Stairway to Heaven [SBS] [Korea]

Written by Rinoa

"Overall, I wouldn't say this was a really good series. It's like Endless Love 1 and Endless Love 2 (Winter Love Song) thrown together. You have the poor poor girl, the rich guy she loves, and you have amnesia, the love-until-you-die concept. There was nothing special about the plot, and if it wasn't for Tae-Hwa, I probably wouldn't have had the patience to sit through all 20 episodes of it."

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Produced By
SBS

No. of Episodes
20

Year of Production
2004

Character-Cast
Cha Song-ju: Kwon Sang Woo
Han Jung-suh: Choi Ji Woo
Han Tae-hwa: Shin Hyun Joon
Han Yuri: Kim Tae Hee
Tae Mira (Tae-hwa & Yuri's mom): Lee Hui Hyang
Han Su-ha (Jung-suh's dad): Ha Jae Young
Han Pil-su (Tae-hwa & Yuri's dad): Jung Han Yong
Cha Song-ju (as a child): Baek Sung Hyun
Han Jung-suh (as a child): Park Sin Hye
Han Tae-hwa (as a child): Lee Wan
Han Yuri (as a child): Park Ji Mi

Synopsis
Teen-aged Song-Ju and Jung-Suh are best friends and love each other. Both are born into rich families and have led happy, worry-free lives. Jung-Suh is (like every other predictable female lead) innocently sweet and trusting and kind-hearted. Her life changes dramatically when her father remarries. Her stepmother Tae Mira pretends to be an angel in front of Jung-Suh's father but mistreats Jung-Suh when her father isn't around. Worse, she brings along her children from her previous marriage. Yuri, the daugher, is jealous of Jung-Suh's happy life and wants to steal everything from her. Tae-Hwa, the son, is a moody but talented artist/painter.

Tae Mira helps Yuri step all over Jung-Suh and try to steal Song-Ju from Jung-Suh. When Song-Ju leaves to study in America, he gives Jung-Suh a necklace and promises to come back. In the next 3 years Jung-Suh continues to live under the tyranny of Tae Mira and Yuri. Meanwhile, when Jung-Suh cooked him food and knitted him a scarf for his birthday, Tae-Hwa mistook her affections for love and fell in love with her.

Song-Ju comes back after 3 years and Jung-Suh goes to meet him. In a desperate attempt to stop their reunion, Yuri runs over Jung-Suh with her car. She hides her, bloody and unconscious, with her biological father. Tae-Hwa found Jung-Suh and when she woke up, she had lost her memory. So Tae-Hwa kept her identity a secret, and gave her a new one as "Kim Ji-Suh".

Song-Ju thought Jung-Suh was dead and was heartbroken. He left again for America for 5 years. When he came back, he still hadn't forgotten Jung-Suh, though felt responsible to marry Yuri, who'd been with him all this time. Meanwhile, Tae-Hwa has been living blissfully with "Ji-Suh", who is now a successful fashion designer.

Song-Ju sees "Ji-Suh" and mistakes her for "Jung-Suh". Then he gets to know her and falls in love with her, which makes both Tae-Hwa and Yuri furious and jealous and guilty. "Ji-Suh" wonders if she is Jung-Suh and wants to get her memory back and slowly develops feelings for Song-Ju. She regains her memory in an accident at the same Tae-Hwa decides to tell her the truth about herself.

Jung-Suh is furious at Tae-Hwa and tries to tell Song-Ju she is Jung-Suh, but he doesn't believe her at first. When he finally does, there's a lot of going around in circles where Jung-Suh and Song-Ju love each other and decide to be friends only and decide again they want to be lovers. This agony (for the viewers) stops when Jung-Suh finds out she has eye cancer, which she inherited from her mother. Her case is worsened by her car accident 5 years ago, and she slowly goes blind. She leaves Song-Ju, sentences herself to death, and wishes to see Song-Ju again before she dies. When Tae-Hwa finds out, he brings Song-Ju to her, and Song-Ju marries her, blind and all.

Tae-Hwa wants Jung-Suh to have a cornea transplant, but the hospital won't take corneas from living donors, so Tae-Hwa commits suicide and Jung-Suh undergoes the transplant and regains her eyesight. But after only a short time, she discovers that the cancer cells have moved to her brains and have spread. Jung-Suh lives out the remainder of her life with Song-Ju, and finally dies in his arms.

Comments
I had sort of high expectations for this drama. That's what I get for reading reviews and spoilers. In short I already knew the basic story and ending before I watched it, it was the main reason I did, because it sounded interesting. And I had a long stretch of vacation in front of me, and it's been a while since I last watched a series.

I did not care very much for the love story of Song Ju and Jung-Suh, because (1) it was boring and predictable and (2) I did not have any partiality for the male lead. :P It's usually a big factor for me. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

No offense against Kwon Sang-Woo fans, but I did not find him physically appealing in any way. Not that he was ugly, just that he didn't do fantastic things to my blood pressure. :P I suppose he's a good enough actor, he delivered his crying scenes well enough, and was quite convincing as the rich and elegant Song-Ju. Sure, it was nice and touching the way he always loved and never gave up on Jung-Suh, even during the 5 years when he thought she was dead.

But I didn't like the way he was stringing Yuri along. The love vs. responsibility, the 2nd most hated plot in romances (the most hated is the "amnesia" thingie). I do not believe in making a girl wait just because you aren't sure which of them you love, or because you think you should marry her because she's waited years for you. He should have told Yuri he wanted Jung-Suh. Okay, he did tell her, but he should have told her again, and again, and again, until she got the point. He should have ignored her and stepped all over her and beat it into her head, until she accepted it as fact.

I didn't like it when Jung-Suh had regained her memory and taken back her identity, when Song-Ju, Jung-Suh, and Yuri were together, and Song-Ju would act as Yuri's fiance, but behind her back he would be trying to hold Jung-Suh's hand, etc. It was so... low. It was two-timing, and anyone who knows me knows that I hate two-timing. It's either you want one or the other, you can't have both.

The female lead, Jung-Suh, is played by Choi Ji-Woo, who also starred in Winter Love Song. It seems most of her roles are the timid, crybaby type, though here in Stairway to Heaven, the new Jung-Suh, after she regained her memory, has become a stronger, braver person. The old Jung-Suh was a doormat, continually suffering under the abuse of her stepmother and waiting for her lost love to return. The new Jung-Suh wouldn't take such crap and raged and cried about the injustices done to her.

I liked the way Jung-Suh wouldn't let herself be bullied again by Tae Mira and Yuri, after she'd regained her memory. I liked the way she wouldn't entertain Song-Ju, when he was engaged to Yuri. Most of all, I liked the way she loved Tae-Hwa, as a brother. She knew he loved her and she could forgive him for hiding her after the car accident. She looked after him and took care of him. But most of all, I liked it when in the end, when they found out her cancer had spread to her brain and Song-Ju wanted her to have treatment and Jung-Suh was refusing, Song-Ju had to tell her about Tae-Hwa's sacrifice. Jung-Suh wouldn't believe it, she ran and tried to find Tae-Hwa, crying and screaming, "Brother!" And finally, "Why? Why did you do it?"

Quite interestingly, the character whom I found endearing was Tae-Hwa. From childhood, his mother hated him, and he hated her back. He was a moody loner, finding happiness only in his paintings. Then Jung-Suh cooked for him on his birthday and gave him a present, and it was the first kindness he'd ever received. He fell in love with her, and 5 years later after Yuri ran her down and Jung-Suh lost her memory, instead of bringing her back to her family and Song-Ju, he chose to hide her and give her a false identity, so that he could live with her and have her love.

When Jung-Suh regained her memory and was raging furiously at Tae-Hwa, asking why he hid her past from her, Tae-Hwa was crying when he said, "Because I love you. Because I love you so much that I would risk going to hell if it meant I could have you." And then he let her go back to Song-Ju. He told his sister Yuri to give back everything she stole from Jung-Suh (Song-Ju included) or else he would tell the truth about Yuri hitting Jung-Suh with her car. When Jung-Suh was going blind and he found out that the car accident caused it/made it worse, he almost killed Yuri in his anger and grief. He took care of the blind Jung-Suh and finally gave her away to marry Song-Ju. When he decided to commit suicide so that he could donate his cornea to her, he went to see his mother one last time, who was now locked in the asylum after the truth about her abuse of Jung-Suh was discovered. His mother, who hated him and whom he hated back, but there were tears in his eyes when he looked at her. He took a photo of himself with a random blond model and sent it to Jung-Suh with a letter saying she was his new girlfriend and they had eloped. See, he didn't want Jung-Suh to worry or look for him when he's gone. Then he wrote a letter to Song-Ju telling him to take care of Jung-Suh and not to tell her the truth, then he got in his car and wrapped the scarf Jung-Suh had given him so many years ago around his neck, enjoying its feeling. Then he started the motor and ran his car into ... something. ^^;; The camera didn't show it. He covered his eyes with his hands before he crashed, so that he could leave them safe for Jung Suh. But in the end Jung-Suh died anyway. So what was Tae-Hwa's sacrifice for?

It's curious that I would like the male antagonist. Because technically, Tae-Hwa was the bad guy who kept the girl from her true love. But Tae-Hwa's suffering was heart-felt, his desire for Jung-Suh was agonizing and sad, because as viewers we all know that she would go to Song-Ju in the end, no matter what Tae-Hwa did. Like any man who truly loved a woman, he wanted her to be happy and safe, but he also wanted her to be *his*. He loved her so much he did many wrong things in order to have her, but in the end he tried in his way to give her back everything she had lost, and even gave up his life so that she could live.

