Our Unwritten Seoul

Another Korean romance.  If you are in to them they are among the best.  In "Our Unwritten Seoul" as a tool they use identical twins so similar their mother can't tell the difference.  In addition another tool for romances is the misunderstandings that here are compounded by identical twins.  First reaction might be to expect a comedy, but it is more dramatic.

Looking at the photo all the apparent differences are cosmetic--they are the same actress.

The two women, Mi-Ji and Mi-Rae are in different circumstances and have different personalities.  Mi-rae is in a big corporation in Seoul and feels uncomfortable with corruption.  Mi-ji is more at loose ends, but staying with her mother so she could help her grandmother.  Getting together the twins cook up a scheme to switch roles.  They do have only a rough outline of the other's situation.  They cover it up, but leave a little wondering doubt.

The romance comes from their new job situations.  Mi-ji working in the corporate environment deals with an old acquaintance, Ho-su, a company lawyer she went to high school with.  Ironically he had a fixation on Mi-ji, but pretending to be the sister she is truly surprised.  They both are upset with a move to push out small businesses for a new shopping mall.  One lady resists and she at first is suspicious of both of them and all feel caught in the middle.  This dilemma has more complications and a few twists.  

Mi-Rae moves back home and her mother thinks she is strange, but still accepts her as Mi-ji.  The grandmother is the one not fooled, but keeps it quiet.  Mi-rae takes a job at a strawberry farm.  Eventually we learn that the owner, Se Jin had once been a financier, but gave it up because he was upset about corruption.  They rub each other the wrong way.  When he reveals his background he is surprised she even recognizes his name and she has to lie to not reveal how she knows it.

Both men are lied to, but gradually the truth comes out.  Most romance followers can anticipate sparks, but there really is more to the story.  The two sisters are quite different, although at times the viewer will be confused.  

The quality of the series is top notch.  Here are some of the contributors.

Park Shin-woo is the director.  He has 10 directing credits including "It's Okay Not To Be Okay" (2020) and "When The Stars Gossip" (2025).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/03/its-okay-not-to-be-okay.html and  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/02/when-stars-gossip.html

Lee Kang was the writer.  She has 5 writing credits.

Nam Hye-Seung was the music director.  She is noted as a multi instrumentalist.  In the early days she was involved with children's programs, but was careful to not to copy Disney that was common at the time.  She has 20 composing credits and 49 for the Music Department including "Crash Landing on You" (2019), "It's Okay Not to be Okay" (2020), "Queen of Tears" (2024) and "When the Stars Gossip" (2025). see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/05/queen-of-tears.html and  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/02/crash-landing-on-you-very-addicting.html

A quote that perhaps other composers would also feel and illustrates her dedication to music in films: "All scenes deserves a touch up or entirely new music because a different scene might need more detailed music work. Audiences might not catch it all the time but it is needed to deliver the message to their heart as close as I can do because I know the importance and how much minor things can do to the whole picture." 

Park Bo-young had the difficult role of playing identical twins Mi-ji and Mi-rae.  While in middle school she was in a short film.  At high school she had done a tv. commercial.  She has 25 acting credits including "A Werewolf Boy" (2012) and "Daily Dose of Sunshine" (2023).     See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/11/daily-dose-of-sunshine.html

Park Jin-young played the lawyer Ho-Su.  An early interest was dancing and later was part of a boy group.  Jin-Young came to this role after his army release.  He has 62 acting credits and 2 for soundtrack.  

 Kim Sun-young played Ho-su's step mother who had stepped in despite contrary advice when her husband killed in auto accident that also seriously injured Ho-soo.  She has had an extensive career in theatre.  She has 47 acting credits including "When The Camellia Blooms" (2019),  "Crash Landing on You" (2019), "Broker" (2022) and "Queenmaker" (2023).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/05/queenmaker.html

Jang Young-nam played the mother of the twins.  She has a strong background in theatre that includes the solo role in "Vagina Monologues" (2006).  She has 85 film acting credits including "A Werewolf Boy" (2012), "It's Okay Not To Be Okay" (2020) and "Love Next Door" (2024).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/10/love-next-door.html

