Winter Sonata 2002

10 years ago, Jun Xiang transferred to Spring Village High School to look for his natural father. You Zhen and Cai Lin were interested in him. However, he was very hostile to the monitor, Xiang He because he suspected that he was his half-brother. Both guys were in love with You Zhen. When You Zhen was lost during a trip, Jun Xiang taught her to find her way back by observing the Polaris. One day, Jun Xiang was knocked down by a truck on New Year’s Eve and was believed to be dead.

10 years later, You Zhen sees a man resembling Jun Xiang and misses her engagement ceremony with Xiang He because she goes frantically in search of him. Later, she is shattered to know that he is Cai Lin’s boyfriend, Min Heng. Min Heng is the new architect at Marcian that is working with You Zhen’s Polaris company named after Jun Xiang.

You Zhen always looks at Min Heng tenderly in the same way she looks at Jun Xiang. Cai Lin badmouths her to make Min Heng dislike her, saying that she likes to imitate her and that she seduced Cai Lin's previous boyfriend. Later Min Heng discovers the truth and breaks off with Cai Lin and falls for You Zhen. I like the way that he presents her with the Polaris necklace – so romantic to place it in a snowball.

Xiang He forces You Zhen to marry him. When she refuses, he tries to kill himself to make her return to him. At this time, Min Heng finds out that he has amnesia due to the accident. His selfish mother erased his memory. Xiang He forbids him to tell You Zhen so he decides to go to the US. Before leaving, he gives her a CD ‘The First Time’ – the same song that Jun Xiang recorded and played for her on tape.

You Zhen tries to make him remember the past but to no avail. He still leaves the next day but is injured when he pushes You Zhen away from an oncoming truck. This woman is the main cause for his blindness later – hate her if you can because she just runs across the road blindly!

Upon recovery, he goes to Spring Village with her and remembers the past. He also finds out that his mother, Mei Xi was formerly engaged to You Zhen’s father. She tried to kill herself but was saved by Xiang He’s father. Jun Xiang didn’t know that the two had a one night stand. Mei Xi doesn’t deny that You Zhen’s father was also his father. He is very depressed over it.

Despite this, he still carries on his wedding plans with her but is stopped by Xiang He. He brings her to the seaside to spend their last times together. When she knows of the truth, she is upset but gives him a model of a house designed by her before parting ways.

Jun Xiang finds out that his father is Xiang He’s father. But now he has a blood clot in his brain after the second accident. If he doesn’t remove it, he will die. Xiang He is still selfish to tell him not to let You Zhen know about the truth. He even asks Jun Xiang to tell You Zhen to study in France with him. But he tells the truth after knowing Jun Xiang’s serious condition. They are too late upon reaching the airport.

3 years later, You Zhen returns and Xiang He doesn’t accompany her to Paris. She finds the house she designs built on an island. She discovers a blind Jun Xiang there. He has built it for her before going blind. Both embrace in the evening sunset.

My Girl 2006

Joo Yoorin (Lee Da Hae) is a tour guide in a small company in charge of running mini tours in the Jeju Island of South Korea. Her father is a gambling addict, but despite all the debts that he runs up, Yoorin always finds a way to help repay them. She leads a below-average life but is happy as long as she has her dad around her. Because of her father's gambling ways, she has had to move from country to country whenever her father runs from one place to another to avoid their debtors. This has in turn brought her the ability to converse fluently in Chinese and Japanese, which are of great help as a tour guide whenever she has to entertain tourists from China and Japan.

Seol Gongchan (Lee Dong Wook) is the only heir of the owner of L'Avenuel Hotel, which is one of the top hotels in Korea. His grandfather, Seol Woong, charges him with the duty of finding his granddaughter, who is also Gongchan's cousin. Seol Woong had disowned his own daughter, Gongchan's aunt, when she decided to marry a man not of his choice. However, when Seol Woong had a change of heart and wished to accept his daughter back, an earthquake struck where his daughter lived, and since then, he has lost all contact with his kin and perhaps the chance to make amends for his own stubbornness, to take care of his granddaughter and hopefully make things right.

Kim Seohyun (Park Si Yeon) is the girlfriend of Seol Gongchan. A rising star in the tennis world, she returns to Korea to look for Gongchan as she cannot forget him.

Seo Jung Woong (Lee Jun Ki) is the son of one of the main shareholders of L'Avenuel Hotel and also the best friend of Seol Gongchan. Unlike Gongchan who is responsible and hardworking, Jung Woong is a flirt who is known to have many girlfriends.

