Hey Lovers💗
Wow. I know. It’s been agesssssss. I can’t remember the last time I sat down to review a Korean drama. In the last two and a half years, both stressful and wonderful (actually, dreamlike) things have happened to me. But whether life was going well or not, within those years, I just couldn’t muster anything in me to write a blog post. Apart from life lifeing and growth growthing, Korean dramas of these days just don’t move or excite me enough to want to gush about them.
Boyfriend on Demand is that one drama that unbelievably broke the spell. The thing is, as with most people (I believe), I had absolutely zero expectations for this drama. And this is due to a myriad of reasons. First, as an upcoming actress, Jisoo’s previous dramas just never seemed to hit the spot like I wanted them to; neither did any one of them make a strong statement about her arrival in Kdramaland. Second, Boyfriend on Demand had a fantasy premise—the whole virtual, AI dating thing—and anyone who really knows me knows I don’t jive with the fantasy genre.
However, because the show was streaming on the very accessible Netflix (unlike where Jisoo’s previous dramas had aired), and I wanted to see what she had in store this time around, I was willing to check the show out. Besides, I was very interested in the plot aspect that was going to explore dating in the busy, modern era.
And oh, the cinematography seemed very pastel-colourful, vibrant, and alluring. It made me totally interested in giving the show a try, and so, I started it and found myself gulping down every episode right to the last.
So what did I enjoy so much about this one—to the extent that I found it worthy of my blogging🤪?
Let’s get down to it!
WHAT I LOVED
Jisoo as Mi-rae: She finally shines as a new actress
This is truly the first show Jisoo has shined in since debuting as an actress. In Snowdrop, her debut drama, Jisoo played a strongly melancholic and dramatic role where all she did was cry, scream, yell, appear sombre, and display anguish. But as a green actress who was not yet equipped to portray such demanding expressions with natural, convincing ease, Jisoo ended up looking amateurish, and I’m sorry, pathetic.
Not at all the kind of entrance I’d hoped she would make as a new actress.
But here? In this drama? Jisoo shined like the star she is. Don’t get me wrong, her acting was still not the most impressive or immersive (especially in the earlier episodes). But because the drama was much lighter, funny, and relatable, she was able to act more freely and entertainingly.
Mi-rae is a highly relatable character. She is a webtoon producer and manager caught up in the demands and deadlines of work, and she would rather spend the meagre free time she has on herself Netflix n’ Chillin’ rather than engaging in the messy, time-consuming, mental-health-risking affair that is modern dating. And Jisoo portrayed the role well. Perhaps because it was already a story that was relatable to almost every youth in today’s world, including, I’m sure, Jisoo, she really was able to do the role justice.
As I mentioned, her acting was not the best in earlier episodes, but I was satisfied and impressed to observe that as the story progressed, her acting got better and felt much more immersive and entertaining. Jisoo became reasonably convincing in both the comedic and emotional scenes. I would never forget the scene where Mi-rae was trying to convince herself to subscribe to the tech gadget that allowed her to virtually go on dates with deep-fake characters.
The hilarious way she dramatized how the costs of going on real-life dates outweighed the costs of going on virtual-reality dates cracked me open so bad. I was holding on to dear life as I laughed. Apart from the writing being so unbelievably spot on and brilliant in that scene, Jisoo nailed her lines and expressions to a T🤣🤣🤣. It’s definitely one of the show’s standout scenes for sure!!!
Overall, I enjoyed Jisoo’s portrayal of Mi-rae and hope that I get to see her in more lighthearted, relatable roles. They fit her so well and make her shine so bright!
Seo In-guk as Park Kyeong-nam: He proved to be a veteran star boy
I forgot to mention that one of the main reasons I was interested in trying out this show was because Seo In-guk was starring in it. Mehnnnn, I have not seen this guy in a drama in sooooo longggg. And as one of my OG crushes, I just had to try out the drama, especially because I had enjoyed seeing his handsome face (🙈😋) in the dating reality series Better Late Than Single, where he served as a commentator.
I’m pleased to report that this guy did not disappoint at all. His acting and role as Park Kyeong-nam were actually one of my highlights of this show. I completely, absolutely loved the way he played that role.
You know it’s such a cliché in Kdramaland—the tsundere, cold, standoffish, rude male lead who is actually a warm, good-hearted softie once you get to know him. That’s the role Seo In-guk had to play, and there’s usually not much to expect from such a portrayal due to its clichéness, but oh my god, Seo In-guk freakin’ killed it.
First of all, Park Kyeong-nam is Mi-rae’s colleague—a level-headed, competent, star employee similarly producing and managing webtoon artists—and the way that he was written as a character had a lot to do with how unique and interesting I found Seo In-guk’s acting to be. But I still gotta give credit where it’s due.
