Playful Kiss is an adorable and entertaining romantic comedy that everyone will love! The story follows unpopular outcast Oh Ha Ni played by Jung So Min as she struggles in her first year of high school. She also wants the popular boy, Baek Seung-Jo played by Kim Hyun-Joong, who she's in love with to notice her.
Oh Ha Ni is at the bottom of her high school class but she writes a love letter to Baek Seung-Jo who is the smartest boy in school. He grades the letter and gives it back, mortifying her and making her think he will never have feelings for stupid girls.
When the home of her father collapses, Oh Ha-Ni and her father move in with Baek Seung-Jo and his family while they wait for a new house.
Inspite of her energetic efforts, Baek Seung-Jo is not interested at first and his uncaring attitude is upsetting. Eventually their relationship develops throughout this wonderful story!
This story is the Korean version of the Japanese manga Itazura Na Kiss by Tada Kaoru. It is also sometimes known as Jangnanseureon Kiseu, Mischievous Kiss or Naughty Kiss.
The cast includes the talents of Jung Hye-young as Hwang Geum-hee, Seung jo's mother; Oh Kyung soo as Baek Soo chang Seung jo’s father; Choi Won Hong as Baek eun jo, Seung-jo's brother; Kang Nam gil as Oh Ki-dong, Ha-ni's father; Lee Tae sung as Bong Joon-gu, and also Hong Yoon Hwa as Jung Joo-ri, Ha-ni's best friend. The series is directed by Kim Do-Hyung.
Love a good romantic comedy? Here are the top 10 reasons why you should watch Playful Kiss!
1. Handsome Male Lead
After starring in the popular drama, Boys Over Flowers, Kim Hyun Joong takes another role as a major heartthrob and total package in the drama, Playful Kiss, but this time, he is front and center in stealing the female lead’s heart.
Kim Hyun Joong plays Baek Seung Jo in this romantic comedy who manages to have girls chasing after him even with his cold personality. The character is based off of Naoki Irie from the manga series.
2. Comedic Romance
It seems like all the actors in the drama have a role in pushing the storyline forward with funny moments, especially Oh Han-ni and Baek Seung-jo. In the starting scene of the drama, Han-ni dreams about a magical forest and a unicorn that happens to be her four-year crush, Seung-jo.
Living a blissful dream, she unfortunately wakes up to reality after nearly kissing Seung-jo’s lips. Later on, when Seung-jo makes fun of her, she goes out of her way to prove him wrong. To show Seung-jo that she is not as flat-chested as he thought, she places socks in her bra for a more push-up effect.
I could easily pick out ten funny moments in this drama that will always make me laugh but let’s go to number three on the list.
3. Opposites Attract
Playful Kiss is one of those few dramas where the female and male lead are the complete opposites when it comes to their personalities and how they live their lifestyles.
While Han-ni nearly pulls her hair out from the stress of not knowing questions, Seung-jo spends his time building toy robots and hanging out with his brother. But Han-ni does not give up on finding middle ground when it comes to her genius crush.
4. Clumsy Female Lead
Clumsiness is considered one of
One of the most memorable scenes in the Korean drama was the high school graduation ceremony when Seung-jo and Han-ni were on stage. Let’s just say walking down the stairs didn’t go as smoothly as they thought.
Despite not finding anything she’s good at, she manages to capture the heart of the man of her dreams. You could say that it’s no coincidence that her dreams almost always involve Seung-jo. Her character is based on Kotoko Aihara from the Kaoru Tada manga series.
5. Two-Sided Love Triangle
Ah, the classic element involved in almost every romance movie or drama. Even though two-sided love triangles become boring after a while, Playful Kiss uses the cliché well. In the beginning, Bong Joon Gu tries to stay by
Han-ni's love triangle is like having to choose between a golden bear and a brown bear!
As the story transitions from high school to university life, Bong Joon Gu has a slight change of attitude in approaching Han-ni. However, Han-ni disregards him for Seung-jo when a girl by the name of Yoon Hae-ra appears. It takes a marriage proposal from Joon-gu for Seung-jo to realize Han-ni is slipping away from him.
6. Funny Second Male Lead
Bong Joon-gu's way of going after his childhood friend and crush Han-ni is not as common as one thinks. Usually, the second male lead confesses right away or writes letters, but he is one to go all out. He takes a motorbike from a teacher and goes after her once hearing the news about her spending time with Seung-jo at the beach.
Joon-gu makes every effort to win her over even when his plans backfired. He is one of the characters alongside Han-ni that really makes this drama comedic, even if he would love a free kiss from his old friend Han-ni!
7. Smarter Than the Average People
The original writing in this show really let these popular manga characters shine over the original broadcast period. Television and similar technologies help to let your favorite characters thrive in a new way!
Before her rival appeared, Seung-jo’s brother was also challenging her confidence. Who would’ve known that her biggest obstacles revolved around geniuses?
8. Mother Figure
In Playful Kiss, Han-ni lives with her father Oh Ki Dong who takes over the restaurant that’s been in their family for generations. But in a twist of fate, she ends up living with Baek Seung-jo and his family.
As she becomes comfortable with the family, Baek Seung-jo’s mother, Hwang Geum Hee, grows attached to her and sees her as a daughter. Han-ni finds herself seeking advice from her and undoubtedly, Hye-young starts to fill the empty void of the mother figure in her life. Jung Hye Young plays Seung-jo’s mother perfectly!
9. Importance of Family
Baek Seung-jo's father Soo-chang, has a long-lasting friendship with
Between Seung jo's parents and Han-ni's relationship with them this show is so heartwarming! I guess you could say that they were meant to be. Nothing’s better than feeling a sense of familiarity with people you just met.
There are many stories with great family lessons like The Secret Garden but this one is more of my personal taste.
10. Soundtrack
With any good television show or movie, there must be a good soundtrack to go with it. Playful Kiss is yet another drama that
From your first day of school, getting your first kiss or first part-time job, to the final good byes as characters leave for Parang University high school is a changing time in life and the music perfectly captures this!
I would also recommend checking out the Korean drama, Boys Over Flowers, and the soundtrack that goes along with it. Sometimes I wonder, how do these dramas come up with the perfect music?
I hope you enjoyed our top reasons for watching the Korean drama, Playful Kiss. This drama has so many elements that I struggled to narrow down what I thought were the most memorable ones! It is available to stream for free on Rakuten Viki.
The series appeared on tv Asahi and won 2 MBC Drama Awards including the Popularity Award. Whether a show gets high or low ratings you can still enjoy it and this Korean series will not disappoint!
There is also a Taiwanese version of the story called It Started With A Kiss starring Joe Cheng and Ariel Lin.
If you liked this show I also recommend Joseon X-Files, Prosecutor Princess, Sensetive Couple with Jung Joo Ri, and Sungkyunkwan Scandal!
Shop vinyl die cut stickers and other products from this great show!
Love Korean dramas? Check out our Top 10 Most Memorable Korean Dramas on Sarah Scoop!
Leave a Reply