One of a Kind Romance Episode 1-2 Review
Director: Kim Jin-young
Date Created: 2026-11-10 02:58
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One of a Kind Romance Episode 1-2 Review: Directed by Kim Jin-young, 유일무이 로맨스 stars Red Velvet’s Joy as Kong Yu-il and Kim Hyun-jin as Tak Mu-i in the lead roles. The supporting cast includes Shin Hyun-soo as Kang Hui-su, Kang Na-eon as Ju Da-hong, Na Hyun-young as Yoo Yeon-jun, and Lee Do-han as Ryu-min, among others.
One of a Kind Romance Episode 1 Recap
In Episode 1 of One of a Kind Romance, we get to see two people leading contrasting lives. First of all, there is an accomplished actor named Tak Mu-i, who starts his day in his extravagant apartment and ends up going to the screening of his recent movie. Unfortunately, he does not succeed in meeting his expectations, as the journalists who watched the film were thoroughly unimpressed with it. Even though his manager, Yeong-su, tried to assure him otherwise, Mu-i was certain that there was very little that could be done to salvage the movie.
On the other hand, there is Kong Yu-il, who is just managing to complete her day-to-day tasks. She works in a convenience store, prepares for job interviews, and is looking for a career path. During an interview for an HR position, her passion for writing somehow comes up in conversation. Even though she says that she is more interested in writing for fun than as a profession, one of the interviewers gives her hope, having read her writings. However, this hope does not result in a job offer.
Yu-il’s personal life isn’t especially promising either. Yu-il was once involved in a relationship where her boyfriend depended very much on her help with homework and notes, but he left her alone after their graduation. Even her friendships don’t always make her feel appreciated because her friends do not acknowledge all the things that she did for them in the past. Moreover, there is an issue with her problematic family, which consists of her parents. It turns out that Yu-il had some flashbacks, which show how her father cheated on her mother with her mentor, and it affected her in a negative way.
Mu-i spends his time with his close friends like Yeong-su, Jae-gyu, and Ju Da-hong, who are all working on a new acting job for him. The reunion of the group is not always an easy process, as Da-hong is very protective of her status within the industry. Some aspects of the friendship are shown in conversations that reveal past relationships between the two characters and how Mu-i has been helping Da-hong since his childhood. While visiting a convenience store, Mu-i helps Yu-il, who is harassed by an older customer. This small encounter is important for the future, as it shows how little do both of them know about their connection.
When they meet for the second time, it is at the beginning of Mu-i’s play, being filmed on the rooftop of Yu-il’s house. He knows her from the convenience store, but there is a much more serious issue that occupies his thoughts. Someone keeps dropping food packages in front of his door, and nobody knows who. Having checked the video from the cameras, Mu-i became suspicious about those deliveries. When he sees Yu-il near the filming spot, he begins to wonder if she is behind it.
Their misunderstanding deepens when Mu-i sees another food package from Yu-il that she had mentioned in their conversation. Thinking that he caught his stalker, he confronts her in a restaurant. But Yu-il says she did nothing, which Mu-i doesn’t believe. One of a Kind Romance Episode 1 finishes with yet another unpleasant meeting when Yu-il hits Mu-i because she falls into his arms while running away from a fly.
One of a Kind Romance Episode 2 Recap
Episode 2 of One of a Kind Romance picks up where their uncomfortable meeting left off. In the process of searching through Yu-il’s apartment, Mu-i finds something that piques his interest instantly – the second part of his favourite novel series. It was such an amazing feeling that he begs her to lend him the book, but Yu-il does not seem interested in doing so. Their discussion gets cut off when Ryu-min enters, and Mu-i immediately shifts the topic by saying that Yu-il is his fan.
However, the greatest twist is that we discover that Yu-il is indeed the author of the Byeol-i and Moon Bears series, which Mu-i loves. While her relationship with writing might seem to be a matter of simple passion and a creative hobby, flashbacks show us that she had quite a complex relationship with it. We see that Yu-il’s father once discovered one of her novels and got furious because he was sure that she was writing about their family issues. Yu-il was offended by his betrayal and cheating with Mu-i’s mentor.
As a result, she refused his help with admission to the university. Today, Mu-i is unaware that the woman whom he seeks so eagerly is just standing before him. After realising Yu-il can be the person who has the book, Mu-i goes to her house with gifts and an apology for calling her a stalking woman. But this is not their intention; rather, they want her to lend, exchange, or sell the novel to them. Yu-il turns down all of their offers and becomes frustrated, sending Yeong-su back.
Furthermore, Mu-i’s life in terms of profession is also becoming difficult. When he attended a fan meeting, he suffered a panic attack when he heard the popping of balloons. Yu-il was there at the auditorium and helped him regain his composure before taking him to the hospital. The situation turns out to be very embarrassing for Mu-i as news about this spreads. This time, another delivery of food comes into his hospital room, but again he fails to identify the culprit.
