“You Are My Spring” ~ A Sociopath Versus a Psychopath

“You Are My Spring” is a 2021 Korean drama series, with 16 episodes. This K-Drama can be categorized as Romance, Thriller and Suspense, Crime and Mystery, and Police Drama.

SUMMARY: In “You Are My Spring”, a young woman has had a few bad relationships. But she meets a guy who seems almost too good to be true and wants to stop meeting him because she feels unworthy. Around the same time, she also meets a doctor who warns her not to get involved with the man. Before a relationship could even develop between them, the young man commits suicide and left a note for her explaining why. It turns that this perfect guy confessed to several murders and wanted to end his madness by taking his own life. How could this be? He was a murderer? Even the name she knew him by was not his real name. What was his real name? Who was he? As if life was not already confusing, she crosses paths with another guy who looks exactly like the guy who committed suicide. What are the odds? Should she steer clear of him?

♦ My Date Turned Out to Be a Murderer

In “You Are My Spring”, Kang Da-Jeong has not had many successful romantic encounters. Her friend encourages her to date Chae Jun. Surely he must be a good guy. He seems nice. So nice that Kang Da-Jeong tries to discourage him from getting involved with her. Nevertheless, he still pursues her.

Kang Da-Jeong also met Ju Young-Do who is a psychiatrist. Even though they don’t really have a close relationship, he felt compelled to warn her not to have a relationship with Chae Jun. When she asked him why, he couldn’t really give her something concrete to help her decide. Ju Young-Do treats several patients suffering from various forms of mental illness. He also had an encounter with someone 18 years ago and believed that person could be diagnosed as a sociopath. As a psychiatrist, he has been studying the differences between a sociopath and a psychopath and concluded that they could both be dangerous. The way he identified that Chae Jun might be a sociopath was rather unscientific. He said something about the look in the guy’s eyes and that he had seen that look in another person’s eyes 18 years ago.

Kang Da-Jeong wasn’t easily persuaded and wasn’t sure she should heed Ju Young-Do’s warning, especially, since everything about Chae Jun screamed “Mr. Nice Guy”. But then one dreadful day, Kang Da-Jeong receives a document. It was a confession and a suicide note written by Chae Jun. He wrote that he had committed more than one murder and now he was going to end his own life to put it all to an end. Ju Young-Do happened to be in front of the building when the body of Chae Jun landed on top of a parked car. It was believed that he had jumped off the roof to his death. Ko Jin-Bok, a police officer who arrived at the crime scene began questioning Ju Young-Do to determine his involvement. While he was asking questions, another law enforcement officer came to tell him that a woman had walked into the police station and presented the suicide note.

♦ The Evidence Says He Did It But Why Don’t We Believe It?

Ko Jin-Bok kept in touch with Ju Young-Do as part of the ongoing investigation, because his psychiatric expertise might be useful. Also, they have a connection. One of the murder victims was a fellow officer and close friend of Ko Jin-Bok. The friend had been brought to the hospital and was pronounced brain dead. It so happened that Ju Young-Do was in the hospital that day hoping for a heart donor. He got the heart he needed. It belonged to the officer who had been murdered. Even though all of the evidence collected pointed to Chae Jun, plus the suicide note with him confessing to the murders, neither Ko Jin-Bok nor Ju Young-Do believed that he was “the real killer”. Ask them why and all they could say was: “Something seemed off.” They couldn’t shake the strange feeling that the real murderer was still on the loose.

There was something else that seemed strange. Kang Da-Jeong was a concierge at a major hotel. There was going to be a conference held there attended by doctors. One of the doctors is a Korean-American named Choi Jeong-Min. When Kang Da-Jeong passed the doctor as he was walking down the hallway, she stopped him to ask who he was. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The doctor looked exactly like Chae Jun, the man who had committed suicide. An eerie feeling came over Kang Da-Jeong. Later when Ko Jin-Bok or Ju Young-Do saw him, they also thought the resemblance was striking.

Do you believe in doppelgangers? If so, then you might conclude that Doctor Choi Jeong-Min is Chae Jun’s doppelganger. If you don’t believe, then … maybe … ??? … maybe the good doctor is not who he appears to be.

Main Characters:

• Kang Da-Jeong (played by Seo Hyun-Jin, “Why Her?”, “The Three Musketeers”, “The Duo”, “Jung-Yi, Goddess of Fire”)
• Ju Young-Do (played by Kim Dong-Wook, “Along With the Gods 1 and 2”, “My Perfect Stranger”)
• Chae Jun / Choi Jeong-Min (played by Yoon Park, “Doctor Slump”, “Forecasting Love and Weather”)
• Ko Jin-Bok (played by Lee Hae-Young, “Vigilante”, “Bloodhounds”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.3 out of 10 stars
• MyDramaList: 8 out of 10 stars
• Letterboxd: 3.4 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as MyDramaList.

I often look for reviews with reactions different from mine. Here is a quote from a review by FanGirl Verdict:

• “Bad writing, lack of plot direction, a cowardly approach to grown up sexuality compromised two very good performances by lead and second lead …”

WOW! Uuummm … OK! It seems other reviewers have also expressed disappointment. Here’s what I think.

The image on Netflix for “You Are My Spring” immediately caught my eye. Normally, we associate the spring season with April showers and beautiful flowers. We never link it to a black cat. But on Netflix in the grouping for “K-Dramas Dubbed in English,” it was a drawing of a black cat with the title of the series. I’m like: ‘A black cat and springtime?’ Even so, the title misled me because I expected since “spring” was a part of the title, it would probably be a light romance. Man, was I ever wrong!

Just goes to show … you can’t judge a K-drama by its title or the image associated with it on a streaming platform. This series is a romance, but it is also a very intriguing murder mystery. Hooked me in with the first episode and kept me hooked.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Worth the Watch: “You Are My Spring” | Gwencha Noona

Dropped: You Are My Spring | The Fangirl Verdict

[K-Drama Review] ‘You Are My Spring’: It’s Heart-Fluttering, But It Also Has a Clear Letdown | MyMusicTaste

K-Drama and Language Learning | You are my Spring | 너는 나의 봄 | RomCom KDrama Review + Is the Endless Love Series having a comeback? | Kingka Podcast

‘You Are My Spring’ is About A Concierge, A Psychiatrist, A Funky Building And A Murder Mystery – Netflix Review: Stream It Or Skip It? | Decider.com

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Netflix K-Content. “You Are My Spring | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB].” YouTube Video. YouTube, June 24, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVPtpoF27vI.‌