Want to Be Lovers? OK! Prague or Paris? Prague!

“Lovers in Prague” is a 2005 Korean drama series with 18 episodes, categorized as Romance; and streaming on Viki and KOCOWA+.

SUMMARY: It’s a small world. Who would think that people from South Korea, living in Seoul and visiting Prague would cross paths with each other and their lives would become intricately intertwined? What are the odds?

♦ Sometimes a Break-Up is a Good Thing

In “Lovers in Prague”, Yun Jae-Hee is a diplomat who works at the South Korean Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic. She was or is in a relationship with Ji Yeong-Woo. Was? Is? She’s not sure. They agreed to get together again after 5 years. That way she would know if her wish came true. He hasn’t shown up yet. But that doesn’t mean she gave up and is looking for another lover. But she meets a guy anyway.

Choi Sang-Hyun was or is in a relationship with Kang Hye-Ju. Supposedly she is living in Prague, attending school, and pursuing her musical aspirations. They have been separated for a while, in body, but not in spirit. At least, that’s what Choi Sang-Hyun thinks. He’s certain she misses him as much as he misses her and she will be returning home to Seoul soon.

Meanwhile, Choi Sang-Hyun and Ji Yeong-Woo are both in Seoul, standing right next to each other at an awards ceremony.

• Choi Sang-hyun is a detective, an average ordinary guy with a singular mindset. He works hard at one job and loves only one woman.

• Ji Yeong-Woo is a public prosecutor and a rich kid. But he’s not arrogant or uppity because he’s the son of the chairman of a leading conglomerate. To the contrary, he’s honest and humble, and has his mind set on only one woman.

Both are being presented with an award for outstanding performance of their duties.

After the ceremony, Choi Sang-hyun goes off to call his girlfriend in Prague to find out when she will be coming home. Kang Hye-Ju tells him she has no intention of ever coming back and she’s breaking up with him. There was no mention of her having another man. She just decided on her life and he won’t be included in her future.

Choi Sang-hyun can’t accept a “telephonic Dear John letter”. He boards a plane to Prague and once there, starts looking for her. She needs to talk to him face to face. After all of these years and he was paying for her education, she can’t walk off and desert him like that! Shortly after arriving in Prague, he crosses paths with Yun Jae-Hee. Their initial encounter is rather abrasive. He mistakenly assumes she’s a prostitute because he saw her take money from a man in a restaurant. It’s never good to jump to conclusions. But Choi Sang-hyun is in distress and ready to explode. He’s liable to take anything the wrong way and fly off the handle.

Fortunately, Yun Jae-Hee is a diplomat and even though she was offended, she did her best to help him. She saw his identification and knew he was a detective. But he’s in a foreign country and can’t speak the language. As an official representative of her country and him being a fellow countryman, she decided to help him. Once she got him settled into a hotel, they parted ways. The encounter didn’t end too badly because she was laughing and her smile was bright.

Kang Hye-Ju walked up on her and asked who had made her so happy. Yun Jae-Hee brushed off her expression, said it was nothing, and called Choi Sang-hyun a jerk! Coincidentally, Kang Hye-Ju and Yun Jae-Hee had just started sharing an apartment together. Yun Jae-Hee did not know that Choi Sang-hyun had come to Prague searching for Kang Hye-Ju. And Kang Hye-Ju didn’t know the “jerk” her new roommate was referring to was her ex-boyfriend; the guy she broke up with over the telephone.

Ji Yeong-Woo also came to Prague intending to connect with Yun Jae-Hee. He hoped he wasn’t too late to make her wish come true. When he visited her apartment she was not there. Kang Hye-Ju answered the door and innocently remarked: “So you’re guy who made her laugh and smile. You don’t look like a jerk!”

Ji Yeong-Woo had just arrived, and he had not seen Yun Jae-Hee yet. He knew there was no way he was the jerk. But who could the jerk be? Had someone already stolen Yun Jae-Hee’s heart? Was he too late?

Main Characters:

• Yun Jae-Hee (played by Jeon Do-Yeon, “Revolver”, “Kill Boksoon”, “Emergency Declaration”, “Beasts Clawing At Straws”, “Memories of the Sword”, “Crash Course in Romance” )
• Choi Sang-Hyun (played by Kim Ju-Hyeok, “Heung-Boo: The Revolutionist”, “Believer”)
• Ji Yeong-Woo (played by Kim Min-Jun, “Durian’s Affair”, “Damo”, “Hwarang”, “Schoolgirl Detectives”)
• Kang Hye-Ju (played by Yoon Se-Ah, “Parallel Life”, “Perfect Family”, “SKY Castle”, “My Sassy Girl”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.4 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7 out of 10 stars
• Viki viewers rated this movie 9.3 out of 10 stars
• Amazon customers rated this series: 3.9 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as that of the Viki viewing audience.

“Lovers in Prague” has an excellent cast. It gets high marks for the scenery, the soundtrack, the storyline, and the cast. Even with the familiar love triangle K-drama trope, this series was still a warm feel-good love story. Plus, since it was released 20 years ago, it gets to be called a “classic”. It was nice seeing these actors when they were young. Jeon Do Yeon had a cute sweet baby face. She looked like a Korean Barbie doll. LOL. “Lovers in Prague” was her come-back series as she had been on hiatus for 3 years.

FINAL NOTE: This series is part of a trilogy. I plan to watch the other two (2) K-dramas – “Lovers in Paris”, and “Lovers” – and publish reviews here on PopGeeks. Stay tuned!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

[Revisiting Dramas] Twelve years later, still a lover of Lovers in Prague | Korean drama recaps | Dramabeans

Lovers in Prague (SBS TV Series) | DVD Talk

Loving Lovers in Prague | Life of Lopsided 8

Classic Drama Face-off: Lovers in Paris vs. Lovers in Prague | Dramas with a Side of Kimchi

South Korea has “Lovers in Prague” | Czech Film Commission

10 Korean Dramas That Inspire Us To Travel | Hello KPop

TRAILER/TEASER:

itsmenoriko. “Lovers in Prague MV ‘Once.’” YouTube, 12 Mar. 2008, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjLSdyLzK6M. 

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