I particularly liked the juxtaposition of Japanese and Korean drama approaches, and of course both are prone to delve into the cruel and the heartbreaking, to tell stories of the worst of people’s lives and the vilest of humanity. This drama allows you to be happy for 0.2 seconds before wrenching those dregs away from you.

It’s impressive to watch Ok Taecyeon morph from the ruthless villain he played in Vincenzo to a beaten-down young man seeking a place to belong. I also appreciate the bold move for a recently married K-Pop idol to take on a queer role - I think he was perfectly suited to play Johan.

The story itself focuses on the moment. The characters never have time to consider life-altering decisions, and must consistently respond with their instinctual feelings. The many faces of friendship and love are tested by the harsh realities of everyday life.

Ryu and Johan meet because they are both running away. Each of them runs away again and again until they realize they have only fleeting time left to be together.

The queer nuances to this show are what truly got to me, alongside the imperceptible struggles the characters take on to forge new meaning in a thoughtless world. The first scene that brought me to tears was Johan quietly working on his Japanese studies. A man who previously lived his life without concern for himself took the first tiny step forward to embracing something he wanted.

Well, well, well, grab something to eat, something to drink, get all comfy because this is going to be a long one.

Tbh and unfortunately, I kinda expected to write something like this bcs this has been an issue for years in this communauty so I'm not surprised by the response, but still, I am slightly disappointed that we have to have this conversation in 2026. Regardless, I insist on writing this analysis bcs to me, it is important.

Just a little pitch of the show before we dive into it: Soul mate - 8 eps - follows Ryu and Hwang Johan who meet in Berlin under odd circumstances. The series spans a few years of their lives where we follow their adventures in Berlin, Japan and Korea.

Ok, so...people on the internet, a lot of them, too many of them actually, are trying to completely erase the queerness of this show, howling how they've been fooled, they've been wronged by the director and screenwriter, merely because guess what, there is no sexual intercourses, no kisses, no physical touches.

Wow, surprising yeah? [sarcasm]

Some say the queerness is subtext and while I agree some of it kinda is, especially in the physical acting, most of it is not. The queerness is in the text, it is actually present in the dialogues, it is explicit. Hwang Johan is canonically gay and one of the first introduction to his personal world and life is showing him being a regular in the gay bar, his gay friend owned. Mind you, a gay friend who teases him about this new person that makes him smile and happy, btw. A gay friend that fully embraces Ryu when he first meets him, acknowledging how important he is for Johan and that he wished they had met in different circumstances.

Besides, Johan's feelings toward Ryu are quite explicit from his early on flirty behaviour to his sweet attentions that scream domestic and partners for life.

When it comes to Ryu, his queerness is the first thing introduced in the series and you can read more in my Eps analysis but throughout the entire show, his queerness is there, in his words, his actions, his interactions but especially on how his friends, mostly Sumiko, perceive him and eventually accept him. It engulfs his entire being and of course is the seed of his relationship with Johan. He cares too, bcs he is as flirty and knows Johan is special enough to meet his family.

Now, don't get me wrong, evrything in this show is not great and the lack of physical intimacy can be a valid critique but simply not for Soul Mate. Imho, we could have been disappointed by the small running time for each episode and how it didn't allow to develop certains aspects of the story, for example asexuality, unconventional family dynamics. We can complain about the acting, the cinematography, the dialogues. Hell, we could even complain about the tragic shift of the ending because of course, I would have preferred for it to have a proper happy ending bcs media definitely lack queer happiness and joy, on that we agree 100%. However, removing the queerness of this show only bcs of its ending and the lack of physical intimacy is where I draw the line and where, for me, it is disrespectful.

Soul Mate quite literally followed some of the most classic romantic tropes so why am i seeing people saying it is is not?

In the end, what mostly pisses me off is that if Ryu was a woman, this conversation would not even be on the table. The tragic ending would not have been a mean to discredit the obvious love between the main leads and that is the issue, that is where it is wrong.

Don't you dare remove the love, the affection, the care from the silly dates, the countless calls, the meals and moments spend with Ryu's parents, the talks at night, the words of encouragement, the feeling of being seen, of finally being true to yourself, of not lying to oneself and still being embraced fully, loved unconditionally and supported. Don't you dare turn to void the smiles and laughs, the long nights and walks, the beautiful art of offering your heart, your soul, and protecting it like it is the most important thing for you.

