A Love Other Than Yours: A C1 Reading on the K-Drama

Level: C1

Printable: Student handout (PDF) | Teacher’s key (PDF)

Reading

A Love Other Than Yours, a KBS2 drama that premiered on September 12, 2026, ends its central relationship in the first episode. Namgoong Ho and Lee Mi-do (Seo Kang-joon and Ahn Eun-jin) met at the age of seven, started dating at twenty-six, and are now ten years into a relationship that has stopped moving. They break up, yet the next morning Ho reflexively calls to wake Mi-do, and the two trade their usual “I love you” before remembering that they are no longer a couple. The moment is mortifying for them and funny for viewers, and it poses the show’s question: after this long, how can two people tell love from habit? By the end of episode two, Ho has proposed.

At home, the response from viewers has been lukewarm. According to Nielsen Korea, the first three episodes drew nationwide household ratings of 2.6, 2.8, and 2.5 percent, the last a series low. The drama streams on Amazon Prime Video on the day it airs, in more than 240 countries, and the tracking site FlixPatrol placed it seventh among Prime Video series worldwide for September 14 to 20: first in Indonesia and Thailand, and in the top ten in 35 countries. The divergence is real, but the two numbers measure different things. Nielsen estimates the share of households watching a live broadcast, while FlixPatrol compiles platforms’ daily top-ten lists, which rank titles without saying how many people watched. Neither is a perfect proxy for an audience, and inside Korea the drama also topped two streaming charts, Wavve and Coupang Play, in mid-September.

One plausible reason the story travels: delayed marriage is not only Korean, although Korea is an extreme case. The country’s national statistics office reports that in 2025 the average age at first marriage was 33.9 for men and 31.6 for women, 1.3 and 1.7 years older than a decade earlier. Marriage itself has not collapsed: registrations rose 8.1 percent in 2025 to about 240,000, the third increase in a row. The office credits a larger cohort of people in their early thirties and a recovery from marriages postponed during the pandemic. The trend is less a rejection of marriage than a longer road to it, and a longer courtship is part of that road.

Money is the explanation Koreans give most often. In Statistics Korea’s 2024 Social Survey, the most common reason chosen for not marrying was a lack of money for marriage (31.3 percent), followed by the burden of having and raising children (15.4 percent) and precarious employment (12.9 percent). Among unmarried women, the second most common answer was not feeling a need to marry (19.1 percent). In the drama, Ho is an assistant manager at a confectionery company, with a steady career trajectory; Mi-do is a film director whose early promise curdled into years of rejected projects. Timing is rarely equal for two people: had Mi-do’s first film led to a second, the couple might be married by now.

Japan has better data on how long couples date. In the National Fertility Survey run by Japan’s National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, couples who had married for the first time in the previous five years had dated for an average of 4.3 years in 2021, up from about 2.5 years in 1987. The institute’s 2025 round, published in September 2026, found that fewer than 80 percent of unmarried people aged 18 to 34 intend to marry eventually. A decade of dating is unusual even there, but the direction is shared.

Does a long wait make a marriage stronger, or only later? The research does not show that length itself helps or harms. Psychologists Scott Stanley, Galena Rhoades, and Howard Markman argued in 2006 that couples often “slide” through transitions such as moving in together out of inertia rather than decide on them, and that sliding can leave commitment unclear. In a 2013 study of 252 American adults, Jesse Owen, Rhoades, and Stanley found that people who described more deliberate decision-making also reported more dedication, higher satisfaction, and fewer outside romantic involvements. The study was correlational and based in one country, so it cannot show that deciding causes better relationships. Its implication for Ho and Mi-do is still unsettling: if they had ever had a candid conversation about their future, their ten years would mean something different today.

The show itself is now on a short hiatus. KBS2 did not air episodes on September 26 and 27 because the network is broadcasting the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Had the series been made only for Korean living rooms, its ratings would now look like a verdict. Because it also reaches dozens of other countries, the remaining ten episodes will test something narrower: whether audiences in both places will keep watching a couple who still cannot decide.

Vocabulary

Each word has a frequency score, a rank, and a tag. The score shows how common the word is in modern English: higher means more common, and each full point means roughly ten times more common. The rank is the word’s position on a list of about 321,000 English word forms, from most to least common. The tag shows where you are most likely to meet the word: Current, Formal, Literary, or Dated. The paragraph number shows where the word first appears in the reading. The labels are information, not instructions. Deciding which words are worth your time is up to you. How to read the scores, ranks, and tags.

