Love in Contract: Best Korean Drama Series Review 2025

Exploring the Heartwarming World of “Love in Contract”: A Detailed Analysis Review

Introduction

Welcome to a world where love is not just a feeling, but a contract. In the realm of South Korean television dramas, “Love in Contract” stands out as a beacon of romantic comedy brilliance. From its stellar cast to its engaging storyline, this 2022 series has captured the hearts of viewers across the globe.

Synopsis

“Love in Contract” revolves around the unique concept of a “single life helper” who steps in as a pretend spouse for those in need of a partner for various social gatherings. Led by the talented trio of Park Min-young, Go Kyung-pyo, and Kim Jae-young, the series takes us on a journey filled with laughter, tears, and unexpected twists.

Character Analysis

• Choi Sang-eun/Jamie (Park Min-young): The epitome of elegance and grace, Sang-eun shines as a seasoned single life helper with a heart of gold.
• Jung Ji-ho (Go Kyung-pyo): Mysterious and enigmatic, Ji-ho’s long-term contract with Sang-eun adds a layer of intrigue to the storyline.
• Kang Hae-jin (Kim Jae-young): The charming youngest son of a chaebol family, Hae-jin’s dynamic with Sang-eun adds a delightful touch of romance to the series.

Supporting Cast

From the lovable Woo Kwang-nam to the endearing Yoo Mi-ho, the supporting characters in “Love in Contract” add depth and humor to the narrative. Each actor breathes life into their role, creating a vibrant ensemble that enhances the viewing experience.

Soundtrack

Music plays a crucial role in setting the mood for any drama, and “Love in Contract” delivers in spades. With tracks like “Real Love” and “When I Fall in Love”, the original soundtrack beautifully complements the emotional depth of the series.

Behind the Scenes

The meticulous planning and dedication that went into the production of “Love in Contract” is evident in every frame. From the five months of filming to the detailed costume and set design, the creators spared no effort in ensuring a visually stunning and emotionally resonant viewing experience.

Viewership and Impact

As reflected in the audience share numbers, “Love in Contract” struck a chord with viewers, garnering both critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base. The series’ success on a cable channel highlights its ability to captivate audiences with its refreshing take on love and relationships.

Love in Contract | Official Trailer | CJ ENM

Watch This on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKysOvIz1E0

[Love in Contract]
Sang-un is a contract marriage master who makes a business out of a fake marriage and dates. Her customers are those who need “a marriage state” for a very short time without any purpose for romance. Ji-ho is Sang-un’s client who’s together only on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Meanwhile, Hye-jin is a customer only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Crossing the borderline between public affairs and private emotions, would their business stay business?

Conclusion

In a sea of K-dramas, “Love in Contract” shines brightly as a gem worth cherishing. With its captivating storyline, stellar performances, and soul-stirring soundtrack, this series invites viewers to delve into a world where love knows no bounds. As we bid farewell to Sang-eun, Ji-ho, and Hae-jin, their journey lingers in our hearts, reminding us that love, in all its forms, is truly a contract worth signing.

Let the magic of “Love in Contract” sweep you off your feet and into a world where love blooms amidst contracts and connections.

Review by People

Yoo-Miho had a bitter past that shaped her into an ambitious person. She got dumped by Ina’s Chairman, he married a rich fam and left her with her daughter. She thought she suffered because she didn’t come from an upper class family.

She put SE in an orphanage, took her back 6 years later, created ‘Jamie Project’ to make SE become Ina’s daughter. So SE would have a good life, with privileges Yoo-Miho never had. Devoted her life to raised SE, though she’d never be recognized as her mother.

No doubt she loves SE, only wanting the best for her in her perspective (marry the rich). She forced SE to walk in a path that didn’t make her happy but harmed her instead. Different perspectives of happiness made their relationship more complicated.

Betrayed by her lover and hated by her daughter, she bore it for years. When Jiho brought it up, she looked fragile and miserable for the first time. I appreciate Jiho for confirming both women’s real feelings.That she doesn’t treat SE as a product and she trully cares for her.

Their relationship was getting warmer in Ep 14, folding towels, organizing wardrobe and there was Jiho awkwardly trying to reconcile them. He even once called Yoo-Miho as ‘Eommo-nim’, in which he is already considering her as his Mother In Law.

