# Because This Is My First Life Review: Love on a Lease > Because This Is My First Life is a Korean contract-marriage rom-com that treats rent, careers and thirty-something doubt as seriously as love. It is wry and moving. Canonical: https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/because-this-is-my-first-life-review/ Published: 2026-07-25 Last updated: 2026-09-25 Author: Kaiser Khan — Founder & Editor Language: English Review basis: direct-viewing Spoilers: none Rating: 4/5 ## Verdict Yes, with reservations. It suits viewers who want a grown-up, low-key romance about money, marriage and work, though its slow pace and deadpan hero need patience. ## Is Because This Is My First Life worth watching? **Yes. Because This Is My First Life is one of the smartest Korean romantic comedies of its decade, a contract-marriage story that cares as much about housing costs, career setbacks and family expectations as it does about falling in love.** It is quiet, wry and often unexpectedly moving, with three well-drawn couples rather than one. The reservation is pace: the series is deliberately low-key, and its emotionally guarded hero can make the early episodes feel chilly. ## What is Because This Is My First Life about? Nam Se-hee (Lee Min-ki) is a software developer in his thirties who has bought an apartment, taken on a large mortgage and decided that romance is not worth the trouble. What he needs is a reliable tenant. Yoon Ji-ho (Jung So-min) is an assistant drama writer with talent, no savings and nowhere left to live. Their housing arrangement works surprisingly well, and to keep it respectable and financially stable, they make an unusual decision: they sign a marriage contract with clear terms and an expiry date. What follows is a year of shared rent, nosy relatives and careful negotiation, and a slowly dawning realisation that contracts are bad at managing feelings. [Because This Is My First Life](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/because-this-is-my-first-life/) is written by Yoon Nan-joong. It is a South Korean series in Korean. This review covers the complete show: one season of 16 episodes, and the story has ended. ## A rom-com that talks about money What makes this series stand out is its honesty about the economics of modern life. The central premise begins with a spreadsheet rather than a spark: Se-hee wants his mortgage paid, and Ji-ho needs affordable housing. The show understands how financial pressure shapes young adults' choices about work, relationships and whether to marry at all, and it treats those choices with sympathy rather than judgement. It is equally sharp about marriage as an institution. Ji-ho's discovery of what is expected of a daughter-in-law, and the way both families treat a union they do not fully understand, are handled with a critical eye that feels unusually frank for a mainstream rom-com. The humour comes from recognition as much as from gags. ## Three couples, one question The series follows two other relationships that echo and contrast with the main one. Ji-ho's friends, played by Esom and Kim Ga-eun, are at very different points in their lives: one is a successful professional frustrated by workplace sexism and uninterested in convention, the other is in a long-term relationship and wants marriage badly. Park Byung-eun and Kim Min-seok play the men in their lives, and each storyline explores a different answer to what a modern relationship should look like. This structure gives the show breadth and keeps it from feeling like a simple two-hander. The supporting couples often provide the biggest laughs and some of the most affecting scenes. ## Lee Min-ki and Jung So-min find the warmth Lee Min-ki plays Se-hee as a man of routines and flat affect, and the performance is a slow reveal: small shifts in expression gradually show the loneliness behind the logic. Jung So-min is the emotional centre, making Ji-ho both self-deprecating and quietly proud, and her voice-over reflections give the series its gentle, literary tone. Their chemistry builds slowly, which suits the story but may test viewers used to faster-moving romances. The main weakness is structural. The second half leans on misunderstandings and emotional withdrawals that stretch the story, and some conflicts feel prolonged rather than developed. ## Who should watch Because This Is My First Life? It suits viewers who like grown-up romance, stories about work and money, and slow-burn relationships that build through small gestures. Sixteen episodes on [Netflix](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/platform/netflix/) is a comfortable commitment. Content is mild: there is frank discussion of relationships and sex, some workplace harassment and family conflict, but nothing graphic. If it wins you over, try these next: - [Our Beloved Summer](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/our-beloved-summer-review/), another quiet, observant Korean romance about adults who are bad at saying what they feel. - [Fight for My Way](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/fight-for-my-way-review/), from the same year, for a livelier romance about young people struggling with careers and money. - [What's Wrong with Secretary Kim](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/whats-wrong-with-secretary-kim-review/), for a glossier workplace rom-com from the same director. ## The verdict Because This Is My First Life is a thoughtful, beautifully observed romantic comedy that takes adult worries seriously and rewards patient viewers. Its pace can drag and its second half lingers too long on familiar obstacles, but its honesty about love, money and marriage makes it stand out in a crowded genre. **Rating: 4/5** ## Related title - [Because This Is My First Life (2017)](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/because-this-is-my-first-life/) ## Editorial - [Editorial standards](https://celluloidscore.com/about/editorial-policy/) - [Report a correction](https://celluloidscore.com/about/corrections/)