Life, Death, Identity ... and K-dramas
Reviews of MY DEAREST | TWINKLING WATERMELON | MY MAGIC CLOSET | IF YOU WISH UPON ME | CEO-DOL MART
With less than two weeks before 2023 comes to an end, I wanted to share my thoughts about five K-dramas I’ve watched in recent months that held my interest:
• “My Dearest” ☆☆☆½
• "My Magic Closet" ☆☆
• “If You Wish Upon Me” ☆☆☆
• “CEO-dol Mart” ☆☆
• "Twinkling Watermelon" ☆☆☆
What I found interesting about these shows is that while the best of these explored life, death and identity, even the ones that I thought would be a little goofy had themes that celebrated life and second chances.
As always, the reviews are rated on a ☆☆☆☆ system. For those of you reading this on the Substack app or on the website, anchor links have been added so that you can click on a specific title to be taken directly to that review.
“My Dearest”
☆☆☆½
A sweeping series set in Joseon, “My Dearest" is such a strong show that I selected it as one of my Top 13 K-drama picks of 2023 for Teen Vogue:
Split into two parts, this 21-episode sageuk – or historical drama – showcases the amazing chemistry between lead actors Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun-jin. Set during the Qing invasion of Joseon, this K-drama is as much of a story of resilience as it is about love. Class differences and misunderstandings will force our protagonists to leave each other repeatedly.
But like a boomerang, they always find each other again. There is plenty of political subterfuge, with an ineffectual and paranoid king whose desire to survive supersedes his love for his own son (the Crown Prince).
And there are “good men” whose love for the women in their lives are conditional on their chastity. Gil-chae (Ahn), who spends the earliest episodes besotted over a man she can’t have, isn’t a character I warmed up to initially. But her emotional growth and will to survive are inspirational.
The early episodes lay out the groundwork for the series. Gil-chae (Ahn Eun-jin) is a noblewoman with her eyes set on a scholar who also happens to be her best friend’s suitor. Jang-hyun (Namkoong Min) is a nobleman, whose rough mannerisms indicate that perhaps he bought his title rather than being born into a good family. Of course the two won’t like each other much in the beginning. While it’s a given that they will fall for each other in subsequent episodes, the way their relationship progresses as a slow burning push-pull is handled beautifully.
There is a kinda/sorta gay subplot that involves Jang-hyun’s best friend — pansori singer Ryang-eum (Kim Yun-woo). Ryang-eum may come off as jealous of Gil-chae, and his passively cruel actions towards her endanger her life. But what the writers did so effectively is to portray him as a man trapped by his own desires, which aren’t returned by the man he clearly covets as a partner.
Set during an era when Joseon was threatened by several factions, the men prepare to head to battle the barbarians. To help Gil-chae who is besotted with Yeon-joon (Lee Hak-jo), who is ready to propose to sweet Eun-ae (Lee Da-in), Jang-hyun suggests that the men postpone their weddings until after they return victoriously. For a man who loses a wife, there’s no shame in remarrying another woman. But for a woman — especially one bearing a child — whose husband is killed in a battle, her life essentially ends with his death. She most likely will never be able to remarry and, even if she does, her child will be fatherless and won’t be considered a proper member of society.
At the start of the series, Gil-chae is a thoughtless character. She tries to steal away her best friend's boyfriend. She tricks another man into giving up his girlfriend to propose to her, with the intent of trying to make Yeon-joon jealous. And when the men go off to rescue their king, she tells her boyfriend to make sure he protects Yeon-joon. She is willing to sacrifice another man's life to ensure that the man she has a crush on survives.
As the K-drama progresses, we see Gil-chae’s evolution. The selfish girl who only thought about herself (and Yeon-joon) evolves into a compassionate and resilient woman who unleashes her strength to help Joseon’s most vulnerable citizens. She grows into her leadership role out of necessity, but viewers sense that bravery and compassion were always within her.
Airdates: Twenty-one hour-long episodes originally aired on MBC from August 4 through November 18, 2023. The finale ran for about half an hour longer. I watched this on KOCOWA.