Jiho set up a dinner for them, Yoo-Miho apologized and admitted her mistakes. SE also told her that she always sent her money because she was worried about her. It warms my heart seeing them sharing dinner together, even taking a beautiful picture! I loved Yoo Miho’s character development.

Could have been, but wasn’t. Epic Fail

Love in Contract had so much appeal. After the disappointment of Forecasting love and weather, I was really hoping this would be Min-Young’s big come back! We all love Park Min-Young from What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim and Her Private Life but Love in Contract was not the drama for any of the actors.

The big wrong:

1.) Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. What happened to Min Young’s face? It looks like she got the trendy Buccal Fat removal surgery. Why does her face look like a skeleton? It makes me sad as a fan that she thinks she has to look a certain way to feel beautiful. She has already had plenty of surgeries and her dieting has dropped so much of her weight. Call me crazy but being a size 0 is okay, she didn’t need to go into double zero territory.

The girl looks like she is starving and it’s so sad that she did that. I read articles saying that she didn’t have any surgery on her face and it’s just weight loss (regardless of what happened). I’m just disappointed that she didn’t feel like she was beautiful enough. She looked perfectly fine in Forecasting Love and Weather.

2.) Loved Go Kyung Pyo from Reply 1988 but this drama didn’t help his acting ability. I blame it on the script and directing. The main lead was cold, stiff and one dimensional. I didn’t really see any chemistry between him and the FL and I was wondering why I could root for such a bland character?

3.) The awful script. I can’t put my finger on it, but there was a lot of situational writing. I felt like the writing was setting up scenes for a climax. Like having the actor use the stairs all of sudden so they would not run into each on the stairs.

Or there would be scenes when the characters have conversations, then go home, have a conversation with a different character and then call the person they just left to meet up again. So many times characters would re-meet up in the same day. It felt like it was silly writing.

4.) I couldn’t stand the characters. The choices they made was just annoying and frustrating. The whole plot focused on a girl who was adopted into a corporation to be a bride is just so out there, I couldn’t get into the storyline. The relationships the FL formed (with second male lead, best friend and nanny) was odd and just didn’t fully develop.

5.) The wardrobe. I don’t get it. The FL dresses VERY slutty in the first 70% of the drama, to the point where it didn’t make sense. Like do you really wear a crop top mini-dress to go buy food? I liked the high fashion, but there’s a time and place for certain outfits.

It was as if the writers were trying to say, “the FL is a call-girl” but we can’t really say she is. Then in the last few episodes, she stopped dressing slutty and that even confused me more. What happened to the crop tops and open neck shoulder outfits? Why are you so covered now? The wardrobe was not consistent and I was disappointed on the character portrayal on the FL.

Overall, I wanted to watch the drama because I simply love Park Min-Young, I have watched most of all of her dramas, even her reality show, Busted (which I loved), but this drama really changed the way I feel about her.

I’m not sure how much pressure she is under or what people she has around her, but with the combination of two failed dramas (Love in Contract, and Forecasting Love and Weather) with questionable wardrobe choices (not sure if she had any say in it) and the weird Skelton face and abnormally dieting, I feel like this girl needs some self-love and better people around her.

PLEASE go back to the old days. You are beautiful as you are and pick better dramas.

NOT a typical sweet and fluffy romantic comedy

I think some viewers like me who just watched the trailer, read the synopsis and saw the poster would have thought this is a romantic comedy with many sweet and fluffy scenes while FL gets to choose between two great guys. Well, “Love in Contract” definitely has comedic moments, but it’s not really a romantic comedy. Aside from romance, there are childhood traumas, tragic family background stories and conglomerate marriages & business battles. I personally enjoy the first half of the drama more than the second half. This is not quite a solid 8.5 drama but a rounded up 8.5.

What I Like:

Jung Ji Ho (ML) – Ji Ho is the kind of male lead that I like. Awkward and adorable, sweet and caring, but doesn’t have much experience in the romance department. Of course, he changes after he meets FL. Ji Ho has great character development in the drama. He learns to interact and socialize with his co-workers, recognize and communicate his feelings.

