Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
High school student Do Hoe studies hard with the aim to leave his small sleepy town behind, so that he can get away from his abusive father. His bleak, violence-ridden domestic life changes when Seoul boy Ju Yeong becomes a tenant and joins his father’s Taekwondo gym, with the hopes of majoring in the martial arts for University. As the two teens begin to train and spend more time together, a tender first love grows between them, but Do Hoe’s volatile father’s shadow is always hanging like a sword above them.
Directed by Hwang Da Seul (“Blueming”/ “To My Star”/ “Where Your Eyes Linger”), Korean romantic drama “Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo” spans eight episodes. The series stars Kim Nu Rim as the studious, serious Lee Do Hoe, while Lee Seon plays the optimistic, cheerful, carefree Ju Yeong. Actor Yoo Ha Bok plays Do Hoe’s father Lee Jung Seok, a tyrannical Taekwondo instructor, who is constantly bullying or beating up his son. Can a lasting love bloom under a broken roof?
The first two episodes of “Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo” flow engagingly to establish the primary premise, romance, and conflict of the tale. Lee Do Hoe’s gloomy world is sharply juxtaposed with Ju Yeong’s bright outlook towards everything. Even though Do Hoe tries to maintain his distance from the new entrant in his life, living close quarters, eating meals together, doing Taekwondo training together, a sense of familiarity and kinship quickly develops between the two. From the simple joys of eating ice-cream together, to the complexities of dealing with bullies, the leads go through a lot together.
The chemistry between Kim Nu Rim and Lee Seon is endearing, with the first two and a half episodes charmingly capturing the gradual shift from an awkward friendship to the sweet, innocent spark of teenage love between their characters. However, the plot starts to go off the rails towards the end of episode three in “Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo.” The story takes an absurdly long time jump—nearly a decade—with one character suddenly ghosting the other without any explanation. But since they’re just teens, hasty and rash decisions (or mistakes, if you prefer to call them that) are simply part of growing up. What doesn’t make sense is the fact that their characters feel like they’ve frozen in time, as if everything transpired just yesterday. It’s unrealistic to show that both Lee Do Hoe and Ju Yeong barely move forward in life, and don’t form any other romantic relationships through the years. The skip forward in the plot should’ve been shorter to be more believable.
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Yoo Ha Bok is despicably good as Do Hoe’s cruel, violent father Jung Seok, and it’s his actions that drive a wedge between the young lovers. So, one of the biggest plot problems of “Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo” is how Ju Yeong continues to be in touch with Jung Seok, as if it wasn’t the same man who was wilfully ready to destroy his own son’s future, just to keep him shackled under his thumb.
Jang Yeon Woo plays Ha Hyeon Ho, who starts off as Do Hoe’s friend but eventually turns to bullying him at school to hide his growing attraction toward him. The two however rekindle their friendship in the future, and Hyeon Ho stays loyally by Do Hoe’s side, supporting him through ups and downs. The chemistry between them is palpable, creating suspense around whether there’s more to their relationship than meets the eye.
“Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo” is one of those rare romances, where you will start off by rooting for the lead couple, but as the plot progresses, you’d begin to think they would be better off with someone else. For instance, Ha Hyeon starts off as character viewers would despise, however his unwavering love for Do Hoe stands out in the series. Ideally, He Hyeon should’ve ended up with Do Hoe, if not for the rest of their lives, at least briefly, before a plot twist or personal differences drive them apart. But Ha Hyeon’s character is reduced to the ‘love rival’ cliché, only there in the show to add some drama and instigate some jealous moments.
The climactic episode manages to miraculously smooth things out for everyone involved in “Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo”, giving all major characters the closure or ‘ending’ they need to move on. The last episode closes the series on a ‘happy’ note, but doesn’t necessarily wash away all the plot problems the precede it. Regardless, this is an interesting one-time watch.
You can stream the series on iQIYI.
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