Please Don’t Date Him – Pick Good Food Not Bad People

“Please Don’t Date Him” is a 2020 Korean drama series, with 10 episodes, and categorized as Science fiction (Sci-Fi), Romance, and Comedy (Rom-Com).

SUMMARY: An AI programmer is tasked with writing a program for a refrigerator that can recommend good food choices for meals, based on the ingredients in the fridge. Somehow an AI program from an “unknown source” was accidentally loaded and instead of making recommendations for good food, it differentiates between good and bad people.

♦ How Does the Refrigerator Know My Boyfriend is a Jerk?

In “Please Don’t Date Him”, Seo Ji-Sung has already planned her wedding. She’s going to marry a dentist and thinks he’s the perfect guy. He’s so protective of her that he even installed a camera in her apartment in case of an intruder. That’s what he told her. But what he really did was take photos of her in her intimate undergarments and upload them to a chat group so his friends could see what she looked like. Boobs and all!

When she finds out, she cancels their wedding and also, tells him that she never wants to see him again! If he shows up around her, she will SUE!!  But how did Seo Ji-Sung find out what her boyfriend had done? OK. Here’s the story.

Seo Ji-Sung works for an electronics company as an AI programmer. She is responsible for developing a program for a “smart refrigerator”. With just a little bit of information about the person – their age, what they ate for their last meal, any health conditions or dietary restrictions – and info about the ingredients in their refrigerator – Jango (the name of the “smart refrigerator”) can suggest good food. That’s how her program is supposed to work.

The problem is the program has a lot of “bugs”. Her boss tells her she had better get the AI program to work or there will be consequences. Working late one night, she got so frustrated she kicked the refrigerator. There were sparks and smoke, the fire alarm went off, and … that’s when she realized she didn’t know how to use a fire extinguisher.

Jung Kook-Hee is a firefighter and he responded to the call. There was not much for him to do because by the time he arrived, everything had been contained. The refrigerator was broken but that wasn’t his problem. While at the company he tried to show her how to use a fire extinguisher. Their encounter was a brief but memorable one. Jung Kook-Hee would cross paths with Seo Ji-Sung later and he would definitely remember her.

Well! Since she broke the refrigerator, she had no other choice but to build another one. Fortunately, the company had various electronic parts needed for the smart functions, wireless connectivity, etc. Seo Ji-Sung has always been good at building, and she even on science awards. It’s hard work but for her, it’s also like therapy. She had gathered the parts and was on the first floor getting ready to get on the elevator to go back to her workplace.

Her boyfriend showed up saying he had dropped by to take her home. Seo Ji-Sung said: “Thanks, but sorry babe. I have to work.” While they were talking to each other, neither one of them noticed that their voices were activating … “something” (???). One of those parts Seo Ji-Sung had collected was capable of doing much more than she intended her AI program to do.

Here’s the Rest of the Story: My Boss and My Boyfriend Confessed

Seo Ji-Sung’s boyfriend left her at work, she worked all night rebuilding that “smart refrigerator” and then she tested it. To her surprise, Jango, the “smart refrigerator”, told her that her boss who was supposed to be at a funeral but was using the company card for unauthorized spending. She immediately thought that she had totally screwed up everything!

Not only did Jango tell her that her boss was engaging in unauthorized spending but it provided dates, places, receipts, and even said the name of the person! Oh! It also recommended their next meal. YIKES! But … ??? … is this information correct and true or is the program spitting out garbage? She tested her boss when he returned to work. He confessed and wondered how she knew. (O.o)

Oh no! How did this happen? She didn’t dare tell her boss how she knew. Instead, she said she was still working on getting rid of the bugs in the program. Seo Ji-Sung tested it again. This time Jango gave her enough detailed info for her to tell her best friend that her boyfriend was a cheater and a scammer! Jango told her where he was meeting up with his other girlfriend. She took her friend to the restaurant and guess what. The boyfriend was caught in the act.

Seo Ji-Sung decided to test the AI program by giving Jango information about her boyfriend. She would know immediately if the information was wrong because she knew her boyfriend very well. Jango revealed that HE WAS A JERK! Her boyfriend’s betrayal and the invasion of her privacy were traumatizing.

Seo Ji-Sung’s life had been filled with disappointments. She wondered why nothing ever went her way. Even the AI program didn’t go her way. Instead of recommending good food, it was pointing out bad people. Seo Ji-Sung was going to have to solve that programming problem eventually. But a more important question needs to be answered. Should she give up on having a relationship? Can AI answer that?

What About That Nice Fireman?

Remember the nice fireman? Jung Kook-Hee seems like a nice guy. But then … Seo Ji-Sung’s boyfriend also seemed like a nice guy. She couldn’t use Jango to test because … ??? … Jung Kook-Hee does not have a digital footprint. Jango could tell her about others because the AI program somehow (???) had access to all of their electronic data – credit cards, social media accounts, etc. Jung Kook-Hee is a 21st-century boy who is totally old school. He pays cash when he goes out to eat and listens to music on cassette tapes. He has no social media accounts! WHY? Uuhh … he just doesn’t like that kind of stuff! (O.o)

Is that all? Really? He doesn’t have a sinister dark reason like he’s a psycho serial killer who doesn’t want to leave his traces anywhere? Should Seo Ji-Sung risk getting into a relationship OR just live out the rest of her life as a spinster?  Can AI answer that?

Main Characters:

• Seo Ji-Sung (played by Song Ha-Yoon, “Helpless”, “Marry My Husband”)
• Jung Kook-Hee (played by Lee Jun-Young, “Badland Hunters”, “Brave Citizen”, “The Impossible Heir”, “May I Help You”, “Avengers Social Club”)
• Moon Ye-Seul (played by Yoon Bo-Mi, “Queen Of Tears”)
• Tak Ki-Hyun (played by Gong Min-Jung, “Sorry, Not Sorry”, “My Man is Cupid”, “One Dollar Lawyer”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 6.7 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.7 out of 10 stars
• Viki viewers rated this series 9.1 out of 10 stars
• Amazon customers rated the series 5 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers.

“Please Don’t Date Him” was added to my watch list because the plot involved AI (artificial intelligence). Some people fear and are willing to swear that AI will take over and we’ll be jobless, start living underground, and have to go to war with machines. Seems like K-drama scriptwriters manage to come up with ideas for stories that show that AI can make mistakes and cause problems too, just like humans.

But! Only humans can correct what AI messes up! If AI is broken, a human has to fix it! So you see … the fears of AI taking over are all for naught. Relax people! AI can’t function properly without HI (human intelligence). The storyline for “Please Don’t Date Him” is a great example.

• NOTE: I am not sure if people name their smart appliances, but the AI programmer gave the refrigerator a name so I looked up the meaning. “Jango” means “Brave warrior or Awaken.” I found the meaning of Jango at a website for baby names. Just like how people look for names of their babies, if you own or plan to purchase a smart appliance, do you already have a name picked out? LOL. (Yeah I know I’m weird. Humor me.)

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Drama Review:- Please Don’t Date Him |– ❤MINDY THE GIRL❤

Sugar Baby’s Review Corner: Please Don’t Date Him | Unbothered Unnies

KDrama Review: Please Don’t Date Him | K&J Reviews

Lee Jun Young And Song Ha Yoon Face Another Obstacle In Their Relationship In “Please Don’t Date Him” | Soompi

TRAILER/TEASER:

KOCOWA TV. “[Please Don’t Date HimㅣTeaser Trailer] ‘You Need to Get a Decent Man.’” YouTube, Video, 17 Nov. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZlro7AxYKQ.

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