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[HanCinema's News] Kim Jae-wook's Romantic Energy Elevates "Her Private Life"

Kim Jae-wook has been attracting a lot of attention for his performance in "Her Private Life". The drama is a romantic comedy between Kim Jae-wook's character, Ryan Gold, and Park Min-young's character, Seong Deok-mi. The drama explores their getting to know each other through a backdrop of otaku styled obsessiveness running a gamut from nerdy pop culture to respectable art.

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Tonally "Her Private Life" is a romantic comedy, or rom-com, described in Korean as 'ro-co'. "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim" from last year popularized this term, with lead actress Park Min-young herself being colloquially described as a 'ro-co goddess'. "Her Private Life" has obviously been trying to recapture this popularity, given the way the drama has been produced and its decision to cast Park Min-young.

But "Her Private Life" has underperformed expectations. Where "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim" achieved ratings in the 5-8% range, "Her Private Life" has struggled in the 2-3% range. This shortfall is particularly surprising given that "Her Private Life" has a more unique premise than its pregenitor.

The main breakout star of "Her Private Life" has been Kim Jae-wook, who appears to relish the opportunity to try out a new style of genre acting. Even in the romantic subgenre, Kim Jae-wook has run a wide variety of roles, from the mainstream lead in the popular drama "Temperature of Love" to much darker themed works.

The independent films "Another Way" and "Butterfly Sleep" both tied romance in with themes of death, depression, and illness. They earned Kim Jae-wook accolades for his acting even if they are not the easiest films to find, especially for foreign viewers. All in all Kim Jae-wook has come a long way from his debut as a supporting character in "Coffee Prince".

Written by William Schwartz

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"Her Private Life" is directed by Hong Jong-chan, written by Kim Hye-young, and features Kim Jae-wook, Park Min-young, Ahn Bo-hyun, Maeng Sang-hoon, Kim Mi-kyung, Park Myung-shin. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2019/04/10~Now airing, Wed, Thu 21:30 on tvN.

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