136

A Love to Kill: Episode 1

After discussing Rain’s post-vomit lizard kisses in the latest podcast, this blast from the past was just a matter of time. So here we have it, a first episode recap of 2005’s A Love to Kill (also known as This Cursed Love, aka This Love I Want to Kill, aka The Love of Death, aka Detestable Love, aka Knock Out By Love). I’m not joking about those titles, but I’m holding out hope that KBS was.

There’s no use trying to fool anyone that this show isn’t a melodramatic bedlam that mostly skews ridiculous. It’s a lot of cliches rolled into one and it’s certainly not a lot of things – like very good, for instance. But we all have those dramas that hold a special place in our heart for whatever reason (Rain, The Gateway Drug), and A Love To Kill is one of mine. Sometimes you just can’t help what you love.

[Note: This is a one-off first episode recap, not an ongoing recap series.]

 
EPISODE 1 RECAP

Two people in two different places reach for each other across space and time, with the scenes intercut to give us the idea that a metaphysical tie already exists between them. (Is it fate? It’s probably fate. I bet it’s fate.)

Our anti-hero hero, KANG BOK-GU (Rain!) lies alone in a grassy field while our heroine lies – wait for it – alone on a beach, the waves crashing softly around her. She’s CHA EUN-SEOK (Shin Mina), and she opens her eyes and reaches out her hand toward the camera while Bok-gu does the same. It’s like they’re reaching toward each other. (That’s deep.) He closes his eyes, and a tear falls down his cheek.

Now we get the official(?) start to the episode, as Bok-gu’s friends are having a party near the river. One of them is startled to see a woman in a red dress poised at the top of the nearby bridge, looking as though she’s ready to jump. He hurries to find Bok-gu (calling him ‘Dog’ Bok-gu) and alert him to the situation. From that far distance they can recognize the woman as a banker’s daughter who suffered Bok-gu’s rejection.

Bok-gu, too cool for school, ignores the problem even as the girl in red sheds tears. Suddenly, though, we see him sauntering toward her with a lollipop in his mouth and a vicious dose of apathy on his face. The first thing he tells a girl about to commit suicide? That if she was going to show her panties to all the guys standing below, she could at least pull her skirt up to give them a better show. Ouch.

She threatens that she’ll jump. “Tell me that you love me,” she pleads. He continually acts dismissive despite her plethora of sorrows. “Say, ‘If you wait for me, I’ll love you.’ Please say that to me,” she begs. But he doesn’t. Instead, he tells her to go ahead and jump off. When he turns his back, she jumps. He just keeps walking afterward, but maybe some part of his conscience niggles at him, and he jumps in after her.

We cut back to Eun-seok, who’s crying out for her oppa on a beach. She begins to walk into the water as a director yells “Cut!”, and we soon realize that we’re watching a show within a show. It turns out she’s an actress, but it doesn’t seem like she understands the word “cut” since she keeps heading straight into the water. I love this little moment where her manager, CHOI MI-SEON (Kang Rae-yeon), stops someone from retrieving Eun-seok with a shake of her head as if to say: Girl be crazy.

She dives into the water at the same time as Bok-gu dives into the water wherever he is, and the scenes are intercut to make it seem like they’re swimming toward each other. Beneath the surface of the water it looks like Bok-gu grabs Eun-seok, but when he emerges, it’s with the girl in the red dress.

Bok-gu’s saved the Girl In Red’s life, though that doesn’t mean he has to be happy about it. He tells her that he won’t save her if she pulls this stunt again, and leaves her on the shore to cry. Ding! We have a winner on our hands.

After going for a salty swim, Eun-seok finds herself in her actress’ van with her manager. As fate would have it, the van that ends up driving next to them houses Bok-gu and his friends – and at the sight of what must be a celebrity car, they all begin waving frantically to gain her attention. She’s all smiles until she sees Bok-gu through the open window, asleep in the back. His face brings to mind a song she once asked her oppa to sing, the same man she thought aloud to while she was swimming in the ocean.

He’s not that asleep, it seems, as his hand begins reaching out of the car window just as Eun-seok’s does the same – and soon they’re reaching toward each other, their fingers inches apart.

It’s only now that we cut to the opening sequence introducing the actors, and I’m noting it because I really like it as a plain view of the underlying conflict for the series – Eun-seok is just minding her own business in the middle of a crowded street before she comes face to face with Bok-gu, holding a gun to her head. (He’s out to kill his love! I get it!) It’s everything I wanted the drama to be – dark, visceral, stylistic. One tiny opening sequence and I was hooked just based on potential. Couldn’t the whole drama just be this sequence?

Eun-seok goes through her daily routines, photo shoots and the like, though whenever she’s not actively on film her eyes seem distant, her mind clearly somewhere else. It sort of seems like she’s just going through the motions.

A man in a baseball cap watches her from afar, and the sight of him puts Eun-seok into a state of shock. Though he turns to go she calls after him in voiceover, “Please don’t run away. Please don’t go. Please… Don’t go! Kang Min-gu, you bastard!”

And just at that time, Bok-gu turns suddenly, as if he’s heard her voice. For reasons unknown this scene is in black and white, as we hear someone saying to him in voiceover not to resort to violence no matter what. The source of the voice and memory is his brother, KANG MIN-GU (Kim Young-jae), and it seems as though Bok-gu’s gratuitous use of violence was the reason for their estrangement.

We slowly fade to color as a bloody Bok-gu prepares to continue a K-1 match, having obviously chosen a life of violence despite his brother’s words of wisdom. It’s a brutal fight that ends with Bok-gu on the ground, though it’s not because he’s been knocked out – he simply chooses to lose. Why? Because titles are for winners, and he’s a loser. (No joke, he really is a professional loser.)

His opponent calls him out after the fight, wondering why he’s a K-1 fighter if he never wants to win. What’s his purpose in life, anyway? Bok-gu doesn’t answer, and instead smears the gum he was chewing over his opponent’s face.

Eun-seok has gone straight from a fancy gala to a poorer district of town, determined to track down Min-gu. She tries to find him at his old place to no avail, as his former landlady tells Eun-seok that he ran away with some unpaid rent. Why is a top star looking for a man without a penny to his name, anyway?

