Something About 1 Percent Review

After having watched Her Private Life, I thought I have had enough of K-drama rom-coms and it is time to skip this genre for a while. But my YouTube feed kept recommending Something About 1 Percent (2016) to me and I got hooked. Actually, the title got to me first because it sounds weird for a drama. So, I was curious and that led me to watch a few of the clips before I decided to take the plunge and watch the whole thing. I have no regrets although I believe some may find it difficult to relate. I have written up the Something About 1 Percent review below if you are thinking of watching this drama too.

Episodes: 16
Type: Romantic comedy
Aired: September 2016
Images Credit: iHQ

The Cast

• Ha Seok Jin as Lee Jae In
• Jeon So Min as Kim Da Hyun
• Joo Jin Mo as Lee Gyu Chul
• Kim Hyung Min as Lim Tae Ha
• Seo Eun Chae as Han Joo Hee
• Im Do Yoon as Jung Hyun Jin

Main Characters

Lee Jae In

Jae In is the workaholic CEO of a hotel group and also the grandson of Lee Gyu Chul, a chaebol owner. He is arrogant and insensitive but a smart executive. He is stubborn and plays to win. He drives his employees hard and they are all afraid of him.

Jae In’s biological father left the family due to disputes with his grandfather years earlier. He has since passed away and his biological mother remarried and lives in Canada with his half-sister. Jae In was adopted back into the family by his paternal uncle when the latter’s young son passed away. Thus, he was brought up by his aunt (uncle’s wife).

Kim Da Hyun

Da Hyun is an elementary school teacher who loves her job. She is a kind-hearted person and will help those in need. She volunteers at an orphanage during her free time. She is also the president of a fan club of Ji Su (Baek Seung Heon), an aspiring artiste who grew up in the orphanage.

Da Hyun is an only child and her father is a herbalist. Her mother is always trying to set her up on blind dates and hoping that she would find someone in the herbalist field who can help to take over his father’s practice one day.

Lee Gyu Chul

Gyu Chul is the owner and chairman of SH Group. He is getting old and wishes to see his only male heir, Jae In, settle down with an appropriate woman. However, Jae In is not always respectful of his grandfather’s wishes. As a result, Gyu Chul has to blackmail Jae In by threatening to change his will to get the latter to comply.

Lim Tae Ha

Tae Ha is Jae In’s cousin. Tae Ha’s mother is Gyu Chul’s daughter and she has hopes that Tae Ha can control SH Group. In trying to fight for control, Tae Ha tends to do his parents’ bidding, including spying on Da Hyun.

Han Joo Hee

Joo Hee comes from a rich family and her father owns a chemical company. She is Jae In’s ex-fiancee. She broke up with Jae In 3 years ago due to disagreements over a pre-nuptial contract. Joo Hee is depicted as an annoying and jealous ex-girlfriend.

Jung Hyun Jin

Hyun Jin is Da Hyun’s best friend. She has a brother, Jung Sun Woo (Choi Sung Jae), who seems to show a little interest in Da Hyun. They have known each other for a very long time.

Something About 1 Percent Synopsis

This drama is based on a novel and is also known as 1 Percent Of Something. The 2016 production that is being reviewed here is the shorter drama as there is a longer version that was aired back in 2003. I haven’t watch the older series, so I can’t compare the two. But Something About 1 Percent 2016 is a short and sweet rom-com with a simple plot.

The drama starts off with Da Hyun rescuing Gyu Chul who fainted among the bushes near her school. She accompanied him to the hospital and thinking that he is a poor man with his disheveled appearance, she paid for his treatment and taxi fare.

Gyu Chul feels that he owed Da Hyun a debt. He also has the idea that this kind woman may be able to change Jae In into a better person. So, he blackmailed Jae In to pursue and date Da Hyun for 6 months. In exchange, Jae In will remain as his heir. Otherwise, he would get Tae Ha to do so and change his will accordingly. In order to get Da Hyun to agree to a 6-month relationship, Jae in entered into a contract with her by agreeing to fulfill her requests to help her school and getting legal help for Ji Su who has problem with his agency agreement.

Hence, the bulk of the story is about how Jae In and Da Hyun get to know each other better and gradually fall in love. But then Joo Hee came back into the picture and their big status difference also became a hindrance to their relationship. Will their relationship survive the tests?

Review Of This K-Drama

This rom-com may not have the same level of popularity as What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim or as big a budget as Crash Landing On You. But it is still a pleasant surprise nonetheless. For a rom-com to be successful and enjoyable to watch, there must be a certain level of spark between the male and female lead. Ha Seok Jin and Jeon So Min carried their roles exceedingly well and they really managed to get into their characters to make their love feel real to me. Their lovey-dovey moments are sweet and cute to watch. Their kisses look natural without seeming that they are trying too hard.

The plot is simple and straight to the point. There are no childhood ties and baggage to unravel. While there is a rivalry for inheritance within Jae In’s family, it is kept to a minimum and doesn’t take away the focus from the romantic relationship that is developing in the main story. There is no angst over a third party trying to break up the couple either as both Jae In and Da Hyun are very clear where their feelings lie. I like this straightforward storyline as it suits the short and quick pace of the drama.

Something About 1 Percent Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Something About 1 Percent has a happy ending. Jae In and Da Hyun ended up getting married. She also got pregnant towards the end of the final episode. Joo Hee never had a chance with Jae In as she was flatly rejected each time. In her desperation, she hired people to kidnap Da Hyun in episode 12 which made matters worse for her.

Prior to their wedding, Jae In and Da Hyun broke up in episode 14 when their dating contract came to an end. This is the tearjerker part of the drama. Jae In felt that he wasn’t good enough for Da Hyun. He also knew that she would have to sacrifice a lot if they get married as she would have to fit into his life that revolves around work, business, social functions, and reporters. As for Da Hyun, she didn’t dare to expect anything more as it is a contract from the start and she is not someone that Jae In should marry given his social class.

Nevertheless, both had a hard time coping without the other and missed each other badly. When Jae In saw Da Hyun going on a blind date again, he finally decided that he can’t afford to lose her. He proposed and she accepted when she realized that he did love her after all.

My Verdict – Something About 1 Percent Review

If you are looking for a short and simple love story, this is worth watching. There are no evil characters to give you a dreadful feeling. Well, there is a third party in Joo Hee but she doesn’t feature prominently in the whole drama. The kissing scenes will make your heart flutter with the great chemistry between the leads – a necessary ingredient in an enjoyable rom-com. There is one steamy kiss in the entire 16 episodes while the rest are mainly sweet and tender.

Having said that, my warning would be Jae In may not be everyone’s cup of tea as the perfect boyfriend. He is kind of chauvinistic which not every woman can take. He doesn’t allow her to wear clothes which he deems to be too revealing. Neither does he like it when she interacts with her male friends. Hence, some viewers may find him to be a total jerk which makes them hard to relate to this character. But if you can get past that, then Something About 1 Percent is a light, feel-good drama that is easy to binge on for the weekend.