First Love?

Recently my Sunbae showed me a post that she wrote a little while ago.  We were discussing my review of You’re Beautiful.  Her article is called What Makes Drama Crack Stay Fresh / Turn Stale?  It really hit home for me.  Especially since I just went back and watched  Boys Over Flowers last weekend.  Ouch…

In that article she talks about how you can get sucked into a show and need to watch it like its crack.  Then when you go back at a later time to re-watch the same show it falls short.  Though she also discusses the reverse effect, and she used You’re Beautiful as her primary example.  The first time she watched it she felt it didn’t measure up, which is how I felt about it as well.  However, her second (and third) time through she absolutely loved it.

If you’ve gone over to read her article (you really-really-really should if you haven’t) then this might seem like a rehashing of everything that Sunbae’s already said.  However, it is very true and I feel that I need to get it off my chest.  The very first Korean drama I ever watched was Boys Over Flowers.  When I wrote my review I still had my rose colored glasses on and my heart still fluttered at the thought of that show.  It was seriously my first love and I could hardly accept that there was anything wrong with it. 

I was having a bad day and wanted something to lift my spirits, so of course I immediately thought of Boys Over Flowers.  Turning it on I sat down with coffee and a brownie and prepared to be relieved of my stress and feel that heart-pounding love I’d known seven months ago when I watched it the first time… oh boy was I disappointed.  No, it was way more than disappointed, I was in pain!  I watched the first four episodes in a row and just couldn’t get back that feeling that I’d known, the pedestal upon which I’d placed the show was cracking. 

But I wasn’t willing to believe that it wasn’t as magical and perfect as I had thought just a few weeks ago.  So I skipped ahead to the beginning of the contest to win Jan Di… and the pedestal was even worse off.  So I spent the rest of the day skimming through episodes trying to qualify the exemplary review that I’d written.  And sadly it just didn’t live up to my dream.  But… I still love the show, I mean a lot.  However, that love has less to do with the story and more to do with the fact that because of Boys Over Flowers I found Korean Dramas.  And for that I will always love it, always.

Sadly though, I’ll probably go back and adjust my rating and review of Boys Over Flowers to reflect a more objective view.  But not today, I want to preserve at least a little bit of the pedestal that is still standing.

Boys Over Flowers

I got the urge to re-watch this drama recently.  The feels will never change, I loved this drama when I watched it.  It caused my addiction and I will always have fond and sweet and warm memories of those hours I spent getting to know this show.  However, when I re-watched it after having not seen it for seven months... It did not live up to the memories I had.  I won't change this review, because it was written like my other reviews after only one complete watch through.  However, I am updating my rating numbers, because sadly it didn't live up to the pristine memory I had created.

Oh boy... this is the first drama that I ever watched, the one which started it all.  It will always hold a special place in my heart, on a high-high pedestal, perfect in every way, the drama to which no other drama could ever compare.  Well... it is really hard to think another drama might take its place in my heart.  However, as I've watched more and more dramas I've found this level of love for other dramas for a whole plethora of reasons.   But no matter how many dramas I watch I highly doubt that the special and honored place that Boys Over Flowers has in my heart will change.

In my opinion this drama is an excellent choice to introduce the non-K Drama-believer to the world of K-Dramas.  For me it made me hungry to know more about the culture of Korea, the language, and the story concepts used to tell this tale.  Because of this drama I was introduced to some very basic concepts of the K-Drama scene.  Chaebol, Eomeoni, OTP, OST, STP, Flowerboy, Sunbae, Wae/Wae-yo, Ya!, Second Male Lead Syndrome, and Oppa.  As I watch more and more dramas I gather more and more terms and words to my knowledge base.  I’m sure there are other really phenomenal choices for a person’s first drama, but I’m biased and really believe Boys Over Flowers is in the top three best choices to bring people into the fold.

I won’t summarize the story here, there are so many places and blogs which rehash and retell the store in its entirety.  Instead, my goal is to talk about what I liked and disliked about the story itself.  Hopefully help others to decide if Boys Over Flowers is for them.

Let’s start off by saying if you’re watching a drama for the eye-candy then Boys Over Flowers has it in abundance.  All of the F4 are handsome Flowerboys.  Each fulfilling a different character archetype.  Goo Jun Pyo is the cold hearted Chaebol who torments and tortures others with a smirk.  Yoon Ji Hoo is the tender hearted and warm second male lead with a smile that can melt your heart.  So Yi Jung is the suave Casanova/Plyaboy who can charm the pants off anything.  And Last but certainly not least is Song Woo Bin, the enforcer and smooth talker of the group who will defend his friends no matter what.  Something for everyone that’s for sure.

