Heartbeat is the heartwarming story of vampire Seon Woo-hyeol, played by Ok Taec-yeon, and his quest to become human. Woo-hyeol’s deepest desire is to feel his heart beat with love. Following the advice of a shape-shifting cat, he spends one hundred years in a coffin in an effort to become human. His goal is thwarted when Joo In-hae (Won Ji-an), the descendant of Woo-hyeol’s butler and inheritor of his mansion, opens the coffin one day early.
In-hae is a woman who has lived a difficult life alone and prioritizes saving money over love. After losing her job and her apartment, the mansion is the only place she has left. Woo-hyeol believes the mansion is where the person he cared for centuries ago, Yoon Hae-seon, will return to him. As a result, he refuses to leave, causing friction between him and In-hae. When Hye-won (Yoon Se-hee) appears, looking like his long-lost Hae-seon, Woo-hyeol learns what he needs to do to become fully human so that they can finally be together. But Hye-won has her own agenda when it comes to Woo-hyeol and the mansion. She readily agrees to invest in the mansion turned guesthouse at the prompting of Shin Do-shik (Park Kang-hyun), In-hae’s former college acquaintance. Do-shik, in addition to having feelings for In-hae, harbors his own secret that pits him against Woo-hyeol.
- Series Title: Heartbeat (Korean: 가슴이 뛴다)
- Starring: Ok Taec-yeon, Won Ji-an, Park Kang-hyun, Yoon Se-hee
- Written by: Kim Ha-na, Jung-Seung-joo
- Directed by: Lee Hyun-seok, Lee Min-soo
- Network: KBS2/Prime
- Where to watch in the US: Prime
- Year Released: 2023
- # of episodes: 16
- KafeNook Rating: 3.9 sips
Heartbeat — !!Spoilers Ahead!!
Move over Edward Cullen, there is a new vampire heartthrob in town and his name is Seon Woo-hyeol, aka Taecyeon (Ok Taec-yeon) – star of the Kdrama Heartbeat. His skin may not sparkle in the sunlight but his performance as a sweet, soulful vampire does. Like Edward Cullen from Twilight, Woo-hyeol exhibits an old-world quality. (So much so that it is startling to see him in contemporary clothes for the first time.) He is charming, even when vamping out – or in his half-human/half-vampire form attempting to vamp out.
I watched Heartbeat as it aired, which happened to be concurrently with King the Land staring Taecyeon’s 2PM band mate Lee Jun-ho. Between these two and 2PMs Hwang Chan-sung, whom I have now seen in numerous Kdramas, I don’t think there is any doubt about this trio’s impressive acting skills. Not only that, Taecyeon is fluent in English due to spending his formative years in Boston. Check out this awesome interview from the Daebak Show, Taecyeon on Our Minds when we ‘Heartbeat’, featuring Taecyeon while he was promoting Heartbeat.
Oh, and did I mention that I also started watching Vincenzo at the same time? It took me a minute to recognize Taecyeon in Vincenzo, but I could not have been more thrilled to see him, even if he is — Spoilers!! (See my Vincenzo review).
The overall message of Heartbeat asks the question – what does it mean to be human? Woo-hyeol, a vampire, spent hundreds of years studying humans, especially their capacity to love, and he wants to experience that for himself. Throughout the drama, he shows his “humanness” in the affection he displays for his vampire friends, in the care he takes with Hye-won/Hae-seon, and the concern and love he gives to In-hae. His character acts more human than the humans around him. Hye-won wants the mansion and Woo-hyeol to herself, caring little about the hurt she brings to others. Do-shik shows his concern for In-hae , but he even temporarily goes to a dark place when it looks like Woo-hyeol is the key to correcting the hereditary curse on Do-shik’s heart.
Heartbeat Misses a Beat
While I enjoyed watching Heartbeat, I found a pretty big beat missing. The character of In-hae did not work for me. I waited until the very end, hoping to see something in her that would spark my interest. That moment never came. Yes, In-hae had a hard life after her father left and her mother died. That could cause anyone to shy away from love. Unfortunately, this leaves her character in a lackluster state throughout much of the drama.
The scenes where In-hae is happy are minimal and come late in the show. Even the wardrobe choices for her character add to her overall drabness. Actress Won Ji-an is a lovely woman with a beautiful smile and a great laugh. It’s too bad the drama spent so much time keeping In-hae mired in her past. She and Woo-hyeol work well as friends and housemates but the moments of romance between them often feel forced. I actually found myself rooting for Do-sik with In-hae who had more sparks between them, especially in their flashback scenes.
Supporting Storylines
The collection of vampires in Heartbeat are a blast. Woo-hyeul’s friends Lee Sang-hae (Vincenzo’s Yoon Byung-hee) and Park Dong-seop (Ko Kyu-pil seen in Crash Landing on You and The King’s Affection) bring hilarious antics to the series as they struggle to make a living in the human world. Rose (Seung-you) is like the grown-up of the vampire gang – always there bail her friends in need. Sauve Ri Man-hwi (Baek Seo-hoo) brings needed villainy to the show. He may be driven by money, but with the reveal that he keeps human’s captive to drink their blood – he becomes a dangerous opponent for Woo-hyeol. Unfortunately, his death at the hands of Do-shik is a bit anti-climactic.