Yuri, as bad girls go, was selfish and jealous and determined to steal everything from Jung-Suh. But she was also human in the way that she was terrified one day her secret would be revealed, that she tried to kill Jung-Suh. She was also genuinely in love with Song-Ju, and was both furious and jealous that he wanted no one but Jung-Suh. Her ending? Jailed for her crimes against Jung-Suh. The actress was convincing as Yuri; her eyes would fill with hate when she looked at Jung-Suh, or become wide with fear when Tae-Hwa would threaten to expose her secret.

The person perhaps more "evil" than Yuri was her mother, Tae Mira. She hated Jung-Suh for being better and smarter than her own daughter. She saw her own daughter as a tool to get more power and money, that's why she helped Yuri steal Song-Ju. But in her own way, I believe she did love Yuri, as a mother loves her children. But she had no love for Tae-Hwa, she was happier to pretend he didn't exist. When Tae-Hwa got into the way of her plans for Yuri and Song-Ju, she even plotted to get him thrown into jail (for some counterfeit paintings that he'd done) so that she could get rid of him.

She acted like a poor, weak little woman in front of her husband and other people, which was sickening to watch. I found the ending extremely satisfying, when Song-Ju organized a party with everyone present and they found out it was actually a wedding, he was marrying Jung-Suh, Tae Mira's sanity snapped at that moment and she accused everyone (except Yuri) of conspiring against her. Then her ex-husband walked in, and exposed her and Yuri's crimes. Then she had to watch as the police dragged Yuri away to jail. The way she screamed and fought and clawed at the people around her, the way she looked because her world was falling apart, and finally going insane and being locked-up in the nuthouse... ah... justice.

As for Jung-Suh's father, he was a stupid man who was blinded by his wife's charms. So blind, that when Tae-Hwa came back and told them all about how Tae Mira had treated him and Jung-Suh since they were children, Jung-Suh's father refused to believe him. He only accepted it as truth during the wedding, when Tae Mira finally shed her "weak woman" act and raged like a lunatic. One thing you cannot deny, that he really loved Jung-Suh and had room in his heart to love his adopted children as well. It's just that he was too gullible and willing to believe that his wife was an angel.

Overall, I wouldn't say this was a really good series. It's like Endless Love 1 and Endless Love 2 (Winter Love Song) thrown together. You have the poor poor girl, the rich guy she loves, and you have amnesia, the love-until-you-die concept. There was nothing special about the plot, and if it wasn't for Tae-Hwa, I probably wouldn't have had the patience to sit through all 20 episodes of it.

Other people - those who like slow-moving, draggy serials, or those new to the concept of sad, tragic Korean dramas - might like it. For me, it was only slightly better than Endless Love 1, and it was entirely because of Tae-Hwa.


Favorite character
Tae-Hwa, and you already know why.


Favorite scene(s)
I found the young Tae-Hwa really amusing. After he fell in love with Jung-Suh, he would follow her around like a lovesick puppy, passing her notes and holding up a sign outside her classroom, which said, "Do you like me?" He even wrote it on his cast when he'd broken his leg.

The adult Tae-Hwa also had his moments. Perhaps the most touching part was when he was committing suicide, and the next scene the hospital called Jung-Suh to say they had found a donor. And then Song-Ju got the letter from Tae-Hwa, and there was Tae-Hwa's voice telling him he'd dared to love the woman he (Song-Ju) loved, because she (Jung-Suh) was the only person who'd ever shown him any kindness.


Least favorite character
Tae Mira. She looked more and more like an evil witch toward the end of the series.

I didn't hate Yuri at all, in fact I found her a sort of pitiful character.


Happiest scenes
For Tae-Hwa, when he was still living with "Ji-Su". He loved her and she loved him back, and they were going to get married. What else could he want? :)

For Song-Ju and Jung-Suh, I think it was the moment Song-Ju realized and accepted that "Ji-Su" was Jung-Suh.


Saddest scenes
Definitely when Tae-Hwa died. But the part where Tae-Hwa was crying after Jung-Suh regained her memories was very sad, too.


Recommendations
Watch it if you liked Endless Love, or other similarly long, exhausting, tragic romances.


Rating

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Winter Sonata [KBS] [Korea]

Written by Rinoa

"I did not like Winter Love Song the first time I saw it...I had to watch Winter Love Song a second time to fully appreciate it."

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Also Known As
Winter Love Song or Endless Love 2

Produced By
KBS

Year of Production
2002

Language
Dual language, Korean/Mandarin, some with Chinese/English/Malay subtitles.

Chartacter - Cast
Kang Joon-sang/Lee Min-hyung : Bae Yong Jun
Jung Yujin : Choi Ji Woo
Kim Sang-hyuk : Park Yong Ha
Oh Chelin : Park Sol Mi
Kong Jin-suk : Lee Hye Eun
Kwon Yong-kuk : Ryu Seung Soo

Synopsis
18-year old Yujin is a lively, happy girl, good student, though always late for class. She is Sang-Hyuk's best friend, but she doesn't know that Sang-Hyuk is in love with her. One day when she falls asleep (again) on the bus, she meets Joon-Sang, a transfer student. Joon-Sang is mysterious, silent, and unapproachable, and immediately catches the fancy of the female population, especially Chelin, who declares him off-limits. But Joon-Sang is only interested in Yujin. During their many encounters, usually when both are late for class, Joon-Sang and Yujin get to know each other. They cut class together, Joon-Sang rescued Yoojin when she got lost in the forest, they played in the snow together. And Joon-Sang and Yoojin fell in love.

Joon-Sang is actually the illegitimate child of a famous pianist. He hated his mother and was obsessed with finding out the identity of his father, so he had transferred to the little village which was his mother's hometown, thinking that the man who is Sang-Hyuk's father, whose picture was taken with Joon-Sang's mother, was his (Joon-Sang) biological father. But he eventually discovers that his mother, Sang-Hyuk's father, and Yujin's father were childhood friends, and that his mother had been in love with Yujin's father. He concludes that Yujin's father might be his biological father, which makes him and Yujin half-siblings. He agrees to leave with his mother to the US, but on his way to say goodbye to Yujin, he got into a car accident, and "died".

The class is devastated by Joon-Sang's "death", but no one more so than Yujin. 10 years pass, and the adult Yujin is in a relationship with Sang-Hyuk, who's loved her all this time. But Yujin is still haunted by the memory of her first love. On the night of her engagement, she sees a man who looks exactly like Joon-Sang. She chases him along the streets in vain, and thus misses her engagement party.

Their friends Jin-Suk and Yong-kuk organize a little party for Yujin and Sang-Hyuk. Chelin also shows up, back from France with her new boyfriend - Lee Min-Hyung, the man Yujin saw on the street. Everyone is shaken by Min-Hyung's resemblance to Joon-Sang. What's more, Min-Hyung owns the architectural firm who has a contract with Yujin, who is an interior designer.

Yujin immediately intrigues Min-Hyung, but Chelin tells him lies about how Yujin stole her boyfriends in high school. Though still confused, because Chelin's stories doesn't match his impression of Yujin, Min-Hyung thinks Yujin is making a play for him when she got drunk and mistook him for Joon-Sang, and treated her unkindly. He eventually found out about Joon-Sang, and he apologized to Yujin and was angry at Chelin for telling him lies.

Yujin and Min-Hyuk continue to work together, and Min-Hyuk falls in love with her, which makes Sang-Hyuk furious and jealous. Min-Hyuk breaks up with Chelin and helps Yujin get over Joon-Sang's death, and Yujin falls in love with him. She breaks up with Sang-Hyuk, but her relationship with Min-Hyung is short-lived, as Sang-Hyuk falls into depression and almost dies. Yujin guiltily goes back to Sang-Hyuk, though her heart is still with Min-Hyung.

Intrigued by his resemblance to Joon-Sang and the depth of Yujin's love for him, Min-Hyung visits Joon-Sang's hometown and finds his (Min-Hyung's) mother in Joon-Sang's home. His mother admits that Min-Hyung *IS* Joon-Sang. 10 years ago, Joon-Sang lost his memory in the car accident, and his mother asked the doctors to let him undergo hypnotism to give him new memories, and transformed him to Min-Hyung.

Joon-Sang is angry and hurt, but also shocked to discover he is Yujin's unforgettable first love. He tries to tell Yujin but she doesn't believe him at first. Meanwhile, Sang-Hyuk has put two-and-two together and believes Min-Hyung is Joon-Sang, and asks Joon-Sang to leave Yujin alone. Sang-Hyuk and Yujin are (again) planning to marry. Joon-Sang decides to leave, and on the day of his departure Yujin finally receives proof that he is Joon-Sang and chases him to the airport. Joon-Sang tries to leave anyway, because although he is Joon-Sang, he has no memories of his time with Yujin. Yujin chases after him, is almost hit by a truck but Joon-Sang pushed her away and was hit instead. When he woke up in the hospital, he found he had regained parts (like snapshots) of his memories with Yujin.

Sang-Hyuk finally gives up on Yujin, and Yujin happily reunites with Joon-Sang. However when both asked for their respective parents' blessings, both mothers opposed their marriage. Yujin found out from her mother that Joon-Sang's mother used to be engaged to her (Yujin's) father, but her father left her after he met Yujin's mother, and Joon-Sang's mother had tried to commit suicide. Yujin's mother felt guilty towards Joon-Sang's mother and it was her reason for opposing Yujin's relationship with Joon-Sang.

