Movie Review: A Werewolf Boy (2012)

Grade: A-

A Werewolf Boy is no Twilight.

I mean that in the best way possible—in spite of the comparisons you may read elsewhere, Korea’s lycanthropic yarn is no easy wish-fulfillment love story. In truth, it shares more DNA with Frankenstein or Edward Scissorhands, those classic, bittersweet explorations of what happens when feral innocence meets the jaded experience of the modern world.

A hit that has spent more than five weeks on top of the Korean box office, Werewolf Boy is a study in contrasts—storybook and reality, past and present, wild and tame. Its tone is matter-of-fact and everyday, but tinged with a nostalgic, fairytale glow that bears the faintest resemblance to the work of Tim Burton.

One thing that’s probably sold a lot of this movie’s tickets is its star: heartthrob Song Joon Ki, whose celebrated KBS drama Nice Guy finished airing just last month. Song, always a scene stealer, ably brings to life the titular wolf in spite of remaining silent throughout almost the entire film. He uses his body and eyes to tell the character’s story instead of words, and transforms into a guileless, unspoiled human with all the tendencies of a wolf. (Or maybe it’s the other way around?)

But as fun as it is to see flower-boy Song Joon Ki playing fetch like the family dog, this movie is really the story of his master, a sickly young woman named Suni (Park Bo Yeong), whose family moves to the countryside on the orders of her doctor. As in every great creature feature, they find more than they expect there: the family is quickly swept up in the dark history of their new home with the discovery of a dirty, starving boy running wild on the property.

Awkward and isolated, Suni is a girl desperately in need of a friend. And that’s exactly what she gets when her softhearted mother decides to care for the strange boy until local officials can find a home for him. Christened Chul Soo, the name Suni’s parents had intended for the son that never arrived, he needs Suni just as much as she needs him—he doesn’t know how to speak or wash, and he eats with the single-minded, violent abandon of an animal.

Suni slowly domesticates Chul Soo with the help of a long-forgotten dog training manual, earning his eternal devotion in the process. The chaste, not-quite-romance that develops between them is tender and heartbreaking: He sleeps like a guard dog outside her bedroom door; she stands in the path of a bullet for him.

Sweet and sad, cute and funny, A Werewolf Boy tells the story of two damaged people coming together in spite of the misgivings of the world around them. It’s an old-fashioned monster movie that knows the truth—the real abomination isn’t the mysterious, super-strong boy with no blood type and a body temperature of 115 degrees. Instead, it’s the society that reacts to someone who’s different with fear and cruelty.

We first meet Suni as a seemingly contented grandmother who’s hiding a hole in her heart. That’s how we say goodbye to her, too, but in the intervening scenes she’s learned important lesson: Even over the course of a human lifetime, some things can never be lost, like beauty. And love.

***

A Werewolf Boy is now playing in select theaters throughout North America (according to some sources, complete with a never-before-seen alternate ending). For more information, see the official site.

Reviewed for Soompi.com. (Thank you, Susan!)

Drama Review: Fated to Love You (2008)

Grade: B-

Category

Taiwanese romantic comedy

What it’s about

After the most ridiculous case of mistaken identity in drama history, an average office girl finds herself pregnant with the tenth-generation heir of a cleaning-product empire. With the help of their colorful families, the two decide to get married—but must then navigate the eighteen episodes of tribulations that stand between them and their happy ending.

First impression

As of episode 1, Fated to Love You embodies all three Cs of Asian rom-coms of a certain vintage: cheaply produced, cheesy, and charming. It reminds me of Kdramas from the early 2000s—its creators may not have had a lot to work with, but they made the most of what they had.

Final verdict

It’s fitting that this show’s female lead spends a lot of time worrying about being a “sticky note girl”: someone common, disposable, and too eager to please. Ultimately, this description is a perfect fit for both her character and Fated to Love You itself. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though—sometimes you want to watch television for easy, uncomplicated laughs, not to marvel at spectacular production values or deep insight into the human condition. When you’re in that kind of mood, you could definitely do worse than this silly story of finding love in unexpected places.

For a drama that’s so long—it’s twenty-four episodes, many of which clock in at over ninety minutes—Fated to Love You is zippy and entertaining. It’s populated by over-the-top characters and crazily improbable plot twists that are made bearable by the fact that the show never takes itself too seriously. Big-hearted and puppyish, it uses its central romance to explore the culture clash between the plain-Jane female lead’s country-bumpkin family and the father of her unborn child, a refined city dweller with more money than he knows what to do with.

Tiresome plot machinations do derail things a bit toward the end (a dead cell phone battery keeps the leads apart for a full episode), but most of the story manages constant forward momentum—which is more than I can say for many Korean dramas these days. Kdramas seem to get bogged down in their concepts, which makes their stories feel hide-bound and repetitive. Take this spring’s similarly themed I Do, I Do: the only narrative tension it could drum up was in the form of corporate wrangling, because it had so very little to say about its central concept beyond “She’s pregnant with a younger man’s child.” This aspect of the plot never went anywhere until the absolute last minute—it was the show’s hook, and to lose or move beyond that hook would be unthinkable for a Kdrama. In contrast, at Fated to Love You’s heart is a plot that breathes and grows and stretches; it moves freely from place to place and idea to idea. It’s a story about two characters and their relationships, not about a scenario that’s easy to hang a marketing strategy on.

