Descendants of the Sun

2016 was a good year for Korean Dramas. This also came out the same year as Goblin albeit a little earlier--February-April 2016 to be exact.

I was a bit wary when this was suggested to me as I'm not a fan of military themed movies or series. But when I saw that the writer is the same as Goblin, I started watching it.

The series has the Song-Song couple as its main stars -- Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-ko. They were famously known to have gotten married October last year bringing the KDrama fandom into a tizzy. I remember asking why their marriage announcements sounded so apologetic. Apparently, they're very sensitive about bashers or those who do not agree to their pairing. Nevertheless, I was happy for them as apparently, theirs was sort of a secret relationship even if they have people shipping for them due to their chemistry in this drama series.

Joong-ki (who I belatedly realized was also in another movie called A Frozen Flower but he was quite young then) played Captain Si Jin, while Hye-ko was Dr. Mo-yeon. They had an accidental first meeting at a hospital and their attraction (or probably the persistence of Si Jin) lead them to start dating only to break-up because of their "schedule" and different expectations.

I was impressed with the opening sequence where Captain Si Jin (aka Big Boss) was in a fight with North Korean soldiers. I first thought that he's too pretty to be considered a soldier but when he had a topless scene, I reconsidered my opinion.

The second lead stars, Jin Goo as Master Sergeant Seo Dae-young, the best friend of  Captain Big Boss and Kim Ji-won as First Lieutenant Yoon Myung-ju, the (ex) girlfriend of Dae-young. Her father happens to be a general who the two soldiers reports to.

Throughout the drama, there was thing which I uncomfortably recognized, getting foreign actors to play foreigners can iffy. Since there were scenes which were shot abroad, Greece specifically, I understand that they had to get locals to act as "locals".

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT

The Song-Song Couple
I now got it why people are shipping them and were ecstatic when they got married. I saw their chemistry here and I found them such a beautiful couple.

I remember they had a kissing scene at the back of a truck. I was wondering how that must've felt considering they bouncing along rough country roads. That must've not felt romantic at all.

The OST
I've been watching Kdramas already for 3 months and by far, this drama has the best OST of them all. The songs are so catchy and You Are My Everything was the first Korean song that I "memorized". I had to put it on repeat and read the romanized version of the lyrics so I can at least "sing" to it.


The Conflict of Ideals
Though the job of a soldier and a doctor meant saving lives, their methods of doing so lead to conflict. A doctor saves lives regardless of race, religion, or nationality. However, a soldier has to put his country and her people and would die to protect them.

I remember this poignant scene where Dr. Mo-yeon wanted to operate on a foreign official as by not doing so, he will die. However, if he dies during the operation, Korea will be blamed and that would lead to an uncomfortable relationship between the two countries.

Capt. Si jin had been ordered not to interfere as if the official dies, at least Korea will have nothing to do with it. But Dr. Mo-yeon was stubborn enough to insist that she can help. Si jin then said something which lead to stand off between the official's guards and the soldiers, "You do your job, the doctor will save her patient, and I will protect what I have to." Of course, he was reprimanded and disciplined afterwards but the dignitary survived.

The Earthquake Story Arc
This was the part that struck me the most. They managed to capture what really happens at ground zero which is so different than what you see on TV--the chaos, the injuries and death. It was literally in your face. The reactions portrayed by the actors were spot on. Some would spring into action while some will just be shell-shocked.
There was also a scene there that highlighted one of the worst decisions that a doctor can make--deciding who lives and who dies. Dr. Mo-yeon was crying the whole time that she had to make her judgment and I cried along with her. I'm not a doctor so I'm not sure if she could even make that call. But for all intents of purposes called by the situation, she did what she had to do.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT (Possible Spoilers)

The Last Few Episodes
There were too many things that happened in the series and the last part was just too much already, in my opinion. They already survived a damn earthquake and that itself was the best part of the drama already. Why did they have to make the important people go missing? I felt that it was no longer needed or maybe they just added it to give people more reason to cry.

RATING
I give this three tissue boxes. Actually was tempted to give this a rating of 2 tissue boxes but the OST saved it for me.
Edit 8/4/21 - changing the rating to four tissue boxes. It somehow grew on me when I rewatched it. 

Watched: June 12-15, 2018

Goblin (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God)

The first Korean drama series that I watched and the one that got me hooked into this. It came out on December 2016 and ran until January 2017. It stars Gong Yoo as the title character, Kim Shin, together with Kim Go-eun (as Ji Eun-tak), Lee Dong-wook (as the Grim Reaper/Wang Yeo) and Yoo In-na (as Sunny or Kim Sun).

Kim Shin was once a warrior who was killed and as recognition for his unjust death, was cursed/blessed to live an immortal life and be a goblin--a god who protects souls. His existence can only be ended when he finds his bride.  Eun-tak is a girl who has lead a harsh life and summoned the goblin by accident and falling in love with him in the process.

The other main cast has their own love story to share and it's as heart-breaking as that of Kim Shin and Eun-tak's.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT (Possible Spoilers for those who have not watched it)

Gong Yoo

Grip Reaper and Goblin

I was never attracted to any Oppa. Even when one Oppa after the other visited the Philippines, I never gave them a second glance. However, seeing him act with his expressive face and eyes, I can't help but succumb to his charms and eventually fall in love with him.

I first knew about him in Train to Busan. I wanted to watch it when it first came out but I was pregnant then so I delayed watching it. My colleague at work starting telling me about him when she saw him in Goblin. It was because of that that I found myself watching it as well.

He can sing too! He did not lend his vocals in any of the songs in the OST but I managed to listen to some of his songs. His voice is so cool and soothing and made me want to learn Korean more!

Lee Dong-wook

He was perfect as the Grim Reaper and his back story with Sunny was as heartbreaking. I love his bromance with the Goblin. I always look forward to any of their interactions and scenes. Though they profess their dislike for each other, they end up watching over each other.

The story

There's a saying that nothing worth comes easy. The love stories in this series were definitely not easy. But seeing them overcome all odds made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  I cried so much in the four days that I was stuck in my chair watching this. The writer, Kim Eun-sook is indeed talented to be able to come up with a story that intertwined so many lives and with lines (even if translated) that can skewer a cold heart. I'm so amazed how it managed to really hook me until the end.

I guess what really got to me was the premise of someone living an immortal life and looking for the person who can end it, only to fall in love with that person in the process. And when he tried to extend his life because he wanted to spend more time with her, she started getting into accidents because she has no reason to live if her purpose cannot be fulfilled.

Grim Reaper and Sunny's story is more tragic as it involved their past lives. I'm happy how it was resolved at the end but I still have some concerns with Shin and Eun-Tak's story. What would happen to the goblin when Eun-Tak finishes all her 4 lives? 

The OST

This was a surprise. Considering that I don't understand Korean, I was expecting that I will not appreciate the music but I felt otherwise. I guess music will always be universal--like love. Even if you don't understand the lyrics, the melody can become an earworm.

There were several songs that I like: 

- The opening theme, Round and Round by Heize and Han Soo-ji. Though it reminded me a bit of Evanescene, the song captured the mystery and fantasy of the drama.

- Beautiful by Crush. It was played during poignant scenes involving the two main leads. 

- Who are You by Sam Kim. Whenever the chorus is sung, I could see in my mind, Eun-tak running towards the goblin.

- Stay with Me by Chanyeol (EXO), Punch. The result of the collaboration of the aforementioned artists is just beautiful. Now if I can speak Korean so I can sing of the parts that I like.

Fashion

I don't consider myself a fashionista. I have a basic fashion sense but nothing that would warrant me a place in Project Runway. However, I was entranced by the winter attire, especially that of the male leads. They look oh so cool and dashing--especially when they were wearing those long coats. I heard that those coats were sold out after they wore it in the series.

The Poetry

The poem above was read by the Goblin when he realized how much he has grown to love Eun-tak. I'm not sure if the translation did justice to the original poem.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT

Some say that the ending can be left as is. But I really wanted to find out what would happen to the goblin when Eun-tak's lives run out. Also, will his wife keep on getting into accidents if she postpones killing him? Will she have a different purpose when she's reborn? After all, the purpose of the goblin bride is to kill the goblin.

There was a time that I felt uncomfortable of the age gap of the two leads. She's a 17-year old high schooler (although in real life, she's older than that. But thanks to their inherent good skin, she really can pass herself off as a teenager) while the guy is in his late 30's (well, technically, he's more than 900 years old). But I managed to ignore it when they did not make any mention of it in the series which was a big relief. Other writers would've made it a source of contention between the leads, for sure.

RATING

I rate my dramas with the amount of tissue that I have consumed while watching the series. 

Five Tissue Boxes - Awesome! Exemplary! More! More! Standing ovation! Finished a whole tissue box from all the crying! 

Four Tissue Boxes - Great! Good job! But something missing.

Three Tissue Boxes - Ok. Not great but just ok.

Two Tissue Boxes - Not ok but not bad either. The disadvantages outweighs the redeeming factor.

One Tissue Box - Meh.

Since this was my first, I felt that the next ones really paled into comparison (except for Moon Embracing the Sun). So I give this five tissue boxes!

Watched: June 7-10, 2018