Being with Ryu was Johan's truest form of happiness. Having Johan by his side, was for Ryu, token of never feeling lonely, bcs it did not matter where he was in the world or what the sceneries looked like, bcs, every single time and in every single one of them, he would see Johan there.

We literally see that in ep 8. How more obvious it should be.

Being with each other meant they would never feel alone. They had seen so much together, had so much fun, declared their love to one another in their fucking respective languages, had went through SO much and still they would chose each other regardless. They chose each other, again and again, even until the end.

This is what Hwang Johan did and felt. This is what Ryu did and lived. With each other. Them two. So don't do that just because it is two man and they don't kiss. Don't. Just don't.

Essentially, it is disrespectful to dismiss the queerness of this show or to speak about it as a mere bromance when so many scenes, and the characters are purposefully written as queer and canonically queer. Let alone all the parallels with the only heterosexual married couple being made left and right, further showing how that heterosexual relationship and the one from our queer leads are equals.

Before finishing my rant, I'd like to talk about Sumiko, a very interesting, imho, female character in queer media.

She is open, accepts Ryu and Johan for whom they are. She probably is the first one to know about Ryu's sexuality. She found and created with them a communauty, a safe space for her daughter, a new way of life, a rebirth and even when they eventually end up togetherish with Ryu, she sets him free for him to go to Johan, she encourages it, she knows better than anyone what they mean for each other. I am lowkey mad as to why she waited a whole year tho I have my suspicion on why...I could go longer on her character but that's not the main point of this post so I'll stop here. All I gotta day is Sumiko clocked them queer asses since the beginning and that's periodt!

If you read until now, well thank you. If you want to read more about the queer text in details, check these out:

Ep1/Ep 2 : Fate & Souls.

Ep3/Ep4 : Mirrors & Sandcastle

Ep5/Ep6 : Rebirth & the galactic link

I'm back with my study of queerness in this series and we're gonna explore EP5 and EP6 today~

Episode 5 : Rebirth of a Soul

☾ Hwang Johan is canonically queer. After the hate crime, he is unfortunately not safe anymore at his flat, so he leaves and hides in an abandoned factory after being threatened for days.

(gay slur)

☾ Hwang Johan sister, whom I believe is aware of everything, calls Ryu for help, Ryu doesn't hesistate to fly out to Seoul to help her find Johan.

☾ They meet up with Hwang Johan gay friend, the owner of the bar and the first thing he does is hug Ryu.

He tells him how Johan told him a lot about them two and how he did not expect to meet under such circumstances...Again queerness is the text, it is there.

☾ Catharistic moment for them both after the chase : Johan admits the only person he did not want to see him at his low was Ryu bcs Ryu is that important to him. The chase is also where Ryu embraces Johan, providing him with unconditional love and support, but also where he embraces himself AND Johan and what they are for each other as he explicitely asks Johan to come live in Japan with him.

All of that, ofc under Hwang Johan's sister gaze.

This is yet another love declaration, this is a bold step forward.

☾ A whole montage of their domestic life together with Hwang Johan studying but also cooking for Ryu every single diner. They share their future plans and dreams to one another.

☾ The obvious double date with Sumiko and Seichii, making Johan and Ryu their witness for their wedding. It is a clear and purposeful paralle between the two relationships.

Bonus for when Sumiko announces she's pregnant and Seichi tells Ryu that he's next and we can see Johan and Ryu being lowkey GAGGED before Seichi adds that it is Ryu's turn to play freesbee with him. Still, i think this was intentional and funny wink!

☾ The Sumiko x Johan scene where she asks him to take care of Ryu. QUEERNESS OVERLOAD. And Johan promises her to do so.

(just a girl and a boy, both watching their respective lovers with fondness and love invading their faces)

☾ The "do you want kids too" conversation is obviouly heavily romantically coded. It is something you'd ask your partner, especially if you just were in a double date with your friends who are expecting, and Johan does just that. He asks Ryu if he sees himself having kids and Ryu shares that he never really thought of it bcs it never really was a possibility.

The episode ends with Johan comparing their bond as a miracle, something fated and magic, something that is a blessing....just like what having a kid can be. A joy, a surprise, something we did not expect but something that will change the course of our life. Ryu grins and agree that it is indeed a miracle.

