I Need Romance 3

The Korean drama, I Need Romance 3 (로맨스가 필요해 3), was a show that left me continuously entertained and left me pining for the next episode. It follows the previous success of the shows that came before it, I Need Romance and I Need Romance 2012, making it a loose spin-off with a brand new set of characters, but keeping the same brazen discussion of sexual relations and the authentic representations of messy relationships. It stars Kim So Yeon, Sung Joon, Namgoong Min, and Wang Ji Won as the main characters and premiered on the Total Variety Network (tvN) on January 13, 2014 and concluded on March 4. The television program has 16 episodes to its name.

Plot

Shin Joo Yeon (Kim So Yeon) is a 33-year-old marketing director at a home shopping channel company. Her hard, workaholic personality has helped promote her to greater positions at her job, making her very successful, however, the one thing she is not so successful in is her love life. Past relationships gone bad have left her believing that there is no such thing as "true love." Joo Yeon is once again left heartbroken when her current boyfriend dumps her the same day as someone from her past re-enters her life.

Joo Wan (Sung Joon), more commonly known as Allen Joo, is a 26-year-old famous songwriter and has returned to South Korea after 17 years from the United States for work purposes. When he was a child, Joo Yeon would babysit him, leaving quite the impression on him and helping create him into the man he currently is. He plans on staying with Joo Yeon, who is reluctant to have him live with her, and when he sees how much she's changed over the years, he's saddened to see her endearing and caring personality is gone. This, in turn, only makes him more determined to move in so he can change her views on love and make her happy once again.

Kang Tae Yoon (Namgoong Min) is a director at the same company Joo Yeon works at and was previously her mentor, leaving Joo Yeon to have admiration for him as her senior at the company. Tae Yoon, like Joo Yeon, is a workaholic and doesn't believe in love after being hurt deeply by a bad relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Oh Se Ryung (Wang Ji Won), who wants nothing more than to get back together with him.

Wan looks out for Joo Yeon while she works and tries to help her make good descisions that he believes her old self would make, while Joo Yeon tries to impress Tae Yoon who is torn up about what he should do when Se Ryung comes back into his life. Joo Yeon, who has a complicated past with Se Ryung, is only more determined to catch Tae Yoon's eye when she finds out about their previous relationship, leaving Wan confused about what to do with his growing feelings for Joo Yeon. Joo Yeon is soon left in a love triangle with two men with clashing personalities and views and is unsure of who to choose.

Overall

There was nothing about this drama that I didn't absolutely love. I enjoyed it all. The acting was spot on, the characters themselves and the relationships and scenarios they experienced were all unique and very realistic, and the story was entertaining, making it a refreshing show to watch. When you're not watching the relationships between the main characters deepen, you're captivated by another couple's misfortune, intimacy, or hysterical occurences. Even the soundtrack for the drama allowed the show to really shine and draw you in. I have to say that while I have yet to watch I Need Romance 2012, I am sure that this one in particular will remain my favorite of the three. I highly recommend this to anyone to watch, be you a fan of Korean dramas or not!

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