The Sound of Your Heart Review (Live Action)
The Sound of Your Heart is yet another great show Netflix have helped bring to western audiences. The Sound of Your Heart is based on the “longest running” South Korean webtoon of the same name, and it’s one of the funniest sitcoms of the moment in any language.
The Sound of Your Heart has shades of Curb Your Enthusiasm‘s cringey anecdotes, mixed with the youthful fast paced wit and attention to visual stylings and edits of something like Scott Pilgrim. There is an overarching plot, but most of the stories are small scale. The Netflix version mashes together the original 15-minute length episodes into longer double featured run-times. These are all framed by Jo Seok’s in-show webtoon (which is, of course, the real The Sound of Your Heart from online — it’s all a bit meta).
While a chunk of the show’s comedy does lampoon culture specific to South Korea — an extended and hilarious mix-up involving a suspected North Korean spy, or confusion arising from too many people having the same bob haircut — there’s universal truths underlying most of its comedy that makes it relatable to just about anyone.
With that said, some South Korean references will definitely go over the heads of those unfamiliar with their culture, such as knowing cameos from famous actors, and parodies of other Korean TV, though you can still sort of appreciate it without being entirely clued up.
The show revolves around Jo Seok and his off-kilter family, as he tries to navigate the hardships of living with them, as well as romance, and just making his webcomic. The show focuses on Jo Seok, but the rest of his family — his mother, father, and brother — all have large parts, and some of the stories focus on their own peculiar adventures. Make no mistake, The Sound of Your Heart is absurd as it is wacky. Each episode on Netflix collects two of the original web episodes, making each story about 15 minutes, which is just long enough.
The Sound of Your Heart is at its best when it’s about human experiences, the universal comedy surrounding awkward situations. One episode where Jo Seok takes ages trying to ask someone if they want to go out on a date with him is particularly hilarious, and another where the family have to deal with new neighbours — a noisy, young couple. Though, there is sometimes an over-reliance on crass, low-brow humour like simply farting. It’s swings and roundabouts, but it shines more often than not.
If you’re not sure about live action Asian TV or comedy, then this might be a great starting point to get you interested. It’s well acted by a great core cast that do a fantastic job of selling the comedy, whether it’s some of the more obvious jokes or the off-the-wall, really bizarre stuff. It’s a mix that’ll keep you guessing, but at its core it’s a show with a heart of gold that’ll make you appreciate the strangeness that is life.
The Sound of Your Heart is a comedy about family and life — but it’s also a comedy about nothing in particular, and that’s the most relatable thing of all.