The stoic walk, the deadpan face, the delivery of the abrupt, straightforward confessions, the sexy office glasses, the headphones, the focused, unfazed gaze on screens, the confidence and competency, the sculpted face with the undereye mole — gosh. I could go on and on. Seo In-guk was chocolate to feast on, to devour.
Sure, with how impressively well-written Kyeong-man was, another actor might have done just as well with the portrayal. But Seo In-guk’s acting and physical attributes definitely gave a distinct flavour to this character. What a charismatic, memorable portrayal! Brilliant casting by the casting team. Just like Jisoo, Seo In-guk definitely struck gold with the script and character; they made him shine like the veteran star boy he is.
He surprisingly did not have as many scenes as you would expect a major character to have, but his impact was definitely felt throughout.
Well done oppa!!!🤭❤️
The writing was extremely good
I will never stop saying it: writing is what makes or breaks a show. No matter how brilliant your actors are or how much of a star cast you ensemble, if your writing is lazy or mediocre, there’s only so much your actors, let alone directors or producers, can do.
Guys, I was really shocked at how good the writing of this show was—especially because not only did I have seriously low expectations before starting it, it had a premise and visual that seemed more likely to be shallow and surface-level than deep or impactful.
But guess who was totally wrong? What a remarkably written, gulpable show this was! It’s plentifully fun and lighthearted, but also deeply original, relatable, and wise. It’s enlightening and profound without being obvious, overbearing, or self-righteous.
Modern dating is a beast—with all the sizing up and closed-up hearts. But when you add that singles have to work 40+ jobs every week with little to no time for themselves, the dating scene feels hopeless. Then throw in technology, swiping, and the AI-tification of connections, and everything feels even messier and irredeemable. Everything literally turns into and feels like a freakin’ joke.
This drama understands the joke that modern dating has turned into and depicts it so well. It understands the complexities, vulnerabilities, insecurities, pain, and inconvenience of modern dating, and explores them brilliantly.
Even the side characters were there to enrich the story’s explorations. There was barely any waste of characters. The popular webtoon artist Mi-rae managed was there to show us the heartbreaking loneliness singles experience, and how much of our self-worth we tie to our work to make up for the insecurities we feel.
Mi-rae’s best friend, on the other hand, was there to show us just how desperate we can become in our search for romantic relationships. And with Mi-rae herself, we are shown how addicted and dependent we can quickly get on technologies and apps that promise fantasy and perfection in our dating lives, much to the detriment of us connecting in the real world. With the subscription-based tech Mi-rae uses to meet her AI-like dates, the show also depicts just how exploitative dating apps are, and how much they prey on our busyness, loneliness, and desperation. Oooof.
Aside from the depth, there are many hilarious scenes in this drama. I can’t remember the last time I laughed and shook my ribs as hard as I did while watching Mi-rae’s antics and head-butts with nonchalant Kyung-nam, who was simply good at his job, but apparently her nemesis and imagined work rival😂.
Even the random love confession in the car from such a stoic, unbothered character like Kyung-nam, where he just so blasély drove off after dropping a bomb on flabbergasted Mi-rae🤣, felt so original and unexpected. Loved it soooo much!!!
It’s not easy to be lighthearted and deep at the same time, but this drama does both sooooo wellll and is well ahead of its time with its exploration of AI/virtual-dating simulations. What an impressive penmanship!
Lest I forget, the romantic scenes and vulnerable dialogues about being scared to put oneself out there were TOO relatable. Too mushhhhhyyyyyy🥹🥹🥹. I loved them so much. Great writing there as well!
P.S: That couch kiss from Jisoo and Seo In-guk was mouth-dropping🤯. Wawu. The Blackpink members must have teased the hell out of Jisoo🤣🤣🤣.
The fashion & cinematography were stunning
I lumped both together because the show simulated a lot of fantasy-like, out-of-the-world scenery, and the fashion and cinematography worked perfectly together. The fashion was carefully crafted; Mi-rae looked stupendously gorgeous and breathtaking in virtually every virtual scene. The wardrobe, set designs, and scenic views were outstanding. It was colour upon colour, splendour upon splendour, elegance upon elegance.
Mi-rae’s fashion, in whatever life or occupation she was inhabiting in her virtual world (oh yes, she was able to inhabit different worlds), tended to match the cinematography. When she was virtual-dating in the college world, she had these pink-coded jackets and accessories that matched the pink palettes of the blossom trees. Gosh, the college scenes were so youthful, colorful, and beautiful.
