One Spring Night (2019), available to watch on Netflix, is a romantic drama with touches of realism in its story which often make it feel unique and special compared to other romance Korean dramas from the past two decades. The director An Pan Seok also directed Something In The Rain romance drama the year before, and One Spring Night often had the same kind of vibes in it as that drama. Maybe the fact that both dramas starred the same leading man, Jung Hae In, had something to do with those similar feelings I experienced while watching One Spring Night. Our leading lady in this drama was Han Ji Min who has some of the same acting style as Ye Jin Son, the lead actress in Something In The Rain. Although the chemistry between our leads in this drama was slow to build (I think partly because the lead actor's character was a single Dad) it ended up being very charming and sweet all on its own. One really can't miss with top acting professionals like these two!

Han Ji Min carries the series with ease, making her character immensely realistic, grounded and extremely likeable. This is not your typical Korean drama story, instead we get a slow burner romantic flame that eats into your heart slowly and captures it completely. Supporting actors are also perfect as we see in the performance given by actor Kim Jun Han playing her long time boyfriend at the beginning of the story. The parent characters are also perfectly cast, with both traditional and modern Korean values displayed. Veteran actress Gil Hae Yeon, who began her acting career in 2003, in particular playing as Han Ji Min’s character's mother, shines in a rather conflicted yet refined role. I was very impressed by her performance in the drama.

The Story:

Beautiful Lee Jeong In (Han Ji Min) is a librarian who decides she needs some important changes in her life, including more joy and happiness, instead of the same boring routines. Her longtime boyfriend is named Kwon Gi Seok (Kim Joon Han). He is the successful head of a banking conglomerate and comes from a wealthy family. One day Jeong In meets Yu Ji Ho (Jung Hae-In) when she visits a pharmacy and learns he is the main pharmacist in the store. Later she learns he happens to be a single Dad of a young son named Eun Woo (Ha Yi An). Nevertheless she is attracted to him and they seem to keep bumping into each other, although not always by accident. Eventually they start falling in love.

As they grow closer romantically big decisions have to be made about other relationships in both their lives, particularly how they will react to any criticism from family members and friends. Can they work through these problems or will their relationship be doomed?

All in all One Spring Night is a fine example of how to film a realistic romantic Korean drama that allows the characters to show their true emotions, allowing time and space for them to immerse into their respective roles in society, work, life, family and love. The OST is also wonderfully and romantically paced, providing plenty of space for the viewers to reflect on the characters’ situations.

Kudos for well made Korean dramas like this one that provide a rounded look on life's complications and expectations. It's easy to see how both lead actors won the best actor and best actress awards on the MBC Awards night. The dialogue of the two leading actors were exceptionally well written by scriptwriter Kim Eun. Enjoy it on Netflix.

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