Jungle Fish

 

Most if not all the Korean dramas that land on foreign shores are sageuks, makjangs, or trendy dramas,  and while they're indeed quite popular, and very entertaining at that, seldom will one encounter a production that would speak of an ongoing issue or make an effort to address something that has some social relevance. Breaking away from the usual kdrama offerings is KBS2's Jungle Fish, a youth drama which came out in 2008. Winner of a Peabody Award for excellence, this drama special provides a prudent look at the issue of cheating, depicting the stiflingly competitive climate in high schools suffered by today's Korean teens.

I don't really intend to write reviews of kdramas, except maybe for the occasional blurb or rant, but seeing how this drama special's existence might have been overlooked by some or overshadowed by its more controversial sequel, I couldn't help but devote some space for it in my blog. A friend of mine would always point me in the direction of what's worth viewing and I remember her mentioning something about how this television special should be on our watch list. I haven't gotten around to watching her other recommendations,  among which include the likes of Shin Don and Sanada Taiheiki  but I did, however, manage to take this baby out for a spin.

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We are like fish in a jungle that adults created.

Jungle Fish follows the lives of four teens embroiled in a cheating incident. High school students Eun Soo (Park Bo Young), Dong Hee (Jang Ki Bum) and Mi Rae (Seo Hye Jin) find themselves in a bind after taking a midterm exam wherein the majority of the test questions were a repeat of the ones found in the test questionnaires given to them by their hagwon. Shocked and afraid of what their classmates might say, the three decide to keep their mouths shut and remain ever complicit with the apparently shady arrangement entered into by their parents and tutors. Another student, Jae Ta (Kim Soo Hyun) accidentally learns about their dilemma, but he's equally lost as to what to do in order to help them get through such an ordeal.

When news of the exam leakage begin to surface, the whole school is set in a tizzy, with teachers being called in for questioning and students being on the lookout for the culprit(s).  Tension fills the air as members of the whole student body cast a suspicious eye on each other, and the three students involved in the cheating scandal try to act like everything's normal despite being bothered by their guilty conscience.

Jae Ta wants to offer his support to Dong Hee but he doesn't know how to approach his friend without directly confronting him about cheating. Meanwhile Eun Soo wants to desperately confide in someone but her fear of disappointing her mother and being ostracized by others prevent her from coming out in the open.

Based on a cheating scandal involving a hagwon that graced the news in 2007, Jungle Fish examines the issue of cheating by inevitably drawing attention to the highly competitive yet arbitrary standards by which today's society measures someone's worth and defines personal success. The subject is handled with a certain level of delicacy, as one can see it told through the eyes of the aggrieved, which in this case are the four  cornered teens. It's not exactly a hard-hitting documentary, neither does it provide easy answers to the problem at hand, but its simple, non-judgmental approach in telling the story delivers a strong, loud message that the kids aren't all right. In effect, it goes beyond portraying the scheme as a mere question of ethics, indirectly reminding adults of their social responsibility towards the next generation.

What should a child do when something that he knows to be wrong is condoned, if not instigated, by an authority figure? Who can he run to for support when the person he should rely on the most can not be prevailed upon to listen? Who can he turn to when he's taught to treat his peers as his enemies? What is the true measure of one's worth? Without sounding sanctimonious, this one hour feature gets to effectively raise the following concerns, not through heavy dialogue or an obvious display of emotion but through the solitary moments endured by each character or the times when they appear to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, forced to abide by the rules that the adults have set. It's at these times that the viewer gets to truly understand the severity of the problem, it's at these times that one realizes how trapped and alone they are, just like jungle fish in search of the ocean.

Watching Jungle Fish, one easily gets a sense of unease---not because the characters in this special are young, insecure and awkward teenagers, but because they're in their own way crying for help, balking under pressure. The overall presentation of the special is simple yet somber, it carries with it the sad realization of the kind of environment that the youth are being raised in, as well as the cruel manner in which they're taught to survive and "get ahead" in life. In some ways it's like a stripped down, diminutive version of Shunji Iwai's All About Lily Chou Chou in terms of showing the characters' isolation and inability to make an outright personal connection, only with less visual style and musical pizazz, and of course, without the shocking display of violence.

Headlined by a young, talented cast of relative newcomers providing believable performances,  Jungle Fish is not only a welcome respite from the usual kdrama staple but also a good example of how television can be utilized to cover more serious and relevant matters. Furthermore, what's great about it is that it doesn't take too much of your time to get its point across.   

