Her Private Life Review: A Romantic and Entertaining Tribute To Fangirls

Fan culture in South Korea is a lot different than anywhere else. Fans in South Korea feel extremely attached to their idols and exhibit obsessive behaviour by resorting to stalking. Such fans are known as ‘saseang’ in Korean. A saseang’s life is dedicated to following her favourite idol and keeping updated about his life. Saseangs often start online fan clubs for their favourite idol and post latest updates and photos that you won’t find anywhere else. And where do they get these updates from? Well, they literally follow their idol like the paparazzi. They wait outside the idol’s house, workplace and even airport to get a glimpse of the idol.

‘Her Private Life’ is a tribute to such extreme fans and fandoms. The best part about being a fangirl is that you never age. So, if you are 30 years old you can still obsess and love a teen rookie idol in a new boy band. And that is something we get to see in this drama. An older working noona is one of the topmost loyal fangirls of a young singer. I know Park Min Young can never look like an older noona but she still pulls this role off impeccably.     

‘Her Private Life’ (16 Episodes) (2019)

People know Deok Mi (Park Min Young) as a curator of an art gallery. But only a few of her friends know that she secretly stalks idol Cha Shi Ahn. Her obsession with him makes her start his fan club where Si Ahn’s fans discuss and share details of his private and professional life. She hides this side of her life from everyone but is accidentally discovered by the new director of the art gallery, Ryan Gold (Kim Jae Wook). Will he fire her for her secret obsession? Or will he use the knowledge to his advantage?

Let’s weigh this fangirl’s life drama on our drama beam balance and see what works for it and what doesn’t.

 

Good Weights

I enjoyed watching ‘Her Private Life’ because…

…for the first time I got to watch a drama tracking the life of a fangirl. It is fun to know what these extreme fans do in real life. Fangirling de-stresses Deok Mi and I think a lot of drama lovers will understand that feeling. I do something similar. I de-stress by watching scenes of my favourite dramas. 🙂 Or simply watching my Oppa Ji Chang Wook’s dramas bloopers on YouTube. I may not understand a word of what he says but I still enjoy listening to him speak anything. Just anything.

The best part about this drama is that Deok Mi may be a serious saseang but she knows her boundaries of stalking and never crosses that. Also, fangirls are believed to not have a social life but Deok Mi has a good bunch of friends and a successful career. It breaks all myths of fangirling and I like that. Also, the highlight of the story is that Ryan Gold does not judge Deok Mi for being fixated with a celebrity. It’s sweet of him to accept that aspect of her life open heartedly.   

 

…Park Min Young was simply outstanding as the obsessive saseang. While characters in the show gushed about how good looking the idol Cha Shi Ahn is, I couldn’t stop drooling over Park Min Young’s cuteness.

Any other actress could have played this role but nobody would have looked as cute as Park Min Young. She is absolutely adorable. Her facial expressions are simply the best. There is this one scene where she happens to come face to face with her boss who fires her from her job, while she works at a cafe. The scene should be awkward but she makes it so funny with her subtle nerve twitches. She is a true delight to watch on TV. I wonder if she is popular in South Korea because she surely is very popular with foreign fans.

 

 

…Park Min Young and Kim Jae Wook’s chemistry was off the charts. Now I’ve mentioned this before but I want to repeat it again, Park Min Young can build chemistry with anyone. And I mean anyone.

She looks so convincingly in love that it often sparks real-life dating rumours. Thankfully, her chemistry with Jae Wook was also piping hot and the drama was so much fun to watch because of it.

Bad Weights

I did NOT LIKE ‘Her Private Life’ because…

…the plot was a little unconvincing. Where the first half is spent establishing Deok Mi and Ryan Gold’s relationship, the second-half tries to convince you of their past connection. Now, Deok Mi and Ryan Gold both have a back-story which kinda connects them. Had there been hints at the start of the drama I would’ve bought the plotline but suddenly delving into unknown territories out of nowhere is too much to digest. The plot actually was too thin to go on to 16 episodes so the writers probably borrowed some elements from Park Min Young’s successful drama ‘What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?’ by having the leads share a past. Too convenient no??  

 

If I ask you to watch the drama it will only be for Park Min Young who steals the show. Kim Jae Wook is good no doubt but Min Young is just too good. Deok Mi gives you a good look into the like of a true saseang and her world is beautiful like her.  

I give ‘Her Private Life’ 3.5 out of 5 rating. This drama is for all fangirls who truly love their idols. And Deok Mi and Ryan Gold’s romance is just the icing on the cake.  

 

Image Courtesy: TvN

 

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