Finally, I get round to watching some Korean drama. One of the (minor) things that I wonder about my fondness for Japanese culture is why don't I give Korean dramas a fair crack of the whip? For an outsider, liking Japan and not liking South Korea is the same as liking Spain and not liking Italy. I mean, sure, they're two different countries with different languages, histories and attitudes but, superficially at least, they are pretty similar.
But I did see one episode of God Of Study ages ago (which I only watched because it had Bae Doo Na in it (from the films Host and Linda, Linda, Linda)) and didn't care for it. Then, the other day I found this 2008 series on d-addicts. A quick look at the synopsis interested me, so I gave it a go.
The story revolves around the investigations of a team trying to uncover insurance fraud. Apart from the detective work, there's also a sub-plot of "will they, won't they, and if so, with whom?" in the form of a love triangle between the three main characters. The comedic elements are hardly subtle (see below) but can be pretty funny and thanks to some neat story lines, this has me hooked. The three main stars nicely play against each other and are well supported by the rest of the cast. The stories are twisty and turny, but not so much that you think that perhaps even the writers don't know who did it. Ultimately, I'm very glad I gave this a go. The episodes are being put up on d-addicts pretty quickly, but that's fine by me. Set 'em up, I'll knock 'em down.
Spain the same as Italy???? Please NOOOOO!!!! Just in case any Spanish or Italians read your blog, please find a different analogy next time. Love your comments though. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThat's actually my point. The Spanish and Italians would not be happy if you thought their cultures were the same but to an uniformed outsider, there's not much to choose between them. It's the same with Japan and South Korea. Or Scotland and Ireland, etc.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Italy for four years, so I chose this example as one I could back up. In fact, the first time I met my Italian girlfriend, I thought she was Spanish. She wasn't impressed.
Thanks for the comment.