Disney+ K-drama Soundtrack #1: in hazy romance Han So-hee, Park Hyung-sik seek an escape from the friend zone

Park Hyung-sik of K-pop boy band ZE:A stars as a photographer in love with Han So-hee’s lyricist in Disney+’s four-episode romance drama Soundtrack #1

Sticking to conventional tropes and a familiar story, the show doesn’t break any new ground – but there’s something to be said for meeting modest expectations

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Soundtrack #1 stars Han So-hee and Park Hyung-sik as best friends of 19 years who enter uncharted territory in their relationship.

Published: 11:15am, 25 Mar 2022Updated: 4:02pm, 10 May 2022

Han So-hee (My Name) and Park Hyung-sik of the K-pop boy band ZE:A play lifelong friends navigating a tricky way out of the friendzone in the new Disney+ limited series Soundtrack #1.

Bright, glossy and full of quiet longing, the show approaches romance from the perspective of artists, as the lack of – or repression of – love in their lives thwarts their creative processes.

Lee Eunsoo (Han) is a lyricist struggling to find the right words for a song about unrequited love, while photographer Han Sunwoo (Park) has become disillusioned with his work. Eunsoo comes to rely on Sunwoo, hoping that his first-hand experience of unfulfilled romance will rub off on her.

Eunsoo is an effervescent character who radiates confidence around Sunwoo, her best friend of 19 years. We first see her in a white blouse, luminous and popping out of a blinding white background as she looks straight into the camera.

But it isn’t us she’s looking at, as the camera in question is actually Sunwoo’s; she has dropped into his studio to get some free ID portraits. Bubbly and carefree, she cheekily marvels at her own good looks over his shoulder as he edits.