I just finished the finale and thought I'd share my thoughts about this blissful drama.
First, the thing that attracted me to this drama (other than GHJ being the lead) was simply the story.
It is kind of rare in Asian media to deal with HIV and AIDS as a plot line, especially like in this drama were the one affected is a little child.
This drama, above anything is a family drama, about the bonds that people build, about trust, about love, about devotion, about sacrifice, about the will to survive...and ultimately about the most important human virtue, which is being thankful and honestly expressing it. Saying ”thank you" for each and every blessing you receive, is the door to find goodness in this world.
Other than teaching about such virtues, this drama shed light on a very important issue, which is of course HIV. It is a relatively new drama so one would expect that most people in the community have enough information regarding HIV and it's nature, and transmission. But, the drama's story revolves in a rural town on an island, were people are so simple and to an extent uncultured. One then would mistakenly think that the misunderstanding the villagers had concerning the disease was the main reason behind the suffering and hardship that our brave single mother faced, and that if she had lived in a big town with more cultured persons she wouldn't have suffered as much. But on second thought, you find yourself realizing that the issue is not merely about "knowing" or "not knowing" and that even people who have acquired enough knowledge about such ailments, can still be unable to act normally around people infected with it., especially if we're dealing with sending our children around another infected child. So although while watching this drama, I was infuriated at how everyone was mistreating them, later on after giving it some thought, you find you can not 100% blame them.
The Story:
A very good one, with depth in each and every character. Loved how each characters background and history was revealed naturally without too many flash backs and monologues and reminiscence scenes like many KDramas tend to do. Rather, we were given the most necessary points regarding each and every main character, just at the right time, just in the right proportion. Also each and every character development, came with a logical progression, not all of a sudden, so you feel you can totally understand how they feel or must be feeling.
On a side note, this might be my first KDrama to take place entirely in rural Korean village. The landscapes were always so genuine and real, they showed us what an island village looked like, felt like, even smelled like. You feel as if you have been there living among them and experiencing it. This could be considered a proof of good direction.
Acting:
As usual I loved Gong Hyo Jin to pieces in this one too. She's simply awesome, never overdoing it and just delivering the right amount of expressions, whether facial or vocal.
As for Jang Hyuk, I was expecting to feel awkward at his usual over-the-top expression acting, but he was surprisingly so good in this one. He delivered Ahjusshi just the way he should be *thumbs up*
All the other actors delivered very convincing acting, and above all I would like to salute the actor who played Haraboji (grand pa a.k.a Mr. Lee) on an awesome performance!!!
Music: Don't know if it's because it's a 2007 drama, but the background music was mostly not my taste. the main ballad song was nice and the lyrics was perfect for the premises of the drama. But I'm afraid I have to admit I didn't particularly prefer the instrumental tracks in this one. Still it doesn't prevent you from enjoying the drama.
Rewatch value: This is a drama I profoundly enjoyed, and though it was bit slow paced at certain parts, over all it was a really nice watch I think I might be re-watching it sometime later when I feel like watching a slice of life drama.
This is a worthy watch, I recommend.
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