Breaking Down the Romantic Ending of Can This Love Be Translated?

I was completely captivated by Joo Ho-jin, played by Kim Seon-ho! Even though he’s a brilliant interpreter who speaks four languages, figuring out Go Youn-jung’s character, Cha Mu-hee, proved surprisingly difficult. They first crossed paths in Japan, both with someone else on their minds, but throughout the series, Can This Love Be Translated?, you could feel a connection growing. It wasn’t a straightforward path, though! They had to travel the world, deal with a really unexpected twist involving a split personality, and even navigate a dating show where Mu-hee was paired with someone else before they finally realized they were meant for each other. It was such a rollercoaster, but so worth it to see them finally connect!

The Hong sisters, the celebrated writers behind popular K-dramas like My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, Hotel del Luna, and Alchemy of Souls, are back with their newest romance, Can This Love Be Translated? This time, they collaborated with Go, who plays an actress achieving sudden fame after a difficult past. As she navigates this new world, an interpreter named Ho-jin becomes a trusted friend. Let’s explore the romantic conclusion of Can This Love Be Translated? and how Ho-jin and Mu-hee ultimately fall in love.

Romantic Trip’s romantic locations

The beautiful settings of the love story between Ho-jin and Mu-hee enhance their already powerful connection. Kim explains that meeting someone new in an unfamiliar place, as the characters do in Japan, can create a stronger, faster bond. It’s like there’s an instant connection when you’re both experiencing something new together.

After first meeting while traveling abroad, Mu-hee and Jo-jin find themselves together again on the set of a reality dating show called Romantic Trip, which films in Canada and Italy. Mu-hee is paired with popular Japanese actor Hiro Kurosawa (played by Sota Fukushi), and Jo-jin works as their interpreter. The show’s creators believe Mu-hee is increasingly attracted to Hiro simply because of their repeated encounters. Romantic Trip gives them opportunities to connect, even though they struggle with miscommunications and are hesitant to open up emotionally.

The new Netflix series was filmed in several beautiful countries, including Korea, Japan, Canada, and Italy. Go especially loved filming in Banff, Canada, describing the scenery as otherworldly. Kim highlighted the early scenes shot in Japan, noting how they immediately established the series’ unique and exotic atmosphere. He explained that filming in different locations, even with a slight change in perspective, could transform a scene, making it feel completely foreign. Kim was particularly impressed with how the on-screen depiction of Japan surpassed the beauty he remembered seeing in person.

Who is Do Ra-mi?

Though Can This Love Be Translated? is set in the real world, unlike the Hong sisters’ recent fantasy dramas, it still features some over-the-top moments. The series begins with Mu-hee falling from a rooftop in Seoul while shooting the last scene of a horror movie where she plays a tough zombie character named Do Ra-mi. This accident puts her in a coma for several months. Surprisingly, the movie is released and Mu-hee becomes a worldwide star as Do Ra-mi, even though she’s unconscious.

Mu-hee’s life changes dramatically when she becomes a famous actress. But with her newfound success, she starts experiencing strange occurrences related to a woman named Do Ra-mi – glimpses in reflections or fleeting shadows. Actress Go explains that these appearances were designed to intrigue the audience and keep them guessing about what would happen next. As the story progresses, Do Ra-mi’s presence grows stronger. By the time Mu-hee begins filming the second part of the reality show Romantic Trip in Italy, Do Ra-mi is essentially taking over Mu-hee’s nights, even pursuing a connection with Ho-jin in ways Mu-hee herself wouldn’t.

Go explains that Mu-hee and Do Ra-mi are both distinct and connected characters. She worried that making them too different could confuse or alienate viewers, and also make her performance less believable. She aimed for a balance so audiences would accept and connect with both sides of the character.

Go focused on making each character’s voice and personality distinct, particularly how freely they express themselves. She describes Mu-hee as indirect and evasive in her communication, explaining that this is a way to protect both herself and others from getting hurt. In contrast, Do Ra-mi is much more open, direct, and playful – a bit of a troublemaker, according to Go.

Ho-jin and Mu-hee finally understand one another

Unlike many K-drama romances where outside forces keep couples apart, the biggest challenges between Ho-jin and Mu-hee come from their own feelings. Ho-jin struggles to understand Mu-hee, and this frightens him. He doesn’t fully believe in the depth of her feelings for him, and downplays his own pain, finding it easier to suffer than to grapple with the unfamiliar ways Mu-hee shows her love.

Kim believes the characters’ contrasting personalities – one driven by logic (‘T’ types) and the other by emotion (‘F’ types) – explain their difficulties connecting. Because of these differences, it takes Mu-hee and Ho-jin a long time to realize how much the other truly cares. Ho-jin misinterprets Mu-hee’s unpredictable actions as a sign of wavering feelings, while Mu-hee mistakenly believes Ho-jin is dating someone else. This confusion arises from a rumor Mu-hee heard about Ho-jin being seen with Do Ra-mi during filming of Romantic Trip. Mu-hee doesn’t recall her time as Do Ra-mi, contributing to the misunderstanding.