In order to comfort her, the landlady gives Eun-seok a bottle of soju, which Eun-seok drinks like a bottle of water. It’s in this state that her manager finds her, but it’s useless to chide Eun-seok, who could care less about her career.

Regardless, she gets dragged back to the same party while a CF of her plays for all the honored guests. She’s the company spokesmodel, and she’s got about five glasses of empty wine sitting in front of her. A kind man sitting across the table slides his half-empty glass over, and she thanks him drunkenly. That kind man is KIM JOON-SUNG (Lee Ki-woo), filling his second lead chaebol shoes perfectly.

Eun-seok is nowhere to be seen by the time the video dims and the lights go up, having excused her wasted self to a stairway in order to call Min-gu. Of course she gets his voicemail instead, and leaves him a sad message about how she’s called over one-hundred times. Eun-seok: “I can’t break up with you, why should I? I can’t break up with you like this. Over my dead body!” She begins sobbing into the phone.

Meanwhile, Joon-sung continues to give the presentation to possible foreign investors, showing off his prowess in multiple languages. He finds Eun-seok passed out in the stairwell, and his attempts to rouse her end up with him falling on top of her. He didn’t mean the affront, but when she wakes up she immediately starts screaming – and someone with a camera phone records everything. Oh noes.

Eun-seok stumbles back into the party a drunk mess, with Joon-sung following behind. In view of everyone she calls him out for being a pervert and gives him the arm-equivalent of flipping him the bird.

HAN DA-JUNG (Kim Sa-rang) makes a living as a small-time moneylender, and when money is due, she’s not afraid to resort to violence. In the case with a fruit-stand-owning ajumma, she begins upheaving all the fruit in order to cause a scene. When the ajumma doesn’t relent Bok-gu appears to let her know that if Da-jung is threatening to kill her, then she really will. “She’s Han Da-jung and her nickname is ‘crazy dog,'” he tells the woman, in an effort to scare her.

When that doesn’t work, he puts the fear of God into her as he shows off his knife-wielding skills, and Da-jung eventually gets her money. He follows her around for the night as they go from venue to venue, with Bok-gu acting as Da-jung’s frightening backup to intimidate debtors into paying their dues. Even when they encounter a group of gangsters at a hostess club (is Da-jung a pimp too?), Bok-gu disposes of them like a boss.

He’s clearly a rebel with his unshaven appearance, Nelly cheek-bandage, and that lollipop he always has in his mouth. But he’s a rebel who’s afflicted by his past, as he covers his ears in an attempt to un-hear the strains of the same song his brother used to sing to him.

Sad violin music plays as Da-jung views a wedding dress through a store window, and we get a closeup of her neck where a minor cosmetic burn remains. Well, that explains why she always wears a neck scarf. (I guess being former Miss Korea doesn’t count for anything when plagued with what looks like, at most, a second-degree sunburn.)

Da-jung recognizes a man in the street who once poured hot soup on Bok-gu, and wants to kill him in order to take revenge for Bok-gu’s humiliation. Gentle words from Bok-gu don’t work to get her mind off the revenge train, and it’s only until he shouts at her that she listens. He tells her not to do anything for him anymore, whatever it is. Hmm. I smell a guilt complex.

As he takes her home on a motorcycle, we get small flashbacks into their past. Bok-gu was trapped in a burning building, and Da-jung went to save him. Ergo, the burn mark, and their current connection to each other that seems fostered out of Bok-gu’s guilt over the scars she sustained saving his life.

The video of Joon-sung falling on top of Eun-seok has gone viral, and it looks much worse than what it was. It’s effectively blown up into a scandal for both Eun-seok and Joon-sung, who’s the youngest son of his chaebol family.

Joon-sung’s father watches him while he gives a perfectly good presentation, and decides that the perfect time to rant against the scandal with his son is in front of a group of foreign investors. Nice. He tells Joon-sung that he has no need for him in his family – he has one good son, and that’s enough for him.

Unfortunately, Joon-sung finds out about the video through one of the French investors. They’re more up on tabloid gossip than he is, apparently.

Eun-seok’s manager sets to berating Eun-seok for having drank too much on the night in question, while her overdramatic mother stakes out in the middle of the living room, having refused to drink or eat anything all day. When Eun-seok’s sister remarks that this scandal isn’t the end of the world, Mom offers a contrary opinion. “Yes, the world has come to an end. It’s all over now. It’s over.”

Mom then starts crying to her husband over what they’re to do with Eun-seok now that her reputation is ruined. Eun-seok’s brother quips that she’s always wanted to end her acting career anyway, so what’s the fuss? It’s clear that her brother has some resentment for Mom’s money-grubbing ways, considering that she doesn’t seem to be their biological mother and has instead married in for Eun-seok’s money.

Joon-sung calls Eun-seok out for a meeting to discuss the scandal. She’s still under the impression that he tried to molest her, but he protests his innocence. He tells her that he doesn’t put his hands on food that isn’t his, which she takes offense to. So what, she’s food to him? Who’s his dessert?

Frustrated, he chides her for calling him out on something she knows he didn’t mean. Joon-sung: “Weren’t you educated in college?” She blinks at him like he’s speaking a foreign language and tells him that no, she never went to college, but since he’s the college graduate he can come up with a solution to their problem.

Joon-sung then asks if she staged everything on purpose to net herself a chaebol – he heard that actresses do it all the time. Eun-seok nearly snorts. “Hey, Tall Boy. Do I look that easy to you?” Ha, I love his nickname. Very fitting.

We get a montage of shirtless Bok-gu taking out his frustrations at on a punching bag. The punching bag, of course, being a clear metaphor for the inner turmoil his survivor’s guilt has caused him as he toes the line of life and death, the swaying motion a symbol for the vicissitudes of fate and the loss of his brother’s love as Bok-gu plays the role of both spectator and master in a poststructuralist world that threatens to engulf him at every turn. (Because this scene wouldn’t just be here for Rain’s abs, right?)

Even though Bok-gu is a tool, he certainly has no dearth of ladies following him around. But the one who meets him near his house is an interesting case – his demeanor toward her is much different than the way he was toward the girl in the red dress. She wonders why he never called, and tells him that she’s getting married tomorrow. Like the girl in red, however, she too offers to drop everything in her life if Bok-gu would only tell her not to go.

