Un lugar en tu corazón (2019)

Enjoyably sugary sweet . . . if you can suspend your disbelief.

The key to this drama is it's not the real world. It occurs in a world where everyone gets their happy ending, a good lawyer never loses in court, and you can sort out long held trauma and pain with a bit of a chat.

The drama I really wanted was between Kwon Jung Rok (Mr. Lawyer's) two law school friends -their romance was super interesting to me and hinted at real family obstacles, professional conflicts etc.

Instead the drama you get is between the sugary, sweet but somehow endearing and well-acted Oh Yoon Seo. Who has no family, no friends (besides her manager) and is basically a blank slate 'Mary Sue' and Mr. Lawyer who is grumpy but is but also sugary sweet at heart.

The cast looks like its having a lot of fun and will break character and burst out laughing at any moment.

Music is fine - can't think of a rewatch moment.

I have other criteria I score by:

Complex Themes - 6
(What holds all the characters together is a kindness and generosity of spirit even if they are completely different on the surface - and if you talk things out - all relationship problems can be overcome)
Character Growth - 6
(Oh Yoon Seo regains confidence after a bunch of hard knocks and becomes a bit more steelier and resilient than one would expect. Mr. Lawyer reveals that he actually is a big softy at heart in the first few episodes and then stalls as a character).
Nuanced Women -6
(There are a fair amount of women characters but they don't get a ton of screentime. Pluses are Oh Yoon Seo being a bit more multi-faceted than one would expect, and to the general camaraderie between female employees at the law office. Major minus points around the Lawyer Dan who I found completely unappealing).
Cinematography/Production Values - 6
(It's competent. But costuming is pretty lackluster, most scenes are shot in a few interior sets (the law office, one courtroom, and both the main character's flats.)

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For those non-Goblin fans, Touch Your Heart is your typical sweet funny k-drama with many standard tropes (although no amnesia nor childhood memories - yeah!). The music doesn’t suck but I can’t remember a single song from the show so it also wasn’t overly repetitive. The story was cute and engaging enough not to bore the watcher, however, it does take until episode 3 before it really comes alive and interesting so stick with it if you can.

The secondary couples are kind of strange. The couple made up of the two prosecutors (played by Lee Sang Woo & Son Sung Yoon) seems almost forced but isn’t annoying. I love the long term friendship between the three lawyers and I actually think this adds to the story. Its at least half way through the episodes before you find out why Kim Se Won and Yoo Yeo Reum broke up in the first place. Se Won & Yeo Reum don’t detract from the story but don’t really add anything except the only marriage proposal in the show and most of us do like a neat ending with a marriage proposal.

The second couple (and more humorous one) is the two lawyers from the law firm Lawyer Choi (Shim Hyung Tak) and Lawyer Dan (Park Kyung Hye). These two are extremely fun to watch and I didn’t see their relationship on the horizon until it almost happened. I loved Park Kyung Hye from Goblin and she knocks it out of the park with the fickle Lawyer Dan. They have some killer scenes and I loved each and every single one they are in.

Other characters like CEO Yeon and Office Manager Lee were well fleshed out characters that were NOT 2 dimensional (loved that angsty part between Lawyer Kwon and CEO Yeon around episode 13).

For those Goblin Fans, WOW WOW WOW WOW. The chemistry between Lee Dong Wook who plays Lawyer Kwon and Yoo In Na does NOT disappoint. Holy cow, it was just as good - if not better because we see them so much. I don’t know if these two are friends in real life like Gong Yoo and Lee dong Wook but if they aren’t, these two get my award for the best actress and actor in all of Asia. Both convey such emotion towards each other that I just can't help but sigh....just thinking about it. Keep in mind the characters are NOT the same as in Goblin but what they are is headed for romance…..and isn’t that what we wanted after Goblin?

I liked Yoo In Na in My Love from Another Star and I LOVED her in Goblin. She does not disappoint…..however, her character is written to be annoying the first two episodes so please do not give up just because her character is annoying…..she changes and for the better. Goblin was the first I had ever seen Lee Dong Wook and I’ve loved him in everything since. There is no getting over that these two can play off each other EXTREMELY WELL.

So to recap….if you are a Goblin fan, you will like this show because it will give you what you missed from Lee Dong Wook & Yoo In Na in Goblin…..a LOT of screen time. If you are not a Goblin fan (go watch the show), then know the leads are out of this world good at telling a story through their portrayal of fun characters, and the side characters are fun and not ONE of them was annoying (even CEO Yeon). While this won’t get a 10 because of music and the usual draggy 1st three episodes, I highly recommend it.

