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Pierce Conran

Lead cast: Jo Bo-ah, Rowoon, Ha-jun, Yura
Latest Nielsen rating: 2.7 per cent
A star lawyer suffering from a mysterious curse and a lowly civil servant who may have the key to lift it – these are the protagonists of the new show Destined with You, a clean but unimaginative addition to the already bursting pantheon of Korean fantasy romcoms.
Military Doberman Prosecutor lead actress Jo Bo-ah plays Lee Hong-jo, a bright but lonely civil servant working in the fictional town of Onju. She is committed to her work but she has an unfortunate habit of causing headaches for others, especially her colleagues.


The show begins soon after she starts a new post at city hall, while she is investigating a dilapidated shaman shack out in the countryside during a rainy day.
We meet her on the ground, rousing after having lost consciousness. A dashing man appears before her, who she believes to be the personification of death.
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This is Jang Shin-yu, played by SF9 boy band member Rowoon (The King’s Affection), but he is not there to bring her to the afterlife. He is a proficient lawyer from a wealthy family, one that happens to own the shack that sets the stage for this creepy meet-cute.
Shin-yu suffers from a mysterious condition that manifests itself as a bloody hand that crawls over his face, occasionally at inopportune moments such as when he is driving.
He is self-assured and good at what he does, but he is a somewhat anaemic character. Clearly lacking in social graces, he is so dry that one imagines he might crumble into dust if someone touched him.

Because of this Rowoon, who has previously had more charismatic roles in shows like She Would Never Know, is not given much to do. In public his character is cold and expressionless; when he is alone and suffering from his “red hand” affliction, his mien is the same.
Hong-jo has been tasked with getting permission to demolish the shack, following complaints from the parents of a YouTuber who died there. Shin-yu is not very helpful, but he points her towards shaman Eun-wol (Kim Hye-ok), not expecting that she will grant Hong-jo permission.
Not only does she do so, she also gives Hong-jo a 300-year-old box that supposedly only she can open. Inside this box is a magic book of spells and, since one of those spells could lift Shin-yu’s curse, he suddenly takes great interest in Hong-jo.

Hong-jo does not believe these are real, but in her desperation she takes a shot on one of them – a love potion.
The potion is not for Shin-yu – in typical romcom fashion they do not get along yet – but rather Kwon Jae-gyeong (Ha-jun, Missing: The Other Side), a dreamy, high-ranking figure at city hall who is the object of affection for many.
To everyone’s surprise, Jae-gyeong has been very complimentary about Hong-jo ever since her arrival. One evening, she accidentally confesses to him and is crestfallen when he very politely rejects her.
Shin-yu witnesses her clumsy confession and everyone at work, where she is already seriously ostracised, finds out about it the next day. With nothing to lose she cracks open the book of spells.

With its top-down office politics, legal courtroom gymnastics and bickering leads, Destined with You employs a number of familiar ingredients. What is lacking is charm.
The one area where it does try to spice things up is horror. From its shaman shack revealing grisly deaths, including a fatal construction site fall and the sudden decapitation of the aforementioned YouTuber, the show has many horror overtones.
The trouble is, its horror and romcom elements interact like oil and water – separate layers that are unable to mix.

Part of the reason for this is because the horror side of the story is underdeveloped. Shin-yu comes from a family with mysterious origins whose members seldom live to old age. The family is old, rich and connected to shamans but we do not understand anything about it. What should be intriguing is instead perplexing.
Even the recognisable elements of the show do not feel quite right. Hong-ju is a typical character but she exists in a vacuum. The show goes out of its way to show us how lonely she is – her bizarre, alcoholic city hall colleagues keep going out drinking without her, for instance – without offering any insight into her character.
It is early days and time may fill in some of these holes, but this is not an auspicious start for Destined with You.
Destined with You is streaming on Netflix.


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Jo Bo-ah in a still from “Destined with You”.

Jo Bo-ah as Hong-jo in a still from “Destined with You”. The fantasy romcom lacks charm or charismatic lead characters – only time will tell if the show is worth sticking with.

Jo Bo-ah (left) and Rowoon as Hong-jo and Shin-yu in a still from “Destined with You”.

Rowoon as Shin-yu in a still from “Destined with You”.

Ha-jun as Jae-gyeong in a still from “Destined with You”.

Jo Bo-ah as Hong-ju in a still from “Destined with You”.

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Netflix fantasy romcom Destined with You contains stereotypical K-drama ingredients, and so far lacks charm or charismatic lead characters
SF9 boy band member Rowoon is given very little to work with and the show’s horror element is underdeveloped. Time will tell if this is worth sticking with


Destined with You’s lead characters, played by Jo Bo-ah and Rowoon, have not shown charisma in its early episodes. Time will tell if this Netflix K-drama will charm us into sticking with it.


Netflix K-drama Destined with You: fantasy romcom starring Jo Bo-ah and Rowoon doesn’t begin well

Netflix fantasy romcom Destined with You contains stereotypical K-drama ingredients, and so far lacks charm or charismatic lead characters SF9 boy band member Rowoon is given very little to work with and the show’s horror element is underdeveloped. Time will tell if this is worth sticking with

Netflix fantasy romcom Destined with You contains stereotypical K-drama ingredients, and so far lacks charm or charismatic lead characters

SF9 boy band member Rowoon is given very little to work with and the show’s horror element is underdeveloped. Time will tell if this is worth sticking with