Breaking Down the Ending of Netflix K-Drama Boyfriend on Demand
In Netflix’s new Korean romantic comedy “Dating on Demand,” Jisoo of BLACKPINK plays Seo Mi-rae, a 29-year-old producer at a small webtoon production company in Seoul. As part of her job, Mi-rae oversees the platform’s most popular romance webtoons. However, in her personal life, Mi-rae isn’t interested in dating. She broke up with her college sweetheart during her transition to the workforce and hasn’t found the courage to try dating again. Besides, who has the time and energy for dating in today’s capitalist world?
When the creator of a new platform that allows users to experience on-demand virtual reality dating approaches her, Mi-rae agrees to try the platform and give her honest opinion as a webtoon producer. But she gradually becomes drawn to the immersive simulation that puts users in the shoes of the protagonists in popular romance stories. When her hot-tempered coworker, Park Kyung-nam (Seo In-guk of “Game of Death”), confesses his feelings for Mi-rae, she finds herself facing a difficult choice between the controlled, predictable romances of the virtual world and the chaotic, unpredictable nature of real-life relationships.
This type of story is often portrayed in a darker light in contemporary popular culture, with Western writers and directors tending towards bleak science fiction elements that depict our replacement of personal relationships with interaction through technology. However, “Darling on Demand” adheres to the romantic comedy formula and doesn’t dwell on portraying the negative social consequences of such technology. Instead, it prefers to explore the emotional contexts and outcomes of the decisions women make within an attention economy and a world that demands so much.
Darling on Demand’s treatment of transformative technology reminds me of the role the simulator played in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” While there have been moments in classic science fiction series where the immersive simulations negatively impacted characters’ real-world responsibilities and relationships, they were often treated as spaces that allowed characters to express their emotions in a comfortable and productive way. This aligns with Star Trek’s early idealistic view of technology and its overall positive potential for humanity and its advancement. “My Love on Demand” takes a similar approach in its portrayal of the virtual reality platform within its world. (And there’s certainly more to be said about the series’ tech-supportive structure and how it reflects Korea’s relatively optimistic view of artificial intelligence.) It’s not particularly interested in depicting how transformative technology could lead to the end of society as we know it. Instead, it focuses on affirming the human qualities and desires that tech companies deliberately exploit to exert this power over us.
More precisely, the “Darling on Demand” app is an in-depth exploration of how many women use the world of stories as a convenient, and sometimes rewarding, escape from the monotony and demands of their real lives. In this app, users don’t just get boyfriends or dates; they get complete, serialized stories. In most of these dating scenarios, they don’t represent themselves, but rather stereotypical figures: a hotel maid who saves her wealthy boss from a romantic relationship with a member of a rich family, an innocent college student who falls for a handsome senior, or a flight attendant who finds herself in a thriller. Users aren’t simply escaping reality for a moment; they’re escaping their own identities in a way that fairy tales allow, offering familiar templates that always end happily rather than the twists and turns (and often harsh realities) of the real world.
A misogynistic version of “Darling on Demand” might have been released, judging its characters for using VR within the show’s world or for wanting to temporarily escape reality. Fortunately—and wisely, given that many Korean drama audiences are drawn to immersive storytelling—this Netflix series doesn’t. While there are prejudices within the show’s world, both from specific characters and from society through news coverage, “Darling on Demand” doesn’t treat its female characters’ use of VR as a problem in itself.
There are moments where the technology is overused, such as when webtoon illustrator Yoon Song (Gong Min-jung of “Hometown Cha Cha Cha”) steals a character from “Darling on Demand” in her ongoing webtoon. But there are also moments where VR empowers its characters to process their emotions or solve problems in a way that makes them more confident in their real-life relationships and activities. In an optimistic portrayal of humanity’s current struggle with technology and the dominance of billionaires, Mi-rae manages to set limits on her use of the platform and stops using it when it no longer serves her.
Although Mi-rae ends the series by choosing to cancel her subscription, she does so with gratitude and appreciation for the technology and what she learned from the virtual experiences. Without the platform, she likely wouldn’t have dared to date Gyeong-nam. Through the immersive narrative, she was able to move on from her failed relationship with her college sweetheart and explore her feelings about dating someone new. By the end of the series, Mi-rae is happily dating Gyeong-nam, and they have overcome even the first hurdles of their relationship.
While Mi-rae prefers to dedicate most of her free time to dating in real life, the series concludes with two characters using the “on-demand boyfriend” service. After Yoon-sung is caught plagiarizing, she considers giving up her “virtual boyfriend” technology, but ultimately decides to continue using the platform after asking her virtual boyfriend why he likes her. His answer that he loves making her happy seems to be enough for Leon Song for now. His emotional support has arguably made her more open to forming relationships in the real world, and this isn’t seen as unhealthy.
Meanwhile, Mi-rae’s boy-obsessed friend, Lee Ji-yeon (Ha-young from “Shock Code”), is allowed to date as many men as she wants without reproach in the virtual world of “Daddy on Demand.” Her enthusiasm for turning the platform into a game, along with her accompanying blog reviews, caught the attention of the platform’s developers. They offered Ji-yeon, an avid “Daddy on Demand” fan, a consulting job—a sign of the growing public recognition of the financial value that can be derived from understanding and leveraging the power of a female fanbase.
Ironically, “Daddy on Demand’s” commitment to promoting interactive fantasy as a viable business is what makes the main love story feel somewhat lackluster. While Mi-rae and Jeong-nam’s romance is captivating, it feels too close to a perfect, stereotypical imitation of Mi-rae’s virtual dates, making it an unsuitable alternative. While Gyeong Nam may appear sullen and difficult to understand, his erratic romantic trajectory and his workplace romance with Mi Rae are masterful in their own right.
Despite the series’ attempts to visually separate the virtual and real worlds, Mi Rae’s life remains more like a fantasy within the realm of Korean dramas. This is likely due to the relatively short series, which lacks the nuanced details, such as family relationships, that are often used in Korean dramas to lend realism. While Mi Rae’s house in “Darling on Demand” may boast a sprawling wardrobe reminiscent of “Unrivaled Elegance” and a balcony that doubles as a living room, evoking Jasmine’s suite in Aladdin, her Seoul apartment is equally beautiful—clean, warm, and spacious. Her hair is always impeccably styled, and her work attire is always elegant and tidy. When “Darling on Demand” tentatively shifts from Mi Rae’s choice of the real world over the virtual one, it never truly delves into the complexities of real-life relationships.
Like many of its characters, “Darling on Demand” chooses a safer, less exciting path than it should or could have taken. In doing so, the series squanders the potential of its central love story and the opportunity to offer a deeper commentary on the value of face-to-face connection at the expense of seamless digital immersion. Nevertheless, thanks to Jisoo’s outstanding performance in what is arguably her best role to date, and her championing of the female-led romance genre, this Netflix Korean drama is a successful piece of entertainment. Sometimes, even a brief escape from reality can be valuable.
