A Love To Kill

A Love To Kill


Cast:

Jeong Ji Hoon
Shin Min Ah
Kim Yeong Jae
Kim Sa Rang
Lee Ki Woo

If in Full House, Rain is a celebrity, here he tries to kill a celebrity. Well, figuratively kill. The emphasis of this drama is on brotherly love. A lot of Korean movies are good at this: Taekgukgi, My Brother to name a few. The drama didn’t fall short of a good story line about the two brothers: Kang Min Gu (Kim Yeong Jae) and Kang Bo Gu (Bi). They don’t have other family aside from themselves. Their father used violence in them so when he passed away, Bo Gu continued it. His violence stemmed from the violence that his father suppressed in him. The older son, Min Gu is the good guy and mediator type who always lectures Bo Gu about abandoning his violent ways. The younger brother could not agree and decided to be separated from his Hyeong (older brother). They didn’t see each other from then on. But after 10 years, they had a chance to get close to one another again.

Bi and Shin Min Ah


On the night that they were celebrating their brotherhood, Min Gu unconsciously jumped off the building after knowing that his ex-girlfriend, Cha Eun-Suk, an actress (Shin Min Ah) will be married off to a big time honcho from a global business group. He did not die yet but he lingered in the hospital for major treatment.

Revenge is plotted when Bo Gu grabbed the opportunity to be the bodyguard of the famous actress. He planned to get close to her, made her fall in love with him because he re-used his brother’s romantic memories and crazy antics. His plotted love for her destroyed everything she had (wealth, fame, friends and even sanity). His supposed to be brother’s love has turned into a monstrous love. A love that he has to kill. He is now torn between avenging for his brother’s accident or his unconscious love for the sweet and innocent girl. As the story unfolds, he realized that he is the one to be killed and punished because of his anger and malicious plans. He realized that true love existed and continues to exist between Eun Suk and Min Gu.

I know, I know the story is new but not that interesting. It is still about revenge, forbidden love and the character of a celebrity. But I like the characterization of Rain this time. He plays a serious guy. Gone are the playful, childish and chuckling days of Sang Doo or Young Jae. Gone are his Three Bear singing and dancing moments. He has matured in the story as an actor. For instance, he showed sleekness every time he saves and protects Eun Suk from getting harm. He has a different approach with the romantic scenes (especially kissing scenes) with Min Ah.

And one more thing I liked about the drama is the fluidity of their gestures and expressions. They act as if they are gliding and sashaying their way in a ballroom. Their pose and performance is like a 16-hour dance. I like the soundtrack that features Rain’s Sad Tango and the musical scoring for the sequence and scenes. Overall, I like the poignancy. Although there may have been some dragging sad moments and crappy romantic lines, the music, the characters’ muted dispositions summed up into my favorite word for this drama: poignant.

Oh and didn’t I say my friends keep telling me that I resemble with Eun Suk in the drama? I was actually taken aback and a little saddened for I was expecting them to tell me that I look like Bi.

Mianhada, Saranghada (Sorry, I Love You)

Mianhada, Saranghada



Cast:

So Ji Sup
Im Soo Jeong
Jeong Kyeong Ho
Seo Ji Young

Isn’t it funny when actors begin to mock their own selves through acting? Most of the dramas that I’m seeing today always involved actors and actresses portraying actors and actresses. And most often than not, the lives they project is somehow the opposite of the glitz and glamour, the rock and the roll and the money and all. This Korean drama is one of the many dramas/movies that indulge in having the character of a hot celebrity in the story line.

Jeong Kyeong Ho as Choi Yun




The celebrity here is Choi Yun (Jeong Kyeong Ho). His stylist and long-time friend is the lead, Song Eun Chae (Im Soo Jeong). Another celebrity involved here is the actress Kang Min Joo (Seo Ji Young). Min Joo and Eun Chae are high school friends. Eun Chaeand Choi Yun are long time friends (Eun Chae’s family live besides Choi Yun’s house and serves his family). Choi Yun has a long time crush on Min Joo. Eun Chae likes Choi Yun for 20 years already. Eun Chae helps Choi Yun date the playgirl Min Joo. Eun Chae gets mad at Min Joo when she hurts Choi Yun. Choi Yun gets mad at Eun Chae for reprimanding Min Joo. The love triangle goes on and on. Just like that. Not until an important character comes in.