Cute, cartoony, and averse to logic in all its forms, Fated to Love You is by no means well made. But it’s sincere and its goofy antics made me laugh out loud an embarrassing number of times. After all, what’s not to like about a sticky note?

Random thoughts

• Episode 8. This entire drama, summed up in one line of dialogue: “I admit I was shocked by your chicken suit.”

• Episode 18. I still can’t get over how different Taiwanese drama is from Kdrama. Case in point? The male lead just went to a brothel and made a scene when he realized none of the prostitutes reminded him of the female lead. It played a little less sleazy than it reads, but good golly is that upsetting. I miss Kdrama and its appealingly puritanical ways.

• Episode 20. 

Dear Taiwan: 

The next time you decide to save money by putting your male lead in the same pair of pants for 90 percent of a drama, consider choosing something less flashy than the zipper-heavy trousers in this show. It makes it pretty easy to spot that you saved your budget for the girls’ clothes. 

Sincerely, Amanda

Watch it

Drama Fever

Sugoideas 

You might also like

Taiwanese drama Aumun’s Concerto, for a melo take on an unplanned pregnancy leading to love

Pregnancy-themed Kdrama I Do, I Do (although I didn’t) 

The Korean Phrasebook for Drama Lovers Abroad

Welcome to Korea!
hangug e osin geos-eul hwan-yeonghabnida! / 
한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다!

Like every international addict of K-entertainment, I’ve wondered what it would be like to go to Korea. In the unlikely event that the opportunity ever presents itself, I thought it might be advisable to create a personal phrasebook of things I’ll probably need to say.

With the help of Google translate, I give you the following essentials.*

AT THE AIRPORT

Will you take a picture of me standing in front of the sign?

dangsin-eun naegagiho ap-e seo ui sajin han jang jjig-eo jullaeyo?

당신은 내가 기호 앞에 서의 사진 한 장 찍어 줄래요?

Let’s pretend that we’re in a drama. You be the guy and chase me down the concourse.

ui uliga deulama e iss-eoyo igo . dangsin-eun geu salam ieoyahamyeo gwangjang naelyeo gasin.

의 우리가 드라마에 있어요이고. 당신은 그 사람이어야하며 광장 내려 가신.

Wait, are you really from security?

jamkkanman yo, dangsin-eun boan eseo jeongmal ingayo?

잠깐만 요, 당신은 보안에서입니까?

Oh. My passport?

o. nae yeogwon-eun?

오. 내 여권은?

I’d rather not. It’s not a flattering picture.

anhaneun geos-i ohilyeo naa. i acheom sajin anibnida.

안하는 것이 오히려 나아. 이 아첨 사진 아닙니다.

Yes, I am from America.

네, 미국에서 왔어요.

ne, migug eseo wass-eoyo.

Do I really need to call the embassy?

jeongmal daesagwan-e jeonhwa haeyahabnikka?

정말 대사관에 전화해야합니까?

AT THE HOTEL

Can I have a room where they filmed a drama?

geu salamdeul-ideulamaleul chwal-yeongbang-eul hal su issseubnikka?

그 사람들이 드라마를 촬영 방을 할 수 있습니까?

I have to pay how much extra to sleep on the floor?

naneun badag-e jam-eul eolmana chuga biyong-eul jibul haeyahabnikka?

나는 바닥에 잠을 얼마나 추가 비용을 지불해야합니까?

Whatever, it’s worth it. I’ll take the Korean-style room.

geuleolmanhan gachiga mwodeungan-e. jeoneun hangug jeog-in seutail-ui gaegsil eul deulibnida.

, 그럴만한 가치가 뭐든간에. 저는 한국적인 스타일의 객실을드립니다.

Wait! The bathroom is Western, right?

jamkkanman yo! yogsil-eun oleunjjog, seoyang ibnikka?

잠깐만 요! 욕실은 오른쪽, 서양입니까?

DINING OUT

How spicy are your spicy rice cakes?

gwihaui maeun tteog eun eolmana maeun ibnikka?

귀하의 매운 떡은 얼마나 매운입니까?

Do you have anything on the menu that isn’t spicy?

dangsin-eun maeun anin menyueseo mwolhaeyahaneun geoji?

당신은 매운 아닌 메뉴에서 뭘해야하는 거지?

Like...American not spicy?

machi ... migug an maeun?

마치 ... 미국 안 매운?

No, that’s too spicy. Way too spicy!

ani, geugeon neomu maewoyo ibnida. neomu maeun wei !

아니, 그건 너무 매워요입니다. 너무 매운 웨이!

Maybe something you would serve to children?

ama museun il-i dangsin-i aideul-ege bongsa kkayo?