Joon-Sang eventually reaches the same conclusion he did 10 years ago, that he and Yujin were siblings. Heartbroken, they are forced to break up. But Sang-Hyuk's father, who'd been in love with Joon-Sang's mother, suspected differently, and confirmed with a DNA test that Joon-Sang was *HIS* son. Sang-Hyuk was furious to discover his rival in love was actually his brother, and told Joon-Sang to return Yujin to him. At the same time Joon-Sang found out that after 2 car accidents, he had a blood clot in his brain which means he could go blind, or die, or both. He decides to leave for the US, and at the last moment Sang-Hyuk gives up on Yujin and tells her she and Joon-Sang are not siblings and that Joon-Sang is dying. Both chase to the airport, but Joon-Sang had already left.

Sang-Hyuk persuades Yujin to go after Joon-Sang, but Yujin goes to Paris instead, to study. 3 years later, she came back, and saw in a magazine a villa which was her own design. She went to the house and saw Joon-Sang, who was now blind. They reunite and kiss in the sunset.


Comments
I watched this drama entirely because of Bae Yong Jun. I had first seen him in "Hotelier" and fell head over heels in love, but I watched this drama (Winter Love Song) a bit apprehensively. Because I had seen Endless Love and did NOT like it, and was afraid Winter Love Song would be the same - long, boring, irritating, and tragic.

I wasn't wrong. Because the same director did Winter Love Song, it was as draggy and heavy as its predecessor. Everyone had crying scenes, most of which were too drawn out and overdone. Especially Choi Ji-Woo, the lead actress, who seemed to do nothing else but cry. Though, admittedly, every one here was good at crying scenes.

Now, on to the story. The concept of "First love never dies", which was the real essence of Winter Love Song, was a nice one. It's not only pertaining Yujin and Joon-Sang, but also Sang-Hyuk, whose first love is Yujin, and Chelin, whose first love is Joon-Sang. Even Jin-Suk and Yong-Kuk, who eventually ended up married. Though the "amnesia" concept is overused in dramas, it was the only way to tie up Min-Hyung and Joon-Sang as the same character.

Though I felt everyone had run around in circles too much - Yujin being too indecisive about Sang-Hyuk, Sang-Hyuk's irritating attempt to hold on to a girl who had never loved him, but most of all, the truth about Joon-Sang's identity (whose child is he really? COME ON!!!) is never revealed until the end. Of course as viewers anyone with half a brain would figure out that Joon-Sang isn't really Yujin's father's love child. See, every time Joon-Sang asked his mother, she would never confirm or deny it, she just looked away and said "Sorry". Selfish woman, with twisted logic to make it worse. More on that later.

BYJ is to be commended for portraying a dynamic character like Joon-Sang/Min-Hyung. Though he looked a little too old to be playing an 18-year old, it didn't look TOO uncomfortable. Teenaged Joon-Sang was a loner, angry at the world and at his mother. Min-Hyung was cheerful, urbane, handsome, eligible, and romantic. And the Joon-Sang who rediscovered himself was at first pained and torn with indecision. And the blind Joon-Sang in the ending was relaxed and at peace with himself.

I liked his Min-Hyung very much. He knew what he wanted and he knew how to get it. He broke up with Chelin and refused to encourage her the moment he realized he had feelings for Yujin. THAT is a real man. He knew it would only be worse for Chelin if he dragged her along knowing that his heart was with another woman. He felt Yujin's sadness and pain, when she would look at him with tears in her eyes, because he knew she wasn't seeing him (Min-Hyung), only Joon-Sang. I liked his decisiveness the way he confessed his feelings for Yujin right away. Only one time was he perhaps confused, and that was when he asked Yujin if she loved him as himself (Min-Hyung), or as Joon-Sang's replica. I also liked his physique and his sense of style and his charming smile and his unique hairstyle (only BYJ can carry it off with such style) but that's just the fangirl in me salivating. :P

The thing I cannot comprehend is how Joon-Sang could forgive an evil creature like his mother. :P He found out that not only did she replace his memories, she also deluded herself and him into thinking that his father was her long-ago fiance. She caused all the misery in his life, all for her own benefit, but he could forgive her for all that, and still acknowledge her as his mother.

Yujin was such a sad, pitiful character. I didn't like her at all, at first. I thought she was too depressing. But later, I liked her a little more, and I do have to commend CJW for her acting, the tears were very convincing. And though I didn't think Yujin was pretty at first, her beauty is the kind that slowly grows on you, not the kind that strikes you down like lightning. She is pretty, with her snow-white complexion and expressive eyes and quiet poise.

3 things I did not like about Yujin: First, when she refused to believe Min-Hyung was Joon-Sang. I could understand why, she was afraid to hope and she thought Min-Hyung was only trying to hold on to her, but she hurt him so, because he really WAS Joon-Sang. Poor baby. :P

Second was when she was sort of forcing Joon-Sang to remember their time together. It wasn't HIS fault he couldn't remember anything, and couldn't she see she was hurting him because he knew she remembered everything and he couldn't?

Third and most of all, her indecisiveness. She could have spared Sang-Hyuk all the agony, if only she'd come to terms with herself sooner and realized she did not love him the way he loved her. She was too afraid to hurt him and too grateful for his company and kindness that in the end, she hurt him more.

Not that I liked Sang-Hyuk, because I didn't. I could not comprehend how he tried desperately to hang on to Yujin, even though he knew she did not love him. He would have forced her to stay with him and marry him, even knowing that she loved Joon-Sang/Min-Hyung. I found it extremely hypocritical the way he told Joon-Sang to stop making Yujin suffer, when Yujin's biggest suffering was being forced to stay with a man who she didn't love. He fought everyone, his mother, his friends, and Yujin herself, in his mad bid to win her love.

Chelin was not a very big character, her only purpose was to occupy Min-Hyung until Yujin came along. She was a bit spiteful and jealous, but also insecure, which was her main reason for lying about Yujin to Min-Hyung. In so doing she only increased Min-Hyung's curiosity about Yujin, because Chelin's descriptions contrasted so much with the Yujin Min-Hyung came to know.

I liked Chelin most in one scene, where she was crying and saying why everyone was only concerned about Joon-Sang, what about Min-Hyung? She was right, and all the others were so obsessed with Joon-Sang that they had forgotten Min-Hyung. Because Min-Hyung was also a person, special in his own way, but his existence and personality somehow was made less important next to his real identity as Joon-Sang.

The parents of the lead characters - in truth, none of them were good parents, except maybe Sang-Hyuk's father. He was a good husband and father, intrigued only a little by the teenaged Joon-Sang. Min-Hyung intrigued him more, because of his resemblance to Joon-Sang. His world was shaken only when he discovered who was Min-Hyung's mother, and he was the first (and only) one to suspect that Joon-Sang may be his son. When the DNA test confirmed it, he was very sad and felt guilty for his part in Joon-Sang's hardships in life, and wanted to return Yujin to him, because Joon-Sang had already lost so much, but was unable to do so because of Sang-Hyuk's anger at discovering Joon-Sang was his half-brother, and his insane desire to hold on to Yujin.

Sang-Hyuk's mother. She was stubbornly opposed to Yujin as her daughter-in-law from the very start. It must be her motherly instincts, telling her that Yujin did not love Sang-Hyuk the way she should. I do not harbor any ill feelings towards her, since she turned out to be right in her estimation of Yujin. But standing in Sang-Hyuk's shoes, she was cruel in the way she refused to give in to her son's happiness.

Yujin's mother. She was a loving and kind-hearted mother most of the time, except when it came to the subject of Yujin's love life. I did not like her because she knew Yujin does not love Sang-Hyuk, but she wanted Yujin to marry him anyway. I did not like her for telling Yujin "love is not everything", that there were other more important things than love. I mean, sure, that's right, but her reasons for wanting Yujin to marry Sang-Hyuk were flimsy and selfish. She wanted it because she felt guilty to Sang-Hyuk's parents, because of the way Yujin never showed up for their engagement party and embarassed Sang-Hyuk's parents to everyone. She opposed Yujin and Joon-Sang's relationship for the simple reason that Joon-Sang's mother was madly in love with her dead husband and had tried to kill herself and for that reason she (Yujin's mother) felt embarassed and guilty towards her. As a mother, her first priority should have been Yujin's happiness, instead of being selfishly concerned about pride and her own peace of mind.

Joon-Sang's mother. She should go down in history as the most twisted and deluded crazy woman. First she refused to tell the teenaged Joon-Sang who his real father was, leaving him to jump to all the wrong conclusions. She could have spared herself Joon-Sang's hatred and Joon-Sang all his suffering if she'd told him from the start. Then she replaced Joon-Sang's memories, just because Joon-Sang hated her, and she wanted a son who would love her. Duh!!! Like she deserves any love after everything she's done.

I could perhaps understand her desperate love for Yujin's father and the way it drove her to commit suicide when he ditched her. What I couldn't understand is what insanity drove her to pretend that Joon-Sang was her love child with Yujin's father. She said pretending to do so made it easier to bear, made her able to love Joon-Sang. Okay, fine, I could probably accept that too. But what made her truly selfish and unacceptable was the way she kept up her insane charade even when Joon-Sang had fallen in love with Yujin. Her twisted logic which kept her sanity was more important than her son's well-being. She only acknowledged the truth after the DNA test confirmed Joon-Sang's identity, in short, when it was hopeless to keep the charade up. She and Yujin's mother deserve each other. In fact, none of the mothers here REALLY cared about their children's happiness. It's curious because this drama not only showcased everlasting love, but also the lengths one would go because of selfish and cruel love.

I also didn't understand the ending. Why didn't Yujin follow Joon-Sang? Just because he told her that their last memories should be happy ones, she didn't even try to follow him when she found out he was dying. Joon-Sang had done so much for her, but she couldn't even do that for him. I think the director just wanted to have the ending he had in mind, that ending 3 years after, so he had to create that 3-year gap. But the reason was flimsy at best.

