This will be my first drama review. For those of you who remember, the first drama I've ever watched was Winter Sonata 겨울연가 . Winter Sonata was first broadcasted on KBS2 from January 14 to March 19, 2002. It totals to 20 episodes. However, I did not watch this drama until around August 2005. Interestingly enough, while I was searching online for a good drama to start with, this was a drama that a lot of people recommended. After watching it, I understood why.
Kang Joonsang (Bae Yong Joon) is a young high school student who moves to a rural town in search of his biological father. Although he is extremely smart, he chooses to move to the high school in this town because it is where his mother and his father met. Joonsang meets Jung Yoojin (Choi Ji Woo) while on a bus to school. Joonsang is fairly introvert, not wanting to interact with anyone. He is especially cold to Yoojin's childhood friend Kang Sanghyuk (Park Yong Ha) when he suspects Sanghyuk's father to be his as well. Over time, Yoojin's warm and friendly personality opens up Joonsang's cold heart. Their love gets cut short when Joonsang is hit by a car and he loses his memories. Not wanting her son to suffer anymore by searching for his biological father, his mother gives him new memories and takes him to America. Everyone at school is told that Joonsang has died in the car accident, leaving Yoojin completely shocked. Ten years later, Yoojin and Sanghyuk are getting engaged. However, while Yoojin is on her way to the engagement ceremony, she sees a man who looks just like her first love, Joonsang. She spends all night wandering around looking for him, but to no avail. Although Sanghyuk is initially upset, he forgives Yoojin and organizes a private engagement ceremony with their high school friends. Everyone is surprised when their friend Oh Chelin shows up to the party with her new boyfriend, Lee Minhyuk, who looks exactly like Joonsang. Yoojin, on the other hand, is still unable to let go of her first love and is convinced that Minhyuk is actually Joonsang.
The plot for Winter Sonata is interesting depending on when you watch it. The reason I feel that way is because of the numerous typical "drama stereotypes" that Winter Sonata has. Also, the drama fits to the time period the story is based on. You'll notice that in the section where they are in high school, no one has a cell phone. If you wanted to find someone, you would need to run all over the neighborhood. Cell phones must of been invented sometime during the ten year lapse, or perhaps cell phones were only available to those who lived in the city since the characters lived in a rural town in the beginning. Winter Sonata becomes a drama where you'd either appreciate all the stereotypes that set a foundation for future dramas, or you'll find it too old-fashioned and over-romantic. Nevertheless, Winter Sonata does include some unique points that award it with it's legendary status. To this day, I still do not understand how Joonsang's brain works. He gets hit by a truck and loses his memory. Then he gets hit by another truck and his memories slowly come back. Out of all the dramas I've seen, I've never seen anyone get hit by a vehicle and somehow revert back to the beginning. Granted, I'm not suggesting that getting hit by an even number of vehicles is a great idea (or any number of large vehicles) since Joonsang eventually goes blind from so many injuries to the head.
I think that the soundtrack for Winter Sonata is pretty good. The two most notable tracks would be "From the Beginning Until Now 처음부터 지금까지" and "My Memory". Both songs are slow ballads with a piano and violin background. It's a little obvious, but it still needs to be said that both songs have a wintery feel to them. Looking back now, I don't recall any upbeat songs for this drama. Although I would of liked an upbeat song for the drama, it wouldn't fit well to the 'winter' and 'tragic' motif.
While it may be a long shot, I would have to say that Winter Sonata's theme is "No matter what happens in life, you will never forget about your first love." While some of us are probably no longer romantically involved with our first love, I think we can agree with the theme. Regardless of the conclusion, some of us still think about the time spent with our first love. After all, it's a time where we are inexperienced and begin to learn about the things to do and not do if we want to be together with the one we love. Of course the reality is, we probably won't pull off the ridiculous 'first love story' that Winter Sonata presents. I highly recommend watching Winter Sonata. This drama is simply a classic that needs to be seen by any and all drama fans.
