The Interest of Love follows two bank employees who fall in love, but the difference in their social standings prevents them from being together. All episodes are now streaming on Netflix.
Story
Sang-su and Su-yeong work at the same bank. Since Su-yeong never went to college and comes from a poor family, she is not respected by the other employees. Even though she is always ready to help others, people around her do not like her.
While Sang-su easily finds his place, Su-yeong is unable to fit in with the female employees, and the male employees fall in love with her beauty but resent her after getting rejected.
Sang-su likes her and wants to date her, but a brief hesitation on his part convinces Su-yeong that their relationship will never work out.
Soon, Su-yeong starts dating Mr. Jeong, the bank’s security guard, and Sang-su starts dating Mi-gyeong, the assistant manager at the bank who went to college with him and comes from a very rich family.
However, the two relationships become more and more complicated when class, society, background, and their own feelings prevent the couples from fully committing to and falling in love with each other.
Performances
Yoo Yeon-seok is known to be a dependable actor, and he does not disappoint in this show as well. He portrays Sang-su’s calm composure and his pent-up feelings with finesse. While he easily manages to look meek, he falters when the script, on rare occasions, requires him to be angry.
Moon Ga-young, as Su-yeong, had a difficult role to play. Su-yeong’s character is very complicated and has too many layers. The actor understood the needs of her character and performed her part well.
Keum Sae-rok’s character, Mi-gyeong, goes through many emotions throughout the show, but she never falters. Be it happiness, anger, anxiety, or a cheerful disposition, Keum depicted it with ease.
Jung Ga-ram, as Mr. Jeong, goes from being a nice and caring man to being an insecure and angry person, and he does it in a very convincing manner. Although he is not the hero, he does shine when the script gives him time.
Positives
The show is unique as compared to other romance dramas, as it does not deal with the process of falling in love, but with the question of what happens after that. The conflict is more mature, practical, and realistic.
The characters, the setting, and the issues in this show are all true to life. There is no evil villain, not everyone gets happiness, the show’s protagonist is a common man with nothing special about him, and so is its idea of love, which is two people going through life together.
The show does not ask the viewers to accept one simple definition of love. It explores different kinds of love and depicts it as a complex emotion. Even the love between the two lead characters is not labeled and is left to be judged by the viewers.
Apart from the idea of love, the show depicts common social issues as it takes into consideration the place of the characters in the world. The characters do not exist in a bubble and are affected by class, background, and more. No matter how hard they try, they cannot get rid of these factors.
The show relies heavily on symbolism. It uses it efficiently to make the viewers understand the actions and thought processes of the characters, who are not flawless and have several layers to them.
Negatives
While the show is well-written, its pace is extremely slow, more than what is necessary, which makes it hard for the viewers to enjoy every episode.
Towards the end of the show, the plot seems dragged out, and some of the actions of the characters become repetitive to the point that they are almost predictable.
The ending of the show is possibly the worst thing about it. The finale came as an epilogue, even though the plot never reached its conclusion. The writers did not tie up the loose ends, and the vague conversations left the viewers clueless.
Verdict
The Interest of Love is based on the lives of ordinary people, and it is that very ordinariness that makes it so unique. The cause of the conflict is the circumstances of the characters and real-world issues rather than villains.
This romance drama is for those who want to see a mature and realistic love story. As it explores the idea of love, it will make the viewers think about love and so many other concepts.