Favorite character
Who else? Joon-Sang/Min-Hyung.

Least favorite character
Joon-Sang's mother. She should be stoned. I would have loved to see her dragged onto the floor, beaten, and strung upside down by her ankles, but sadly there was no such scene.

Favorite scenes
(1) When teenaged Joon-Sang and Yujin were playing in the snow, building snowmen, and that oh-so-tender first kiss.

(2) Joon-Sang staying for dinner at Yujin's house, Yujin's little sister gawked at him, open-mouthed, then grabbed his leg and declared, "I'm going to marry him! He's so handsome!" See? Even the kid knows a heartthrob when she sees one.

(3) The first time Yujin worked with Min-Hyung. She stared at him and started to cry, and totally flustered Min-Hyung.

(4) When Yujin was telling Min-Hyung he didn't know how to truly love someone, that the memories didn't die even after the one you love is gone.

(5) When Min-Hyung found out from Jin-Suk about his resemblance to Joon-Sang and Yujin's relationship with him.

(6) Joon-Sang and Yujin's reunion and Yujin found out Joon-Sang had no memories. She told him, "I haven't forgotten anything. I remember everything."

(7) Adult Joon-Sang and Yujin playing in the snow.

(8) The ending. Blind Joon-Sang, but he looks so happy and peaceful.


Happiest scenes
Joon-Sang and Yujin playing in the snow, and the ending.


Saddest scenes
(1) When Min-Hyung found out he was Joon-Sang and Yujin refused to believe him.

(2) When Joon-Sang and Yujin are forced to break up, and Yujin was telling Joon-Sang she refused to believe that their love was "wrong".

Conclusion
I did not like WLS the first time I saw it. I was still suffering from the effects of Endless Love 1 and most of it was carried onto WLS. I thought it (WLS) was too slow and depressing, despite its happy ending. I much preferred the happier "Hotelier", with the clean-cut BYJ and the freshness and humor of his heroine, Zhen-Yin (Song Yun-Ah).

I had to watch WLS a second time to fully appreciate it. Yujin and Joon-Sang's heart-rending love, everlasting and overcoming all odds. The beautiful scenery and lovely music. Yujin's (CJW's) fine face and expressive eyes, BYJ's unique style. And the crying scenes, how they irritated me the first time with the way they were drawn-out and done in slow-motion. But during the second time I could appreciate the actors' efforts to make us feel their pain and love, in short to make the characters come alive on screen. And sadness and tears makes a person as much alive as happiness and laughter do.

Winter Love Song was the second Korean drama to be aired in the Philippines (the first was Endless Love). Although many people loved it, I had to endure endless comparisons between BYJ and Won Bin, how Won Bin was better-looking and how his character was better than Joon-Sang. And oh, the dubbing was awful. But one thing good came of it, and that was Filipinos came to know and fell under the charm of BYJ.

Verdict
Watch it. Watch it for Bae Yong Jun's good looks and breathtaking scenery, and if it's your first Korean drama, have your tissues ready. Though most curiously, I did not cry at all. Maybe because during the first time, I was too busy rolling my eyes and cursing the slow-paced action.

Rating

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Hotelier [Korea]

Written by Rinoa

"But speaking of romantic lines, “Hotelier” has some of the best lines in cinema, definitely worth remembering."

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

PLOT
The Seoul Hotel was a prestigious hotel in Korea, but lately it was in financial peril. And then hotel’s CEO passed away, so the CEO’s wife asked Shui Zhen Yin to go to Las Vegas, USA, to bring Han Tai Quin home and assume the position of General Manager. Tai Quin had been forced to leave 3 years ago after a scandal, and also cut off his ongoing relationship with Zhen Yin. Meanwhile, Chui Rong Qi was the son of the hotel’s CEO. He was young and impulsive, and he fell in love with a beautiful rich girl, Jin Yuin Xi, who was spoiled but clinically depressed. Her father was the rival of the CEO (Rong Qi’s father).

Frank Shin was a brilliant businessman. He was coldhearted and arrogant, but deep inside he was nursing some deep emotional wounds from his childhood. He was hired by Yuin Xi’s father to take over the Seoul Hotel. Frank saw Zhen Yin for the first time in Las Vegas, where she was loudly complaining of the bad service in a restaurant. Frank saw Zhen Yin many times more, and each time he was amused by her actions (e.g. hitting her head against the wall). His amusement gradually turned to interest, but the next day Zhen Yin checked out of the hotel.

ZhenYin met with Tai Quin and convinced him to go back to Seoul with her. While driving to Los Angeles, they had an argument and Tai Quin left ZhenYin stranded in the desert. While waiting for him to come back, Zhen Yin was picked up by a fancy car, and she met Frank for the first time.

Soon, ZhenYin and Tai Quin went back to Korea. Before they left, ZhenYin and Tai Quin made a pact to be just friends. Frank also decided to go to Korea and accept the Seoul Hotel case so that he could see Zhen Yin again. He purposely stayed at Seoul Hotel and began courting Zhen Yin, in the meantime hiding his true identity (as the hotel takeover expert). There was one time he tried to confess, but Zhen Yin fell asleep in the middle of his confession.

Zhen Yin told Frank she’d been in love with another man (Tai Quin) but he had rejected her, and now she was not sure if she was ready to accept another man. Frank told her gently that he would wait for her. Meanwhile, Yuin Xi fell in love with Tai Quin. She found a new life in Seoul Hotel working as a waitress. Rong Qi was still in love with her and trying his best to impress her.

ZhenYin was falling in love with Frank’s smart wit and kindness, but then she found out about Frank’s identity, and was so hurt and angry she broke up with him. Frank thought Zhen Yin chose Tai Quin over him, so he was also angry and swore to take over the hotel. But even when he was angry, he still cared deeply about her, and finally acknowledged he would do anything for her. Zhen Yin had also realized she loved Frank enough to forgive him. And because of Zhen Yin, Frank discovered another part of himself, one which cared for the welfare of other people, and Frank gave up the takeover and decided instead to save the Seoul Hotel. He went to the police and assisted in the arrest of Yuin Xi’s father.

Frank had been abandoned by his father when he was a little boy, that was why he was adopted and raised in the USA, and the reason for his cold, unemotional persona – he could never let go of the fact that he was unwanted by his own parents, and felt that he was unworthy of anyone’s love. While he was back in Korea, he found his father again, and also met his sister Jenny, incidentally Zhen Yin’s roommate. He forgave his father and began forging bonds with Jenny.

Yuin Xi left to study in the USA. Frank proposed to ZhenYin, and wanted to take her to USA with him, but at the last minute Zhen Yin refused. She was still confused whom she really loved – Tai Quin, or Frank. But Frank could not bear to lose her now. ZhenYin read his emails to her where he told her how much he loved her and that this was not the end, he would wait for the day when they are together again (he was emailing from his cellphone). ZhenYin finally realized it was Frank she really loved. She hurried to the airport, but Frank had already left.

The CEO’s wife also passed away. Yuin Xi’s father was brought up on charges for his illegal actions. Tai Quin was now the CEO, and Zhen Yin was still pining for Frank. She’d finally realized her feelings for Tai Quin was merely friendship. She was telling Tai Quin she regretted her stupidity, thenTai Quin dragged her downstairs, back to work to welcome a very special guest, and there was Frank, coming towards her.

Frank: “Were you waiting for me? I’ve been waiting for you too. Can I check in now?”

Zhen Yin: “How long are you planning to stay, Mr. Customer?”

Frank: “Forever. I will stay here with you forever.”

(As for Tai Quin/Yuin Xi/Rong Qi, there was no definite ending. Rong Qi still loves Yuin Xi, and she still loves Tai Quin, and Tai Quin is a mystery. He seems to be still in love with Zhen Yin and he doesn’t show more than concern for Yuin Xi, though there was one time he told her he *might* fall in love with her. In the ending, Tai Quin and Rong Qi both went to USA to join a convention, and also to meet with Yuin Xi, who was studying there.)

COMMENTS
This series has an interesting plot and well-rounded characters, but the biggest attraction (especially for female fans) was the role of Frank, by actor Bae Yong Jun. He was a rich, sophisticated businessman, but there was a sadness, a loneliness inside him that was caused by his bitter childhood. He spent most of his life hating his father for abandoning him, but when he met his father again, what he felt was not anger, but sadness and regret.

Frank rarely smiled, but when he did, it was almost always because of Zhen Yin. At first because of her silly antics (like talking to herself while banging her head against the wall), but ultimately because she brought that much happiness in his life. By his own words, it was because of her he first knew what “human warmth” was like, what it was like to be happy. To him, she symbolized not only love, but warmth and happiness and life. He needed her.

There are also many other scenes involving business takeover tactics, the rivalry between Tai Quin and Frank, and also Rong Qi and Yuin Xi’s families. There was also Frank’s attorney, Li Oh, who was his best friend.

To be quite honest, my main reason for watching this series is also because of Frank, whose character piqued my interest at first and gradually had me oddly touched by his loneliness and his healing love. His love healed both himself and Zhen Yin. Zhen Yin, who needed someone to love her after Tai Quin’s rejection, and Frank, who desperately needed love and happiness, after a life of hating his father and himself.

As for Tai Quin, I never liked him much, maybe because he had a hold on Zhen Yin’s feelings and he was Frank’s rival, both in love and business. As Yuin Xi’s main love interest, I also did not like him (Tai Quin), since I felt sorry for Rong Qi, who loved Yuin Xi with a young boy’s innocent steadfastness. As for Yuin Xi, perhaps I just don’t like the actress, I certainly did not like her character in this story. The picture of the “poor little rich girl” who’d never had to strive for anything in her life was never my cup of tea.

