W - Two worlds - KDrama

The age of sci-fi is upon us, or at least in the kdrama world this is true. Where dramas come out with stories that hook you not only with their intense and adorable romances but with their intriguing plots that may or may not be completely immersed in the fantasy or science fiction section. But I will not complain, in fact I will rejoice and encourage the makers of these dramas silently in my corner as I hope they continue like this for a long while as I am an avid fan of these genres. Because let’s be honest, in a world that’s getting a little bit more crazy as the days go by, it helps to have a little bit of fantasy to distract you and remind you that there are still things to be wondered at and amazed of.

The drama that has indeed fulfilled this need and recently ended is ‘W’. This story follows the life of Kang Chul who has a rough life where he gets accused of murdering his family and has to struggle through his childhood to become a very successful man who tries to solve the cases the police aren’t fully equipped to deal with. What makes Kang Chul even more fascinating is his very keen self-awareness and ability to realize that something is amiss with his life. This nagging feeling of his is both intensified and given an interesting twist with the lovely doctor Oh Yeon Joo entering his life suddenly and unusually.

Oh Yeon Joo is a resident doctor still finding her feet in her profession while spending her free time reading her favorite manhwa that just so happens to be written by her father, Oh Sung Moo. One day when he goes missing our curious doctor goes in search of him and suddenly finds herself dragged into another world and not just any world, but that very world of her fascination where her favorite, as well as millions of other people’s favorite, character Kang Chul resides. Before she even has time to register this event she finds herself constantly coming to our lead character’s rescue, changing not only the course of the story but her own reality as well.

Needless to say things become weird as the increasingly aware Kang Chul learns the truth of his existence from the strange girl he can’t stop thinking of as he also begins to see the world around him crumble as it struggles to keep up with the seemingly unplanned changes to his universe. It also starts getting interesting as we see the supposedly ‘real’ Oh Yeon Joo slowly becomes a part of the storyline and thus becomes bound by the laws of another universe, unable to control when and how she travels between the two worlds.

The story gifts one with a whole new fresh and intriguing storyline not fully explored by the kdrama universe and adds enough twists and turns that make it impossible to predict what is to happen and where things are going. It keeps you hooked and waiting for every step with bated breath as you follow the action-packed, romance-filled plot. Though they pull a somewhat interesting backtrack in the middle there with the clichéd amnesia card, it is easy to see where this is justified as writers try to keep the story on a smooth and intelligible track.

The acting was also on point as you watched the irresistibly handsome Lee Jong Suk display many versions of his character that show just how versatile he can be while still retaining an image you can’t look away from. The lovely doctor also held up her end of the stick with those expressions and actions that have you at first wanting to be her (as who wouldn’t want to fall into a comic book?) to cheering her on as another lead character in the story.

This drama proved to be a highly recommendable drama if only for its fresh approach to a whole new type of drama that Korea needs to invest in. It’s hard to dislike the show, (unless you watched it during the Olympics and hated that a new episode had to be delayed due to viewing schedules). In any case this drama did many things to me and dragged out many feels and I feel it was worth every moment watching it.

Marriage Contract - Kdrama

If there’s one thing you pick up after watching enough kdrama it’s that every drama has a formula. Whether it is a medical drama, a romance drama or even an action drama no matter which it is, there are always a few ingredients that go into making it. It could even be argued that these ingredients used over and over and twisted this way and that, are the key reasons fans love it so much. Different but always the same, that’s what one could argue Korean drama, is and as a fan I see nothing wrong with it. Still who knew I’d fall into watching a drama that took one recipe and mixed it to the extreme?

The drama I’m referring to is Marriage Contract and my word this was just a tear-fest waiting to happen. Why you ask, well if you think about it, obviously when one adds not one but two terminally ill patients in a drama there’s bound to be a heavy requirement for some tissues and comfort hugs. Still, despite the salty experience you can’t help but appreciate the ride it takes you one as it conveys the important message of cherishing every moment while you have it because you never know what lies around the corner.

The story follows a single mother struggling to live as she has to raise her seven year old daughter and still pay off the debts her husband left before dying. Because of this sad and troublesome existence we see Kang Hye-Soo doing everything she can as she works hard to just get by. However, life isn’t done messing with our poor Hye-Soo as she soon discovers that she has an inoperable brain tumor as well. Down on her luck and at a point where she couldn’t be any more desperate we see Han Ji-Hoon enter our heroine’s life by pure accident. But things aren’t going so well for our hero either as he is faced with a dire situation. We see the indifferent player Han Ji-Hoon running around to find a way to save his mother who is in desperate need of a liver transplant.

There we have two desperate individuals searching for any solution, one looking to find a way to support her child, Cha Eun-Sung and the other looking to marry someone who would be willing to undergo a liver transplant for his mother. Drawn together by their own situations we have Han Ji-Hoon drawing up a marriage contract with Hang Hye-Soo who has thrown caution to the wind and decided to risk her life in order to ensure her daughter’s future. So the fake marriage begins as the two pretend to be as close as possible in order to fool the hospital and hopefully not land up in jail. Of course this draws them into each other’s lives and as time goes by our two leads slowly begin to actually fall in love.

The story is interesting, despite the many clichés that can be found within it and the actors do a wonderful job of portraying their characters, so much so you can’t help but be overly moved by their performance as it brings tears, and on occasion smiles, to your face. Admittedly the plot drags a few times there in the middle but eventually it grabs your attention and keeps you hooked into the lives of star-crossed lovers. It also should be mentioned that the kid, Eun-Sung’s performance was well played as she went from being the little brat that couldn’t stand the troublesome Han Ji-hoon to the sweet little angel that would eventually call him dad as she softened his heart and made the viewers hearts melt as they portrayed the cutest father-daughter combo.