The next morning, Ho reflexively calls to wake Mi-do.
She reflexively apologized even when she had done nothing wrong.

The moment is mortifying for the couple and funny for viewers.
Forgetting his name in front of everyone was mortifying.

At home, the response to the drama has been lukewarm.
The plan got a lukewarm reception from the rest of the team.

The divergence between home ratings and global rankings is real.
There is a growing divergence between what people say and what they buy.

Neither ranking is a perfect proxy for the size of an audience.
Test scores are only a rough proxy for what students have learned.

The office credits a larger cohort of people in their early thirties.
This year’s cohort of students is the largest the school has had.

A longer courtship is part of the road to marriage.
Their courtship lasted three years before they finally married.

Precarious employment was the third most common answer.
With only short contracts, his job felt precarious.

Ho has a steady career trajectory at a confectionery company.
The company’s growth trajectory changed sharply after the merger.

Mi-do’s early promise curdled into years of rejected projects.
Their initial excitement curdled into frustration after months of delays.

Couples sometimes move in together out of inertia.
Out of pure inertia, I renewed the gym membership I never use.

People who described more deliberate decision-making reported more dedication.
Moving abroad was a deliberate choice, not an accident.

The study’s implication for the couple is unsettling.
There was something unsettling about how calm he remained.

They never had a candid conversation about their future.
She gave a candid interview about the show’s difficult production.

The show is on a short hiatus during the Asian Games.
The band returned after a five-year hiatus.

Activity Page

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Speed Challenge

Answer 12 questions against the clock. Every wrong answer adds 5 seconds, and the lowest score wins. Open the speed challenge in a new tab.

Shadow Reading and Typing: Eight Years and Counting

This short text uses many of the words from this lesson. Use it for shadow reading (reading aloud along with a model) and for typing practice.

My partner and I have been together for eight years, so the first episode of A Love Other Than Yours felt uncomfortably familiar. After the breakup, the main character reflexively calls his ex to wake her, and they both say I love you. It is mortifying for them and very funny to watch. It also made me glance at my partner.

I was surprised to read that the drama’s ratings in Korea have been lukewarm. On Prime Video, it ranks well in several other countries. The divergence is interesting, but neither number is a perfect proxy for how many people are watching. Maybe the story simply travels well, because a whole cohort of people my age are marrying later.

In my case, the long courtship was not really a choice. For years my job was precarious, and my partner’s career trajectory was much steadier than mine. Like the director in the drama, I had early hopes that curdled into rejection after rejection. We kept waiting for the right time, and I suspect inertia did the rest.

Some research suggests that couples often slide into big changes instead of making deliberate decisions. I found that unsettling. The studies are correlational, so they prove nothing about us. Still, during the drama’s short hiatus, we finally had a candid conversation about our future. We have not decided anything yet, but at least we are talking.

How to practice

Read the text silently once and check any words you are unsure of.
Read it aloud slowly, one sentence at a time. On the typing page, the Listen button reads each line with your device’s voice, so you can listen first and then repeat.
Shadow: read aloud again at a natural speed, trying to keep a steady rhythm without stopping.
Record yourself, listen back, and note one sentence to practice again.
Type it on the typing page below and check your speed and accuracy.

Open the typing practice in a new tab

Comprehension Questions

What happens between Ho and Mi-do in the first two episodes?
What does the reflexive “I love you” scene suggest about the couple?
How did the drama perform in Korean television ratings, and how did it perform on Prime Video abroad?
Why does the writer warn against comparing Nielsen ratings directly with FlixPatrol rankings?
What do Korea’s 2025 marriage statistics show about the age and number of marriages?
Which reasons for not marrying did the 2024 Social Survey find, and how does the drama reflect them?
What does Japan’s National Fertility Survey add to the picture?
What is the difference between “sliding” and “deciding”, and what did the 2013 study find?
Do you think a long courtship makes a marriage more or less likely to succeed? Use evidence from the reading and your own experience.

IELTS-Style Questions

True, False, or Not Given: “The drama’s ratings rose after the Asian Games break.” Explain your answer using evidence from the reading.
Yes, No, or Not Given: “The writer believes the low domestic ratings prove the drama has failed.” Explain your answer using evidence from the reading.
Author’s purpose: Why does the writer include the research on “sliding versus deciding” in paragraph 6?