아마 무슨 일이 당신이 아이들에게 봉사까요?

Yummy
mas-issneun / 맛있는

AT THE STREET VENDOR

No, nothing with intestines please. Definitely no liver or lungs.

ani, changja wa amu jusigi balabnida eobs-seubnida. mullon deo gan ina pye.

아니, 창자와 아무 주시기 바랍니다 없습니다. 물론 더 간이나 폐.

If I drink too much soju, will you piggyback me back to the hotel?

naega neomu soju leul masil gyeong-u, hotello jeoleul dasi hajagu su issseubnikka?

내가 너무 소주를 마실 경우, 호텔로 저를 다시 하자구 수 있습니까?

No, I don’t see any winners of the World’s Strongest Man Contest around here.

아니, 난이 주변 세계 최강의 남자 대회의 수상자가 표시되지 않습니다.

ani, nan i jubyeon segye choegang-ui namja daehoe ui susangja ga pyosidoeji anhseubnida.

Fine. Will you call me a cab then?

joh-ayo. na ege taegsileul han hu jeonhwa hae jusil geojyo?

좋아요. 나에게 택시를 한 후 전화 해 주실 거죠?

SHOPPING

What region are your DVDs?

gwihaui DVDneun eotteon jiyeog ibnikka?

귀하의 DVD는 어떤 지역입니까?

Could I buy a replica of Piggy Bunny here?

yeogi kkochdwaeji tokki ui bogjeleul gu-ibhal su issnayo?

여기 꽃돼지 토끼의 복제를 구입할 수 있나요?

Do you sell clothes for fat people?

dangsin-eun ttungttunghan salamdeul eul-wihan os eul panmaehago issseubnikka?

당신은 뚱뚱한 사람들을위한 옷을 판매하고 있습니까?

Like...American fat?

geuleonikka ... migug-ui jibang-eul?

그러니까 ... 미국의 지방을?

I don’t think you carry my size.

nae keugileul gajigo saeng-gaghaji anh-ayo.

내 크기를 가지고 생각하지 않아요.

I’ll take that hair tie, please. It seems to be the only thing here that would fit me.

geu meoli negtai halgeyo , jebal. na e ttag majneun yeogiseo yuilhan geos gatseubnida.

그 머리 넥타이 할게요, 제발. 나에 딱 맞는 여기서 유일한 것 같습니다.

AT THE BATHHOUSE

I don’t like being naked in front of strangers.

nan nachseon salam ap-e beolgeo beos-eun geol joh-ahaji anh-a.

난 낯선 사람 앞에 벌거 벗은 걸 좋아하지 않아.

That giant tub is just like in the Harry Potter books! 

geu geodaehan yogjohaeli poteo chaeg cheoleom doeeo issseubnida! 

그 거대한 욕조 해리 포터 책처럼되어 있습니다!

If you don’t put chlorine in there, how do you kill the bacteria?

geogie yeomsoleul neoh-eo haji anhneun gyeong-u , dangsin-eun bagtelialeul jug-igessseubnikka?

 거기에 염소를 넣어하지 않는 경우, 당신은 박테리아를 죽이겠습니까?

You don’t know me, but would you please scrub my back?

dangsin-eun nal moleujiman, nae jjog-eul ssisneun sigess-eoyo?

당신은 날 모르지만, 내 쪽을 씻는 시겠어요?

Can we order in noodles?

ulineun gugsu e jumunhaedo doelkkayo?

우리는 국수에 주문해도 될까요?

“Psst...what’s going on with your towel?”
"jamkkanman ... museun sugeon ege museun il-i ?"
"잠깐만 ... 무슨 수건에게 무슨 일이?"

AT THE SAUNA

Do you have an extra-large uniform?

dangsin-eun teug daehyeong yunipom-eul haeyahabnikka?

당신은 특 대형 유니폼을해야합니까?

Can I wear my street clothes, then?

geuleom, nae geoli os-eul ibgo hal su issseubnikka?

그럼, 내 거리 옷을 입고 할 수 있습니까?

Where do they sell those hard-boiled eggs?

eodi geu hadeu salm-eun dalgyal eul panmaehago issseubnikka?

어디 그 하드 삶은 달걀을 판매하고 있습니까?

How do you get the towel to stay on your head like that?

eotteohge tawol geuleon sig-eulo meoli e iss-eulgeoya?

어떻게 타월 그런 식으로 머리에있을거야?

How often do they wash these pillow things?

eolmana jaju salamdeul i begae mulgeon-eul ssis-eo habnikka?

얼마나 자주 사람들이 베개 물건을 씻어합니까?

SIGHTSEEING

Do you know where Gong Yoo lives? I won’t bother him. Just stare respectfully and think happy thoughts.

dangsin-eun gong yu i eodi saneunji ani? geu salam-eul gwichanhgehaji anh-eulgeoya. geunyang jeongjunghi eungsi hago haengboghan saeng-gag-eul saeng-gaghabnida.

