funcurve
  • Gaming
  • Anime
  • Drama
  • Music
  • Reviews
  • About Us
  • Gaming
  • Anime
  • Drama
  • Music
  • Reviews
  • About Us
funcurve

The Time We Were Not in Love Korean Drama Review

By Angela on November 26, 2015 in Drama
BAD
  • 8.7K
    Shares

Tough Love

Based off of Taiwanese drama In Time With You, The Time We Were Not in Love is a romantic melodrama depicting how two best friends eventually fell in love with each other. The premise is really quite simple and even a bit too plain for my taste. But I decided to put away my prejudice as the drama boasts two of my all time favorite actors, Ha Ji Won and Lee Jin Wook, playing the main characters Oh Ha Na and Choi Won. It also has nearly the exact same supporting cast that helped make Pinocchio a massive success. But beyond a charming start, I quickly found myself getting bored from the slow pacing, losing interest in the shallow characters, and becoming frustrated at the predictable storyline. I really wanted to fall in love with this drama, but was disappointed that the time I spent with it indeed turned out to be “a time we were not in love”.

Beyond a charming start, I quickly found myself getting bored and losing interest.

Episodes 1-3 Reviewfeel4

The beginning of The Time We Were Not in Love is good: natural acting, adorable chemistry, glamorous visual impact, and a dose of surprise all add to the entertainment value of the drama. Let me break it down further. First, it’s a rare treat to see Ha Ji Won play a confident and charming career woman full of sass compared to her past roles. Her flawless acting makes her character Ha Na, a 34-year-old marketing team lead of a shoe company, very memorable and relatable. Her great chemistry with costar Lee Jin Wook makes Ha Na’s 17-year-long friendship with childhood friend and flight attendant Choi Won extremely convincing.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_12 the_time_we_were_not_in_love_02

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_04

Secondly, the drama is truly a feast for the eyes. From eye-candy actors to Ha Na’s impeccable fashion style, every scene of the present day feels modern and cosmopolitan. The flashy present is contrasted with frequent vintage 1990’s-themed flashbacks to showcase Ha Na and Won’s history since high school. Through the flashbacks, we see various traces of Won’s “more than friend” feelings towards Ha Na despite his adamantly claiming he will never love her. As much as I anticipate seeing Ha Na’s daily outfit and shoe changes, I’m equally eager to find out why Won’s turning a blind eye to the obvious mutual attraction from Ha Na.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_15

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_01 the_time_we_were_not_in_love_03

Last but not least, The Time We Were Not in Love‘s attention-grabbing intro is complete with the addition of kingka intern Ki Sung Jae (Kim Myung Soo), who immediately spices things up with a heart-melting noona romance. Sung Jae makes Ha Na’s (and every female viewer’s) heart flutter with dreamy gestures like bringing her snacks, walking her home, and shielding her from the rain. Unfortunately for Ha Na and I, the too-good-to-be-true fantasy love story ended quickly when Ha Na inadvertently finds out the real reasons behind Sung Jae’s attentiveness. Feeling devastated, Ha Na calls Won to vent and he drops everything to come to her rescue. While I regret the early exit of flower boy Sung Jae, I too look forward to the new possibilities between Ha Na and her guardian angel Won.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_07 the_time_we_were_not_in_love_10

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_14

Episodes 4-6 Reviewfeel3

These episodes kick off the main arc of The Time We Were Not in Love — falling in love with the best friend. Spurred by the return of Ha Na’s former boyfriend, pianist Cha Seo Hoo (Yoon Kyun Sang), Won begins to wonder for the first time if it’s okay for him to love Ha Na and advance their relationship beyond just friends. At the same time, Won’s colleague Lee So Eun (Choo Soo Hyun) continues to chases after him persistently, causing Ha Na to feel a sense of jealousy that she is quick to deny and dismiss.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_17 the_time_we_were_not_in_love_08

Just when I’m given a ray of hope in seeing further advancement of our main character’s relationship, the rain comes pouring down with Seo Hoo’s aggressive confessions of wanting to get back together with Ha Na. Seo Hoo’s self-centered and arrogant ways take Ha Na by a storm, despite her grudge against him from leaving her without a word three years ago. Not thrilled to see an unwelcoming and unlikable character appear suddenly out of thin air, I begrudgingly watch on to find out how he’s going to ruin the party for Won.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_16

Episodes 7-9 Reviewfeel2

Seo Hoo uses his partnership with Ha Na at work as an excuse to spend time with her and tries to win her over at every opportunity. To my disappointment, though Ha Na tries to reject him on the surface, she secretly reminisces on their past times together. While Won naively trusts Ha Na’s resolution to not get back together with Seo Hoo and finally tells Ha Na how he really feels about her, I know things won’t work out so easily for him.

As much as I have feared, the storyline begins to develop towards an incredibly predictable outcome. Sure enough, after an unnecessarily long tug-of-war with Seo Hoo, Ha Na ends up admitting that she can no longer push him away — even at the risk of alienating Won. I’m beginning to dread how much longer I’ll have to bear with Seo Hoo’s annoying character and the equally awkward acting.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_18 the_time_we_were_not_in_love_23

As a side effect of Won accepting his feelings for Ha Na, he turns down Seo Eun’s affections, which practically renders her character useless from this point on. Yet Seo Eun is just one of the many seemingly meaningless secondary characters ranging from Ha Na’s family members to Won’s colleagues. They take turns to fill up each episode with random acts of dull comedy or senseless romance, making it that much harder for me to hold onto any remaining interest in the drama.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_19

