An Addiction to Korean Tv mini series

It took awhile to develop an interest in Korean films, even though they are well organized to promote popular arts.  My son spent 18 months in Korea and that spurred an interest.  Roger Ebert had publicized a few films before.  Before all that I had developed an interest in sub titled movies from Bollywood and eventually many different nations with a little boost from my sister Rebecca.

When Korea hosted the Winter Olympics I was fascinated by the closing ceremonies for the Paralympics.  One musical group with some sort of connection to the disabled community, Bae Hee Gwan Band made an impression.  Even more so when they were joined by a singer Ailee who I assumed was a popular singer of the hit parade variety.  I went looking on YouTube and iTunes with little success, but discovered Ailee sang for the tv serial shows and I quite liked one of her tunes.

The local library provided many subtitled movies from all over the world.  Once you get on Netflix a lot of doors open, but mostly I searched for movies including those from Korea, some of which left a very strong impression. (check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/04/a-slice-of-korean-cinema.html ).  The promo for "Crash Landing on You" got my attention and on an impulse decided to give it a trial.  It had been touted as second top Korean tv series on cable.  My son had shown us a photo of him with one foot in South Korea and the other in North Korea so I was aware of the border tensions.

"Crash Landing on You" left a very strong impression and I watched it a second time and even persuaded some friends to watch it.   Before too many months passed I had actually gone through 6 series.  Mind you I had started one or two that I didn't complete because they seemed too frivolous.  They all had 16 episodes each averaging a little over one hour in length and despite the length I found myself binging  Read more: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/02/crash-landing-on-you-very-addicting.html

I noticed a few patterns.  First they introduced some sort of dilemma and the following episodes piled on with complications and sub plots.  They used a lot of flashbacks which I appreciated as initially you were confronted with occurrences that were mysterious and intriguing.  The flashbacks gave the background and opened up understanding.  They were generous with previews of the next episodes which spurred curiosity.  They blended humor into the stories.  I suspect it was a challenge to fill over 16 hours per series, but they did a good job of time filling as your curiosity was always active.

Sex is relatively pristine, especially compared to some of their movies.  In a few cases you see the leading characters in bed and there are a few allusions to it.  American and Europeans streaming films leave less to the imagination.  Romance is key to their attraction. with very likable would be couples.  Music plays a stronger role than in most American or European series, but not as much as most Bollywood features.  I discovered more songs by Ailee and even discovered more likable tunes, singers and instrumentalists.

A short synopsis of the five additional series for you to decide if any interest you.

"Something in The Rain"  (2018) was watched as it starred the heroine from "Crashing Down on You", Ye-jin Son.  She is not quite the most attractive woman, but she has such a likable personality.  In this series she plays a thirtyish woman who is pursued by her best friend's younger brother, (Hae-In Jung) younger by about ten years.  She also is a supervisor in a chain of coffee shops and gets involved in a sexual harassment case.  It drags on as she has to deal with age and class issues   I learn that Ye-jin is a fitness buff and in one brief segment we can watch her dance).  She has definite ideas about glamour.  She avoids a hair dresser for early morning scenes getting out of bed of which there are a few in this series.  We get a feel for the Korean masculine culture that has been resistant to feminist trends.  They actually play an American song so often it becomes annoying.

"Chocolate" (2019) was promoted for foodies.  Two young children start, with the young boy wanting to take over his mother's restaurant and the girl who eventually does become a world class chef.  The plot is classic misunderstanding with the girl pursuing the childhood aquaintence, but is interrupted by his close friend and then the childhood friend ignores her and she leaves for Greece as she can't handle being too close to someone who can't return her interest.  A lot of circumstances combine to bring the girl back to Korea after the childhood friend becomes a surgeon and eventually after an accident is demoted to the same palliative care facility.  Lots of interesting food, family intrigues and unfortunately a lot of deaths.  A charming couple acted by Ji-won Ha and Yoon Kyesang who had started in a K pop group.  Beautiful song by Ailee.

"Itaewan Class" (2020) is a lot of about class conflict   It has rival restaurants and a love triangle with the viewer rooting for both women.  The hero played by Seo-joon Park is likable, but very stoic. Seo-joon can be seen in the Oscar winner "Parasite."  Nara plays one of the leading ladies.  One character is a transgender who over time wins over a lot of support.  Another is a black man hired because it was assumed he spoke English, but in fact he spoke French. 

"Memories of Alhambra" had the leading man from Crash Landing on You," Hyun Bin playing a very different role as he is not stoical,   Caught Hyun on Youtube singing (very well) the Lady Gage song, "Shallows." The leading lady is played by award winner Shin-hye Park.  I recommended this film to a science fiction lover.  The music conveys a sense of history for Granada and there are impressive scenes in Barcelona as well.  The visual effects are outstanding.  The  romance seems awfully one sided.  Another good song by Ailee.

"Hyena"  with humor well spaced and about lawyers reminded me of "Suits," but I understand there is an actual Korean remake of the popular American series.   Egotistical lawyers, office politics, romance and some social injustice are common elements.  The first episode with quite the twist itself leads up to contrast to the fifteenth that gave me my biggest laughs of the year. The main romance offers a age difference and class contrast.   A few interesting songs over the course of 16 episodes, but I was most intrigued by a clip of a Paganini song which I have been unable to locate.