당신은 공 유이 어디 사는지 아니? 그 사람을 귀찮게하지 않을거야. 그냥 정중히 응시하고 행복한 생각을 생각합니다.

Would you please take me to the Coffee Prince?

nakeopi peulinseu e delyeoda ju sigess-eoyo?

나 커피 프린스에 데려다 주 시겠어요?

Yes, I know it’s a dump and the prices are outrageous.

ye, naneun-yugi algogagyeog bakk-ui il-ilago saeng-gaghago issseubnida.

예, 나는 유기 알고 가격 밖의 일이라고 생각하고 있습니다.

My trip will be incomplete if I don’t drink a ten-dollar mocha where Eun Chan once stood.

naneun eunhye chan han beon seoseo jeon-en dalleo moka leul an masimyeon nae yeohaeng-eun bul-wanjeon hal su issseubnida.

나는 은혜 찬 한 번 서서 전엔 달러 모카를 안 마시면 내 여행은 불완전 할 수 있습니다.

Do they have some package where I could spend the night on the cable car, like in Boys over Flowers?

geudeul-eun naega kkoch eul tonghae sonyeon eseo wa gat-i keibeulka eseo bam-eul bonael su-issneun myeoch gaji paekiji ga issseubnikka?

그들은 내가 꽃을 통해 소년에서와 같이 케이블카에서 밤을 보낼 수있는 몇 가지 패키지가 있습니까?

Oh. There’s a fine for writing your name on the wall?

o. beolgeum-eun byeog-e dangsin-ui ileum-eul jagseonghagiwihan ga?

오.벌금은 벽에 당신의 이름을 작성하기위한가?

Do you accept credit cards?

dangsin-eun sin-yong kadeuleul sayonghal su issseubnikka?

당신은 신용 카드를 사용할 수 있습니까?

“Hit me baby one more time...”
" jeoege agileul han beon deo nulleo ..."
"저에게 아기를 한 번 더 눌러 …"

AT THE NORIBANG

How do I get this thing to work?

igeo eotteohge jagdong sikilyeomyeon eotteohgehaeya?

이거 어떻게 작동 시키려면 어떻게해야?

Is there any Bon Iver on here?

yeogie geogie bo Iver ibnikka?

여기에 거기에 보 Iver입니까?

I do a killer “Skinny Love.”

nan sal-injaga eotteohge “seukini salang-eul.”

난 살인자가 어떻게 "스키니 사랑을."

Or maybe “Mad World”?

animyeon "maedeu woldeu"?

아니면 "매드 월드"?

We’re supposed to sing happy songs?

ulineun haengbog nolae geo maj-ji?

우리는 행복 노래 거 맞지?

I’m sorry. I don’t know any.

mian haeyo. nan amu molla.

미안 해요. 난 아무 몰라.

AT THE DRAMA FILMING LOCATION

Do you need any Western extras for the big scene?

dangsin-eun keun jangmyeon e daehan seoyang egseuteula ga pil-yohabnikka?

당신은 큰 장면에 대한 서양 엑스트라가 필요합니까?

In the right light, I’m almost blonde. And I speak English! Like a native! Because I am a native.

oleunjjog bich eseo, naneun geoui geumbal ibnida. geuligo yeong-eo ! neitibeu cheoleom! naneun gibon igi ttaemun-ibnida.

오른쪽 빛에서, 나는 거의 금발입니다. 그리고 영어!네이티브처럼! 나는 기본이기 때문입니다.

No, I wouldn’t be able to understand the director.

ani, naega gamdog eul ihae haji moshal geos-ibnida.

아니, 내가 감독을 이해하지 못할 것입니다.

Yes, I might visibly drool if Yoon Si Yoon gets too close to me.

yun si yun jeoege neomu gakkai dodalhamyeon ne, gasijeog deulul su issseubnida.

윤시 윤 저에게 너무 가까이 도달하면 네, 가시적 드룰 수 있습니다.

I’d probably be able to restrain myself from tripping the female lead, though.

ama hajiman, yeoseong-ui lideuleul baesin eseo jasin-eul eogje hal su-iss-eul.

아마하지만, 여성의 리드를 배신에서 자신을 억제 할 수있을.

Pretty please with sugar on top?

yeppeun sangdan-e seoltang iss-eulkkayo?

예쁜 상단에 설탕 있을까요?

Thank you! You won’t regret it.

gamsahabnida! dangsin-eun geugeos-eul huhoe haji anhseubnida.

감사합니다! 당신은 그것을 후회하지 않습니다.

Call me noona, Yoon Si Yoon.

jeo noona, yun si yun jeonhwa

저 noona, 윤시 윤 전화

Has anyone ever told you that you’re even prettier in person?

amudo dangsin-i silmul-i hwolssin deo yeppeo issdaneun mal haessnayo?

아무도 당신이 실물이 훨씬 더 예뻐 있다는 말 했나요?

Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Because you are.

eum, nado nollass-eo hal sueobsneun geos gat-ayo. dangsin-i ttaemun-ibnida.

음, 나도 놀랐어 할 수없는 것 같아요. 당신이 때문입니다.

