Dynamite Kiss [Review]
After an explosive first encounter, can these two find their way back together?
Dynamite Kiss
Premiere: November 12, 2025
Platform: Netflix
Episodes: 14
English Dub: No
If you’re searching for a fun rom-com to dive into, Dynamite Kiss delivers. The show plays all of the K-drama hits you’d expect, but without feeling cliché or repetitive. That’s because—as the title may suggest—the story starts off with a bang.
Go Da-rim (played by Ahn Eun-jin of Hospital Playlist) is a hard-on-her-luck young woman who’s been struggling for years to pass the civil service exam and land a decent job. Apparently, Da-rim’s situation is so embarrassing that she’s asked not to attend her sister’s wedding. In order to avoid the unpleasant questions from her new in-laws, Da-rim’s sister instead buys Da-rim a weekend getaway to Jeju Island. Ouch.
But Da-rim takes the slight in stride and decides to make the most of her impromptu vacation. She arrives at Jeju, though, to discover that her ex-boyfriend, Kim Jeong-gwon, is also there—with his new girlfriend. He’d dumped Da-rim after essentially calling her a loser, so she pretends to be on this trip with a new boyfriend, rather than by herself.
Meanwhile, Gong Ji-hyeok (played by Jang Ki-yong, who we loved in Atypical Family) is an all-star tech investor who has travelled to Jeju so he can pitch to a sought-after engineer: none other than Kim Jeong-gwon.
After an awkward and hectic initial meet-cute between our two leads, Da-rim impulsively lies to Jeong-gwon that Ji-hyeok is her boyfriend. This happens to work out for Ji-hyeok, because now he has an excuse to spend more time with the elusive computer programmer and make his business proposal.
Of course, if Da-rim is supposed to be his girlfriend, Ji-hyeok decides, then she’ll need to look the part. So he treats her to a Cinderella glow-up—that leaves them both a little speechless. At a party that evening, the two think quickly on their feet to maintain the ruse, but Jeong-gwon seems to be growing suspicious. At one point, Da-rim gets overwhelmed and hurries away from their table. Ji-hyeok chases after her. As the two argue, Jeong-gwon approaches. Fearful that their lie will be discovered, Da-rim instinctively kisses Ji-hyeok.
He is stunned. Then he asks if they can do that again. Their next kiss, in its slow-motion glory, with fireworks exploding above them, can only be described with one word. Dynamite.
It’s a pilot episode that holds nothing back. We’re instantly in a fake-relationship set-up that throws the charming lead actors together in several different situations. And instead of waiting 8 or 10 or 16 episodes for them to finally kiss, we kick off the series with the main event.
So where does the show go from here?
Well, Ji-hyeok soon realizes that Jeong-gwon is not a good guy, so he gives up his pursuit of the business deal. Instead, he asks to take Da-rim on a real date during their time in Jeju. After a perfect day out together, the two end up in his hotel room (!), where things progress to the bed (!!).
Then Da-rim gets an urgent phone call and suddenly runs off, without an explanation to Ji-hyeok. Turns out Da-rim’s sister has left the family in severe debt, then disappeared, leaving their mother to be harassed by loan sharks who have put her in the hospital.
Desperate to pay off what is owed, Da-rim scrambles to find work. The only position she can land is at a baby product conglomerate called Natural BeBe. But in order to be hired in a job meant specifically for mothers, she has to lie that she is married with a child.
On her first day at work—to her horror—Da-rim learns that Ji-hyeok will be her supervisor. (He is more than an investor, of course; he’s a chaebol heir and has been summoned back to work at his family’s company.) Da-rim can’t continue pursuing her relationship with Ji-hyeok, you see, because she has to maintain the lie that she’s a married mom. She even enlists the help of her widowed childhood friend and his son to pose as her family. (Do you think this friend has been harboring secret feelings for Da-rim? Will the mixed-signals of this arrangement thoroughly confuse him? You bet your love-triangle it does.)
Despite the obstacles, the chemistry between Da-rim and Ji-hyeok is undeniable. The power of that single dynamite kiss continues to draw them together.
There are plenty of misunderstandings and compounding lies ahead. Ahn Eun-jin gives an effortless and natural performance, bringing an authentic portrayal to what is at times an outlandish plot. While we may prefer Jang Ki-yong in more quirky roles, he commits fully to his task toggling between apathetic chaebol and lovestruck, adorable boyfriend.
Sure, the fake-married-with-a-kid charade may make you squirm an episode or two longer than you’d like, but the show does an excellent job paying off all of the plotlines in the end.
As a bonus, stick around during the finale’s credits for one of the most fun behind-the-scenes sequences we’ve seen so far!
Rating: 4 / 4