Sassy Girl Chun Hyang

Waktu tayang : January 3 - March 1, 2005

Waktu menonton : High School

Hal paling berkesan : Classic Hong sisters.

Let me tell you a little bit about the Hong sisters. They are a pair of sister who is a scriptwriter to a lot of really excellent KDrama. Their work include the excellent Sassy Girl Chun Hyang which I'm gonna review now,My Girl, Fantasy Couple, Hong Gil Dong, You're Beautiful, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, and the newest one, The Greatest Love. I watched 5 of them and not only did I like it, I love it. The only one that I won't watch is Hong Gil Dong, because of its sad ending, and I'm gonna watch Fantasy Couple as soon as I have the time.

The Hong Sister become a writer whose work I'm guaranteed to watch. But back then, I didn't know about the Hong Sisters. But I fell in love nonetheless with their debut drama, Sassy Girl Chun Hyang.

You see, after the Full House frenzy, I didn't found any KDrama that I really love, so I am a little bit tired of watching mediocre drama.

And then came Chun Hyang. It is a breath of fresh air, a delight to watch, and it's heartwarming and funny. In short, I was hooked.

It's the story of Chun Hyang and Mong Ryong's love story. Chun Hyang and Mong Ryong is kinda like the Romeo and Juliet of Korea in terms of legendary love story. It is a classic love story that's been filmed over and over again in korea. But Sassy Girl Chun Hyang took a different road. They didn't make a sageuk drama, but a modern drama instead. They took a classic premise and make them modern and entertaining through the writing and setting.

In this drama Chun Hyang (Han Chae Young) and Mong Ryong started out as high school kids. Through a misunderstanding, they ended up forced by their parents to marry. The premise is actually really cliche. Marriage contract or relationship contract is a plot that has been rehashed over and over again on kdrama. But just as the case with My Name is Kim Sam Soon, if the writing and directing is excellent, then the cliche plot will still feel fresh even without new premise.

Their love story took them through high school, college, and then real life as they went through trials and tribulations in the form of love rivals. There's the two love rivals as usual, and then there's money problems. One thing I don't really like about this drama is the evil love rivals. They're really evil, and I hate that part in a drama. But seeing as it only follows the original story, I can look past that a bit.

What I love most about this drama is the vibe. It feels down to earth and heartwarming. I like the cute romance too, but the romance kinda felt flat sometimes. It's too cute and not enough hotness. And the kiss, urghhh. No sizzling romance there. Han Chae Young basically just sit there like a doll. I like it, but not loving it.

I love the pop culture reference. There's a parody of Full House and some other dramas I didn't catch. These pop culture reference will be a staple in subsequent Hong sisters productions, but this is the first one and it's really fresh.

Not enough hotness aside, I enjoy the drama very much. So much in fact, that I rewatched it four times. I watch this drama first on the TV, and the on VCD, and then twice on DVD. It's a cute and well written drama. The romance is cute too, but maybe just not enough hotness. This is the start of the succesfull Hong Sisters streak, and worth watching for that reason alone.