Favorite characters
Frank Shin. He was endearingly sad and lonely, that it was heart-warming to see how he fell in love with Zhen Yin. Because he lived in a world where nothing mattered but power and money, and finally he met a simple, happy girl who found happiness in simple things like friendship and good food. She made a home for him inside his heart, she made him laugh, she taught him to open his heart and realize that there were some things more precious than money, she helped him to forgive his father and begin a relationship with his newfound sister.

Favorite actors
Bae Yong Jun (Frank) and Song Yun Erh (Zhen Yin). Ms. Song suited the role of the sweet, foolishly naïve girl, and I think she did a great job in showing Zhen Yin’s indecision (torn between 2 men), and her growing love for Frank. Bae Yong Jun, on the other hand, was simply brilliant. His expression of Frank’s feelings was excellent. And the look in his eyes, alternating between loneliness at first, and a relaxed happiness after he met ZhenYin, was priceless.

Favorite lines
(1) Frank gave Zhen Yin a bouquet of 300 roses. Because the restaurant where he first saw her, where she made a scene complaining of the bad food, was called “300 Roses”.

(2) Frank’s email letters to Zhen Yin. (“If you want, I will give up everything for you. So, please don’t leave me. I can’t lose you now.”)

(3) The ending. “How long are you planning to stay?” “Forever.”

Best Scene
(1) The ending. ‘Nuff said.

(2) The swimming pool scene: After Frank told ZhenYin the significance of the 300 roses, he asked her to go with him again to Las Vegas, to visit the place where they first met. Then ZhenYin fell into the pool (she could not swim), and Frank pulled her up, and then stood back, amazed and laughing, as ZhenYin almost drowned in 4-feet deep water. Then he really saved her, and the look he gave her (the smile on his face) was a mix of amusement and tenderness.

Saddest scene
(1) When ZhenYin confronted Frank about the truth of his motives. While Frank did also come to Korea to take over the hotel, the real reason why he came was to see ZhenYin again. But ZhenYin thought he had purposely gone out with her to try to get more information about the Seoul Hotel.

“How can you do this to me? Why do you make me suffer so?! I … I thought I could finally fall in love…”

(2) When Frank met his father for the first time. His father seemed uncaring of the fact that he’d abandoned his two children, and Frank was so angry. He asked his father if he would care if he knew how his elder son had spent most of his life sad and alone, ashamed of the fact that he was abandoned, and he’d never known what joy and happiness was like.

(3) The almost ending, where Frank was waiting for ZhenYin at the airport and his eyes grew sadder and sadder as it became evident that ZhenYin was not going to come.

Happiest scene
For ZhenYin: When Frank proposed to her. And the ending, when Frank came back to her.

For Frank: every moment he was with ZhenYin.

The BEST part – the LOVE factor
For ZhenYin, who was still heartbroken over Tai Quin’s desertion three years ago, Frank’s love healed her bruised heart, and made her giddy with the possibility of a new love. That was why she was so angry when she found out about Frank’s mission. But she still loved him, and for her, Frank gave up his mercenary life and chose a simpler way of life with Zhen Yin.

For Frank, Zhen Yin was like a burst of sunlight in his life. Her bright, cheerful disposition brightened his days, and even when he was furious at her, he still loved her. He sought her until she came back to him, and he gave up everything so that he can be with her. Oh, and have I mentioned that I love the gentle look in his eyes whenever he smiles at her?

Wait a minute! If Tai Quin and Zhen Yin were a couple, and Frank started courting Zhen Yin, doesn’t that make Frank a third party?
Personally, I disagree. First of all, Tai Quin and ZhenYin both agreed to be “just friends” before they came back to Seoul. It’s just that both Tai Quin and ZhenYin both still had lingering feelings for each other. It’s interesting to note that for the few times Tai Quin tries to confess or do something nice for ZhenYin, Frank comes along and destroys the mood. Maybe that shows that it was meant to be for Frank and ZhenYin.

Besides, I rather think it was Tai Quin’s own fault for deserting Zhen Yin three years ago, then coming back without lettting their real feelings come out in the open. He was insensitive and easy to anger, and would time and again hurt ZhenYin’s feelings. And it was at this time, when she was feeling alone and unwanted, that Frank came along and showered her with attention and made her feel loved and special. It’s not Frank’s fault at all that he was able to give ZhenYin what she needed, and by the time Tai Quin realized he still loved her, it was too late, she had fallen in love with Frank. I think it was fate.

If you think about it, that scene in the desert is a clue to what might be the ending of the love triangle. Tai Quin leaves Zhen Yin, and when he came back for her, she was gone. (Tai Quin left Zhen Yin 3 years ago, and when he came back for her now, she had already met and fallen in love with another man – Frank Shin). A lesson can be learned from this – that chances might come only once in your life. By the time you realize you want that person beside you forever, he/she might be gone forever. Zhen Yin was lucky – Frank came back for her. But Tai Quin was not.

Worth Watching?
One interesting fact about this series is that it is actually a simple love story with a simple plot. It will remind you a lot of “Pretty Woman”, how love melts the ice around an arrogant, lonely man’s heart. But what makes this story more special for me is how you can see the growing love between Frank and ZhenYin. It’s a lot more than romantic lines spoken by a good-looking actor, it’s also the way he loved her and the way he needed her, and the tender way he looked at her and the gentle, happy smile in his eyes will make you fall in love with him, too. But speaking of romantic lines, “Hotelier” has some of the best lines in cinema, definitely worth remembering.

Rating


INTERESTING FACTS
It was a definite hit in Korea and in Taiwan. Bae Yong Jun “retired” for two years before making this series, and it was a great comeback! He also looked a lot different from his younger, fuller face, so definitely, one of the biggest attractions of this series is Bae Yong Jun. Check out the response of female fans from online forums.

However, this is more than just your average female hormone overload. Bae Yong Jun is more than just another handsome face, his portrayal of a lonely business takeover specialist is superb. And there is a certain something about Bae Yong Jun which makes his fans so crazy about him. When he is sad and hurt, you can still feel his loneliness. When he smiles, happiness glowing in his eyes, you find yourself smiling crazily along with him. He is one of the rare actors who can make you _feel_. And for me, that is the definition of a real actor.

LINKS
Here’s a chinese “Hotelier” series and actors links page: CLICK HERE

And here is my personal page for Hotelier: CLICK HERE

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Endless Love [Korea]

Written by Riona

"Love? Everyone in this serial loved too much..."

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Alt Title
Autumn of My Heart

Chinese Title
Lan She Seng Shi Lian

Translated As
Blue Life-Death Love

Cast-Character
Song Seung Hun-Quin Xi Song
Song Hye Kyo-En Xi
Wong Bin-Tai Xi

No. of Episode
20

Year of Production
2000

Language
Korean, dubbed/subtitles in Mandarin

Plot
Two baby girls were switched at birth by mistake. And when the girls were around 12 years old, they found out their real identity. En Xi was supposed to be the poor girl, and Xin Ai was the real daughter of the rich family. After a lot of confusion and heartbreak, the two girls switched places again. And En Xi was separated from her happy, loving family, and her older brother, Quin Xi, whom she loved very much. Soon the rich family immigrated to America.

Years later, En Xi was working in a hotel, owed by Tai Xi’s family, a friend of Quin Xi. Tai Xi fell in love with her. Quin Xi came back from America, and after much searching, he met En Xi again. Quin Xi was now engaged to You Mei, whom he met in America, and En Xi began going out with Tai Xi.

Soon, En Xi and Quin Xi discovered their bond was closer than a brother/sister relationship, and they decided to be together, against the wishes of their families. Tai Xi was angry and heartbroken. When Quin Xi broke up with her, You Mei tried to commit suicide. She slit her wrist, and even though she did not die, her arm suffered severe injuries. The doctor said she might never gain proper use of it again (she was an artist/painter).

Quin Xi felt responsible and stayed with her to nurse her back to health. En Xi, on the other hand, discovered she had leukemia. However, she was poor, so she could not afford treatment. She had prepared herself to die when Tai Xi found out about her illness. Even knowing she loved only Quin Xi, Tai Xi offered to take her to a hospital and pursue a cure. And Quin Xi thought En Xi and Tai Xi had gotten back together. The doctor You Mei her hand had recovered, but she thought Quin Xi would leave her again when he found out, so she didn’t tell him.

Soon the entire family found out about En Xi’s illness. Quin Xi was the last to find out. He got to the hospital just as En Xi fell into a coma. Quin Xi also found out You Mei had been lying to him about her injured arm. Quin Xi went into a shock, believing that En Xi would really die the next time he came to see her, but Tai Xi knocked some sense into him. He came to the hospital, and En Xi woke up while he was beside her bed.

Quin Xi took En Xi home with him. They spent many happy days alone together. Tai Xi saw them together, and was happy for En Xi even though his heart was breaking. En Xi’s condition got worse, and soon she was spitting out blood. The doctor predicted the worst scenario.

En Xi finally passed away. Everyone was there at her funeral, but Quin Xi was gone by the time they were flinging her ashes out into the sea. He was walking aimlessly, blinded by memories of En Xi, when he was hit by a car. He too died, and was finally reunited with En Xi.

Comments
The truth? I usually like beautifully tragic stories, because they make me bawl and form this tight, aching knot in my chest. Of course in real life I prefer happy endings, but sometimes it’s nice to watch tragic tales, you know? Just for a good, long cry.

I’ve heard endless praise for “Endless Love” even before I watched it. That it was so sad, that someone’s mother and all her neighbors and mahjong partners cried for days after watching this series. So I watched it.

