Happy Ending Romance Korean BL Drama Review

Drama: Happy Ending Romance (펜스 밖은 해피엔딩)

Director: Seong Do-joon

Screenwriter: Lee Seo-jung

Starring:- Leo (VIXX - Jung Taek-woon), Ha Jong-woo, Karam (Park Hyun-chul), Im Tu-cheol, Jung Ji-yeon and others.

About the Show:-

Happy Ending Romance is a 2022 Korean BL produced by IdolRomanceTV.

Set in the world of books and publishing houses, Happy Ending Romance talks about writer Kim Jung-hyun, writer Cha Jung-woo and book publisher Han Tae-young and how their lives are intertwined during the course of the show. What will the fate of these three hold?

(*This review may contain spoilers. If you have already watched the show, please continue reading. If you haven’t watched the show yet, you can still continue reading or you can come back to the review later.)

What I learnt from the show:-

Even when the world is stopping you from dreaming big, even when the world convinces you that you cannot achieve your goals, have greater faith and belief in yourself and your dreams. Never walk the path that others have laid out for you just because they say it's simpler and easier and better. Always take the road not taken, it'll make all the difference. Walk on the path that has your name written on it, go in the direction that you want to go on. It’s your life and you get to make your decisions. I know people want to see you happy, but if you accept their choices then in the future it'll be your regrets. I love how Jung-woo decides to stop listening to the world's opinions and decides to give his dreams a chance. This way he will not have regrets in the future.

Fear is the strongest obstacle against your dreams. The day you no longer fear risking for what you want is the day you are one step closer to your dreams. Fear of losing, fear of falling, fear in general makes you do all sorts of things. Even if it means doing the same thing you had once accused someone of. But the important thing is, are you willing to accept your mistakes? Are you willing to change and be better? Are you willing to apologise for your wrongdoings?

I love these BL shows where they create a world inside the show and you are just pulled into that world. Everything is believable and loveable. This show has a writer and publishing world and it's just fascinating to see all the characters interlinked. Every industry is set apart from each other. There are some shows where they talk about the entertainment industry, some the law firms, others businesses and all the characters are set in that world and we are just spectators of that particular world. In this show it's the wonderful world of books, writers and publishing.

The Characters and the Actors:-

Cha Jung-woo:- There is change in the mood and emotions of Cha Jung-woo when he is with Han Tae-young and when he is with Kim Jung-hyun. There is a contrast in the way he is treated by the both of them, the contrast in the two environments he lives in and the contrast in the love, respect and care that is bestowed upon Jung-woo by Tae-young and Jung-hyun. Cha Jung-woo just like any other good person out there in the world deserves love, respect, kindness, empathy, compassion and attention and he was being convinced otherwise until Tae-young shows up. Karam does a brilliant job at portraying Jung-woo’s character. He studied the character really well and shows great skills.

Kim Jung-hyun:- Telling someone they are not the only victim, manipulating someone's mind, putting words into someone's brain and always making them feel like they have wronged you while all along you have been an obstacle for growth in their life, destroying even the slightest ray of hope, not letting them believe in themselves and making them question their choices are not good traits.

Being possessive and selfish, to an extent that you'd rather have someone next to you and make their life miserable than have them be with someone they love and someone who makes them happy.

But we are all given opportunities to change and be a different person. We can be someone who is willing to do better for ourselves and for others around us, for the ones we love. We need to make sure to grab such opportunities and make the best of them. I am glad Jung-hyun takes that opportunity and changes for the better.

Leo is so convincing in his portrayal. I almost started to dislike him in the role but that is because his acting is very good. He is spectacular. I can’t believe that he is an Idol turned actor. He is such a polished actor.

Han Tae-young:- The world needs more people like Tae-young, who sees all the good in the world, makes sure his life is fun and joyous and focuses on being optimistic. He is like a breath of fresh air. His energy and smile are extremely addictive. He wants to see people around him happy. His love for Jung woo is limitless. The boy is just pure and innocent.

Ha Jong-woo is perfect for the role of Tae-young. When you watch his interviews and behind the scenes, he is always smiling, is jumpy and full of life. His vibrant personality came as a great help for his portrayal and he has performed very well in the show.  

The Director and The Writer:-

Writer Lee Seo-jung- Another talented woman writers from the Korean entertainment industry. The show has only 8 episodes. But she has managed to write such an interesting script with so much to learn and ponder over. It isn't just a romance BL. It focuses heavily on emotions, human relations, social issues, life lessons and I applaud her for her unique writing.

Director Seong Do-joon does a great job in bringing out the perfect emotions and acting from the cast. His vision is strong and the product of his vision is astonishing. The script is the strength of the show and the director’s execution makes the script stronger.

Happy Ending Romance surprisingly turned out to be in my top 3 favourite Korean BL dramas. I love that the show has a beautiful story, focuses heavily on the topic in hand, incorporates romance and the love story seamlessly without it being too overpowering and has a stellar star cast. This show is well executed and has exceptionally talented actors. The cast does an amazing job and the crew has worked really hard in bringing to us a wonderful script and execution.

This show deserves recognition, the cast deserves growth and love and admiration, and the crew (including the director and the writer) deserves support and encouragement so that they can give us more such beautiful works.