Operation Proposal (2012)

Operation Proposal
프로포즈 대작전
(Feb – Mar 2012)

who’s in it
Yoo SeungHo (Warrior Baek Dong Soo)
Park EunBin (Queen Seon Deok)
Lee HyunJin (You’ve Fallen For Me)
Go KyungPyo (Standby)
Kim YeWon (Flower Boy Ramyun Shop)

what’s it about
In general, people don’t usually adult themselves into the career they fantasized about when they were kids—astronauts, movie stars, pro-ballers—it’s not necessarily failure, simply the process of growing up. Some probably do get bitter about the loss of their youthful dreams, but for most of us, life goes on, we adapt, we get wiser, and we find contentment in new dreams. After all, in the real world, the story is not often a storybook fairytale—one does not marry their first love, one does not become mega filthy rich, nor does one become Angelina Jolie, and for a certainty, one does not get to do complete re-edit of their life. Is the happiness we have in our ordinary lives less meaningful than the one we had once dreamed up? Are there different measures of happiness? When we don’t get the big dream, are we settling for a lesser living? What does it mean to ‘correct’ a life’s path…isn’t the one we take ultimately the one we should be on?

In present time, Park EunBin is about to marry Lee HyunJin, and they are a young couple happily in love. But here’s the rub, almost everyone, including her own parents, thought she would actually end up marrying her childhood best friend Yoo SeungHo. Actually, even Park EunBin and Yoo SeungHo thought they would be marrying each other. So what happened? If the love is still there between them, which it appears to be, why is he the best man, and not the groom?

What went wrong, and in this case, where in the timeline does Yoo SeungHo need to go back to change it? “I’m glad you never liked her, otherwise I would never have stood a chance,” Lee HyunJin tells Yoo SeungHo on wedding day, and it is a misimpression Yoo SeungHo is determined to correct.

When Yoo SeungHo gets a mysterious visitor who offers him the chance to go back in time to try it different, to find and fix the wrong that separated his path from Park EunBin’s, he goes for it. This is a young man who regrets so many of the decisions he’s made in his younger days so he accepts the supernatural ticket into the past. Except, can he really change it? Yoo SeungHo takes the long way through time to learn that perhaps the key to happiness may not be about changing an event in the past, but changing the person he is in the present. In sometimes dizzying excursions between past and present, we learn the story behind two friends who never had the confidence to pursue their dreams, much less the guts to pursue the one they loved.

Bad Guy (2010)

Bad Guy
나쁜 남자
(May – Aug 2010)

who’s in it
Kim JaeWook (Coffee Prince)
Kim NamGil (Queen SeonDuk)
Han GaIn (Witch Amusement)
Oh YunSoo (Jumong)
Jung SoMin (Playful Kiss)
Kim HyeOk (Sons of Sol Pharmacy)

what’s it about
Hell if I know.

I lie, I do know:

Kim NamGil is our Bad Guy, and I’m not killing the suspense by adding that the title is meant to be somewhat ironical. Obviously, our hero is not really evil since we drama viewers will need to find a reason to like him for 17 hours. I apologize, I’m already editorializing.

Back to the plot: as a child, Kim NamGil suffered a grave scar (literally and figuratively) at the hands of a rich and powerful family. This heartless family maneuvered the fates of people they considered below their social class and pretty much screwed everybody over. If you guessed “birth switching” story, congrats! Imagine confetti and balloons showering down around you in jubilee.

Kim NamGil grows up to become a stoic, brooding, and somewhat badass stuntman, one with a vendetta against the whole of the aforementioned rich and powerful Hong family. Like most pseudo-sociopaths, he’s nurtured this obsession to the point of actually believing that he wants it, when in actuality, he’s just crying on the inside. His hate runs fairly equal for the entire family, but for the sake of keeping it within 17 episodes, he gives special focus to the offspring: the tormented youngest bro Kim JaeWook (his doppelganger, although it could be argued Kim NamGil is actually Kim JaeWook’s doppelganger), older and uptight sis Oh YunSoo, and the youngest sis, tart Jung SoMin, who is the only one who seems relatively happy in the show (initially).