Episode 6 : The galactic railroad

☾ Visit at Sumiko's home after Seichii death.

Sumiko blames Ryu for having Johan by his side whilst Seichii isn't with her anymore, again a parallel about the two relationships, clearly expressing how they are the same : romantic.

☾ Just more domesticity, with Johan fitting perfectly into Ryu's family.

☾ Johan and Ryu come to an agreement and asks Sumiko to come live with them. A new life begins.

- What is true happiness? I still don't know.

- I think i know what it is.

I like this show. I like how it is written. I like how Queer it is regardless of how some ppl might think, and here's why :

Episode 1 : The gravity of Fate

❀ I feel like the confession of Ryu's best friend, Arata, is not only the opening of the show but also what instantly establish the queer aspect of the series.

❀ The first scene of Berlin is a dispute between a father and a gay son. It seems like the son ran away from his home to be with his lover and his father is trying to bring him back bcs this is wrong, bcs they won't be able to go to the church anymore, bcs God will not forgive him and we see the young man actually fighting back, not caring about it. Ryu, the ML, is watching all of this with intention.

❀ Sumiko, Ryu's childhood best friend, for the first time explains to someone that there is nothing between her and Ryu.

❀ We learn that Arata's love declaration was a real surprise to Ryu and I believe it was for him the ultimate reckoning of his queerness. It was stated so explicitly, someone, his best friend, a man, likes him and tells him and Ryu did not show any disgust, any repulsion, simply surprise and shock and reckoning, that ultimately threw him into an identity crisis, Berlin, and the church. He goes to the church, for a supposed art exhibit, but Ryu immediately goes to the confessionnal where he unknowingly meets and speak to his Soul Mate, Johan about his struggles.

Ryu did not leave because he was disgusted by his male best friend being in love with him. No, he left because he was scared.

I am...the worst. I was scared. I was scared of being liked.

We learn that Ryu was scared, petrified of being liked. Just liked, just loved bcs maybe he feels like he is worthless and not deserving of love like that. The fact that it is a man is not really the issue here imho, the issue is that Ryu did not think he deserved that care and it threw him off.

We have an absolute beautiful scene between Ryu and Sumiko where he comes clean with the situation and although it is not a traditional coming out as in the western sense, to me, it is absolutely one.

❀ Johan and Ryu meet at the church without even seeing e/o and yet, they instantly feel connected. It is a soul connection, a fated meeting of two people at the same spot in life, drastically different but somehow overly understanding of each other.

Episode 2 : Can we save our Souls?

❀ The fight. The Don't run Johan and finally Johan falling as he gazes at Ryu. Do I even have to say more?

❀ The scenes with Johan's sister use so many romantically charged tropes that it is quite undeniable to not notice them. Again, Sumiko explains that her and Ryu are NOT together and she insists on properly explaining their relationship which i found interesting. It was the second time she did so.

❀ The conversation in the balcony just shows how Ryu respects and admires Johan, and that makes Johan shy? confused? embarassed? It's very cute!

❀ Johan and Ryu saving their souls. Johan is the one to initiate this sudden quest but Ryu particpates in it and ends up helping Johan save his soul and gain something he had long lost : his freedom.

And so they go on a cute little date bcs it IS a date, Johan is free and he wants to read mangas while laying down under a tree with Ryu there and they learn about e/o and the connection deepens, the attraction becomes even more palpable and you can't read it but you see it, that it is simply, imho, impossible to ignore.

At the end, Ryu, inspired by Johan, wants too save his soul too. He does not want to run away anymore. He wants his freedom and I love how they both become, for each other, some sort of catharisis and the initiator of them envolving and growing and accepting themselves furthermore.

- I was lying to myself. But...I'm not anymore. How about you? can you win?

- I will give it a try.

❀ The exchanging numbers while one of them on the train and being so giggly and happy about it! How can people not see how romantically charged it is, how sweet and cute that scene was...right after their date, like are we kidding!!!!!!!!!!

Besides, we end the episode with a beaming Hwang Johan and Ryu, both staring down at their phones as they exchange their first text with each other.

Also, Johan sending that specific emoji 😏 aka the smirk/flirtaous as a first text, i know what you Hwang Johan!