He tells her that she can’t cancel her wedding just because he says so, but it’s clear that he does want to say so. They had something special going on, but he let her go because of Da-jung. She knows this too, and tells him, “You can’t love somebody out of loyalty.”

Da-jung is nearby, and hears those words. Ouch. To further drive the point home, his past girlfriend tells him that she knows Da-jung got her burn scar because of him, and that’s why he devotes his life to her like a debtor paying back his debts. But here’s the clincher: “Why do you go through hell with a girl you don’t even love?” Double ouch, because Da-jung can still hear everything. She crumples to the ground with her groceries.

Bok-gu’s demeanor goes cold as a means of defense, and he tells the girl that he never loved her. There’s more going on to this scene than what’s being said, but the crux of it is that Bok-gu did love her but is willing to let his own happiness go for Da-jung’s sake, which is a heck of a guilt to put on a poor girl.

He becomes aware that Da-jung has heard everything, but acts as if nothing is wrong. She does the same, and that’s how they cope with their responsibilities toward each other. Da-jung knows what she’s doing to him, but it’s not with any malice that she keeps doing it.

Bok-gu goes off on his own to cool down, and Da-jung looks at her scarred back in the mirror, remembering that girl’s words loud and clear. She knows she’s being loved only out of loyalty.

Bok-gu’s roommate, MI-SOOK (Na Yoon), is out of breath by the time he tracks Bok-gu down. He’s got some good news and some exposition: he’s found Bok-gu’s brother, Kang Min-gu, who Bok-gu hasn’t seen in ten years. Eun-seok’s CF plays in the background as this realization sinks in.

And then, suddenly, we’ve skipped the reunion stage to find Bok-gu hanging out with his long lost brother at his rooftop apartment. They share a beer and some feelings, with Min-gu apologizing for leaving his younger brother alone to face the world for so long.

Bok-gu tells Min-gu that he still resorts to violence, and in fact, it’s what he does for a living now. Is Min-gu going to run away again?

But Min-gu apologizes again, saying that he was completely in the wrong. Well, I guess that’s easy to say after ten years. But if he knows he’s in the wrong now, then why did he stay away so long?

He brings out the playful side in Bok-gu as they splash each other with foam from their beer cans and play like children on the roof. Aww. Moments later, Min-gu sees Eun-seok’s face on a nearby jumbotron with the accompanying headline that she’s now engaged to chaebol son Kim Joon-sung. Ruh roh.

Min-gu reaches out his hand as if to cup Eun-seok’s digital face, lost in his own world. Bok-gu jokes that if Min-gu is her stalker, he better give up the ghost now. He should think of his age…

…But Min-gu disappears right in front of Bok-gu’s eyes, falling off the edge of the roof in the blink of an eye.

 
COMMENTS

Any and all snark for this drama comes from pure love, because I find this show in the category of being entertainingly bad with flashes of brilliance, rather than just bad. I certainly didn’t feel like I needed sixteen hours of my life back after watching it – because I’m pretty sure that in 2005, at the height of my Rain-love, I thought this was the best drama that ever happened ever in the history of ever, ever.

Speaking of, Rain’s performance pretty much carries the show as this sort of revenge-seeking broody monster who’s actually a pretty bad guy with some really unforgivable moments. Somehow, though, he still remains sympathetic – even when we lose all understanding of why he’s doing what he’s doing when he doesn’t want to be doing it. I don’t think anyone can accuse Rain of phoning this one in – he really gives this role his all, and it shows. In a lesser actor’s hands Bok-gu could have easily been unwatchable, and though the character still toes the line, Rain is a saving grace. (I’m seriously not just saying that as a fan.)

As for the conflict, I don’t think it’s a spoiler at this point to say that Bok-gu holds Eun-seok responsible for his brother falling off the roof and seeks to bring an unholy scorched-earth massacre of vengeance upon both her houses. We’re dealing with a revenge tale, but the revenge is based on a Big Misunderstanding and not really a wrong, so it’s hard to get behind Bok-gu’s journey in that regard.

So that’s the premise, but if you’ve ever watched a drama, you know that that little thing called love is going to get in the mix and rile things up. I was initially drawn to this series because of how dark it seemed to skew, and because a love story set in the background of revenge sounded epic (at the time). There’s also something about an anti-hero being the focus of a show that hits all the sweet spots for me, since I love flaws in lead characters and normally loathe perfection. In that regard, Bok-gu certainly delivers. There’s almost nothing in this first episode to really sell him as a likable character to us, other than that he’s unselfishly living his life for others rather than himself. He always chooses to lose in fights. He worships the ground his brother falls on. He might have thought about letting a girl commit suicide because of him, but he saved her in the end. (See, there are some good things here.)

A big plus for A Love to Kill was the directing (and the soundtrack, which was exceptionally addicting and made me feel even when scenes didn’t call for it. Seriously, listen to the soundtrack and try to not be moved.) Now that I’ve seen Padam Padam: The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats, I can recognize the special flair Kim Kyu-tae has and that he’s honed it over time while still staying true. (Some of the shots between A Love to Kill and Padam Padam are eerily similar, like the underwater scene.) He has an intimate way with cinematography that puts us both in the thick of action and keeps us far removed from it at the same time – sometimes we see the characters as a dot on a big, beautiful landscape, and sometimes we’re close enough to them that it looks like the camera glass will smash into their face at any moment. This isn’t too flattering for HD cameras circa 2005 – because even the ever-beautiful Shin Mina doesn’t look her best here, when every pore on her face can be counted and named.

Even so, the shots remain organic and interesting, lending A Love to Kill more of a movie-like feel that I really enjoyed. It’s withstood the test of time and can hold its own with modern dramas in terms of visual sharpness and flair, which still amazes me.

It seems almost counterintuitive to suggest that this drama, which aims to be a melodrama of melodramas, can actually be pretty fun if you know what you’re getting into. There are a ton of repeated actions and reactions by characters that can be made into one of the easiest drinking games ever – and one that will land you on the floor pretty fast. (Every time Bok-gu cries only one tear, every time Eun-seok breaks a heel, every time she collapses, every time she limps, every time poor Lee Ki-woo has nothing to do, every time someone ends up in a hospital – and yes, every time someone has an eating disorder.) That’s not to say that you can’t take this show seriously, because you can (and I did), but it’s a show with a lot of qualifiers. And one of the most puzzling endings in drama history, for that matter.