In Kim NamGil’s defense, this family does make revenge really easy for him. Lambs to the slaughter.

director
Lee HyunMin (Sorry, I Love You, Winter Sonata)

You can see where this is gonna go...can’t you?

screenwriter(s)
Kim JaeEun (IRIS)

commitment 
17 episodes

network
SBS

first impressions
Very stylized…cryptic. Cinematic, even. Any show that starts with a roof and a blood splat on the pavement below sets a tone, I do believe, and it’s not a cheerful one. For some reason, Old Boy popped into my head almost immediately, and that made me exceedingly anxious, as years later, I am still woefully traumatized by Park ChanWook’s psycho-claustrophobia-inducing revenge film. I hated that film. I really, really did. That movie had a lot of themes I loathe. It was an excellent film, to be sure, but I still hated it. What can I say? I’m a sensitive soul. Moving on.

The hero you’re supposed to root for:
Kim NamGil
He seemed like he was capable of carrying this thing…there was definitely some good eye-charisma being utilized at appropriate intervals.

The heroine you want to like but kinda maybe sorta don’t:
Han GaIn
As our main female protagonist, I found her a tad disappointing. As usual, her perfume was far too fragile to play any kind of a strong female role, but on the hopeful side, she did share with us some surprisingly intriguing emoting in the early scenes. She was reaching deep to find her inner “spurned woman looking to climb ambition’s ladder” character. This could be the role that will make me believe in the Han GaIn I want to like, but have not found yet in her previous works.

The tormented second female lead:
Oh YunSoo
Personally, I find her to be one of the most beautiful Korean actresses around and she is quite capable of doing heavy, so I knew she was going to be splendid here. No doubts in this corner.

The one that may steal the show:
Jo SungMin
This was an interesting new face, youthful and carefree, yet a hint of malice there as well. The perfect casting to play a young rich girl looking to rebel with the wrong guy. Even after only a couple hours time with Jo, I hoped her role would be encompassing enough for us to really sink our angst. She was quite a compelling character. Naïve yet callously cold.

The real reason why you’ll watch this drama:
Kim JaeWook
Okay, he totally blew my socks off (and I wasn’t even wearing socks at the time, now that’s talent). Who was this guy? Surely not that waffle dude from 1st Shop of Coffee Prince! Not that pretty boy from Antique Bakery! Oh, but it was! Who knew he could act—so feckin’ completely? When he broke down (which was often), I totally believed this guy was about to lose his mind, lunch, and all his internal organs. All that was missing from his acting was the “I’m about to go batshit” involuntary eye-twitching, which as you know, is physically impossible to manufacture on cue, even for veteran actors.

The whole setup for this drama was convoluted and filmed with such creative production that it felt like something special...

Besides, I needed to find out out why everyone was so damn upset.

wildcard
Kim JaeWook v. The Entire Show

Kim JaeWook was awesome and there were some other great performances scattered in there as well, but the show itself was a histrionic mess. Not only was it the kind of show that required constant rewinding—“WTF just happened?”—and constant leaning forward—“WTF did he say?”—but worse of all, many a times it simply MADE NO SENSE.

Start this one if you are ok with being unsatisfied by the end. If you’ve ever dated, you know the feeling I’m talking about. Think about it for a sec. Yep, that’s the one.

Oh! My Lady (2010)

Oh! My Lady
오! 마이 레이디
(Mar – May 2010)

who’s in it
Chae Rim (Powerful Opponents, Dal Ja’s Spring)
Choi SiWon (Legend of Hyung Dan, Super Junior – member)
Lee HyunWoo (Dal Ja’s Spring, Attic Cat)
Park HanByul (Couple or Trouble, Freeze)

what’s it about
Chae Rim plays a divorced single mother unable to make ends meet after losing a job that didn’t pay so reliably in the first place. With no source for steady income, she finds herself out on the streets. She’s forced to send her daughter to temporarily live with her douchebag ex-husband (who clearly has money even though the first words out of his mouth are “I have no money to give you!”). To scrape by, she provides housekeeping services and lands a gig managing the pad of A-List star but F-Quality actor Choi SiWon, who can be described as a celebrity only slightly less narcissistic than his own reflection.

