‘Her Private Life’…A fun & charming rom-com that could have made a greater statement with a more ‘believable’ female lead.

There is no denying that Her Private Life is a captivating watch, especially being a Park Min Young starrer, who seems to have the knack for choosing the most interesting scripts. It is a delightful watch, with a light-hearted premise, and amusing characters. But keeping aside the plotline for a moment, I want to talk about what I found was the greatest strength of this show— it’s emotional reveal towards the end.
The past is teased through dreamlike segments, right from the beginning of the show and then carefully revealed in the last few episodes. This definitely isn’t a new writing technique but many dramas fail to utilise the suspense that they build throughout the running time, and the climax fizzles out. Either the problem is introduced too late like Choi Ae Ra’s mother in Fight My Way, or we spend barely any time on it, like in Suspicious Partner.

Here thankfully, the last two-three episodes are completely are spent on the reveal, and instead of focusing on the what, we see the emotions behind the decisions, which make those particular episodes moving. Of course, the ending does tie up a little too perfectly, like how Deok Mi’s suddenly remembers everything from her past (this makes me appreciate Just Between Lovers a lot more, for not resorting to this cliche) or explaining to us, why Deok Mi’s father has a hobby of collecting rocks.

The show operates on a creative template upon which characters like the eccentric Eom So Hye (a fantastic Kim Sun Young, channeling Meryl Streep from The Devil Wears Prada by speaking in a similar hushed tone) don’t feel out of place.
I also enjoyed the offbeat manner in which the show depicted the online relationships like the one of the fan cafe, and of Twitter.

Kim Jae Wook as Ryan Gold fumbles a bit in the initial episodes, but comes around eventually, owing to his character, of that of a kind-hearted boyfriend, who supports his girlfriend’s fangirl activities.

The main attraction, however, is Park Min Young as Sung Deok Mi, a thirty-something, who leads a double life as a museum curator, and as a devoted fangirl of idol teen Cha Shi An (Singer One, a warm addition). She is excellent as a sophisticated working adult and an enthusiastic fangirl, but the shock of discovering that lessens when someone like Park Min Young plays it — slim and fashionable, she is someone who could easily pass off as a young adult or even a teenager. The thought of being a fan of a teenage singer, by an older woman is played off as being repulsive in the show, but Park Min Young doesn’t look out of place amidst the younger fans.
Imagine if there was an older looking actress (old, as in not only on paper but by physical features as well), how differently would the show have played out then? Would Ryan Gold still date her? How would the younger fans react to seeing an older woman at their events? Or society as well? Those questions still remain unanswered.