at dinner with her boyfriend. During dinner her boyfriend breaks up with her. We flash back to a time when Joo Yeon and Joo Wan are children, and she is teaching him about emotions associated with music. Back in the present, Joo Yeon boldy accepts the breakup and does not fight to keep him. She thinks back to the times when she was weepy and heartbroken over relationships, and how she learned not to invest anything of herself, and not to cry over a breakup.
Meanwhile her friends and colleagues have their own relationships and romantic entanglements, one who is into one-night stands, the other in a committed relationship with an ideal boyfriend.
Joo Yeon shows up at the home of her boss, Kang Tae Yoon, and declares she has no place to sleep. They wind up drinking into the night, and critiquing other home shopping networks as they watch TV.
Joo Yeon and her co-workers go to a club party celebrating the 2-year launch of some fashion designer's brand. Her friends know Allen Joo is DJing, a celebrity who is hot on the charts right now. Joo Yeon does not know this, and also does not know that Allen Joo is her childhood friend, Joo Wan. He spies her dancing while DJing, and is captivated by her.
Joo Wan endeavours to meet Joo Yeon, and they exchange glances until Oh Se Ryung shows up. After an extremely catty exchange between the two women, Joo Yeon leaves in a huff. Oh Se Ryung casually mentions the name to him, and realizes this rude woman is his childhood friend. He rushes to catch up with her, and arrives just in time to see her speed off in a taxi.
Episode 2 begins with an interview. Joo Wan (being a famous songwriter) explains to a reporter how Joo Yeon taught him to express emotions through music. His mind hearkens back to the rude encounters in the club. And we flashback to when they were children, when he was crying because he had to leave for America with his family. He told her he would return.
Again he calls her, and is again rebuffed and hung up on. Joo Wan walks around his old neighborhood, and happens upon the local watering hole. There he sees Joo Yeon, drunk. He sits down at her table, and questions her, has she always been the way she is? She avows that she's learned to like being lonely, to not care what others think, that everyone is a stranger to her. He asks her if anyone loves her, and she realizes, as she thinks about it, that no one loves her.
He walks her home, and her house is locked with a combination lock. She says the passcode out loud as she enters and shuts the door. He tries it and it opens, but he merely shuts it again. She sits on the couch, remembering good times with her ex-fiancee. Her co-workers show up late that night bringing gifts bought with their incentive pay. They sit and talk, and Lee Min Jung describes her one-night stand. Cleaning up, Min Jung asks about her and Oh Se Ryung
Joo Wan has breakfast with his girlfriend Oh Se Ryung, and they talk of the encounter in the club. She explains that she stole Joo Yeon's first love away, and their friendship ended. She said at least her former friend did not mention what happened in public, which would have demonized her in front of everyone.
Later, at work, they announce the results of the "new business plan contest." Joo Yeon is angry she did not win, and claims the director is old-fashioned. He calls her to his office and explains that her plan was good, but missing one thing: a style director. She explains this to her colleagues at a restaurant. Her old boyfriend shows up, and she leaves. They get to work immediately retooling things to allow for a style director.
Afterwards Joo Yeon's co-worker Jung Hee Jae is relaxing at home with her boyfriend, saying how hard it is and that she hasn't slept for 4 days (a little unlikely -- after 2 days you start hallucinating). The retooling at work continues, only with one wrinkle: the producer, Joo Yeon's ex-fiancee, has quit. She immediately drives to his house to confront him. She confesses the breakup has affected her and that she's hurt. At that moment, Oh Se Ryung shows up, just to add salt to the wound. Joo Yeon sees the couple ring necklace around her neck. Joo Yeon had heard that he bought one from the jewelry store, and assumes it was for Se Ryung. She tears it from Se Ryung's neck. Her mind flashes back to the time they were friends, and that her betrayal hurt. They slap each other when Joo Wan shows up. The two men break them apart, and Joo Wan leads Joo Yeon away.
She kicks the mirror off of a car, assuming it's Se Ryung's. It's not -- it's his. Joo Wan rushes her to protect his car, and she lands on top of him and hurts her hand. He takes her to a pharmacy to buy bandages. They head to a park so he can treat the wound. He asks if she's okay, she says she is, and he asks if she is heartbroken. She says she's fine, and we head back to their childhood, where he hurt himself, and she told him being honest about his pain was attractive. He tells her of the memory, and she says people change. She still apparently operates under the assumption that he is not her childhood friend. He asks her back to his hotel where he's staying, and she makes the assumption that he's hitting on her. He asks her if it's working, and thats where the second episode leaves off.
== End Spoilers ==
I've been a fan of this series ever since the first one, and was excited to find out there was a new show. Each of the series has its own story, with new characters in each, so you don't need to watch the previous ones to watch the newest iteration. I Need Romance is rather unique, with its depictions of makeout scenes, love motels, and steamy romance. The proverb "slow and steady wins the race," which characterizes many Korean dramas, does not apply here. The characters make no bones about love and sex, and they even joke about it.
I was happy to see Kim So Yeon (Joo Yeon) in another drama. I've been a fan of hers since her appearance in Iris (2011) as the determined North Korean assassin hot on the tail of our hero. It was especially nice to see her smile, even if it was only in the first act. She looks a great deal more feminine here, and it's a welcome change. I'm glad she decided to do romantic comedy, and wasn't type-cast in a thriller/action TV role. The character of Joo Yeon suits her nicely, and I personally can't wait to see what happens between her and Joo Wan.
Throughout the show the actors played their roles to the hilt. Nothing seemed over the top, there were no "oh come on" moments, and despite only a brief meeting I enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters.
The scenery in the episodes was beautiful. They certainly show the best parts of South Korea, and the colors were warm and inviting. The pacing was great as well, and before I could even think too much about it, each episode ended.
Anyone who loves romance and K-dramas in general should check this out. This intrigues me more than The Heirs did, and that's saying something. I can't wait to see more.
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