'Winter Sonata' Spell Cast on One More
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South Korean drama a hit in Nepal
Bhumika Ghimire (bhumika1)
When I first heard about "Winter Sonata", the South Korean TV drama, I thought it must be a musical or it had something to do with music. So when the American cable pan-Asian network, AZN, announced that it will be showing "Winter Sonata" during an August weekend, I would not be interested in watching it.
While channel surfing on earlier this month, I happened to catch a few scenes of "Winter Sonata". The scene was Yu-jin is trying to climb the wall of the school and Jun-sang helps her. After that, there was not turning back. That day I watched five back-to-back episodes for six hours and managed to drag my husband to join me.
We were fascinated by the story line. For me, Bae Yong-joon was more of an attraction. Park Sol-mi (or Chae-rin) managed to attract my husband's attention. In pin drop silence, we watched Yu-jin and Jun-sang separate and Sang-hyuk's obsession to get Yu-jin's love in Jun-sang's absence. No one was allowed to utter a word while the show was on, we didn't want to miss a word.
The next three weekends turned into "Winter Sonata" days. The show started airing at 5 p.m., so I would make dinner by 4:30 and finish other chores around the house. Then at 5 p.m., we would gather around the TV and not move for the next six hours.
Yesterday, we watched the last episode. We were relieved to see that at last Yu-jin and Jung-sang get together. If the ending was otherwise, I am sure I would have had a heart attack.
This was our first time watching a Korean drama. For me it was a cultural experience too, since I know so little about Korea and Korean people. I must say that I was surprised to see the way "Winter Sonata" showed the tough emotions, pain, anger and frustration in such a subtle and beautiful way. Living in a culture exploding with loud noise and the strong way in which emotions are show, I really admire this side of Korean culture.
And, yes, where is Chuncheon? That place is beautiful and is straight out of an artist's imagination. Just think about a fan's state of mind looking at Bae Yong-joon and the beauty of Chuncheon. It's an "out of the world" experience.
I know that I am one of the millions who have come under the spell of "Winter Sonata", but still I could not keep myself from writing about it and thinking about it. I really wish I could come and see Chuncheon for myself, walk around that lake where Yu-jin and Jung-sang ride the bicycle, see that house Jung-sang builds when he goes blind and that high school where everything started.
"Winter Sonata" is a real gem, not only as a drama but also as a means to promote Korean culture and the nation of Korea. Now I can truly understand why Asia is seeing a growing Korean cultural influence.
©2006 OhmyNews
Bhumika Ghimire (bhumika1)
When I first heard about "Winter Sonata", the South Korean TV drama, I thought it must be a musical or it had something to do with music. So when the American cable pan-Asian network, AZN, announced that it will be showing "Winter Sonata" during an August weekend, I would not be interested in watching it.
While channel surfing on earlier this month, I happened to catch a few scenes of "Winter Sonata". The scene was Yu-jin is trying to climb the wall of the school and Jun-sang helps her. After that, there was not turning back. That day I watched five back-to-back episodes for six hours and managed to drag my husband to join me.
We were fascinated by the story line. For me, Bae Yong-joon was more of an attraction. Park Sol-mi (or Chae-rin) managed to attract my husband's attention. In pin drop silence, we watched Yu-jin and Jun-sang separate and Sang-hyuk's obsession to get Yu-jin's love in Jun-sang's absence. No one was allowed to utter a word while the show was on, we didn't want to miss a word.
The next three weekends turned into "Winter Sonata" days. The show started airing at 5 p.m., so I would make dinner by 4:30 and finish other chores around the house. Then at 5 p.m., we would gather around the TV and not move for the next six hours.
Yesterday, we watched the last episode. We were relieved to see that at last Yu-jin and Jung-sang get together. If the ending was otherwise, I am sure I would have had a heart attack.
This was our first time watching a Korean drama. For me it was a cultural experience too, since I know so little about Korea and Korean people. I must say that I was surprised to see the way "Winter Sonata" showed the tough emotions, pain, anger and frustration in such a subtle and beautiful way. Living in a culture exploding with loud noise and the strong way in which emotions are show, I really admire this side of Korean culture.
And, yes, where is Chuncheon? That place is beautiful and is straight out of an artist's imagination. Just think about a fan's state of mind looking at Bae Yong-joon and the beauty of Chuncheon. It's an "out of the world" experience.
I know that I am one of the millions who have come under the spell of "Winter Sonata", but still I could not keep myself from writing about it and thinking about it. I really wish I could come and see Chuncheon for myself, walk around that lake where Yu-jin and Jung-sang ride the bicycle, see that house Jung-sang builds when he goes blind and that high school where everything started.
"Winter Sonata" is a real gem, not only as a drama but also as a means to promote Korean culture and the nation of Korea. Now I can truly understand why Asia is seeing a growing Korean cultural influence.
©2006 OhmyNews
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