Can This Love Be Translated ending explained: The Netflix K-drama Can This Love Be Translated? ends on a note that feels quietly devastating and strangely hopeful at the same time. Instead of offering neat closure, the finale leans into emotional ambiguity, asking viewers to sit with discomfort and the fragile nature of love.

What begins as a romantic story shaped by language barriers slowly transforms into a psychological exploration of trauma, denial and the fear of happiness itself. Scroll down to read more as we delve into the ending of this newly released K-drama on Netflix!

Can This Love Be Translated plot

Directed by Yoo Young-eun and written by the celebrated Hong sisters, known for their work on Hotel Del Luna and Alchemy of Souls, the series follows actors Cha Mu-hee and Joo Ho-jin. Played by Go Youn-jung and Kim Seon-ho, their bond grows while working on a globe-trotting reality show. Yet, their romance fractures under emotional miscommunication and the unsettling presence of Do Ra-mi, a figure who forces buried truths to surface.

Check out the trailer for Can This Love Be Translated? below!

Can This Love Be Translated: Who is Do Ra-mi really?

At first, Do Ra-mi appears to be an after-effect of Mu-hee’s breakout role in The Quiet Woman, where she played a haunting zombie character. The role is physically and mentally demanding, and the public begins calling Mu-hee by the character’s name. The lines between performance and identity blur. A psychiatrist even asks Mu-hee, “Does anyone in your family suffer from mental illness?” Mu-hee claims her parents died in an accident and insists she remembers nothing due to a childhood head injury.

The truth emerges when Do Ra-mi takes control and meets Ho-jin. She reveals that Mu-hee remembers everything. The amnesia was never real. It was a choice. On her birthday, Mu-hee witnessed her mother poison her father. When her mother tried to give her poisoned cake, Mu-hee escaped by jumping from a balcony. Both parents survived initially. When asked later what she remembered, Mu-hee smiled and said nothing. Denial became her survival strategy.

Hence, Do Ra-mi represented the part of Mu-hee that refused emotional shortcuts. She carried the truth Mu-hee could not face.

Can This Love Be Translated: What happens to Mu-hee and Ho-jin?

The relationship between Mu-hee and Ho-jin runs in a painful loop. Mu-hee wants closeness but panics when it feels real. Ho-jin loves her but pulls back, fearing he might worsen her condition. Do Ra-mi warns him directly: loving Mu-hee openly will destroy her. She asks him to stay away. Ho-jin listens.

He distances himself, even as Mu-hee begins noticing gaps in her memory. Photos appear on her phone from places she doesn’t remember visiting. Slowly, she realises someone else has been living parts of her life.

The emotional breakthrough arrives in Italy. Mu-hee’s co-star Hiro confesses his feelings. Ho-jin translates the confession, speaking emotions he cannot claim. Later, Mu-hee watches a hidden video of Ho-jin breaking down alone. A crew member tells her, “You deserve to know this version of Ho-jin as well.”

For the first time, Mu-hee confronts the truth. She runs to Ho-jin. He doesn’t promise forever. Instead, he says even love offers no guarantees. That honesty makes the relationship safe for her. They agree to be together without making any promises of permanence.

Can This Love Be Translated ending explained

In the end, Mu-hee learns the final truth. Her parents never died. Her denial was preserved by the adults around her because it kept her functional. Her father distanced himself because she resembled her mother. Her mother disappeared abroad. The Quiet Woman didn’t create Do Ra-mi. Memory did.

Mu-hee breaks up with Ho-jin and leaves for Los Angeles to meet her mother. She tells him that if she comes back, she’ll stay forever. Time passes. Seasons change. Ho-jin waits. Then a message arrives. An invitation to watch the stars.

Mu-hee returns. She doesn’t explain what happened in LA. She simply says “I missed you” in multiple languages. They kiss under the night sky. The show refuses to confirm healing or permanence. It only confirms the choice.

More about Can This Love Be Translated

Can This Love Be Translated? isn’t about solving trauma. It’s about learning how to live alongside it. Do Ra-mi fades when Mu-hee confronts her past, not because the pain disappears, but because it no longer needs a voice of its own. The drama’s core message is simple and quietly powerful. Love doesn’t heal you by magic. Communication does. And sometimes, choosing each other for now is enough.