Mu-i’s family background is more deeply explored through the visit by his grandmother, Jung I-suk. She inquires about his love life and makes him remember that he is supposed to get married to someone in the entertainment industry. The idea that she offers Mu-i, that he should marry Da-hong, gives another dimension to their relationship. Meanwhile, Da-hong feels very uncomfortable around her rival, Min-ye, especially after the latter tries to get close to Mu-i. The quarrel between them highlights Mu-i’s competitive and not very pleasant personality.
On the other hand, Mu-i is looking for a new part of the book he likes so much. After contacting the publishing company, he finds out that the third book was published in a limited number of copies, as it was used for proofreading. Eventually, Mu-i ends up returning to Yu-il. This time, he shows up wearing a bear outfit, hoping that the unique approach will make her surrender the novel to him. He tells her sorry for his behaviour and talks about how important the story is for him.
She refuses to hand over the book to him because of his peculiar approach, and even more so when he tries to find out the connection between her perfume and the delivery of strange food to her house.Their interaction becomes even more unique when Yu-il meets Kang Hui-su in a kids’ workshop, thinking that he is a volunteer.
Yu-il becomes very talkative when talking with Da-hong in an interview for the drama about her difficult times being unemployed and the reasons she is keeping the hope alive. At the end of One of a Kind Romance Episode 2, Mu-i finds out about their discussion and becomes interested in Yu-il. He even offers her $100,000 for the book, but she rejects the offer and asks him to leave her alone.
One of a Kind Romance Episode 1-2 Review
My biggest reason for looking forward to One of a Kind Romance K-drama was Joy back as an actress in the drama since it is really good to see her after such a long hiatus. And now that we have seen two episodes already, I can say that Joy does give Yu-il a very warm persona that is easy to like. I really liked the way that Yu-il keeps herself upbeat amid all her rejection, financial struggles, and lack of appreciation from some people around her. I
t is especially in her talk with Da-hong in his interview that I think she shared her philosophy of life without making herself an overly positive character. There is plenty in her life to be disappointed about, but she is still doing her best to see some positives in her situation. That makes her relatable, although I wish she would get more time for her ambition to write.
Kim Hyun-jin is another actor who matches Mu-i well. I appreciate that Mu-i is not portrayed as the perfect celebrity who does everything right. He is successful, rich and famous, but he faces disappointments, anxiety and an obsession with the fictional tale that goes very personal for him. The way he responds to the bad press screening, panics during the fan meeting and decides to obtain the next novel makes him a much more intriguing character than the typical popular actor.
His conversations with Yu-il are funny and entertaining, mostly because he keeps making unreasonable demands of her. Nevertheless, I do not find the chemistry between them convincing enough yet. The conversations are funny, but there should be a more significant relationship built between them.
The side characters also allow the drama to add more entertainment value. In particular, Kang Na-eon’s Da-hong stands out since she is competitive in nature and has a strange relationship with Mu-i. Her jealousy of Min-ye and her relationship with Mu-i indicate that there might be more than meets the eye when it comes to her role. The relationship between Yeong-su and Mu-i, as a man who tries to satisfy Mu-i’s whims as well as his job, is appropriate.
Jae-gyu is a good character since he is curious about Mu-i and Yu-il, which could create some interesting scenarios. The involvement of Ryu-min in Yu-il’s life as a celebrity adds yet another layer to it, especially in light of her friendship with Su-kyung. Finally, Shin Hyun-soo’s Kang Hui-su has been introduced briefly so far, and I am curious about his further involvement. The most frustrating element of these pilot episodes is that the drama has yet to figure out how to integrate all of the plotlines together well.
While Yu-il’s family issues, difficulty finding work, Mu-i’s panic attacks, the unknown source of food deliveries, and the mystery of the novel itself are all engaging on an individual level, there are instances where the switch between these elements causes the story to lose cohesion. In terms of plotlines, the mystery of the novel is likely the most exciting aspect of these episodes for me since it creates a link between the two main characters that exists beyond their chance encounters. It also makes me curious about who is really sending the food to Mu-i and why.
One of a Kind Romance Review: Summing Up
Overall, the Korean drama One of a Kind Romance has a decent start with charming and hopeful leads, and some intriguing aspects of its storyline, but there is not much that has happened to make me fully engaged with their romance and the mystery surrounding it. It is always fun for me to watch the comeback of Joy, and the two actors are doing well with what they are given.
However, I do expect the following episodes to concentrate on developing the story and the other characters more, as well as providing a believable relationship between Yu-il and Mu-i. There is much promise in this series, especially with regard to the secrets behind the novels and mysterious deliveries, which is why I will give this drama another chance.