And it was the most horridly boring, most slow-paced, slow-motion, most overly-dramatic series I have ever watched. I spent every minute cursing its redundant dialogue (“You’re going to die? En Xi is going to die. You can’t die, En Xi.” All said by one person, all in the same breath). Everyone moved and turned their heads as if in slow motion, I thought their necks would break from such strained movement. Everyone cried, as if they thought if the actors cried, the audience would cry, too.

NOT! I cry only if the combination of acting, story, and music is done magnificently, and there was no such magnificence in this series. It was, in a word, a drag.

I thought it was a tad unbelievable how a love between a brother and sister (even if not by birth) would blossom to be a romantic love. I thought they were too selfish to disregard their families’ feelings. I thought En Xi was so cruel to Tai Xi, and I felt sorry for Tai Xi, even though he was also a weak fool. But the biggest, weakest fool in this story is You Mei. God, how I hated her. Not because she was an obstacle between Quin Xi and En Xi, but because she was so pathetically spineless and a crybaby.

Even though some people might also have liked En Xi because she was sweet and kind, and remained so even after life dealt her one crisis after another, until finally she died of an awful disease, but I also thought that was a tad unbelievable. Nobody could be THAT noble, in the face of such odds. I’m not an inhumane bastard, but I do not feel sorry for a charater if it was painfully obvious that this character was MADE for us to pity her.

The first part of this series was actually decent, with the confused feelings of parents of both families if they were going to switch back their daughters, because even though not their flesh and blood, they loved them as if they were their own children. But it rapidly degraded to a slow torture.

The only redeeming trait of this series is Tai Xi, and I’m informed that most people actually liked this not because of Quin Xi and En Xi, but because of Tai Xi’s selfless sacrifice. But I thought him too selfless and too willing to sacrifice himself that it was also unbelievable.

In short, I have no good thing to say about this series except the music. At least the themesong is nice to hear.

Favorite characters
None. But if I had to choose one, it would be Tai Xi. But that’s only because I felt sorry for him because he let En Xi step all over him.

Favorite actors
None. Even though the actors were handsome, they held no real appeal for me. En Xi is indeed beautiful, but I thought her innocent, porcelain, child-like face too unreal. And maybe because both times I watched a series by this actress, she tried so hard to gain my sympathy by acting so depressed and “poor poor me, take pity on me” that I ended up liking her even less.

Favorite lines
None. All dialogue in this series were overdone and overly dramatic. Not to mention redundant.

Best Scene
When both sickeningly sad characters finally died and put an end to our torture? Just kidding. But the answer is also none.

Saddest scene
The entire dang thing is so sad, it makes me weep (not). But to be honest, if it weren’t so irritatingly slow, I might have liked it more.

Well, there was this one scene. I felt sorry for En Xi’s real mother. When they were kids, Xin Ai hated her “mom” for making her do hard work and for not having a privileged life. Xin Ai was overjoyed when she found out she was really the daugher of the rich family in school, and she was all-too-willing to go back to her real family. But the rich mother also loved En Xi, and at first could not accept Xin Ai even though she was her real daughter, but in the end accepted her too and wished she could keep both daughters. She went to En Xi’s real mother and told her she could provide En Xi a better life and a better education, and she would return En Xi to her when she was grown up.

En Xi’s mother was sad that Xin Ai apparently hated her so much, and when she saw that in En Xi’s heart, her mother was not *her*, it was the rich mother she’d grown up with, she finally agreed to give En Xi back. But En Xi decided to stay with her real mother, and mother-and-daughter embraced and cried in each other’s arms.

Happiest scene
Probably when brother and sister found each other again, although *I* felt no happiness for them at any part.

The BEST part – the LOVE factor
Love? Everyone in this serial loved too much. En Xi and Quin Xi loved each other so much, they made their families and friends angry and heartbroken. Tai Xi loved so much, he was willing to throw away his money to cure En Xi’s leukemia, even though he knew she didn’t love him. You Mei loved Quin Xi so much, she resorted to suicide and then deceit to get him back. And of course, both parents love their daughters very much, too.

But if you were to ask me which love touched me the most, I would say… none. Except perhaps the parents’ love for their children, that never gets old.

Worth Watching?
If you like slow, angst-ridden dramas, this might be for you. But if you were like me, maybe you should save yourself the trouble. And don’t let the awesome five-star reviews influence you too much, maybe you’d better see it for yourself first before you form any conclusions.

Rating


Interesting Facts
The director of Endless Love also directed a new series called “Winter Song” or “Winter Sonata”, starring my (currently) most favorite Korean sweetheart, Bae Yong Jun. It’s getting popularly known as “Endless Love II”. Naturally, I will watch it, but solely because of Bae Yong Jun. And I am almost afraid that it might be another slow torture like this Endless Love. For my sanity’s sake (and for my love for Bae Yong Jun), I sincerely hope not. I will write a review for that after I watch it.

Links
Here’s a chinese “Endless Love” series and actors links page: CLICK HERE

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All About Eve [Korea]

Written by Riona

"...to be perfectly honest I’d seen other similar films where the male lead’s sweetness and devotion touched me more (namely, “Hotelier” by Bae Yong Jun)"

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Translated Title
Xia Wa De You Mo, or in Taiwan, Ai Shang Nui Zhu Po
To Love a Female Broadcaster

Episodes
20

Produced In
2000

Cast-Character
Jan Dong Gun-Yin Xiang Tze
Chae Rim-Zhen Shan Mei
Han Jae Suk-Jin You Zhen
Kim So Yun-Shui Yin Mei

Plot
Yin Mei’s father died on a construction site, and the manager, Shan Mei’s father, took her to live in the city. Yin Mei was a poor girl with a bad past – her drunken father beat her, and her gangster boyfriend mistreated her. She worked hard to finish high school and wanted to make her better life for herself. From the start, she was envious of Shan Mei, with her cheerful disposition and her easy, pampered life. Yin Mei also met You Zhen, Shan Mei’s neighbor and first love. Yin Mei sought out to make You Zhen fall in love with her, not because she really loved him, but because she was envious of everything Shan Mei had.

Shan Mei, heartbroken, left for London, and there she met Xiang Tze, who was the son of the owner of MBS, a major broadcasting company in Seoul, but Shan Mei didn’t know that, she only knew him as her “upperclassman” in the university. Both of them had come to London to escape their emotional stress in Korea – for Xiang Tze, it was his resentment for his father who did not have time for their family. Shan Mei and Xiang Tze were very happy in London. When Shan Mei came back to Seoul, she wanted to work for MBS, and incidentally Yin Mei had the same goal. You Zhen also worked for MBS as a cameraman, and You Zhen and Yin Mei are still together.

Yin Mei was beautiful and talented and devious, and she wanted to be MBS’s next star reporter. Shan Mei was sadly left in the dust behind her. Shan Mei found out about Xiang Tze’s real identity on the same day Xiang Tze confessed love for her, but Shan Mei still had feelings for You Zhen. Xiang Tze told her he’d wait for her, and he would comfort and cheer up Shan Mei when she was depressed over You Zhen, or over Yin Mei’s latest scheme to upstage her. Shan Mei was touched by his devotion and soon also fell in love with him.

Meanwhile, Yin Mei was even angrier and more jealous when she found out who Shan Mei’s new “boyfriend” was. Then she decided she didn’t want to be MBS’s star reporter, she wanted to be its mistress, so she dumped You Zhen. You Zhen was devastated and became a ghost of his former self while Yin Mei chased after Xiang Tze. But Xiang Tze repeatedly told her he loved only Shan Mei. In her quest to be rich and famous, she tampered with the car of MBS’s current star reporter, and the woman broke her leg. Unfortunately, the video monitoring system caught her on tape, and the tape was in You Zhen’s hands.

You Zhen loved her so much, he erased the tape for her. He asked her to go away with him, but she refused and spurned him again and again. But when she was alone, Yin Mei would clutch his picture and cry brokenly to herself. Because she really did love him, she just loved her ambition more. During a taping session, Yin Mei’s ex-boyfriend, whom she reported to the police and got him in jail because he tried to expose her dark past as a prostitute, tried to stab her with a knife, and a struggle ensued between him and You Zhen. Unseeing, Yin Mei stumbled onto the street, and was about to be hit by a truck, but You Zhen pushed her away, and he was hit by the truck.

You Zhen died, and everyone was mourning, but Yin Mei continued to work as if nothing happened. The entire MBS office thought she was a cold, unfeeling witch. But it was all in Yin Mei’s plan. She was going to bring shame onto herself, then she would kill her ex-boyfriend, then kill herself, thus bring justice for her beloved You Zhen’s death. But before she could put her plan in action, she found the tape You Zhen had erased for her, and in it he left a message for her.

“Our happy moments will always stay in my memory. Let’s get married, Yin Mei. I don’t care what happened in your past, I forgive you for everything you’ve done, and everything you will still do. So I hope you will forgive yourself too. Because I love you, and I hope you will learn to love yourself, too. And be happy, because I love you.”

While Yin Mei was watching the tape, she cried and cried and cried… You Zhen had forgiven her for everything, even for being the cause of his own death. There was no more meaning in seeking revenge for him. So she sent her ex-boyfriend to jail again, begged forgiveness from You Zhen’s mother (who hated her for destroying You Zhen’s life), and made peace with Shan Mei. Then she left a letter with Xiang Tze detailing her crimes, then, in a state of numbness, came to stand beside a small lake. “Can I forgive myself now?” she asked herself. Then she walked into the water and disappeared. When Shan Mei and Xiang Tze found her again, she was at an orphanage in a faraway village. She’d lost all her memory, except for the fact that she loved You Zhen. She was content to stay in the orphanage forever.

