K-drama Deep-Dive Review: When Letting Go is the Real Victory
What I find very interesting about Love Scout is that when you think it will give you what you expect, it throws you off-kilter. It does not deliver the norm—what you would expect from a K-drama—but delights you with something different, something fresh, even something simple.
Every drama has its share of villains—which one doesn’t! Okay, maybe there are a few, but—here we have Jiyun’s former colleague, Hyejin. They worked together in their previous workplace, and for reasons I care not to elaborate on, Hyejin made Jiyun into an enemy and ultimately forced her out of the company.
Jiyun then starts her own search firm, with the help of a supporter—someone who also happens to be connected to Hyejin. And through this connection, Hyejin found ways to interfere with Jiyun’s work. And that is where, for the life of me, I could not understand Hyejin’s obsession with Jiyun. But I guess that’s what makes a villain.
In an ideal world, they would have gone their separate ways to focus on their own careers. Yet Hyejin actively seeks ways to sabotage Jiyun.
Or maybe it does make sense if we see that Hyejin needed someone to blame for what happened at their former company. Jiyun, the one with integrity, stepped in to correct a serious issue—but the fallout was devastating. The firm’s owner took his own life. It was that serious. And Hyejin, unwilling to face the truth, pinned his death on Jiyun and forced her out.
The irony? Hyejin herself was involved in the scam, yet that fact never registered in her mind. To her, Jiyun was the problem—the one who exposed everything and “caused” the disaster by refusing to look the other way.
When Jiyun opens her own company and thrives, Hyejin can’t stand it. She thinks Jiyun should still be paying for the disaster, not succeeding or moving on.
With that, Hyejin seizes every opportunity to take revenge on Jiyun—undercutting her search candidates, luring them away with better deals. And she doesn’t act alone; she has an informant, someone who once worked for Jiyun but has since switched sides.
If that weren’t enough, she manipulates her connections with Jiyun’s supporter, badmouthing her at every turn, feeding him reports that serve only her interests. She takes it even further—promising favours in exchange for one thing: Jiyun’s company.
It’s greed, plain and simple. Even though she is considered successful in her own rights, Hyejin wanted more—Jiyun’s success, even though she didn’t work for it. She wants to steal, not build.
And speaking of villains, that so-called supporter is one too. He helped Jiyun start the company in exchange for a stake, but now he wants full control. Jiyun, however, refuses—this was her effort, her success, and she won’t let it be taken from her.
And of course, Hyejin seizes the moment, letting the battle unfold so she can swoop in and claim everything—Jiyun and her company, all in one move.
This is where Hyejin pulls a move straight from the past, repeating history that forced Jiyun out of their old company. She creates a fake shell company and manipulates Jiyun into hiring people for a non-existent firm. Then, she “exposes” the scam—this time, to bring Jiyun’s company crashing down.
At this point, you’d expect Jiyun to pull off a dramatic counterattack, uncovering the one crucial piece of evidence to expose Hyejin. I totally expected that to happen, but no—the drama takes a completely unexpected turn. Jiyun doesn’t fight back.
This is where this drama breaks the usual K-drama formula—where the villain strikes, the good guys strikes back, and the good guys win?
No, Jiyun does not fight back but instead, she concedes, announcing that Hyejin will be acquiring her company.
What?!
It feels like an injustice—letting the villain win. But what makes this drama so compelling is that it mirrors reality. In life, villains do win sometimes. Yet life isn’t just about fighting for revenge. It can also be about choosing to walk away, to rebuild, to start over on your own terms.
This decision stands in stark contrast to the typical “good vs. bad” narrative we often see in dramas. It sparks interesting discussions about the futility of revenge or fighting back in some situations. Is the battle always worth it, or are there moments where letting go and walking away is a far more powerful choice?
And that’s exactly what Jiyun does. She sees the bigger picture—her company’s reputation is ruined, and the supporter still holds too much power. Continuing the fight would cost too much, so instead, she chooses to let go and start fresh. It may seem like a loss, but in reality, it’s a victory—a new beginning, free from control, and a way to protect the people who matter most to her.
And in the end, the irony plays out—Hyejin’s own scheme backfires. The scam she orchestrated to bring down Jiyun is exposed, and she is ultimately taken down herself. The truth has a way of coming out, even if not immediately.
So, this drama doesn’t follow the typical path of fighting and triumphing over the enemy. Instead, it tells a different kind of victory—the courage to walk away, to embrace a fresh start, and to let life unfold on new roads.
Love Scout reminds us that in life, villains sometimes win—at least for a while. But real success isn’t about clinging to battles that drain us; it’s about knowing when to walk away and start anew. It is not an easy thing to do but Jiyun doesn’t “win” in the way we expect. It’s by choosing to rebuild on her own terms, she claims a victory far greater than revenge.
Is there any “revenge” you now think you should let go of—one that you realize isn’t worth holding on to?
📢 Join the discussion on Twitter