“Nevertheless” (알고있지만)

By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
December 11, 2021

Yoo Na-Bi (played by Han So-Hee)
Park Jae-Eon (played by Song Kang)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

“Nevertheless” starts off with an intriguing premise. Two college students meet and are instantly attracted to each other. Still reeling from a breakup with an older man, Na-Bi is cautious, especially after she learns that Jae-Eon is the campus player — who flirts with everyone — but has never had an exclusive relationship.

Na-Bi spends a lot of time convincing herself that she can be in a friends with benefits type of non-relationship. Why? Because Jae-Eon is hot. He’s also kind to her when he’s with her. But when he’s not, she’s left wondering who he’s with and trying to deal with her jealousy.

Honestly? Jae-Eon’s main attraction is that he looks like Song Kang (for obvious reasons). If anyone even slightly less good looking treated her this way, Na-Bi would’ve had a much easier time breaking things off.

In many ways, “Nevertheless” is a primer for how women are manipulated into diminishing their own wants and desires for a man. With the flash of his eyes and a sly smile, Song Kang’s face changes from innocent to dangerous within seconds. And each time it does, it makes viewers flip and flop over whether to root for him or not. Because we’re drawn in by him, too.

To be fair, this happens to men, too. There is a subplot here between two of Na-Bi’s friends, where the young woman is the one who doesn’t want to commit to the young man, because she doesn’t see the point in restricting herself to just one person.

The ending disappointed me for a variety of reasons, which I’ll get into in the Spoiler Alert below.

But there were some good things about this series as well. Sex isn’t depicted as some mythical act that is foreign to Korean youth. Everyone on campus appears to be hooking up with someone. (This goes against the grain of the majority of K-dramas, where couples in their 30s will confess that they had never previously shared a romantic kiss with anyone).

In the first episode alone, viewers see a condom, an art exhibit depiction of a naked woman bent over during a private moment, and students talking about who they hooked with up at love motels. The storyline also includes a closeted lesbian, who is trying to protect herself and the woman she loves. In the second episode, there is a vivid sex dream. And after a couple has sex for the first time, they discuss sexually transmitted diseases. (Of course, this would’ve been better had they talked about this beforehand.) And later, there is the panic and shame girls go through when they unexpectedly get their periods while they’re in class.

There is an oh-so-sweet second lead (Yang Do-Hyeok), who I rooted for from his first appearance. And as Na-Bi fluctuates between the familiar stability of a childhood friend — who confesses that she was his first love — and the sexy newcomer, my heart broke for everyone involved.

Song Kang and Han So-Hee are both incredibly likeable actors who show the vulnerability of their characters here. But their acting ability is a grade level above the script they were given. To see them in better K-dramas, check out Song in “Navillera” and Han in “My Name.”

Airdates: This series ran for 10 episodes on JTBC from June 19 to August 21, 2021. Each episode was about 70 minutes.

Spoiler Alert: The sculpture of the naked woman was of Na-Bi. Her ex-boyfriend exhibited it at a show without her permission. When he cheated on her, that was the impetus she needed to break up with him.

FYI: Butterfly in Hangul is nabi / 나비.

Honestly? I wasn’t sure what the significance of the butterfly was to Jae-Eun. He had one tattooed on the back of his neck (and, to he honest, it looked stupid to me). He draws one on his wrist the first time he meets her. He has live butterflies in his apartment. He creates sculptures of butterflies. He and his middle school girlfriend (who he’s still seeing) both have matching lighters engraved with butterflies. When he wants to seduce women he meets in bars, he asks if they’d like to go back and see his…butterflies. And in one particular instance, he gave off serious serial killer, what?! vibes.

What gives, Jae-Eun? It would’ve been helpful to have a little insight to his obsession and why 나비 hold such significance for him.

In the series finale, he sets the butterflies free. Perhaps that’s supposed to symbolize his own freedom? But why? I don’t know.

The two end up making a commitment to date each other, which is great. But old habits don’t change overnight. There’s a reason why Jae-Eun has been commitment-phobic all these years and he needs to get to the root of that before he tries to be monogamous. And if Na-Bi enjoys a bit of life on the wild side, that’s fine and normal, too. But if she’s trying to be someone she isn’t to keep Jae-Eun, their relationship is fated for disaster.

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