K-drama Review: Our Unwritten Seoul

Keep your tissues handy for this poignant, layered (and ultimately very healing) coming of age story - especially if you're as easily moved as I am. 

English Title: Our Unwritten Seoul (2025)

Writer: Lee Kang

Director: Park Shin-woo

Length: 12 Episodes

Tropes: Melodrama, Coming of Age, Bait & Switch, Life Swap, Sisters, Family drama

My Score: 4/5

Description: Identical twin sisters Yoo Mi-ji and Yoo Mi-rae (both played by Park Bo-young) live very different lives; model student-turned-perfectionist Mi-rae has a corporate job in the city while Mi-ji, once a promising athlete, has remained in their small hometown to care for their grandmother. But both are stuck and unfulfilled in their lives. When Mi-ji learns that her sister is struggling with workplace bullying, she suggests that they swap identities. As they step into each other's shoes, they not only learn to understand one another better, but rediscover themselves, heal, and find love and purpose.

If you enjoyed this show, then watch: Melo Movie (same lead actress), Because this is my first life, and Youth of May (by the same writer.)

If this were a novel, it would be labelled women's fiction; there is some romance, but the focus of this story is very much on the twin sisters as they "figure out their shit." The story starts as a simple life switch, but soon grows into a much deeper exploration of identity, family relationships, and healing.

While this is a coming of age story focusing on young people in their 20s as they experience all the growing pains typical of 20-somethings (like figuring out who they are, what they want, and dealing with their own insecurities) this show has many layers, making it relatable to viewers of all ages. It also explores mother/child relationships and inter-generational conflicts. Many of the characters are simply trying to do their best for other people, especially for their families, sacrificing themselves because of what they believe others want them to be. Mothers sacrificing their happiness for their children, and children for their parents... all of which results in a lot of unhappiness as they're not living honestly or to their full potential.

The show leans more into Mi-ji's story rather than Mi-rae's, but both characters experience transformative growth arcs. Every writer knows how hard that is to achieve for even just one character, so I really admire writer Lee Kang's skill in creating this story, weaving such depth into multiple character arcs. I would love to see more work from her but she appears to be a slow writer, having taken four years to create this script, but as I'm a slow writer too I also find that reassuring. Crafting great stories takes time, but the end result makes the wait absolutely worthwhile. (Read the article linked here for some insights into Lee Kang's intentions in writing this story.)

Likewise, Park Bo-young did an excellent job playing multiple roles. She not not only plays the dual roles of the twin sisters, but also each twin playing the other! Her acting ability is truly impressive because, rather than hamming it up or taking easy shortcuts, she delivers nuanced, emotional and layered performances for every character and makes each character unique and distinctive.

For me, her performance wobbled only in the final episode when Mi-ji became a little whiny and childish - however, that may well be the director's choice rather than an actor's choice. Her speaking like a child, and with a pouty mouth, may have been intended to make her appear cute (aegyo) now that she's in a relationship, or to emphasise the difference between the sisters (but it was a tad annoying!)

Another element of the story I didn't like was that there were a lot of miscommunications and misunderstandings. Characters hear or overhear only half the story, then pull away before getting the full story. Using miscommunication as a device for conflict often feels like lazy writing, especially when those conflicts could be easily resolved if the characters simply communicated with one another. In Our Unwritten Seoul, while it was a vague annoyance, it wasn't a dealbreaker, as it was most likely intentional rather than a lazy literary device. The importance of communication could be considered a key theme of the story (as is the related criticism of gossip and rumours.) Lack of honest communication, and the need to put others' welfare ahead of one's own, may also be a reflection of the collectivism of Korean society - the prioritisation of family and community over individual needs. While it works in this story, my advice to newer authors is to be careful not to rely on miscommunications to create conflict. Readers may tolerate it once but, unless it is done intentionally to develop a theme or societal critique, avoid over-using this device.

Real life pop idol Park Jin-young (of boy band GOT7) also deserves a shout-out for his sensitive performance as the twins' childhood friend who is dealing with family issues, the ethical dilemmas of being a lawyer, and healing loss, as does Moon Dong-hyeok in the role of Mi-ji's ex-boyfriend.

I liked the LGBT representation in Our Unwritten Seoul. It's still quite rare in Korean dramas, and even when there is LGBT rep it's often problematic, but I liked that in this show the gay character wasn't villainised or mocked (except by very unlikeable people.) I still would have liked to see Song Gyeong-gu get his own Happy Ever After, though!

As with many K-dramas, especially the melodramas, Our Unwritten Seoul tackles some tough issues, including depression, sickness, hearing loss, and (in the sub-plot of elderly restaurant owner Kim Ro-sa) the terrible lack of support and injustices women suffered in the past, whether it was physical abuse, lack of support for learning difficulties, or lack of support in the eyes of the law.

One of the reasons I love K-dramas is how they show that we're all a bit broken, but also that we're all capable of healing, no matter what we experienced in the past or how old we are. These dramas feel realistic in that they show that growth and healing aren't finite, as they are in Hollywood movies and TV shows. In western stories (and I include novels in this) healing is a finite end point that comes at or shortly after the climax of a very specific journey. But dramas like Our Unwritten Seoul show that healing and hardship are both on a continuum.

Hollywood sets us up for the belief that if we just achieve X then we'll come out the other side with the perfect life and with all our problems resolved. But real life isn't like that, and so, when we come out the other side of a hardship or difficulty only to face new challenges, or to not achieve the perfect life, we feel like we've failed. The 90-minute Hollywood formula sets us up to feel like failures when we can't duplicate the protagonists' achievements, whereas K-dramas offer a far more realistic reflection of the human experience.

As any parent knows, we face new challenges as dynamics change. The difficulties we face raising toddlers give way to the difficulties of raising school-going children, new challenges emerge when they become young adults, and then, as we age, our children become our caregivers. I love how K-dramas represent this, because it not only gives viewers the feeling that their struggles are seen and understood, but also gives us a sense of hope. If we're still struggling at 50, when our children are already grown, we're not flawed or failing at life. We're just human. I think this is why so many K-drama fans talk about how healing these shows are.

Why did Our Unwritten Seoul not quite manage that fifth star from me? The final episode pulls together all the strands and gives every plot thread and character a satisfying resolution, but it didn't leave me with "all the feels" in the way that Romance is a Bonus Book or When The Phone Rings did. It's also not the K-drama to choose if you're looking for something light and comedic - but it is absolutely worth watching, so I hope you do give it a try!

If you've seen Our Unwritten Seoul, do you agree? 

If you haven't yet watched it, check out this clip from the first episode as a teaser: