Autumn Tale 가을동화 is the thirty-third drama I've seen. Autumn Tale was actually a drama I started a long time ago but never finished. At the time, I chose to watch Autumn Tale because it was part of the same series that Winter Sonata falls under. Also, I enjoyed watching Song Hye Kyo in Full House and looked forward to one of the earlier dramas that she acted in. I learned later that the main male lead, Song Seung Hun, would take the main lead in My Princess. This drama was a huge stepping stone for both Song Hye Kyo and Song Seung Hun's acting careers. Now that I've gotten a greater appreciation for dramas, I decided it was important for me to return and finish watching Autumn Tale.
Yoon Joonsuh (Song Seung Hun) and Yoon Eunsuh (Song Hye Kyo) grew up as close siblings. One day Eunsuh was involved in a car accident and finds out that her blood type was different from her parents. Eunsuh finds out she was from a different family, as there was a mixed up at the hospital where she was born. Eunsuh was mixed up with her classmate, Choi Shinae. Eunsuh's life takes a complete turn when the two girls were returned to their respective families. Eunsuh is now Choi Eunsuh and Shinae is now Yoon Shinae. Shinae was desperate to switch lives, in order to leave behind the hard life she grew up in. Despite her unwillingness, kind Eunsuh knows she has to return to her biological mother. Soon after, the Yoon family left for the States, leaving Eunsuh behind in Korea to live with her poor mother and an older brother who's a thug. Nine years after, Joonsuh returned to Korea. Joonsuh is an accomplished artist who is also engaged to Shin Yoomi (Han Na Na), a fellow artist Joonsuh met in the States. Joonsuh is trying to find Eunsuh before getting married, but is having difficulty since Eunsuh has moved several times. Eunsuh works as a phone operator at a hotel whose owner's son is Han Taesuk (Won Bin), Joonsuh's best friend. Eunsuh meets Taesuk who instantly falls for her. However, things begin to change when Joonsuh and Eunsuh reunite at the beach they used to go to as young children.
A very important note to Autumn Tale, is that this drama was filmed around the year 2000. At the time I watched this, it was already 2007. The difference in time period influences the plot very much. For instance, when Joonsuh tried to contact Eunsuh, she needed to use a payphone in a public phone booth on the street. Even house phones still had a cord connecting the base to the receiver. Only one cell phone can be seen in the drama, simply because very few people owned a cell phone in the year 2000. In fact, pagers were more a common sight. There was even a scene were Joonsuh read a handwritten letter that Eunsuh wrote to him, simply because email was not a common practice during this time period. Besides, there's nothing romantic about an email compared to a handwritten letter. Also, there were different laws regarding certain scenes in dramas and movies between now and then. In one scene, Joonsuh was stressed out and not happy about Yoomi attempting suicide by cutting her wrist. As a consequence, he began to smoke a cigarette and stare off into space for the duration of the scene. There were also scenes where Taesuk was casually smoking while walking and chatting with Joonsuh. In an effort to discourage people, particularly minors, from smoking, movies and dramas from the three main broadcasting companies (SBS, KBS, MBC) were prohibited from showing scenes of actors smoking following June 2004. This is also why newer dramas do not include smoking scenes, but instead include more 'get drunk from drinking too much soju at the local street stall' scenes.
The soundtrack for a melodrama like Autumn Tale includes a handful ballads whether they are instrumental solos or ones with vocals. My three favorites are "How Much I Can Do 얼마나 내가" by Yoon Chang Geon and "Reason" and "Prayer 기도", both by Jung Il Young. Interestingly enough, there aren't any upbeat songs. However, as a melodrama that was sad and tragic from start to finish, I wasn't expecting any upbeat songs to begin with.
Autumn Tale is still known today as a classic Korean drama. As a classic drama, Autumn Tale was practically a standard for every stereotype in dramas. Unfortunately, at the time I watched Autumn Tale, I had already finished watching The Snow Queen. Also, I had seen a wide variety of dramas from action to romantic comedies by this point in time. Some of the endings to these dramas were happier or with surprise endings. As a result, I felt the plot became too predictable towards the end and gave up on finishing the drama. However, watching Autumn Tale again brought back memories of the past. Only this time, compared to watching Operation Proposal, it was for more than just a few episodes. Although I put off this drama for about five years from when I started watching it, I still recommend Autumn Tale to other Asian drama fans. Besides, there is a good reason why Autumn Tale is still considered as one of the best all-time dramas.