I also enjoy watching how his wardrobe changes with his personality. Go Kyung Pyo plays the character well. I enjoy his facial expressions when he’s embarrassed, confused and awkward. This might be my second favorite character that Go Kyung Pyo plays, after his role in “Chicago Typewriter”.

Contract Marriage – One of my favorite tropes ever. The concept of a single life helper is interesting to me, and I enjoy the short stories of the marriages shown in this drama. I would have loved the drama to focus on these marriages a little more, but I came to the conclusion that “Love in Contract” is a lot more than just about love in contracts.

Main Characters – Choi Sang Eun (FL) is an interesting heroine. She’s independent and strong in her own ways. She seems so perfect and perfectly put-together all the time, yet when she’s home you can see how messy and child-like she could be. Park Min Young, of course, can play this role well. It’s a combination of her roles in “What’s Wrong with Secretary Skim” and “Her Private Life”.

I’ve read comments about how many viewers do not like the second male lead, Kang Hae Jin, especially in the earlier episodes. I don’t find him annoying and think his clinginess is justifiable because he reunited with his first love after 13 years. I don’t blame him for wanting to get close to her and wanting to sign a contract. Hae Jin also undergoes good character development as well.

Supporting Characters – We have quite an interesting bunch of supporting characters. Woo Gang Nam, FL’s BFF, is a fan favorite and I like him as well. I want good things to happen to him and always look forward to his scenes with Sang Eun. When Sang Eun is with Gang Nam, that’s when she can let loose and act silly. Madam Yoo is a scene stealer.

Veteran Jin Kyung plays the elegant and snobbish Madam Yoo so well. Every time she shows up, my focus goes straight to her and I want to see what’s going to come out of her mouth. We have comedic relief in the Chief Judge and ML’s co-worker Kim Yu Mi. Both characters are over-the-top but because their screen time is kept to a minimum, I don’t find them too annoying but funny.

Wardrobe – This drama must have a big budget or sponsor for clothes. Park Min Young looks beautiful, as always, and her clothes are fabulous. Same goes to Madame Yoo’s high class fashion. The two male leads also look dashing in their suits and casual wear.

What I have Mixed Feelings about:

Main Romance – For me the romance and chemistry are just good and not great. Although the three main characters are good-looking people, I feel that the chemistry is not sizzling enough for me. If I compare the chemistry of Park Min Young with her other co-stars, hers with Go Kyung Pyo her pales in comparison to Seo Kang Joon (When The Weather is Fine), Kim Jae Wook (Her Private Life) and and Park Seo Joon (What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim).

Is the chemistry with Go Kyung Pyo bad? No it’s not. But I wanted more and I am not feeling it. Maybe also because most of their scenes are in the apartment, facing each other at dinner and they really did not have many normal dating scenes. I probably go into this drama expecting a lot more kisses because, you know, it’s Park Min Young. There are dramas without much skinship and I can feel the unspoken sizzling romance, but not in this drama, unfortunately. But I do like the proposals in the last episode and how they fit the character’s personality so well.

Cartoonish villain – I don’t even know if he qualifies to be a real villain. He is just not very smart, but maybe he is not supposed to? Because I feel that “Love in Contract” is not a typical funny romantic comedy, nor is it a serious business drama, it makes it hard to see a cartoonish dumb villain fit nicely in the the story. I have to say the casting is done right, as the actor has the face that I want to punch. LOL.

PPL – I don’t remember a recent Korean modern drama I watch that has sooooo many product placements. So many different products and so in-your-face! As a drama watcher, it is very annoying. But if I am the advertiser, this is a gold mine because I have bought Kopiko coffee candies at a Korean supermarket before, and I want to go back and buy more after watching “Love in Contract”. And yes, those candies are tasty! 😋

Pacing – I enjoy the first half of the drama a lot more and the pacing is good. This is when they focus more on FL’s occupation and the contracts she has with the leads. The second half starts to mix the family background and conglomerate battles and this slows down the pace. I feel like they go back-and-forth about the conglomerate marriage.

End of crisis – After spending so many episodes on how to resolve the crisis and putting everyone at risk in the last few episodes, it seems quite anti-climatic to have FL come out and take care of it. It sure is effective but why spend so many episodes dragging down the pace of the plot in the last few episodes when the solution is so simple? I was expecting higher stakes, a more complicated plan to resolve the issue.

Completed: 11/12/2022