K-Drama Rewind, I Can Hear Your Voice: Telepathic Lee Jong-suk battles criminals, anger issues for justice and love

Pre-2015 K-Dramas functioned in a fascinating space, a world defined by blaring melodramatic orchestral scores, an ever-evolving lineup of hairstyles (looking at you, Lee Min-ho and Lee Jong-suk), and tropes that fans couldn’t get enough of—chief among them, the beloved poor girl-rich boy arc.  Come on, we all watched to see what evil, rich chaebol Ommas did to keep honest girls away from their sons.

 They were evil for the sake of evil. Pff, who needed nuance and complexity?

 In this landscape, Lee Jong-suk carved out a niche emotionally intense thrillers, often centered around justice, personal trauma, and vengeance—from Pinocchio to I Can Hear Your Voice—and carried these tropes into W: Two Worlds, Doctor Stranger, and even the recent Big Mouth. You can see why: Jong-suk clearly enjoys sinking into a role, filled with all the drama, vengeance and thirst for justice. While Pinocchio escalated this to new heights, another drama that was actually entertaining to watch, was  I Can Hear Your Voice.

In this story, a boy, who will later grow up to be Jong-suk, witnesses his father’s murder. He develops a peculiar power as a result, as he can read people’s thoughts. Obviously, this doesn’t work in court, but just as the man is about to walk free, another witness, a young girl testifies against the perpetrator. Years later, Jong-suk’s Park Su-ha sets out to find her, and is rather distressed that the woman, played by Lee Bo-young, is rather bitter and cynical about life. She has her own problems, starting with a best friend-turned rival, played by a fabulous Lee Da-hee. Nevertheless, love blossoms---or rather grudgingly sprouts between Su-ha and Hye-sung. There isn’t much time for love and cuteness, as the perpetrator is out and about, determined to finish what he started. His motivations are tangled in his wife’s organ transplant and his rage  against Su-ha’s father, a doctor.

 You see where this is going?

But it's undeniably fun. I Can Hear Your Voice is melodramatic, even with its contemplative and wistful credits, but it’s the kind of drama you gradually grow into. The drama’s over-the-top energy becomes oddly addictive by the halfway mark and while Jong-suk packs a punch, Bo-young’s crabbiness is a breath of fresh air, as compared to many of the female leads in the K-dramas of that time. And some of the twists and turns you actually don’t see coming. A nerve-wracking murder scene that catches you off guard, and Hye-sung’s reaction to the sheer horror of it all.

The show delves into grief and its many faces— for some, it’s a minefield, volatile and destructive, a force that compels them to burn everything down with them. For others, it’s a bottomless pit, an endless descent into darkness with no clear way out. Hye-sung warns Su-ha against letting grief strip away his morality and humanity, a lesson that resurfaces in the climax as he fights to rein in his most primal instincts while the killer mercilessly taunts him.

So, is it worth a watch? If you're drawn to courtroom battles, a relentless serial killer, tangled love triangles, and simmering rivalries rooted in bitter family ties, then take a trip back to 2013 with I Can Hear Your Voice.