2 Best Movies to Watch by Chae Jong-hyeop

After a whole pandemic, rising inflation, and a whole climate crisis the world hasn’t yet resolved, it can be hard to feel hope towards a new day. However, the third collaboration between director Oh Choong-hwan and screenwriter Park Hye-ryun feels like a reminder to keep hope despite life’s circumstances. Castaway Diva has the classic manic pixie dream girl, but you have to admit that Seo Mok-ha’s optimism and survival instincts despite serious life circumstances makes it easy for her to root for. The way she appreciates what modern life has to offer makes it easy to appreciate how much good came up even just within 15 years. And with an unexpected mix of ecology and abuse themes, it stands out from other dramas, even when it gets instantly and unexpectedly serious.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Cha Hak-yeon, Chae Jong-hyeop, Kim Hyo-jin, Kim Joo-heon, Park Eun-bin

Director: Oh Choong-hwan

Usually, telepathy is just portrayed as a cool superpower. In Eye Love You, it’s useful for Motomiya to secure her CEO position, but it also means an imbalance in every interaction she has with other people… At least, until she meets Korean student Yoon Tae-oh. This, of course, becomes the basis for their relationship, which, while starting from a pretty novel idea, plays out in the cheesy, romantic ways we’re used to seeing in both Japanese and Korean dramas. With Yoon Tae-oh better characterized, it's lovely to see Chae Jong Hyeop to charm in both languages, but it's disappointing to see how cliché the protagonist is depicted, how her main desire isn't personal but in relation to another man (her father), when the show comes primarily through her perspective. Still, Eye Love You’s unique power leads to the unique idea that differences can mean connection– and having them allows us to truly appreciate each other, as long as we’re open enough to get to know them.

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Chae Jong-hyeop, Fumi Nikaido, Hiroya Shimizu, Mizuki Yamashita, Narumi Yui, Shiraku Tatekawa, Taishi Nakagawa, Tetta Sugimoto

Director: Akiko Katō, Okamoto Shingo, Ryôsuke Fukuda

Rating: TV-14