The final episodes of Can This Love Be Translated? delivered the emotional resolution fans were waiting for, tying up the complex journey of Cha Mu-hee and Joo Ho-jin. Episodes 11 and 12, which concluded the series’ global release on January 16, 2026, moved the story from Italy back to Korea, finally addressing Mu-hee’s deep-seated trauma and allowing the central couple to find a unique path to each other.
Fans who binge-watched all 12 episodes saw the end of the Romantic Trip reality show and the beginning of a more honest phase for Mu-hee and Ho-jin’s relationship. The finale provided answers about the haunting Do Ra-mi persona and set other characters on their own hopeful paths.
Episode 11 Recap: A Month-Long Promise and a Growing Scandal
Episode 11 picked up in Italy with Mu-hee and Ho-jin finally addressing their feelings directly. To ease Mu-hee’s deep-seated anxiety about happiness and lasting love, Ho-jin made an unconventional proposal.
Kim Seon-ho’s character, Ho-jin, tells Mu-hee, “Since weโre bound to break up anyway, let’s make a pact to not break up for at least the next month.” For Mu-hee, this temporary promise was a comfort, removing the pressure of “forever”.
They agreed to date freely with this understood expiration date, sharing a kiss as their relationship officially began. However, real-world problems quickly intruded. A past photo of Mu-hee with her ex-boyfriend, Kim Yu-jin, resurfaced online. Netizens incorrectly assumed she had dated a married man, sparking a scandal. To protect everyone involved, including Yu-jin’s now-pregnant wife, Mu-hee publicly posted that they were all friends, quelling the rumors but forcing her to revisit an old, painful relationship.
Meanwhile, Hiro Kurosawa grappled with his unrequited feelings. After a night of drinking and a medical scare from mixing alcohol with allergy medicine, he awoke with clarity. In a pivotal moment, show producer Ms. Cha confirmed to Mu-hee that Hiro’s romantic confession during filming was genuine, not just a line for the show. Hiro himself later admitted his real feelings to Mu-hee.
The episode ended on a note of unresolved history, as Ho-jin traveled to Busan by train with producer Shin Ji-sun. She asked him directly if he had ever had feelings for her, forcing him to confront a past attachment that had long influenced his life.
The Truth Behind Do Ra-mi Revealed
The central mystery of Mu-hee’s psychological struggle reached its climax in Episode 12. The hallucination of Do Ra-mi, the zombie character that made her famous, was revealed to be a manifestation of deep childhood trauma, not a separate personality.
A confrontation with her manipulative aunt and uncle forced the truth into the open. Mu-hee learned that Do Ra-mi’s face and cruel words were actually those of her mother. In a tragic childhood event, her mentally ill mother poisoned her father and then attempted a murder-suicide by poisoning Mu-hee on her birthday. To escape, a young Mu-hee fell from a balcony.
Go Youn-jung explained her character’s mindset, saying, “Mu-hee created this being called Do Ra-mi as a delusion.” It was a psychological shield that voiced every fear and reason to push love away.
In a dramatic twist, it was also revealed that Mu-hee’s parents did not die that night. Both survived, but her aunt and uncle hid the truth. Her father lives abroad, and her mother disappeared. This revelation reframed Mu-hee’s entire life story and presented her with a painful but necessary quest for closure.
Final Relationships and Character Endings
The series wrapped up the storylines for all major characters, providing a sense of completion for this limited series.
Mu-hee and Ho-jin’s Unique Path: After learning the truth about her parents, Mu-hee made a decision. She needed to find her mother and face her past alone to truly heal. She asked Ho-jin for a temporary breakup, not to end their relationship but to pause it while she embarked on this personal journey.
“The fact that Mu-hee says ‘letโs break up’ first to Ho-jin means that there is so much trust,” actress Go Youn-jung noted, highlighting the growth in her character. Mu-hee now believed in the certainty of their feelings enough to leave and return.
The series ended on a hopeful note. After some time, Mu-hee returned to Korea and reunited with Ho-jin at a dark sky reserve, a place they had talked about visiting. Using a translation app to speak his languages, she expressed how much she missed him, and they shared a kiss under the stars.
A Happy Ending for the Second Couple: Shin Ji-sun and Kim Yong-u provided a contrasting, smoother love story. After clearing the air with Ho-jin about their past, Ji-sun fully embraced her relationship with Mu-hee’s manager, Yong-u. When Yong-u was offered his dream job in sports, which required a move to the UK, Ji-sun decided to go with him to pursue her own studies. The finale showed them happily engaged and leaving for their new life together.
Hiro’s Growth: While Hiro’s feelings for Mu-hee were not reciprocated, his character experienced significant growth. He made peace with the rejection, learned from his tendency to be reticent, and decided to take more agency in his life. He began studying Korean and English to speak for himself and successfully auditioned for a role in a Hollywood film, applying the courage he found during the show.
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Fan Reactions to the Finale and Series
Since its release, Can This Love Be Translated? has generated passionate reactions online. Many viewers praised the chemistry between the lead actors and the emotional depth of the story.
Fans took to social media to express their feelings about the romantic payoff. One viewer tweeted about Episode 11, “ep 11 of can this love be translated was tew spicy, wdym u said i wanna stay with u and wdym u dropped the phone and kissed her for 2 minutes straight in the dark”. Another fan celebrated the lead’s protective nature, writing, “The way he let her lean on his shoulder and comforted herโฆ JOO HOJIN THE GREEN FOREST THAT YOU ARE!”.
The performances were highly commended, particularly Go Youn-jung’s portrayal of two distinct personas. A fan noted, “Cha muhee and do rami feel like two different people. Same face, different energy, zero overlapโฆ Actress DOWN”. The series also marked a celebrated return to a romantic lead role for Kim Seon-ho, with fans expressing joy at seeing him in this genre again.
While the series was generally well-received for its unique approach and lack of typical K-drama tropes, some critiques emerged regarding pacing and the late introduction of the full backstory. One IMDb reviewer summed it up: “It could have been much better with tighter writing, better pacing, and earlier emotional groundwork. But it also didn’t deserve the excessive hate it received.”. The complete first season, consisting of 12 episodes, is available for streaming globally on Netflix.
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