Geum Jan Di is the poor, working class gal who finds herself wrapped up in the world of the excessively rich.  She is stubborn, cheerful, hard working, and a bright light to her friends.  For me she was amazing to watch.  The story put her through the gamut of emotions and she still remained strong and true to her own morals.  For me that was an amazing journey to witness.

I keep saying what I loved about this show, so I should add a few notes about what I didn’t like.  Geum Jan Di’s family caused me no end of frustrations.  The more I learn about the culture there and the image portrayed in their TV shows I can see where they were coming from.  However, this poor noona just couldn’t get over the fact that they were pretty much trying to sell their daughter to a rich family for their own improvement.  Plus the strained/strange relationship between the parents didn’t sit well with me.  Because Jan Di was so hard working I really wanted to see a family that supported her and was happy at home.  Lastly, it bothered me that the parents left the high school daughter in charge of her middle school brother and left to make money. 

The Eomeoni, Jun Pyo’s mom, yeah I hated her so much.  I understand the role she played and the way she created dramatic intensity in the story, however, she was a bit much.  I wanted to see her part toned down a little, because then it would have been a little bit more believable.

This story introduced me to Second Male Lead Syndrome, I’m sure there are a ton of other names for it.  But what it boils down to is that I loved Ji Hoo so much that by the end of the story my heart was broken and bleeding for him and his unrequited love.  I hated that he didn’t get a happily ever after, it still bothers me to this day.

Other things that I loved about this show was the secondary love story between So Yi Jung and Cha Ga Eul.  It was fun to watch Yi Jung grow as a man and to see Ga Eul slowly fall in love with him.  The friendship that blossomed between Ji Hoo and Jan Di makes my heart all warm and fuzzy (as long as I don’t think about his unhappy ending).  I loved how Goo Jun Hee (Goo Jun Pyo’s older sister) and Min Seo Hyun (Ji Hoo’s first love) protected and supported Jan Di.  I also just loved the story.  Angry, rich, spoiled, brat who slowly becomes a good man through his love for a woman he shouldn’t want.  The acting was superb and writing amazing.  Best of all, for me, it had a mostly happy ending.  There were a few sad things which I wish could have turned out better for the characters I adore, but even with these road bumps the ending was happy and sweet.          

For a full synopsis of the story check out this link.

Noona's Rating                                                               Noona's Rating After Watching a 2nd Time
Overall: 9 (Rated at 5 Stars on DramaFever.com)                                           Overall: 7.4 (rated 3 stars on DramaFever.com)
Story/Writing: 9                                                               Story/Writing: 6
Cast/Actors: 10                                                               Cast/Actors: 9
OST: 9                                                                            OST: 6
Sets/Costumes: 7                                                             Sets/Costumes: 6
Feels: 10                                                                          Feels: 10

Happily Ever After

My first foray into the world of Korean Dramas turned out to have a happy ending.  I was very lucky indeed.  Though I have a feeling from the words of netizens that a great many people’s first K-Drama is Boys Over Flowers.  Regardless, I feel pretty lucky that my first drama had a happy ending (for the most part).  Throughout the entire twenty-five episodes I was uncertain if there would be a happy ending, Jun Pyo and Jan Di kept encountering such immense obstacles that the ending was never definite.  However, the last episode wrapped it up in a sweet bow and I melted away from happiness. 

I am such a sucker for a happy ending.  Always have been.  This love of the feel good closure to a show/movie/book/graphic novel/etc has carried over to dramas.  I’ve experienced enough hardship and tragedy in the real world, I don’t like to end a drama on a note which rips my heart out.  Now, that isn’t to say that I don’t appreciate the twists and turns, ups and downs, and climactic moments within the drama itself which keep you guessing.  Those I absolutely love.  The moments where I am bawling my eyes out and unsure of the fate of the characters are some of my most favorite.  Yet at the end of that emotional rollercoaster I want to be left with a warm glow, a happy ending is a must.

