Went to bed with a lingering smile in the early morning after watching the finale of Kimchi Drama 'Scent of a Woman'. Seriously, I have no idea why the title is such because at no time was there any mention of the heroine's smell! Didn't think I'd get addicted to Korean stuff, but I have to admit, they do make good dramas. Much less annoying than local ones.
The interest started with "He Who Can't Marry", a silly thing about a brilliant architect who is hopelessly insensitive and utterly unable to interact with fellow humans. He jealously guards his privacy until fate intervenes and his life becomes hopelessly entangled with his doctor and next door neighbour, plus a sweet little dog called Sangu. It was overacted and silly, but it was cute and watchable too.
Then came Ojakgyo Brothers which I didn't quite like when I watched it in bits and pieces, but got crazily addicted to it when I watched from the very beginning. I must have mentioned it somewhere, it's about a family with granny, mom, dad and 4 good-looking sons. Throw in a pretty young girl and voila! Hit show. Each brother had their own little story arc, which made the story long, but exponentially more interesting.
I watched Wild Romance just for kicks after Ojakgyo ended. Featuring the super cute Lee Dong Wook, it was quite silly, but entertaining enough to get my attention. Throughout, it still featured good family values and bonds of friendship. Although the growing fondness between the main characters was rough and tumble, you get their strengths and why they start to actually like each other.
Scent of a Woman was watched on a whim since my dear friend already mentioned it. I really didn't like the main character in the beginning because she was horrendously unkempt and had no self respect at all. But as time went by, she 'woke up' and transformed into a lovely woman. Throw in super handsome boss (LDW again) and it was all set. Of course I hated the people from Seo Jin group, but then, we were supposed to, right? In the beginning it was hard to shift thinking of LDW as baseballer Park Mu Yeol to idle rich man's son Kang Ji Wook. But i got the hang of it...
What I got most from the series was a sense of hope, that things CAN change for the better, despite challenges. There was a gentleness to the Ji Uk-Yeon Jae love affair, not only passion. And the consideration Yeon Jae had for her mom and people around her was probably what made Ji Wook love her all the more. I loved everything, even Mal Bok who is so doggily cute, and the nice Dr Chae.
Yeah, it helps to have smart scriptwiters create dazzlingly insightful words of wisdom to come out of your mouth. And it helps that it happened in fantasyland where everything falls into place and all is well in the end. There was a smattering of setbacks to keep it real, but I have to say that the ending was really inspired. Compared to the Ojakgyo ending which was nice, but felt like an anticlimax after the Tae Hui-Jaeun wedding, in SOAW, we were kept guessing right till the end.
And it was such a relief to see that Yeon Jae was still alive. She was still sick, but there is hope, and you know that she will live well till the end of her days. The pitiful loser girl had transformed into a beautiful, strong woman and had a good man by her side. I also liked the way that Ji Wook changed from a listless, bored overgrown boy to a man who knew what he wanted and was willing to fight for his business and the woman that he loved. Yeon Jae touched the lives of the people around her, even the nasty ones... The presents bit at the end was so sweet. I think they didn't really get married since the chapel scene was a dream, but it doesn't seem to matter much to the Koreans, so whatever lah.
Thinking back, why do I like Korean dramas so much? Is it the cute actors? Or fantastic storylines?
Well, for one, I like the way they're respectful to the elders, even when they happen to be insane mobsters. There's often strong family ties and deep consideration for parents. There's a premium on doing the right thing. I feel Malay dramas feature too many spoilt idiots and rude bastards as well as overbearing, or weak, parents. The 'good' ones are too often passive losers who'd rather cry than actually do something to get out of the bad situation they were in. I hardly ever see any determination and effort, it's always bad luck and despair in local dramas. The rich and the downtrodden. The pious and the sinful. Too many cliches for my liking.
I like the way they say 'you have worked hard' in Korea. It's probably a bad translation thing, but it shows their attitude to hard work, effort and determination. Even if they are stiffly formal among colleagues, they work together to achieve something. We are spoilt brats in comparison.
But I have to say they often play up intimate scenes too much. Replayed hugs and kisses get old after a while. And the Ojakgyo kisses were extremely prissy. Mostly the guys just mashed their lips awkwardly over the girls'! Joo Won n Uee, especially. Jaeun always looked like she was unsure she wanted to be kissed, then she reluctantly gives in. Oh come on! You're not really THAT innocent!! Jeez. Tae Bum & Soo Young's kiss masa drunk OK, tapi masa sober tak best. At least Lee Dong Wook does good kiss scenes. Good chemistry between him and Kim Sun Ah :-) The one with Eun Jae in Wild Romance didn't really work for me since she was too tomboyish.
Another thing - why are the names always so similar one? Soo Young, Yeon Jae, Eun Jae, Dong Wook, Ji Wook... Aigoo...And the Koreans CAN be a little old-fashioned and chauvinistic at times.
But what I like is that the stories are often very insightful; they can turn something expected into something very unexpected. And in the end you get this warm fuzzy feeling that makes you smile as you close your eyes to go to sleep.
Wonder what would happen if I made a bucket list?
:: To be hugged hard when I need it most ::
:: To watch my son go to the mosque with his father ::
:: To close my eyes in the arms of the one I love ::
Would any of them come true? Well, I hope SOME of them will :)
No comments:
Post a Comment