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A Star's Lover in Pictures

No matter how maudlin, humdrum or disappointing a drama may turn out to be, people would often walk away from them remembering a specific thing that either struck their fancy or something that came off as somewhat odd or irritating. It might be a touching scene, a memorable line, an outrageous outfit or a striking motif; a person might eventually forget about the structure of the story or struggle to remember every detail of how things unfolded in the course of the series, but he will never forget something that captured his heart, more so, if that something rankled his nerves and even made him regret investing so much time on a drama that failed to deliver the goods contrary to expectations. Dramas viewed five or eight years ago might seem like a distant memory but key scenes and images do linger on. They remain vivid and strong, as do the emotions they invoked upon one's encounter of a memorable episode.

Who here can forget the quiet longing of Commander Hwangbo for his lowly servant, Chae-Ok in Damo? Or that kissing scene between Lee Byung Hun and Choi Ji Woo in Beautiful Days that signaled an OTP change? Who could forget Rain's colorful array of v-neck shirts that scandalously dipped down his chest in Full House? Or how some of the set pieces in Jumong shook every time a stuntman took a tumble, or how a whole army could be concealed behind sparse foliage without being discovered?

Love 'em or hate 'em, kdramas do have a way of leaving behind pretty pictures and sickening music tracks that go on and on in your head. No matter what the outcome, they leave quite an impression, so I decided that instead of dwelling on the long, exasperating and technically uneven journey that was  A Star's Lover, I'd rather focus on the parts of this series that piqued my interest and celebrate the creative touches that I would [or  rather should] remember in years to come.

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When A Star's Lover came out in 2009, a part of me was curious to see it because it featured two actors you rarely see on television and yet a part of me was also apprehensive upon learning that the drama itself would be another adaptation of Notting Hill. Having seen Star no Koi a few years ago, I already could imagine how difficult it would be to stretch the material culled from a 2-hour movie to a full length series, and while true enough that the Japanese version was not without its own charm, the story staggered towards the finish line mid-season. I[t] barely made it.

So imagine my surprise when I learned that the Korean re-imagining would span 20 episodes instead of the usual 16 and that it would have the reigning queen of hallyu dramas in the pivotal role... well,  let me tell you, it didn't look very promising.

Not quite ready to miss out on Yoo Ji-Tae's return to television, I checked to see the writer in charge of the said series and found out that it was Oh Soo Yun, who's best known for Autumn in My Heart and Winter Sonata. Right then and there, I knew that A Star's Lover was a bad bet. Known for producing overly sentimental dramas dipped in angst and despair, this writer owed much of her success [abroad] to the gravitational pull of the stars featured in her works and her ability to engage audiences with simple, heartfelt scenarios. And though not the best when it comes to developing a story (anyone who's seen an Oh Soo Yun drama knows that the conflict in them often defy logic and are dragged on till kingdom come)---she can be credited  for  drumming in memorable sequences by craftily setting up scenes accentuated by a central theme, a design, even a product placement.

A boy who became a clump of weed and a girl who became a star in the heavens. Two persons, living at two ends of the world. Will they have the opportunity to be able to recognize each other?

So disregarding the agony that her "Season Dramas" brought me and keeping in mind fond memories of little Joon-suh and Eun-suh riding their bikes in the country, along with that scene wherein an overaged Bae Yong Joon tried to pass himself off as a high school student, playing First Time to Choi Ji Woo in an empty classroom, I checked out A Star's Lover thinking I'd at least have 3 to 6 decent episodes to work with before the whole thing  proceeded to torture its viewer (i.e. me) with recurring issues that would eventually be resolved through the simplest of means. As it turned out I wasn't far off the mark, seeing that all they needed to wrap up the story was to declare their love to each other before the paparazzi and they chose to accomplish this towards the end, around the 19th episode tsk tsk.

Thinking back, the series started out quite nicely. I've never seen Choi Ji Woo quite as luminous or Yoo Ji Tae so attractive. Heck, this was the first series wherein Choi Ji Woo actually looked confident and comfortable in her own skin, and perhaps the only series where she had leading men who towered above her and made her look more feminine. The scenes shot in Asuka, Japan were beautiful to say the least and it was obvious that attention was placed into making each encounter between regular joe Chul Soo and superstar Mari extra special to complement the fairytale finish. There was an undeniable chemistry between the leads, a sense of familiarity and comfort that would make you root for this OTP. It's quite unfortunate though that they tried to stretch and complicate such a simple story. The fluffy, dreamy appeal of this series soon disappeared as the whole business on ghostwriting kicked in and auxiliary characters figured their way into the story. Indeed, it was quite a journey. I would not have been able to make it through without my remote in hand.