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Is it worth the watch?

I think I went into this drama with high expectations, and I don't think it lived up to them.

Having seen the leads in Goblin together, I really wanted to enjoy watching a drama just about them. In this case, the show included a lot more than just a plot surrounding them. I'm not saying this is a bad thing; it just wasn't what I expected nor what I wanted.

Touch Your Heart focuses heavily on legal cases and even devotes a whole episode or two to the unravelling of a court case. If you're into that sort of thing then it is definitely worth the watch.

The show also delved into the other characters lives which could be seen as interesting to some, but for me it was a little boring and I wanted to focus on the main leads. In saying this, I was glad in the end when Lawyer Dan and Lawyer Choi became a couple. I think they ended up being well suited. Also, their parts were quite funny, particularly Lawyer Dan.

This is my third time seeing Lee Dong-Wook in a drama, and honestly, can he get cast with a different role? He appears to portray a lot of the same traits throughout each of the characters every drama he's been in!

His character in Touch Your Heart is very similar to that of Goblin I feel. I think I preferred him in Goblin than this as his character just seems so awkward and stilted.

On the other hand we have Oh Yoon Seo. I actually liked her character; and I did laugh out loud a couple of times during the first few episodes. I found it especially funny when she came to work on the first day dressed in a mini dress and fur jacket. It was so ridiculous that it was funny.

I can't help but compare these characters to Goblin, but I much preferred her outfits in that rather than Touch Your Heart. I guess because she was a celebrity she had to portray someone who wears more out-there outfits.

Every time the receptionist girl was shown, I kept thinking how pretty she was and was like, 'why are they making such a fuss of this 'celebrity?'

I don't think I was really all that taken with the plot of this show. I mean, a washed-up celebrity that works 3 months as a lawyer secretary to gain experience for an acting role? Really? I know method acting is a thing but would she have really picked up on the behaviour of lawyers when she actually had secretarial work to do? Also, towards the end when she is shooting a court scene, the lawyer tells her she isn't acting it right. Was all that 3 months for nothing?

As for the overall, I gave it a 7/10 as I just wasn't really feeling it and I know that other shows will do better.

-E

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'Touch Your Heart' fullfills its title's promise

Touch Your Heart? After watching it for 4 episodes or so, it already did. Touch my heart. It was Romantic & Funny:-) It was also nothing special, I overall give it 7 out of 10. BUT it was the drama you'd give like 'Miss Congeniality' award. It was simply sweet. Nothing unnecessary added to annoy you much (there's some obvious product placement and obvious fan service but nothing in the actual drama).

Let's start with the cast. The leading actress, 37 years old but looking really youthful AND CUTE, is actually a good actress whose good acting gets often lost in how cute she is. But make no mistake, she IS good. Her partner in this, the 38 year old Lee Dong Wook, forever burned in my memory for his 2005 'My Girl', has changed. And he's not the same hot and sexy, oh no now after his face got all whitened and "perfected" he looks a bit like a porcelain doll. I no longer like him, and thanks to that I was not really that invested in the romantic side of this show, to say the truth. As for the rest of the cast: I immensely appreciate every single face in that law firm (though the name of that law firm was ridiculous, for korean law firm especially), their casting was SPOT ON and THEY were the ones that made this simple and not-outstanding story WORTH watching.

Apart from fromantic, this show was FUNNY. It even had funny background music! So bizarre at times (like, what was up with the ethno playing each time someone was falling flat on their face? LOL). There were court cases which were engaging enough, made you laugh or cry. Practically all the people in the law office were HILARIOUS. And the boss could not be MORE gay if he tried. I LOVED his clothes, just taking a good look at those sent me laughing each time, including his socks. And if the actress was assigned to that divorce lawyer since episode 1, the whole show could be even funnier. Shim Hyung Tak was great. Also enough good looking to be the lead. Lee Dong's fans forgive but I would not expressly miss him in this show if he wasn't there. Everybody else was cracking me up. But him, I did not really care whether the actress shall start dating him or not. Nevertheless, she started liking him pretty early and also took the first initiative. It was not very exciting for me on the romance front, though it was occasionally cute and funny, mostly how he was clueless. 1st kiss is at 1/2 of the series and it's not very exciting one to say the least.