A HOME VISIT

I know this is totally culturally insensitive, but it took me ten minutes to get these boots on. Do I really have to take them off?

i wanjeonhi munhwajeog-eulo munjaleul gubunhaji anhseubnida al-ayo,hajiman i bucheu leul eod-eul allyeo jwoss-eum haessda. jeongmal beosgo haeyahanayo?

이 완전히 문화적으로 문자를 구분하지 않습니다 알아요,하지만이 부츠를 얻을 알려 줬음했다. 정말 벗고해야하나요?

Can I try your shower?

dangsin-ui syawoleul sido hal su issseubnikka?

당신의 샤워를 시도 할 수 있습니까?

I think I would feel extra naked, standing there in the middle of the room shaving my legs.

naneun nae dalileul myeondohaneun moseub-eul sangsanghal su bang gaunde seo , nudeu chuga neukkil geos gat-ayo.

나는 내 다리를 면도하는 모습을 상상할 수 방 가운데 서, 누드 추가 느낄 것 같아요.

Do you have to put away the toilet paper first?

meonjeo hwajangsil hyujileul chiu haeyahanayo?

먼저 화장실 휴지를 치우해야하나요?

Wow. This table is really low.

wau. i teibeul-eun jeongmal najseubnida.

와우. 이 테이블은 정말 낮습니다.

My butt is numb.

eongdeong-ie gamgag-i issseubnida.

엉덩이에 감각이 있습니다.

I don’t think I can get up.

naneun il-eonal su issdago saeng-gag haji anhseubnida.

나는 일어날 수 있다고 생각하지 않습니다.

What the number for 119 again?

dasi 119 e daehan eotteon beonhoneun yo?

다시 119에 대한 어떤 번호는 요?

ALL-PURPOSE PHRASES

No, I don’t know Korean. I just watch a lot of dramas.

ani, naega hangug moleugess-eoyo. geunyang deulama leul manh-i bwa.

아니, 내가 한국 모르겠어요. 그냥 드라마를 많이 봐.

Please take care of me.

nal dolbwa jusigi balabnida.

날 돌봐 주시기 바랍니다.

* This post, like Google translate, is intended for entertainment purposes only. The author is neither legally nor morally responsible for anyone who attempts to use these phrases in the presence of someone who actually speaks Korean. You have been warned.

Drama Review: I’m Sorry, I Love You (2004)

Grade: A-

Category

Revenge melodrama

What it’s about

While seeking vengeance against the birth mother he believes abandoned him for frivolous reasons, a tortured young man falls in love with his half-brother’s best friend.

First impression

Part standard-issue Kdrama love triangle and part angsty makjang fest, this drama is a strange, miserable beast. Clearly influenced by the terrible-people-doing-terrible-things genre of shows like What Happened in Bali, by episode 2 I’m Sorry is already hinting about a tragic ending to come. Once a character is shown quoting from Romeo and Juliet’s death scene, all hope is pretty clearly lost.

Final verdict

Looking on the darker side of life seems to be the speciality of screenwriter Lee Kyung Hee. From gigolos to high school dropouts, from kids with AIDS to murderers and the people who take the blame for them, her dramas are the perfect antidote to the candy-coated unreality of most Korean television. If you can handle the tragedy of it all, you’re in good hands with her: every character is nuanced and sensitively drawn, and every awful turn is balanced with a moment of grace and beauty.

I’m Sorry, I Love You is an especially rare bird: It’s not every day you come across a Kdrama romantic lead best described as mean, rude, and dirty. But in spite of his awful behavior, this flawed, supremely damaged antihero still comes off a sympathetic figure. Twice abandoned as a child, once by his birth mother and once by his adoptive family in Australia, Cha Moo Hyuk views the world through a jaded, amoral mask. But beneath that mask, he’s a sad, lost little boy who loves fiercely and longs for fairness and a sense of belonging. And when Moo Hyuk’s life begins to intertwine with his birth family’s, all his worst intentions disappear one by one.

A bleak, viscerally gripping story of missed opportunities and seemingly impossible redemptions, the actual events that take place in I’m Sorry are largely beside the point. It’s the characters and their interactions that make it worth watching. A lesser show would have turned them into one-note, mustache-twirling villains, but instead, they’re almost all worthy of pity: the desperate mother who all but ruins her son with her love; the spoiled, self-obsessed boy who eventually stands up as a man; the girl who comes to realize the difference between a crush and real love, only to lose everything in the end.

If I could travel back in time and alter the course of this drama, I would have stepped in at about episode 10. That’s the point where it started to suffer from back-and-forth-itis, focusing on the will-they-or-won’t-they romance between the leads rather than confronting the big, awful secrets and lies inherent in its plot. By the self-consciously tragic finale, some of the most serious issues the show had to offer were utterly unexplored. (Another time-machine worthy change? Convincing the director that disguising oneself as a 1970s porn star is no way to win a woman’s heart.)

But in spite of its rough patches, I’m Sorry, I Love You (note the significant comma placement) is a moving character study about finding ways to see behind people’s masks, and learning to love what you find there.