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And though I was wont to let this series go, without breathing so much as a word, I also felt it necessary to commemorate the fact that I finished watching it after stalling for two years.

Seeing that I have the tendency to remember stupid, frivolous things about kdramas like how Hyun Bin was sweating through his pink shirt at the last episode of My Name is Kim Sam Soon or how Jo Hyun Jae had a small band-aid stuck under his eye for the majority of One Mom and Three Dads, I figured, why not make a list of things that I would remember about A Star's Lover instead of straight out ranting about the disconsolate route it took to see its ending? I mean, people out there would probably do a better job at writing a review or discussing the finer points of this series, so why not revel in the bits and pieces that made me go "ooh", "ahh" and "grrrr"? 

 So here are 6 things that stuck out for me in this series:

1.) Chul Soo and Young Hee

Given its plot, I didn't expect A Star's Lover to begin the way it did. The series, in fact, opened with a vignette; a thoughtful commentary on how love was the most common and yet the greatest of all sentiments, and how the ever changing world made the notion of loving someone more complex as society progressed. Deriving inspiration from the movie Amélie and the defunct American series Pushing Daisies, the kdrama was able to establish a dreamlike atmosphere, albeit without the same touch of whimsy, in telling the backstory of Chul Soo and Young Hee.

The overall concept was to make the series out into an urban fairytale, unfortunately, the narration and visual styling of the first few episodes did not make its way to the end of the series. It got watered down and subsumed into the existential drama that devoured the characters that by the time I reached the last episode, I almost forgot about its unique opening sequence. 

2.) Learning to Cross that Line

Young Chul Soo, being the ever obedient son, did not dare cross that line that his mother drew on the ground. With tears in his eyes and a crumpled bill in his hand, he failed to chase after his mother because that line created an invisible barrier, one that no human being could cross...until the gorgeous Lee Mari, in her pretty black boots, stomped her way through and taught him how easy it was. So yeah, I reckon it was used to show how Chul Soo was a straight-laced individual and how he was the type to color within the lines, but the very idea of him drawing a line on the ground to prevent both Mari and Eun Young from getting close to him was just a load of crap.

3.) The Color of Sadness

If one were to  go by this series, the color of sadness and longing would be a mix of sepia, auburn, sienna, and burnt amber with touches of  indian yellow, set against a murky shade of cadmium red and vermilion. Yes, old memories came with a color scheme. No one's allowed to look into the past without a change of color.

4.) A Room Full of Books

Chul Soo must have been one lonely boy. There were books everywhere---they were on the shelves, on the floor, they lined his walls. Was there ever any reason to doubt how literate and well-read our humble hero was?

5.) Vanilla Ice Cream

Ah, the Yonsama look-alike that disappeared after going out to get vanilla ice cream...Who would have thought that a frozen dairy product could cause so much pain and torment? (Hm, serves her right for sending her lover out in the dead of winter for vanilla ice cream.) Believe it or not, this little story device had a very brief appearance. Aside from being mentioned like 4x, Mari's fixation with it melted when Chul Soo came around. It served its purpose the moment the man Mari was fated to be with appeared before her, carrying 32 flavors and then some.

6.) Pride and Prejudice

So Chul Soo reluctantly travels to Japan to ghostwrite Lee Mari's travel diary and what book does he bring with him? He brings the tv-movie tie-in paperback edition of Pride and Prejudice. Yep, the one with Keira Knightley's face on it. Ach, the horror! Major fantasy overload! Can anyone say overkill?

He was charming enough as the literature professor who thwarted his student's advances by correcting/editing the love letter given to him as if it were a test paper, but was it really necessary to depict him as someone engrossed in Jane Austen? And in public no less. I don't freakin care about what people say about the character being sensitive or romantic but (darn it!) grown men do not lug around Pride and Prejudice. He has a room full of books to choose from and he picks Pride and Prejudice?

So okay, maybe he was reading it in preparation for a class or something but considering the series went on and on about how cultured and well read he was, dropping random book titles from The Great Gatsby to Eugene Onegin, would it really have been too much to ask for him to read something safe and appropriate by say, Hemingway or Dostoevsky?

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You know what's sad about all this is that I'll probably end up forgetting numbers 1-5 on this list but I'll always remember Yoo Ji Tae pretending to read Pride and Prejudice. 