When Chae Rim is presented with a rare opportunity to score a decent, stable job at Lee HyunWoo’s production company trying to put together a new musical, she’s willing to do anything. In a lucky stroke of fortune (as fortune tends to be defined as something lucky), this company desperately requires a Top Star to lead their new production…and their first choice is someone Chae Rim knows personally. Well, not someone she knows so much as someone she’s definitely had contact with (of the vacuum-whacking variety). If Chae Rim can get bad-acting but insanely popular Choi SiWon to take the lead role, she’ll get the internship—or so goes the president’s offered deal.

Fortunately this may not be such a bad professional pairing after all because horrible thespian he may be, turns out the actor is a pretty decent singer, as evidenced when he showcases his voice (and abs) at a fan meet and concert (for us in the real world, no real surprise there as Choi SiWon is a part of idol mob Super Junior in real life).

Things really go awry when Choi SiWon and Chae Rim get a shocking surprise from the actor’s first love (well, the longest he’s ever dated anyone anyway, according to his friend)...and it’s delivered right to his doorstep...and it’s the kind of problem that cries and demands lots of love.

commitment
16 episodes

network
SBS

wildcard factor
Choi SiWon was surprisingly really great here as the egotistical actor that wasn’t completely the vain oaf he appeared to be on the surface. Now, I use the adverb ‘surprisingly’ only because of his relative lack of experience in acting, not because I’d expected him the fail. Well, okay, maybe I had a healthy dose of skepticism. Can you blame me? Pretty boy idols in dramas can be a hit or miss venture! For my own safety, I won’t go into further detail or point fingers elsewhere. Although, in a way, I suppose Choi SiWon had already been sorta vetted when he starred in Legend of Hyang Dan. Anyhow, he was a gigantic log of good-looking that ambled around on your screen…he was especially pleasing to enjoy in HD glory, I must say. What a darling little beauty mark he has on his nose.

And trust me, the next thing I am about to write is not penned lightly: he carried this entire disaster of a show on his shoulders all by himself. 

Thank gawd they were very wide, capable and hunky shoulders.

first impressions
Oy, a dark-haired handsome younger man and Lee HyunWoo were duking it out for ChaeRim’s affections—again? I had to give myself a cheek-smack to forcibly cast off the formidable shadow of Dal Ja’s Spring otherwise I worried I wouldn’t be able to give Lady a fair shake. Not to mention, I’d just finished another wonderfully done younger man/older woman drama called The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry and felt a tad wary of rebounding into another one so soon.

On the other hand, if it’s a good drama, it’s a good drama and I can watch the same story done a thousand times over—if done well.

When starting this drama, another concern for me was the similarity of the initial chords strung by Lady to the drama it replaced in the SBS time slot, Stars Falling From the Sky. The latter being one that I was not able to eek to the finish line. Generally speaking, the concept was this: an unlucky woman with no real marketable skills or credentials finds work as a housekeeper to support child(ren) and self while trying diligently to succeed at a job she’s underqualified for but impresses everyone with her gumption and thereby inadvertently wins the affections of the tightly-wound and rich/handsome benefactor…etc, etc. To-ma-to, to-mah-to. But what Lady had going for it that Stars lacked (from my perspective) was the loveliness that be Chae Rim. I wasn’t sure if this character was going to be a good vehicle for her, but I knew this age-defying actress was capable of making this kind of role work.

Speaking of age-defying, seriously, did she find the Fountain of Youth? She looked fab. A little on the too thin side, but still passably 5 years younger than her actual age!

Ultimately, Choi SiWon felt like he could be a good foe for Chae Rim, but I remained only cautiously optimistic because it wasn’t outstanding in its first few episodes. I wasn’t impressed by Lady after the initial tour of the setup, but the second episode was much better than the first and with more characters to come, things seemed positively bent. Also, I loved Chae Rim enough to forge on and keep the faith! I sent lots of positive thoughts and encouragement to this drama.