But really, you’re coming to this show for one of two reasons: Rain, or because you loved writer Lee Kyung-hee’s previous works (Sang Doo, Let’s Go To School, I’m Sorry I Love You) and are craving some melodramatic, revenge-laden romance. Or just Rain. I can enumerate all the points against this drama while still having that one all-encompassing embarrassing fact remain: I still loved it. It’s a series that doesn’t ask any big questions, one that doesn’t really have any mind-blowing scenes, and one that stays mostly quiet, save for the occasional sound of sobbing. It’s certainly not a love I want to kill, but one that I don’t quite know what to do with, either.

RELATED POSTS

Tags: , , ,

136

Required fields are marked *

My first reaction when i saw the twitter notification for this drama recap was :O the one with rain? and THAT kiss?

0
17
reply

Required fields are marked *

That Kiss. Ewe.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

I meant Ew. No offence to female sheep out there.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

I thought it was utterly horrifying as well! Just to think.. he probably had to do that kiss a few times before they got the perfect shot of it o.o

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

They did it only twice, believing Rain's words.

0

Why not Feast of the Gods instead? You have both Lee Sang Woo (Yum) and Joo Sang Woo (Yummer) !

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

what kiss are you guys talking about?
i never watched a love to kill so i'm a bit lost. :)

0
8
reply

Required fields are marked *

There's one scene where Eun Seok stuffs her face then goes outside to vomit. He follows her out to the alley and then, without her even wiping her mouth, he kisses her. It's all vomit and snot and he basically sucks her face off.

0
7
reply

Required fields are marked *

And do we all understand why that scene where Bok-gu kisses Eun-Seok right after she vomits is writing brilliance? Anyone want to hazard a guess?

Oh, never mind. I'll just go on and tell anyone who cares to listen...

Bok-gu is a man set on revenge. He is determined to win the girl and destroy her, and get his poor, pathetic brother some kind of justice in this cruel, cruel world.

When he kisses Eun-Seok--no matter how scuzzy her mouth is--he is showing "her" that he wants her and that he wants her no matter how despicable she is, no matter how far she may fall. At the same time, the kiss shows the "viewer" that he is a man who will do ANYTHING to get what he wants. And what the viewer now knows for sure (because of the disgusting kiss and what happens next) is that what he really wants is revenge.

And what does happen next? Two seconds later, he is answering her cell phone, so that her "fiancee" can hear Bok-gu saying that he can see the love for him in Eun-Seok's eyes--and then hear them kissing.

Yep. This is a man determined to get what he wants, but what he wants at this point is not love. At least, it's not yet, anyway.

This melodrama (and yes, it was designed to be a melodrama, so for people to complain because it was melodramatic is baffling to me) is filled to the brim with writing brilliance. Even the repetition that this blogger complains about is done with skill and purpose.

And I'm not saying any of this because I'm a Rain fan either. I am a Rain fan. A huge one. Anyone who knows me knows that. But I'm also a writer and a fan of great writing. And frankly, there are not many Korean melodramas out there that have done their jobs as well as this one.

Kudos to Lee Kyung-hee.

Terri :-}

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

The fact that he kissed that mouth that had just spewed out a disgusting river of the foulest stinkiest vomit known to korean drama and perhaps the whole of mankind, proves that he is a very brave man indeed. Maybe even then, he was attracted to her and the sight of those quivering wet post-vomit lips was just too much for him? Or was he trying to tell her subtly: I love everything about you, even your vomit? Viewers have commented that Rain was devouring her mouth in the kiss. In hindsight, he was probably devouring the remnants of the food particles left on her mouth. He hadn't finished his meal yet, as I recall and was probably very very hungry. Hunger has been known to drive a man to do strange things.

0

He admits towards the end of the series - to both his brother and to Shin Min Ah - that he loved her from the first moment he saw her. That helped my understanding a lot, because his whole back and forth thing - nice one minute, hateful the next - didn't seem well-designed to win the girl; but when I could put in the context of his two hearts warring - THEN I could understand his character.

I still say there was no reason they couldn't be together, in the end. Even his brother gave his blessing. But I don't think it was just revenge for his brother - I think it was for himself, too, because it killed him to lose his brother all those years before, and he was so happy to get him back - and then to immediately lose him again, because of what he believed to be her fickle heart? Ugh. He had to make her pay, I get that. But I know that my heart - I couldn't do what he did. Once I loved her, I couldn't hate her.

0

Cheers Terri, for the wonderful assessment on the ramen kiss. Your dissection of BoKgu's motive in your statements above, was spot on. He was hell bent on this revenge, and eventually, love just got in way.

After watching the drama a few too many times, I learned to look at the hospital scene where BokGu admonishes his brother for falling in love with EunSuk, as his confession to his brother for falling in love with her. He realizes his mistake to follow the path of revenge, knowing that this is what his brother always lectured him about. At that point, he comes to the realization that in some cosmic twisted joke, he falls in love with the one person, whom he believes, caused his brother's downfall. BokGu did all this for his brother, his love for his brother.

0

double ew.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

First, the KISS: In a flashback later, it shows the kiss, but with a tear running down RAIN'S cheek-so whatever else was going on-he was crying when he kissed her. But we don't get to see that until near the end of the drama.
I want to say that I absolutely love this re-cap.
I also think this writer is brilliant because I own this and watched it more than 20 times. My feeling is that this drama "took off" when Mr. Hot Nerd (RAIN), entered the movie theater to look for her.
Up until that point, what I call the "set-up" (the part that lets the audience know who everyone is)---seemed like a very confusing mish-mash, but I had to watch it to know who everyone is. Some of my friends didn't have the patience to get through it, RAIN or no RAIN.
At about the 17th viewing, I knew something AMAZING about this writer: Every single sentence uttered in the set-up by every single character, no matter how minor-related to something that happened in the drama later! I could hardly believe it! How could anyone possibly write that well??? I was flabbergasted. Still am. This drama, whether it all makes sense or not, even with the draggy parts, is totally all of a piece.
Having said that-yes, I was disappointed that certain things DIDN'T happen, and also thought some of it was very draggy. Over all though, it was definitely one of the most memorable dramas, and by now I think I've watched hundreds.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Since you mentioned 'Sangdoo' in your re-cap, I'd like to say one thing about it here: there's a scene in Sangdoo where RAIN does such a great Stan Laurel that Asian or not, he almost looked like Stan Laurel. I watched it over and over, but kept thinking "can't be". Later, I read that he told an interviewer that his favorite comedian is Charlie Chaplin, so then I thought: WAS!

