Recap Korean Drama "Please Send a Fan Letter 2022" Episode 1-2

We all have those celebrities who we absolutely love, and their mere existence brings smiles to our faces even in our darkest moments. For me, it’s Kim Soo-hyun, and for our little heroine BANG YU-NA (Shin Yeon-woo), it’s actress HAN KANG-HEE (Sooyoung). Yu-na is a leukemia patient, and apart from her dad BANG JUNG-SEOK (Yoon Park), “Kang-hee unnie” is her biggest source of strength in the hospital.

Not that Kang-hee would know anything about this, since she’s dealing with malicious comments thanks to a scathing article by the spiteful REPORTER SON (Jung Jae-sung) who has it out for her. Kang-hee is no stranger to malicious comments, as she suffers PTSD from previously received hate mail which was disguised as fan letters. As a result, she no longer reads fan letters nor accepts fan gifts.

Everyone is seemingly out to get Kang-hee — from radio DJs to anti-fans to even her own mother who sees her as more of a meal ticket than a daughter. As such, Kang-hee draws a clear line between herself, her mom, and the fans. And while she may appear snobbish on the outside, it’s just an act to protect herself from getting hurt.

But putting on an act can be exhausting, and the first time we see her lower her guard is on a ride home with designated driver Jung-seok who happens to be her high school classmate. It’s a pleasant reunion on both sides, although she promptly returns to her default setting when she learns he has a daughter — that is, no longer in the single’s market. Lol. And from the look of things, she seems to have had (and still has) a thing for him.

Meanwhile, Yu-na’s biggest wish is to receive a reply to the fan letter she sends to Kang-hee, and to grant the wish, Jung-seok comes up with the reply himself. But give a kid an inch, and watch them run off twenty miles. His reply births a chain of letters between Yu-na and “Kang-hee” — from photoshopped pictures, to spoilers from her currently airing drama. But rather than the happy ending prediction, the drama has a disastrous ending. Literally. (An asteroid hits the earth and everything goes up in flames!)

Kang-hee is neither the writer nor the director, but the backlash falls on her and Reporter Son also fans the flames by revealing she doesn’t read her fan letters. But this is news to Yu-na because she’s got a dozen of Kang-hee’s replies in her possession, so she goes online to clear her idol’s name.

The heartwarming story of a celebrity exchanging letters with a sick fan turns the public sentiment towards Kang-hee, and she visits the hospital (with Reporter Son hot on her trail) to find out who the fan is. When she runs into Jung-seok again outside Yu-na’s room, she puts the pieces together and scolds him for lying to his daughter. Kang-hee insists Jung-seok tells Yu-na the truth, but she eventually relents after he begs her to go along with his white lie.

It’s a dream come true for Yu-na, who is stunned to tears when Kang-hee officially pays her a visit. Kang-hee is pretty good at fan service, and trust Yu-na to extend the visit into a sleepover at Kang-hee’s house. And I hope Kim Soo-hyun oppa can see what his peers are doing for their fans.

The sleepover isn’t just a great occasion for Yu-na. Kang-hee also has a lot of fun especially since Jung-seok is sleeping over too — from changing out of his wet clothes into hers, to crash landing on the sofa together *gulps*. But that last part is all in her imagination. Heh. It’s obvious that the time Jung-seok and Kang-hee spent apart from high school till now hasn’t taken anything away from their friendship, and I love how comfortable they are around each other.

It’s not all fun and flirty moments, though. While they have a chat over drinks, Kang-hee learns that Yu-na’s mom abandoned them for the U.S., leaving Jung-seok and his mother to look after Yu-na. Unfortunately, the Truck of Doom soon reared its ugly head and swept his mother off her feet. And now it’s just Jung-seok and Yu-na against the world.

Just like the truck, Reporter Son also rears his ugly head after discovering that Kang-hee and Jung-seok were classmates. And while the rest of the world is asleep, he comes up with another colorful article stating that the fan letters were an elaborate scam for Kang-hee to launder her image, and for Jung-seok to profit from the situation. Aish! Reporter Son is such an obsessive son-of-a… *deep breaths* He’s really deserving of the hair-slaps Kang-hee flung in his face at his last interview with her.

Like ants to sugar, other jobless reporters swarm Kang-hee’s house the next morning with accusations and leading questions. Jung-seok — who isn’t practicing at the moment — goes full-on lawyer mode and threatens the pesky reporters with all manner of lawsuits. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop Yu-na from catching on that Kang-hee wasn’t the one who replied to her letters.

Yu-na is crushed, and while she was bound to learn the truth soon enough, that was such a devastating way to find out. But even though I’m glad that Kang-hee respected her enough to admit the truth, my heart still breaks for Yu-na as she breaks down in tears of disappointment.

The situation is quite overwhelming for Yu-na who has to be rushed back to the hospital when she collapses. And as Kang-hee watches over the sleeping girl, she realizes how big her presence is for Yu-na in her tiny corner at the hospital. Kang-hee’s PTSD acts up again on seeing Yu-na’s letters, but thankfully, just like he used to do back in high school, Jung-seok is there to steady her. And this is where we draw the curtains on our opening week.

A big reason why I don’t envy celebrities and public figures is because everyone is all up in their business with zero consideration for their mental health. Most of them are surrounded by lots of people, yet they’re still very much alone. That’s why I found it slightly sad that Kang-hee’s manager – who is supposed to be the number one person on her side – has to take permission from the boss at their agency before he does anything for Kang-hee.

Away from the demands of being a celebrity, Kang-hee is at her most relaxed and happiest around Jung-seok, and for good reason, too. The man goes all out for the people he cares about. He doesn’t think twice about leaving his job at a top law firm to become Yu-na’s full-time caretaker, and he’s not hesitant to go on his knees to plead with Kang-hee to go along with his fan letter ruse. I admire his love for and devotion to his daughter, and it’s one of the highlights of the drama.

There are fun moments sprinkled throughout these episodes, and the drama has a sweet and heartwarming feel to it. But there’s still a general melancholy that hovers over the show due to Yu-na’s condition and to an extent, Kang-hee’s PTSD. The higher the expectations, the more the disappointment, and as much as I’d love to, I don’t have my hopes up for a sudden miracle to happen to Yu-na.

But as for Kang-hee, I hope Yu-na’s letters become a motivating factor to break out of her trauma. And as she comes to read and reply to those encouraging notes of love, she’ll not only put a smile on Yu-na’s face, but she’ll find a path to her own healing as well.