No doubt the production value of this show was skyrocket high. They didn’t come to play at all. Everything reeked of high budgeting, and the AI fantasy world truly came alive in a way that was painfully, beautifully unreal.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH
Spending too much time on virtual characters
Remember how I said Seo In-guk surprisingly didn’t have many scenes in the show? Well, we have the show to blame for spending way too much time on the AI characters Mi-rae dated in her fantasy world.
Don’t get me wrong, it was fun to see the gorgeous sets, mesmerizing fashion, and fantasy dates Mi-rae went on, but I have to admit that it quickly got old seeing Mi-rae spend more time with her virtual dates than Kyeong-nam. I wanted to see more of them together. To watch their bickering and funny interactions, to watch Kyeong-nam being secretly sweet to Mi-rae, who was totally clueless like I was initially, as an audience, about how long he had liked her.
But I kept having to put up with Mi-rae and her fake men, and that fatigued and exasperated me. So much. That’s why in the times that I’ve gone back to rewatch the drama, I always skip her virtual scenes. They are honestly not my cup of tea. I appreciate them for what they are worth in terms of exploring the addictive quality of AI apps. However, they definitely could have found a better balance between showing Mi-rae go on dates in the virtual world and teasing her relationship with Kyeong-nam. For sure.
But maybe that’s just me. After all, I know a lot of people online who LOVEDDD the virtual characters Mi-rae went on dates with. Some even had favourite virtual characters they were shipping her with.
So maybe that’s just me.🤷♀️
P:S: Don’t take this to be a criticism of all the virtual characters that appeared in the show. I definitely enjoyed a lot of the virtual cameos featuring many popular K-drama actors. The purposely dramatic, cliché scenes that had Mirae in different workplace romance scenarios were genuinely hilarious. I just got tired of seeing Seo Kang-joon (who appeared in most cameos) and another guy, whom I will talk about below.
Creating a virtual look-alike of Park Kyeong-nam
If you’ve watched the show, I’m assuming you’ll get my exasperation with this aspect. But for those that haven’t, lemme try:
So Park Kyeong-nam is an actual, living, breathing character in the show. But towards the end of the show, when Mi-rae starts to become disillusioned with her virtual prospects, we are introduced to a brand new virtual character who looks EXACTLY like Kyeong-nam. This character appears to Mi-rae in the virtual world because Mi-rae wanted an AI man that was not generic and available to all, but rather crafted to her tastes and ideal type. After subscribing to a higher plan and answering detailed questions, the tech she was using granted her wish. A man who embodied everything she wanted appeared before her. The only problem? He looked exactly like Kyeong-nam.
So literally, Seo In-guk had to play two characters, the real Park Kyeong-nam and a virtual lookalike named Gu Yeong-il.
I don’t know if I am the only one, but I found this sooooo creepy. Personality-wise, Yeong-il was way more free-spirited than Kyeong-nam, and he had this weird-looking hair colour dyed red, or should I say burgundy-wine, unlike Kyeong-nam’s normal hair colour.
I’m trying to say that Yeong-il was very different from Kyeong-nam. So I genuinely don’t understand why they made him look like Kyeong-nam. Is it to show Mi-rae herself and us, the audience, that she had actually been physically attracted to Kyeong-nam all along? Or was it to show that her ideal man was in fact not all that different from Kyeong-nam? (who, again, was depicted as different from him in certain ways).
I still don’t get it, honestly. What was the intent behind the choice? Could anyone explain it to me? Because I was confused as hell when Yeong-il appeared. Heck, it’s been months since I first watched that show and I am still confused.
Wheeew! And gosh, I hated that towards the end of the show, when they were supposed to be feeding me sugar-sweet scenes of Kyeong-nam and Mi-rae together, Yeong-il was appearing a lot more. Urggghhh.
CONCLUSION
Don’t let my complaints about what I didn’t like about the drama fool or detract you from watching the unexpectedly fresh, highly underrated gem this is. Boyfriend on Demand is a show that if you call a masterpiece, I honestly would not think you’re exaggerating. I’ve actually seen a few Reddit posts call it just that, and I feel so at peace with the tag.
Personally, I think “genius” is a word I’m more comfortable with using when describing the exceptional creativity and brilliance this show demonstrated so casually. It’s truly ahead of its time, and totally, absolutely genius for a romantic comedy. Plus, the chemistry between Jisoo and Seo In-guk: chef’s kiss💋.
They fit and worked so well.
And god, I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a workplace K-drama this thoroughly. The others have been such duds. Great job to the workplace cast. Special shoutout to Jo Han-chul. As usual, he gave me some drama and was notoriously hilarious!
Without further ado, I wholeheartedly recommend and declare Boyfriend on Demand to be one of the VERY few standouts of 2026. What a show!
Thank you, Lovers, for reading as always. I promise to try not to be a stranger as I’ve been!❤️