K-Drama Review Of Touch Your Heart

The Long Plot, Sans Spoilers

Touch Your Heart centers on Oh Yeon Seo (Yoo In Na), who had once been the Hallyu universe’s goddess. She rose to fame because of her enthralling innocent look, which made her the queen of CFs (commercial film or ads in Korea). She also starred in dramas but was criticized for her bad acting.

Unfortunately, she got caught in a drug scandal with a big business tycoon, which forced her to go off the grid. During her break of two years, she didn’t receive any solid acting offers, but she remained positive. One day, she finds a drama script carried by her manager for another actress in their agency. She falls in love with the script and imagines herself playing its lead role as a lawyer. She tries to convince the writer to cast her, but the writer says she will only agree under one condition: Yeon Seo has to prepare for the role by working in a law-related job for three months.

The CEO of Yeon Seo’s agency pulls some strings and asks his cousin to employ her temporarily since he’s the CEO of a law firm. He’s a huge fan of Yeon Seo, so he agrees and assigns her to be the secretary of their firm’s top lawyer, Kwon Jung Rok (Lee Dong Wook). It doesn’t start smoothly since Jung Rok is a very standoffish perfectionist. He doesn’t think Yeon Seo would be of any real help to him, so he gives her a difficult time.

Eventually, he realizes her sincerity in doing good at her job and gets to know her better. Yeon Seo, on the other hand, strives to prove her worth and ends up suddenly falling for Jung Rok. Crazy, romance-filled scenes follow soon thereafter as they develop feelings for each other.

The Short, Honest Plot

The Grim Reaper from Goblin gets reincarnated as a serious lawyer, while his soulmate Sunny gets reborn as a gorgeous has-been actress. LOL! But seriously speaking: An actress snags a job as a secretary at a lawyer’s office to prepare for her comeback drama role. Since this is a rom-com, of course, the actress and the lawyer fall in love and bring on the kilig that will definitely make your heart flutter.

The Actors And Where You Last Saw Them

Lee Dong Wook as Atty. Kwon Jung Rok

Aside from playing the iconic Grim Reaper (aka Kim Woo Bin) in Goblin (2016 to 2017), Lee Dong Wook top-billed a medical drama entitled Life (2018).

Yoo In Na as Oh Yeon Seo/Oh Jin Sim

Aside from starring as a reincarnated queen (and a stunning chicken restaurant owner) in Goblin, Yoo In Na also played an actress in Queen And I (2012). She also took on a supporting role (also an actress!) in My Love From The Star (2013 to 2014).

Lee Sang Woo as Kim Se Won and Son Sung Yoon as Yoo Yeo Reum

Se Won and Yeo Reum played prosecutors and Jung Rok’s friends from law school in Touch Your Heart. Prior to TYH, Sang Woo starred in Marry Me Now? (2018), while Sung Yoon’s latest drama series was One More Happy Ending (2016).

Did You Know?

1. You’ll find it amusing who the “man behind the lens” is in Touch Your Heart: It’s none other than What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? (2017) director Park Joon Hwa. In an interview, he mentioned the pressure he felt casting Goblin‘s second leads together, but he took pride in their “explosive chemistry” and stellar performance.

2. Speaking of WWWSK, two actors from the series made a cameo in Touch Your Heart: 2PM’s Chansung (the handsome and extra frugal Gwi Nam in WWWSK) and Hwang Bo Ra (Ms. Bong in WWWSK).

3. Another notable actor made a cameo in the series: Jang Ki Yong. You’ll remember him from the drama Go Back Couple (2017).

4. While filming, Yoo In Na’s bestie IU made sure to show her support by sending food and a coffee truck to the drama’s filming location. In Na’s on-screen ward in Goblin Kim Go Eun showed her support, too, by sending over a coffee cart and hotdogs.

5. The story of Touch Your Heart is actually based on web novel entitled Jinsimi Dadda, which was written by Yegeo and published from 2016 to 2017.