Once I finished Boys Over Flowers I needed more, it was evident even then that I was obsessed and addicted.  Admittedly I chose my next drama because it had Lee Min Ho in it.  After watching him for twenty-five plus hours as Jun Pyo I really wanted to see more of him.  So I immediately started City Hunter, which was a completed different vibe from Boys Over Flowers.  It wasn’t until about halfway through City Hunter that I started to worry that the ending would tear my heart out and stomp on it.  It wasn’t enough to make me stop watching, but I found that as I closed in on the ending of the show I was terribly anxious.  I needed him to succeed and desperately wanted Yoon Sung and Na Na to be together with a happily ever after ending.  By the last episode I was so high strung with insecurity that it was a traumatic experience to finish the show.  It ended and I got my wish.  But boy was I exhausted after that ride.

That terrifying ride didn’t stop me from diving right into another drama.  This time I followed Kim Hyun Joong (Ji Ho from Boys Over Flowers).  I needed something light and fluffy and silly after City Hunter and Playful Kiss seemed exactly perfect.  Now, to say that I dove right in and started the show is a lie.  I took some time to research.  I read review about the show, well to be more exact I literally typed into Google ‘does Playful Kiss have a happy ending’.  Yup, I wasn’t going to commit to a show unless I knew that no matter how insane or crazy the plots twists and obstacles were that I’d get the warm-fuzzies when the show was done.  There were plenty of snippets out there and it was easy to ascertain that Playful Kiss would have a satisfying ending, so at that point I did dive right in… once I was sure I’d survive the ride.

Now before I commit to any drama I spend a few minutes searching the internet for a clue as to what I’m getting myself into.  Some people might say this is cheating or that I’m ruining the ending for myself.  I can’t deny that, I am ruining the ending because I go into the story knowing how it’s going to end up.  For me though I can’t handle the anxiety and chance that I’ll be left with this hollow pain because the characters I’ve fallen in love with end up dead or unhappy.  I watch dramas to escape reality and I want my fantasy to have happiness and rainbows at the conclusion of every tale.     

A Spiraling Obession

I wish that I could pin-point the exact moment that I entered the world of Korean Dramas.  That moment in which I became so obsessed that I stopped watching anything but dramas that were subtitled.  The instance that I fell over the precipice.  I know what show it was which stole my heart and captured my undying attention, but the details of how I discovered the show are a bit fuzzy.  However, despite my inability to recall the exacts of my entrance to this world I am going to try and recount my spiral into obsession.

In the grand scheme of obsessed K-Drama addicts my time here has been relatively short, it has been exactly half a year since I discovered Boys Over Flowers.  I was blissfully watching a TV show on Hulu.com, right now I have no idea what show that was.  However, when it concluded Hulu graciously suggested other shows that were similar to the one I had finished and given four or five stars to.  There were about ten suggested options, all but one were British or American shows.  Then, at the end of the line, there was Boys Over Flowers.  I remember finding the title humorous, the image of the four men intriguing considering the posh and somewhat effeminate clothing they were wearing, and being intrigued because I had no idea what it was.

Now, as I am a firm lover of all things of the Korean Drama world, I wish I could say that I dove head first into Boys Over Flowers with excitement and an open mind.  In truth, I clicked on it to see just how ridiculous the show turned out to be.  I watched the first episode and chuckled at the concept, told myself it was all very silly, and went on with watching some other show which had been in the suggested list.  However, I couldn't get that first episode out of my head.  I kept thinking about how strong Geum Jan Di was, how her exuberance made me wish other female leads had that attitude.  Of course I was drawn to the absolutely gorgeous faces of the F4 group as well.  It wasn't more than three to five days later and I was back on Hulu and watching Boys Over Flowers again.

The moment that I gave in and went back to watch the second episode I was hooked.  I fell in love with the acting, the filming style, the story concepts, the character archetypes... all of it.  I watched seven hours of Boys Over Flowers that day and spent every hour of my work week trying to determine when I could fit in time to watch the rest of the episodes.  Once I completed all twenty-five shows I wanted more... no that isn't actually true I needed more.  I was three-hundred percent addicted and there was no going back.  Truthfully I didn't want to go back, I was in love.

Since then I have spent every free moment I can watching dramas from Korea and Taiwan.  I have found blogs about others who share my love of these dramas, I have subscribed to Dramafever.com so I can watch my dramas without the interruption of commercials... I think about the drama I am currently watching all the time and debate which drama will fill my need next.  Obsessed... absolutely obsessed and loving every moment of it.