Random thoughts

• Episode 1. Gesh, buddy. Even I’d be a better assassin than you—at least I know when you’re trying to kill someone, you should should at them, not the nearby wine bottles. Get it together, would you?

• Episode 2. Ye gods, is this show all about value. Halfway through episode 2 and we already have two cases of traumatic head injury resulting in brain damage? Even for Kdrama, that’s got to be some kind of a record. Lee Kyung Hee, its screenwriter, sure gets a lot of mileage out of that old saw.

• Episode 4. You know, nothing ruins a nice homoerotic shower scene like probable brotherhood.

• Episode 9. Nice Guy was an enjoyable watch, but never quite grabbed me emotionally. This show, on the other hand, has me pinned in a half-nelson of feels. I can’t believe how wrapped up I am in these (largely unlikable) characters, especially because I’ve been able to see the site of this particular train wreck for about six episodes now. No more melodrama for me for a while, or I'm going to need anti-depressants.

• Episode 12. This episode gave me an idea for one of Donnapie’s Asian drama memes: That awkward Asian drama moment when a couple is so great together that you’re rooting for them to get married (or at least have lots of hot sex) . . . even though they're almost certainly brother and sister. That's awkward, all right. 

Watch it

Drama Fever

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Screenwriter Lee Kyung Hee’s other dark melodramas, including Nice Guy, Will It Snow at Christmas?, and A Love to Kill

The excruciating tragedy of What Happened in Bali, which also happens to star I’m Sorry lead So Ji-sub (in a much less compelling role, though—he mostly walked around looking like he had an epic case of constipation).

Can You Hear I Miss You?

(Includes light spoilers)

Amnesia, antiheroes, voiceover bargains with god, and romantic leads staring at each other from opposite sides of busy roads.

Why is it that so many Korean dramas include the same elements and themes?

Having just finished watching two series written by Lee Kyung Hee—the wrenching, one-two punch of Nice Guy and I’m Sorry, I Love You—I’ve been thinking a lot about one answer to this question: authorial voice. Like most big, brand-name screenwriters, Lee’s work tends to include a number of  common threads, most notably everything mentioned in the first paragraph of this post.

The points of similarity in a writer’s work can be little, like the Hong sisters’ affinity for love talismans like You’re Beautiful’s Piggy Bunny and Greatest Love’s beleaguered potato seedling. They can also be big, like the two body swap comedies written by Choi Soon Sik: 2006’s Please Come Back, Soon-Ae and this year’s Oohlala Couple.

And then there’s Moon Hee Jung, who in the past two years has written both Can You Hear My Heart? and I Miss You. I disliked the former about as much as any Kdrama I’ve ever seen, largely because the heroine’s cutesy ways made me seethe with hatred every time she appeared on screen. On the other hand, I’m loving I Miss You (as of episode 6, anyway). The weird thing? The shows are chock full of similarities.

Both begin with a pair of children being taken from their homes by an older woman who eventually raises them as something close to siblings. In CYHMY young Ma Ru and Dong Joo are abducted by Dong Joo’s mother and whisked off to spend their growing up years in South America. In I Miss You, the pairing is Soo Yeon and Hyung Joon, who end up living with nurse Jang. We don’t have many details yet about what their life was like away from home, but I’m hopeful that this will be fleshed out as the series moves on. It’s nice that the nurse saved both the kids, but based on what we’ve seen of her she’s not exactly the mothering type.

In both shows, the young captives grow up as inseparable companions who love each other intensely. The bromance in Can You Hear My Heart? is as tender and visceral as any Kdrama romantic relationship, and the show is peppered with intimate scenes of the two boys—often in bed. (Platonically, I’m sorry to report.) I Miss You has switched things up a bit: as boy and girl, its birds-of-a-feather captives have a similarly touching relationship, but their sizzling chemistry might actually get consummated at some point. (Please, please, please.) They, too, hang out in bed together.

Both dramas also showcase a nuanced mother figure who somehow manages to be simultaneously pathetic, tragic, evil, and loving. In CYHMH, it’s the woman who raised Ma Ru and Dong Joo. She carefully manipulates the boys with her maternal charms, and her relationship with them is a key point in the drama. I Miss You may actually prove to have a pair of less-than-perfect but loving mothers—nurse Jang and Soo Yeon’s mom. Once ready to abandon her daughter or die with her, Soo Yeon’s mother has since proven to be an important guardian to both Jung Woo and detective Kim’s daughter.

Other character types are repeated in each of these dramas—the creepy dad, the beside-the-point friend, the joker of a male lead who manages to find a bright smile in the darkest of times. But if Can You Hear My Heart is a reliable predictor of I Miss You’s trajectory, the most interesting of them all will be a conflicted antihero who flirts with the dark side but eventually finds redemption. In CYHMY, this was Bong Ma Ru, who did a litany of selfish, unsavory things to build a better life for himself. As of episode six no character in I Miss You quite matches this description, but I suspect it’s what lies ahead for Hyung Joon, played by the simmering Yoo Seung Ho. Here’s his character introduction, as translated on JYJ3.net.