Shan Mei was leaving the next day for an internship in London. Xiang Tze did not want her to leave, and when they came back to the city (after visiting Yin Mei), Xiang Tze proposed to her, and they kissed in the middle of a busy highway.

Comments
Most people liked this story because of Xiang Tze and Shan Mei. Xiang Tze, the handsome, prince-charming figure in both women’s lives, and yet his concern and love for Shan Mei was sweet and touching.

I agree, Xiang Tze is a dream come true. Where would you find such a patient, understanding man, who stands by and waits for Shan Mei get over her lingering feelings for You Zhen? He was her protector, her friend, her shoulder to cry on. Because of his healing love, Shan Mei got over You Zhen and began to accept Xiang Tze’s love. And yet, it was also a two-way giving cycle. Xiang Tze was bitter and angry at his father, and it was because of Shan Mei’s influence that he came back to Korea and made peace with his father. She eased the loneliness in his spirit, and because of her, he began to laugh and feel happiness again.

But to be honest, the main reason I liked this series is because of You Zhen and Yin Mei. Not because the story between Xiang Tze and Shan Mei held no attraction for me, it was indeed a lovely story, but it’s little too common and “perfect”, if you know what I mean. Prince falls in love with princess. But You Zhen and Yin Mei had something very special.

You Zhen was a happy young man who did not have a cruel bone in his body. For a man, he was also incredibly naïve. He first felt sorry for Yin Mei before he fell in love with her. His mother loved him very much, and wished he would marry Shan Mei, but he chose Yin Mei instead. The pains a mother goes through because her son blamed her for not accepting Yin Mei as the woman he loved was excellent – you can really feel this mother’s love for her son, and her resentment for the woman who was ruining her son’s life, and yet she could not do anything.

Yin Mei never thought she would really fall for You Zhen – at first it was just her spiteful attempt to get back at the people who led more fortunate lives than she had. But she did learn to love You Zhen, and it was her downfall. See? She was blind with passion and greed, that in her quest to achieve her great dreams, she destroyed the one person who meant the world to her, and who loved her even knowing how far she would go to get what she wanted. And in so doing, she destroyed herself too.

Favorite characters
Yin Mei and You Zhen, for the reasons stated above.

Favorite actors
Kim So Yun (Yin Mei) – she was a terrific actress, as she does a great job of making you hate her for being so cruel. And yet there are moments of indecision about her real personality when you see her crying brokenly while holding onto YouZhen’s picture. And in the end, when her spirit was broken, there’s nothing else you can feel for her except sadness and pity. Some people may think Yin Mei got what she deserved, but I think she paid for it when she singlehandedly destroyed the one person she loved the most.

Han Jae Suk (You Zhen) – I first saw Han Jae Suk in MODEL, and there he was a brash, arrogant young man bent on succeeding and winning the love of one special girl. But here he was a sweetly innocent man who loved with all his heart, until his death. I thought Han Jae Suk did a terrific job playing both roles. Here, his eyes were wide and alight with innocent caring, and in the end before he died, he played a broken man, living in the ghost of a spurned love.

To be fair, Jan Dong Gun (Xiang Tze) and Chae Rim (Shan Mei) were also terrific in this serial. They were a great couple and made a great many people fall in love with them, and women all around are gushing about how sweet and charming Xiang Tze is. Though I have to admit both Jan Dong Gun and Chae Rim are well suited to the characters they played: the rich, sophisticated Prince-charming, and his sweetly innocent princess.

Favorite lines
The things XiangTze says to Shan Mei to make her happy are undoubtedly sweet. He made a tape for her and told her he wished she would always smile her sweet smile, because that was why he loved her. He promised her he would always make her happy, he told her he would wait for her while she was helping You Zhen get back to his feet, he told her he would never let her leave him again. There was a boyish sweetness in the way he picked out an engagement ring for Shan Mei and practiced what he would say when he proposed to her.

But my most favorite is still the words You Zhen says to Yin Mei from the tape he made. And later, Yin Mei sitting before his grave, crying, “It would have been better if we’d never met, if we hadn’t loved each other. Then you’d still be alive.”

Best Scene
I would say the “tape” scene, too, and just before Yin Mei drowned herself in the lake. The dazed, “not-there” look in her eyes as she asks the ghost of her dead lover if she could forgive herself now…



As for Xiang Tze and Shan Mei, my favorite is the tape Xiang Tze made where he told her, “I love your smile… I promise I will make you happy for as long as I live…”

Saddest scene
(1) You Zhen’s funeral, (2) while YinMei is watching You Zhen’s tape, and (3) Yin Mei at You Zhen’s grave.

For Shan Mei, she was unbearably sad when she had to watch You Zhen fall in love with Yin Mei. So she left for London, where she met Xiang Tze. There are also more sad moments whenever Shan Mei is once again the victim of Yin Mei’s cruel schemes. And of course, the scene of You Zhen’s burial. The way Shan Mei cries, holding on to Xiang Tze’s arm, and the way You Zhen’s mother wails brokenly as she watches her only son’s casket being lowered into the ground...

Happiest scene
It would be the scenes You Zhen put in his tape about the happy times he had with Yin Mei before she became a star reporter and became obsessed with victory.

For Xiang Tze and Shan Mei, their happy times when they were in London, and the ending, when Xiang Tze proposed to her.

The BEST part – the LOVE factor
I think I will remember this serial not because of Xiang Tze and Shan Mei, but because of You Zhen and Yin Mei. Their love story is unique and special because it’s a story of how love weakens both a weak man, and a wickedly devious woman. For no matter how battered or dark your soul, no matter how you fight against it, all people, weak or strong, are vulnerable to love.

To be fair, I also liked Xiang Tze and Shan Mei, and of course I also admired Xiang Tze’s lasting devotion, but to be perfectly honest I’d seen other similar films where the male lead’s sweetness and devotion touched me more (namely, “Hotelier” by Bae Yong Jun). So, in AAE, my favorite is still You Zhen/Yin Mei. Sorry to the Jan Dong Gun fans out there, but I am a Han Jae Suk fan above all. =)


Worth Watching?
Definitely. It’s the first ever Korean series to hit it big in Taiwan. You should see the scores of fans wailing “Upperclassman (Xiang Tze)! I love you!” ^_^ But there’s only one thing I can say. If you like sweet, happy love stories, you should see Xiang Tze and Shan Mei. If you like beautifully tragic love stories, then I’m sure you’ll like You Zhen and Yin Mei.

Interesting Facts
Jan Dong Gun and Han Jae Suk had another series together, “MODEL”, where they played rivals for one woman’s love. Incidentally, all the series I’ve watched by Han Jae Suk, he always plays the man who loves with all his heart, loves one woman only from start until end, but in the end, he dies a tragic death… I wonder why? Though I have to say he is perfect for this kind of role…

As for Kim So Yun and Chae Rim, most people like Chae Rim because she looks like a sweet girl, but there are also scores of male fans for Kim So Yun, because she is so devilishly beautiful in this series. =P Well, she is.

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Model [Korea]

Written by Riona

"Above all, it’s a love story of a woman’s choice between two men – one whom she loves more, or the one who loves her the most."

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Alt Title
Model Story

Chinese Title
Tian Quiao Fong Yun

Cast-Character
Jan Dong Gun-Li Zheng
Kim Nam Joo-Song Ching Lin
Han Jae Suk-Zhao Yuan Quin

No. of Episodes
36

Year of Production
1998

Language
Korean, dubbed/subtitles in Mandarin

Plot
Ching Lin was a fresh graduate from fashion school and met Yuan Quin when she hired him to model the clothes she designed for their school’s show. For Yuan Quin, it was love at first sight. She was a cute, funny girl with a lot of spunk. This is why Li Zheng liked her, too. They met at the fashion show when Yuan Quin almost didn’t show up.

Ching Lin and Yuan Quin didn’t hit it off right away. Ching Lin was usually furious at Yuan Quin for being an arrogant jerk. Yuan Quin was a poor, struggling male model, but he was very honorable, even though he can be thick-headed. Li Zheng was the estranged grandson of Korea’s biggest fashion company, and he swore to take back his heritage. Li Zheng was handsome and polished and charming, and Ching Lin chose him over Yuan Quin. And Ching Lin worked closely with Li Zheng to form their own fashion company. Ching Lin designed the clothes, and Li Zheng handled the management. Yuan Quin could only stand aside and watch the woman he loved from afar.

When Ching Lin was battered and almost raped by Yuan Quin’s mafia boss, Yuan Quin was so angry he trashed their office and quit his job, even though he had nowhere else to go. But when he and Ching Lin had a fight and when she said they (she and Li Zheng) felt sorry for him, his pride took a beating. Yuan Quin swore to her that one day he will be successful, and he will do it to prove to her that he can do it. The next day, he knelt in front of his mafia boss and begged forgiveness, and asked him to make him famous.

One year later, Yuan Quin was the hottest male model in the country. He looked polished and charming, but deep inside he was still the same ex-gangster. And he was still in love with Ching Lin. And Ching Lin was still happily in love with Li Zheng.

Li Zheng, however, thought success more important than love, even though he sincerely loved Ching Lin. Again and again they fought bitterly because Ching Lin was angry that she was last in his list of priorities. And when Li Zheng’s ex-girlfriend from America came back and committed suicide over Li Zheng’s cold treatment of her, for Ching Lin it was the last straw. She broke up with him.

