I think some viewers like me who just watched the trailer, read the synopsis and saw the poster would have thought this is a romantic comedy with many sweet and fluffy scenes while FL gets to choose between two great guys. Well, “Love in Contract” definitely has comedic moments, but it’s not really a romantic comedy. Aside from romance, there are childhood traumas, tragic family background stories and conglomerate marriages & business battles. I personally enjoy the first half of the drama more than the second half. This is not quite a solid 8.5 drama but a rounded up 8.5.

What I Like:

Jung Ji Ho (ML) - Ji Ho is the kind of male lead that I like. Awkward and adorable, sweet and caring, but doesn’t have much experience in the romance department. Of course, he changes after he meets FL. Ji Ho has great character development in the drama. He learns to interact and socialize with his co-workers, recognize and communicate his feelings. I also enjoy watching how his wardrobe changes with his personality. Go Kyung Pyo plays the character well. I enjoy his facial expressions when he’s embarrassed, confused and awkward. This might be my second favorite character that Go Kyung Pyo plays, after his role in “Chicago Typewriter”.

Contract Marriage - One of my favorite tropes ever. The concept of a single life helper is interesting to me, and I enjoy the short stories of the marriages shown in this drama. I would have loved the drama to focus on these marriages a little more, but I came to the conclusion that “Love in Contract” is a lot more than just about love in contracts.

Main Characters - Choi Sang Eun (FL) is an interesting heroine. She’s independent and strong in her own ways. She seems so perfect and perfectly put-together all the time, yet when she’s home you can see how messy and child-like she could be. Park Min Young, of course, can play this role well. It’s a combination of her roles in “What’s Wrong with Secretary Skim” and “Her Private Life”. I’ve read comments about how many viewers do not like the second male lead, Kang Hae Jin, especially in the earlier episodes. I don’t find him annoying and think his clinginess is justifiable because he reunited with his first love after 13 years. I don’t blame him for wanting to get close to her and wanting to sign a contract. Hae Jin also undergoes good character development as well.

Supporting Characters - We have quite an interesting bunch of supporting characters. Woo Gang Nam, FL’s BFF, is a fan favorite and I like him as well. I want good things to happen to him and always look forward to his scenes with Sang Eun. When Sang Eun is with Gang Nam, that’s when she can let loose and act silly. Madam Yoo is a scene stealer. Veteran Jin Kyung plays the elegant and snobbish Madam Yoo so well. Every time she shows up, my focus goes straight to her and I want to see what’s going to come out of her mouth. We have comedic relief in the Chief Judge and ML’s co-worker Kim Yu Mi. Both characters are over-the-top but because their screen time is kept to a minimum, I don’t find them too annoying but funny.

Wardrobe - This drama must have a big budget or sponsor for clothes. Park Min Young looks beautiful, as always, and her clothes are fabulous. Same goes to Madame Yoo’s high class fashion. The two male leads also look dashing in their suits and casual wear.


What I have Mixed Feelings about:

Main Romance - For me the romance and chemistry are just good and not great. Although the three main characters are good-looking people, I feel that the chemistry is not sizzling enough for me. If I compare the chemistry of Park Min Young with her other co-stars, hers with Go Kyung Pyo her pales in comparison to Seo Kang Joon (When The Weather is Fine), Kim Jae Wook (Her Private Life) and and Park Seo Joon (What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim). Is the chemistry with Go Kyung Pyo bad? No it’s not. But I wanted more and I am not feeling it. Maybe also because most of their scenes are in the apartment, facing each other at dinner and they really did not have many normal dating scenes. I probably go into this drama expecting a lot more kisses because, you know, it’s Park Min Young. There are dramas without much skinship and I can feel the unspoken sizzling romance, but not in this drama, unfortunately. But I do like the proposals in the last episode and how they fit the character's personality so well.

Cartoonish villain - I don’t even know if he qualifies to be a real villain. He is just not very smart, but maybe he is not supposed to? Because I feel that “Love in Contract” is not a typical funny romantic comedy, nor is it a serious business drama, it makes it hard to see a cartoonish dumb villain fit nicely in the the story. I have to say the casting is done right, as the actor has the face that I want to punch. LOL.

PPL - I don’t remember a recent Korean modern drama I watch that has sooooo many product placements. So many different products and so in-your-face! As a drama watcher, it is very annoying. But if I am the advertiser, this is a gold mine because I have bought Kopiko coffee candies at a Korean supermarket before, and I want to go back and buy more after watching “Love in Contract”. And yes, those candies are tasty! 😋

Pacing - I enjoy the first half of the drama a lot more and the pacing is good. This is when they focus more on FL’s occupation and the contracts she has with the leads. The second half starts to mix the family background and conglomerate battles and this slows down the pace. I feel like they go back-and-forth about the conglomerate marriage.

End of crisis - After spending so many episodes on how to resolve the crisis and putting everyone at risk in the last few episodes, it seems quite anti-climatic to have FL come out and take care of it. It sure is effective but why spend so many episodes dragging down the pace of the plot in the last few episodes when the solution is so simple? I was expecting higher stakes, a more complicated plan to resolve the issue.


Completed: 11/12/2022