Marriage, Not Dating is an Unexpected Little Gem (Ep 1-7)

So last week I started watching Marriage, Not Dating. I caught up with all the episodes and I can surely say that I have completely fallen for this drama. The acting, the chemistry, the storyline, and the cute OST. They all hit just the right notes with me. Its already a fan favourite on Viki, but it totally deserves more attention. The ability to deliver such a funny and realistic drama is no easy feat. Especially since it uses the cliché but much loved 'love contract' plot device. I'm not even going to deny, love contract dramas are my guilty pleasures. This drama takes the classic plotline of faking it till its real to a whole new level with superb acting and execution.

I don't know what it is about tvN but they are seriously killing it with their dramas this year. Pretty much every drama they put out gains attention for their quality storylines. It seems like a given seeing that they are a cable network--meaning you have to pay for the channel--but they are seriously shooting out quality dramas one after another. It seems that their first drama hit was I Need Romance, followed by a slew of fan favourite dramas like the Flower Boy series and Queen In Hyun's Man. And then came the highly popular Reply 1997 that propelled acting newbies Eunji and Seo In Gook to stardom. After that, the good dramas kept on coming. It seems like a lot of the success of the dramas are due to the attentions to detail and realistic depictions of modern life in Korea. Anyhow, I'm glad that there is a network with so many consistent shows on air.

The cast is filled with fresh faces in terms of leading roles but long time drama fans have probably seen them in various other dramas. Personally, I first saw Yun Woo Jin in Arang the Magistrate. He played a pretty creepy character but I dropped Arang like when it almost reached the halfway point because I just lost interest. Anyone think that he looks a tad bit like Song Joong Ki? I dunno but they give off a similar type of feeling. Thats probably why I liked him right away but I continued liking him because of his own merits. His character, Gong Gi Tae is fun to watch with his light case of OCD. Plus, he has loads of chemistry with Han Groo.

Speaking of Han Groo, I first saw her in Can We Get Married? where I actually preferred her coupling with Kim Young Kwang over the main couple. Sung Joon and Jung So Min are both people I like individually but them together just wasn't appealing. Han Groo has this very feminine but childish aura and thats probably why I was so drawn to her. Her character, Joo Jang Mi fits her perfectly and is super funny to watch with her love for alcohol.

I really like the pairing of Jang Mi and Gi Tae because they are completely different people from completely different backgrounds. Again, the realness to the main characters just add to the appeal and make them relatable. We start off with the heartbroken Jang Mi which everyone can relate to. On the other side, there are probably tons of people who can relate to the fear of getting married and being controlled like Gi Tae has. His relationship with Se Ah (played by Sunhwa) is pretty intriguing and its nice to know that there isn't some cliché event in their history.

As for the other side characters, Jinwoon plays a handsome player called Han Yeo Reum who works in the restaurant owned by Jang Mi's ex, Hoon Dong, who we see in the beginning of the drama. He is played by Heo Jung Min. Lastly, we have Jang Mi's co-worker, Hyun Hee, who is played by Yoon So Hee. I really don't know how I feel about Hyun Hee because she appears to have Jang Mi's back but is borderline kind of bitchy with her love for Jang Mi's ex.

Overall, Marriage, Not Dating is a really well done drama and I'm pretty pumped for the next episode because Gong Gi Tae has finally realized his feelings for Jang Mi.