The story starts with Yoorin rushing to the airport. She is helping her friend delay a flight so that the tourists of her friend will not miss their flight. Out of ideas, she plays a damsel in distress, who is apparently mourning her impending death and her dying wish to see her boyfriend who is apparently on the flight. And so after much crying and the entire airport empathizing with her, she gets to get on board the plane to look for her boyfriend who never really existed. As she walks, she realizes she cannot find anyone and pretends to faint. Alas, she faints beside the seat of our male lead, Seol Gongchan, who knows a liar when he sees one. Although their first encounter is weird, it doesn't leave much of an impression in each other's mind.

Later, however, when Gongchan has to entertain a bunch of Chinese visitors and realizes he has no translator, he engages the services of Yoorin coincidentally and through Yoorin, his potential Chinese investors have a great time at the L'Avenuel Hotel branch in Jeju, and Yoorin has much credit to claim for it.

After a series of comical events including Yoorin staying at his hotel lodge without paying, and Yoorin selling his hotel fruityard's oranges to make a small profit (to clear her father's debts again), Gongchan's impression of Yoorin is one of a cheat and he would want to do anything to distance himself from her.

But then word from mainland Korea is that his grandfather is dying and at his bedside, Seol Woong, through his respirator, can only meekly repeat that he must not and cannot die until he sees his granddaughter again.

Driven by desperation and his love for his grandfather, Gongchan will do anything to ease his burden. When pointed out by his secretary that Yoorin bears a resemblance to his aunt, Gongchan hatches a plan to pass off Yoorin as his grandfather's long-lost granddaughter whilst he carries on searching for the real one.

Yoorin, who is desperate for money to repay her father's debt, is unwilling to do the job as it involves lying to a dying man, something that she staunchly refuses to do. But when Seol Gongchan desperately begs her and she realizes she is somewhat indebted to him for not bringing her to the police after her little business in his hotel, she caves in and pretends to the long-lost granddaughter.

And so things seem to be going well, with the search for Gongchan's long-lost cousin making progress and perhaps more importantly, the improvement of Gongchan's grandfather's conditions thanks to Yoorin. As Yoorin spends more time with Gongchan's family, she gets showered with the love she never received as a child and finds herself drawn to Gongchan. She finds herself changing from the liar that she once was to a person who tries to tell the truth when she can. But she knows all too well that her one-sided love will never materialize as the difference in social status between Gongchan and herself is too big.

But unknown to her, Gongchan is also slowly being drawn to her...

Fullhouse 2004

Han Ji Eun (JE) is an internet novelist living alone in Full House, which her father had built, after her parents' death in a car accident. Lee Young Jae (YJ) is a top actor. He appears aloof and arrogant, but concealed within is a man who is hopelessly in love with his childhood friend Kang Hye Won (HW), a fashion designer who is also YJ's stylist. He does not have the courage to admit his feelings to Hye Won as he knows her heart is pining for Yoo Min Hyuk (MH), a mutual childhood friend of YJ and HW.

JE is swindled of her Full House by her two bosom friends. The house is in turn sold to YJ. Both are stuck in an unresolved situation. At the same time, YJ is plagued by rumors about his relationships, which have damaged his image. In a pitch to salvage his reputation, YJ strikes a deal with JE. They have a 'contractual' marriage, both agreeing to divorce in 6 months' time. JE will repay for the house by working as a housemaid for YJ and YJ will return JE her house when the contract is completed.

Despite their initial dislike for each other, JE and YJ learn to live together under the same roof. But the situation gets complicated when JE finds herself falling for YJ. When she sees YJ chasing for HW's unrequited love, she finds it difficult to continue with the contract. Meanwhile, MH, who becomes JE's publisher, finds himself falling for the wife of his childhood friend.

Review:

I resisted "Full House" for a while because I had this impression that it was silly and childish. After I overcame my initial bias, and managed to convince myself to finish the entire k-drama, I am totally bought over by "Full House"! The theme is fun, fun, fun all the way. Coupled with the electrifying chemistry of Bi and Song Hae Gyo (SHG), and the excellent packaging, it all made "Full House" one of the most polished and enjoyable k-dramas I have seen from KBS to date.

I think KBS have truly learned from their competitors SBS. They build a house on the sea front, costing a whopping US$1 million just for this k-drama! And no expense was spared for the production, from the set, casts down to the wardrobe. Outstanding job!

