“Secret Love Affair” (JTBC / 2014) was unlike any romance drama I’ve ever watched. The age gap is no joke (twenty! years!), but I like to think I’ve been steadily preparing myself all year by watching a ton of dramas with younger men and older women involved in romances, haha. Let’s Eat, I Need Romance 3, High School King of Savvy, Witch’s Romance…
To even reduce SLA to only a noona romance drama would be doing it a disservice because it’s so rich in content. It’s like a classic perfume with this intense sillage that lingers on and on. For a drama that felt so strong and exhilarating, it was very dark and foreboding, deliberate and slow. Despite that, I was always so engrossed by our main couple. Definitely illicit, but it got me good — surely a testament to the talents of Kim Hee-ae and Yoo Ah-in.
Oh Hyewon enjoys her status, she’s worked hard for it, and she’s loath to give any of that up… but it’s not doing anything for her, and neither is her marriage. Hyewon isn’t perfect, but I think what makes her character perfect is that she’s shrewd, complex, and real. Sunjae on the other hand is so sincere and giddy about the prospect of finding this woman who awakens his passion in more ways than one. Even the supporting cast, for all of their shady machinations, were really interesting to me. Say what you will about Hyewon’s husband (spoiler: he sucks), he was still very well written and compelling in all his petulance.
I actually really loved the ending, and it reminded me of works by Sakamoto Yuji (“Mother”, “Soredemo, Ikite Yuku”). Hyewon takes control of her own destiny, even though it didn’t lead to immediate happy ending. What mattered is that she was finally and truly content with the direction of her life and had an opportunity to begin anew. Sunjae could wait for her while she served her prison sentence if he wanted to, but she wouldn’t be the one to ask. He does, and there’s that hope that they’ll be able to continue their romance without anything to hold them back.
. . .
(More) Reasons to Watch: Secret Love Affair has the distinction of being one of my favorite dramas ever! It was also quite the hot topic when it aired, and I actually liked the issues that it addressed.
Musical directing was also ace. I’ll never forget that Rachmaninoff piece! There was also a piano melody that was repeated throughout the show, and there was something about it that felt like a shadow creeping up on you… loved it.
And who could forget the scene where they breathlessly played their first piano piece together? Korea didn’t, and it got spoofed on Gag Concert and SNL Korea, haha. TOO MUCH!
Honorable Mention: “Pride” (Fuji TV / 2004) because when Kimutaku is fire, he is FIRE.