“My Magic Closet”
☆☆☆☆
This Brazilian take on a K-drama has an intriguing premise. It tells the story of a Korean Brazilian teenager. Carol (Sharon Cho) attends a high school where all the students are ga-ga over anything Korean. And since Carol looks the part, they fetishize her, even though she’s as Brazilian as they are.
Little do they realize that Carol, whose Brazilian mother died in a car accident and whose father returned to South Korea without her, knows little about her ethnic heritage. But perpetual foreigner syndrome runs rampant everywhere and she will never be accepted as truly Brazilian because of her looks. A trio of popular girls at school want to hire her to be their personal Korean stylist. As the leader points out, "Real fans are willing to invest."
But invest in what? Dressing like a Korean celebrity? Being styled by a Korean person? Having a Korean girl on your payroll?
The first episode accomplishes what "XO, Kitty" failed to deliver. It deftly tackles identity and what it’s like living as diaspora. Carol was born and raised in Brazil, but is constantly referred to as the Korean girl. She tells all her K-pop obsessed classmates that she hates idol music and doesn't want to have anything to do with Korea or being Korean.
But that slowly changes when, thanks to a magic portal (aka her armoire), members of ACT — the most famous K-pop group in the world — begin appearing in her bedroom (in a wholesome way).
“My Magic Closet” is as much of a Cinderella story as anything else. Since her Brazilian maternal aunt and cousin provide food and shelter for her, they have no qualms taking advantage of her. She even lives in an abandoned part of the house. They may come up with ideas to make their K-cafe (ew) more profitable, but Carol is the one who has to do all the hard labor, which includes wearing ACT’s mascot costume to drum up more business for the cafe.
This fictional group is portrayed by real-life South Korean idols Jinkwon and Lee Min-wook of NewKidd; and former Stray Kids member Kim Woojin. Yoon Jae-chan rounds out the lineup. I had the opportunity to interview Jinkwon this past autumn when I was in South Korea and he shared what it was like working on the show in Sao Paulo:
“I spent four months shooting the series in Brazil and while we all worked hard, I did have time to rest after work and explore. We had a cast and crew who were Thai, Brazilian, Korean and American. There were a lot of languages. I ended up memorizing the entire script so when a person was talking, I was able to act without much difficulty. I have a good memory.” [Laughs]
There is also a subplot running throughout the series that reminded me a bit of “Flashdance.” Carol has dreams of becoming a ballerina, just like her mother. But with school, her job at the cafe and a mega-popular K-pop group interrupting her life, will she ever get the chance to audition at the elite ballet academy?
I think we all know the answer to that.
Airdates: The 10-episode series — each airing under an hour long — debuted aired on HBO Max from July 20 through August 10, 2023.
“If You Wish Upon Me”
☆☆☆☆
After a few post-military clunkers (“Melting Me Softly,” “Backstreet Rookie,” “Love Struck in the City,” “The Sound of Magic”), Ji Chang-wook is back! This 2022 K-drama is so moving that if you don’t outright bawl during each episode, you’ll probably at least tear up … or feel a catch in your throat.
The series takes place at a hospice, where Team Genie does everything in their power to fulfill the patients’ final wishes. The workers include Tae-shik (Sung Dong-il), the defacto leader of the program; Yeon-joo (Girls’ Generation’s Choi Soo-young), a spunky and resilient nurse; and Gyeo-ree (Ji Chang-wook), who is serving community service there in a bid to stay out of jail.
My favorite episodes revolved around characters with complex backgrounds. Se-hee (Park Ji-joo) had dreams of being a musical theater star. She has one wish she’d like fulfilled before she dies: to perform on stage with her favorite actor Pyo Gyu-tae (played by "Doctor Cha" actor Min Woo-hyuk). Unlike his image, Gyu-tae turns out to be a callous womanizer who only cares about himself. But thanks to a scandal he’d like to bury, he agrees to star opposite her on a small stage that Team Genie constructs at the hospice. In the process of helping Se-hee, he atones. Does he become a great person over night? No, but he recognizes that there are people he never thought about who are just as important as he is.
