K-Drama Review: “Touch Your Heart” Cruises To A Satisfying Ending, Endears With Lighthearted Romance Theme

It was not easy, but still, a happy ending for Jung Rok and Yoon Seo.

Love was definitely sweeter the second time (or in Dan Moon Hee’s case, the nth time) around. Jung Rok and Yoon Seo kissed and made up. Se Won and Yeo Reum were engaged. Lawyers Choi and Dan also started a romance of their own.

However, not everyone was lucky though as Secretary Yang turned down Paralegal Lee’s affection. She told him to focus his attention to someone else.

Image from tving.com

TITLE: Touch Your Heart
NETWORK: tvN
THEME: Office romance, legal
LENGTH: 16 episodes
BROADCAST DATE: 06 Feb 2019 – 28 Mar 2019
MAIN LEADS: Lee dong wook, yoo in na
HIGHLIGHTS: excellent cast chemistry, light theme
DRAWBACK: weak conflict
OVERALL RATING:
RE-WATCH VALUE:
RELATED DRAMAS: love alert, greatest love

It was 16 episodes full of fluffy and heart-fluttering moments, with a tinge of heartaches and trials. These were the elements that made this drama worth watching. Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na, as well as the rest of the cast gave viewers weeks of reprieve from the serious plots currently dominating the K-drama land.

Quick Plot Roundup

Oh Yoon Seo takes a break from show business after a huge scandal that put a dent on her acting career. An opportunity for a comeback presents itself and Yoon Seo is willing to do whatever it takes to secure the female lead role. The writer’s condition is for her to have a field experience, so she needs to work in a law firm for three months. She agrees, and fortunately, the CEO of her agency has a cousin who is the CEO of a law firm.

Images from tvN Facebook Page

Jung Rok is the top attorney in Always Law Firm where Yoon Seo will be working. They start off in the wrong foot. However, as they spend more time together, they get to know each other better and romance starts to blossom.

Finale Week Quick Recap

After confessing his feelings, Yoon Seo tells Jung Rok that they should never break up again and they should be more honest to each other. Jung Rok agrees, but he wants to continue keeping their relationship a secret, so it would not affect Yoon Seo’s comeback. Things are going smoothly and only Hyuk Joon is aware that they are back together. A job to be the drama’s legal consultant opens up and Joon Kyu wants to do it. However, he loses to Jung Rok after four employees vote against him.

Jung Rok surprises Yoon Seo and she is happy to see Jung Rok on set. He says now they will have more time to spend together. A romantic scene, where Yoon Seo and her leading man will have to kiss, bothers Jung Rok, and Hyuk Joon takes him away from the set. He speaks to him and reiterates that it is part of the job, though he understands his jealousy.

During a team dinner, Choi Yoon Hyuk and Dan Moon Hee reveal they are in a relationship. The same time, Yoon Seo becomes worried when Hyuk Joon casually tells him about Jung Rok’s slight jealousy. He says that it is one of the downsides of dating an actress as he can’t reveal to the public he is with her. Yoon Seo goes to where the team is, and much to everyone’s delight and surprise, she tells them about their relationship.

READ RECAPS: Premiere, EP03, EP04, EP05, EP06, EP07, EP08, EP09, EP10, EPs11&12, EPs13&14

Yoon Seo has to go overseas to shoot some scenes for the drama and the time she spends with Jung Rok is shortened by a live interview. On her live broadcast, Jung Rok beats everyone else when he summarizes the plot to Yoon Seo’s new drama. As a reward, he gets a phone call from Yoon Seo and they speak during the live broadcast. Yoon Seo finally realizes that it is Jung Rok on the other line and they exchange “I love you”.

Images from tvN Facebook Page

An article is released about Yoon Seo and her co-star dating. Panicked, Yoon Seo calls Jung Rok to tell him not to believe the news and she will explain everything once she gets back. Jung Rok surprises Yoon Seo with welcome back party at her house. He tells her he trusts her enough not to be bothered by dating speculations.

The drama Love Hurts is a hit and it earns positive remarks for Yoon Seo. With her successful comeback, she tells her CEO that she will do whatever she pleases now. Her agency is hosting a party, and as part of the agency’s legal team, they invite the employees of Always Law Firm.

