On January 16, 2026, 'Can This Love Be Translated?' was simultaneously released worldwide on Netflix, emerging as a significant cultural text that transcends the boundaries of a simple romantic comedy, exploring how language, emotion, and the modern myth of stardom interact. This work, a comeback piece by writers Hong Jung-eun and Hong Mi-ran (hereafter referred to as the Hong Sisters), generated immense expectations from the production stage, visualising the challenging concept of 'the untranslatable sincerity of humans' through the relationship between multilingual interpreter Ju Ho-jin and global top star Cha Mu-hee. Director Yoo Young-eun's delicate direction and the extensive locations spanning Korea, Japan, Canada, and Italy suggest that the emotional spectrum pursued by this drama transcends borders. The Hong Sisters have established a unique narrative style that combines fantasy and romance through works such as 'The Sun of My Master', 'Hotel Del Luna', and 'Alchemy of Souls'. 'Can This Love Be Translated?' shows a significant change by placing 'language', the most realistic yet abstract tool, at the centre of the narrative instead of the supernatural elements showcased in their previous works. The initial planning of the project dates back to 2019, and after a long maturation period, it has settled on the global platform of Netflix.
Global fans are welcoming the Hong Sisters' characteristic witty dialogue and character settings while also paying attention to the psychological depth attempted in this work. In particular, the transition from the light rom-com atmosphere in the early episodes to the heavy trauma narrative in the latter half is a typical pattern of Hong Sisters' dramas, but this time it is analysed that the range of fluctuation has been maximised through the theme of 'Dissociative Identity Disorder'. Kim Seon-ho plays Ju Ho-jin, a genius interpreter fluent in English, Japanese, Italian, and Chinese. His professional creed is 'neutrality' and 'transparency'. He defines himself as a tool that conveys the speaker's intent as it is, but when he encounters the uncontrollable variable Cha Mu-hee, that creed begins to crumble. Ho-jin interprets Mu-hee's rough and destructive remarks into softer language that the public can accept, which extends beyond mere language transmission to an act of protecting a human's social self.
On the other hand, Go Youn-jung's Cha Mu-hee is a character who became a global star as DoRaMi in the zombie film 'The Quiet Woman'. She appears perfect and elegant in front of the public, but privately, she possesses a dual nature that is extremely direct and sometimes brutally honest. Global fans deeply empathise with the notion that Mu-hee's personality is not merely a character flaw but a defence mechanism built to avoid being hurt by others. Ho-jin's interpretation serves as a buffer zone between Mu-hee and the world. However, as the narrative progresses, Ho-jin realises that he is not the only person translating Mu-hee's words but the only person who truly 'listens' to her sincerity. This delicately depicts the process of linguistic labour transforming into emotional intimacy and explores the dangerous boundary where the interpreter becomes immersed in the subject's emotions. Kim Seon-ho effectively expresses the emotional fluctuations through restrained internal acting, which is praised for providing a different depth from the kind charm he showcased in 'Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha'.
The hottest issue being discussed among the global fandom is undoubtedly the sudden tonal shift that occurs in episode 7. The drama abruptly pivots from the bright travelogue format to a human drama infused with psychological thriller or horror elements. At the centre of this change is Mu-hee's other self, 'DoRaMi'.
DoRaMi is depicted as a separate personality that emerges when Mu-hee experiences extreme anxiety, going beyond mere hallucination. While Mu-hee defends herself with euphemistic expressions, DoRaMi exhibits her unrestrained, aggressive, and troublemaking side. Global fans' reactions to this setup are polarised.
Position as a Fresh Narrative Device: Fans who interpret DoRaMi as Mu-hee's internal critic or a visualisation of her lack of self-esteem praise this device for symbolically illustrating the difficulties of communication. They particularly commend Go Youn-jung's ability to perfectly separate the two personalities through voice tone and gestures.
Position as Destruction of Plausibility: The appearance of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) bewildered viewers who expected a romantic comedy. Some critics harshly criticised it as "like setting fire to a car accident and claiming it is a metaphor." Concerns were also raised that mental illness was merely consumed as a narrative tool or romanticised.
In the latter half, the drama connects DoRaMi's origin to Mu-hee's childhood trauma. It is revealed that the truth of the past, where Mu-hee thought her parents had passed away, and the memory of her mother trying to harm her are projected onto DoRaMi. This development was an attempt to elevate the work from a simple love story to a healing narrative, but it could not escape criticism that it was too much to resolve all foreshadowing and conflicts within the short span of 12 episodes. 'Can This Love Be Translated?' is set not only in Seoul but also in Tokyo, Japan, Calgary and Banff in Canada, and Tuscany in Italy. The Hong Sisters stated that these countries are not just backgrounds but "another character" that accompanies the protagonists' journey.
