# Pinocchio (2014) Review: Truth, Lies and the Evening News > Pinocchio is Park Hye-ryun's 20-episode K-drama about two rookie TV reporters, one who can't lie and one hiding who he is, and a sharp look at media responsibility. Canonical: https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/pinocchio-review/ Published: 2026-07-25 Last updated: 2026-09-24 Author: Kaiser Khan — Founder & Editor Language: English Review basis: direct-viewing Spoilers: none Rating: 4/5 ## Verdict Yes, with reservations. It suits K-drama fans who want romance with a real argument underneath, though its revenge plot and length test patience in the back half. ## Is Pinocchio worth watching? **Yes. Pinocchio is a smart, surprisingly angry romance that uses a newsroom setting to ask what reporters owe the people they write about, and it still feels relevant a decade on.** Lee Jong-suk and Park Shin-hye make an appealing pair, and the show's quirky central conceit gives serious themes a light touch. The main reservation is structural: across 20 episodes the revenge thread grows more convoluted, and the melodrama sometimes overwhelms the sharp media satire of the early episodes. ## What is Pinocchio about? As a boy, Ki Ha-myung (Lee Jong-suk) saw his family destroyed by a false news report that turned his missing firefighter father into a public villain. He grows up under a borrowed name in a small fishing village, taken in by a family that believes he is someone else. Among his new relatives is Choi In-ha (Park Shin-hye), a bright girl with so-called Pinocchio syndrome, a fictional condition that makes her hiccup uncontrollably whenever she tells a lie. Years later, both of them become rookie reporters at rival broadcasters. For In-ha, journalism is a dream; for Ha-myung, the newsroom is the institution that ruined his life, and the reporter responsible is closer to In-ha than he would like. Kim Young-kwang plays a wealthy, good-natured fellow trainee, and Lee Yu-bi a fiercely competitive one. [Pinocchio](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/pinocchio/) was written by Park Hye-ryun. It is a South Korean series in Korean, and this review covers the complete show: a single season of 20 episodes that has ended. ## A romance built on a moral question Park Hye-ryun, the writer behind I Hear Your Voice and later Start-Up, has a gift for high-concept hooks that carry real ideas. Here the hook is literal: a heroine who physically cannot lie, entering a profession that is supposed to deal only in truth. The show uses that premise to examine sensationalism, the pressure for ratings and the damage done when reporters decide the story before checking the facts. The best episodes play like a crash course in journalistic ethics, as the trainees chase stories on police beats, confront their own biases and learn how quickly a headline can ruin a life. Scenes of rival newsrooms scrambling to be first remain pointed, and the arrival of online media in the story anticipates debates that grew louder after the show aired. ## Lee Jong-suk's fury under the charm Lee Jong-suk carries the drama's emotional weight. He plays Ha-myung as warm and quick on the surface, with a grief that surfaces in sudden, chilling flashes, and he makes the character's desire for justice feel understandable even when his methods turn questionable. The show's best moments often come when his professional composure cracks. Park Shin-hye gives In-ha an idealism that could have been naive but becomes affecting, particularly as the character discovers how complicated honesty can be. Their chemistry is gentle rather than fiery, and a running joke about their odd family relationship adds comedy to the early episodes. Kim Young-kwang is endearing as the rich trainee who wants to earn his place, and the friendships among the rookies give the series much of its warmth. ## Where the plot strains The revenge storyline, which drives the second half, depends on coincidence and on antagonists who are drawn more as symbols of media corruption than as people. As it tightens, the show slows to repeat emotional confrontations, and some viewers will feel the 20 episodes stretch. The family setup that provides early laughs also becomes a source of awkward plotting. None of this undermines the core, but the back half is less nimble than the first. ## Who should watch Pinocchio? It suits K-drama fans who want [romance](https://celluloidscore.com/genres/romance/) with substance, viewers interested in journalism and media ethics, and anyone who enjoys stories about young professionals finding their footing. Twenty hour-long episodes is a sizeable commitment, best taken at a steady pace. Content is moderate: grief, family trauma, public shaming and some violence and peril, but nothing graphic. It is available on [Netflix](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/platform/netflix/) in many regions. Three good follow-ups: - [Twenty-Five Twenty-One](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/twenty-five-twenty-one-review/) for another coming-of-age romance with a young reporter and a family shaped by crisis. - [It's Okay to Not Be Okay](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/its-okay-to-not-be-okay/) for a love story tangled up in childhood trauma. - [Goblin](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/goblin-2016-review/) for a bigger, more fantastical K-drama romance with a similar blend of humour and sorrow. ## The verdict Pinocchio is a thoughtful, entertaining K-drama that marries a sweet romance to a sharp argument about the power of the press. Its revenge plot overcomplicates the second half and the length is felt, but strong lead performances and a clever premise make it well worth the time. **Rating: 4/5** ## Related title - [Pinocchio (2014)](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/pinocchio/) ## Editorial - [Editorial standards](https://celluloidscore.com/about/editorial-policy/) - [Report a correction](https://celluloidscore.com/about/corrections/)