"Boy met girl. Argued for a while. Later became friends and then lovers. However, tragedy struck. Boy died but came back as a different MAN literally except for the handsome face and charming smile. Girl almost married the other guy but later realised her first love had come back for her. Unfortunately, the man met with an accident again but regained his lost memories and got back together with his lady love... ".
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
Translated Title
Winter Love Song
Cast-Character
Bae Yong Jun-Kang Jun Sang / Lee Min Hyung ( architect )
Choi Ji Woo-Jung Yoo Jin ( interior designer )
Park Yong Ha-Kim Sang Hyuk ( radio producer )
No. of episodes
20 VCDs
Genre
Love story
Language
Korean with Chinese subtitles or dubbed into Mandarin
Recommended
Buy the soundtrack
STORYLINE
Part 1
It started with an 18-year-old Kang Jun Sang coming to Spring Village to look for his father. There, he met Jung Yoo Jin on the bus to school. It was his first day of school. They were late and were punished by a teacher. Besides Yoo Jin, he also met Kim Sang Hyuk and Oh Chae Reen. They were under the broadcasting committee in school. There were some animosity coming from Jun Sang towards Sang Hyuk. This was because Jun Sang suspected that Sang Hyuk's father was his real father. In order to hurt Sang Hyuk ( who was in love with Yoo Jin ), Jun Sang purposely got close to Yoo Jin, but Yoo Jin found out about it and was angry. She cancelled their date and went holidaying with her friends in the mountains. Jun Sang, feeling guilty, also went on the same trip to apologise to her. On that same night, because of some misunderstanding between them, Yoo Jin ran off to the woods alone and got lost. Sang Hyuk and Jun Sang went to look for her frantically. Fortunately, Jun Sang found her. Then and there their love blossomed. Unfortunately, tragedy struck! It was New Year's Eve and they were supposed to meet in town. Jun Sang got killed in a road accident when he was on his way to see Yoo Jin.
Part 2
Ten years later, on the night which Yoo Jin was about to get engaged to Sang Hyuk, she saw a man who looked like Jun Sang on the streets of Seoul. She followed the man but lost sight of him later. As a result, she missed her engagement ceremony. Later, her friends - Yong Kuo and Jin Sook planned another engagement ceremony for her in their old school. They even invited Chae Reen ( who just came back from France ).This time Yoo Jin really got engaged to Sang Hyuk.
To their surprise, Chae Reen also brought along her boyfriend whom she met in France. He happened to be the man that looked like Jun Sang. He was Lee Min Hyung. Min Hyung was the new architect at Marcian that was working with Yoo Jin's Polaris company. This meant they would be working together to renovate a ski resort in the outskirts of Seoul. Every time Yoo Jin looked at Min Hyung, she would think of Jun Sang and secretly hoped that Min Hyung was him. Chae Reen being aware of this, she purposely lied to Min Hyung about Yoo Jin's bad character. She told him that Yoo Jin liked to imitate her and seduced any man that Chae Reen fancied with tales such as - he looked like her first love. This made Min Hyung totally put off by Yoo Jin. He realised the truth much later on and broke it off with Chae Reen. He became friends with Yoo Jin. Sang Hyuk was quite unhappy with the whole thing but still let Yoo Jin carry on with her job at the ski resort which required her working together with Min Hyung. After a while, Min Hyung realised that he was falling for Yoo Jin and let her know his true feelings. She rejected him at first but changed her mind after Sang Hyuk tried to force her to marry him. Then Sang Hyuk tried to kill himself. This resulted in Yoo Jin going back to him. Min Hyung had no choice but to let her go with a heavy heart. Yoo Jin said that Min Hyung was the one that she loved before going back to Sang Hyuk. A few weeks after that, Min Hyung found out that he was actually Jun Sang. He had amnesia because of the previous accident. Later, Sang Hyuk also found out the truth about Min Hyung but he stopped Min Hyung from telling Yoo Jin. So, Min Hyung decided to leave for U.S. without telling Yoo Jin. Before leaving, Min Hyung left her a CD titled "The First Time". The song was the same song that Jun Sang had played and recorded for her during their time together. This made Yoo Jin realised that Min Hyung was Jun Sang ! She ran to the airport and called out Jun Sang's name and he turned to face her. She apologised for not believing him was Jun Sang earlier. Then, they spent the night talking about Jun Sang and Yoo Jin's days together. Still, Min Hyung couldn't remember anything from his past. The next morning, thinking that he would only hurt Yoo Jin more by not remembering her, he decided to leave for good. Then he met with an accident again - this time for saving Yoo Jin's life. He went into a coma for a while but woke up later with only a partial of his memory of the past. He still couldn't remember their days together. Later on he went back to Spring Village with Yoo Jin and regained his lost memories. He remembered their date on New Year's Eve and what he had wanted to say to Yoo Jin. They became a couple from thereon.
