My Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
To this day, “You Are My Spring” is the only K-drama I’ve re-watched in its entirety. Three times as of this writing, actually. I’ve re-watched episodes of some dramas (“Uncanny Counter” and “Tomorrow” primarily). I can’t point to one thing that makes me love it so much. I think it may be a combination of factors because from the story, to the visual style, to the music, to the cast, this show has a lot going for it. Oddly enough, almost every time I recommend it the person I’m making the recommendation to has never heard of it. It’s on Netflix, but it did take a while to show up in my recommended list.
The main plot is rather simple – a hotel concierge, Kang Da-jeong, played by Seo Hyun-jin, and a psychiatrist, Jo Young-do, played by Kim Dong-wook, move into the same building. His practice is on the second floor and she rents the apartment on the top floor. She’s unlucky in love and he’s a well-meaning but unintentionally abrasive personality. They clash at first but soon realize there’s something more to their relationship. What propels the romance plot are several darker sub-plots. In fact, the series opens with a suicide that Young-do witnesses. The victim, Chae Jun, played by Yoon Park, has been stalking Da-jeong in hopes of getting a date. The suicide is intertwined with stories of childhood trauma, adoption, and siblings separated at birth. I can’t go into more detail without giving away some major plot points so I’ll leave it at that.
The music that accompanies “You Are My Spring” is fantastic, particularly the main song, “A Butterfly Flew Away” by Kim Min-seok of Mellowmance. It’s a beautiful, centering theme that always brings focus back to the growing relationship between the leads. This is the series that started my love of K-pop.
“You Are My Spring” is the first drama I watched that really treated its characters as adults. So many dramas that portray parents tend to have them treat their adult children AS children. I imagine it’s a part of Korean culture since so many people live with their parents through college and early adulthood, but I think the childhood trauma disallows such a relationship between Da-jeong and her mother, portrayed by the lovely Oh Hyun-kung. There’s a lot of guilt shared between these two and it really informs the on-screen relationship.
“You Are My Spring” is one of the most beautifully filmed shows I’ve ever seen, from any country. Da-jeong’s apartment rooftop is a central location throughout and the city backdrop is gorgeous. It compliments the music of Kim Min-seok so well.
The show does run a little long at 16 episodes. I don’t think they could have told the story in 8, but there’s a little “fluff” that could be cut. That said, I wouldn’t cut a single lingering, slow-motion shot of the leads on the rooftop as some suggest. That’s not fluff – it’s art.
My only other minor complaint is the show sometimes goes really dark and it can be a bit unsettling. There’s an English-speaking actor in a very minor role who is just gross but fortunately he doesn’t get much screen time.
I can’t recommend “You Are My Spring” enough, with the caveat that your mileage may vary. Reviews vary from what I’ve seen, mostly based on the length and the artsy approach to how it’s shot. That may bother some people, but for me this show is damn near perfect.