All in all the drama was very good in my opinion, though I have to say it worked hard to bring those emotions out of its audience and that ending…well that ending almost makes it hard to let this show go as you might find yourself sitting and waiting for some closure, or maybe that’s just me? In any case it was time well spent and anyone looking for a good cry and life lesson should look into it if they have the stamina to do so.

Please Come Back, Mister - KDrama

There must be something in the air at the production studios that has them working so hard to create such enticing soundtracks that have you engrossed and close to tears when you hear the song come on in the background as the scene plays out. Because honestly first there was the amazing OST from the Descendants of the Sun (hereafter DOTS) that had me swooning over the characters and now there’s this OST that has me near tears as it connects me on some level with the characters of this next drama that has me intrigued with its storyline that is quite hard to predict the outcome of to be honest.

Please Come Back, Mister is an interesting Korean drama that started the same time as DOTS but seemed to receive less attention yet to be honest the storyline attracted me more in terms of its supernatural quality. But I guess that’s a personal preference on my part. The story follows two men who have died recently, an overworked and underpaid man by the name of Kim Yong-Soo who seemingly committed suicide and the other man, Han Gi-Tak who died tragically in a car accident.

As luck would have it the two unrelated men meet on a train in the afterlife and become relatively close to one another, or as close as two people can get in the span of a few minutes on your way to the end of your life. However, things take a turn for the strange as Kim Yoo-Soo realises he isn’t ready to go just yet and decides to jump off the train. Due to various reasons Han Gi-Tak joins him and the two find themselves in a dusty room with a very lovable character, Maya, who has come to arrange for their return to earth with a set of specific rules.

Upon their return the two men discover they have awoken in different bodies to their original ones and we see Kim Yoo-Soo in a very handsome reformed shape that even he himself can’t help admiring, while the tough and rough Han Gi-Tak finds himself in a whole other situation that he is not pleased with. One where he has lost his fighting muscle which has been traded in for a petite and very feminine body he has no idea how to handle.

The hilarious results that come from their discovering how to handle their new selves is pure entertainment alone but more fun comes from their discovery of each other and the various situations they get themselves into while trying to see how things have progressed since their death. 

Honestly it’s hard to imagine how the storyline will go as each surprise and twist gives an intriguing dilemma to the reincarnated duo that have a limited time to deal with their unfinished business before their time to hop back on that train comes and they have to be off for real into that lovely sunset in the sky.

I have to admit that it does seem almost too extreme at times where there doesn’t seem like the story is going anywhere. But overall I like how they also don’t make it seem like the dead duo are invincible as the villain wins every now and then, however I’d like to see a few wins just to keep my interest in the show at least, this is just a drama after all you know…

Anyhow, for a supernatural rollercoaster show it does deliver in giggles and eye candy, it just needs some work in moving the story forward in a more faster pace, or maybe I’ve been spoiled by the fast pace of DOTS, I don’t know, whichever it is I can’t say this show isn’t worth a watch, because it is. At least that is my humble opinion.

The feels on this track tho~

Descendants of the Sun - KDrama

Even when it comes to the drama world sometimes you got to shake things up just so you can ensure you keep the audience’s attention on your content, or maybe even attract more patrons. Either way there is always that little extra something you have to strive to do in order to make your drama that something special that fans will drool just a bit longer over or idolize just a bit stronger about.

In the case of this next drama that caught my attention I must say it did just the thing with its high impact scenes and it’s movie quality production, not to mention its epic fight scenes there in the beginning that had my heart racing just a little bit as it added to the action aspect that just seems to keep growing as the series progresses. Of course the series also delivers quite brilliantly in the romance department as it eases the main couple’s relationship so seamlessly into the overall storyline that things seem almost too poetic.

The drama I speak of, Descendants of the Sun, follows a rather fast paced story that has two people from rather busy and high demanding jobs running into each other under somewhat awkward circumstances and immediately catching each other’s attention. We have a man from the army who works in the Special Forces, Captain Yoo Si-Jin who has a very charming personality and adorable smile in my personal opinion, and then you have a trauma doctor, Kang Mo-Yeong. The two initially meet under a misunderstanding that has doctor Kang thinking our heroic Captain is some kind of bad man, but the two quickly make up and even set up a date to meet each other again.

However, due to the nature of Yoo Si-Jin’s work he isn’t capable of sticking it through most of his dates and thus doctor Kang is left questioning her attraction to the mysterious man who keeps running off and things seemingly end abruptly. But fate has other plans for the two star-crossed lovers as they re-unite several months later. Unfortunately though, things have changed for both individuals who have undergone their own troubles in those passing months.

The show seems to play off on the push and pull of the seemingly ‘inevitable’ relationship that we expect our main leads to have. Though it drags a little at some points it does however work in making many good scenes that have you blushing and falling for the couple as you root for the relationship to work out, despite the troubles they will face due to their work.

Another thing I must mention though is the soundtrack that accompanies most of the scenes between the couple. It does it justice and adds to the feels that bring you closer to connecting with the series somehow.

Not to be left behind or overlooked is the second leads relationship troubles. Their story is so beautiful and enticing to watch I feel like it could be a whole drama on its own. It has gone from cute to dramatic to serious and the actors have shown some serious acting chops that make you wonder how they have not gotten more screen time.

Oh well… I look forward to seeing how both stories progress and I expect the high tension to die down at some point simply because it would be too costly to keep it going and people just can’t handle that much high without some kind of low at some point. So the creators will take all that into consideration (mostly the monies point I think) but regardless I shall enjoy the ride while it lasts and root for these couples like a true fangirl ought to!