Winter sonata

Staying up to finish a book or a film/drama can be an exhausting business, especially when one has to get up early for work five days a week as well as other business to attend to. After a few days like this, eye bags will appear/deepen, acnes show up, and one might even find it difficult to concentrate at work.

But then whenever this happens, it is also the moment when I feel exceedingly happy - for the fortune of coming across such a captivating work, be it a philosophical/painful reflection on life, or purely for its entertainment value.

I have had many such moments in life, and the most recent ones come from a surprise source (for me), that of Korean dramas. In my new and limited exposure to this genre (yes, they one of a kind), my favourites are:

My Lovely Sam Soon
Winter Sonata
My Girl
Full House

I should point out that in my eyes, none can compare to My Lovely Sam Soon - in its scripts, comic value and great performance from all sides.

End of an era

I cannot remember when was the last time I watched a television drama for more than twice. When I watched My Girl for the third time, it felt as if I was on drug. Yet here I was, still laughing with the characters and feeling their agony at the fifth viewing.

It has never though been just the humour, jokes or the fact Samsi would always get punished by a woman one way or the other whenever he misbehaved. For me, it was a healing process: the way love or longing seemed to daunt at us so unpredictably; the pain that came with having to break away from an attachment in order to win a new love; the memory that haunts us after the break up... Memories kept flashing back while watching and digesting what the protagonists were going through. It was almost like re-experiencing the two years when my life was turned upside down.

Last Sunday, I returned the DVDs to its owner. Now that I am parted with My Lovely Sam Soon, it is like the old injuries have finally been healed, and I am ready to move ahead.