appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Pierce Conran

Lead cast: Bae In-hyuk, Roh Jeong-eui
Latest Nielsen Rating: 1.3 per cent
A pair of attractive youths are thrust into adulthood when they are saddled with a cute toddler in Our Universe, a bubbly but cloying mash-up of romance, cohabitation drama and family comedy.
Leading the series are Bae In-hyuk (Check-in Hanyang) and Roh Jeong-eui (Hierarchy) as two individuals trying to figure out their place in the world.


Seon Tae-hyung (Bae) shows promise as an assistant photographer, but he is looked down on for having grown up in an orphanage and not graduating from a good university. Tae-hyung’s interest in photography stems from his older brother, whom he has not seen since his brother abandoned him and handed him a camera.
Tae-hyung’s other hobby is collecting expensive furniture, which speaks to his need to overcompensate for missing out on a cosy family home while growing up. It is through this hobby that Tae-hyung meets Woo Hyun-jin (Roh).
Hyun-jin is a struggling jobseeker who has always received help from her doting sister Hyun-ju. Now that Hyun-ju (Park Ji-hyun, You and Everything Else) is about to get married, Hyun-jin looks for a special lamp to give her as a wedding gift, which she can ill afford, until Tae-hyung decides to sell his online.
Their first meeting does not go well and ends with Tae-hyung returning home with his lamp. He also accidentally makes off with Hyun-jin’s phone. Frustration turns to surprise when he sees her screensaver: a picture of Hyun-jin with Hyun-ju and Hyun-ju’s fiancé, Tae-hyung’s estranged older brother Woo-jin (Ha Jun).

Tae-hyung shows up uninvited to a dinner with Woo-jin and the sisters, and leaves in a huff after fighting with his brother. He says that he never wants to see him again – words that he will live to regret.
Three years later, Tae-hyung and Hyun-jin work in office jobs. Having given up photography, Tae-hyung is preparing to move into and furnish his dream home, while Hyun-jin is trying to turn her temporary position into a permanent one. She clashes with her sister over the latter’s overbearing generosity.
Then, disaster strikes when Hyun-ju and Woo-jin die in a car crash. Tae-hyung and Hyun-jin, grief-stricken and regretting their final interactions with their departed siblings, meet once more at the funeral. Also in attendance is Hyun-ju and Woo-jin’s cute-as-a-button toddler Sun Woo-joo (Park Yoo-ho).
Hyun-jin decides to raise the child and moves into her sister’s flat. Tae-hyung wants nothing to do with this painful reminder of his brother until some unexpected water damage in his dream home forces him to seek temporary alternative accommodation.

With its threadbare characters and flimsy plotting, Our Universe stomps through the motions, one plot contrivance and lazy joke at a time, until the introduction of Woo-joo, who affords this lowest-common-denominator series an endless source of zany parenting mishap gags – a vomiting baby at a funeral, for instance.
Confusingly, Woo-joo’s existence is not revealed before the funeral, even though Hyun-jin spends time at Hyun-ju’s flat, which shows no sign of a child’s presence. Given that most viewers would presumably have a vague idea of the show’s concept going in, it is unclear what the show gains from hiding him.
The material may not be complex, but Bae and Roh struggle to convincingly convey their characters’ inner lives. Even more of a concern is their lack of individual charisma and shared chemistry.
The rest of the cast, remaining in a blandly broad register, is similarly uninspiring, save for the show’s only redeeming quality: the legitimately adorable Park Yoo-ho as the orphaned infant.

The show hints at some darker threads to come, as, shortly before his death, Woo-jin had just received news that his father had been released from jail – a fact he intended to share with Tae-hyung, who remains oblivious. This could inject some psychological complexity into the series, even if this seems unlikely.
Coasting by on cheap sentimentality and the charms of the youngest member of its cast, Our Universe has so far presented a vacuous patchwork of facile jokes and wafer-thin drama that reeks of inauthenticity. Given what we have seen so far under the dim light of its stars, this hardly seems like a cosmos worth exploring.
Our Universe is streaming on HBO Max.


