Hey, everyone! How’s it going? Today I’m here to review the drama Love Alarm, which has been captivating young audiences worldwide with its innovative concept of technology-driven romance, emotional complexity, and the challenging navigation of teenage love in the digital age.
Love Alarm premiered on Netflix on August 22, 2019, and concluded with its second season on March 12, 2021, delivering a total of 14 episodes with an average runtime of 60 minutes each. Based on the popular webtoon by Chon Kye-young, this Korean romantic drama became Netflix’s first original Korean series, starring Kim So-hyun, Song Kang, and Jung Ga-ram in a love triangle that explores the complications of modern romance.
The series is set in a world where the revolutionary Love Alarm app notifies users when someone within a 10-meter radius has romantic feelings for them, without revealing who it is. This seemingly simple concept creates a complex web of relationships, misunderstandings, and emotional revelations that challenge traditional notions of love and attraction.
The drama explores themes of young love, social pressure, family trauma, and the intersection of technology with human emotions. The tone balances teen romance with deeper psychological elements, examining how external validation affects self-worth and relationships. Each episode delves into the complications that arise when private feelings become public knowledge, creating both opportunities and obstacles for authentic connection.
Kim Jojo: The Girl Who Can’t Make Her Heart Ring
Kim So-hyun delivers a compelling performance as Kim Jojo, a high school student dealing with family tragedy and economic hardship who finds herself at the center of a love triangle when the Love Alarm app is released. Jojo’s character represents the struggle of young people trying to understand their own emotions while navigating social expectations.
Jojo’s inability to make anyone’s Love Alarm ring becomes a central mystery that drives much of the series’ emotional tension. Her journey involves discovering the psychological barriers she’s built around her heart due to past trauma, making her character development both relatable and deeply moving. Kim So-hyun brings vulnerability and strength to the role, showing how young people often protect themselves from love even when they desperately want it.
The character’s evolution from a girl who fears emotional connection to someone who learns to embrace vulnerability forms the heart of both seasons, with her choices affecting not just her own happiness but the lives of those who care about her.
The Love Triangle: Sun Oh vs Hye Young
Song Kang as Lee Sun Oh and Jung Ga-ram as Hwang Hye Young create one of K-drama’s most emotionally complex love triangles. Sun Oh, the popular and confident student, represents passion and intensity, while Hye Young, Jojo’s childhood friend, embodies loyalty and steady affection.
The Love Alarm app complicates their relationships by creating situations where feelings are exposed before the characters are ready to deal with them. Both young men genuinely care for Jojo, but their different approaches to love and life create meaningful contrasts that go beyond typical romantic rivalry.
Song Kang and Jung Ga-ram bring depth to their roles, avoiding the typical “bad boy vs good boy” stereotypes by showing how both characters have their own emotional wounds and growth arcs. Their friendship with each other adds another layer of complexity, as they must navigate their competition for Jojo’s heart while maintaining their bond.
The Technology Dilemma: Love in the Digital Age
Love Alarm serves as both plot device and social commentary on how technology affects modern relationships. The app’s ability to reveal hidden feelings creates dramatic tension while raising questions about privacy, authenticity, and the nature of romantic attraction.
The series explores what happens when internal emotions become external data, examining whether technology can truly measure something as complex as love. The app becomes a metaphor for social media’s impact on young people’s relationships, showing how external validation can both help and harm authentic emotional development.
The second season introduces the concept of “shields” that can block the app’s function, adding another layer to the exploration of how people control their emotional vulnerability in the digital age.
Season Two Evolution: Growth and Resolution
The second season, released on March 12, 2021, focuses on the characters’ growth four years later as they navigate young adulthood. The time jump allows the series to explore how their high school experiences shaped their adult relationships and career choices.
Season Two delves deeper into the psychological aspects of the Love Alarm phenomenon, exploring themes of emotional healing, forgiveness, and learning to love authentically rather than seeking external validation. The resolution of Jojo’s emotional barriers and the love triangle provides closure while maintaining the series’ focus on personal growth over simple romantic resolution.
Success on Netflix: A Digital Romance Pioneer
Love Alarm achieved a 6.5 rating on IMDb and became significant as Netflix’s first original Korean series, paving the way for the streaming platform’s later K-drama successes. The series found particular resonance among younger audiences who identified with its exploration of social media’s impact on relationships and self-image. With 14 episodes across two seasons, the show provided a complete story arc that allowed for character development and thematic exploration. Critics noted the series’ unique premise and Kim So-hyun’s compelling performance, though some felt the pacing could be uneven. Love Alarm succeeded in creating conversations about technology’s role in modern romance and the importance of authentic emotional connection in an increasingly digital world.
If you love teen romance with innovative concepts, emotional depth, and exploration of how technology affects modern relationships, Love Alarm is the perfect series to binge on Netflix. This Korean original will make you question how well we really understand our own hearts in the digital age.
Love Alarm delivers a thought-provoking exploration of young love in the digital age, proving that the most important connections happen when we’re brave enough to be emotionally authentic.
Series Details:
Number of Episodes: 14 episodes across 2 seasons (Season 1: 8 episodes, Season 2: 6 episodes)
Platform: Netflix
Rating: 6.5/10 (IMDb)
Genre: Teen Romance, Drama, Sci-Fi
Protagonists: Kim So-hyun (Kim Jojo), Song Kang (Lee Sun Oh), Jung Ga-ram (Hwang Hye Young)
Antagonist: Emotional trauma, social pressure, technology’s impact on authentic relationships