Because this is my First Life, starring Lee Min Ki and Jung So Min, is THE show for introverts and those of us who are slow to warm up. The progression of our leads falling in love and heal their respective traumas together is one of the most natural transitions I have seen in a drama.

Review / Rating

Despite the predictability, a marriage-first love-after contract marriage drama done well definitely has its appeals. Because this is my First Life does just that. It’s refreshing to see our imperfect leads who are perfect for each other. Finally we have a couple that falls in love through real dialogue and communication.

The supporting character relationships are also pretty compelling too such as the relationship between Woo Soo ji (Esom) and Ma Sang Goo (Park Byung Eun).

The only negative was the ending for me. I’m not usually a fan of the female or male lead leaving and coming back after some time. I feel that scriptwriters feel that this shows how love stands the test of time and how they now cannot be away from each other.

With that, I would still rate this drama a 8.2/10 for the warm fuzzy moments and the tears it brought. I really enjoyed the depth of the characters and the beautiful progression of their relationship.

Plot Summary

Nam Se Hee is a celibate man in his 30s who displays many personality traits of the ‘engineer’ stereotype. Namely that he is extremely logical and analytical to a fault, and at the expense of his socialization skills. Nam Se Hee is okay with living the same mundane life, day-in day-out and his primary goal is to pay off his mortgage for his home. He is incredibly peculiar about the people that he interacts with, making it difficult for him to find a roommate. Nam Se Hee finds the perfect roommate Yoon Ji Ho, with each believing the other to be of the same sex due to their androgynous names.

Yoon Ji Ho is a talented scriptwriter who is down on her luck and quits her job after being sexually harassed by her boss. Due to her financial circumstances, Ji Ho moves in as Nam Se Hee’s new roommate, and is the only one able to deal with Se Hee’s peculiar ways.

After finding out the truth about each other, Nam Se Hee and Yoon Ji Ho decide to enact a contract marriage in order to explain their roommate relationships to those around them and to get their respective parents off their backs. Like all contract marriage dramas, no matter how it begins, it will always end with our leads slowly falling for each other…

Main Cast