Part 3
Besides remembering Yoo Jin and his friends, Jun Sang also remembered something about his mother. Before the accident ten years ago, he found out that Jung Hyun Soo ( Yoo Jin's father ) was Kang Mi Hee (his mother)'s ex-fiancé. They broke off the engagement when Hyun Soo married Yoo Jin's mother. Mi Hee even tried to kill herself after that but was saved by Sang Hyuk's father ( who was also in love with her.) They even had a one-night stand ( this Jun Sang didn't know ). After that, she moved out of the village and became a famous pianist. Jun Sang suspected that Hyun Soo was his father and asked his mother about it. She did not deny it. He was heartbroken. He had already asked Yoo Jin to marry him before this. Hoping that Yoo Jin would not ever find out the truth, he went ahead with the wedding. However, Sang Hyuk who knew the truth from his father stopped the wedding in time. Jun Sang asked Sang Hyuk not to tell Yoo Jin and promised that he would leave her. One day, he brought Yoo Jin to the seaside. This would be the last time they 'd be together. Of course Yoo Jin didn't know it yet ! Two days later, Jun Sang left Yoo Jin with Sang Hyuk. Yoo Jin was frantic to find out that Jun Sang had left. Sang Hyuk told her Jun Sang had left her because his mother was against their relationship. However, the truth finally came out. Sang Hyuk's mother blurted it out to Yoo Jin. Yoo Jin was devastated. But she still loved Jun Sang no matter what. Before parting ways, she presented him a gift - a model of a house designed by her.
The Ending 1
After parting their ways, Jun Sang found out that his real father was not Yoo Jin's father. Instead, it was Sang Hyuk's father. All this happened because of his selfish mother. She was trying to kid herself into thinking that Jun Sang was Hyun Soo's son. However, the truth came too late for Jun Sang ! He had a blood clot in his brain. He would have to undergo an operation to remove it and he would go blind or die after that. Sang Hyuk, upset to know that Jun Sang was his own brother, forbade him from telling Yoo Jin (again !) about him not being her brother at all. He even asked Jun Sang to tell Yoo Jin to let him (Sang Hyuk) join her to study in Paris. However, he changed his mind later when he knew about his brother's condition. He told Yoo Jin everything but Jun Sang was already leaving for New York to undergo the operation. They rushed to the airport but they were too late !
The Ending 2
Three years later, Yoo Jin came back from Paris. Sang Hyuk did not accompany her to Paris. Yoo Jin went back to her old job. There, she found out that the house she had designed and given the model to Jun Sang, had been built on an island. So, she went there and found a blind Jun Sang. He was the one who built the house. It was the last building that he had built before turning blind. He had built it for her…
COMMENTS
The Story
It was the first time I had cried so much watching a love story. Usually, I would only cry when someone died in a story. However, this one made me cry throughout the whole series. It was actually a simple love story. Boy met girl. Argued for a while. Later became friends and then lovers. However, tragedy struck. Boy died but came back as a different MAN literally
except for the handsome face and charming smile. Girl almost married the other guy but later realised her first love had come back for her. Unfortunately, the man met with an accident again but regained his lost memories and got back together with his lady love. Mostly, the facial expressions and looks of longing from the two leads were the things that made this series captivating for the audience.
The Cast
Bae Yong Jun as Kang Jun Sang (18 years old )
He looked the part with the black school uniform. He was always looking so cool in every scene. He seldom smiled but his eyes spoke a lot. He didn't even have to say out his lines to make me notice him.
Bae Yong Jun as Lee Min Hyung / Kang Jun Sang ( 28 years old )
He dyed his hair light brown for this part. He was more cheerful and sensitive. He had a charming smile and it was the smile that captured my heart. The way he looked at Yoo Jin was like she was the most precious thing in the world and he wanted to protect and take care of her.