Then we have a plot with a stalker whose face is actually kinda girly... But, we ARE in Korea. Weirdly feminine men EVERYWHERE. Then it gets all dumb by episode 13/16, when the main lawyer must try and save mentally incapacitated man from being sentenced for life in prison even if we are in south korea, not north. So the lawyer (beside the obligatory noble idiocy break-up with the actress) needs to break every kind of code in his profession to take his case personally (which is not needed, he might as well get another lawyer do it) to show that he is "nice". The only thing keeping the show going by that time is the funny secondary couple. Because watching Lee Dong Wook making sad faces at bus stops (with his "new" face already distorted, so that when a huge tear is falling on his cheek, I got nervous it might start actually falling apart - kinda Michael Jackson moment there) was more creepy than funny.

But, apart from this stupidity, what I appreciated most about this drama were the things which were NOT in it: clingy secondary females, loud screamers, dragging love triangles with secondary males, "funny" secondary characters which were not funny (these the hell WERE), totally skippable secondary plots (these were all organic and interested us at least a little), uneccessary "shocking surprises" (like exes coming back from the dead, etc.) and many more you can think of. Yes, I appreciated all the things that were MISSING more than those that were there. I was not really thrilled for the main couple romantically, but I had a pleasant warm feeling. All the secondary cast was adorable and eligible for some kind of 'Team Super Cute' title:-))

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Not bad actually

Romance comedy drama wrapped in a law story. I had high expectations when I wanted to start watching this drama from episodes 1-7 I really liked it and wanted to give a score of 10, but after episodes 8-14 I skipped a lot when ML and FL broke up and ML received a lot of problems in her case. I don't know why but I felt a bit bored when the FL and ML problem wasn't resolved, the director focused more on the side characters which I thought was a bit of a waste of time, and I skipped until ML and FL relationship improved and they got back together. While episodes 15-16 are not too bad, there are only minor problems and I think it was handled quite well by the director. My rating is 8.5 for this drama or maybe 8.

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Touch Your Heart hits a lot of high notes, as the name implies: touches the heartstrings, and hits a positive chord at the end of the score. However, pay attention too closely to the baseline and you'll note some dissonance in the harmony. I find myself torn between a highly likable show, including an variety of memorable sub-characters, set against feelings of disappointment around the ineptitude of the main heroine. At the end of the day, if you love Romantic Comedies and don't look to closely at the flaws, then you'll be delighted with this light and light-hearted drama.

I’d compare this to one of those timed cooking shows. For metaphorical purposes, let’s say the direction and challenge is to make a taco dish. Some chefs put all of their efforts into making a superb single flavored taco. While the more zealous of chefs try to impress the judges by making two different types of tacos, in the same allotted time. While it’s meant to impress, in more often than not reality, this actually gives the judges more options to taste and critique. This is how I feel about Touch Your Heart. I think this is why I found the show so dichotomous. You have excellent actors combined with poor character development, or rather, this is a romantic comedy, trying to disguise itself as a romantic drama. I’m expecting a good romcom taco, but I’m served two different drama tacos on the same plate. With the cute filters and sound effects in one scene, then turning to a stalker & drug abuse induced scene, then back to cute office antics, and then flash to tear-jerking courtroom circumstances, it's not hard to feel emotionally confused. While there is a lot to love in this show, there is also a lot to critique, especially when illuminate the reliance on outdated stereotypes (which I feel in this case is more due to the director and writers vs. the actor portrayal).

Want to dig in a bit further, see more thoughts on this Drama? Check out my blog: https://dramafox.wixsite.com/dramafoxblog/post/touch-your-heart-a-full-review-on-how-i-equally-love-and-dislike-this-show

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The drama is so so light and romantic .. i'm a big fan for Lee Dong Wook that's why i gave the series a shot but it was worth !! the story is so cute , warm and both Lee and Yoo have my heart when i saw them in goblen they have the chemistry that took your breath away , really so amazing together !!

Story :

As i said a light romantic comedy drama !! you maybe get bored in some moments but wasn't so bad at the end .. at least for me cause every one of them made a great job in their role so yeah i didn't really felt annoyed !!

Acting :

Seeing Lee here after ' Strangers from Hell ' wormed my heart !! i really got scared from him there specially his smile !! so seeing him so cute and laughing .. act in the most adorable waaay was calming :D .. and seeing him again with Yoo was amazing i really needed this cause i love them together so much .. i hope i can see them again some day ..

Shim and Park !! omg they killed me all the time the way they acting were light AF !! made the drama more joy able to watch tbh ...

