Title: 호구의 사랑 Hoguui Sarang
English Title:
- Fool's Love
- Ho Gu's Love
Language: Korean
Year: 2015
Episode: 16
Cast:
- 최우식 Choi Woo Shik
- 유이 Uee
- 임슬옹 Im Seul Ong
- 이시언 Lee Shi Un
- 최재환 Choi Jae Hwan
- 이수경 Lee Soo Kyung
SYNOPSIS
All throughout his life, Kang Ho Gu tends to assume the boyfriend role with someone because they keep doing the usual things that most couples do, such as holding hands and going out on dates. After being invested in the ambiguous relationship for a while, Ho Gu finds out that he's technically the guy who's like a friend but nothing more.
Ho Gu runs into his high school classmate Do Do Hee, who is now a competitive swimmer, and he remembers her fondly. His best friends Shin Chung Jae and Kim Tae Hee are making fun of Ho Gu though for thinking he's close friends with a national celebrity.
REVIEW
Ho Gu's Love is an entertaining drama about beta male Kang Ho Gu, and how he finally ends up with his first love Do Do Hee by remaining the wonderfully selfless person that he is. The main character's name is supposed to mean true hero but a more widely accepted meaning for the term hogu is fool or idiot.
I didn't think I'd find it interesting because I don't think watching a loser would be particularly fun, but Ho Gu is not exactly a loser but more like an extraordinary person who doesn't seem to satisfy society's general definition of a winner or a successful individual.
The drama challenges your views on many things; what it means to be a normal person, how you define success, as well as what constitutes dating and serious relationships. It makes you evaluate your opinions, especially if it coincides with the society's generally accepted perceptions.
Ho Gu's twin sister Kang Ho Kyung is the resident dating expert, and she's especially well-informed about ambiguous relationships, that tricky phase of being more than friends but being less than lovers.
I may be old-fashioned but I don't see any good thing about relationships that are vague or uncertain. Why bother making assumptions about your relationship to another person and why go through all the trouble of second-guessing everything when you can just go to that person and ask her directly?
At the very least, the couple should at least discuss as adults and decide whatever they are; whether they are dating openly or dating exclusively, whether they are seeing each other casually or whether they are dating seriously with intention to get married in the future.
Ho Gu's Love also raised a lot of important issues such as homosexuality and rape. I can't say I'm satisfied with how these significant topics are tackled, much less resolved, in the drama but I think it's great that it provided an avenue for people to have thoughtful discussions about these matters.
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호구의 사랑 Ho Gu's Love