Later on in the series, his cheery eyes became so sad that every time I looked at him, I just wanted to cry. I could feel all his heartache that was eating at him. E.g. When he brought Yoo Jin to the hospital and told her to visit Sang Hyuk. He told her he would be waiting for her in the car but she never came back. It was so sad !!
Choi Ji Woo as Jung Yoo Jin ( 18 years old )
At first, I was wondering how old she was supposed to be. Then, I found out that she was to be 18. To be honest, she didn't look the part at first but when she smiled, she really looked like a playful 18-year-old. The first thing I noticed about her were her expressive and watery eyes. She also had a beautiful smile.
Choi Ji Woo as Jung Yoo Jin ( 28 years old )
She was so good in changing her expressions from cheerful one minute to shock, surprise and then sad that she wanted to cry the next minute ( Yes, in that order ). Every time she looked at Min Hyung / Jun Sang, it was with deep deep longing. She looked like she wanted to hug him and never let go.
Park Yong Ha as Kim Sang Hyuk (18 years old )
He does have a bit of a resemblance to Bae Yong Jun. So, the part was O.K. for him. He was an O.K.- looking guy with a bad hairstyle at first. He was also too much of a gentleman to make his moves towards Yoo Jin. He knew her since they were kids. He was in love with her for more than ten years. He was there for her when Jun Sang died.
Park Yong Ha as Kim Sang Hyuk ( 28 years old )
His hairstyle turned out better after ten years. A moderately successful radio producer. He loved Yoo Jin very much even though he knew that she didn't love him back. He was always trying to protect her from getting hurt by Jun Sang again. However, throughout the series, he was the one blocking them all the way. There was the time when he indirectly forced Yoo Jin to marry him in front of a large audience. After that failed, he tried to starve himself to death. He was trying to get sympathy from Yoo Jin so that she would go back to him. Such a selfish b*****d! (Sorry. I just couldn't bring myself to sympathise with him. )
Oh Chae Reen ( Sorry ! Don't know the actress' name )
She didn't change her appearance much throughout the series. From 18 to 28, nothing much changed except for her hairstyle. She was a self-confident and self-assured kind of gal. If she wanted something, she would go all out to get it. She was supposed to be a fashion designer but I hadn't seen her design anything except contemplating ways to lie to Min Hyung about Yoo Jin. But something saved her in the end. To my surprise, she even asked Jun Sang to run away with Yoo Jin when she knew they were siblings since they were so in love with each other.
Yong Kuo ( Sorry ! Don't know his name either )
A loyal friend to Sang Hyuk. A veterinarian ( an animal doctor ). In the end, he married Jin Sook and had a daughter.
Jin Sook ( Sorry ! Don't know the name too )
Only one word to describe her i.e. DUMB !!
Sang Hyuk' s father
A professor in a university. Let me add another word to describe this old guy. NAÏVE!! How could he not know whether Kang Mi Hee was telling the truth or not ! It was too late for Jun Sang and Yoo Jin when he discovered the real truth!
Kang Mi Hee ( Jun Sang's mother )
SELFISH WOMAN!!
Yoo Jin's mother
WEAK, CONSERVATIVE WOMAN !!!
Sang Hyuk's mother
Selfish (Note that I'm using lower case here) Not as bad as Jun Sang's mother.
Jung Hyun Soo ( Yoo Jin's father )
DEAD! Even from the start. You only got to see his photo and grave. I guess he was the most innocent person in the series. He was forced to eat the dead cat ( try translating it into Cantonese ) by Kang Mi Hee.
Other Aspects
The Soundtrack
EXCELLENT !!!! Could have won an Oscar for the Best Soundtrack of the Year. The main theme songs titled ' From The Beginning Till Now' and 'My Memory' could induce me to tears even when I didn't even understand a word that was sung. Not ever since My Heart Will Go On (before it was played to death by the radio stations !). Nowadays, you could listen to the Mandarin versions of the 2 songs sung by Jeff Chang.
The Landscape / Cinematography
SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL !! Winter had never looked so beautiful, romantic but sometimes melancholic too. Oh, how I wished I was at the lake in Spring Village right now ! Or at the ski resort mentioned in the series !