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Deal Breakers

If you're one of those who got caught up with the hallyu phenomenon that swept the region in the past decade or one of those still riding high and enjoying the tremendous influx of Korean dramas as a result of the said cultural wave, then, chances are, you've already seen a good sample of the male leads and characters that come with every popular television hit. They've probably made your heart beat faster, turned your knees into jello and brought a smile to your face with every romantic gesture...but how do these dream boys, with their so-called sensitivity and depth as seen on t.v., really fare under close scrutiny?

Well, to follow up on this harebrained-idea of a post that I came up with last  November [but somehow never managed to finish in time for the new year], I've put together this short list of well-loved male kdrama characters, who don't appear to be as desirable or winsome once you take a good, hard look at the big picture. There's certainly a few things here and there that would give pause to any rational-minded girl. Things that would make you stay up at night and wonder about what it was that made you so enamored as to miss out on character flaws so material, that in real life, they would no doubt be considered as deal breakers.

*** WARNING : The rest of this post is full of spoilers. Reader discretion is advised ***

Forgive me for this rather trivial post. I know it's totally uncalled for, especially for those who've come to love their kdrama heroes, but characters in such dramas, more often than not, do come with a number of complications---whether they be Byronic heroes, over-privileged men afflicted with the Peter Pan syndrome, socially maladjusted bigwigs who don't know the real score or emotionally insecure men in dire need of parental love and affection---bottom line is most of them spell trouble. And while I, myself, may have been swayed by an actor's good looks, innate charisma or magnetic performance at one point or another, what I have below is my top ten picks for kdrama heroes that, in hindsight, would have sent any practical, level-headed girl running to the nunnery or else swearing off problematic male archetypes that make up kdrama fodder.

Winter Sonata (2002) - Kang Jun-sang/Lee Min-hyung 

Amnesiac with Rust-colored Hair

Love comes with the onset of winter and melts away slowly as the  love of your life allegedly dies before the season's close.  Just when you thought you've lost him forever, you get to meet his doppelganger---who turns out to be the exact same person, it's just that he has this crazy mother who gave him a new identity and a makeover.

Open Your Eyes: Now, if the idea of having a mother-in-law eager to exact revenge on you on account of your parents doesn't turn you off, then also consider the fact that the man before you is so accident prone that he's hit his head too many times, enough for him to go blind as a bat, shortly after recovering from long-term memory loss.

Rooftop Attic Cat (2003) - Lee Kyung Min

The No-good Leecher

Picture this---you're strapped for cash and this guy lends you money, thinking that you're best friends with the girl that he wants to hook up with. He later incurs some gambling debt and gets into trouble with some loan sharks/gangsters, and suddenly he's shacking up with you in a cramp oktabbang, enjoying free room and board.

The Ugly Truth:  The guy may be a future prosecutor but don't forget the fact that he's immature, unreliable and a total douche. He lies, cheats and steals. Yep, he even steals pennies from that tea canister that his poor "roommate" has hidden in the kitchen cupboard to impress that obnoxious chick that he's been chasing after.

I'm Sorry, I Love You (2004) - Cha Moo Hyuk

Dead Man Walking

An exciting and dangerous encounter with a tall, dark and handsome stranger in the Land Down Under leads to a sad, bitter ordeal as the man in question later shows up eager to take revenge against his mother who allegedly abandoned him.

Final Prognosis: This scruffy dude might clean up nicely but he harbors a deep resentment over his younger brother, who appears to have been given all the love and attention that he's missed out on as a kid. Not only does this man belong to a long line of misinformed revenge-seekers in the kdrama world, he's also a certified goner since he has two bullets in his head. Stay away from this dude, lest you want to find eternal slumber on the lips of a red bottle.

My Name is Kim Sam Soon (2005) - Hyun Jin Heon

Torn Between Two Lovers

A guilt-ridden restaurateur, who's nursing a broken heart and recovering from a series of personal tragedies, contracts a fake relationship with a plus-size employee in need of financial assistance in order to avoid being fixed up by his mother.

Bad Business: For starters, the said love contract could very well be the subject of a sexual harassment suit. Another area of concern would be this guy's inability to let go and move on, channeling his angst and anger on things such as his ex-girlfriend's first name or his pretend girlfriend's ex-boyfriend. Stubborn and possessive, he's one hell of a mess when it comes to relationships---being the type that likes to have one's cake and eat it, too.