Ji-Hoon Ju plays the younger lawyer who is attracted to the older female lawyer played by Hye-su Kim.  The bad guy is played by Keong yeong Lee.  Hye-su is a big award winner and has been in two movies I enjoyed,; "The Thieves" and "My 11th Mother." She is even older than the age gap suggested by the script, but she pulls it off very well.

I enjoyed them all, but if you wanted to give them a trial I would recommend "Crash Landing on You" or "Hyena."  If you get kicks out of visual effects, "Memories of Alhambra" would be a good choice, even in comparison to American products.

I have enjoyed a lot of mini series.  I went after "Indian Doctor" at the library, but will have to wait for the final season same with    Two from India both different from the usual Bollywood films I love.  "She" has more sex than is normal, but from a different perspective.  "Sacred Games (I bought the book over a decade ago) starring Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, has both way more sex and even more violence than used to from India.

Mini series have the advantage of more detailed plots and character development, however in danger of boring or distracting elements.   Flashbacks bring new facts or remind you of details you might have forgotten, but too much is annoying.

Another worthy part of my addiction:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/04/heavens-garden-cheonsangui-hwawon.html

2018 Winter Paralympics a triumph for all people

Stephen Hawking died during the Paralympics (March 14, 2018), but left us with some inspiring words he spoke during the 2012 Paralympics Opening Ceremony held in London.  "We are all different there is no such thing as a standard or run of the mill human being, but we share the same human spirit.  Look up at the stars and not down at your feet."  Another quote, "However difficult life may seem there is always something you can do and succeed at"

Hawking was given a devastating diagnosis, as a young man, but he persisted and with modern adaptations was able to give greater understanding to our universe.  Given a chance and modern technology many people have adapted to a wide variety of disabilities.

I watched the Paramerican games when held in Ontario.   Snow and ice  add an increment of difficulty that those who live in northern climates have to make adjustments to (and enjoy).  Maintaining balance under slippery conditions requires skill and initially courage.

The sight of amputated limbs makes one uncomfortable, but one can get used to it.  Prosthetic limbs are becoming more normal.  Mankind has gradually and unevenly accepted  different races, both sexes and even sexual orientation.  The disabled are also humans with untapped potential waiting to make a greater contribution.

To make for a competitive contest requires classifications.   There can be endless discussions about how one amputation is more of a handicap than another, but international authorities have settled on criteria.  Even a sleight disability needs to be given an opportunity.  In some activities the visually impaired are given an opportunity to compete with the aid of guides.  They have categories for standing and sitting skiing.  In the future there are apt to be more classifications and opportunities for everyone to compete.

The American flag bearer, for the Opening Ceremony, Mike Schultz was a champion snowmobile racer until an accident took off one of his legs above the knee.  On a radio interview he recalled walking without a prosthetic device with his daughter and tripping.  He was forced to throw her to a nearby couch, but realized he needed to do more.  He ended up engineering his own prosthetic leg and set up a business.  One of his customers suggested he try snowboarding which he did, becoming a major champion.  He not only made a difficult adjustment for himself, but also for other people making them not only more independent, but also more productive.

The American flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony, Oksana Mastters also has an interesting story. She was born in Ukraine after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and suffered several birth defects that resulted in amputation on both legs and surgery on one of her hands to give her a thumb.  She had been abandoned in an orphanage and was adopted by an American woman who bought her to States.  Oksana got involved in rowing, cycling and later skiing.  She won medals in all sports, but finally got her gold in skiing.

Canadian ambitions always come back to hockey.  The final gold medal game was as exciting as any with the Canadians on top for most of the game, but banging the goal post on an empty net as the Americans desperately tried to tie up the game.  In the losing seconds of regulation time they did tie the game and won in overtime.  It has been hard for Canadians to accept that we aren't always the best in our chosen sport, but it shows our gift to the world

Wondering where the women were scheduled for sledge hockey I learned that there was no program for women, but that the organizing committee had decided to eliminate women and change to a mixed, but apparently no women took part.  Likely this boils down to numbers in that there weren't enough women who were qualified and desired to participate.  Maybe that is not altogether a bad thing, but likely the problem was not that there were enough disabled women, but that there wasn't enough interest.  The Paralympic movement has encouraged many disabled people to get more physically (and socially) active and will undoubtedly with the increasing success of their events the situation will improve for the disabled including more opportunities for women.

The original Olympics were also about the arts.  The Koreans have used their economic success to help spread their culture and have their culture contribute to their success.  For a few years I have enjoyed a few Korean cultural gifts--food, music and movies.   (see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/04/a-slice-of-korean-cinema.html ). The Paralympics brought us all some music and dance.  The deaf have their own interaction games, but the Paralympics gave a platform for some hearing impaired to demonstrate a dance.   Highlighted a performance of Bae Hui Gwan Band which included several members with different forms of disability.  Their leader was invited by major Korean pop star Ailee to take a spotlight and perform a duet.

Adam Hall from New Zealand and Sini Pyy from Finland were celebrated for best exemplifying the Paralympic value and spirit.

The Paralympics isn't just about the athletes, it is for all of us.  You can find old fashioned competitive fun, but you can also find inspiration that you too can overcome difficulties.  I remember a boss who sometimes steered me to view someone severely handicapped and asked me if I had any problems.  It made my problems seem pretty petty.  The Olympic movement for all its critics offers the world a platform to express international goodwill, the pursuit of excellence and a chance to display the humanity of us all.