Episode 1:
Team Genie's founder Mr. Yoon (Jeong Dong-hwan) is dying. They assume he wants to go back to his hometown to die. And there is an element of that. But what is really important to him is to visit his wife's grave to let her know that they would be together soon. At his funeral, Tae-shik watches as his children bicker without showing much remorse for how they treated their father. For the record, watching Tae-shik take them to task for being rotten kids is a thing of joy.
Episode 3:
Viewers are introduced to Mr. Pyeon (Jeon Mu-song), whose wish is to die peacefully in the home he had lived with his late wife and their daughter. That home has new owners, who serendipitously have to move to a new place. When Gyeo-ree overhears Mr. Pyeon talking about how he used to love looking at their persimmon tree in the front yard, he stays up all night making papier mâché to hang on the barren tree.
Episode 7:
One of the Team Genie volunteers has dementia and doesn’t remember her own husband. He discreetly follows her home every evening to ensure that she is safe. And once she is inside their home, where there are photos of the two of them everywhere, he enters their home. Watching their interactions when she remembers the life they had carved together is beautiful, but also heartbreaking. We know that at some point, Team Genie will be called upon to grant her a last wish as well.
The point of this series isn't to say that the dying can only leave this world if they have a wish fulfilled. Rather, sometimes they need to feel content before they can leave.
In my father’s later years, he had a complicated relationship with his siblings, who he had cared for since he was 17 years old. As he was dying, some of them came to visit and begged for forgiveness. My father forgave them.
Later that evening, he passed away in his sleep. I’ll never know for sure, but I believe that resolving the issues with his siblings gave him the peace of mind to let go.
Airdates: Sixteen hour-long episodes aired from August 10 to September 29, 2022 on KBS2. I watched this on Viki.
“CEO-dol Mart”
☆☆☆☆
If you’re looking for a light K-drama where the plot is not really the point, “CEO-dol Mart” is the show to watch. The premise of this series is that after the death of a member, the idol group the Thunder Boys break up and go their separate ways.
Flash forward 10 years. They’ve been assembled by their former management company because they are inheriting a local mart they used to frequent when they were trainees … in lieu of the five years back pay they’re owed.
And that isn’t even the weirdest part. They accept. What this group of young men know about running a mart is beyond me. But soon enough, they meet with creditors clamoring for their money, wholesalers who try to cheat them, another mart owner who wants them gone, and a masked man who does everything in his power to push them out of the store.
Meanwhile, they accept the mart without the legal paperwork, because their former manager claims he can’t find it. Uh huh. It’s not like they may need the documents to prove they’re the owners or anything.
With all that said, “CEOdol Mart” makes no pretense about being prestige television. It’s just a fun chance to watch some few real-life idols (Monsta X’s Hyungwon, EXO’s Xiumin) act in a drama that offers comedy and a darker crime element.
The most implausible moment in all of the 10 episodes occurred in the finale. There are five men running the store, one of whom is a taekwondo instructor and another who works construction. When someone threatens them (with no weapon) and walks away with their laptop, they just let him. It’s almost as if it doesn’t occur to them that they have the means to stop him!
Airdates: Ten 50-minute(ish) episodes aired on TVING from September 15 through October 13, 2023. I watched this on Viki.
Spoiler Alert: The store was originally owned by the the deceased Thunder Boys’ member’s grandfather, who was proud of his grandson. The masked man (Lee Sang-jin) was the other grandson, who was raised in the same family but felt neglected by his defacto parents (his aunt and uncle). In the end, he is punished, and his aunt and uncle forgive him. The Thunder Boys return the story to them to keep it in the family. And … there’s a hint of a second act for the Thunder Boys.
“Twinkling Watermelon”
When my father was near the end of his life, he talked a lot about some of the things he had lived through — trying to protect his younger siblings from the brutalities of the Korean War; working hard and sending all of his money back to his family; studying so hard at night while working full time during the day that he was spitting up blood from fatigue and lack of nutrition.