Im Soo Jeong and So Ji Sup




Cha Moo Hyuk/Danny Anderson (So Ji Sup) who lived in Australia because of his foster parents came back to Korea after an accident and heartbreak. His girlfriend married an Australian for money. He went to her wedding only to lodge 2 bullets in his head for saving his traitor love. He underwent a critical operation. One bullet was removed but the other cannot be retrieved. It remained in his head. He doesn’t have much time to live. The girlfriend gives him a lot of money and begged him to go back to Korea.

In the midst of these 2 subplots, the major one is subconsciously happening. Eun Chae met Moo hyuk in Australia when she was heartbroken from her 2 friends. Same thing with Moo Hyuk, loitering in the streets, ganging up someone to buy a present for his wife, he ended up helping Eun Chae. Misery loves company. Although they don’t know each other’s misery, they stayed together and pretended they cared about each other. Eun Chae left for Korea. Moo Hyuk stayed a little longer before he finally decided to go back and search for his mom.

Cha Moo Hyuk and Song Eun Chae



Upon coming back, he eventually met his twin sister and his nephew. He found his Mom but cannot easily run back to her and let her claim him as her son because his mom is the famous actress, Oh Deu Ri, the mother of Choi Yun.

Moo Hyuk unintentionally meets Eun Chae again because of staying close behind his “lucky brother” and starts to plan out his revenge. Eun Chae was clueless all the time because she thought Moo Hyuk came back to Korea to see her. They eventually became closer to each other without actually wanting it. They fell in love with each other without sensing it coming. There’s a lot of twists and turns in the story that the audience must take note of.

Happy people will not be happy to watch the drama because of how much melancholy and pity it projects. I will not go further as to what melancholy I am talking about. I’ll just focus on the paradox of the title.

“Sorry, I Love You” was said towards the end of the story by the 2 lead characters: Eun Chae and Moo Hyuk. Eun Chae actually wrote it for Moo Hyuk to read before she left and let go of him after realizing how burdensome she is to Moo Hyuk when he did not expect her to come into his life. He wants revenge but his plans continued to change because of her. Likewise, Moo Hyuk does the same when he refuses to take Eun Chae with him because of his sickness, his imminent death, his anger, his hurt and melancholy. He loves her that much that he hopes for a better future for her with Choi Yun. The character of Eun Chae is very significant for Moo Hyuk’s characterization because somehow his hatred for his mother is projected to Eun Chae but is transformed into something good. He sees Eun Chae as a caring mother who feeds him, makes him laugh, sings a lullabye and wipes dirt off his face. His indifferent and naïve mother’s dislike for him is repaid every time he is with Eun Chae. There is a line in the story when he prayed to God and said that he will stop the revenge, he will forget all the hurt and pain in the past for as long as Eun Chae stays with him forever.

On the other, Choi Yun’s character is also important to Moo Hyuk. No matter how he hates him for taking everything that he could have had, he really cannot hurt him easily because he sees his mother’s love in him. He cannot put a stop to his mother’s love because he sees himself in Choi Yun. He sees himself as a loving son, as a happy person. He cannot kill it. Killing it would kill him as well.

The ending is not that likable for many. The blurb of the drama, “When life is ready to end, he meets his true life” summarized everything. It is true that one begins to appreciate everything tangible, felt and learned when one foresees the end to all. Moo Hyuk’s death is an unselfish one. If at the beginning, he likes to dies to hurt his Mom and make her shed tears of blood, in the end, he died peacefully without blaming or yelling at his mom for abandoning them. He died not being with Eun Chae (he went back to Australia with his ex-girlfriend). He died without hating and making his brother suffer. He isolated himself and wallowed in regret, hurt and death alone because in dying he saw and appreciated these people he bear hatred with.

Eun Chae-ah

Moo Hyuk-ah