"I beg to differ." Our ML only reached out his hand and said: "It's nice to meet you." Our FL isn't an easy dame. He needs a female lead for his play (Oh Eui-Sik looks dreadful in a dress) but she turns him down flat. When he acts like he doesn't care, she says she'll do it after all, but only if she can sing. She will also quit if things appear dangerous.
Dangerous? Tokyo isn't exactly safe for Koreans in 1921 - nor has it been in most of history. The police thugs barge in for an impromptu search. A group of students? That makes the police suspicious. Kim Woo-Jin will not cower and almost gets shot. "At first, I thought you were reckless. I thought it was foolish to rebel against something you can't win. But I don't think that way anymore. It's fine even if we can't change anything. The fact that we're trying something with hope is what matters... Thank you for changing the way I think." Now she begs to differ with herself. Her initial distaste has dissipated; FL, Yun Sim-Deok, seems to fall for Kim Woo-Jin rather quickly. He's rich. Really rich. She's poor. Really poor. Yet they have alot in common. Their family situations are more alike than different.
1926 starts the show, but we quickly go back to 1921, Tokyo, and the troupe will eventually return to Korea. The Joseon empire technically fell at the turn of the 20th century, but our protags still refer to home as Joseon. They've been thru war, occupation and loss. "Ten years ago, we had freedom. But today in this land, freedom no longer exists." Though the script had been censored and approved, as they tour through Korea, Kim Woo-Jin is locked up due to the play anyway - for that entirely accurate line. For reference sake, these events roughly take place between 10-20 years after the time period of the show Mr. Sunshine.
HoD is the real-life story of singer Yun Sim-Deok, who recorded Korea's first "pop-song", and playwright Kim Woo-Jin. Sim-Doek recorded her biggest hit, "In Praise of Death", in 1926. They were unable to create a life together in the tumultuous 20's. Japan had taken control of Korea and things were cooking up towards WWII. While every generation brings change, the changes going on in Korea at this time were dramatic - Out-of-hanboks-and-into-hose dramatic. Some women ditched the traditional robes and started wearing slim skirts and nylons. The show opens with the two having just committed suicide, so the viewer won't have to worry and guess about what's coming next or whether the couple will to work things out. HoD is a 2018 release that is rated 93 on AWiki. It is a short series consisting of either 6 35-minute episodes or 3 60-minute ones, depending. Either way, it's the length of a long movie.
Lee Jong-Suk of Romance is a Bonus Book (7.9) and While You Were Sleeping (7.3) fame plays ML Kim Woo-Jin. His mother died when he was 5 and his domineering father went on to marry 3 more times. He has some superb moments in HoD and hands in an overall excellent performance. He's completely different in WYWS and not so similar in RIABB, which is evidence of his range. The couple only has 1 or 2 deeply romantic moments in the show (they keep it chaste) but he is at his romantic best in these scenes. He is a playwright, but since he was raised in "privilege" he has responsibilities. His father never wants to see him pick up the pen again, except to sign documents pertaining to running the family business. His traditional family has exerted control over every inch of his existence. There's always a contrast between generations, but the contrast between old-fashioned and modern in HoD is striking. We see near-flappers next to hanboks. Our male lead prefers something more modern.
Yun Sim-Deok, the FL is played by Shin Hae-Sun who is completely different in everything, such as the lead in Mr. Queen (hilarious) and support in Legend of the Blue Sea (broding) and Oh My Ghost (sweet and shy). Yun Sim-Deok comes from a poor family and is the sole breadwinner, due to her father's disability. Her younger siblings are relying on her for their education. Kim Won-Hae is Yoon Suk-Ho. He improves every production in which he appears. The compelling Lee Sang Yeob is reunited with Lee Jong-Suk after doing WYWS together. He plays Kim Hong-Ki, who is rejected by Yun Sim-Deok (like any woman would reject him! That's gotta be the only time). Oh Eui-Sik, who always does a great job, is another player in the troupe.
Does true love take unsparingly or give unsparingly? HoD explores that question. In terms of romance, we view it from a mile up in the air and only get intimate once or twice. Here are two people crushed by society. They were pushed and pushed and pushed. If they had never met, maybe they would have survived, but once they tasted true love, nothing else would ever be good again.
When there is life there is hope. Suicide is not the answer. In the show, My Liberation Notes-8.9, a character talks about those who unsuccessfully attempted jumping to their deaths. Every single survivor said they regretted their decision 3/4 of the way down. Before I went through emotional, physical and financial devastation all these topics were academic and easy for me. Those who easily judge another's pain have not felt excruciating pain. Only faith and my ironclad pre-determined ideal, that taking one's life is never the answer, kept me here. The show doesn't glorify suicide, but it doesn't comdemn it either. What the viewer should reflect on is the pressure and pain that we put on others. Kim Woo-Jin's father exercised complete control at all costs, and he never saw the bill for the ultimate cost coming. We cannot (accurately) judge another's pain, therefore, we should always be gentle with others and only work on controlling ourselves.
HOD has the feel of a BBC production- that's a compliment. It also feels like the recounting of a true story. They don't squeeze every tear from the viewer and they also don't spring anything on the viewer. The pain is tolerable. They are reciting facts even more than dramatizing. I looked it up to verify the truth of the story because of the real-feel. I suspect that they didn't exercise much dramatic license out of respect, as the show is quite respectful of the subject matter. To judge it as a drama alone isn't entirely fair, since the ghosts of the past do possess the atmosphere of the production. All-in-all, HoD is well worth the 3 hour investment for the walk back in time. At this time it is not available for streaming, but it is bound to pop up somewhere.
QUOTE📢
Passionately, I listen to the curses put on my fate. She was the only Safe Haven in my life besieged by the devil. ~11/26/21 Trace of Heart~
〰🖍 IMHO
📣8 📝8.2 🎭8.3 💓6.7 🦋7.3 🌞5 🎨8 ⚡4 🎵/🔊8 😅2 😭6.6 😱3.5 😯6.7 😖2 🤔6 💤0 🔚6
Age 12+ Language - b!+ch × 1
Re-📺? I wouldn't oppose one day down the line
Tie-in shows would be: Romance is a Bonus Book 7.9 (same male lead) ; Oh My Ghost 10 (superb romdramcom, and HoD's FL is a side character) ; Mr. Queen 8.5 (same FL and she's hilarious); Saimdang 8.5 (another true story with a fantasy tie-in to modern day and a similarly less-than-satisfying ending, but an excellent show nonetheless); The King's Affection 8.3 (another person forced into an impossible situation); and Mr. Sunshine 9 (a show about a love affair with one's country that further chronicles Japan's aggression toward Korea).
