Splash Splash Love – A Charming Time-Travel Romance

Splash Splash Love Review

There’s nothing like finding a gem of a drama that reminds you why you fell in love with K-dramas (and romantic stories overall) in the first place. Splash Splash Love might be different than your usual K-drama since it’s only a 2 episode special but it has all the familiar characteristics of a romantic, funny and heartfelt story packed in there.

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The story starts with Jang Dan-Bi, a high-schooler preparing for her college aptitude test (similar to SATs). On the way to take the test, the building stress is too much and she runs away. Caught in a rainstorm, she mysteriously time travels to the 15th century where a young King Sejong rules. In an effort to save her life, she convinces the king she’s good at math. The king, who has an unquenchable thirst for learning particularly math and science, has her serve in the palace. An undeniable chemistry begins to brew between them. But Dan-Bi knows she cannot stay in the past for long…

I went into this drama not certain what to expect but was quickly swooning over the beautifully written story of a girl who just wants to belong and gets way more than she bargained for. There’s seriously an illegal amount of cute in Splash Splash Love! Dan-Bi is absolutely precious as a sweet, exuberant teen girl. She’s so relatable as the girl who doesn’t feel like she fits in anywhere – she’s not exceptionally smart, pretty or cool. Her fear of the aptitude test is really an extension of her fear of failure – what will her future be worth if she fails? Watching her struggle and overcome her fears brings the story together so perfectly.

And who wouldn’t fall in love with the young King Sejong? His character is wonderfully portrayed as a young man eager to learn, to bring a “new age” to his kingdom while fighting frustration over the resistance of those in the palace who revile even the idea of change. He’s as equally adorable as Dan-Bi with his wide-eyed curiosity of the world and all the things that she introduces to him. He also has a huge heart for his people.

One of my favorite things about time-travel stories is the amusing culture shock (or time shock) that happens. Splash Splash Love doesn’t disappoint! It’s full of hilarious moments like Dan-Bi introducing wonders such as a pen or selfies to the king and the hilarious confusion over Dan-Bi referring to herself as a high school student – which in Korean sounds exactly the same as a palace eunuch!

The secondary characters, Queen Sohun and the mysterious musician/warrior Park Yeon round out the perfect cast with interesting side stories of their own. The actors are all fabulous here. The scenery and costumes are beautiful, per usual for sageuk dramas, giving us so many beautiful scenes.

If I picked out one flaw from Splash Splash Love, it would be the drama ends too quickly leaving you desperately wanting more. Because who doesn’t want more of romantic kings and plucky, cute time-traveler girls creating epic loves that defy time itself? Sign me up! You can find Splash Splash Love on Viki!

Have you seen Splash Splash Love? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the show!

Photos: MBC

OVERALL RATING

“You had me at hello.”

ROMANCE RATING

“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope.

I have loved none but you.”

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