Episodes 10-12 Reviewfeel1

These next few episodes of The Time We Were Not in Love can only be described as grueling. As Ha Na and Seo Hoo’s relationship heats up, my interest in the drama drastically cools down. I can’t wrap my mind around why Ha Na would give Seo Hoo a second chance when he’s just as stifling, sporadic, and selfish as ever. The only consistent thing about him is his mopey expression universally applied to all circumstances.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_24 the_time_we_were_not_in_love_29

Meanwhile, Won intentionally tries to create distance and hide his feelings for Ha Na to respect her space. But the drama literally turns his character into a meaningless vagabond without Ha Na — wandering around doing random things aimlessly and lifelessly just to get his fair share of screen time. The only new thing we find out is why Won chose to not allow himself to love Ha Na for nearly two decades. And it’s a reason so silly I nearly scoffed.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_25 the_time_we_were_not_in_love_26

With half of the key characters like Won and Seo Eun having no purpose at the moment, the pacing of the drama practically slows down to the speed of a crawling turtle. Supporting characters and their pointless side stories reign the screen while I count down the hours until Ha Na is finally done with Seo Hoo.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_22 the_time_we_were_not_in_love_27

Episodes 13-16 Reviewfeel2

The writing of The Time We Were Not in Love is truly lame and filled with plot holes until the very end. Ha Na’s feelings for Seo Hoo takes a sudden turn and she tries to break up with him. Yet Seo Hoo magically disappears for a few days with no explanations of where he was and what he was doing offered to either Ha Na or the viewers. So Ha Na gets the perfect excuse to end things with him.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_32

Once Seo Hoo is out of the picture, there’s little stopping Ha Na from finally getting together with Won for a happily ever after. The drama is still just as slow and unproductive as usual, but at least the chemistry between Ha Na and Won is a lot easier on the eyes.

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_34 the_time_we_were_not_in_love_35

the_time_we_were_not_in_love_36

Sadly for The Time We Were Not in Love, even the combined powers of megastars Ha Ji Won and Lee Jin Wook could not save its cliche storyline and poor execution. I leave the drama feeling like I’ve aged 17 years waiting for this tedious love to finally come to fruition.


  • 8.7K
    Shares
  • 8.7K
    Shares
2015choo soo hyuncomedyha ji wonjin kyungkim myung soolee jin wooklee joo seungmelodramaromanceslice of lifeyoon kyun sang너를 사랑한 시간

Enjoy our posts? Find out when there's more:

  • The latest reviews
  • More fun reads

You May Also Like

8
What Do You Think?

avatar
5 Comment threads
3 Thread replies
0 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
7 Comment authors
M.Y.AAnonymousAnonymousAnonymousAnonymous Recent comment authors
avatar

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

newest oldest
M.Y.A
Guest
M.Y.A

Only watched the episodes where there’s Myungsoo in it. INFINITE’s comeback is this 8 Jan 2018 and Myungsoo-oppa is my bias. So while waiting for their comeback, I decided to embark on this journey of watching how much his acting has developed (since I’ve watched Ruler: Master of The Mask which is really good). Really respect him for his hard work and dedication to be a better actor. Idk how he finds the time to practice their choreography when he’s busy with all the MV filming, acting, photoshoots and all that stuffs. KIM MYUNGSOO FIGHTING!!!<3

Reply
5 years ago
Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous

I couldn’t agree more with this review. It started with such promise–funny, poignant, great actors, cute moments but the introduction of the ex-boyfriend only rendered Ha Na’s character look like a flake and superficial that it is almost hard to explain how Choi Won could fall in love that hard with her. I mean, in the real world, who in their right mind would carry a torch for a flake?

Reply
5 years ago
Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous

I’m a fan of the Taiwan drama “In Time with You” and I also like Ha Ji Won from her previous drama, so when I noticed she’s the lead in The Time We Were Not In Love, I decided to give it a try. Similar to your experience, the first few episodes were great especially the part when Choi Won went all the way to the beach to comfort her when she was crying. Not to mention Ha Ji Won’s fashion style is so pleasing to the eyes and she looks absolutely gorgeous. The Korean drama tries to introduce the same elements as the original Taiwan drama. A young intern trying to chase after the female lead but only for his own selfish personal gains. This part was good because it further emphasises Ha Na poor choice of boyfriend. And then a junior at the male lead’s company who relentlessly… Read more »

Reply
7 years ago
Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous

I accidentally pressed the post button before I finished typing. Continuing on from where I left, it doesn’t make any sense to introduce the junior because it’s a non important secondary character that doesn’t add to the story. And the story focuses quite a lot on her too. And then there’s Cha Seo Hoo. Basing on the original drama plot, I was expecting Ha Na’s ex boyfriend to be a big jerk. Yet I find myself empathising with him as he tries so hard to win back Ha Na. The more I found out about Seo Hoo, the more I’m internally rooting for him because he doesn’t look like a jerk, he’s tied by his company contract and there’s a lot of things he can’t do even if he wants to. However, he’s trying so hard to change so he can be with Ha Na again, even if it means… Read more »

Reply
7 years ago
Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous

Maybe you are right,,but despite what others are saying ,,i dont think that the drama was bad,,its just they expect so much when ha ji won do a project…its a simple story yet you can relate..and i watched it over and over..

Reply
7 years ago
Babes 112560
Guest
Babes 112560

Anyway.I like the story though it’s simple,you’ll feel fluttered in their romantic scenes..

Reply
7 years ago
Jane
Guest
Jane

Love Ha ji won and Lee jin wook, hope they are real couple.Their acting are so natural and real….

Reply
7 years ago
Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous

I still love the ttwwnil drama over and over again inspite and despite of..

Reply
7 years ago
  • Gaming
  • Anime
  • Drama
  • Music
  • Reviews
  • About Us

© 2023 Funcurve. All rights reserved.

wpDiscuz