GMMTV 2024 Up & Above (Part 1)
"Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you." — Misty Copeland
Hello Readers,
This article is about friendships, BFFs, promises made & special bonds shared between friends, as portrayed in some Asian dramas. Friendship is not just you being comfortable with a person, who's your friend, but, doing crazy things and creating memories worth remembering, and being there, staying with them, when others have left.
Here are some dramas with special friendships, that we found worth mentioning:
This is a drama all about friendships, revolving around Lu Ke and Shen Si Yi, who had a very close friendship in High School but had a falling out and lost contact. Awkwardly, they both now work for the same magazine they were obsessed with as teenagers and have to make up to keep their jobs. There are also new close friends, that cause friction, a strange friendship jealousy between the two, and romantic partners and their friends. This drama showed how complicated friendships can be, having instances where friends have to set boundaries, even though they know each other so well and sometimes fighting with your closest friends can be more difficult and painful than arguments with your partner. This friendship is so close, that many viewers assumed this would be some sort of hidden GL drama. The poster surely gave this impression as well. I cannot entirely refute that there were some short moments, where Shen Si Yi seemed to have a one-sided crush, but overall it very much reminded me of the friendship I have with my two BFFs, who are really more like sisters, including all the closeness, jealousy and bickering. |  
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Well, this one's my favourite costume drama so far. The way this drama portrayed human relationships, be it mother-son, grandpa-grandson, or friendships, is simply amazing. This drama is like a window, through which we peep into the lives of people struggling to achieve power, people struggling under power & some just struggling to survive under power. Palace life is not as happy as one might think. It has its own challenges and adversities. The one thing that is important for survivability in such circumstances is building relationships, be it with a superior, someone powerful that gets one through the numerous shenanigans going around or special bonds (which are sometimes worth more than blood relations) like friendships. One such relationship was between palace maid Seong Deok Im & court ladies: Young Hee, Bok Yeon & Kyung Hee. Friendship. Roaming around all day, going on trips and being with someone in happiness is one thing, but what actually matters is the behaviour of the person when the other faces adversities. They used to gossip under the trees, roast chestnuts together, go out on palace holidays, and take time to have fun, but they also helped each other when needed. When Kyung Hee was kidnapped along with some court ladies, what Deok Im did was something to be praised. Without worrying about her own safety, even though she had the assurance of the King, she took the matter into her own hands and did everything she could to save her friend's life. A true friend is someone who stays when others have left. And this drama presents ample such situations between Deok Im & her friends. Another friendship worth mentioning is that of the crown prince & Deok Ro. This one's special in its own way. The crown prince considered Deok Ro as his friend ever since childhood, which he reciprocated to some extent, but when greed overpowers a human, human emotions and honesty become blurry. That's exactly what happened to Deok Ro. We see the Crown prince (who later becomes the king) helping him numerous times, at times even sidelining his faults, hoping that someday his friend may choose to be on the right path, but that day never really came. Greed only leads to more greed & there's no end to it. I said their friendship was special & it was for a reason, as it gave us important life lessons. There were moments when Deok Ro actually cared about the crown prince and did help him ( that's why it gets a mention here) but sometimes things are just meant to go the wrong way. Sometimes mistakes lead to unpredictable & unpleasant outcomes, but that is just part of the parcel, that is life. |      |
When thinking of this drama, everyone thinks of the Noona romance, which is honestly why I started watching too. But what really stuck in my mind was the friendship between the three very different women, who all have to, ahem, find themselves. He Fan Xing has to grow up in the sense that she is very dependent on her parents and on the opinion of society as a whole, so much so, that she is paralyzed in a perpetual state of youth and does nothing without destiny pushing her into it. Song Xue is someone who lives her life only for herself and makes all the rules of it herself, sometimes coordinating with her husband, sometimes not, but never compromising. Yang Xiao Yu has lived the life that is expected of her, getting married to her college boyfriend and having a child. These friends have known each other since High School, and even He Fan Xing's brother is part of their group. I loved the portrayal of genuine connections and the chaos that comes with having friendships. What I loved about this friendship especially is that they support each other unconditionally, despite how different they are and do not laud their own choices as the best. Friendships go beyond having things in common, often best friends are very different, and they have qualities that can inspire us to learn and grow. |   |
In this drama, the friendship that stayed in my memory is actually between two side characters. Namely, the mothers of the main leads, Zhou Yi Lan (Rou Xin's mother) and Du Li Ting (Qi Xiao's mother). One of them is a clumsy, but very warm mom, and the other is a very strict and stern mom. Incidentally, they go on the same “Elders on Tour” type trip and through the sheer determination of Du Li Ting to get through Zhou Yi Lan's defensive walls, they become friends. To me, all their exchanges were hilarious and profound in turn, and very much reminded me of a friendship I have, where the “The Grump and the Sunshine” trope plays out beautifully. In the end, they have very different worldviews and they enrich each other. I also love the idea of meeting a new friend later in life. | 
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We get to see two special friendships in this drama, Shin Hari-Jin Yong Seo & Kang Tae Mu-Cha Sung Hun. Hari and Yong Seo. Hari and Yong Seo are best buddies and partners in crime. Be it scaring away Yong Seo's suitors or doing crazy stuff, these gals stick together. It's cute when we get to see how Yong Seo calls Hari's mother as eomoni and her eomma treats Yong Seo as her own. It says a lot about how deep-rooted their friendship was. Not just together on the happy and glittery side, but these girls have got each other's back when the need be. Their friendship is one of the cutest, there can ever be. Kang Tae Mu and Cha Sung Hun, though boss and secretary by profession are actually quite close. Why they get a mention here is because their relationship looks a lot like friendship. Turns out that helping Tae Mu in office is not everything Secretary Cha does. These grown-ups play Kai-Bai-Bo, at times have meals together and also support each other emotionally. I found it cute how Sun Hun cried about missing Yong Seo in front of Tae Mu (which he cunningly recorded). Sung Hun trying to avoid Yong Seo because of her tangled history with Tae Mu tells us how much he cared for him, though he gave in to his feelings in the end because the feeling was mutual. I found him getting scared by Tae Mu's glare on being caught red-handed with Yong Seo really cute. It's such a cute and humorous drama :) |    |
I can't imagine an article about friendships, without the mention of this amazing slice-of-life drama, Reply 1988. It presents the story of 5 kids Sung Deok Sun, Choi Taek, Sung Sun Woo, Kim Jung Hwan & Ryu Dong Ryong of the Ssangmundong neighbourhood, in their years of adolescence, simple yet complex and filled with nostalgia. This drama has a perfect balance of humour and seriousness. This drama leaves the viewer with a feeling of having watched an amazing show that'd stay with you (especially for the 90s generation). What I found so great about the show was the beautiful portrayal of the core value of Friendship, which I believe reminded many of us of the good old days, and made others understand what true friendship looks like. It's not just about the friendship of the kids but also the ajumas of the Ssangmundong neighbourhood, (Ra Mi Ran, Kim Sun Yong, Lee IL Hwa) be it exchanging dishes at supper, eating out together, helping each other, going out of your way for the other person. I am sure this drama teaches a lot of values, without ever losing the humorous touch that it has. This drama had me giggling all along, at times falling down the couch laughing but again, moments that make you cry, it's an emotion. It's amazing to see how each of them took care of the other, be it taking care of Choi Taek, simple things like tying his shoelaces, Jung Hwan & Choi Taek sacrificing their first love for friendship's sake, bringing Dong Ryong back when he ran away from home, helping him after the motorbike accident and when he was bleeding during the soccer game :D. Basically, they were always there for each other. After all, adolescence is all about making friends, committing mistakes, learning from them and making memories. |      |
F4 Thailand: Boys over flowers Friendship is my favourite part of the drama. The friendship that the f4 had was kind of special. They fought, be at the shit out of each other, but when the time came, they always had each other's back. I loved how dedicated MJ was, to keeping the group together. How patient, helpful and sacrificing Ren was, not just to Thyme, but to Mira as well. Not a fan of Kevin, coz he was pretty much on neutral grounds mostly (in the initial half when they had a fight), but we see a glimpse of his way of reciprocating, when he signed the deal (without having any second thoughts), as per Thyme's modified business model, to help him out. There's a scene when Thyme and Gorya have a fight and Ren plots something to make them realize their liking for each other and ends up making Thyme furious. Following this, the boys have a fight in the school stadium. It was hilarious watching a fight between the two of them, eventually getting all four of them involved, fighting each other, cursing & somehow they ended up solving all their grudges. I am sure that must've left the viewers smiling. No matter how much they fight, friends stick together and that's what makes them irreplaceable. Kanning is a sweet and lovely girl. She was an understanding friend to Gorya. This drama gives us a glimpse of what true friendship means, and how important it is for us to help each other and grow together, coz an eye for an eye will eventually make the whole world blind. |    |
| When I Fly Towards You This is a brilliant drama filled with cuteness, friendships and a cheerful plot. As may be expected from a drama belonging to this genre, this drama has quarrels, lots of high-school stuff/ jealousy, competitions, hardships, exams, but most importantly heartwarming friendships. That late-night fun, picnics & camping together to being punished, this drama has it all. The five friends hanging out, and having fun, probably gave all of us nostalgia. The best part was that the plot included their life as grown-ups, again covering quite a few slice-of-life topics, which made it more realistic. We see the famous proverb "A friend in need is a friend indeed", come to life in this drama. When Zai Zai was falsely accused, we see her friends try their best, leaving no stone unturned, to help her. When Gu Ran was alone, it was those friends who took care of him, and cheered him up. This drama has a plethora of examples. They may tease each other and do all kinds of weird things and even after all sorts of shenanigans, when need be, friends stick together. |   |
| Hidden Love This drama is special because it gives us the beautiful friendship between Duan Jia Xu and Sang Yan. Their friendship is one that has numerous shades to it, and with time, it eventually grows stronger. Sand Ya, a boy from a happy and affluent family & Jia Xu, the exact opposite of him, end up being friends. They play video games, study & enjoy lots of good food together. They are like the best buddies. Little did they know of how their destiny would get intertwined in a way they never imagined. After Duan Jia Xu and Sang Zhi get together, we see a major development in their friendship. From just two people who happened to be best buddies, they started sharing emotions and feelings with each other. My personal favourite scene is when they fight off and cool the tension between them as Sang Yan becomes aware of Jia Xu's relationship with his sister & the sequence that follows, i.e., them showing off their newfound love in front of Zhi Zhi's Ge. It's just fantastic to witness their friendship evolve. It's a beautiful drama, with lots of warmth. There is friendship, love, heartbreak, tragedy, comedy and many shenanigans. |    |
This drama is unique in terms of a number of aspects. Lots of seriousness is expected from a drama belonging to the medical genre, but this drama presents a beautiful story of friendship among five doctors, friends since med school, who share a love for music. There are numerous aspects of friendship portrayed in the series, ranging from friendships among colleagues to childhood friendships so deep that friends don't hesitate to donate organs to save each other's life. Chae Song Hwa, my favourite character in the series, is nicknamed 'ghost' by her juniors, because of her amazing time management skills. She is friendly with her juniors, helping them with their thesis, and hanging out like friends. Being in the same profession, I couldn't relate more to it. I mean, we all need seniors like Dr. Chae. Worth mentioning is the unique relationship between Dr. Kim Jun Wan & CS Resident Dr. Jae Hak. It's particularly special because of the difference in their status, a chief surgeon and a CS resident. Friendship doesn't see boundaries or status & we get a glimpse of it from a friendship between a doctor and a hospital worker (Lee Ik Jun serving sausages at the canteen, on request of the canteen lady, how can we forget that). Age is just a number, for this bunch of friends. Being busy day and night at the hospital, working hard, performing surgeries, and saving lives, they still take time out for their passion, music. Nothing hampers their band practice, not even a *tone-deaf* Seong Hwa. They fight over the stupidest things, like cookies (Lee Ik Jun & Kim Jun Wan are unbelievable), and tease each other in the meanest ways (like Kim Jun Wan buying foodstuffs for all nursing staff in his department on Ik Jun's card). But, when need be, friends stick together. I loved how each one of the guy friends went to ask Song Hwa about her tumour scan results & when Ik Jun was undergoing treatment, and how all of them offered to stay the night, demonstrating how much they cared for each other. This article will be incomplete without mentioning the friendship between Dr. Chu Chu & Dr. Gyeol, giving a message that colleagues are not always rivals, they can be good friends too, sharing each other's joys and sorrows. |       |
Leave us your favourite friendships in Dramaland in the comments section below!
Edited by: BrightestStar (1st editor)
