Can This Love Be Translated? (2026) 이 사랑 통역 되나요?
Directed by Yoo Young-eun, starring Kim Seon-ho as Joo Ho-jin, Go Youn-jung as Cha Mu-hee / Do Ra-mi, Fukushi Sota as Kurosawa Hiro, Choi Woo-sung as Kim Yong-u, Lee Yi-dam as Shin Ji-seon, and Kim Won-hae as Kim Young-hwan.
Watched 23 - 29 January 2026 — 12 episodes (NETFLIX)
(Beware of spoilers!)
*This show had already been announced ages ago and I was eagerly looking forward to it because of the leads. I like them both — have seen Kim Seon-ho in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and You Drive Me Crazy! and Go Youn-jung in Moving.
*Yet, I wasn't sure what to think of this series at first. The lead characters (the interpreter Joo Ho-jin and the actress Cha Mu-hee) are not immediately engaging, and already early on, I was contemplating to put the show on hold. But then I really liked episode 4 and continued watching. I like how Ho-jin mistranslated the words of the Japanese actor Hiro (played by Fukushi Sota) to spare Mu-hee's feelings. You see Ho-jin falling for her, while she already has a crush on him. By this time I already loved these flawed lead characters. Mu-hee's girly, bubbly, wears her heart on her sleeve, but she's also so vulnerable. Ho-jin is practical and emotionally guarded.
*Obviously language plays an important part. Ho-jin and Mu-hee struggle to understand each other, and I love how Kim Won-hae as the writer Kim Young-hwan points out that everyone has their own language. Mr. Kim tells Ho-jin: "There are as many languages as there are people. Everyone speaks their own language. That's why people misunderstand, misinterpret, and offend each other." When Ho-jin says to Mr. Kim that he doesn't understand Mu-hee's language very well, Mr. Kim answers: "It must be frustrating not being able to understand her. But are you fine with not understanding her? Aren’t you an interpreter? If it’s a language you don’t know, you should study it. The vocabulary, syntax, and punctuation will all differ from those of the language you speak. Look closely and try your best to understand."
*The zombie character Do Ra-mi (appearing in Mu-hee's hallucinations) is a weird addition. She's creepy but at the same time she adds some flavour to the drama. Still, I wouldn't have minded if her character was left out. I just wanted a romcom with a love story that would give me heartflutters. (Which it often did!)
*So nothing really prepared me for the plot turn at the end of episode 7! Do Ra-mi is suddenly not just a hallucination but Mu-hee has developed a split personality as result of her childhood trauma. Talk about a shift in tone and genre! I didn't like it at all. Yet with good ratings on MDL, IMDB and Letterboxd, I thought I'd better stick around and I was also curious how things would pan out. Fortunately the twist didn't come out of nowhere because we are already familiar with Ra-mi and we know Mu-hee has a troublesome past. In any case I was glad when Ra-mi finally disappeared for good.
*It was very curious how there was no mention of getting a treatment or seeing a therapist while suffering from this serious mental health condition. Nobody addresses it as such and Ho-jin never encourages Mu-hee to get professional help. In this way the schizophrenia is merely treated as a plot device to keep the lovers apart (while the OTP had already made significant steps in their romantic relationship) and not as a serious mental illness. It's just not realistic that Ho-jin would fail to seek psychiatric care for the person he loves.
*The final reveal that Ra-mi's apparition was in fact Mu-hee's mother, was a surprising twist. I would have loved to see an additional scene between Mu-hee and her mother.
*The show is a bit unbalanced and flawed but I enjoyed it much more than I had initially expected, and the last episode was satisfying. For me the main appeal are the leads and their romance. There are many moments with our main couple that I truly love. I really like Kim Seon-ho (too bad he made so few dramas) and I think he's well suited for the romance genre. Love him in his serious moments and how he looks at Go Youn-jung. His eyes! He also has a great smile. Ho-jin and Mu-hee convey their feelings of hurt really well. One of my fave scenes is the one in episode 11 where Mu-hee pretends to be Ra-mi and transforms to Mu-hee in front of Ho-jin who isn't fooled.
*The second love story between Choi Woo-sung as Kim Yong-u (I know the actor from Chief Detective 1958) and Lee Yi-dam as Shin Ji-seon (seen her before in Daily Dose of Sunshine) is a bit rushed but I liked it.
*Hiro is really handsome.
*I like hearing Kim Seon-ho speak Japanese and Italian so fluently.
*Love the location shooting in Canada and Italy — it's gorgeous!
*Very nice OST!