SUMMARY: Let’s trade places. We did it before and we can do it again. Identical twin sisters decide to swap their identities. One was always healthy, but not too smart. The other one always endured her poor health and was very smart. But have they both gone crazy? They were little kids the first time. But now they’re adults. Suppose they get caught? They got caught before when they were kids. This time the consequences will be serious!
In “Our Unwritten Seoul”, from the moment their father found out the mother was carrying twins, he named them: Mi-Rae = Future; and Mi-Ji = Unknown. Mi-Rae was sickly and physically weak, but smart. Mi-Ji was healthy and physically strong, but not very smart. At an early age, when they realized that most people could not tell them apart, they would trade places with each other. They did it for quite some time until folks caught on. It got them into trouble. It was very serious and dangerous because Mi-Rae didn’t like taking her herbal tonic, so Mi-Ji would drink it for her. The other “swaps” could have been forgiven. But taking her sister’s medicine could have proved fatal. Thank goodness they were caught!
During their teenage years, a new boy transferred to their school. Mi-Ji wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like Lee Ho-soo instantly disliked her. He liked Mi-Rae, her twin sister. Of course! Everybody liked Mi-Rae. Mi-Ji found out later that Lee Ho-soo had been in a tragic accident that resulted in a hearing impairment. His leg was also injured, so he walked with a limp. Mi-Ji did not know that, and then she thought about her interactions with him; she realized that she had said some very offensive things. She tried her best to make up for that. Even so, he still liked Mi-Rae better.
When they became adults, both Lee Ho-soo and Mi-Rae got great jobs working in Seoul. Mi-Ji stayed at home and worked whatever job she could get. Her main reason for staying behind in the countryside was to take care of her grandmother. But her mother told her to plan for her future. She won’t always be young and healthy. Mi-Ji will never be like Mi-Rae, but she needs to figure out something he can do for the rest of her life.
Lee Ho-soo came home for his grandfather’s ancestral rites ceremony. When he ran into Mi-Ji, he told her that she should contact her sister because … ??? … something was off. Her behavior was odd. He was right. Mi-Rae was depressed, and Mi-Ji wasn’t sure if she was contemplating suicide. She got her sister to open up and tell her what was going on. It turns out Mi-Rae is a victim of workplace bullying, and it’s hard to prove. Mi-Rae said she wished she could be like Mi-Ji because people wouldn’t expect so much from her. Her mother and grandmother depended on her financial support, and she couldn’t quit her job because she had taken out a loan. The responsibility was quite a strain on her.
Mi-Ji convinced her sister to trade places. She’d stay in Seoul and work while Mi-Rae went back home and pretended to be her. Can they pull off the switch this time? Because they’ll get into big trouble if people find out!
My personal rating is the same as IMDb.
“Our Unwritten Seoul”? What can I say? I love stories about twins, especially when they trade places.
Our Unwritten Seoul first impression: Does Park Bo Young even need a male lead in her K-dramas anymore? | Web-series News | The Indian Express (“Our Unwritten Seoul is a must-watch genre-bending twin drama, which is anything but predictable.)
Netflix K-drama Our Unwritten Seoul: Park Bo-young plays twins in character-driven drama | South China Morning Post (“Looks can be deceiving, and Mi-ji and Mi-rae are counting on it.”)
Park Bo Young says she blocked her company calls after filming ‘Our Unwritten Seoul’ | allkpop (She simply needed to unwind. Celebrities are human too!)
Netflix K-Content. “Our Unwritten Seoul.” YouTube, 13 May 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzngpAm1P1c.
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