Love Alarm: sync your heart and ring someone's Love Alarm!

I just finished watching the eighth episode of the Kdrama Love Alarm, which you can actually watch on Netflix!

It's an original and romantic Kdrama, which didn't really have an ending. So it's no surprise there's a second season coming to finish the story of Love Alarm.

Love Alarm: what's it all about?

Love Alarm starts out as a high school Kdrama, but when we meet the main leads in the first episode it's been three years since they finished high school. However, the first 8 episodes are mostly situated in the high school period.

Love Alarm is all about.... Love Alarm. Love Alarm is an app. You install it on your smartphone, and the next time someone who likes you gets within a 10 meter radius, your Love Alarm will ring.

So there's no hiding your feelings.

The main characters in Love Alarm

Kim Jo Jo is the female lead. She's hardworking and lives a life like a modern day Cinderella. Kim Jo Jo lives with her mean aunt and cousin. Her aunt blames Kim Jo Jo for the debt her mother left behind after committing suicide. Kim Jo Jo works hard to pay off the debt, but she's very poor and can't even afford to buy lunch at school.

And then there's the male lead: Hwang Sun Oh. Hwang Sun Oh is a model, and very handsome. His Love Alarm rings all the time. He notices his best friend Lee Hye Yeong likes Kim Jo Jo. So in an odd move he pursues Kim Jo Jo and kisses her!

The strange thing is, Hwang Sun Oh really loves Lee Hye Yeong... Ik made me think: 'With friends like this, you don't need enemies.'

The story

So, we've got these two high school kids who fall in love. But then of course something goes wrong, though it's not a big thing.

Hwang Sun Oh and Kim Jo Jo get into an accident. It's not that bad, but it's enough to scare Kim Jo Jo off. She breaks up with Hwang Sun Oh, who is heartbroken and doesn't understand what went wrong. But Kim Jo Jo feels like she has to protect herself from further heartache.

Hwang Sun Oh asks Kim Jo Jo to ring his Love Alarm.  But what he doesn't know is that Kim Jo Jo installed a shield, so her Love Alarm won't show her feelings anymore.

And because her Love Alarm doesn't ring anymore for him, Hwang Sun Oh feels like he has no choice but to let Kim Jo Jo go.

Kissing and romance

The romance starts fast in Love Alarm. Hwang Sun Oh  and Kim Jo Jo share a kiss in the first episode. I liked the kissing scene in Love Alarm. Kim Jo Jo actively participates in the kissing. There's no 'deer in the headlights' look, and she actually kisses him back.

3 years later

Then it's 3 years later, and Kim Jo Jo is still struggling. Hwang Sun Oh is very succesful and seems to have a nice girlfriend. However, he can't ring her love alarm. He kind of hate Kim Jo Jo because of what she did to him.

So when he finds out his best friend Lee Hye Yeong is pursuing Kim Jo Jo he is not amused.

And that's kind of where the eighth episode ends.

You see Hwang Sun Oh, his girlfriend, Kim Jo Jo and Lee Hye Yeong all standing there. And both Hwang Sun Oh and Lee Hye Yeong ring Kim Jo Jo's love alarm.

Love Alarm trailer

Love Alarm summing up

Love Alarm has an intriguing premise: what if there was an app which could tell you if someone likes you?!

It's definitely not all roses and unicorns. The Love Alarm app makes people listen more to their app than to the people around them. I feel it's a warning not to rely on modern technology too much.

I'll definitely watch season 2 of this Kdrama!

It this Kdrama for you?

I kind of liked Love Alarm, because the storyline is very simple and straightforward and I like that. Also there's no big secondary storyline.

So if you like a nice and simple Kdrama Love Alarm might be just for you.

However you should not expect too much logic! It doesn't really make any sense that Kim Jo Jo suddenly decided to sump Hwang Sun Oh. And it's also really strange that Hwang Sun Oh pursued her when he knew his best friend really liked her.

Practical information about Love Alarm

Love Alarm is based on the webtoon by Chon Kye-young, Love Alarm. You can watch it on Netflix.

It's unclear when the second season will be released.