공주의 남자 The Princess’s Man

This is one of the very few dramas that I follow so closely with the Korean broadcasting period. Usually I tend to wait until the entire drama has finish broadcasting and uploaded online, or start watching only when a few episodes have been broadcasted in Korea. Because I hate waiting, I hate how the drama will leave you hanging in suspension each week. But ‘The Princess’s Man’ was so good that I was willing to bear the torment each week as I fervently follow the Korean broadcast of two episodes each week.

The drama has managed to reel in a lot of love from its local audiences, depicting a tragic love story that parallels the widely known story of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Much more appealing is the fact that this Romeo and Juliet story is set in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, an entirely new adaptation apart from the usual Western/European film adaptations of the star-crossed lovers.

Briefly, the story revolves around the two main characters, Lee Se Ryung and Kim Seung Yoo, who did not know that their fathers were arch enemies when they first met and gradually feel in love with each other. Following on was a series of tragedies that threatened the love between both parties. What kept me watching each week (besides Park Si Hoo dressed in hanbok) was the way they fought and persevered through those ordeals, even as tragedies of tragedies occurred such as lives of their loved ones lost and family ties severed.

Also, I personally found the male actors in this drama outstanding and no I’m not being bias here. Park Si Hoo and Song Jong Ho did their parts convincingly well. Song Jong Ho managed to make me hate yet pity his character at different points of the drama, sometimes both at the same time, which I guess was what his character set out to achieve. Moon Chae Won wasn’t bad, but I can’t particularly say she was very good as I find myself looking a lot at blank expressions and wondering what she’s thinking several times throughout the series. However, both Park Si Hoo and Moon Chae Won together made themselves a seemingly genuine couple.

Good news for haters of lengthy drama, this drama is only 24 episodes long, which is short for a 사극! The casts, beautiful music and not to mention, the beautiful hanboks, make this a must-watch drama!

동이 Dong-yi

I’ve finally finish watching 동이 (Dong-yi), a 60-episode Korean historical drama about the life of a King’s mother. The drama depicted how Dong-yi, with her kindness and intelligence, raised from being a lowly water maid in the palace to being King Sukjong’s concubine. In the drama, Dong-yi faced numerous adversities as she gradually gained power in the palace, yet all along she stayed true to herself. Her selfless-ness portrayed in the drama (as with so many others) could sometimes seem unrealistic to me because she appeared too kind and selfless, leading me to think if such a selfless person like her really exists in the world today. Probably a thought that stemmed from the absence of such value in myself but then again, it’s a drama which meant a lot of things are dramatized.

Fan-made mv depicting the love between King Sukjong and Dong-yi.

I’m a fool for love stories especially the ones between unlikely couples which in this case, a 천민 (cheonmin, lowest class of people) and a King. Despite the struggles faced by Dong-yi as part of the main storyline, the drama still managed to stay focused on the emotional bonds between the characters, especially between Dong-yi and the King, and the brotherly love between the Crown prince and Prince Yeoning.

For a lengthy 사극, the story can be quite draggy and unfortunately, Dong-yi has also fallen victim to draggy storylines. From the few 사극 I have watched, there is always the typical storyline and I like to label them as “battle no. 1”, “battle no. 2” and so on, depending on how lengthy the drama can get. These fights are between the group of protagonists and antagonists, with several rounds throughout the drama. The protagonists might win the first round, but the antagonists would take the lead in the second, but ultimately it usually ends with the protagonists winning, unless they have a tragic ending in real historical records. In Dong-yi, I felt there is quite a never-ending of “battles” for Dong-yi until the very 2nd or last episode. Although these battles might be gripping, it’s personally quite tiresome to have to keep following them. Overall the storyline was good and it is definitely worth watching (almost) all 60 episodes!

사극 (史劇)

사극 (sa-geuk) means historical drama. I realised my love for 사극 has almost completely replaced Korean dramas with modern settings. Whenever a new 사극 is released I find myself looking forward to watching it with more enthusiasm than other dramas on my must-watch list. To me, one of the most appealing aspects of 사극 is the protagonists’ abilities to solve different kinds of problems without the presence of modern technology, i.e. computers, mobile phones, cars, etc. I know that THAT IS what 사극 is about and THAT’S just the appealing point! In our age and time, the issues that people faced at that time could easily be solved with modern technology. But it amazes me how people of that era employ tactics and strategies to work their way around things, solving puzzles and mysteries without the use of modern technology.

Another appealing aspect of 사극 is the rich cultural content vividly displayed on-screen, the historical cultural roots that characterised today’s Korean society (or Chinese or Japanese, because this applies to their historical dramas as well). The historical and cultural roots flamboyantly displayed in these dramas are also the reasons why they are well received in the home country- the traditional clothes (hanbok), the houses, the lifestyle they led and so on.  Even as a foreigner, I find the hanbok so beautiful and appealing. In addition, it’s an entertaining way to learn Korean history! It’s through the drams did I learn a lot about the Shilla and Joseon dynasty.

One of my Korean friends admitted that Korea makes awesome 사극 and I agreed.

Although I’ve watched 대장금 (dae-jang-geum/da-chang-jin) on TV, I didn’t really follow the entire drama, just bits and pieces. If I remember correctly, 일지매 (il-ji-mae) was the first 사극 I completed. The reason was because Lee Junki starred in it so I watched it even though I wasn’t too attracted to the idea of watching a 사극 drama at first. But the storyline kept me hooked besides the fact that Lee Junki’s acting was top-notch.

After that, my second 사극 was probably 이산 (yi-san), the one with 77 episode starring Lee Seo Jin. The storyline was so good- a mix of treachery, betrayal, love and action! This is probably the drama that made me look at 사극 in a whole new way. That 사극 surpass modern Korean dramas in so many ways! Oh my god, one of the best dramas I’ve ever watched! Or so I thought before I watched 선덕여왕 (Queen Seon-deok). I did a drama review (more like a drama rave) post before so I will not go into much details but if anyone is looking for a 사극 to start on, watch Queen Seon-deok (62 episodes), one of the most epic drama ever. It’s amazing to watch a female ruler rise to power in the country that will later be gripped by Confucius values, pushing the status of women to the lowest ever during the Joseon dynasty.

If you’re looking to watch a shorter 사극, try 공주의 남자 (The Princess’s Man) that recently ended in Korea at 24 episodes, a Joseon Romeo and Juliet love story that will keep you captivated throughout!

선덕여왕 (Queen Seon-Deok)

공주의 남자 (The Princess’s Man)

It’s a pity 사극 aren’t receiving as much love as the other modern Korean dramas internationally. Well, sometimes the length may be quite a turn off (even to me!), but what makes the story is the development of storyline and characters that go with it.

I am currently watching 동이 (dong-yi), which I had stopped for awhile due to assignments, and starting on 뿌리 깊은 나무 (Tree with deep roots).