0

That was wonderful and REAL hot kiss. Rain the only actor and singer i know who can actually really kiss on a scene or in a drama. Unlike all these other korean drama where all they do is touch lips...no emotions. Just a peck on the lips

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yes, I don't like the fake kisses either, but it is always always the directors choice. In fact I saw an outtake of a Japanese high school drama where the lead male kissed the lead female in rehearsal, and one of the other actors said "You're going to be in trouble when the director sees that-that was a real kiss!" I watched the making of Devil Beside You and the director was absolute boss when it came to what kind of kiss. Also, I think that sometimes the actress (mostly) will have a clause in her contract that she can't do a real kiss because she's married (Faith, The Moon that Embraces the Sun).

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Also, in watching an interview during the filming of the Kdrama My Girl, it became obvious that Lee Da Hae and Lee Jun Ki were dating, because the 2 were being interviewed together, and he was pouting. the Interviewer asked why he seemed angry and Lee Da Hae said "Because he knows a real kiss is coming up between me and Dong Wook, and he's mad." then she turned to him and said "I'm just doing what I'm told, it's not my fault." and he said "right, and you're not going to enjoy it either, right?" (surly). Also they were practicing a scene in a bathhouse when he cracked an egg on her head-hard. She got upset and said "do you have a grievance against me? That hurt!" He said "sorry', then she said "I want a physical apology!"
Yes, I know she dated Dong Wook a year later. (That kiss must have been enjoyable!)

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Terrific recap! I couldn't finish this drama...too melo, but I did enjoy Rain's performance, I'm a fan girl/woman/fossil.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

This drama is a masterpiece! Brilliant cinematography, Rain's performance is memorable,and the drama was very dark! Oh and the soundtrack- simply amazing !!! They don't do dramas like this anymore.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Go with you.

I loved this drama and sorry for the other opinions but I liked the kiss too. At least something different and definitely not a classical one!!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This is still...forever...on my "should I? Should'nt I? But Should I?" list....

Maybe I can PRETEND it has a happy ending and watch it....

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

You should, ending be damn! Its a great drama!

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Sometimes I just wish [MAJOR SPOILERRRRR ALERT] his brother stays dead -___-"

cause it was a super mood killer.. and all those sacrifices and roundabout and i-love-you-but-he-loves-you-too enigma after episode 10-11-ish? ugh!

Love the ending, though.. THANK GOD for that!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I can't watch this drama, even if I'm a fun of Rain (I just love Fugitive plan B and Full house). I dislike the bad boy attitude, to American, and I need Korean style of bad boy.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

"I disliked the bad boy attitude, [too] American"

Pft. Er wow. That's like saying all Americans are arrogant, and all Britons are pansies. I think you have the same kinds of bad boys all world over. There are different types of bad boys within bad boy categories, yes. But I doubt they are defined based on nationality and/or ethnicity.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

hey girl, thanks for doing the recap, love to read again this drama.

thank you

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Wow can't believe its been 7 years since I watched this drama. Brings back memories of my kdrama innocence back then.hehe.

But yeah I hated this drama, I don't know why I put myself through all those torturous hours to finish this, only to be rewarded with a horrible ending. Maybe i stuck it out for rain after loving his performance in full house. And I remember struggling to stay awake each episode, very plodding and slow and depressing in my opinion. I dnt recommend this at all.

0
9
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'm sorry, but I have to ask. What so great about Full House? I almost die from Boredom. My only consolation was Kim Sung Soo, such a beautiful guy!

HeadsNo2, thanks for the recap. I must admit that I didn't survive back then cause all of the misery and hateful, but I may give it a chance after I read you (or maybe I just matured?)

0
8
reply

Required fields are marked *

I have to agree, Full House was perhaps my second ever koreandrama (back in 08?) and i did not understand the appeal, i even sort of hated Rain because of it (please don't shoot me, i like him now :P), though i did find Song hye Kyo adorable.
Maybe i just don't understand classic/hallyu/"slightly"beforemytime kdramas because i didn't watch it during the hype or during it's premiere (e.g. Goong)
Luckily i watched My Lovely Kim Sam Soon right after and it was a winnner :D *goes to think about hyun bin for a while*

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

thinking of hyun bin as dong soo in friend our legend. mawr.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

You reminded me "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon" and automatically smile appear in my face. to think that both dramas made the same year, and are so different from each other. The first (Full House) is total wasted my time, till now, I really can't figure how I managed to watch it till the very end. (could it be the hope, she'll choose Kim Sung Soo? and even if she chose him, this drama is still awful!)

By the way, sorry for the off-topic, HeadsNo2, but maybe someone here knows the name of the actor that KSA dated 3 times in "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon" and HB always interrupted in the middle and ruining the dates for them?

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

For me - first kdrama ever. Oh, the angst in that drama. But it has a very special place in my heart :)

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Well at the time I was a noob to kdramas. Full house was my 3rd after stairway to heaven and autumn tale so I was caught up in the cuteness and fluffiness of it. But certainly 80+ dramas later, full house can't even compare to most of the others I've watched. I can't even tell u what's good about it. The story, the characters were lvery weak, but its more the time in my life the drama represents that I hold fondly not the drama story itself.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

I guess we're changing during time passes. I still have deep love for "Que Sera, Sera" although it broke my heart several times while I watched it.

And if we're talking about misery and pain, yours "stairway to heaven" definitely is the most melo I've ever watched. I couldn't endure anymore, so after few episodes I dropped it in the middle. you sure have lots of strength. :)

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oh I love que sera sera, its a drama that is still good watching it years later.
Haha I looved stairway to heaven. I was so caught up in the melo and tragedy but guess tastes really do change over the years cos I cnt stand melo now. Always end up dropping them. Suppose cos once I've watched a melo, they all become rather predictable and tiresome after a while.