Music :

I loved the music was so on point and amazing !! i keep listen to OST can't stop .. need help !! :D


Rewatch :

Yeah i would rewatch it some day ..

Overall :

It was so refreshing made me smile from my heart and gave me so much cute little emotions that i really needed .. this days most of the dramas so heavy and crazy ,, so to see good light drama with a good acting and storyline it's rare !!

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Beautiful and light-hearted rom-com

I was so excited about this drama ever since I heard about the Grim reaper and Sunny reunion but honestly I was also worried because my expectations were too high.
After watching the first two episodes, I put it on-hold since I thought it's be the same as WWWSK, cheesy and cringy and boring (for me and I dropped it).
But later when I binge-watched all the episodes before it ended, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a beautiful romantic comedy and everything was perfect. I couldn't not love it. The OTP chemistry was amazing as expected. The OSTs are beautiful and the plot and pacing was just great. If you want something romantic and comforting, this is the drama for you.

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this show touched my heart for real

Ah so how should i start. I liked the fact that they included so many side couples in the show while giving Yoon Seo and Lawyer Kwon a happy ending after all of the challenges.

To me Yoon Seo's character was the sweetest human being i have ever seen and seeing how Lawyer Kwon cared about her made me so happy. This show reminded me of my first love despite that we didn't have a happy ending.

I became obsessed with the drama OSTs especially Wendy's what if love. I will definitely add all of them to my playlist.

The story is so sweet and innocent that made me in tears so many times. The couple really does have unbeliveable chemistry.

I think we all knew that this show is like a goblin in another universe lol.

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Mars & Venus Go To Court °8.2° °Excellent°

TYK follows a TV personality who is out of work after a scandal. She would call herself an actress, but she's known for her good looks, not her good acting. She begs for a part in a new legal drama. She's told (with great reluctance) to research her role at a real law firm. Under that one condition she'll be offered the part. "On it!" Her manager calls his law-firm-owning cousin, whose immediate reply is: "There's no way - he won't do *this* favor - he will not have any actress come into his sacred company - it's WHO?!? (all without taking a breath) Turns out he's a BIG fan. She must be assigned to the most competent attorney in The Firm. He is all-business-no-warmth, and gives up on Prossy Missy the first day ("Just do what you want until quitting time"), because she can't work the copy machine. Heck, she can't even answer the phone.

If nothing else, watch it for the pickup skills. Exhibit A: "Ms Oh, this letter is for you. I, Kwon Jung-roc, saw you for the very first time on February 6th, 2019 at the secretary's office of Always Law Firm located in Seocho - gu, Seoul.

"As we interacted with each other many times through work, and had about six meals together, I realized that your feelings weren't fake. I realize that they were actually sincere. Therefore, I, Kwon Jung-roc, request you, Oh Jin-sim, to officially go out with me. And I hope you give me your approval."

How do you think our Glamours actress will respond to this plea deal?

Summary Judgment: TYK is the perfect holiday for Kromcom devotees. It frames itself as a descendant of the film Roman Holiday, in which a princess (Audrey Hepburn) trades her carriage for a motorcycle after Escaping The Palace. In heavy contrast to the starched isolation of court, she is propelled by a rumbling hot motor to experience life, citizen-style: Fun. Adventure, + a dear & sincere romance inside a brief run. TYK could be referred to as Legal Holiday… or Office Holiday? A Brief Holiday In Motion? Contempt Overturned In 3 Months?

Exhibit Z: The soundtrack is downright Spotifiable.

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The description throw me off, as well as beginning. I didn't want another cliche to get bores over. But im glad that this could mix well wihtout you going *not another one*.

OST-
It was so good. I found myself listening the songs on their own. So good, and i liked the combination of English and Korean songs. And im not surprised that there are songs from Chen and Wendy and many more talents...

ACTING-
I loved it, i non stop commented how the main actress is really good at playing adorable girl. She never made me cringe, nor did main actor. They both potrayed their characters personalities well, and even side actors expressed their characters well.

PLOT-
The plot is very satisfying, i liked the idea of potryaing that the law and trials aren't as dramatic as they seem in drames. I liked how the the FL wasn't stuck up, nor how theres no rivalry for drama. It's a very tame love story, and it does not depend on misunderstandings. I also love how, lets say 'a enemy' because it wasn't really that, it only was there for 2-3 épisodes, was introduced early, but happened later on.
It really surprised me how much un-drama like it is. There's no bitchy women, nor misunderstandings to get the story going. It Linda shows how much this drama does not need those things, cliches to let it grow.

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