Yup. they are queer! Yup, this is romantic! Nope, it is not bromance and yeah they did not even kiss :)

Guess who's back again for more yapping about how queer this series actually is! It's me, you're favourite yapper <3

Episode 3 : Deep in the heart's mirror

✩ Hwang Johan is back in Korea and his queerness is properly introduced for the first time as we see him in his openly gay friend's GAY bar. We witness their interaction and his friend immediately catches something going on...Johan semed to have finally made a "friend" from the smile he has plastered on his face and Johan is being teased about it! The interaction ends with the bar owner asking Johan to bring his friend next time in his GAY bar....like how more explicit you want this to be?

✩ Your typical romantic trope. Calling your crush while you're drunk. Hwang Johan, you're so messy and obvious but i love you for that! Obviously, it seems that since we left Berlin, Ryu and Hwang Johan maintained contact and here we have Johan sharing that he has to enlist for two years.

- I'm starting my military service.

- Hey, for how long?

- About two years.

- Two years?

- Is that short? Or long?

- Jeez, that's long.

This whole interaction was wholesome and so intimate, especially as Johan ends the conversation by telling Ryu that he can use those two years to figure out what he wants to do, to further learn about himself. And he does, he finally finds what he wants to do.

✩ Johan is enlisting in three days and what does he do? He abruptely book a flight to spend his last two free days with Ryu in Japan. That man is so in love and we are seeing it again and again. The queerness, the love, are not subtext, they are IN the text, it is there, shamelessly.

They go on a lots of dates throughout the day and we see them flirt, we see them learn more about e/o, wee see them giggle and it is beautiful! It is domestic, it is romantic, it is a depiction of a love story, of two souls connected in ways that are hard to explain.

The connection is even more enhanced as we realise that Ryu is even bringing Hwang Johan to meet his parents in his hometown.

✩ The entire painting scene furthermore deepends their relationship and to me, it finally explicitly express what Hwang Johan represents for Ryu.

Ryu finally understands. He finally sees someone in the scenery. Hwang Johan. And with that, he finally understands what his deceased uncle meant. That just like his uncle said,, whenever he looks at a scenery, if he finds it pretty, if it brings joyful memories, then that means he will never feel lonely and right after this epiphany we have the shot above, that speaks for itself.

I would go further and say that this episode not only emphasises how important they are for each other but how they act as mirrors of one another and now it is all very clear. They are Soul Mates. They are each other's companions, a reflection that beats loneliness and all Ryu sees in the sceneries is Hwang Johan and vice versa.

Episode 4 : Our Sandcastle

✩ They still are at Ryu's chidhood home, they still go on dates, they still spend times with Ryu's parents who totally embrace Hwang Johan and are delighted to know Ryu has someone like him in his life.

They are a family.

✩ Again, Hwang Johan making his affection obvious by sharing a drawing of Ryu he made the night before as he gazed at him sleeping. Ryu is touched and teases him back.

They make plans for Ryu to visit Korea next time. They are making promises to each other. This is a romantic relationship.

✩ We move forward, Johan is in the army, he struggles, under the rain during training and there is a scene where he tells one of his comrade that in hard time, he just has to look at the scenery and think of the good times and it cuts to Ryu at a bar with his friend. Can't make it more obvious than that.

Anyways, Ryu has a job and Sumiko is back. Again, she makes sure to tell Seichi that there is nothing between her and Ryu (third time she does so) almost as if this was a way to insist that maybe Ryu is not interested in women yk...almost as if this was a way to express that yeah, they should maybe be together according to society norms but yet they're not :)

BIG UP for Sumiko, my queen, clocking Ryu and Johan's ass with the drawing, again, ppl need to understand that Sumiko knows Ryu is queer, she probaly knows Johan is too and she connects the dots with the drawing.

Also Johan, depsite being in the army, knows Sumiko is back in town, another small details exposing how close Ryu and Johan actually are.

✩ Hwang Johan is out of the army and first person he contacts is ofc Ryu, first place he visist is his gay friend bar. QUEER!

But then....something horrendous happens. Johan and his friend get attacked in the bar for being gay. A hate crime, quite literally. It was awful to see how Johan canon seuxality was being used against them, as a way to destroy his life.

It is one of the reasons I feel like it is a disgrace for people to say this show is a bromance when literally the entirety of episode 3 and 4 was a portofolio of queer love and experiences, the joy, the tragic, the horrendous, the domesticity, the happiness, the fragility of identity and life, the acceptance...