Synopsis. Melting Me Softly is a 16-episode 2019 kdrama about a two people who engage in a “freeze me for 24 hours” cryogenic experiment that goes awry and they end up frozen for 20 years. When they are unthawed they face health, family, love, and safety issues. Will they be able to revive their relationships with former love interests? Will they turn to each other? Will they survive and thrive?
What I liked.
Romance element delivered. Writer Baek Mi Kyung gave viewers romance. Our couple initially didn’t gravitate to each other, but their mutual health issues, and the fact that no one else could understand what each was going through was the bond that drew these two together. Then they grew to appreciate each other and that turned into romance. The progression to romance was believable, the couple appealing, you liked them individually and rooted for them to overcome the challenges. The leading man and lady were strong but realized that together they were stronger.
Leading man Ma Dong Chan (Ji Chang Wook). After being frozen for 20 years, Dong Chan found the current world greatly changed – technology, the strength of his family, the fact that the world did not know what happened to him. Dong Chan had to be disappointed with his support unit (family, friends, co-workers). But he dusted himself off, and plugged himself back into life. The side effects of unfreezing created guilt because he persuaded Mi Ran to do the experiment with him. Their similar situation created the bond that grew and evolved as the struggled to deal with their new reality. After an absence from kdramas to fulfil his mandatory military service, I hoped that his first kdrama would be a worthy platform for his talents. While this kdrama had issues, Ji Chang Wook delivered a character that was determined to find the truth and built a new version of himself that was more sensitive to others. It has to be said, Ji Chang Wook delivers good kisses and is flat out appealing.
Leading lady Go Mi Ran (Won Jin Ah). I’d never seen this actress in a kdrama. Thanks to Writer Baek, Mi Ran was a strong woman. She told it like it was and didn’t take guff from others, calling out those needed it. Mi Ran adapted to the future better than the leading man Dong Chan. She had a supportive family and friends that were able to better deal with the fact that she hadn’t changed for 20 years while they all got older. Mi Ran’s relationship with her brother Nam Tae had heart. Her parents patiently waited for Mi Ran and never gave up hope. All that’s good but the romance was the exemplar for Mi Ran. She didn’t shy away from him. She realized he was worth pursing, fighting and sacrificing for. I must commend Woh Jin Ah for actively participating in the kiss scenes, something lacking in many kdrama actresses who practice lip pressing and don’t appear to engage in or seem to enjoy kissing.
OST. This drama’s OST had six vocal songs. My favorite song was Right in Front of You but there are several good songs in this OST.
Track list:
1. Right In Front Of You sung by K.Will
2. You Have to Tell Me sung by Yeonjung
3. When Love Passes By sung by Ji Chang Wook
4. Ice Doll sung by Parc Jae Jung
5. Drip Drip sung by Seo Yoo Na
5. Fresh sung by Hoody
To listen to the OST in full use this link or listen below.
What I didn’t like.
Is it romance or is it science fiction? Do I even like these characters? Writer Baek Mi Kyung struggled to find the balance between romance and the science fiction elements. When the focus shifted to the science fiction, it got muddy and confusing. Unfortunately, several characters were more annoying that appealing. These included the leading man’s former girlfriend, family, former co-worker and boss. The previous series I’d watched from this writer was Strong Woman Do Bong Soon which I enjoyed. It also had certain elements that weakened the overall drama but its foundation was an appealing couple.
Would I recommend Melting Me Softly? Yes, if you are a Ji Chang Wook fan or you want romance with different challenges from most series. The chemistry between our lead actors Ji Chang Wook and Won Jin Ah gave this couple the intangible factor. You rooted for them for survive and find a future together.
Asian drama fan. I watch and blog dramas on https://kjtamusings.wordpress.com/.
amusings 
So glad to see you had some good things to say about this drama 🙂 I really enjoyed it and was surprised to see how much most people hated it. So any positive reviews definitely make me happy, hehe 🙂
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That’s the beauty of me being in a bubble while I watch a show. I purposely don’t read other articles/blogs/forums. Bottom line…the romance in this show worked. I wanted a romance showcasing Ji Chang Wook. I got it. He still has the “it” factor in my book.