Expressionless. His gaze is cold, his mind is composed too.
However, only one girl is an exception. Only to that girl is he caring.
He doesn’t express it with words. Whatever the girl wants, he knows and will satisfy her.
Thus, the others regard him as cold, but she merely calls him indifferent.
There is no way for failure, everything is correct.
Therefore, all his big clients have absolute trust in him.
To the extent that all the large players in the stock market want him as a son.
However, he uses his most pained wound as a weapon, and is a man who lives while embracing scary cruelty.

I think it’s safe to say that our Hyung Joon is more than the show has let on at this point. Is this “scary cruelty” from his past? Or is he the one behind the mysterious attack in episode 6? Maybe he did it because he sees violence as the only way to protect Soo Yeon. All I know for sure is that I can barely wait for this week’s episodes to find out more.

While my reaction to I Miss You couldn’t be more different from my reaction to Can You Hear My Heart, the two shows share a common backbone. Even working with so many of the same raw materials, though, they present their stories in different ways: one is kindhearted and sweet (or so it wishes), and the other is gritty and naturalistic. 

It’s possible to look at the common themes, characters, and scenes running through most Korean dramas from a cynical perspective, seeing them as evidence that the writers are content to repeat past triumphs rather than innovating. But there’s another way to understand this repetition, especially when it’s the product of a single screenwriter like Can You Hear My Heart? and I Miss You: A full, faceted exploration of a single concept just takes more more time than one drama allows.

Three Notes

Note 1.  When I was bitten by the Kdrama bug, Soompi was one of the first websites I started visiting regularly. It’s huge and frequently updated, and the scope of its coverage is amazing: from dramas to Kpop to celebrity gossip, Soompi’s got it all. So I’m tickled pink to report that I’ve been invited to contribute commentary and reviews to the site—the first installment of which has already gone up, as shown in the fangirl screen grab above. I’ll be posting there once a week (although the material will probably all go here, too).

The thing I find most amazing about Soompi is how long its been around: It was founded in 1998 by an American fan of H.O.T. (How Answer Me 1997, eh?) Back then I had only the dimmest awareness of Korean entertainment, largely gleaned from a friend who was attending Berklee College of Music in Boston. Although she was always reporting things like “The Korean Britney Spears is in my composition class!,” the concept of Kpop was mostly a curiosity to us. We were too busy following our favorite American boy band around the country to really care, and I was in fact founding my own website devoted to them. That website—and the whole fandom, really—is long gone now, so I appreciate how special it is to create something lasting on the Internet. When its age is calibrated to Internet fandom, Soompi is probably the equivalent of a thousand years old. (For fun times, check out the old versions of the site archived on The Wayback Machine. Note, in particular, the first item in the list of updates on the left.)

As a newcomer to Kdramas, I’ve found Soompi’s amazingly active forums to be an endless source of fascination. They’re the place to go for behind-the-scenes photos and news updates for current shows, but even more interesting are the threads devoted to old shows. During the depths of my obsession, I swear I read every single post in the 650-page Coffee Prince thread, which made me feel as if I had traveled back in time to experience the show’s original fan reception. It’s bizarre yet wonderful to read post after post debating whether this mysterious Gong Yoo guy would be a good actor or not—looking back five years later, I think it’s safe to say he was a success in the show.

Someday I’m bound to run out of things to say about Kdrama, but that day has yet to come. So in the meanwhile... Onwards!


Note 2. The next time I say something like ”Oh, Korea’s not that different from America,” I would like someone to remind me of the below photo. It’s from a prayer ceremony held earlier this month for the upcoming drama Alice in Cheongdam-dong. Most notable in the image? The head of a decapitated pig, all blue-tinged and...decapitated. Also, the fact that it appears have something into its mouth. What is this, the silence of the hams?

Note 3. There’s a fox in my neighborhood, and I can see why the real animals may have inspired the gumiho myth. I kept being woken up in the middle of the night by an unholy wailing that sounds thisclose to human. I’m not sure who’s more freaked out—me or my cat.

Drama Review: Nice Guy (2012)

Grade: A-

Category

Revenge melodrama

What it’s about

A young man out for revenge falls in love with the stepdaughter of his first love, a woman who betrayed him after he gave up everything in his life to protect her. Makjang and madness ensue.

First impression

From its very first scenes, this drama is a high-octane thrill ride that promises a wealth of soap-opera-style pleasures. Murder! Intrigue! Evil stepmothers, shrewish young women and manipulative young heroes-disguised-as-villains! Seriously...what’s not to like?

Midterm exam

Final verdict

No matter how much I love Korean drama, it’s a rare thing to come across a show that I would feel safe recommending to anyone, no matter what their personal interests. Nice Guy is one of the few shows that fit this bill—it does most everything right, and the things it does wrong are easy to overlook. It’s a near-perfect mix of the things Kdramas do so incredibly well: romance, intrigue, and melodrama. And unlike most television shows (whatever their continent of origin), it even rewards thoughtful viewing and deep consideration.

