'The 3rd Charm' or "제 3의 매력" is a JTBC drama which was released back in 2018, starring Seo Kang Joon and Esom. 

For almost 5 years, kdrama was the thing that consoles and gives me flutters when real life fails. I remembered as soon as I saw the teasers for this drama, I thought that it seems too boring. Maybe it's the acting? Maybe it's their chemistry? Maybe the plot would be too bland? I kept finding reasons to NOT watch it while having the presumptions that this drama was just among the ones I gotta pass.

Yet, 2 years later, I decided to give this drama a go - amidst all the latest recommendations piling up my 'To Watch' list. Fortuitously, wasn't such a bad decision after all.

Jun Young (played by Seo Kang Joon) and Young Jae (played by Esom) are the main characters which you would find to be a little like yourselves one way or another. He is a planner, the guy who seems to have it all planned out and very thorough in what he does. Her, on the other hand, is a girl with nothing to lose and ambitious to have things go her way. Right of the bat, you could tell that they are the literal opposites in terms of personalities. Yet they find themselves commonly yearning for each other.

It's a drama that makes you anticipate the conflicts. How will 2 vastly different people end up happy together? It honestly pains me to see how real these characters are with their feelings. They don't cling onto each other merely on the basis of love, because they understand that it ain't easy being with someone who lacks in-common with you. It is as realistic as a story of any two opposite people can get. What surprises me more is that it doesn't take long before they realise their incompatibility.

One who lives off two happy parents and one without a parent, one who loves spicy food and one who can't stand having one, one who keep suppressing his anger and one who always lets it out, one who do his best to appeal to you and one who's not putting the other person as much as a priority... Definitely something you won't see in any other rom-com.

Another strong point to this drama is how they portray hardships and success onto all the characters. How fair life actually is and there are times we are on top of the wheel and times where we are at the bottom. It teaches people to move on even if life in the moment sucks so bad. For example, the brother of Young Jae who used to be the breadwinner of their 2-sibling family ended up losing it all after his leg became paralyzed due to an accident while he works. Overcoming not being able to use the only thing you have - physical strength - to make a living, is a brutal reality he had to face. In the end, life makes a turn when he realises that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel after he finally won a script-writing competition.

Although the ending might not make you feel all that great, it still worth to note that it's the most realistic ending you could get - them not ending up together. I know dramas are meant to be somewhat bullshit, but it's actually overcoming the struggles together that is being highlighted on this drama.

Jun Young is a character that tells me, you don't need to live on one career for the rest of your life. His transition from being a highly-praised chief police officer to a renowned chef after his heartbreak lets you know that life isn't always gonna turn out the way you wish. For someone who always stick by the book, Jun Young breaks out of his comfort zone and despite failing in the trivial life matters (like breaking off his engagement) he still embraces it and instilled the faith to keep moving on. Not an easy thing to do.

Final Verdict

I think you would enjoy this drama if you think that life shouldn't only focus on happy relationships. Or if you would like to see how a career-focused life or how marrying someone else would be like. I think it's a very beautiful portrayal of life-not-going-your-way kinda thing. But then again, not everyone would enjoy it as it can be devastating to watch these kind of situations happening. 

I'm also surprised that I actually enjoy watching dramas like this. But the ending, definitely was a big blow to me. So don't take the ending as it is but instead understand that there's always something more to life than what you think. I would rate it a 7/10 for its plot, but a 9/10 for the characters' developments. Gotta love a good old character development.

Dropping by,

Melynn.