OMG, It’s WINTER SONATA…! Again!!!
Published by simon on November 4, 2006Let me get one thing straight. My wife’s the one watching WINTER SONATA, not me. She didn’t watch it the first 35 times they showed it on local TV, so she’s catching it on 8TV daily.
Since I can’t get to watch my Seinfeld re-runs, I have to sit through it being shown on the idiot-box while I do my work or read.
What’s there to know to about the great and much-talked-about (although a little old) WINTER SONATA? Okay, like i said, i dun really watch, but from what i gather:
- ITS BLARDY SLOW. There are lots of scenes where the actors and actresses are talking slowly like trying to repress all their anal retentive emotions (prolly as a result of staying in a Antartica-like country 365 days of the year) or try to emote with their faces. One whole episode can pass without anything serious plot advancement, except like for the last 3.5 minutes, of a cliff-hanger. Which turns out to be an anti-climax the next day.
- THEN THERE’S THAT ANNOYING SONG. Yep, that famous song. Played at the start, and throughout the show (on a piano). I assume it’s a SONATA, although if Mozart where to hear it, he’ll probably think he’s in an elevator. My ex-colleague (a middle-aged Malay woman) has a 10-year old son who can play that song on the piano. Poor kid can’t speak English, but can sing the song verbatim in Korean. Although sometimes my colleague thinks he’s just swearing in Hokkien.
- DID I MENTION THAT IT’S BLARDY SLOW? There are, like, what, 295 episodes? And the storyline is like 4 paragraphs long, if they were to summarize it.
- SPEAKING OF STORYLINE - not mucho going on here. Boy gets accident. Possessive mother brainwashes amnesiac pretty boy son. Boy meets girl. Falls in love with girl. Finds out she may be his sister. Still wants to get married (to ‘protect’ girl’s feeling). Geez, I bet their kids will have to go to special school. Anyway, it turns out not to be, all with the drama of the meddling parents. Then there’s the conniving ex-girlfriend and pathetic spineless ex-boyfriend. I must emphasize again that there is a lot of emoting and crying in the show. By the girls, too. BWAHAHA. I love that joke. The guys cry like some disgraced Malaysian politicians the losers on Akademi Fantasia.
- DID I MENTION IT’S COLD THERE? Yes, yes, WE KNOW it’s called WINTER Sonata, not HYUNDAI Sonata. So expect lots of wintry scenes of naked trees and characters with heavy coats. Besides, watching it makes good promo for the Korean Tourism Board, a.k.a. Oh-My-Gawd-let’s-go-for-the-RM12,564-Winter-Sonata-packaged-tour. What global warming? Antartica isn’t the only place with minus 43 degree weather all year round, you know? Oka fine, i know winter doesn’t last all year round in Korea, but at the pace the show is going, you’d think they’re living in Siberia.
- THEN THERE’S THE CAST. Oo-ookay. I can go on and on about this. But let me keep it short.
This is the main couple in the show. Or as my wife and i call them “Guy #1” and “Girl #2“. The first photo is the hero (”Guy#1“). The guy is supposed to be some heartthrob that made this show SO popular in Malaysia, but seriously, he looks like any East Asian dude. Except with ghey looking hair. Come to think of it, he looks like one of my classmate back in uni. That guy ghey or not i dunno lar.
The girl, hmmm. Reminds me of one of the Malaysian Astro Chinese International Pageant contestants. Please SMS MACIP 67 to 33888. Now. But i tell you thing. This Korean girl really knows how to cry, man. On the average, 3.4 scenes every episode, which works out to be 2.1 buckets.
This is the scheming ex-girlfriend, or as we call her, Girl #2. She’s quite pretty, though, and i’m definitely sure she can kick Girl#1’s candy-ass if they were to get into a catfight.
And this, is the ex-boyfriend of the heroine, which we call, yes, you guessed it - Guy #2. He likes heroine, but heroine likes hero… This guy is SO LEMBAB and prone to tears it makes me want to bitch slap him everytime. Apparently, it might turn out that he and the hero might turn out to be long lost brothers. MY GAWD, this is GOOD TV, man.
Boys and girls, our next topic for your assignment: Which is more deserving of a Day Time Emmy - Winter Sonata or Jewel in the Palace? Discuss.
Technorati Tags: Winter Sonata, Korean, South Korea, drama, Jewel in the Palace, Bae Yong Joon, Choi Ji Woo, Park Yong Ha, Park Sol Mi, 8TV
Can’t believe u sat thru it.
I cannot..backside too itchy for slow soaps. HA HA HA!!!!
I watched a couple of episodes when I was in KL for the Raya holidays. And my Mum kept on saying, “Handsome or not, this guy?” and I was like, “MUM!!”
I’d personally prefer Jewel of the Palace, hands down =)
I remember a korean show my sister follwed, I think it’s ‘Glass Slipper’. The story is so slow she only watch a single episode a week to follow the storyline.
Oh… & handsome korean guys? She commented that korea has the least good looking men around but they know how to groom themselves. I agreed (Malaysian men are much better looking, are the ladies paying attention?).
haha..I also had a friend who was vehemently against ‘full house’ when we made him watched a few episode. Later we found out that he had secretly bought the dvds from sungai wang.
Hands down to Winter Sonata for the day time emmy. Next show to recommend to your wife is “Stairway to Heaven”. Same female lead as in Winter Sonata
Wei…this is the second time you condemn Bae Yong-Joon! Cis bedebah! And you are the 3rd person telling me he looks gay!
He not gay la.
U all just jealous coz no girl is crying buckets for u.
Having said all that, I don’t watch the drama series coz I agree that Korean movies are v v the slow. That’s why I only watch their movies.
mott - no choice. can’t watch any other channel.
pelf - so, hensem or not?
born in ‘77 - korea cold country, ma. so the guys are fair with rosy cheeks. Malaysia all gelap-gelap one.
yuin - haha, i bet a lot of guys ’secretly’ have the DVD, but would not admit it.
consuela - “Stairway to Heaven”? Why does that sound like a 70’s rock song?
anjali - eh, only his hair looks … neeways, i think korean drama are even slower than taiwanese ones. and that’s saying A LOT.
eh… analytical-nyerr… not bad for a guy who was just simply “sitting through” the soap, eh?;)
i never watch winter sonata the first time it was shown and couldn’t understand all the hoo-haa over it (people raving over it). and now… it hasn’t been that long, isn’t it… why did this show come back?
i don’t watch the show but my sister do. while she watch i am on the PC but my pc is just nearby the tv, so i managed to catch a little of the show here and there. sometimes when streamyx break down, i will watch it! i agree that the show is damy slow indeed. very very very slow. in an episode, i realised that within 1/2 hour all they show was this guy#1 and girl# courting! eek!
simon, i think there was a typo in your post. for girl#1, you put in girl#2.
Considering that you know the characters and the plot well enough… Are you sure you’re not using poor Mrs. Simon as your cover?
ok i’ll get Full House DVD from sg wang too but not this average looking specky guy. And not TAI CHEONG KUM also.
At least Rain is young & handsome. sluurpp..
philters - ’sitting through’ can’t close my ears, ma…
lucia - bcoz its so popular. even my colleagues who’ve seen it b4 are watching again.
Naz - I KNEW somebody is going to say that!
LMF - hmmm. this full house also very popular hor?
never watch Winter Sonata XD
How can anyone watch these shows? Yech. Go watch Battlestar Galactica or something.
Hey, this entry got me laughing out loud in the library, of all places! Good job!
Jules - did you get bundled out of the library?
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