Scenes filmed in historical locations such as Piazza del Campo in Siena, Italy, and Teatro dei Rozzi added a cinematic texture to the drama. In particular, the scene in episode 9 where Mu-hee quotes the lyrics "Amami Alfredo" (Love me, Alfredo) from the Italian opera 'La Traviata' while bidding farewell to Ho-jin is considered the aesthetic essence of this work. This was a clever direction that replaced the emotions of a tragic heroine who must leave for her beloved with the melody of opera that transcends language. Another issue that global fans particularly focused on was the real-world controversies surrounding the cast. This symbolically illustrates the cultural and historical clashes that K-dramas encounter when consumed through global platforms, separate from the essence of the work.
The casting of popular Japanese actor Sota Fukushi as the supporting male lead Hiro Kurosawa was a cause for celebration among J-drama fans, but it immediately sparked controversy in Korea. This was due to the resurfacing of his comments in a 2015 documentary 'Teach Us About War', where he mentioned that he "respects" his grandfather, who was a kamikaze pilot.
To Korean viewers, kamikaze is a symbol of invasion wars and a product of militarism, so his remarks were seen as a lack of historical awareness. Criticism poured in that Netflix, as a global OTT, did not sufficiently consider the complex historical context of East Asia, which at one point led to a boycott movement. However, after the release of the work, the charm of the character portrayed by Sota Fukushi and the 'bromance' chemistry with Kim Seon-ho gradually submerged the controversy. For Kim Seon-ho, this work was a decisive stage to inform global viewers of his presence after the personal controversy in 2021. He stated in an interview that "the role of a multilingual interpreter was the most challenging in my career" and conveyed that he dances a "dance of joy" every day in response to fans' praise. In particular, the 'Dimple Flex' scene inserted by the Hong Sisters in the drama generated explosive reactions, creating numerous challenges on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. This is regarded as a case where controversy was overcome with acting skills and star power.
Despite the title of the drama being 'Can This Love Be Translated?', it is a painful point that global fans criticised Netflix's subtitle service for hindering immersion in the work. English-speaking fans pointed out that the subtle nuances of the Korean dialogue were not captured in the subtitles and sometimes provided completely incorrect information.
Language Misrepresentation: Technical errors were reported where characters speaking Korean were subtitled as speaking English, or characters speaking English were subtitled as speaking Korean.
Nuance Distortion: The unique honourifics or euphemisms in Korean were translated too directly or rudely in English subtitles, distorting the characters' personalities.
Fans did not hold back their criticism, stating, "The drama itself is about interpretation, yet the platform's interpretation is a mess, which is the biggest irony." This serves as a reminder of how important the quality of localisation is, as much as the quality of the original content in the global distribution environment. The 12-episode journey concludes with Ho-jin and Mu-hee acknowledging each other's deficiencies and forming a new type of relationship. In the final episode, Mu-hee temporarily leaves Ho-jin to meet her mother to heal her wounds, which is interpreted as a decision to choose a love that stands on its own rather than one that depends on someone else.
The reunion scene on the stairs in Tuscany, Italy, visually and narratively peaks the work. Ho-jin makes a paradoxical suggestion that "we are planning to part ways soon anyway" to ensure that Mu-hee does not run away again due to anxiety. This was Ho-jin's unique 'interpretation' that penetrated Mu-hee's psychology, where the obsession with a happy future leads to unhappiness.
In particular, the final scene where Mu-hee playfully gives Ho-jin the middle finger and calls it a "universal language", and Ho-jin responds with a kiss, is a highlight. This suggests that sometimes a rough gesture and a sincere action can be a more powerful tool for communication than refined multilingual interpretation.
One of Cha Mu-hee's goals in the drama was to surpass 10 million Instagram followers to be recognised as a true top star. Surprisingly, during the airing of the drama, the actual actress Go Youn-jung surpassed 10 million Instagram followers. Fans went wild, saying, "The script has become reality," and the fact that Kim Seon-ho commented on Go Youn-jung's post saying, "Congratulations, Cha Mu-hee!" added a meta-textual fun.
This phenomenon well illustrates how modern K-dramas do not merely remain in the fictional world of TV but constantly interact and expand with reality through social media. The seamless integration of the actor and character allowed global fans to immerse themselves even more, becoming a powerful driving force behind the work's popularity.
Although 'Can This Love Be Translated?' did not satisfy all viewers due to the genre shift in the middle and some directorial flaws, the question it raised, "Can we truly translate another's heart perfectly?", resonated deeply with global viewers.
The drama shows through Ho-jin that linguistic competence does not guarantee successful emotional communication, while conversely proving through the relationship between Hiro and Mu-hee that linguistic inadequacy cannot become a barrier to love. Ultimately, this work conveys that true interpretation begins not with the skill of swapping words but with the willingness to read the language of silence that the other cannot express.
The Hong Sisters have once again expanded the horizons of romantic comedy through their unique worldview, and the two outstanding actors, Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung, shone the brightest within that worldview. Although the errors in subtitles and narrative discontinuity may leave some disappointment, the achievement of entering the TOP 10 in over 70 countries worldwide proves that their attempts were valid in the global market. Love is difficult to translate, but the very process of attempting to translate it is the message of the drama that left a warm 'interpretation' in the hearts of global fans in the winter of 2026.
