Touch Your Heart Review: Watch It For Yoo In Na and Lee Dong Wook’s Crackling Chemistry

After the super-hit drama ‘Goblin’ concluded fans were dying to watch the hot Grim Reaper and the silly Sunny together in a drama.

And, their prayers were answered when ‘Touch Your Heart’ aka ‘Reach of Sincerity’ was announced. Lee Dong Wook’s last medical drama ‘Life’ did not see the kind of success ‘Goblin’ did so recreating the couple magic with Yoo In Na was to come sooner or later. I was super pumped for this drama and watched every episode as soon as I could. Initially, I loved the show. I often posted about it across my social media pages because the drama was too cute to not be discussed. But as the story progressed and the dramas’ shiny outer layer flaked off what I found was a half-baked script with good actors. What starts well does not necessarily have to end well. And even with your ‘happy ending’, you do not feel happy about the way things ended. Somewhere post episode 12 I could barely find myself going back to the drama. Why? Well, let’s discuss this in a little more detail to understand what went wrong where.  

 

Touch Your Heart (Reach of Sincerity) (2019) (16 Episodes)

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Oh Yoon Seo (Yoo In Na) was on a hiatus following a drug scandal that tarnished her image and forced her into hiding. Two years later she wants to make a comeback into the entertainment biz with a good drama. She chances upon a script written by a writer she has previously worked with. In order to bag the role, she needs to look the part of a lawyer for which she is required to gain the first-hand experience of working with a law firm. Her talent manager then helps her find a secretarial job at a famous law firm. The people in the law firm all admire her and shower lots of attention on her. Everyone likes her except her boss Kwon Jung Rok (Lee Dong Wook). Jung Rok is least impressed by Yoon Seo and is only concerned with his work. After some initial friction, Yoon Seo decides to work diligently to get into Jung Rok’s good books. Her hard work pays off when he finally sees potential in her work and even offers help to get her into law school unaware that Yoon Seo is actually there for her drama. Yoon Seo sees the soft side of Jung Rok and falls for him. He too is unable to ignore her charming personality and falls in love with her. But there is a lot of baggage that Yoon Seo carries and is scared that it will ruin their relationship.

Let’s weigh this sweet romance of a matured professional couple on our drama beam balance and see if it gives you a sugar rush or is just perfect for your sweet tooth.

 

Good Weights

I enjoyed watching Touch Your Heart because…

…if there is anything sweeter than honey, sugar, marshmallow, and chocolate put together then it is this lead couple. Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na shared such good chemistry in Goblin that they became the OTP for many. I too rooted for them.

The only reason I watched this drama was to see my favourite couple reunite in a full-fledged romantic drama. The drama story is not that good to keep you invested in it. It is only these two and of course the talented supporting cast that makes the drama watchable.

…Yoo In Na was aww-dorable. I loved her in Goblin and I loved her even more in Touch Your Heart. She is awfully cute in this drama. Her character may not have been that strong for her but her cuteness steals the show in almost every scene.

…Lee Dong Wook was good as usual. The way his character was written reminded me a lot of Grim Reaper but it thankfully went on to shape differently. However, I have no problem per se because even with a poker face I enjoy watching him on screen.   

…the supporting cast storylines were quite entertaining. Almost every supporting character had a backstory and a developing storyline which I liked a lot. My favourite was Lawyer Dan and her crazy antics while looking for love. Her love story with Lawyer Choi is crazy but funny.

Se Won and Yeo Reum’s love story is also very interesting. They have a history together and lots of baggage that need to be cleared if they wish to be together. I like how they stick together despite all the odds stacked against them.   

Bad Weights

I did NOT LIKE Touch Your Heart because…

…though Jung Rok and Yeon Seo are both in their 30’s they act like teenagers especially when it comes to showing their feelings for each other. It is funny to see two matured individuals feeling rattled by a mere touch of the other person. Korean writers often show female leads as virginal beauties who have ‘never been kissed’ before. Yeon Seo is shown to be so innocent that she kisses with her eyes open just to convince viewers of her inexperience in love. Yaa, right! In the drama, she plays an actress who has worked in several TV series then how come she hasn’t kissed in any of her dramas before? I don’t understand the need to make the heroine look supposedly ‘pure’. Seriously?! Do Korean viewers really believe such characters?

