How does this sound for the premise of a Kdrama? When the main character suffers abuse and is subsequently killed by a family member, she suddenly finds herself back in the past where, aided by a handsome, compassionate love interest harboring his own secret, she seeks her revenge. It sounds so good that not one but two recent Kdramas share it: Marry My Husband and Perfect Marriage Revenge. For the sake of argument, let’s pretend there are not enough hours in a day to watch both dramas. Which one to choose? Follow along in this Marry My Husband vs Perfect Marriage Revenge post to help decide which to watch.
Marry My Husband Synopsis
Park Min-young, star of What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, is back – this time in the revenge drama Marry My Husband. Based on a web novel, Marry My Husband is the story of Kang Ji-won (Park) a woman dying of cancer. When she discovers her husband of ten years, Park Min-hwan (Lee Yi-kyung of Welcome to Waikiki) with her one and only friend, Jung Soo-min (Song Ha-yoon), she is murdered. Ji-won then wakes up ten years in the past before her marriage to Min-hwan and realizes she has been given a chance to change her fate. The problem is, she must make sure someone else takes her place or she will end up where she was before. Her plan – find a way for Soo-min to marry her husband.
Ji-won’s boss, Yoo Ji-hyuk (Na In-woo of Mr. Queen), is surprisingly willing to help her in her quest for revenge. He even finds her first love, chef Baek Eun-ho (Lee Gi-kwang) to help Ji-won clear up events from the past in front of their former classmates. The closer Ji-won and Ji-hyuk come to achieving Ji-won’s revenge, the more their feelings for each other are revealed. But Yoo Ji-hyuk is hiding something big. Something that could prevent any future between the two of them.
- Series Title: Marry My Husband (Korean: 내 남편과 결혼해줘)
- Starring: Park Min-young, Na In-woo, Lee Yi-kyung, and Song Ha-yoon
- Written by: Shin Yoo-dam
- Directed by: Park Won-guk, Han Jin-seon
- Network: tvN
- Where to watch in the US: Prime Video
- Premier Date: January 1, 2024
- # of episodes: 16
- KafeNook Rating: 4.4 sips
Perfect Marriage Revenge Synopsis
In Perfect Marriage Revenge, Jung Yoo-min stars as Han Yi-joo, the adopted daughter of a wealthy family who learns that her husband, Yoo Se-hyuk (Oh Seung-yoon), only married her to be close to her sister, Han Yoo-ra (Jin Ji-hee). After being framed for a crime by her adoptive mother, Lee Jung-hye (Lee Min-young), she flees and is severally injured in a car accident. Wanting Yi-joo out of the way, Jung-hye takes steps to kill her daughter in the hospital. As Yi-joo takes her final breath, she suddenly finds herself one year in the past, shortly before her marriage.
Vowing to get revenge, Yi-joo breaks things off with her fiancé and instead proposes marriage to the man her sister likes, Seo Du-guk (Sung Hoon), second son of the powerful Taeja Group. Du-guk has his work cut out for him on the road to a happy marriage. He must crack through the hurt and trama Yi-joo has experienced in her life and find his way to her heart.
- Series Title: Perfect Marriage Revenge (Korean: 완벽한 결혼의 정석)
- Starring: Sung Hoon, Jung Yoo-min, Jin Ji-hee, Kang Shin-hyo, and Oh Seung-yoon
- Written by: Im Seo-ra
- Directed by: Oh Sang-won
- Network: MBN
- Where to watch in the US: Viki
- Premier Date: October 28, 2023
- # of episodes: 12
- KafeNook Rating: 4.3 sips
- Perfect Marriage Revenge Review
Marry My Husband vs Perfect Marriage Revenge Decider – !! Minor Spoilers Ahead!!
For Fans of Park Min Min-young: Watch Marry My Husband
Without planning it, February 2024 turned out to be Park Min-young drama month for me. I watched Healer, City Hunter, and completed Marry My Husband. Park Min-young’s roles in Healer and City Hunter are similar in that she plays a feisty cub reporter/secret service agent who is the object of affection of a seemingly bad boy yet actually good at heart night courier/city hunter. In her other dramas like What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim and Her Private Life, she portrays competent women who win over the male lead through the quadruple threat of intelligence, beauty, goodness and empathy.
It is fair to say that Park Min-young’s character, Kang Ji-won, in Marry My Husband is unlike any I have seen of hers so far. In a strange dichotomy, for most of the series Ji-won is my least favorite character of hers but also one of her best acted – simply because she is so different. There are times (so many times) when I wanted to shake some sense into fragile Ji-won. This makes it even more satisfying when she gains a spine and stands up to the various villains in the show, even if she often takes two steps back for each step forward. By the final episode, Ji-won better resembles the Park Min-young characters I have come to love – the clever, judo wielding, compassionate, incredibly gorgeous woman her chosen mate is so lucky to have.
For A Fast Paced/Suspenseful Plot: Watch Perfect Marriage Revenge
Both shows feature characters going back to a point in time, but in Perfect Marriage Revenge, the timeline to carry out the revenge is clearly defined to be a year. Starting with her contract marriage to Du-guk, Yi-joo plots a course for her revenge. As she races against time, the viewer feels that urgency which is further reinforced through her countdown wrist clock. Between flashbacks showing Yi-joo’s harsh upbringing, the scheming of the evil characters and the beautiful domestic moments between Du-guk and Yi-joo, the plot is never boring. An easy binge at twelve episodes, it builds quickly to the heart pounding moment when the countdown clock reaches zero.