My usual complaint about k-comedies is that everything is usually too overdone, e.g. over-the-top acting, exaggerated body language, shouting matches, etc. And after a while you actually forgive the actors for throwing in such performances because you just accept that that is how it is. "Full House" is no exception, but despite that, this k-drama never made me yawn with their common punts because the chemistry of the leads was just so incredible!

The story is fairly simple. It is a straight-forward tale of how two people inch their way into each other's heart as they try to lead their lives under the same roof. At 16 episodes, the show is fairly fast-paced. Well maybe except for the last few episodes where you wonder why Bi and SHG are dragging their feet when the end is so near.

Sharing the same writer, many will compare "Full House" to "Attic Cat". While as both stories are about a bickering cohabiting relationship, "Full House" is more of a wacky, fun-loving tale versus "Attic Cat", which poked at the pressures of cohabition in modern day South Korea.

Another key difference is that "Full House" also makes up for what "Attic Cat" lacked, in terms of having a comparable competitor as the other man fighting for the leading lady's heart (okay, this is totally a personal plus because I could not stop drooling for Kim Sung Soo in "Full House"). Kim Sung Soo is one hunk of a competitor to baby-face Bi. Some could not understand why JE didn't pick the mature and eligible MH. Yet despite the strong competition, my heart was pining for Bi all the way.

YJ may be a rude and arrogant loudmouth on the surface, but within is a sensitive and loyal person whose bark is louder than its bite. He is so protective of the one he loves that he does so at the expense of hurting himself. His love is unconditional and irrational, which is what makes it so desirable, well at least for me. For a man like MH, he can go on if he does not win JE's heart, but you know YJ is a wreck if he loses her.

Another thing that I love about this show is how the leading lady, HJE, is not afraid to express how she feels. She is strong, cheerful and stands up for herself. She does not let anyone step over her, yet she has a heart to see what she wants and is willing to sacrifice herself to make the one she loves happy. SHG is delightful as HJE. She is honest about her feelings and she works hard to make her living. She is not perfect as she is a slob and is sometimes ditzy (or even thick-skinned), but that is what makes her so lovable. SHG is completely in her element. Though she was going through a bad break-up then, it totally did not show in her performance. She had some quirky wardrobe and poor girl, she had to don such high heels because of her tall leading men. I was never impressed with her as an actress, but "Full House" completely changed my assessment.

Bi is really irritating initially as YJ. But his kindness and sensitivity only surface as the k-drama progresses. The innocence he shows in adhering to the contract of flower-giving is such a sweet gesture. And his love for JE must have been so overwhelming that he is able to say what he could not utter to HW for 15 years - 'Sarang hye yo'.

This is Bi's second k-drama. Even though I did not feel that he did the unrequited love for HW part very well, he was charming with his boyish smile and cute facial expressions. It is funny how he can't stop grumbling and yakking when he is with JE, yet with HW he is always silent. My only complaint about YJ - I could not stand his wardrobe. I know he is supposed to be a top actor but he looks more like a pop star versus an actor.

Kim Sung Soo (KSS) was stiff, but had screen presence in "Say You Love Me". I sat up and took notice of another k-hunk making his way into my closet. KSS looks so good in "Full House" (despite the odd color suits he had to wear) and I can see improvement in his acting. He projects the right image for the character: confident, mature, and sensitive. The perfect New Age Man! Unlike the chauvinistic and rude YJ. I particularly liked the scenes when he had to display his internal struggle about falling for a married woman. I see lots of potential from this guy!

Han Eun Jung (HEJ) is a total fox in "Full House". You will get to see her cleaveage in almost every episode as the skimpily clad and stylishly ahead designer, KHW. With her 175cm height and slender frame, she always looks good (oozing with sex appeal) in her outfits portraying YJ's princess, the girl of his dreams. She throws in a very good performance as well, playing a woman suffering from the "unrequited love" syndrome. YJ likes her, but she chases after MH. But when YJ marries JE she begins to like YJ. Don't get me wrong, she is not a detestable character, but rather a very real person, a very real woman, a well-written character. And HEJ did a great job as HW, and I felt realy sorry for her.

What made "Full House" so easy to and fun to watch as there was no unrealistic jealous third party, or psychotic ex-boyfriends, or terminal disease! How can you not fall in love with it!

The other characters added the necessary spice to the show. JE's useless friends add comic catalyst to the entire story with their fumbling tactics. And YJ's family are good sub-characters to the story. An extremely balanced story told in a fun and light-hearted way. I totally recommend this!