Netflix K-drama Teach You a Lesson: corporal punishment for bullies in alarming school show

Disney+ K-drama Doctor on the Edge: Lee Jae-wook, Shin Ye-eun lead island medical romcom

K-drama Reborn Rookie: Lee Jun-young’s corporate body-swap fantasy hums with melodrama

HBO Max K-drama Fifties Professionals: Shin Ha-kyun action comedy revisits hits of old

Korean drama reviews

HBO Max K-drama Our Universe: Roh Jeong-eui and Bae In-hyuk in woeful baby-raising comedy

Roh Jeong-eui as Woo Hyun-jin, an office worker thrust into parenthood, in a still from Our Universe, a new Korean drama on HBO Max that offers plenty of cuteness, but little substance.

Bae In-hyuk as photography fanatic Seon Tae-hyung in a still from Our Universe.

Roh Jeong-eui in a still from Our Universe.

Bae In-hyuk in a still from Our Universe.

8 of the best new K-dramas to watch in February 2026, including Netflix’s The Art of Sarah

Shin Hye-sun as Sarah Kim in a still from The Art of Sarah. Netflix’s dark mystery is just one of the many new K-dramas to keep you entertained as Lunar New Year approaches. Photo: Netflix

K-drama Bloody Flower: serial killer drama weighs a medical prodigy’s deadly cure

Ryeoun as serial killer/medical expert Lee Woo-gyeom in a still from Bloody Flower. Keum Sae-rok and Sung Dong-il co-star.

Sung Dong-il as lawyer Park Han-jun in a still from Bloody Flower.

Keum Sae-rok as the prosecutor Cha Yi-yeon in a still from Bloody Flower.

Ryeoun as the serial killer Lee Woo-gyeom in a still from Bloody Flower.

K-drama casting news about Nam Joo-hyuk, Lee Dong-wook, Shin Se-kyung and more

Korean actor Nam Joo-hyuk will next appear in the Netflix period drama East Palace, while reports suggest that he may quickly follow that up with the series Code: Faust Game. Photo: Instagram/skawngur

Wu Kang-ren in a still from the Taiwanese drama series Code (2016). A new series based on Code and possibly starring Nam Joo-hyuk will go into production this year.

Lee Dong-wook in a still from The Nice Guy. Reports have linked Lee to the coming series Love Affair. Photo: JTBC

Shin Se-kyung in a still from Run On. Shin is looking at a role in the romantic drama The World They’re Dating In. Photo: Netflix

Ha Seok-jin (right) and Lee Si-won in a still from The Devil’s Plan. Ha is in talks for a role in the romance series Love Is Coming. Photo: Netflix

Cecilia Cheung: Hong Kong actress, sex scandal victim and Chinese social media star

Cecilia Cheung at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2004. The actress’ personal life garnered a lot of attention in the 2000s, with tabloids covering scandals and her high-profile romantic life. Photo: SCMP

Cheung in 1999. Photo: Oliver Tsang

Cheung speaks after receiving the award for best new performer, as veteran actors Liza Wang and Danny Lee look on, at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000. Photo: Martin Chan

Cheung and Nicholas Tse in 2001. Photo: Reuters

Cheung in a still from Lost in Time (2003), for which she won best actress at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards. Photo: China Star Entertainment Group

Cheung and Tse at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2011, the year they filed for divorce. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Cheung and Stephen Chow in a still from King of Comedy (1999). Her feature-film debut remains one of her most memorable roles. Photo: The Star Overseas

Cheung and her three sons. Photo: Weibo

Cheung in a photo she posted on her Weibo account in 2023. Photo: Weibo

Lifestyle

K-drama

K-Pop

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

Tragedy brings two youths together to raise a toddler in this flimsy K-drama that leans heavily on the cuteness of its youngest cast member


Tragedy brings two youths together to raise a toddler in this flimsy K-drama that leans heavily on the cuteness of its youngest cast member.


HBO Max K-drama Our Universe: Roh Jeong-eui and Bae In-hyuk in woeful baby-raising comedy

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tragedy brings two youths together to raise a toddler in this flimsy K-drama that leans heavily on the cuteness of its youngest cast member

Tragedy brings two youths together to raise a toddler in this flimsy K-drama that leans heavily on the cuteness of its youngest cast member