The Love Factor
BAE YONG JUN !!!!! I have turned into one of his most ardent fans now ! Not just me. Even my mom, sister, aunt, friends and my colleagues too !
Choi Ji Woo !!! She pairs off with Bae Yong Jun so well that they even sparked off rumours of being an off-screen couple.
The Soundtrack !! Simply great !
The Landscape !! (See above comments)
The Casting Director !! For getting the RIGHT persons to play Jun Sang and Yoo Jin.
The Hate Factor
KANG MI HEE !!!!!!! TOTALLY SELFISH !!! Only thought about her own self and in complete SELF-DENIAL !!
Kim Sang Hyuk !!!! He was like a roadblock that people hate. Always standing between Jun Sang and Yoo Jin !
Oh Chae Reen !! I hated her at first when she told all those lies about Yoo Jin to Min Hyung. I would say that she deserved it when Min Hyung dumped her for Yoo Jin ! If she hadn't been so mean, she wouldn't have lost Min Hyung.
Yoo Jin's mother !!!!! This is a woman that I don't quite understand. She was supposed to love her daughter very much. Instead, she prevented her daughter from being with the one that she (Yoo Jin) truly loved. Besides, she forbade Yoo Jin from seeing Min Hyung with her tears and poor health ( She fainted when Yoo Jin was about to rush to see Min Hyung ).
Sang Hyuk's mother ! A selfish mother !! Thought only for her son and nobody else. Treated her son like a small kid.
The Director ! For thinking of whether he was being fair to Sang Hyuk or not !! For making Jun Sang blind - also for the sake of Sang Hyuk (Argh…!!!) For being psychologically imbalanced - he likes to make dramas about incestuous relationships. E.g. Winter Sonata; Autumn In My Heart.
Fave. Scenes ( in chronological order )
The First Day Of School ! In the bus. Yoo Jin had fallen asleep on Jun Sang's right shoulder. He then pushed her head off his shoulder and it ended with her head knocking the bus window. It was quite funny and sweet.
The part where Jun Sang chanced upon a singing Yoo Jin. She was singing along to the song 'The Dancing Queen' in the recording studio when Jun Sang came through the door. It was here that Jun Sang got attracted to Yoo Jin. It was a very funny scene.
The part where Yoo Jin taught Jun Sang how to play the piano. That was the first time he played the song 'The First Time'. ( though it was not Bae Yong Jun who played the piano )
Ten years later, the part where Yoo Jin met Min Hyung in his office. This was the part that showed that Choi Ji Woo was a very good actress. She could change her facial expressions from happy to shock and then from shock to heartbreak. It was all in less than 2 minutes. After that, she quietly looked at Min Hyung ( who was sitting beside her ), full of tears in her beautiful sad eyes, trying to ensure herself that she wasn't dreaming.
In an old Restaurant at the ski resort that was to be renovated by Marcian and Polaris (both are companies that Min Hyung and Yoo Jin work for)! Both of them were stranded in that restaurant due to bad weather and they had to spend the night there. It was here that Min Hyung declared his love for Yoo Jin.
In front of Min Hyung's family villa !!! Yoo Jin accepted Min Hyung's love and they were sitting on a bench beside a balding tree looking at the Polaris star. He kissed her forehead and held her close. It was one of the most romantic scenes !!
The Polaris Necklace !!! A gift from Min Hyung to Yoo Jin. Later, Yoo Jin pasted four glow-in-the-dark stars that represented the Polaris star on the ceiling of Min Hyung's car. The necklace was a simple but beautiful and elegant piece of jewellery. It was made of white gold and diamonds.
The Church !!!! This was the first time they entered a church. This was the place where Jun Sang proposed to Yoo Jin. This was also the first time they had truly kissed each other. Definitely one of the most romantic scenes !!
The Ending 2 !!!!!!! A blind Jun Sang asking "Who is there?' No reply. Then he asked again, " Is it Yoo Jin? " Yoo Jin replied, " Is it Jun Sang? " I cried non-stop after that !!
