‘Love to hate you’, a Korean romantic television series that premiered in 2023, is a feel-good drama with heavily plot-driven characters. Unlike most of the cliché rom-com k-dramas, where usually the wealthy protagonist falls for a cute subordinate, this series holds its strength in mature romance, too good humor, and a strong independent female lead (Yeo Mi-Ran).  .

With its progressive male lead, refreshing female lead, satisfying pace, and sublime plot, it’s a long enough series to elaborate on its characters at the same time, short enough not to be too tedious

Directed by:-Kim Jung-Kwon 

Written by: Choi Soo -young 

Genres: Romantic Comedy

Starring:

• Kim Ok-bin (Yeo Mi-ran)
•     Teo Yoo (Nam Kang -ho)
•     Kim Ji-hoon (Do Won joon)
•     Go Won-Hee (Shin Na- eun)
•     Ell(Sin Na -eun)
•     Harrison Xu(Sang Seob)

Release date: 10 Feb 2023

No of episodes: 10

Love to hate you: Storyline and plotting

The storyline starts with an advocate named Yo Min-ran (Kim Ok-bin) and a popular actor named Nam Kang-ho (Teo Yoo). The temperaments of both the characters are poles apart and shaped through their past experiences. 

While Yo Min-ran, who has a strong prejudice against men and doesn’t like losing to men as an attorney, on the other hand, the A-line actor Nam Kang-ho is a misogynist with a lot of trust issues. As the story moves forward, they are forced into circumstances where they have to communicate.

Their interactions and forced proximity led to many misunderstandings and clashes, which eventually turned into a love-hate relationship. This initial resentment challenged their gender stereotypes, prejudices, and initial beliefs, and ultimately led to a romantic connection.

An ‘opposite attracts’ kind of a story, which begins from hate and eventually turns into love … so is the naming – ‘Love to hate you ‘.

Love to hate you: Acting and performance

Yeo Mi-Ran’s blunt and outspoken personality, along with Nam Kang–Ho’s extreme dodging of women, checks out extremely well with their characters’ backdrop. One of the true strengths of the plot lies in the fact that they don’t entangle the viewers with a love triangle.

A lovely character, Yo Min Ran, played by  Kim Ok-bin, is a complete package: funny, kind, attractive, and everything you love about a character, you name it, and she has it.

The two protagonist of the story are very much similar in a lot of things, like having the same free spirit and boldness, having the same bad experiences in their love lives, and they both speak their mind and hearts out, portraying both as transparent personalities without any filter.

Both of them showed as mature in terms of mindset, as people, and in how they handled things until the closure of the series. Won Jun and Na Eun’s bonding is also very stunning and eye candy to watch. They both are deeply empathetic and care for their friends, depicting a friendship of a lifetime.

 At the human level, it also reflects the complex bond of love and hate, preconceived notions, and gender stereotypes.

Love to Hate You: What have critics said..

Critics of the series gave their view on the positive side. They praised its heavily plot-armored characters, which makes sense. Leads having prejudices against the opposite sex is also a little bit cliché.

Some find the number of episodes to be short (Only 10 episodes), however applauded for their well-executed climaxes.

Hence, the 10-episode-long series -Love to hate you is worthy enough for a binge watch…Calm, loving, funny, and entertaining. This drama reminds us that Love is just an experiment; Life is the real thing. And we need both………

FAQ

Where can you watch K-drama Love to Hate You?

Love to Hate You is now streaming on Netflix.