[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Love for a Thousand More" Episodes 5-7

Joon-woo is starting to warm up to Mi-jo. That she gave him useful advice is the main immediate factor facilitating the thaw in their relationship. Joon-woo is still as generally clueless as ever, though, unaware that Yeon-ji (played by Kim Hee-jung-I) has been petitioning for some romance with him yet never makes any kind of headway. Meanwhile, Hyeong-sik (played by Kim Jinwoo), reacts to the ongoing situation with four character Chinese proverbs. Which is a good gimmick, albeit one that's pretty much impossible to translate into English.

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Plotwise, the main relevant new happening is the appearance of Jason (played by Jang Ki-yong) who like Mi-jo, is an immortal. And also like Mi-jo, Jason is quite adept at hiding this fact, constantly acting free and young at heart. His appearance throws a wrench in to the main implied pairing, much like Yeon-ji does, because when there are more age-appropriate love interests standing around why should we want Joon-woo and Mi-jo to be together?

But then discussing characterization in "Love for a Thousand More" is rather secondary anyway, because from the very beginning this drama has always been about one thing- showing off beautiful traditional style Korean fashion. Look at the sheer variety in Mi-jo's outfits, how every last one of them look so unique when they're all done in the same basic style. Hwang Seung-eon is an almost perfect model for these clothes too- although maybe credit for that should go to the makeup department.

There's just something so consistently joyous about the backdrop in "Love for a Thousand More", even when we're dealing with scenes as simple as a chat in the park. Even as the bulk of the speaking parts in this drama belong to hip hop artists, there's a very effective fusion of old with new. Which is perhaps where the romance between Joon-woo and Mi-jo is supposed to be convincing. As widely different as they are, from completely different era, basic ideals of kindess are timeless.

Speaking of which, Mi-jo's pet turtle is a nice touch. What better pet for an immortal woman than a similarly immortal animal? The little touches in the backdrop are what make "Love for a Thousand More" so generally sweet- even if sometimes they border on the creepy, as is the case with Joon-woo's tragic accident so long ago. There's not much time left to complete a genuinely involved plot, though, so I prefer to focus on the scenery.

Review by William Schwartz

"Love for a Thousand More" is directed by Kim Ki-yoon, Park Bong-seob, written by Kwak Kyeong-yoon, Na Jae-won, Seo Ji-yeong-I and features Kang Seung-yoon, Hwang Seung-eon, Kim Hee-jung-I, Kim Jinwoo and Jang Ki-yong.