In life, we’re all searching for a lifeline—a smile, a sunrise, a reason to keep going each day. For those who know only pain, that lifeline becomes even more vital.

The Korean BL Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo offers just that. It brings together two young men—abused high schooler Lee Do Hoe (Kim Nu Rim) and the equally abused but cheerful Sin Ju Yeong (Lee Seon) who are both desperate for a glimmer of light in a world filled with shadows.

From the moment Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo was announced, I knew I’d fall in love with it. I’m no stranger to director Hwang Da Seul’s work, and I admire how her dramas delve beyond romance to explore the psychology shaping relationships and how people process trauma in their own unique ways, both on-screen and off.

This story is about abuse—physical and emotional—and it blends love and pain in a way that makes both feel more profound. It’s relatable, yet frustrating, because how a viewer connects with these characters depends heavily on their own experiences with similar struggles.

Like real life, the series raises questions: Why would Ju Yeong stay with his abuser? Why would he cling to someone who treats him indifferently? Why does Do Hoe find honesty so challenging? Why is it so easy for Ju Yeong to blame himself for things beyond his control?

These questions linger, but the truth remains: even they don’t have all the answers.

We aren’t born knowing how to handle life’s hardships. We don’t innately know how to react in a crisis or love someone just because they’re good for us. These are things we learn as we grow, face obstacles, and come to understand ourselves. And that’s exactly what Ju Yeong and Do Hoe do. They stumble through the highs of first love, struggle through the pains abuse brings into their lives, and eventually find the family and support they’ve always needed in each other, even when guilt and pain held them back.

That’s what makes their story so powerful. Their love is something only they fully grasp, a connection forged through struggle and resilience, especially given their contrasting responses to the same trauma.

Ju Yeong is like a steady ship, sailing even as water fills the hull; he’ll keep bailing it out as long as his love for Do Hoe keeps him afloat. Do Hoe, on the other hand, is driven to be the man his father never was, aspiring to offer Ju Yeong the life he’s always dreamed of. Yet his own shame in himself holds him back from the happiness he’d yearned for. Both come to realize that sometimes, boats sink and dreams fade, but there are always new ways to build a future as long as they have each other.

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo gives us two men coping with the same trauma in different ways, offering a raw, authentic portrayal of abuse. It’s easy to look at someone else’s struggle and think, “I wouldn’t have done that.” It’s far harder to say the same when you’re the one enduring the pain.

This series shows two men who, even while beaten down by life, reach for love and learn to survive the storm together, emerging stronger.

I was moved by it.

For a series that clings to love, even as it teeters on the edge, watch Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo, now streaming on iQiyi and Gagaoolala.

It left me in awe.

Rating- 4.5 out of 5