With its carefully structured plot full of subtle reveals, exciting reversals, and ambiguous, nuanced antiheroes, Nice Guy’s script takes what might have been a vehicle for soap-opera makjang and gives it real emotional heft. On the surface, its story contains the same old hoary elements that come up in all melodramas: miserable childhoods, tragic illnesses, and chaebol power struggles. (Amnesia, every drama writer’s magic-bullet plot device, makes a few fortuitous appearances, too.) But these things are just window dressing: this show’s true soul is found in its characters and their journeys. On the voyage from degradation and desperation to strength and wisdom, they clash again and again, nearly destroying themselves and each other.

It’s the viewers’ good luck that this deeply flawed group of characters is brought to life by a stellar cast that delivers almost universally spectacular performances. From Song Joong Ki’s steely-eyed “nice guy” to Moon Chae Won’s fiery heiress and Park Si Yeon’s beautifully damaged, ruthless social climber, its actors regularly say more with a single look than could be contained in a thousand pages of dialogue.

Nonetheless, Nice Guy is not perfect. Its first half was dragged down by dissonant, cartoony elements in the Choco/Jae Gil storyline. And by the last stretch of episodes, the complicated plot started to feel more like an intellectual exercise than an emotional one. The finale also left a little something to be desired, as far as I’m concerned. It didn’t really resolve the workplace storyline (I guess the winner was the person driving the nicest car in the coda?), and for a show that’s all about the importance of taking responsibility for one’s actions, the male lead got off the hook awfully easily. (For more involved, spoilery discussion of the coda, scroll down to the cut line at the bottom of this post.)

While it might not be my favorite show ever, Nice Guy is still one of the finest examples of its species: dark and drawn to the things that break us, it explores the horrible things people will do to save themselves, and the precarious ways they can earn redemption for them.

Random Thoughts

• Episode 3. Kudos to this show’s makeup department for using Ma Ru’s wounds as an excuse to lovingly highlight Song Joong Ki’s delicate, finely wrought features. That’s the kind of craftsmanship I can get behind.

• Episode 8. So they made a huge deal about her leaving with nothing in the previous episode—and now she has a car all of a sudden? What? It was even specifically mentioned that she left her car keys behind at home...did she carjack some poor ajumma?

• Episode 12. The harmonica. LOL. The harmonica...did Ma Ru pick up some mad mouth harp skills in the pokey, or what?

• Episode 14. I appreciate that narrative demands that the good guys don’t win until the last minute, but must they always be such idiots along the way? How could Ma Ru not be smart enough to have someone physically verify the person they were meeting? This bumbling might turn me team Jae Hee after all.

• Episode 14. I’m in mourning for poor Eun Gi, who started out a spitfire and has since lost every iota of personal agency. On the bright side, at least she’s still allowed to speak, which is sort of more than you can say for the heroine of Will It Snow at Christmas, an earlier drama written by Nice Guy’s screenwriter.

• Episode 15. Only in Kdrama fandom would knowing that someone opened their eyes during a kiss be a spoiler of a Dumbledore-dies level of awfulness. And yet, they included this very moment in the next episode’s preview.

• Episode 16. In life and in television I’m all for people getting what they want most, but I can’t even consider the possibility of Choco and Jae Gil ending up together. They have cute, sibling-style chemistry, but he seems way too old for her and they’re a terrible physical fit. The thought of them really kissing makes my skin crawl a little...but I still suspect the show might be headed that way.

• Episode 16. The only other show I’ve seen by this screenwriter is Will It Snow at Christmas, which I also really liked. It’s interesting that the two dramas have similar plot structures—each has three separate, nearly self-contained story arcs, as if someone hit the reset button mid-drama. This show’s beginning was all about Ma Ru’s obsessive love for Jae Hee, its middle was about Eun Gi’s struggle with amnesia...and now we have to wonder what the final four episodes will hold. Lots of twisty-turny betrayals and a happy ending, I hope.

• Episode 16. So I just realized what the combination of Song Joon Ki’s little, girlie face and his rough man hands reminds me of. The cover of Tiny Fey’s Bossypants. 

• Episode 17. The icing on the Nice Guy cake? Seo Eun Gi having a nervous breakdown as she wanders around in her wedding dress, like Miss Havisham’s long lost Korean granddaughter. Well played, show.

• Episode 19. All the acting in this show is good, but the bench scene in this episode is actually stunning. For that one moment, we see the true Ma Ru, with all his flaws and graces etched right into Song Joon Ki’s suddenly not-so-handsome face.

• Episode 20. The cherry on the icing on the Nice Guy cake? The fact that the finale’s opening credits have a different ending than the ones for the rest of the episodes. It’s like every single thing about the drama has evolved during its run.

• Episode 20. I think the coda is filmed in one of the (gorgeous) spots prominently featured Padam Padam—the bakery and vet’s office are in the very same building, even.

Watch it

Drama Fever

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