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That’s exactly what I do. I stay in a bubble with only a vague idea of how a show is being received so that it doesn’t influence my feelings about the drama. It allows me to enjoy it so much more since small things tend to get more amplified and problematic when a group starts talking about it.
I always understand people not liking dramas for whatever reason, but this was one of those that truly baffled me how much hate it got. Sure it’s flawed, but it’s nowhere near the worst drama ever made, lol.
And we definitely got a treat with that romance featuring Ji Chang Wook. He was just wonderful! 🙂
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I loved this Dramas..
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The romance worked for me and that’s what I cared about most.
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Thanks for your review. I held off on watching this drama for a variety of reasons and have read a lot of mixed comments about the drama, many of them very negative. I will keep it on my watch list now for a later time as I really like WJN & JCW. I’m pleased to see you commend WJN for her kissing skills in this drama-she has come a long way since her first drama Just Between Lovers. I really enjoyed WJN performance in JBL but her kissing skills needed some work so I am very glad she has improved so much. By the way, I definitely recommend Just Between Lovers drama if anyone has not seen it-it’s an amazing drama and the PD of My Country was the PD of JBL, so it is beautifully shot.
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I wasn’t aware of the negative comments as I don’t read other forums while I watch a drama.
as this blog takes most of the available time.
I’m pleased to see you commend WJN for her kissing skills in this drama-she has come a long way since her first drama Just Between Lovers.
I want both actors in a kissing scene to participate. It is a pet peeve of mine that many kdrama actresses fall short of the mark. JCW delivers and it was good to see WJN do her part.
I definitely recommend Just Between Lovers drama if anyone has not seen it-it’s an amazing drama and the PD of My Country was the PD of JBL, so it is beautifully shot.
I’ll add it to my watch list. Thanks for the recommendation!
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I first saw Won Jin Ah in “Just Between Lovers” and thought she did a good job … if that was her first drama, then her performance would probably be rated very good.
Now I ask you, if Ji Chang Wook were your kissing 💋 partner, don’t you think your kissing 💋 skills would improve … I know I mine would … especially when I passionately 💋 practiced … 😚
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Sign me up for one-on-one masters class given by Ji Chang Wook!
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Wouldn’t that be a closed course in NO TIME AT ALL 💋
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I also didn’t look at any reviews. I came for Ji Chang Wook and was not disappointed in him. The romance 💞 was the BEST PART of this drama; the OTP had chemistry, especially while they literally took a cold shower🚿
There were several characters that were OVER-THE-TOP and UNLIKEABLE, they mostly toned down over time, but the one that was actually funny, got shutdown, BIGTIME🛑, which was a lost opportunity for comic relief and a shame.
I thought the writer and director allocated the storyline oddly in the final episode and missed some opportunities to enrich the story.
Despite lost opportunities, “Melting Me Softly” hit the mark 🎯 on romance 💞, unlike some recent dramas that missed the romance 🚫💞 mark (“Level Up” comes to mind). I enjoyed the drama and felt it was worth my time to watch and would recommend it to anyone looking for a rom com.
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I also didn’t look at any reviews. I came for Ji Chang Wook and was not disappointed in him. The romance 💞 was the BEST PART of this drama; the OTP had chemistry, especially while they literally took a cold shower🚿…“Melting Me Softly” hit the mark 🎯 on romance…I enjoyed the drama and felt it was worth my time to watch and would recommend it to anyone looking for a rom com.
When I watch a drama, I go into a blog bubble. Comments enrich my drama watching experience, but I don’t go to outside sources for them. Ji Chang Wook did NOT disappoint.
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I also liked it well. I think people had a lot of expectations from the drama being Ji Chang Wook’s first after military service. I also read many negative reviews but I found it enjoyable and romantic and cute. 🙂
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Good to know you enjoyed this drama too!
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