The timeline for Ji-won to carry out her revenge in Marry My Husband is more nebulous. Ji-won knows her fate must be passed on sometime within the ten-year time span but doesn’t seem to be in much a hurry to address it. A few of the early episodes have some dull moments like the company camping trip – snore. It’s not until her co-worker, Yang Ju-ran (Gong Min-jeung) gets Ji-won’s stomach cancer, that Ji-won revs up her plan. Then the logic for how to transfer her fate becomes a little murky. Is it enough to get frenemy Su-min to marry Min-hwan? Apparently not. The fact that yet another villain is added to the plot three quarters of the way through proves the story with the original villains has run out of steam. The good news – those last episodes are the best, most fast paced in the series.
For Multi-Dimensional Villains: Watch Marry My Husband
Frankly, the main villains in Perfect Marriage Revenge can be hard to watch. There were times when I wanted to fast forward to get past their over-the-top antics. In Marry My Husband on the other hand, Ji-won’s boyfriend/husband Park Min-hwan and her best friend/frenemy Jun Soo-min are delightfully multi-dimensional. I sometimes felt bad for them and had to remind myself how truly reprehensible they can be. Both reveal the layers of their characters built up over the years that are now ingrained in them which provide an understanding to their motivation.
Min-hwan has a reprehensible, mother who expects little from him other than to marry a woman who will support their entire family. Soo-min has her own twisted reasons for wanting Ji-won’s life and every happiness that Ji-won ever has. In their own warped way, they each care for Ji-won as long as she can give them what they want from her. It’s only when she is no longer able to do that, that they plot to get her out of their way. Ji-hyuk, ex-fiance, Oh Yu-ra (BoA), on the other hand, is a typical one-dimensional baddie like those in Perfect Marriage Revenge and gets everything she deserves.
For a Dreamy Husband/Boyfriend: Watch Perfect Marriage Revenge or Marry My Husband
This is a toss-up. Na In-woo is definitely dreamy boyfriend (later husband) material. Ji-hyuk saved Ji-won’s baby cat from being run over by a car and ends up raising it. He wants to be Ji-won’s solid ground. He tries to find another man for Ji-won because he wants her to live a happy life. When Ji-won tells him she has to seduce Min-hwan, Ji-hyuk may not like it but he supports her. Ji-won learns about Ji-hyuk’s secret much earlier than Yi-joo learns about husband Du-guk’s, but she is determined to find a way to overcome it with him. How could she not fall for every 6’2” (187 cm) of him?
There is no more perfect husband to have as a partner in revenge than Sung Hoon as Seo Du-guk in Perfect Marriage Revenge, even if he is hiding a secret. As Yi-joo’s contract husband, he lovingly takes care of and supports her like no one else ever has in her life – all the while waiting for her to come to him. When she finally does, be ready for one of the steamiest kisses of the year! Yi-joo feels momentarily hurt when Du-guk finally comes clean about his secret because he is the one person she was starting to trust. Fortunately, the two of them are good at having adult conversations and she can understand why he waited to tell her.
For Delightful Twists: Watch Perfect Marriage Revenge
Admittedly, some of the twists in Perfect Marriage Revenge are visible from a mile (or kilometer) away but that doesn’t make them any less delicious when they are revealed. It’s kind of hard to write about the twists without giving anything away. Just trust me that they make the drama addictively fun.
For the Best Original First Crush turned into Second Couple Lead: Watch Marry My Husband
Marry My Husband did not have to include delightful, dare I say delectable, chef Baek Eun-ho (Lee Gi-kwang), the person Ji-won had a high school girl crush on. But I am glad they did. He eats up the screen every moment he is on it which is too few and far between. Even Ji-hyuk, thinks Eun-ho is a great choice for Ji-won though she only has eyes for her leading man. Proving that Eun-ho has great taste in woman, he later turns his gaze to Yoo Hui-yeon (Choi Gyu-ri), Ji-won’s vivacious co-worker. How can he resist a woman with a great laugh who also enjoys his cake? Sadly – the two don’t get nearly enough screen time together in the drama. Here’s hoping for a Marry the Chef sequel!
For the Wedding of the Year (2024 So Far): Watch Marry My Husband
After watching What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, I didn’t think I would see more beautiful wedding visuals in a Kdrama than that of Park So-joon and Park Min-young surrounded by flowers. Then last year (2023) brought the wedding from King the Land, starring Lee Jun-ho and Im Yoon-ha, and I had to reevaluate. Now, Marry My Husband, features Park Min-young looking absolutely stunning with Na In-woo in a jaw dropping dark suit, white shirt, and shiny white tie next to her. Wow. Just wow. Not to mention the show stopping flowers and decorations gracing the venue. Boy, am I glad my daughters’ own weddings are behind us.
For a Satisfying Ending: Watch Marry My Husband or Perfect Marriage Revenge
Another tie. What would be the point of a revenge show if the main character didn’t serve up their revenge by the end? Following some harrowing moments, especially in Perfect Marriage Revenge where things look dicey for at least one of the main characters, the villains get what is coming to them in ways that are both expected and unexpected. It’s safe to say that the female leads overcome their fates and find happiness with their chosen mates, but I won’t give away how it all pans out.
For a Great Original Soundtrack: Watch Marry My Husband
The OST for Perfect Marriage Revenge fits the show but the songs from Marry My Husband are perfect to add to any Kdrama soundtrack. I especially like the up tempo From Today sung by Vincent Blue and both My All Dreams Come True (CAR, THE GARDEN) and the retro sounding Wounds of Time (Kim So Yeon) are beautiful. But my favorite is The Journey, sung soulfully by Kelley Mcrae – bonus the lyrics are in English.
Final Thoughts on Marry My Husband vs Perfect Marriage Revenge – Which to Watch
It’s hard to go wrong with either drama. Both shows feature plots with nasty villains that you want to see go down and attractive, appealing lead couples you can’t help but root for. Happy choosing!