…the product advertisement scenes got annoying after a point of time. I am not against good product placement but promoting a minimum of two products every episode makes you question the whole purpose of the show. From perfumes to jewellery to skin care products, games to phone applications, food outlets to grocery items the producers have integrated every possible brand in the script for appropriate product placement. After being overfed with advertisements, I can imagine how this show was conceived and created. The producers first cast a popular couple. Then went to sponsors who would be interested in cashing on this popular ‘Goblin’ couple. Once the sponsors were finalised they went to the writers to write a romantic comedy that will easily incorporate all the brands that have agreed to work with the producers. The writers did not have to think much. They pulled out old drama hero and heroine characters sketches in which the heroine is ‘pure’, ‘naïve’, ‘trusting’ and ‘totally inexperienced in love’ while the hero is ‘arrogant’, ‘rich’, ‘successful’, ‘handsome’ and ‘also completely inexperienced in love’. These characters most likely belonged to a teen drama but the writers conveniently planted them in this drama, only changing their respective ages. And story? Umm, well that will develop on its own once they figure out which product is to be promoted when and how. And just like that, you get to see your favourite couple while sponsors get their products smartly advertised and producers make money. Everyone is happy!

…I felt that the drama lacked originality at least plot-wise. It felt a lot like ‘Whats Wrong With Secretary Kim’ which was also a sweet romantic drama. The heroine and the boss don’t get along at first because of his need for perfection. She is the darling of the office people and helps anyone she can. While people are wary of his grumpy attitude and don’t mess much with him. She works hard and makes a place in his heart which slowly develops into love. But there is a demon from the past that they first have to tackle before they can happily be together. They even separate for a brief period but end up together anyway. Hope you not wondering which show I am talking about. 

…the antagonist only elicited laughter and nothing else. Now I’m going to delve into the spoilery bit of the drama so if you don’t like spoilers then please skip this one point. <Spoiler> Now the supposed villain, the cause for Yeon Seo’s rotten public image is a rich businessman who stalked her and got her embroiled in a scandal. Initially, the way they talk about him creates an image of a notorious rich brat who harassed Yeo Seo. And true to the image, the actor cast in the role of Gang Joon even looks intimidating. However, when they finally reveal the events that transpired in the past leading to the breakout of her career dampening scandal, it feels nothing more than a face-palm moment. It is really funny that Gang Joon first drugs Yeon Seo’s manager then drugs her only to take her to some hotel room so he can see her sleep. You read it right, ‘see her sleep’. She wakes up scared and then quickly runs away right in front of him and he does absolutely nothing. He took so much trouble for what? I don’t know. Later he ambushes her in a hotel only to scream at her and scare her when the police arrive and arrest him for possession of drugs and she being present with him also gets dragged along. It’s like dude whaaaaat? What did he even want from her? Why exactly was he obsessed with her? Okay, obsession need not have a valid justification but what does he want from her? Each time he meets her he only looks at her. I’m not saying I wanted to see him harm her but I just never understood the motivation behind his creepy actions. You see the writers wanted to create fright and suspense regarding the villain so you keep watching the show. However, they are also supposed to maintain the ‘purity’ of Yeon Seo and show her as ‘never touched before’ girl. So, how do you do that? Exactly like this.<spoiler>   

 

Our drama beam balance seems balanced with good and bad weights. ‘Touch Your Heart’ is a cute drama with a lot of light moments. Dong Wook and In Na’s chemistry gets hotter with each episode. No doubt, there is no depth in the story or even most characters. The drama is very clichéd and lacks novelty. However, it is a feel-good drama and an ideal option for times when you want to just sit back and relax and not indulge in a thought-provoking drama.

  

I give Touch Your Heart 3 out of 5 rating. If you loved the Goblin’s Grim Reaper and Sunny together and want more of them then give this drama a try. The couple chemistry is the only thing keeping this drama afloat. If you don’t mind fluffy romance and are only concerned with a good lead couple then what are you waiting for go and watch this drama right now. For the rest, I would suggest you still give this one a try when you have some free time and want to watch something light and funny.

 

 

Feature Image Courtesy: Hancinema

Screenshots: TvN

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