CAST: Jung Ji-so, Lee Jun-young, Jeong Yun-ho, Park Ji-yeon

DIRECTOR: Han Hyun-hee

Taking place in the highly competitive K-Pop industry, Imitation dives underneath the glitz and glam of the life of a K-Pop idol.

This series begins with the debut story of SHAX, a K-Pop boy group. Given the group’s vocals, visuals, and dance moves SHAX quickly rises to fame and is incredibly profitable for their managers at NOG Entertainment. However, underneath this cover of fame and success, the boys of SHAX are brutally overworked and exhausted. On top of their demanding schedules, the boys of SHAX also deal with the pressure of their fan group, FINS. Like any fan group, FINS is incredibly paranoid and obsessive over Ryeok, the drama’s main lead. 

On the flipside, Imitiation also tells the story of Ma Ha, a young girl who desperately wants to join and debut with a group. Eventually, Ma Ha is thrown into Omega III, a small and poorly managed girl group. Expected to be a sudden replacement for Annie, one of the original members, Ma Ha quickly picks up Omega III’s choreography and songs and bonds with her fellow members Lia and Hyun Ji. However, on the day of their debut, Omega III learns of Annie’s death and never make their debut. As a result, the girls of Omega III are left working odd jobs to make ends meet. 

In the years that follow, Ma Ha becomes an impersonator of La Ri Ma, a very famous solo artist and performs at odd places to get by. One day Ma Ha gets the opportunity to work on the Ryeok’s movie as a junior artist. After the shoot finishes Ma Ha realizes that her manager abandoned her and she is forced to walk back home alone from the shoot location. Pitying her, Ryeok stops his car and offers her ride, however Ma Ha refuses. Unwilling to leave her helpless, Ryeok gives her a warm jacket to wear and walks with her until he feels she is safe.

The drama later reveals that Ryeok and Ma Ha knew each other before Ryeok became famous. Ma Ha approached Ryeok’s dance group ” A Star is Born” and learned to dance from him, until Ryeok was scouted by NOG Entertainment and left without saying his goodbyes.

As they start working together, Ryeok develops feelings for Ma Ha and decides to pursue her. The only problem is how does he hide it from everyone around him.

Ma Ha reciprocates his feelings after a while and they both try to date away from peering eyes but get caught on camera. The NOG CEO warns Ryeok that such a scandal will not fly with his fans and saesangs and asks him to break up. Ryeok breaks up with Ma Ha to save SHAX from disintegrating and losing public face with his very possessive fans.

However this breakup is short-lived as Ryeok quickly realizes that he is unhappy without Ma Ha and confesses to his group that he wants to date Ma Ha publicly. Coincidentally, Ryeok and Ma Ha also realize the link between Annie’s death and the disappearance of Eun Jo, one of the members of SHAX, who disappeared on the same day that Annie died.

Thoughts

Overall this is a really cute and short drama with only 12 episodes. Although it’s short, the drama is packed with a well-developed and interesting plot. Not only does it expose the struggles of being an idol, but it also dives deeper into the topics of corruption within the industry and how trainees and even the stars themselves can only be seen in terms of dollar signs. Given that this is a series taking place in the K-Pop industry, the soundtrack for this drama is incredibly catchy and the biggest highlight of the show.

Our favorite songs from the show are

Your Sign

My Old Story

Like when we First Met

Trouble Maker

Mini Date

While I thought this drama was well executed, I do have to comment on the lack of chemistry between the lead couple, Ma Ha and Ryeok. As their individual characters, they act phenomenally. However whenever they have shots together, it feels like there is a slightly awkward distance. While I wouldn’t say the acting is forced, it definitely does not seem that they genuinely are in love with one another. Which surprises me since their reaction scenes after they go on their secret dates feels very sincere. Overall, I would give Imitation an 8/10. However, their OST is definitely a 10! The OST is available on Apple Music and Spotify, so make sure you go ahead and give a listen on Apple Music and/or Spotify!