As Korean romance dramas go, “ Was it Love?” certainly wasn’t one of the worst Korean dramas out there, with some intriguing themes tackled such as motherhood, parentage and abortion as well.

What is fair to say, however, is that “ Was it Love?” had so many opportunities throughout the drama to play upon its own cliches of the mysterious father, particularly through Noh Ae-jung ( Song Ji hyo)’s daughter, Ha-nee ( Uhm Chae-young )’s being allowed to bond with her potential fathers in equal manners such as ;
famous actor Ryu Jin ( Song Jong ho), financial head Koo Pa-do ( Kim Moon Joon) , P.E. teacher Oh Yeon-woo ( Koo Ja- Sung) and novelist Oh Dae- Oh ( Son Ho Jun) respectfully throughout the entirety of the show.

Although Song Ji hyo did captivate some of the elements of her character’s determination upon screen at times ( in addition to the scriptwriting ), her acting at times seemed a little wooden and thus didn’t help in making Ae-Jung’s personality seem often very lacklustre.

Of course that’s not to say that Ae- Jung was quintessentially a terrible character as there is no denying that Ae-Jung did seem to share genuine love and affection for both her daughter and her mother Choi Hyang-ja ( Kim Mi Kyung) throughout the drama . On the other hand, “ Was it Love?” ‘s biggest flaw soon became apparent by the scriptwriters’ decision to cram-in as much plot focus upon the aspects of Ae- Jung’s seemingly lingering “chemical” relationships with each of the respected male leads of the drama. Although it was undeniable that most of the actors were fairly brilliant in their respected roles, there were too many cliches which brought lacking emphasis upon characters such as Pa-do ( especially with the whole doppelgänger trope) and Yeon- woo as plot devices , rather than as individuals over the course of the drama.

As a romance drama there isn’t anything entirely wrong with this format, however, in making this decision, there was little actual focus upon Ae- Jung’s development as a character as well upon her familial bond with her daughter.

Although an undeniable driving factor of the series was the actual question of Ha- nee’s biological father and the miscommunication between daughter and mother adding to the final climax , it’s fair to say that the ending revelation could not help but severely highlight and question a lot of Ae-Jung’s decisions.

It’s natural to see what Ae-Jung was trying to do in shielding the truth from Ha- nee; she had raised her for nearly fourteen years a as a single parent and Ha- nee finding out the truth about her father would threaten their relationship a lot. On the other hand what did not seem particularly fair was that it hadn’t crossed Ae- Jung’s mind even when her mother mentioned Ha-nee’s interest in finding out more about her father, to at least sit down and give Ha- nee, the respect and liberty to ask about the matter . This was initially ( regardless of events ) quite a selfish act committed by Ae-Jung , both for Ha-nee as well as her father, who is later revealed to be oblivious to the fact that he even had a daughter in the first place.

This is also what bothered me a little but about Ha-nee’s sudden shift from intrigue and wonder over her father to suddenly acting hostile the minute she actually finds out who he is. Whilst I can understand Ha- nee acting this way to some extent when she learns of some of the events and hardships her mother was put through, it just didn’t add up to Ha-nee’s character by not having a moment of actual intrigue or an attempt to get to know him more affectionately, even once in the show ( without being forced of course). If the plot tropes and cliches weren’t bad enough, the cliche of Ha- nee’s ending is even stranger with little actual necessity or purpose apart from wanting to give viewers a “ happy ending”.

Overall “ Was it Love?” is a perfect example of a “ throwaway drama”; easy to binge- watch without a second thought, but certainly lacking within memorability, characters and plot development as a consequence of cliches and tropes adding little value to the actual drama. Whilst enjoyable with certain comical elements, the show was certainly a waste of time if you’re looking for something to actually invest in.