Goong/Princess Hours (2006) - Lee Shin

Prince Not-so Charming

A smug and socially inept Crown Prince gets rejected by his long-time girlfriend suddenly agrees to marry a girl from an ordinary family with whom he was betrothed. Sounds like a fairytale scenario but in truth, it's more like a repeat of the drama that happened in the House of Windsor. Throw in some political intrigue and there you have a media circus. 

A Royal Scandal: This sought-after prince has the ability to turn  ordinary, bright and outgoing girls into one giant, pathetic, weepy mess, who at one time or another will attempt to take one's life or starve one's self to death. Don't forget that he's also so isolated and unable to express himself that he talks out loud to a teddy bear...

The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (2007) - Choi Han Kyul

Clueless Bastard

Cocky, rich kid is sent home to Korea to manage a family-owned coffee shop after prodigiously wasting his grandmother's money abroad. As a marketing strategy, he hires an all-male staff to lure female customers in, totally unaware of the fact that the person he considers his wingman and blood brother is a girl who's only pretending to be a guy in front of him.

Sexually Suspect: It takes a mature, open-minded and progressive person to even consider the possibility of being attracted to the same sex  and to come to the conclusion that love does not discriminate, but this kid isn't earning any points because after all that roughhousing and skinship, there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to distinguish a guy from a girl. 

Strongest Chil Woo (2008) - Kang Chil Woo

The Cosplayer

Low level civil servant by day, masked avenger by night.  Along with his merry band of cosplayers, he protects the weak and dispenses justice on the corrupt, evil men that are left untouched by the system. He's but one of many masked heroes in kdramas of late and  like all of them, he has a compelling reason to take the law into his hands and wear a ridiculous striking outfit.

The Magic Hour Approaches: I know I'm being a tad superficial here but seriously now, don't tell me that the idea of a 17th century Joseon hero clad as Zorro with a matching bullwhip, roaming the streets at night, doesn't have you arriving at a number of unsavory conclusions.

Queen Seonduk (2009) - Bidam

A Charming Psychopath

He's the bastard son of the royal consort and the king's brother, who later grows up to be the disciple of a retired general. Deprived of his mother's love and forever seeking the approval of his mentor, he joins the fight to reinstate a long lost princess to her rightful position, only to fall in love with her and later plot her removal from the throne.

It Runs in the Family: He's an excellent swordsman and an able-bodied fighter, too bad he also inherited his mother's penchant for cruelty and creativity in convincing people to do as they're told. When he was a kid, he poisoned a community of hobos; as a grown-up, he gets to slay his master and commit high treason. 

Boys over Flowers (2009) - Goo Jun-pyo

A Big Bully

Poor, little rich boy in dire need of his mother's attention lashes out by imposing a reign of terror in his prep school. He's lonely, he's misunderstood, doesn't have any other friends aside from his posy of equally over privileged and bored peers, who have nothing better to do than watch his fist do the talking. He's the poster boy for bad boys in need of some tough lovin' and girls can't resist the idea of reforming him.

Beyond Help: He's terrorized members of the student body for years, enough to scare some into attempting suicide and others to seek vengeance no matter what the cost. Forget about the domineering mother, this guy has a long list of enemies awaiting their turn. Furthermore, if the way he gives instructions to his lackeys is indicative of his management skills, you can very well say goodbye to the family fortune.

Prosecutor Princess (2010) - Seo In Woo

Mr. Here, There and Everywhere

A capable and meticulous lawyer, who has a reputation for doing anything to win his client's cause, provides special assistance and attention to a ditzy prosecutor in furtherance of his personal agenda.

Alarm Bells:  Smart, funny and sweet, he's the best friend who can anticipate your every need, one who always comes to the rescue when you're down and out because he's a stalker, you see. He has you investigated and followed 24/7 and he's cooking this elaborate albeit circuitous way to get revenge against your family in the course of clearing his father's name. Surely, there's a better way to beat the statute of limitations; being all rich and influential, he could have taken a safer course, one that didn't involve the possibility of being slapped with a restraining order.

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And that's pretty much all there is to this list. I'm sure there are a number of characters that are arguably more vile or repellent than the ones listed above, but I personally steered clear of the ones that were designed as such. Yes, I know it's a kdrama and that it shouldn't be taken seriously, you can even accuse me of nitpicking but don't you find it rather interesting how a lot of these characters get away with things that would normally be considered unacceptable behavior in a real world setting?

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Photo credits: Pretty Boy Power, Korean Drama, The Pink Connection, and Dramabeans.

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