0

Couldn't stand Stairway to Heaven. My mom and sisters were all gushing about StH and sent me the DVDs for it. I really wish I wasn't a whole Ocean away from them because if I was closer I would've thrown something at them for making me watch such a crazy show. GAH!

0

I only remember Rain and Kiss!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

ironically it's the opening scenes you love so much of this drama that lost me. that scene in the two cars pissed me off even more.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Was that Mr. Pillar ? and Kim Sa Rang ? I can't believe that I watched this show about 6 years ago - and well, forgot who else was in it besides Rain and Shin Min Ah o.o

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I was a big fan of Rain too after Full House, but after watching some of his other weird works like Sang Doo! & I'm a Cyborg, I drew the line at A Love To Kill. Thank goodness. Also during that time, I didn't find Shin Mina that pretty (changed my mind after MGIAG). Interesting that Kim Sarang & Lee Kiwoo (the hair!) were here too. Anyway, Rain & SMA are really good actors even if some of their dramas/films are not my cup of tea.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

oooooh, thanks so much ... It was my second K-drama after Full House, and I think I didn't watch the ending because it was too sad ... Anyway, along the way, this definitely was a drama to forever turn me into a K-drama addict, despite (or because?) of its imperfections ....

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I hated it. Its the first drama I've ever hated. -_-'

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

Me too! Glad I wasn't alone. :) I was so excited to watch another Rain drama b/c like 90% of females...I was obsessed with him after Full House. But man, I hated A Love to Kill! I couldn't even watch the whole thing...I skipped several episodes just to finish it & the ending sucked balls.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

lol. I paused for a few weeks....picked it back up, ended it and cussed like hell.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'm suffocating now!!
N I'm only imagining the last scene ?

This is e melodrama of melodramas!!!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Dear HeadsNo2,
like you said the ending puzzled me. is why i have been waiting for recaps to this drama. it was one of my 1st kdramas and tho i fell in love with Shin Min Ah, i just could not understand why Rain would waste his time not being with her then when he decides to he ends up dying. Sooo please, if you have time for recaps for this one, i will deeply appreciate it. 'Cause maybe just maybe I might have missed out something. is why the befuddlement

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I remember always meaning to watch this drama because Rain and Shin Mina? I'm sold - BUT on the other hand i wasn't sure if i could sit through a 16 episode melodrama, especially a rather old one from 05 which sort of ensures dragging storylines. So this recap was a pleasant suprise and i wish you would recap the last episode as well (so i would feel like i've sort of.. watched it... without watching it, haha)

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I only remember the sad ending... Not gonna watch it

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I think Kim Sarang did a good Job here.

i love this drama back then, and i love the tragic ending.

i fall in love with rain in this drama, not full house thought.
he fit as badass hero. i am sorry my english is so awful..:)

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thank you Head2No for this

The first thought that came to mind when I saw this entry was better late than never

I’m one to stay away from dark and depressing dramas but I watched this because I fell (hard) for Rain in 2006. I saw this in 2007 and it took me a few days to snap out of the depression after watching the last ep.

I watched this at the peak of my Rain fever but until today I cannot classify it as a favourite because of the terrible ending.

At times he over-acted and became too threatrical, at times when his tears and mucus merged as he cried, you wanted to take him into your arms and cuddle him. It wasn’t his best, considering the rest he had done better at, like Sang Doo Let’s go to school. Full House was light, funny and whimsical – not at his best either. Plan B was a flop. Period.

In ALTK, he oscillated between being really good at emoting and plain downright bland ( the times he had the constipated look)

What kept me was the funny ( I wouldn’t call it chemistry) bond between the girlishly pretty/fragile looking Shin Mina and Rain. I wouldn’t call it love either, it was too warped for my liking. What are the chances of falling so hard for someone you had such immense hatred for.

At one point I wanted to give up because it got too difficult to continue but the Rain-lover in me trooped on

This drama more than succeeded in portraying Bokgu as a thug with a heart (a commonly used device in melodramas) from his loyalty/guilt towards Da Jung, his conscience and his general “ humanness”

I’d like to you continue the recaps even though you said this would be a one off piece. Not expecting anything, your call, entirely...

You write wonderfully and recap it so well, I cannot imagine you covering the *** spoiler alert *****
Last ep where Bokgu and Eunsuk decide to go crazy for just one day, frolick in the snow and meet their tragic end via hypothermia

Speaking of which, someone told me that Bokgu died while Eunsuk survived because right at the end, her eyelids fluttered

They both died or only he died? You decide....

Thank you again for the nostalgic, it was nice to read about it again 

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Nostalgia not nostalgic

My bad

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

it's funny to see this post because I have just watched the 1st ep yesterday.. not that i love this drama... i have watched it 2 years ago and wondered why back then I spent 16 hrs watching it... this drama was quite pretty to look at.. i love SMA and Rain.. and rain's acting was solid.. but the storyline was very silly.. but yet i watched it... and i wonder why i watched it again yesterday...>_<

i do like melo.. in fact i love MISA... but i found this one a little too melo...

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Did I mention I had a love-hate thing for this drama?

Very complex but I can relate to this

" I can enumerate all the points against this drama while still having that one all-encompassing embarrassing fact remain: I still loved it. It’s a series that doesn’t ask any big questions, one that doesn’t really have any mind-blowing scenes, and one that stays mostly quiet, save for the occasional sound of sobbing. It’s certainly not a love I want to kill, but one that I don’t quite know what to do with, either "

The OST is great too, I still listen to it now and then, especially the haunting track by Lee Soo-young

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Omg! I was like watching this for the 10th times already!! Thanks for the recap!!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oh no. I think you just convinced me to watch this against my better judgment.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oh, my, I think this was my first drama, and I watched it at my old pc with a terrible network connection. I had to wait an hour to see 15 minutes of an episode or something like this. And I remember I was so innocent back then regarding the K-drama: I saw the last episode and I was like: wait, it cannot be! I had to watch it three times and I was still confused.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Scruffy Rain is HOT Rain. OMG. I can't believe he doesn't keep up this look.

