K-drama
Secret Garden (2010)
I haven't written in a long time on LJ due to exams and laying-around-doing-nothing-besides-school type of activities but last weekend I saw Korean boy band Big Bang spoofing Korean hit drama - Secret Garden. And than it hit me - I never wrote anything about this drama and I should. :D So here it goes...
Department store owner Kim Joo Won (played by arrogant rich-boy role specialist Hyun Bin), while during an errand for his playboy Hallyu star cousin Oska (Yoon Sang Hyun), mistakes stuntwoman Gil Ra Im (Ha Ji Won) for the lead actress with whom his cousin had an affair. He realizes his mistake but it's kind of too late because he already feels attracted to the stuntwoman.
Thus, their beautiful but complicated love story begins.
Cast:
Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im
Hyun Bin as Kim Joo Won
Yoo Sang Hyun as Oska (Joo Won's cousin)
Kim Sa Rang as Yoon Seul
You may think that is just another story of rich boy meets poor orphan girl BUT just wait until they swap bodies :)). For me, this MINOR detail was the salt and pepper of the drama, together with funny-as-hell-warm-hearted-heartthrob-idol Oska and his wonderful love story with wannabe-cold-hearted-bitch-but-actually-nice Yoon Seul (played by Kim Sa Rang).
I had big expectations from this drama (I actually thought, around the time they swapped bodies, that this will become my all time favorite Korean drama, ending My Name is Kim Sam Soon's reign) because it had:
- two of my favorite actors- Hyun Bin and Ha ji Won swapping bodies;
- a complicated love story;
- a dynamite cousin (I know I'm repeating myself but I really liked Oska oppaaaaaaa) who tries to speak a little Japanese ;))
- funny Hyun Bin acting all girly and stuff while Ha Ji Won is acting all mean and arrogant;
- a funny secretary Kim and his big-mouth love interest;
- a cute sms alert tone, MANY tracksuit fashion statements =)) some of which you can check out here, cool headphones and socks with Oska's Hallyu star face.
But at some point it began to resemble a little too much to 2004 k-drama What Happened In Bali - coincidentally also starring Ha Ji Won, in the role of a tragic but not as innocent Cinderella who cries her heart out because she's humiliated by her rich boy's mother.
Word of advice for those of you who haven't seen What Happened in Bali and love rainbows and cheerful dramas - stay away from it (I almost got a depression while watching).
So that's basically what happens in Secret Garden - the old story of parents not accepting their son's/daughter's choice to love a humble woman/man. Except, the analogy here wasn't with the story of Cinderella but with Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (You'll have to see the drama to know what I'm talking about).
Also, I was a bit disappointed by:
- the ending - screen writers tend too drag on a story across a bunch of episodes and then, in the last episode, they cram a lot of information and events;
- lack of an impressive love song like She is, Still/As ever, Without Words or Remember;
- an amnesia twist a la Hana Yori Dango 2 :| (Thank God it didn't last long)
It's needless to say that this drama has gammed a lot of attention in South Korea and it's currently creating a shopping frenzy among tracksuit and headphone lovers :D.
All in all, it's a good drama because it speaks about forgiving the mistakes of loved ones, sacrifice, brotherhood, rewriting one's life story, the importance of reading Alice in Wonderland and weird paranormal situations =)).
Who knows, if I hadn't previously watched What Happened in Bali, I would have appreciated it more.
Nonetheless, I included it in my top 3 Korean dramas after above mentioned Kim Sam Soon and my first K-drama - You're beautiful,
Favorite quotes:
Oska on upsetting Big Bang during a show - "I messed around with Big Bang?! I was really rude!"
Oska to some girl fans - "Oppa is no longer a young idol. I'm already 36 years old. Let me be in love ... You guys should change your favorite star. B2ST, I think they're not bad!"
Han Tae Sun to Kim Joo Won on his sparkly tracksuit - "You are not the only person living in this world. Why are you causing a disturbance to someone else's eyes."
Until next time ...
お休み