Ten Saddest Scenes ( From the LEAST sad to the SADDEST )
Number 10
Jun Sang ( 18 ) died in the road accident. He was on his way to meet Yoo Jin. ( We knew that he WOULDN'T die ! He's the lead !! )
Number 9
When Min Hyung called Yoo Jin on the cellphone and Sang Hyuk answered instead. Sang Hyuk told him that Yoo Jin was going to be spending the night with him. He was crushed to hear that. Then, he stood in the mid of a snowfall and cried silently.
Number 8
Min Hyung found a cassette recorded by Jun Sang for Yoo Jin and he was crying because he couldn't tell Yoo Jin that he was Jun Sang.
Number 7
At this time, Yoo Jin had gone back to Sang Hyuk. She and Sang Hyuk had a chance meeting with Min Hyung and Sang Hyuk thought Yoo Jin had arranged it. So, he got angry and left her alone at the sidewalk. Min Hyung walked out of the pub and saw her. He hailed a taxi for her since she was unsuccessful to get one. He didn't look at her but Yoo Jin was looking at him longingly. After she got into the taxi, he just quietly walked away without saying anything.
Number 6
When they parted their ways due to the fact that they were brother and sister. Yoo Jin gave Jun Sang a model of a house designed by her. She even asked him not to turn back when they went their separate ways.
Number 5
When Jun Sang found out about Yoo Jin and him being siblings, he still decided to marry her. He tried to keep the truth from her in order to protect her from getting hurt again, while he himself was hurting inside. He carried the burden of the truth all by himself !
Number 4
Jun Sang decided to take Yoo Jin to the seaside to enjoy their last days together without her knowing the truth. There, he almost lost control of himself when Yoo Jin was ready to give herself to him ! On the last day at the seaside, he threw away all the things that would make Yoo Jin remember him including the precious necklace!
Number 3
This scene happened after Min Hyung told Yoo Jin that he was Jun Sang but she didn't believe him. After that, he called her and asked to see her. She told him to let her go because she had chosen Sang Hyuk. Min Hyung still insisted and pleaded with her to see him for the last time. Both of them were crying sadly. When Yoo Jin decided to meet him, all of a sudden, her mother came out and stopped her from going to him. This was where her mother fainted and prevented her from meeting him. Min Hyung waited for her in vain….
Number 2
Min Hyung was trying to be a GENTLEMAN !! He symphatised with Sang Hyuk who was starving himself to death after he and Yoo Jin had broken up. Min Hyung brought a reluctant Yoo Jin to the hospital to see Sang Hyuk but she didn't want to because she knew she would go back to Sang Hyuk out of pity for him. Being the gentleman that he was, Min Hyung said he would be okay. So, Yoo Jin wouldn't have to worry about him. Yoo Jin promised him that she would come back to him. Min Hyung waited for a long time but she never came back….
Number 1
They were to part their ways for the last time. Jun Sang, knowing that he didn't have long to live, asked Yoo Jin to go with Sang Hyuk to Paris. Yoo Jin was surprised by his request and said no. He told her to accept Sang Hyuk because he wouldn't worry if Sang Hyuk were the one to
take care of her. When they arrived at Yoo Jin's house, she didn't want to get out of the car. So, Jun Sang opened the door for her. She got out of the car reluctantly. Jun Sang gently said to her, " Let's not see each other again. Let the memories at the seaside be our last. Will you do that? " Her heart was breaking but she said yes. When he turned to walk away, she grabbed at his sleeve to prevent him from walking out of her life forever…
Rating
INTERESTING FACTS
The Ending 1
Jun Sang was supposed to die in the end and Yoo Jin left for Paris alone. This was because the Director wanted to be fair to Sang Hyuk. His reason - Sang Hyuk was wronged from the start and he was very much in love with Yoo Jin too. He loved her for more than 10 years. He loved her since they were children. Luckily, the Korean audience who were following the series fervently disagreed with him and asked for a rewrite of the ending ! Thank you, God !!!
The Ending 2
As requested by the ardent fans (the audience had been elevated to fans status), the Director had the ending rewritten and voila ! We had our beloved Jun Sang back to Korea and reunited with Yoo Jin. Unfortunately, he had been blinded as a result of the operation to remove the blood clot. Director's reason - To be fair to Sang Hyuk (him again !). It was touching to see the happiness on Jun Sang's face when he was blindly walking around the house that he had built for Yoo Jin. He was trying to get to know the house with his sense of touch.
0 comments:
Post a Comment