It was such a relief to see Hiro and Mu-hee finally connect as they finished filming Romantic Trip. When Hiro confessed his feelings, Ho-jin had to translate, and you could just feel how much it hurt him. Then, the director sent Mu-hee some footage of Ho-jin looking totally heartbroken after the shoot, and it really hit her – she realized how deeply he cared for her. It gave her the courage to finally be honest with herself, to remember all the moments they shared as Do Ra-mi and Ho-jin, and to stop hiding her true feelings.

During a sweet encounter in Tuscany, Mu-hee confessed to Ho-jin that her memories are fully restored and she wants to hold onto them. However, she’s also apprehensive, knowing how well he truly understands her. Ho-jin, trying to ease her worries, jokingly suggests they’ll break up soon to avoid the pressure of a perfect ending. Though it’s a playful lie, it reveals his deep understanding of her fears. He assures her with a warm smile, “I’m figuring out a way to make sure you don’t push me away again because you’re feeling anxious.” Ultimately, they allow themselves to embrace their feelings for each other.

What happens to Hiro?

Although Hiro isn’t a likely romantic match for Mu-hee – she’s clearly interested in Ho-jin – he subtly shows her that she has other possibilities. Plus, his personal journey of self-acceptance reflects Mu-hee’s own development as a character.

The last episode of Can This Love Be Translated? starts with Mu-hee and Hiro reviewing the edited version of Romantic Trip. The producers want to include Hiro’s heartfelt confession of love at the end of the trip, and Mu-hee’s positive response, but they’ll let the actors decide if it’s right for the show. Both Mu-hee and Hiro agree to include the scene. Afterwards, Mu-hee apologizes for any confusion she caused, explaining that she sometimes unintentionally led Hiro on when she was pretending to be Do Ra-mi. They then say goodbye on good terms.

Though Hiro finishes the series heartbroken over his feelings for Mu-hee, he’s become a much more confident person thanks to his time on the show. He discovered he’s able to open up and pursue what he desires, and even picked up Korean along the way, realizing he has a talent for languages. The series ends with him pursuing an English-language film role, demonstrating his willingness to take risks in both his career and personal life, and suggesting he’s found a sense of inner peace.

The story of Can This Love Be Translated? starts with Ho-jin still in love with Sin Ji-seon, a woman he met in Japan years earlier. The situation is complicated because she’s now dating his brother, Jin-suk. Unable to move on, Ho-jin travels to the island where they first met, on Ji-seon’s birthday. This leads him to meet Mu-hee, before Mu-hee becomes a famous star.

Ji-seon and Ho-jin once had a potential for romance, and Ji-seon acknowledges she used to have feelings for him, but that time has passed. They weren’t able to make a relationship work. After ending things with Jin-suk, Ji-seon finds love with Kim Yong-u, an assistant to Mu-hee (played by Choi Woo-sung from I Am A Running Mate). When Yong-u gets his ideal job in the sports industry, it requires a move to the UK, and he’s unsure about going. Ji-seon resolves this by deciding to join him, planning to attend graduate school there as well.

Mu-hee’s mother and her connection to Do Ra-mi

Though Mu-hee seems easygoing, she carries deep emotional scars from a difficult childhood. When she was young, her mother, who was struggling with mental health issues, poisoned her father. Mu-hee herself was then targeted, but she managed to escape by climbing out onto a balcony. Afterwards, she was raised by an aunt and uncle who were unkind and abusive. As a child, Mu-hee tried to block out the memories of her parents, hoping her relatives would show her affection if they didn’t know what had happened. Sadly, they never did.

In the final episode, Ho-jin receives a photo of Mu-hee’s mother from her aunt and uncle. The photo shows a striking resemblance to Mu-hee, but the woman is dressed like Do Ra-mi. This leads Mu-hee to understand that Do Ra-mi wasn’t a reincarnation connected to her famous movie role, but rather a representation of her childhood memories of her mother.

According to Go, Mu-hee has struggled with anxiety stemming from past trauma involving her mother. This anxiety actually increases when she experiences genuine happiness, creating a sort of proportional relationship between the two. Now that she’s found someone she loves, she’s also terrified of not being loved in return, and that fear is what drives her actions involving Do Ra-mi.

Does Can This Love Be Translated? have a happy ending?

The show ended with a shocking revelation: Mu-hee’s aunt and uncle weren’t truthful about her parents. It turns out her father is alive and living in China, but her mother’s location was a mystery. Despite not wanting a relationship with either of them, Mu-hee was determined to find her mother and tracked her down to Los Angeles. Before leaving, she briefly broke up with Ho-jin, with both agreeing to reconnect when she returned, hoping she’d then be ready for a lasting commitment.

Mu-hee comes back to Korea near Christmas, and she and Ho-jin reunite at an observatory. She playfully uses the Papago app to tell him how much she missed him in all of his languages. Ho-jin pauses before responding. Mu-hee jokes that they could just use a universal gesture, and playfully flips him off. He accepts, and they share a kiss. They happily gaze at the stars together.

2026-01-17 01:07