This article contains mild spoilers.
3.5/5 stars
Lead cast: Jung Woo-sung, Shin Hyun-been
Latest Nielsen rating: 1.8 per cent
Love is often called the universal language, and in the tender romantic drama Tell Me That You Love Me, aspiring actress Jung Mo-eun (Shin Hyun-been) and deaf painter Cha Jin-woo (Jung Woo-sung) put that adage through its paces.
Adapted from the popular 1995 Japanese drama series of the same name, this timeless update has been a breath of fresh air in the hyperactive Korean drama scene, whose creators would do well to absorb another maxim – “less is more”.
Tell Me That You Love Me: Jung Woo-sung, Shin Hyun-been in romantic K-drama
Tell Me That You Love Me: Jung Woo-sung, Shin Hyun-been in romantic K-drama
Here we have a small-screen romance without a serial killer, gangster or evil corporation to be found – a rarity in modern Korean dramas.
Mo-eun and Jin-woo are faced with their own hardships, but the biggest one of all is one that anyone can relate to – how to communicate with one another.
For these protagonists, the issue is a little more pronounced than usual, since Jin-woo can’t hear Mo-eun and, when they first meet, she doesn’t know any sign language.
But after their first few encounters on southern Jeju Island and their serendipitous reunion in the South Korean capital, Seoul, the pair slowly embark on a cautious relationship.
At first, their communication barrier is a charming obstacle for Mo-eun to overcome. She takes to sign language with gusto and her eager student finds an equally eager instructor in Jin-woo. He nevertheless keeps his guard up thanks to past scars, but is clearly moved by her earnest efforts.
None of this is to say that Tell Me That You Love Me is attempting to be realistic. Mo-eun and Jin-woo happen to work across the street from each other – she part-timing at a cafe, he teaching a class of deaf art students in a gallery.
These coincidences of proximity continue with the arrival of new gallery director Song Seo-kyung (Kim Ji-hyun), who happens to be the only person in the world capable of opening up Jin-woo’s scars and who appears just as the central pair are beginning to trust one another.
Seo-kyung still has unresolved feelings for Jin-woo that cause rare cracks in her otherwise cool and collected exterior, but not for a moment does the show suggest that Jin-woo shares any of those feelings.
Rather, her appearance is a way to force him to open up to Mo-eun and to push them towards a deeper emotional connection.
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The focus is almost entirely on Mo-eun and Jin-woo, leaving only limited time for the stock supporting characters that pad out the narrative.
These include Mo-eun’s chatterbox roommate Oh Ji-yu (Park Jin-joo), who rolls her eyes whenever Mo-eun’s cocky gym trainer young brother Mo-dam (Shin Jae-hwi) shows up. That is, until she starts to flutter her eyes at him instead.
There’s also Mo-eun’s best friend, the vaguely eccentric song composer Yoon Johan (Lee Jae-kyoon), who has been quietly pining for her for years.
Whether these diversions are truly necessary to let the main narrative breathe is debatable, but at least they’re brief and harmless.
Most of our time is spent with Mo-eun and Jin-woo and, owing to its wistful premise, the show proceeds at a gentle pace and with less dialogue than the average K-drama.
The romantic pair generally communicate through sign language and writing and, during scenes when they are not together, they are often quietly standing outside each other’s quaint city homes at night, gazing meaningfully at the front door.
It’s a specific style that adds up to a calming experience, but it must be pointed out that there are a handful of episodes that proceed with almost no narrative developments at all. The show is sometimes a mood rather than a story.
The only part of the show that felt rushed was its ending. Owing to their communication problems and the pull of their careers, which are both on the up and up, Jin-woo breaks up with Mo-eum on an abandoned railroad covered in autumn foliage in the penultimate episode.
A year passes and then the pair suddenly find their way back to each other at the very end of the finale. What isn’t quite clear is what has changed in the meantime for either of them to change their minds about the relationship.
Ranked: the 15 best romantic K-dramas of all time, including Secret Garden
Ranked: the 15 best romantic K-dramas of all time, including Secret Garden
However, it is a minor gripe, as seeing the pair unite and walk arm in arm towards a happy future is the salve we were hoping for all along – since hope for them is hope for us all.
Tell Me That You Love Me is streaming on Disney+.