My brother asked him: If he could go back in time, what would he have changed?
My father smiled and said: “I wouldn’t have changed anything.”
Even though a few different choices would’ve made his life so much easier, the changes also would’ve meant that he wouldn’t have met my mother and they wouldn’t have had us. The end result, he said, was worth all the hardships he had gone through.
When a teenage boy is sent back to an era where his parents are his age in “Twinkling Watermelon,” he has the opportunity to change things for what he thinks will be better. But what he finds is that life is more complicated than that, because if you change A, B and C, the end result isn’t necessarily linear … or better.
This show was one of my Top 13 K-drama picks of 2023 in Teen Vogue, where I wrote:
If you could go back in time and make your parents’ lives better, would you? Eun-gyeol (Ryeoun) doesn’t exactly make this choice. Rather, he’s mysteriously thrust into a bygone era where he meets his high school-age parents. There, he hatches a plan to protect his teenage father (Choi Hyun-wook) from an accident that will result in his becoming deaf. K-dramas are quite prolific when it comes to dealing with time travel fantasies.
While Twinkling Watermelon doesn’t offer a wholly new concept, the intergenerational story arcs are well crafted and make viewers laugh, as well as tear up. As Eun-gyeol ponders whether his interference will help his family – or result in his never being born – we cheer him on as he processes what it means to be a family, warts and all.
As the only hearing member of his family, Eun-gyeol grew up preternaturally mature, handling his parents’ work-related conversations and breaking up with girls on behalf of his lothario brother. He grows up hearing how his parents are looked down upon because of their disability and he is aware that society treats them as less than because they are different from the majority of other families.
Eun-gyeol is a top student in high school and his parents have hopes that he’ll go to medical school one day and become a doctor. But he also is a talented musician — something he keeps secret from his parents. Why? Perhaps out of guilt that he enjoys something that his family cannot.
He’s invited to join a band with older musicians, but when his father finds out and forbids it — telling him to elevate his life with his studies — Eun-gyeol is furious. While Eun-gyeol is a responsible teen, he’s still a kid.
In fit of anger, he enters a mysterious music shop where he sells his guitar. But when he walks out of the shop, he finds that he has somehow been transported back to 1995 — years before he was ever born.
There, he meets his father Yi-chan (Choi Hyun-wook), who is nothing like he is as an adult. Teenage Yi-chan gets horrible grades in school and decides to form a band to impress a popular girl at a neighboring school. Se-gyeong (Seol In-ah) is a cello prodigy who has boys clamoring for her attention.
Seriously worried that his father may fall in love with someone other than Cheong-ah (Shin Eun-soo) — his deaf mother — Eun-gyeol takes on a matchmaker role with the goal of solidifying his parents’ relationship.
There is a subplot about Cheong-ah’s abusive stepmother, who happens to run the school they attend. But what I didn’t understand was why her father didn’t do much to stop his second wife from abusing his child. He wasn’t aware? Perhaps? But why was he so clueless? Yes, I understand he’s a chaebol who travels a lot. But every single adult in that household — including him — failed the girl.
Also, during flashbacks, we see Cheong-ah’s mother literally being driven away from home, but we get no explanation as to why she was forced to leave. Was this a case of a divorce? Did the stepmother fabricate a lie to wedge herself in between the then-married couple? As with a few other loose ends, we’ll never know, which is unfortunate.
But overall, the series is a well-rounded production that will leave viewers engaged and rooting for Eun-gyeol to make things right. And I really appreciated that this K-drama depicted that despite what our children may think about us, we had very different lives when we were younger. A lot of kids would be surprised at exactly what their mothers and fathers were up to at their age…
Airdates: Sixteen episodes, each airing for a little over an hour, aired on tvN from September 25 through November 14, 2023. I watched this on Viki.
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I watched Twinkling Watermelon based on your recommendation. Thank you! It was charming but not lightweight. I enjoyed it so much and didn't want to see it end.
I've got My Dearest and Twinkling Watermelon in my to-watch list. I've seen If You Wish Upon Me and loved it! So heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.