‘Marry YOU’, a laughter bomb drama, has been born.

On November 16, Channel A‘s new weekend drama ‘Marry YOU’ (written by Lina/directed by Hwang Kyung-sung) first aired. ‘Marry YOU’, which unveiled itself, caught attention with the comical presence and perfect acting chemistry of Lee Yi-kyung and Jo Soo-min, which filled the entire 60 minutes.

Episode 1 of ‘Marry YOU’, subtitled ‘Qualifications to Marry’, began with a scene of Hana (played by Jo Soo-min) being blind dated. The blind date’s partner mentioned marriage and children on their first meeting, and was rude to Hana from start to finish. When Hana drew the line by saying she was against marriage, the partner was upset, saying that a non-marriage person shouldn‘t have gone on a blind date. In the end, Hana thought that if anyone gets married, it will be more of a problem, and that marriage requires qualifications, so she confidently kicked out of the blind date place.

On the day when Hana was suffering from malicious complainants and even got her shit spilled, Hana’s refreshing remarks to the irresponsible Team Leader ended up coming back to haunt her. Team Leader Wi, who was really mad at Hana, exiled her to the new explosive department, the ‘Marriage Fraud Promotion Team’ (hereinafter referred to as the Deterrence Team). With the Deterrence Team‘s dazzling lineup, including the perennial section chief Seung-goo (played by Kim Kang-hyun) who is about to retire, senior Ji-kyung (played by Kim Mi-ryeo) who is about to take childcare leave, and clueless rookie Han-bin (played by Song Yi-dam), Hana’s worries only deepened.

An ironic situation where a non-marriage activist has to encourage others to get married. The Deterrence Team‘s first project protagonist was none other than the island bachelor Cheol-hee (played by Lee Yi-kyung). The special order from the temporary manager (played by Woo Hyun) is to make Cheol-hee’s marriage happen, as he has no answer and no rank in the marriage market. Hana heads straight to Cheongdo, the island village where Cheol-hee is staying, in accordance with the temporary manager‘s promise that he will transfer her department if she makes Cheol-hee’s marriage happen.

The first meeting between Hana and Cheol-hee is a complete mess. Hana mistakes Cheol-hee for a gangster due to his fierce visual and runs away. The misunderstanding between them from their first meeting is resolved, but Hana has a bigger problem. Cheol-hee, who should be the first participant in the project, has no intention or thought of getting married.

While trying to persuade Cheol-hee, Hana confesses her true feelings about how she became a non-marriage advocate. She says that after witnessing her lover, who she had promised to marry, cheating on her in the past, she has thought about marriage countless times and has become convinced that there are more things she wants to do than get married. For that reason, unlike herself who is not qualified to get married, Cheol-hee, who is trying to take responsibility for his people, told her sincerely that she seemed qualified to get married.

Cheol-hee, who was moved by Hana‘s sincere story, visited Injeongsi Hall with an application for the project. Then, another man came to see Hana. It was her ex-lover, Ki-joon (played by Goo Jun-hoe), who had cheated on her. Hana slapped Ki-joon in the face when they reunited after three years. Then, she immediately linked arms with Cheol-hee and introduced him to Ki-joon as “the person you will marry.” Episode 1 of ‘Marry YOU’ ended with a scene where Cheol-hee and Ki-joon were surprised by Hana’s shocking statement.

Episode 1 of ‘Marry YOU’ honestly and humorously expressed the characters‘ thoughts and concerns about ‘the right to get married’. The acting of the actors, who crossed between comedy and empathy, was also perfect. Lee Yi-kyung drew the pure and harmless Bong Cheol-hee with extreme charm, causing laughter, and Jo Soo-min delicately expressed Jung Ha-na’s story and emotions, creating realistic empathy. Goo Jun-hoe stole the spotlight with just a brief appearance and proved his powerful presence. The unpredictable chemistry and tension they showed made us look forward to the future of ‘Marry You’.

‘Marry You’ Episode 2 will air today (the 17th) at 7:50 PM.

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com Reporter jhj@donga.com