K-Drama’s hidden gem: ‘This Love is Inevitable’ gains international stardom

Actors Jo Bo-ah and Rowoon have unexpectedly gained global popularity with the JTBC Thursday drama ‘This Love is Inevitable,’ making it a fierce competitor in the challenging home theater competition. Unlike the lukewarm response domestically, the drama has become a hot topic overseas.

In the drama, they play the roles of a government official and a legal advisor, respectively, and depict a fantasy romance. Jo Bo-ah accidentally acquires a mysterious love spell book and uses the ‘love inducing spell’ out of curiosity, causing Rowoon to fall in love with her due to the spell’s effects. This creates a complex love triangle involving Jo Bo-ah’s affection for her policy adviser, Hajaun, and Rowoon’s former girlfriend, Yura.

The drama has recently faced strong competition from top-star-filled major productions like Disney+’s ‘Moving’ and Netflix’s ‘Mask Girl’ in the OTT (Online Streaming Service) arena, making it almost a symbol of the weakest link on home screens. While genre-focused shows like SBS’s Thursday drama ‘National Execution Vote’ have been capturing viewer interest in similar time slots, this drama struggled to achieve a rating above 2% even in its second week.

However, it has achieved remarkable success on global charts, thanks to overseas fans building up through simultaneous broadcasting on Netflix. Since its first broadcast on August 23, it has consistently ranked in the top 10 on Netflix’s ‘Netflix Top Show’ section. On the 10th of the month, it was the only Korean drama to make it to 7th place. Moreover, in the ‘Global Top 10’ non-English TV show category on Netflix, based on viewership hours from August 28th to September 3rd, it ranked an impressive 3rd place.

Overseas viewers are showing great interest in Jo Bo-ah’s charming qualities and Rowoon’s comical transformation. Rowoon, who is under the spell, delivers absurd confessions of love to Jo Bo-ah, such as “When I see you, joy bubbles up uncontrollably,” and “Could it be that hearts are launching from my eyes?” Jo Bo-ah’s disgusted reactions while running away from Rowoon’s advances are portrayed comically.

Previously, Jo Bo-ah, who achieved global success with TVN’s ‘Tale of the Nine-Tailed’ and Rowoon, who did the same with KBS 2TV’s ‘She Would Never Know,’ have contributed to the interest in ‘This Love is Inevitable.’ Reviews on the American content review site IMDb have praised the leads, stating that “Rowoon leads the mystery and comedy surrounding the family curse well” and “The main characters are even more lovable than expected.”

This overseas success has created a buzz among domestic viewers and has unexpectedly contributed to raising awareness of the drama. Comments from viewers in real-time chat windows include statements like “I started watching out of curiosity because there are so many overseas fans.”

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