This is the first time I found him attractive. I mean he's in all meaning and purpose the definition of a "hot guy", built to the bone, great face, awesome voice, amazing moves, but I never found him attractive. Here he looks so amazing. God. Why have I not known how hot he is until now. Haha.

PS. I didn't get G.O. (MBLAQ) and Rain similarities before, but the screencaps screams G.O.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

yeah G.O. looks like Rain

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I loved it for Rain. He was very good. I hated the ending. I never knew it was from the same director of Sang doo and MISA, it figures.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

@HeadsNo2 AM I POSSIBLY DREAMING RIGHT NOW? Am I?

I was listening to your podcast last night and you were saying that A Love to Kill was your first Kdrama, and I was like,"ME TOO! ME TOO!" because it really was my first Kdrama crack and even if everyone says it was horrible, it will hold a special place in my heart. Haha.

Now off to read. :)

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

This brings back so many memories I think I wanna cry. TT_TT

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I started watching this series and gave up after the first episode. But after your recap maybe I'll give it another chance (if only for the fun of the drinking game).

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Heads, I would follow your recaps of A Love To Kill just to reminisce over these sort of pics of Rain-man, he looks hot! Come to think of it that's probably while I started watching the series in the 1st place:)

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

(Because this scene wouldn’t just be here for Rain’s abs, right?) This entire paragraph was awesome. Love your writing style.

I love Rain and I tried, but I can't do melodrama. I can only watch it if I'm not aware that it's a melodrama from the start.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Wow, I'm so glad that I'm not the only one out there finding this drama mysteriously addicted or, to be more exact, strangely watchable. To be clear, I'm not a fan of melodramas but a hradcore fan of comedy and indie ones.

Thanks to this drama, I started to take Rain as a proper & promising actor, just as you said, he gave him all for this role. I highly appreciate his devotion and talent here.
Also, thanks to this drama, I fall in love with Shin Min Ah. i find her so attractive, so sweet a woman, not glamourously beautiful but a woman whom you cant get your eyes away from. From this drama on, I wait for Shin Min Ah to earn the glow, and yes, she rises to polpularity with MGIAG, a public acknowledge finally, for that I'm happy for her.
What's more, I discover a beautiful Kim Sarang. Coz I know from this drama that she even developed a rural accent and played such a role, I have high hope for her in then Secret Garden.
What keeps me with this drama is the fact that those actors, esp Rain and Shin Min Ah, successfully convinced me emotionally, though not a plot-wise drama afterall. This somewhat is similar to Will It Snow For Christmas - the actors make you believe as if such characters exist, maybe not in reality, but in the aspect of emotion.
It's funny that I dont even remember Lee Ki Woo. well, I guess that's why they say each person has his/her own time to shine :)

well, if your mind is at ease, Igive it a try.

My forever memorable scene is the back-hug where the leading girl fell asleep while giving the leading man a back hug, they stood there for how long noone knows, in the chilly wind, at the top of the building. When the girl woke up, the man turned back and gave her a proper hug, and then, she closed her eyes again with a smile on her lips and took another nap, peacefully and happily. meanwhile, her man couldnt hide his deep hurt in his painful eyes, loving her and hating her at the same time... Something in the scene, in the setup, in these two people make it so real, and make me feel for them so much...

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I always thought they were going to write in that she was narcoleptic since she fell asleep at all hours in the oddest places/positions. lol

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Two words.

Pillar! Panda! :D

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oh yes, the OST is amazing. Rain and GO do look alike. Repeated conflicts, over and over again. And the ending is even more ridiculous and questionable that Autumn Heart 8-| still, I guess in the end you cant pick who you love, lolz

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I can't believe it has been a long time since I saw this drama. Contrary to what the others have said, I actually liked this drama during those days. I am not really a fan of melodramas, but this is one of the melodramas I was able to finish until the end (besides I'm Sorry I Love You) because of the content and the acting. I agree with everything HeadsNo2 has said, the whole revenge thing also enticed me to watch the drama. The drama has its own share of bad moments, but all in all, it was ok. And the soundtrack, I love the soundtrack! The songs just bring out intense emotions every time I hear them.
I also can't believe Kim Sa Rang and Mr. Pillar is in that drama. Mr Pillar by the way looks more handsome now than before. :)

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I absolutely love this drama. I could understand why anyone wouldn't like it but I guess it just clicked with me. This is the drama that got me to love Bi (and also Shin Min Ah, I have always liked her but she was just exceptionally gorgeous here and she made such a good couple with Bi). I have watched it at least 5 times already and still cried over it every single time. I cried from the 1st ep to the last one and the first time I watched it, I got depressed for the whole month :P (was in my adolescent year you know). I'm so glad you decided to recap it.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

it's a flawless drama,but only a few realize that.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I know you said this show was bad, but your writing made me wanna read on. Plus the fact that this show has every actor that I love to look at.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

God, I still remember the first scene of the first episode, I immediately fell in love. Its just something about the scenery, the OST, the way it was executed. and I remember thinking SMA is so pretty in it, I loved her dressing.

This is actually the first korean drama I downloaded but right after I finished the last episode, I deleted all the episodes without hesitation. I was depressed for quit a long time, it took me a while to start watching kdrama again. The ending was really such a disappointment.

But at times, when I think about this drama, I did feel like watching some of my favourite scenes again and regretted that I had deleted them all. There's no way I want to stream because I dont plan to be depressed over the sad scenes.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I think watched the first episode of this ages ago and hated it. I love Shin Mina, but this is just too much melodrama for me.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This was one of the first Kdramas that I watched that I thought the ending sucked. The plot at times was a mess, but the conclusion I couldn't comprehend it at all.Was that it??? Didn't know who the actors were at that time except for Rain.Since then, I 've watched Rain in Full House, Sang Doo, I'm a Cyborg, Ninja Assassin,and Fugitive Plan B.His acting is kind of hit and miss depending on the project.His martial arts in Ninja Assassin was brilliant; however, I thought he was terrible in Fugitive.Did Shin Mina step into a time machine?She didn't look that great in this one, but she looks so much prettier now in MGIAG.I really didn't care for her acting either in this one, but she has improved.Didn't remember Lee Ki Woo was in this one too with all that hair when I saw him in Flower Boy Raymen Shop.
This drama really upset me because of the ending. I guess the director like to kill off the actors at the end like he did in Sorry, I love You too. Sometimes actors pick the wrong project, and it's a flop.
Thanks for the wonderful recap. I love your writing style too and hope you will do more recaps.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I've yet to finish Fugitive B, I found it uninteresting!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'll be the first to admit, happy scenes were far and few between but this was still a great drama!! Rain as a bad boy? Loved it!! Did I want to choke a fool a few times?! Absolutely! I don't think there was a single character that I did not want to strangle! Shin Min-A's character was probably the one I sympathized the most with because she was innocent! And for that reason, you have to watch it!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This drama killed me. Killed me dead. Destroyed me for days, after a couple hours of sobbing like someone real died, and a lingering feeling of depression - even now, when I hear the music, my heart catches in my throat.

