Brewing Love review: Is the ENA drama worth watching?

Brewing Love aired its final episode starring Kim Se-jeong, Lee Jung-won, Baek Sung-chul, and Shin Do-hyun on December 10, on ENA. Brewing Love is about Chae Yong-ju— played by Kim Se-jeong— a saleswoman at Jisang Beverages’ Busan branch.

Chae Yong-ju served in the Special Forces, has physical and mental strength, and can easily conceal her emotions. On the other hand, Lee Jung-won— played by Yun Min-ju— is a sensitive man who likes living in solitude in a rural village. Yun Min-ju is a brewing master who is passionate about his profession. His strengths include easily recognizing people's emotions.

Chae Yong-ju faces a threat that may lead the Busan branch to shut down. To avoid this, she approaches Yun Min-ju to create a new product for Jisang Beverages. Meanwhile, Shin Do-hyun depicted Bang A-reum, Jisang Beverages’ Development and Planning team manager, and Chae Yong-ju’s rival. On the other hand, Oh Chan-hwi— played by Baek Sung-chul— is a free-spirited man who is also Chae Yong-ju’s friend.

Brewing Love is a binge-worthy rom-com drama with a great balance of comical romance and a comforting storyline, brought to life through the actors’ remarkable performances.

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Brewing Love review: Kim Se-jeong and Lee Jung-won’s drama offers a swoon-worthy romance, shattering societal norms

Brewing Love has a unique plot where an introverted empath, Yun Min-ju, falls in love with a tough special-force-turned-saleswoman, Chae Yong-ju, breaking gender stereotypes and reaching the hearts of the audience. The storyline of the drama may not attract the viewers in the initial episodes, and Yun Min-ju’s psychic abilities to recognize people's true emotions may appear creepy at first.

However, as the story progresses, everything starts to fall into place, and in no time the viewers feel connected to the characters. The drama also focuses on each character, their personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, showing a realistic portrayal of human beings.

Chae Yong-ju grew up hiding her emotions and taking responsibility for the house to look after her grandmother at a young age. The details of how her personality was shaped to be strong were showcased beautifully, which may leave the viewers in tears.

Kim Se-jeong, who has established herself as a prominent actress, once again reportedly impressed with her performance as Chae Yong-ju. One such detail in Chae Yong-ju’s depiction was her forced smile while hiding her pain, Kim Se-jeong does it well, where the viewers can see the discomfort in her eyes as she tries to smile pretending to be alright.

Meanwhile, Lee Jung-won’s Yun Min-ju stole hearts with his mannerisms. Yun Min-ju, being a sensitive man growing up in a family full of soldiers, clashed with his father Yun Chan-seok (Lee Ki-young), who was an Army General, quite often. Yun Min-ju refused to be macho while still being masculine.

Brewing Love breaks societal norms, questioning gender-associated behaviour, through Yun Min-ju’s character. The development of Yun Chan-seok's character and his relationship with Yun Min-ju as the drama progressed is also notable.

Actor Lee Jung-won showcased his charm through the character in his first lead role. Meanwhile, the unexpected and wholesome on-screen chemistry between Lee Jung-won and Kim Se-jeong will have the viewers swooning.

Each character in Brewing Love had layers to them, making the show more intriguing. The same can be said for Shin Do-hyun's Bang A-reum and Baek Sung-chul's Oh Chan-hwi. Notably, Bang A-reum and Oh Chan-hwi's love story was also a delight to watch.

Just like any other rom-com, Brewing Love also shows conflicts between the lead characters Yun Min-ju and Chae Yong-ju, and Bang A-reum, and Oh Chan-hwi. What makes it different is its effortless illustration of the resolution between them, which further deepens their relationship.

The series brings in a whirlpool of emotions while also offering feel-good energy through the supportive side characters, portrayed by Ryu Won-woo, Ha Min-hyuk, Park Ji-a, Baek Hyun-joo, and many more.

If one is looking for a light-hearted romantic comedy series set in a hybrid of countryside and a metro city, Brewing Love is for them.