Soundtrack #1 Kdrama

Soundtrack #1 is a South Korean streaming television series featuring Park Hyung-sik and Han So-hee as the main characters. The show was exclusively released on Disney+ on March 23, 2022, in selected territories.

The main cast includes:

Park Hyung-sik as Han Seon-woo, a photographer

Han So-hee as Lee Eun-soo, a lyricist

Supporting cast:

Yoon Byung-hee as Dong-hyeon

Kim Joo-hun as Kang Woo-il

Lee Jung-eun as Eun-soo's mother

The series also features special appearances by:

Park Hoon as Gyeol-han

Park Min-jung as Ma-ri

Seo In-guk as Jay Jun

Yoon Seo-ah as Kim Seo-yeon

Story

The show begins with the introduction of its main characters, Han Sun-woo (played by Park Hyung-shik) and Lee Eun-soo (played by Han So-hee). Sun-woo is a novice photographer while Eun-soo is a budding lyricist. They have been best friends for nearly 20 years, almost their entire lives.

The two leads, HAN SUN-WOO (Park Hyung-shik) and LEE EUN-SOO (Han So-hee), find themselves at a crossroads in their respective careers. Sun-woo, who is a budding photographer, is feeling unfulfilled with his work and cancels an upcoming exhibition because he feels that something is missing from his photos.

Eun-soo, an aspiring lyricist, has her lyrics rejected by a composer she's eager to work with. The composer criticizes her lyrics as insincere and states that he can tell that Eun-soo has never personally experienced the theme of unrequited love.

As events unfold, it's apparent that their professional struggles are also mirrored in their personal lives. Eun-soo doesn't comprehend the pain of unrequited love as she openly confesses her feelings when she likes someone. On the other hand, Sun-woo has been harboring deep feelings for her for years but fears jeopardizing their close friendship.

In a flashback, we see that he was close to confessing his love but held back after Eun-soo stated that they could never date as she couldn't bear the thought of losing their friendship in case of a break-up.

Sun-woo has successfully kept his feelings for Eun-soo hidden, but when she inquires about his experience with unrequited love, he struggles to disguise his emotions. He pretends that the unrequited love is for someone he met while living abroad.

This leads Eun-soo to come up with a plan for the rest of the series. She has been given two weeks to revise her lyrics and proposes that Sun-woo stays with her as her assistant.

At first, Sun-woo declines the offer, leading to a cute sequence where Eun-soo drunkenly tries to win a stuffed animal from a claw machine as a bribe. Sun-woo starts off sighing patiently but eventually cheers her on and even drags her away when she tries to retrieve the prize herself after failing to win it.

Despite the initial rejection, Sun-woo eventually decides to take a chance. After his roommate kicks him out for the night to have his girlfriend over, Sun-woo spends the night in his photography studio and arrives at Eun-soo's doorstep with two weeks worth of luggage. He immediately jumps on her couch and wraps himself in her blanket.

Sun-woo and Eun-soo easily adapt to their new living arrangement as he helps with household chores and prepares dinner for them both. After a few drinks, they both end up sprawling on the living room floor and she falls asleep while hugging him. Despite Sun-woo's attempts to get away, she just clings tighter, so he eventually gives up and looks at her with an expression of unrequited love.

Sun-woo's unfulfilled love and the wintery setting, along with their charming chemistry, creates a melancholic atmosphere that is more endearing than gloomy. There is certainly sadness in the air, as Eun-soo even notes that all of Sun-woo's photos appear to be sorrowful, but their friendship is so strong and loving that it makes sense why they wouldn't want to change it into anything other than what it already is.

Despite the melancholy that pervades the episode, the interactions between Sun-woo and Eun-soo are far from solely sentimental. They bicker and have a unique sense of humor that is entertaining to watch. At one point, when Eun-soo asks for Sun-woo's opinion on her outfit for a meeting with a composer, he deadpans, “Wow, so pretty.”

As the name of the show, "Soundtrack #1" suggests, music plays a significant role. Each musical note is perfectly aligned with the mood and timing of the moment it is used, capturing the wistful and soft moments of Sun-woo's pining and Eun-soo's obliviousness, the warm and hopeful moments after Sun-woo moves in, and the tense moments when they wake up in each other's arms.

It is evident that something is about to change, whether they are ready for it or not.

"This is only the first episode of the drama, with three more exciting episodes available to watch on Disney+.

Viewership Ratings

During the week of March 26, 2022, "Soundtrack #1" was the most-watched series on Disney+ in several countries, including South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Disney+

Disney has already released "Soundtrack #1", the Korean original series, on Disney+ in the United States starting on Friday, October 21, 2022. The show has already be streamed on Disney+ in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada.