In Case You Missed It: Korean Dramas from 2006

Life can be hectic. New dramas come out every month and there doesn't seem to be enough time to watch them all (Curse you real life!). Along the way there's bound to be a drama or two that are lost and forgotten, alone on the sidelines of drama viewing, shivering and cold. These series, though they may be old or less sparkly than others, deserve our attention just as much, or perhaps even more because they are helpless and alone and shivering and cold. It's our duty, then, as drama fans to go back and revive them. To watch them if we've never watched them before. To remember them if we already have. It's time for us to cue the Back to the Future theme and travel into the past! 

Today's focus is on series that came out all the way back in 2006 when Pluto was still a planet (at least until August). 






Before Dream High there was Over the Rainbow, a realistic (well, as realistic as life can get in a drama) look at the life and struggles of four overly-pretty young people who want to become celebrities. While Dream High has its dark moments, it feels a lot brighter than Over the Rainbow. This may be because it's picture quality is better, but I'd like to think it's more than just that. Still, Over the Rainbow is fun and it throws a few curve balls at you along the way.

What's About?: Let's face it, not everyone has what it takes to be a star. It takes hard work, skill, and, most importantly, talent. Hyeok Ju (Ji Hyun Woo), a former gangster turned dancer, wants nothing more than to keep dancing, but life gets in the way and he finds himself becoming a singer for all the wrong reasons. The girl he fell in love with, Hee Soo (Kim Ok Bin), wants to be a singer more than breathing, but is only good at dancing. This doesn't stop her, though. She's determined to sing on stage and will do anything, including use Rex (Hwan Hee), a man with more talent than the rest of the cast combined. That may be an exaggeration, but I can't really tell right now, so I'm going to go with it. Unfortunately for Rex, he's trapped in a contract at a company that tries to control his every move and he feels like he's suffocating. Added to this mix is the sweet yet sassy Sang Mi (Seo Ji Hye) who has no talent for either dancing or singing, but wants to have a better life for herself. The drama follows the four of them as they struggle both separately and together to find their place both in and out of the spotlight. Granted, the series starts two episodes too soon, so the beginning is pretty slow, but once Sang Mi is introduced in the third episode, everything gets much more interesting.

Why Should You Care?: Because it's a fun ride that doesn't give you exactly what you expect.

What Should You Expect?: Dancing, singing, longing glances while dancing, being distracted while singing, love triangles, newer better love triangles, betrayal, broken hearts, New Zealand, road trips, and sand. I hate sand, but I love the rest.






This drama is full of cheese. Not, like, cheddar cheese, but emotional cheese, and for that it's amazing. It asks the question: "What makes a family: blood or affection?" so you know that there's going to be a truck load of heartwarming contained in these sixteen-hour long episodes. Throughout the series we see a group of strangers who don't like each other slowly becoming a real family and that is what makes this series freaking awesome. It may be cheese, but it's good cheese. If you have a heart and working tear ducts, expect to cry. A lot.

What's About?: It's kind of hard to believe this series is a light hearted family drama when it first starts. In the span of the first couple episodes, little Na-Rim's entire family dies, she loses her memory (which she needs to identify the person who is responsible for her family's death), and gets a whole new fake family to help her remember (it tried to make sense, so I went with it). The man who is hired to get this fake family together is a thug named Dal Gun (Kim Myung Min) whose job in his organization is to get money owed to them. A vast majority of the people he hires to be this family are people that owe money, thus we get a rag-tag group of people who don't match each other at all. Each one has their own story which is addressed over the course of the series as the group slowly becomes the family they all desperately needed. There is romance, of course, and while it's incredibly cute, the star of the show is the whole family.

Why Should You Care?: Because you're a human being.

What Should You Expect?: Cheese, fake incest, family, old people dancing, dumplings, the funniest beach chase ever, teddy bears with super secret information, and to cry a lot. Seriously, just talking about the series makes me want to watch it again.






I love the Hong Sisters. They are my absolute favorite when it comes to drama writing, so I had to include this series even if it's not as overlooked as some of the others. There might be one person out there who hasn't watched it and is willing to give it a try, so this section is for you, One Person!! Granted, while this isn't the Hong Sisters' best drama series, it still has a great deal of what makes their stories great: humor and well executed drama. The pacing is good, the songs are catchy, and Oh Ji Ho takes his shirt off. What more could you want?!

What's About?: If you've ever seen the movie Overboard with Goldie Hawn, you know what its about. If that's before your time, you're making me feel old, but I'll humor you anyway. Basically, a rich woman gets amnesia and is taken in by a man and his three kids. In the movie the kids are the man's sons, in the drama they're his nephews. The woman, Jo Anna (Han Ye Seul), and the man, Chul Soo (Oh Ji Ho), didn't get along when she knew who she was and that doesn't change much when she doesn't. There was a cat and a car chase, and they ended up not liking each other. When she loses her memory, Chul Soo takes her in, and over the course of the series the two of them grow to care about each other. Her husband (Kim Sung Min), because she has one, is initially happy she's gone, but that eventually changes, and drama ensues. 

Why Should You Care?: Because it's the freaking Hong Sisters.

What Should You Expect?: Amnesia, white fuzzy kitties, previous loves coming back to cause problems, children being children, lots of skin, a funny side romance, Oh Ji Ho being sexy, random English, and great writing.

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So concludes this journey into the past of dramas, but don't worry, I'm not done! Wherever there is a drama that is lost and forgotten, I'll be there to make sure it gets its day in the limelight! Like some strange drama loving and not nearly as cool Batman! Make sure to keep your eyes out for the next "In Case You Missed It" article!