The best romantic pairing in the drama is between Woo-hyeul and Hae-seon in the past. Hae-seon’s eyes shine each time she looks at Woo-hyeul. His own face registers all the grief and devastation he’s feeling as she dies in his arms. Even in the present, Woo-hyeul and Hye-won display interesting sparks.
Not much is revealed about Do-shik’s heart condition curse other than it has been passed down in his family and that he will probably die young. I did think he would need to eat the heart of a half-vampire/half-human but later it seems he only needs to drink the blood. He’s such nice guy, I found it hard seeing him make the decision to kill Woo-hyuel. Thankfully, he realizes the error of his ways, as well as the fact that In-hae was right about nice guy (hmm. . . half-vampire/half human) Woo-hyeol all along.
Best Tear-jerker Moments
The scene that moved me most occurs when Woo-hyeol learns the only way he can become human is to drain In-hae of blood. Up until that moment, he happily thinks he can take a few sips of her love-filled blood and achieve his goal of becoming human. With this new information, a look of horror dawns on his face as he realizes he can’t do that to the woman he has come to love.
Heartbeat Ending
Did I mention that I finished watching Vincenzo before I saw the last few episodes of Heartbeat? Taecyeon’s final scene in Vincenzo is difficult to watch so I was hoping for a better outcome with Heartbeat. Throughout the drama, it’s stated numerous times that between Woo-hyeol and In-hae, only one of them can live. Given Woo-hyeol’s character, I knew the choice he would make, but I hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Maybe our favorite cat, Yang-nam, harbors one last trick up his paw, um sleeve. Or something in Do-sik’s book about Vampires can reverse Woo-hyeol’s fate. Sadly, no such last-minute rescue occurs. Bah humbug. (Me — scrolling though Taecyeon’s filmography to find drama to watch where his character is still alive at the end.)
There are a few things I don’t understand about the ending. For instance, why does Woo-hyeol grab the knife and stab himself when he is already dying? He could have waited for death to take him and said his last goodbyes to In-hae in those moments. Since he does decide to use the knife, could he at least have stabbed himself in the “mark” on his neck so that Do-sik can drink his blood and cure his curse? Isn’t that the point of Do-sik being the one to kill him? And – how come Who-hyeol doesn’t disappear into ash like Man-hwi? Is this because he is half-human/half-vampire?
I suppose that Woo-hyeol did accomplish his goals (sort of). He wanted to feel love that would make his heart beat and before he dies, he feels a deep love for In-hae (though his heart never actually gets to take a beat). He wanted to become human and there are numerous scenes of the people around him who recognizes that his actions make him more humane than most humans (even if he didn’t completely achieve his human state). I am sad that he dies in the end without getting to live a life as a human with the woman he loves.
At least the series nicely wraps up the loose endings – like revealing who took the gold – finally! Do-sik, showing that he learned from Woo-hyeol’s example, no longer worries about his curse and donates large sums of money for heart patients. Woo-hyeol’s vampire friends, Sang-hae and Dong-seop are leading successful lives of their own, in large part due to their portion of the gold. In-hae is a lighter, happier person for having loved Woo-hyeol and hosts parties at the guest house for friends, neighbors, and guests, just like Woo-hyeol did in the past.
But what is the deal with the last scene? In-hae visits Woo-hyeol’s chambers, looking around longingly. (At this point, I totally expect to see Woo-hyeol appear. But no.) She walks upstairs saying that she will wait at the guest house for love to come to her and then – there is Woo-hyeol looking down from the balcony. It does not seem to be Woo-hyeol in the flesh though, just In-hae’s imagining of him. I’m not complaining about seeing Taecyeon’s, Woo-hyeol one last time, but. . . Then the picture of the flowers is replaced to one of the two of them at the beach.
What does it all mean? Maybe it simply represents Woo-hyeol’s influence there within the guest house where In-hae is now a person who can love and the guest house, a place where people can gather together. Or maybe – it’s a promise that he will find her again someday.
Random Things I Liked
The Myers Briggs moment in episode 7. Having taken the Myers Briggs test myself for work numerous times, I found this scene of vampires, Yoon Byung-hee and Ko Kyu-pil, spouting their Myers Briggs profiles hilarious. Then to have Woo-hyeol say his initials since he doesn’t have a clue what Myers Briggs is – I’m rolling on the floor here!
Every time Woo-hyeol gets drunk eating food.
Heartbeat Soundtrack
I’m Always by Your Side sung by Jeon Siha is my favorite song from the Heartbeat soundtrack. The song Vampire, sung by Park Kang-hyun, is also a lot of fun and a perfect anthem for the drama.
