Banking on love alone in JTBC's Understanding of Love

3 December 1, 2022December 1, 2022

Banking on love alone in JTBC’s Understanding of Love

by tccolb

Reflecting on the question of whether love can conquer all, the newest promos for JTBC’s Understanding of Love takes us into the day-to-day at KCU bank where we meet our main quartet: Yoo Yeon-seok (Narco-Saints), Moon Ga-young (Link: Eat, Love, Kill), Geum Sae-rok (Youth of May), and Jung Ga-ram (Love Alarm 2).

In the tangle of love crisscrossing between our four characters, it’s a classic dilemma of heart versus head as our leads find themselves drawn to one another despite outside realities pulling them apart.

The newly released teaser begins at KCU bank where staff are ready to go at their stations when the doors open 9 AM sharp. As we watch our characters go about their work day, Ha Sang-soo (Yoo Yeon-seok) explains, “In 2022, social hierarchy in South Korea is determined by money. There is a ranking system for the people who come to the bank as well as for us, who work at the bank.” Sneaking a quick glance at Ahn Soo-young (Moon Ga-young) – only to look away when she returns his gaze – Sang-soo continues that there’s a gap between the two of them as well. In the appearing text screen, we read: “There is also a hierarchy in love.”

Flashing back, we see how Sang-soo and Soo-young’s relationship sparked. But we’re quickly shown the fallout after with Soo-young’s angry confrontation: “I thought you and I were similar types of people. If you were going to do that, why did you act like you were different from them? Did I look easy to you?” Although Sang-soo retorts that isn’t the case, we then jump to Park Mi-kyung (Geum Sae-rok) greeting Sang-soo with a happy hug. Soo-young then finds reassurance in Jung Jong-hyun (Jung Ga-ram), who is certain that her future will be better beyond her imagination. The following text screen reads: “A heart that cannot resist calculating interests.”

In the sequence that follows, we see a hopeful Mi-kyung and Jong-hyun. But an anxious Sang-soo runs back to Soo-young, to ask, “Then, what happens to us?” As Soo-young looks back at him, the teaser closes with Sang-soo’s sad realization: “To me, happiness was about not making moments I regret. And yet, my decisions have never resulted in happiness.”

With PD Jo Young-min (Do You Like Brahms) at the helm with scripts co-written by Lee Seo-hyun and Lee Hyun-jung, JTBC’s Understanding of Love premieres December 21 in the Wednesday-Thursday slot.

Banking on love alone in JTBC's Understanding of Love