On Episode 110 of the Daebak K-Rambles Podcast, Jess and Nas from the Swoon Diaries Podcast to review the underrated 2023 melodrama Call It Love, starring Kim Young-Kwang and Lee Sung-Kyung.

Jess and Nas talk through how Call It Love transforms a familiar revenge setup into something unexpectedly tender, introspective, and quietly devastating. From its opening—lonely silhouettes, a haunting radio monologue about understanding others’ pain, and a heroine walking against the flow in the rain—the drama establishes its core thesis: love begins with empathy.

The story follows a hardened, defensive woman shaped by abandonment and betrayal, and a gentle man whose kindness feels almost radical. Their dynamic anchors a slow-burn romance that resists spectacle in favor of emotional truth.

Call It Love stands out in the K-drama landscape with its refusal to glamorize revenge, exploring how vengeance offers no relief, just more emptiness. Meanwhile, the male lead embodies a quiet resilience, choosing endurance over retaliation, even when wronged. Their conversations—about loneliness, restraint, and the cost of honesty—are some of the most emotionally rich in recent K-dramas.

Highlights include: messy family ties, morally gray parents (including a strong contender for Worst K-drama Mom™), and questions of emotional boundaries—can you love someone connected to your deepest wounds?

GUEST: Nas

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Intro Music Credit: “Golden Coconut Club” by Tearliner, from the Cheese in the Trap OST. Used with permission from the artist.

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