6. Yoo In Na was dressed in a lot of designer pieces in Touch Your Heart. Among the brands of her cute coats, skirts, and bags are Isabel Marant, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Moschino.

7. In some scenes, Lee Dong Wook was seen using the premium men’s makeup line he’s endorsing, Boy de Chanel. If you’ve finished the drama, you’ll know there’s a cute romantic scene involving his lip balm that will make you scream out of kilig!

What My Friends Think:

“I’ve never seen Lee Dong Wook smile so much in a drama, so it’s really refreshing to see another side of him. Ang cute cute niya with his bunny teeth. Yoo In Na’s character naman is so aegyo na nakakatawa lalo na sa first eps kasi ‘di ako sanay. That’s how you see na they’re really good actors because they can portray different characters really well per drama.” —Trina Elefante

“A big reason why I enjoyed Touch Your Heart is because of how sentimental I am about Goblin. Their characters in Touch Your Heart are similar to Sunny and the Grim Reaper: Her, brazen and outgoing; him, reserved and slightly awkward. Whether that’s deliberate or not, I’m not sure, but I reveled in the kilig of seeing these two together again. It’s like they finally got the happy ending they deserved. I’d recommend this to anyone who’s forgotten what it feels like to have your heart flutter, lol!” —Ysa Singson

“This drama is for those people who love cute and light stories. I love the character of the female lead. She’s like a bright ball of sunshine. She’s always pleasant, cheerful, and strong despite all the unjust events in her life. The male lead is good at what he does. He seems tough and emotionless but he’s an honorable lawyer who fights for justice. Together, they even bring out the best in each other. It’s also inspiring on how their relationship revolves around trust, genuine care, and forgiveness. All the other characters are just so funny which made the drama so fun to watch. [It’s a] perfect feel-good series after a stressful day at work.” —Airah Mendoza

What I Think:

I didn’t like the series… I. Loved. It. So. Much. I finished watching it days ago. Most K-drama fans have moved on to He Is Psychometric and Welcome To Waikiki 2 already by now, but I am still obsessed with Touch Your Heart and daydreaming about Always law firm. I even held off on watching the finale for a couple of days because I couldn’t accept that it’s already wrapped up. Why did it have to end?!

When it comes to the lead characters, anyone who’s watched Goblin wouldn’t be able to help but compare them to their previous roles as Sunny and Grim Reaper. Their TYH characters seem quite similar to the actress and policeman tandem that were the last reincarnations of Wang Yeo and Kim Sun in Goblin. (I think anyone would agree also that a Kim Shin/Gong Yoo and Eun Tak/Kim Go Eun cameo in TYH would’ve been so epic!)

Their chemistry is undeniable, and their individual acting skills are admirable. Dong Wook portrayed cold-hearted boss and awkwardorable boyfriend (you know that’s the perfect way to describe him!) expertly. In Na’s “bad acting” was so good (prepare to laugh a lot!) and her aegyo was so endearing. You will definitely get caught in their story and how they handle their colorful relationship.

As a sucker for memorable supporting characters, I have to talk about the minor roles. Who else stans Ms. Dan (Park Kyung Hye, who also starred in Goblin as a cray-cray ghost) and Mr. Choi (Shim Hyung Tak)? They were so funny individually and extra cute as they fell in love. I found CEO Yeon Jung Kyu (Oh Jung Se) and Yeon Seo’s manager (Oh Eui Sik) hilarious, too! The second leads, prosecutors Kim Se Won and Yoo Yeo Reum (Lee Sang Woo and Son Sung Yoon), were also great shakers of the whole plot.

Full disclosure: I was ugly crying while watching the finale. It wasn’t because of a sad ending like in Goblin. SPOILER ALERT: Yeon Seo and Jung Rok get a happy ending! I shed happy tears because of how heartwarming the series was and how the story and the characters really touched my heart. I really hope we get a series like this again soon!

Who I’d Recommend It To:

Goblin fans who would like a proper ending to the Fried Egg Couple! And rom-com lovers looking for a light, entertaining series

Catch the complete episodes of Touch Your Heart on Viu!

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