Friday, February 12, 2010

Current Obsession: Korean Dramas

Here in Richmond, we have access to international television shows through MHz Worldview, that samples shows from all over, Germany, Sweden, France, and Italy, etc. Through it, I have been lucky to see shows such as Scene of the Crime: Cologne, Wallander, Maigret, Detective Moltabano, and Homicide Squad (La Omicidi).

The two recent shows that they have paired together on Thursday night are the Korean dramas Alone in Love and Someday. I love the pacing of these stories and the truly unique and interesting plots. They have a knack of keeping you interested, and they do it without the need for profanity, violence, or sex. Just good stories and intriguing characters. I actually got into these shows because I was trying to figure out if the lead character in Someday was also the same actress who plays Sun on Lost! Of course it's not, she only looked like her in this role.



Alone In Love aired April to May 2006 in 16 hour-long episodes directed by Ji-Sueng Han. The series dealt with a once happily married couple Eun-ho (Son Ye-jin) and Dong-jin (Karm Woo-Sung*) who try to make sense of their continuing intertwined lives after their divorce three years ago. They just can't seem to leave each other alone. They need to deal with their tragic past in order to have a future, weather that future is spent alone or together. Directed by Ji-Sueng Han, 2006, color, In Korean with English subtitles. There's a more detailed review of the DVD here. Beware, the review has spoilers!



Someday aired November to December 2006 in 16 hour-long episodes directed by Kim Kyung Yong. Hana Yamaguchi (Bae Doo-Na) is a strange character; she's a successful cartoonist who writes about romance but does not believe in love. When her job is canceled, she goes on a journey to track down a long-ago love story and discover for herself if love exists. This story includes the three people whose lives she affects on her journey; the rich doctor (Kim Min Joon*) who has been obsessed with her and her art, his long-time platonic female friend (Oh Yoon Ah), and the street detective (Lee Jin-Wook) he hires to help Hana on her quest. This website, while rating the DVD, actually tells you a lot about the plot and characters. Because I don't want to know too much, I only skimmed through it.

Excellent video previews for both can be found on YouTube: Someday and Alone in Love.

* YUM!!!

2 comments:

Antoinette said...

Thanks for the recommendations! I added both to my Netflix queue -- both with "unknown" release date on DVD. Oh well. I have seen way more than the average bear's share of Chinese films, but the only notable Korean fare so far in my life is the excellent horror film "The Host".

lsaspacey said...

Hey, I think one of the lead actresses in Someday was in that movie! Also when watching Someday, check out the outfits on the ad exec, she's supposed to be super successful, so her wardrobe is gorgeous. I wish I was able to find more pictures from the shows, but alas.

Thanks, for letting me know they were also on Netflix! I didn't even check there. The shows I think are available through Amazon, I saw a lot of mentions on Google but never checked.