All this, and I know (knew watching) that the drama as a thing on it's own kind of sucks and makes no sense. There's no reason they couldn't be together.

It didn't matter. It doesn't matter. It will never matter. The only thing that affected me more was Sang Doo, Let's Go to School....and I can't even talk about that one.

0
4
reply

Required fields are marked *

"even now when I hear the music, my heart catches in my throat."

I feel exactly the same way. Until now, I still remember the chorus and it still breaks my heart. God, I'll never forget it, it scarred me for life.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

Then don't watch Sang Doo, especially if you love Rain...who is forever known simply as My Beloved. Because you will think that it's not possible to stop crying. Ever.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

ALTK and Full House are the only ones I've watched of Rain. I didn't know Gong Hyo Jin was with her in Sang Doo.

Is it up on DramaCrazy? I think I wouldn't mind another heartbreak, ALTK (and its OST) has rendered me immune-d. :)

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

No, it's not - I have asked for it, though. I had to watch it on Youtube, which was not the most convenient method, but I was insane about that show.

0

This was an awful drama.... it was okayat the beginning and then in the middle it just got sooo awful and boring, and i quit.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@SPOILER ALERTTTTT!!!!!@@@@@@@@@@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

they both die in the end anyway..... pretty sure they freeze to death. Meh, in my opinion, the drama's not worth watching at all....

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I agree with everyone else, that the post-vomit kiss was positively wretched, but the night kiss on the beach gave me tingles. I watched it over and over... didn't bother re-watching the rest of the drama except for this scene... was there a story line...hmmm..dunno, I don't care.

I wasn't into Rain's looks prior to viewing this drama, but somehow his scruffy bad boy style captivated me. I guess I have a weakness for that 'misunderstood bad boy with a soft heart' character profile...bottom line, IMHO, I thought Rain exuded sexy smoldering volcanic hotness.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

As much of a cliché this drama was, it will still hold a special place in my heart along with another Rain drama, Full House. It could just be because I was like only 12 when I watched but it had the best soundtrack and Rain LOOKED SOO DAMN GOOD. He was at his hottest (hair suit and glasses and all) in this drama.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This drama, in the first episodes I was really excited!

Everytime I saw that teasers/opening /ending with him holding the gun I was like, will he shot her or not?

And so I had hopes that at some point he would kill her.

Yeah, you heard right, If he did finish his revenge I would really like it. I wished it happened. lol lol lol

Or something like he kills her and then kills himself.

Because THAT ending was so LAME and I really hate it.

If you wanted to kill both in the end wirtter, why not shocking everyone making him shot her? It would be so awesome and all... but no, this didn't happen, they died frozen WTF...

The brother should have died too btw. Too suffering for that poor soul.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I loved A Love to Kill, for all its flaws. Not with all its flaws, but for! I don't remember the lizard kiss, thankfully it seems. Fantastic review. The poststructuralist paragraph had me in stitches. You hit it on the head - flawed with flashes of brilliance. Still listen to the soundtrack on a regular basis, including the dialogue pieces. Fell for Shin Mina, thanks to this. And though I hated (and loved) the character, loved the actress who plays Dajung. The relationships in this really got to me.

Thanks for the jog down memory lane!

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Where can I buy the soundtrack? Been looking all over.
thx

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

My friend gave me an unopened copy of this show which has been piling dust close to my fireplace. Hmm~ I have pondered the thought. Then, just when Brain activates my e-vil plans there goes the Pinky in me recollecting Bi's small winced eyes and grand smile to foil any genius plot of destruction. Drats! Heads is accountable for reminding me about the origami dust bunny, and that I must once and for all make clear to clean my sh!t up, or once and for all pop in these discs to see what's all the fuss is about on a KISS.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Also known as: Ijuksa / This love I want to kill/ The Love of Death / Detestable Love / Knock Out by Love (KBS World)

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oh my my! Thank you for the great great recap.
I have to confess that I don't really follow your recaps, but after reading this, I'll just have to, considering the fact that you are AWESOME.
Oh yeah btw, you are funny as hell too!
Any chance you loved Goong? :)
Please say 'Yes'.

This drama wasn't bad for me when I first watched it. (Hey, I was much younger and more hopeless romantic.)
But when I go back and try to rewatch it, I can definitely understand why some people don't like it.

I for one, liked the kiss! In fact, I loved it...or rather, them.
It's not everyday we see a kiss that seems real or passionate or whatever you wanna call it, in korean drama.

As Heads No2 mentioned, the soundtrack was just so beautiful. Gosh, just the song could make me cry. Shit! I just confessed that I cried in this drama.

Rain in all his badass glory, trying to fight his doomed (well, he's convinced. I was not) love for Shin Mina was pure eye candy.

(At the same time, I still cannot to this day understand why the male leads in korean dramas have to be so damn moody and treat the heroines like a garbage. My mom still hates Rain to this day for treating 'that pretty girl' so badly!)

Like everyone out there, I could not make sense of the ending. That was my biggest problem with this drama, and the reason I think the drama should be inducted into the Melodrama Hall of Fame.

But then again, this drama is one of those dramas that I could go back and watch even today.
(I mean, my favourite scenes. Not even I could sit for 16 hours again for it.)
But for me, my love for star-crossed lovers and the actors just outweigh(ed) the bad parts.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I have such a love/hate relationship with this drama.

This was one of my first dramas, so everything about it either intrigued, allured, surprised or repulsed me. The drama and I were a weepy mess by the end.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *