Last Thoughts

Over the last few days of Spring Break, I finished two dramas that was hanging in my list, "Full House 2" and "Chungdamdong Alice," in that order. I just felt like doing it. And I'm glad I did.

First off, "Full House 2" isn't as bad as people have said. If you look past the very bad hair of the first half of the drama, and the kind of standard plot (nothing really happens), it's not completely horrible. The drama kind of reminds me of my relationship with "To The Beautiful You." I really don't know how I watched all of that drama. "Full House 2" isn't as bad as TTBY, but the whole "mindless cotton candy" was very similar. Both dramas was all about enjoyment and entertainment, with barely any thinking in the middle. Anyway, I'm glad I finished this drama. : )

Then, there's "Chungdamdong Alice." Wow, was I impressed with the last six episodes of this drama. I stopped after watching episode 10, I don't remember why. (10 seems to be my limit with 16-episode dramas, as I'm having the same problem with "That Winter, The Wind Blows," although I stopped getting completely immersed in it a few episodes ago. More on that later.) I'm loving how the Korean drama scene is slowly changing, with more dramas that seem to be thematically different that the standard Korean drama, and a few that are actually dealing with current issues in Korea. "Chungdamdong Alice" dealt almost fully with the whole concept of the 꽃뱀, or gold diggers. It wasn't completely believable that someone like Han Se Kyung might exist in this world (although someone who was "innocent" before and decided to change themselves might end up becoming like her), but the drama provided an insight into the current situation that many people in Korea are finding themselves in. What kind of "justice" should gold diggers like Se Kyung and Yoon Joo get? Are they any different from the rich, who deal with almost everything as business, as a source of getting more money, of going up the social ladder?

I feel like, in Korea, as of now, more than half of the population has been tainted with the idea that money is the most important thing, where they seem to have to link everything in their lives with money, including marriage. For most Koreans, money has become the key thing, the only motivation in life. Even the most pure, young Korean people are encouraged to look at everything with money in mind, where making a lot of money may make an average marriage candidate into the perfect one. One of the reasons there is a lot of matchmaking in Korea is that people want to marry into the best family possible.

Anyway, back to "Chungdamdong Alice," despite being occasionally reminded of Park Shi Hoo's recent scandal, I thought the main couple was very cute (and you have to admit, he's a pretty good actor). I really enjoyed the bits about the social wealth gap between the high and low ends of Korean society. A lot of foreign fans might have not been able to understand this situation that Se Kyung finds herself in, specifically the "no matter how hard I try, I won't not be poor" conclusion that she comes to in the middle of the drama. In the U.S., where there are so many opportunities, this is generally unimaginable, but in Korea, it is thoroughly understandable. To answer Se Kyung, I would have said that the system in Korea is corrupt. It is understatedly unfair, where, without money, you cannot live.

I especially loved Se Kyung's conclusion around the end of the drama, where she says that being an adult seems to be "living with your eyes half-closed, even though you know that when you open your eyes, reality will come." Being an adult is believing in the fantasy, even though you are fully (or somewhat) aware of the realities of life. Because then, you have some hope and something to look forward to. : D