Yoon Seo tells Jung Rok that he will come with her, not as a lawyer but her boyfriend. Both show up at the party hand in hand, and in front of camera flashes, they look at each other with much affection and love.

Highlights

Excellent chemistry between the cast

First, let’s talk about Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na. There really is no need for elaborate words to describe the easy vibes coming off between them. These two just need to stand side by side and they would still ooze with so much chemistry. Of course, we have seen that from the first drama Goblin they paired up and it continued in Touch Your Heart. I would really like to thank tvN for the behind the scene videos they release every week as it shows how these two had extended their chemistry off screen.

Images from tvN Facebook Page

Apart from the main leads, all the supporting cast showed harmony as well. I love each character in this series as each were given moments of their own. Each character served their purpose in the story. The employees of Always Law Firm are all professionals in their own respective way, but they are also a bunch of dorks. They made their work environment fun and lively amidst the seriousness of their work. The same goes for the people around Yoon Seo, they only want the best for her and they go about doing it in amusing ways.

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Bright and Breezy Plot Trajectory

One thing I like the most about Touch Your Heart is its consistency with the heart-fluttering scenes that boosted the drama’s light tone. It is a romantic comedy drama through and through and it was a good thing. The weeks watching the story unfold, from the first outing up to the last episode, have become a time for me relax and relieve stress when work has been too much. I found myself looking forward to it each week.

Images from tvN Facebook Page

I love the how they utilized the post-it notes to communicate. It’s old-fashioned but it was really sweet. The uncomplicated plot was easy to follow, and the diversity of the characters truly made the drama an enjoyable watch.

Drawback

Subdued Conflicts

This is not really a major issue for me because overall, I love Touch Your Heart. It’s just that the conflicts were concentrated towards the latter part of the series. The series introduced the Lee Gang Joon story arc at the beginning. It hinted how deeply he affected Yoon Seo’s fall from grace.

However, the resolution happened after a couple of episodes. Sure, it was enough to see how creepy and crazy the guy was, but It could have been better if the drama prolonged his presence. I would have liked a few more threats coming from him (but then again, it would have created a different tone for the drama).

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Another weak conflict is Park Su Myeong’s case. The drama implied that Jung Rok received backlash when he decided to represent Park Su Myeong. There was really no tangible proof he has received so much hate from taking on the case, apart from what was being said in the drama. And because Jung Rok’s personality, it did not really show how it affected him, though he confessed to Se Won he was afraid.

As I said, the way the conflicts were presented was not a major concern, but it would have made the drama perfect had they focused more on it.

Takeaway

 Touch Your Heart was really an enjoyable drama. The story’s simplicity and the characters were its main hook. Some people may find the story too ordinary and cliched but somehow the drama made it work. The drama’s focus did not shift as it had always been about the love journey of Jung Rok and Yoon Seo. The side arcs added interest to the events that help the main couple find their way towards each other.

If you are looking for a series that is light and warm, this one is for you.

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The drama may have a simple storyline, but it also touches on the harsh reality celebrities and even ordinary citizens face in a society overruled by social media. A simple mistake can be blown out of proportion and facts can be distorted, a situation that nasty comments made by irresponsible netizens could easily aggravate.

Even before the scandal, Yoon Seo had been the recipient of bad comments online. When the incident with Gang Joon happened, the public judged her based on rumors without truly knowing the truth. It made her stepped back from the limelight.

Images from tvN Facebook Page

When the truth came out, people made a 360-degree turn. In this aspect, the drama showed how changeable humans can be. The same thing happened when Jung Rok decided to represent Park Su Myeong. He also received criticisms for defending a person, he himself exposed as the culprit. But when it turned out that Im Yun Hee took advantage of him, people lauded him for digging for the truth.

It is sad that there are people who uses the right to express opinion irresponsibly. As much as we have the freedom to voice out our thoughts, we also have the responsibility to check for facts and not jump into conclusion. We should be aware that our words have different effects and could alter someone’s life. A harsh word can easily destroy a person’s confidence while a sincere one can soothe someone’s pain. In its own way, Touch Your Heart was able to sincerely convey this message.