There was a brief time when Ching Lin frequented bars to drown her sorrows away, but Yuan Quin was there to bring her home and talk some sense back into her. Soon she went back to work, and she and Yuan Quin became good friends. Li Zheng still loved her and wanted her back, but Ching Lin was too angry and disappointed in him. They engaged in a battle of wits. It was like to see who can hurt the other more. In the end Ching Lin admitted defeat and wanted Li Zheng back, but Li Zheng was finally accepted by his grandfather and success was in his reach, so he chose success over Ching Lin.

Ching Lin suffered an emotional stress and would have temporary blindness because of Li Zheng. To help her recover, Yuan Quin brought her to a cabin in the woods to help her relax in body and spirit, so that her sight would return. Alone in the middle of nowhere, faced again with Yuan Quin’s selfless, unconditional love, Ching Lin’s sight returned, and she finally accepted Yuan Quin’s love.

Li Zheng saw them together and realized he really loved Ching Lin, and he gave up his position in the company and was betrayed by his mafia-partner, so he asked Yuan Quin to report him to the police so he could seek safety in the police’s protection, and he landed in jail for three years. Meanwhile, Ching Lin left to study in Paris.

Three years later, Ching Lin came back to Korea as a successful young designer, and she and Yuan Quin are still together. Yuan Quin, however, still felt guilty for getting Li Zheng in jail and felt that he only “got” Ching Lin because Li Zheng was out of commisson. Li Zheng also got out of jail, and this time he wasn’t obsessed, he only wanted to be a successful model and earn back the love of Ching Lin (exactly like what Yuan Quin did 3 years ago). Ching Lin loved Yuan Quin now, but Yuan Quin was still feeling guilty for his role in Li Zheng’s imprisonment. Ching Lin finally showed him her sketches of her gown and his tux for their wedding, and Yuan Quin finally proposed to her.

That night, Yuan Quin went out to see an old friend – Yui Zhu, who used to be in love with Li Zheng, and almost got killed trying to protect Li Zheng. She was now a little crazy – she had the mind of a 6-year old. When a picture of Li Zheng flew onto the street, Yuan Quin went to pick it up for her. He ran onto the street, and right in front of a speeding truck. Yuan Quin was killed, and it was indirectly because of Li Zheng.

Ching Lin was heartbroken, and Li Zheng was oddly guilty. He’d finally realized Yuan Quin was his best friend all along, but now he was dead. He wandered aimlessly, drunk and alone, until Yuan Quin’s “ghost” visited him and asked him to help Ching Lin recover. So Li Zheng saved Ching Lin from killing herself, and Ching Lin finally recovered. She cancelled her big show, and opted instead to stage a free fashion show with all of Yuan Quin’s friends, all for one audience only – she hoped Yuan Quin would come and hear her say the words in her heart. Li Zheng helped her with the details, and they finally became good friends again. Li Zheng, meanwhile, was planning to leave for Paris after the show, to pursue a new life. After all that’s happened, all they could be was just to be good friends.

And on the night before the show, Yuan Quin’s ghost visited Ching Lin, and she was finally able to say the words in her heart: Thank you. Thank you for loving me, Yuan Quin.

Comments
MODEL was the very first Korean series I’ve ever seen, and I fell in love with it at first sight. Most people liked Li Zheng, who was charming and handsome and spoke his lines like a movie script. But I didn’t like him because he was *too* polished, and because he said he loved Ching Lin, but he kept putting her aside to pursue his obsession with getting back his birthright.

On the other hand, I fell in love with Yuan Quin immediately. He was honorable – he never deserted his friends, and he stayed loyal to his cruel boss, just because that same boss saved him from a sentence to rot in prison in order to make him a model. His desire to succeed was admirable, but he would never hurt the woman he loved just to achieve his goal. And his love was everlasting, and he loved only one girl even though he knew she didn’t love him.

Also interesting to note is Li Zheng and Yuan Quin’s relationship. Of course, the two men were rivals for the love of the same woman. Yuan Quin was antagonistic towards Li Zheng, at first because Ching Lin chose Li Zheng, and later because of the way he treated Ching Lin, and the lengths he would go to achieve his goal. But there were odd moments between the two when they would act like close friends getting together for a drink. Yuan Quin changed his mind first and treated Li Zheng as a friend, but Li Zheng said, “a friend doesn’t lust after his friend’s woman.” And in the end, after Yuan Quin died, he realized that they had been best friends all along.

Favorite characters
Yuan Quin, definitely. For the reasons stated above.

Favorite actors
Han Jae Suk. After MODEL, I decided I liked him immensely. I saw many Korean actors after him, but none I liked as much as I liked Han Jae Suk. (That is, until I saw Bae Yong Jun in “Hotelier” )

Favorite lines
Li Zheng had much more sweet, flowery things to say to Ching Lin, but my favorites were the lines from Yuan Quin. Short and sincere and from the heart (though I’m not saying Li Zheng’s weren’t sincere).

Yuan Quin (to Ching Lin): “I don’t care what Li Zheng or anybody else says about me. I just want you to be happy. As long as you’re happy.”

Yuan Quin: “When the confusion between the three of us (Yuan Quin, Ching Lin and Li Zheng) is resolved, then we’ll get married. I can still wait.”

But one more of my favorite line is, incidentally, not from any of the main cast. It’s when Yuan Quin’s sister told Ching Lin, “Marriage is not always based on fiery, passionate love. Love grows with time. To marry the man who loves you the most, it is a woman’s true happiness.”

Best Scene
(1) When Ching Lin was sleeping, her foot wrapped in a marble cast, Yuan Quin came in quietly and looked at her sleeping figure, then wrote “I love you” on her cast, without signing his name.

(2) When Ching Lin was devasted over Li Zheng’s betrayal and was cavorting with strangers in bars, Yuan Quin rescued her. He looked at her unconscious face and tenderly brushed her hair from her forehead, then lifted her into his arms and took her home.

(3) When Ching Lin’s sight returned and she finally accepted Yuan Quin

(4) Yuan Quin’s death, Ching Lin’s face flashing before his eyes before he blacked out.

Saddest scene
(1) Yuan Quin’s funeral, when Ching Lin was talking to herself, pretending Yuan Quin was there beside her, and then broke down into tears when she realized Yuan Quin had given her the world, and she’d not done a thing for him, not even cook him a single meal.

(2) When Ching Lin tried to kill herself, crying that there were so many things she had to say to Yuan Quin. And when Yuan Quin’s ghost finally visited her, she realized she had only one important thing to say: Thank you.

Happiest scene
(1) When Ching Lin’s sight returned, and she and Yuan Quin embraced, happy tears in her eyes.

(2) When Ching Lin “proposed” to Yuan Quin, and Yuan Quin gave her the engagement ring.

The BEST part – the LOVE factor
Yuan Quin was the embodiment of a selfless, unconditional love. Even though he met Ching Lin first, when Ching Lin fell in love with Li Zheng instead, he couldn’t do anything. When Li Zheng started taking Ching Lin for granted, Yuan Quin was angry and indignant. So he was always there to protect her, to cheer her up, to make sure she was safe. He did it not because he hoped he could make her love him by doing that, but because he wanted her to be safe and happy. Ching Lin spurned him and made him angry and stepped all over his pride, but still he loved her unconditionally. Such a selfless love deserves a reward, and finally Ching Lin fell in love with him, they were even going to get married, but he died before he got the happy ending he deserved. Such a sad fate for a wonderful, generous, loving man.

The Ending
Even though Yuan Quin died in the end without his happy ending with Ching Lin, I still think it is the perfect ending for this story. Because Yuan Quin loved with all his heart, it was too good to be true.

Most Jan Dong Gun fans hoped the ending meant that in the future Ching Lin and Li Zheng would get back together. But I disagree. I think they went through too much, and had one special person who affected their lives so much (namely, Yuan Quin), that there was too much bad water under the bridge, so all they could ever be is just to be good friends.

As for when Yuan Quin’s ghost visited Ching Lin before the last fashion show, some people had hoped Ching Lin would finally tell Yuan Quin that she loved him – you see, in all 36 episodes, she had never told him that she loved him. But instead, what she said was “Thank you.” I happen to think what she said was perfect. “I love you” is not enough to cover everything Ching Lin feels for Yuan Quin. But “Thank You” is perfect. Thank you for your love and everything you’ve done for me.

I thank Yuan Quin too. It was because of him that I first saw what unconditional love was like. He was not perfect, and the woman he loved was not perfect, either. She was talented, yes, but she was also competitive and prideful and she hated to lose. Of course there was also the beginning when she was blindly in love with Li Zheng and took Yuan Quin for granted. But no matter what she was, he still loved her selflessly, always forgiving her, always protecting her. Not because he was an idiot, but because he accepted her for all she was. And I think it is also because he loved her for exactly that reason – for her fiery spirit.

Worth Watching?
Actually, MODEL is longer than the average Korean series. Most of them are only 20 episodes long. But MODEL has a lot more story aside from Li Zheng/Ching Lin/Yuan Quin. It also tells the story of other struggling models, their love lives and their families.

For those interested, there are lots of beautiful girls and handsome guys in this series.

All in all, MODEL has an interesting, engaging storyline, it’s fast-paced and intriguing, and I certainly spent the time sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for Yuan Quin’s happy ending. Above all, it’s a love story of a woman’s choice between two men – one whom she loves more, or the one who loves her the most.

Rating


Interesting Links
Jan Dong Gun and Han Jae Suk had another series together, “ALL ABOUT EVE”. Incidentally, all the series I’ve watched by Han Jae Suk, he always plays the man who loves with all his heart, loves one woman only from start until end, but in the end, he dies a tragic death… I wonder why? Though I have to say he is perfect for this kind of role…

Here’s a page I made for MODEL: CLICK HERE

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