Born in 1912, when Korea was ruled by Japan, Princess Deokhye (Son Ye Jin) is the youngest daughter to Joseon’s last king, King Gojong (Baek Yoon Shik). Her father dies under suspicious circumstances and then she’s forced to move to Japan at 13 at the directive of Han Taek Soo (Yoon Je Moon), a pro-Japanese official. Princess Deokhye is used a political puppet for the Japanese regime and her isolation from Korea makes her feel homesick. One day, Kim Jang Han (Park Hae Il), a suitor picked by her father, appears in Japan. Having enlisted in the Japanese army as a spy, he begins to formulate a plan to smuggle the royal family out of Japan to Shanghai, the site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
I have been waiting for this edition of Youth Over Flowers in Africa. Yes, in part because I loved Answer Me 1988 and don’t want to let go of it. Also, in part because the previous Youth Over Flowers in Iceland was funny but everything looked so cold and broadcasted during a really time in the States that all I could think about was being cold. So I’m really glad that we get to see them in a warmer climate, at least on the screen. Plus, I can’t get over the news reports about how the cast was basically kidnapped from their post drama vacation trip. I literally just hear Hye Ri’s laughter in that video (from the Candid Camera variety show) when she finds out the news having just returned to her work schedule from Phuket herself.
Set in 1988, Answer Me 1988 is a family drama about five families living on the same street in Ssangmundong in Northern Seoul. Like the previous AnswerMe series, the story focuses on childhood friends who grow up together.
Sung Duk Seon (Lee Hye Ri) is the middle child in her family who isn’t as smart as her older sister but is vivacious and caring. Living upstairs from her is Kim Jung Hwan (Ryu Joon Yeol) who is smart but nicknamed “Dog” for his prickly attitude. Nicknamed Doryeongnyong (Salamander), Ryu Dong Ryong (Lee Dong Hwi) is often known as the neighborhood counselor. Choi Taek (Park Bo Gum) is a genius at playing Go and plays professionally but is an idiot when it comes to everything else. The most normal out of the group is Sung Sun Woo (Go Kyung Pyo) who is smart, caring and devoted to his mom and his younger sister.
What was particularly different about this edition of the Answer Me series is that many of the stories focused on the family and the community. This format is based on the popular MBC family drama of the time, Three Families Under One Roof (한지붕세가족), that ran for 8 years in the late 80’s until the early 90’s. I actually don’t remember this drama myself but I do know that a lot of the actors that were in are still acting today. You can’t really have a great family drama without a great cast and I think what is so endearing about this cast is how great they were in assimilating into their characters that appeared on screen. I was so moved by the characters because they not only felt so familiar and real but they each portrayed multi-layer of emotions from comic to heartfelt.
I’ve been behind on Real Men for the last few weeks but when I saw articles about last Sunday’s episode, I decided to catch up. I can’t tell you how excited I was to see the female edition of Real Men.
There are two reasons for that. Yay, female empowerment! And I would think it’s a different kind of mentality when Korean women enter the military force compared to men. Obviously, there’s a physical distinction between males and females but I would imagine that there would be a difference in mindset. Most males are required by law to enlist in the army, while that’s not the case for women. I will be honest though. If I were a Korean citizen, I would totally be okay that equal rights don’t extend to women for this particular law. I just don’t think I would have the physical and mental strength to not be the black hole of the squad. Having said that, I’m in awe of women who voluntarily enlist in the military, regardless of the country.
Musings of a Chunkeemonkeeato 