Im Chul-so played a handicapped and corrupt lawyer.  He has 19 acting credits including "Signal" (2016) "Crash Landing on You" (2019), "Vincenzo" (2021), "Queen of Tears" (2024) and "When the Phone Rings" (2024).   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/01/when-phone-rings.html

Ryu Kyung-soo played the former fund manager turned to strawberry farmer.  He has 19 acting credits including "Itaewon Class" (2020) and "Broker" (2022).  See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/07/broker-japanese-korean-collaboration.html  

Kim Mi-kyung played the elderly restaurant owner.  she has 80 acting credits including "Secret Sunshine" (2007), "Glove" (2011), "It's Okay not to be Okay" (2021), "Trolley" (2022- 2023), "Doctor Cha" (2023) and "Agency" (2023),  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/06/agency.html 

"Our Unwritten Seoul" is available on Netflix subtitled and dubbed.  A brilliant series.

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  Some of them are among my favorite Korean films and a big part of my Korean obsession.  If you follow the links you should be able to determine if any film is worth following up.

When the Stars gossip

 Some people  are put off by science fiction, but they are missing some films that relate to our everyday living.  Science fiction can be an amazing piece of technology, but it can also be a tool to explore humanity.

"When the Stars Gossip" (2025) portrays a space station run by Koreans with one Spanish speaking scientist which means some of the dialogue is in English, a common language.  Their work deals with fertility in a zero gravity environment.  For that they use mice and fruit flies.  The series covers both in a space station, but also back on earth involving many of the characters on both locations.

One of the main characters is an obstetrician working on his own secret mission as a patron had spent enough money to allow him to travel as a "tourist".  There are a lot of dramatic and romantic complications that make this series very gripping.

This is a mammoth project with top professionals.  Here are only a few:

Park Shin-Woo was the director.  He has 10 credits including as the creator of "It's Okay Not to Be Okay" (2020).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/03/its-okay-not-to-be-okay.html

Seo-Sook Hyang wrote the script.  She has 5 credits for writing.

Nam Hye Seung wrote the music.  She has 77 composing credits including "Crash Landing on You" (2019), "Vagabond" (2020), "It's Okay Not to Be Okay" (2020) and "Queen of Tears" (2024).  See   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/02/crash-landing-on-you-very-addicting.html  I confess I have bought a few of her songs.

Lee Min-ho plays Gong Rygong, the tourist and obstetrician.   He is very popular in not only Korea, but also Japan, Philippines, China, France and Latin America.  He has appeared on Chinese television.  In 2000 early in his career he was involved in an auto accident that killed two others in the same car and hospitalized both him and one other.  He has 26 acting credits.

Kong Hyo-jin  played Eve Kom, the commander.  As a teenager she went with her family to Australia for three years.  She has 41 acting credits.

 Kim Joo-Hun plays one of the astronauts.  He has over 20 plays acting on stage.  He has 31 film acting credits including "Train to Busan" (2016), "Designated Survivor: 60 days" (2019), "It's Okay Not Be Okay" (2020), "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" (2022) and "Castaway Diva" (2023).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/10/designated-survivor-60-days-remake-of.html and  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/08/extraordinary-attorney-woo.html

Oh Jung se plays another of the team.  He has 91 acting credits including  "It's Okay Not To Be Okay" (2020), "Little Women" (2022) and "Queen of Tears" (2024).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/05/queen-of-tears.html

 Alex Hafner played the Spanish speaking astronaut.  He is fluent in in German, Spanish, English and French.  He has 34 acting credits, 4 for producing and 2 for directing.

Lee El plays the ground crew captain.  She has 34 acting credits including "My Liberation Diary"(2022).

Paul Battle plays a family member to a key role.  He played a saxophone in a jazz band.  He is from Canada and first went to Korea to teach English (as did my son).   A second visit resulted in a film career speaking Korean with 22 acting credits, 2 for directing and 5 for producing including  "You Are my Spring" (2021), "Vincenzo" (2022) and "Melancholia" (2022).   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/07/melancholia.html

"When the Stars Gossip" is now fully available subtitled and dubbed on Netflix.  Very engaging.

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  They are not necessarily a recommendation, but generally I found them worthy of my time.  If you follow the links you should be able to determine if a particular film is worth following up.