Before I get into this review properly, let me just say that it should be a crime for Netflix to gather the hottest people and put them in one drama because how are we supposed to focus on the plot when the actors playing the different characters are so distracting?

I mean, several times I had to remind myself that I was actually watching a drama because a scene would pop up, and I would pause it, go on Pinterest, and keep myself busy for 30 minutes to an hour scrolling through actors’ pictures, and it made me feel so giddy and young.

Of course, everyone wants to feel giddy and young, but oh my God, I genuinely couldn’t focus while watching this drama. I am an absolute goner when it comes to an actor with a lovely smile. Needless to say, everyone in this drama had me captivated.

What is Love To Hate You K-Drama about?

Love to Hate You is a 2023 Netflix original drama that follows a woman who dislikes men and their privileges, and a man who also dislikes women and their privileges.

So our male lead, Nam Kang Ho (played by Yoo Teo), is an actor who has a spotless reputation with the media because he is projected as a person who is polite to his female leads and very lovely and kind. But in actuality, he is very impatient and doesn’t have regard for women, whom he classifies as social climbers.

On the other hand, our female lead, Yeo Mi Ran (played by Kim Ok Vin) has been burned more than once by a man, and aside from that, she’s very aware of the various social prejudices that dog her by virtue of her womanhood. So she is very careful and meticulous about dismantling the patriarchal standards of society whenever she can.

Their relationship in this drama is built on misunderstanding after misunderstanding, sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly. I found it so hilarious that they got into this situation where they had to be with each other and I love that they eventually fell in love.

The secondary couple are our female lead’s bestie and our male lead’s best friends, Shin Na Eun (played by Go Won Hee) and Do Won Joon (played by Kim Ji Hoon) who somehow get into each other’s lives because their best friends become involved professionally, and then romantically.

Love To Hate You K-Drama Starring Kim Ok Vin & Yoo Teo Mostly Spoiler-Free Review 

I don’t want to drop any spoilers so that you aren’t put off from watching the entire thing. It is genuinely so sweet, and I would absolutely recommend it.

This is actually an enemies-to-lovers, bodyguard romance Korean drama that I would not have seen coming from a mile away because it subverts so many tropes and expectations that we have come to associate with Korean dramas.

For one, in Korean dramas, it’s common for the male lead to be the one who is very agile and very strong and isn’t averse to taking risks. But in this drama, it’s the female lead played by the lovely Vin. 

She is actually a lawyer who is super strong and she also doubles as a stuntwoman. She is fierce in every way that counts while he is simply a baby boy, and I loved that dynamic because it was the best thing ever.

Some dramas have tried to pull this off by giving the female lead a career that is slightly dangerous, but then at the end of the day, there are still several uncalled-for damsel-in-distress situations. 

One very good example that comes to mind is City Hunter, which is an OG Korean drama starring Lee Min-ho, and in this drama, our female lead, who is played by Park Min Young (the female lead in Marry My Husband), is a bodyguard for the Blue House, which is the South Korean government house.

Even though she is supposed to be someone who has gone through extensive training, doing this and that, and doing that and this, the City Hunter is always there to save her because somehow she always lands in situations where she needs saving. I found this very annoying, and I much prefer our female lead in this drama who takes the initiative several times and does whatever she feels like doing.

Another thing that I liked that this drama did is how the enemies-to-lovers aspect of things is communicated in the drama. In most enemies-to-lovers Korean dramas, the leads genuinely hate each other, and they really do whatever they can to irritate the other person, which is something I have never liked, so I would usually stay away from this genre. For example, in Boys Over Flowers and the Chinese counterpart Meteor Garden, the male leads genuinely had it out for the female lead. 

In this drama, what we see is actually two people who misunderstand themselves, and those differences are rooted in their personal beliefs, as opposed to something external that happens that sort of drives them apart and makes them hate each other.

Also See: 18 Fluffy Romantic Kdramas That Will Make You Cry and Smile with Glee

Another thing I really appreciated about this drama is the comedy because it didn’t feel like it was being forced. I didn’t feel like situations were simply being invented for the sake of hilarity, but all the laughs are genuinely so funny, and I had to stop and catch my breath several times.

I will always belong to the camp that believes in every drama needing a second couple, and this drama might just give Business Proposal a run for its money when it comes to the most heartfelt and romantic second couple ever. Our second couple in this drama, Won Joon and Na Eun, were so lovely with each other, even though they hit a major roadblock in their relationship. The way it just worked out by the end of the drama was magical.

Even though when Netflix decided to go into K-drama original productions, I wasn’t enthused because I have had the best memories with local Korean broadcasters, but they are definitely levelling up the game in many ways, and I’ll say that it’s sort of putting a challenge to the local producers to make sure they put their best foot forward at every point in time.

So, I will recommend this drama if this sounds like something you would be interested in and if you like a true enemies-to-lovers drama with a kick-ass female lead who will make you smile from beginning up until the end.

Conclusion

I binged all 10 episodes of Love to Hate You in a single day, and that says something because each episode is about an hour long. But I didn’t even feel time passing because every episode was simply the most beautiful thing.

The cast was beautiful, every scene was beautiful, everything was beautiful. But one thing I will say is that there isn’t a notable OST in the drama. For watchers like myself whose enjoyment is predicated on how many memorable songs a drama has, this was a letdown to an extent.

And now that I am thinking about this drama while rewriting this review, I really wish we could all take to the streets campaigning for softer boys in Korean dramas. There are definitely a lot of warm male leads in Korean dramas, but I feel like there aren’t as many as there could be because they are genuinely so cute.

If you enjoy Love to Hate You, I think you’re also going to love Summer Strike and Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. Even though Summer Strike and Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha are both small-town romantic Korean dramas and they don’t really have any similarity with this drama, they both have male leads who are sweet, warm, and cute, and I feel like you’ll be able to draw parallels.

Another drama I feel that will be perfect if you liked Love to Hate You is Shooting Stars, which is also an enemies-to-lovers drama about two past lovers who, after a misunderstanding, started hating each other.

If you have watched Love to Hate You, let me know what you think in the comment section. Do you think I have been fair in my review? Do you think I could have added or removed something? Let me know, and I will be on the lookout for your message.