1% of Anything (2003)

1% of Anything
1%의 어떤 것  / Something About 1%
(Jul – Dec 2003)

who’s in it
Kang DongWon (Duelist – film, Temptation of Wolves - film)
Kim JungHwa (Snow White)
Han HyeJin (Be Strong, Geum Soon!)

what’s it about
A kind-hearted but meddling grandfather (also rich and head of a large company) deems the only way to get his heir-apparent on the right track and turn him into a decent human being is finding the right woman to fix him up. The bad tempered grandson, played by Kang DongWon, is understandably incensed by this new marriage clause placed upon his inheritance. He’s in complete disbelief when the old man declares Kim JungHwa to be the qualifier, the ultimate prize: marry her, score the family fortune. Unfortunately, Kim JungHwa is as good-natured as Kang DongWon is bad-natured. In order to get the old man off his back and inherit, Kang DongWon grudgingly agrees to the farce…even commuting from the city to the countryside to “date” the elementary school teacher. When the farce turns into real love, they encounter obstacles they hadn’t foreseen. While Kang DongWon’s grandfather is up for the match, no one else seems to see it the old man’s way.

commitment 
26 episodes

network
MBC

wildcard factor
A bright but mundane drama that didn’t hit any obvious wrong notes but missed the right ones, too.

after the first episode
Kang DongWon and Kim JungHwa appeared to have some chemistry together and were kinda sorta adorable. While the situation was extremely contrived, even by drama standards, and dangerously close to being too ridiculous to be true, it was harmlessly enjoyable to watch, especially for a Kang DongWon fan such as I.

So feathery light, this romantic comedy could have floated away into oblivion—it was that weightless.

I Am Sam (2007)

I Am Sam
아이엠샘
(Aug – Oct 2007)

who’s in it
Yang DongGeun (Ruler of Your Own World)
Park MinYoung
TOP (IRIS, member of Big Bang)
Son TaeYoung (Kwon SangWoo’s wife – What? She is)

what’s it about
A doormat-type teacher, Yang DongGeun, pines for the love of an art teacher (Kwon SangWoo’s wife) while trying not to get killed when he’s coerced into teaching the headstrong daughter of a gangster played by Park MinYoung, the girl who made TOP and GD throw fists at one another (for a Big Bang music video, that is). For some reason that still doesn’t fully make sense to me, Yang DongGeun ends up cohabitating with this sassy female student…and yes, if you suspect we’re heading there, the place where the worst nightmares of parents await, you are probably right and also a professional kdrama watcher.

commitment 
16 episodes

network
KBS2

wildcard factor
TOP – so, what you need to ask yourself is this: how desperate are you to watch this idol hottie for 16 hours?

after the first episode
Please please please don’t tell me this is a student-falling-in-love-with-the-teacher story. I hate those!

Iljimae (2008)

Iljimae
일지매
(May – Jul 2008)

who’s in it
Lee JunKi (Time Between Wolf and Dog, My Girl)
Han HyoJoo (Spring Waltz, Shining Inheritance)
Lee YoungAh
Park ShiHoo (How To Meet A Perfect Neighbor)

what’s it about
The story of a Robin Hood-esque figure named Iljimae (who looks like he just stepped out of a Ninja Gaiden Black video game), played by Lee JunKi, who is an ignoble clown during the day but gallivants around during the night as an anti-government bandit who fights for the people. His family was murdered when he was a child and now as an adult, he searches to find those responsible. Along his journey to free the oppressed, he begins to fancy a goody-goody noble girl, Han HyoJoo, who pretty much plays this same-same character in a lot of her dramas.

commitment 
20 Episodes

network
SBS

wildcard factor
Lee JunKi

after the first episode
What can I say? A metal-masked Lee JunKi twirling and flying about the tips of hanok rooftops. To say I didn’t really like it, that would be the truth, but I thought that meant it had an abundance of room for improvement.