AI Discussion Prompt

I just read a post about long courtships and delayed marriage, using the K-drama ‘A Love Other Than Yours’ as a starting point. The drama follows a couple who have dated for ten years. It has low TV ratings in Korea but ranked in the global top ten on Prime Video. The post covered Korea’s average age at first marriage (33.9 for men and 31.6 for women in 2025), survey reasons for not marrying, Japanese data showing couples dating longer, and research on ‘sliding versus deciding’ in relationships. I am an English learner at about C1 level. Please ask me one question at a time, starting with how common long courtships are where I live. Respond to my ideas first, then briefly correct any language errors, and challenge my assumptions when it is useful.

AI Vocabulary Prompt

I want to practice vocabulary from a post about long courtships and delayed marriage. Please quiz me on the following words one at a time, using a mix of question types: multiple choice, true/false, and sentence completion. Give me feedback after each answer before moving on, and bring back the words I miss later. Here are the words: reflexively, mortifying, lukewarm, divergence, proxy, cohort, courtship, precarious, trajectory, curdled, inertia, deliberate, unsettling, candid, hiatus.

Discussion Questions

Have you watched a drama or film about a couple who have been together for a long time? What happened?
At what age do people usually marry in your country or community? Has that changed since your parents’ generation?
How long do you think a couple should date before marrying? Why?
Do you think Ho’s “I love you” the morning after the breakup shows love, habit, or both?
Which do you trust more to tell you whether a show is popular: TV ratings, streaming charts, or what your friends watch?
Why might a story about a Korean couple rank first in Indonesia or Thailand?
The 2024 Social Survey found money was the most common reason for not marrying. Is marriage expensive where you live? What costs are involved?
Why might unmarried women and unmarried men give different reasons for not marrying?
Should governments try to encourage earlier marriage? What policies, if any, would be fair?
Think of a decision in your life that you slid into rather than made. How did it turn out?
Is living together before marriage common in your culture? How do people view it?
The 2013 study was based on American adults. Do you think its findings would apply in your country? Why or why not?
Can a long relationship stay exciting, or is some loss of passion unavoidable?
If later marriage continues, how might families and societies look different in thirty years?

Language Focus: Mixed Conditionals

What it is: A mixed conditional joins an unreal past condition to a present result: if + past perfect, then would or might + base verb. It describes how a past event that did not happen would have changed the present. In formal writing, if can be dropped and had moved to the front: Had X happened, Y would be true now.

Why writers use it: The reading asks how past choices and past luck shape a couple’s situation now. Mixed conditionals let a writer imagine a different past and show its effect on today, which is exactly the reflection a ten-year relationship invites.

Examples from the reading:

“had Mi-do’s first film led to a second, the couple might be married by now” (past condition with inversion; present result)
“if they had ever had a candid conversation about their future, their ten years would mean something different today” (past condition; present result)
“Had the series been made only for Korean living rooms, its ratings would now look like a verdict” (past condition with inversion; present result)

Practice task: Complete the mixed conditional: “If Ho and Mi-do ___ (decide) to marry at thirty, they ___ (not / argue) about it now.” Then rewrite it with inversion.

(Example answer: “If Ho and Mi-do had decided to marry at thirty, they would not be arguing (or would not argue) about it now. Had Ho and Mi-do decided to marry at thirty, they would not be arguing about it now.”)

Recommended Resources

‘A Bona Fide Killer’ Ends On Its Highest Ratings Yet As ‘A Love Other Than Yours’ Premieres (Soompi). A short ratings roundup from the drama’s first night, showing how it compared with other weekend shows.
‘Not You, Another Love’ Early 2.8%: From Breakup to Marriage at Full Throttle (Sports Kyunghyang (English edition)). A recap of episode two, including the proposal, with the Nielsen rating.
The Seventeenth Japanese National Fertility Survey, 2025 (National Institute of Population and Social Security Research). Key findings in English on marriage intentions, dating, and how couples met in Japan.
Sliding versus Deciding in Relationships: Associations with Relationship Quality, Commitment, and Infidelity (Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy (via PubMed Central)). The full 2013 study by Owen, Rhoades, and Stanley, free to read.
Sliding vs. Deciding: Cohabitation, Relationship Development, and Commitment (Wheatley Institute, BYU). A talk by Scott Stanley explaining sliding, deciding, and how commitment develops.