Marshmallow-Chocoholic
Europe
A “ Backstreet” Away From Ji Chang Wook’s Successful Roles?
In all honesty Backstreet Rookie isn’t an entirely unbearable drama to watch; the story concept ( although based on a webtoon) isn’t anything new from the “ oblivious and good looking” Male lead ( Ji Chang Wook) to the girl with a secret crush ( Kim Yoo Jung) and of course all the overused tropes seen and done before ( idols, bullying and impoverishment to name just several) , however, one of the saving performances of the show was surprisingly offered not through Chang Wook’s performance, but Yoo Jung’s fairly good acting as Jung Saet- Byul. Of course this isn’t to say that Chang Wook is entirely bad here at all. However considering his renowned rep as an actor, it is fair to say that ‘ Backstreet Rookie’ is one of weaker roles to date.
On the other hand, there’s no beating around the bush that Backstreet Rookie’s sense of plot development, characterisation, and “ comical” moments were just poorly- written. In between the cheap budget special effects,
the drama has received mixed controversy for its outdated jokes and comedy moments. Whilst some may not mind this others may easily take offence. This naturally moves us onto the second problem of the drama; the actual story progression behind the “ chemistry” behind main characters of Jung Saet Byul and Choi Dae Hyun. There’s no denying that by sourcing its material from the eponymous webtoon, the drama had pretty much already sealed its fate to be inundated with classic romantic trope cliches(especially between the “ younger” female lead and the “ older” Male lead).
In all honesty, this isn’t actually main concern over this “ age difference” behind the pairing. Instead, it is more how the drama actually presented the two characters; Saet Byul’s “ feelings” for Dae Hyun through physically clinging on to him could verge at times upon harassment ( especially considering that he respectfully had a girlfriend) whilst Dae Hyun’s ignorance for the majority of the drama was fairly unbearable to watch. The cliche of “ obliviousness” is of course a classic trope in most Korean dramas, however, whilst most shows actually present the respected lead being able to soon recognise or misunderstand their own feelings, Dae Hyun’s ignorance became fairly insulting for both his girlfriend and respectfully Saet- Byul.
This isn’t to say that he should’ve given Saet- Byul , a declaration of his love and run into the sunset with her in episode one, however, it did become apparent how these misunderstandings occurred for Dae Hyun’s girlfriend and what may have caused Saet- Byul to act the way she did if Dae Hyun was sending off wrong “ signals”. This naturally led a lot of the actual relevant plot being directed by numerous cliches and the sometimes unbearable toxic behaviour of Dae Hyun’s parents at times in the show ( particularly towards still using physical corporal punishment against Dae Hyun even if it was supposedly “ playful” and his mother’s rude comments towards Saet-Byul also).
Respectfully from an acting perspective , the show is a bit of an odd and mixed bag; Yoo Jung is probably one of the few decent actors in the drama, closely followed probably by Ji Chang Wook and then his fellow costars who could have some lacklustre line deliverances at moments ( particularly Kim Sun Young and Eum Moon Suk). In regards to Ji Chang Wook, it’s fair to say that although Chang Wook wasn’t terrible within his performance and certainly added a level of less glamour in his role as a 30 year old man still living at home, his performance in Backstreet Rookie certainly hasn’t been one of his best and most challenging performances ( in comparison to Healer, K2 or even Suspicious Partner ) either.
Backstreet Rookie’s scriptwriting by Son Geun Joo, channels the bygone era of ‘90s and ‘00s Korean movies and dramas where comedy scenes and setups were often seen as the norm . Sadly Geun Joo seems to lack awareness towards changing attitudes in South-Korea in a show which feels neither nostalgic of old dramas, or retro but old-fashioned, clumpy and questionable in parts. The comedy will evidently differ amongst viewers but nevertheless whilst the romance has a slightly cutesy air to it, ‘ Backstreet Rookie’ is the epitome of “ I’m going to watch during a binge watching season because I’m bored” rather than a long-time commitment.
On the other hand, there’s no beating around the bush that Backstreet Rookie’s sense of plot development, characterisation, and “ comical” moments were just poorly- written. In between the cheap budget special effects,
the drama has received mixed controversy for its outdated jokes and comedy moments. Whilst some may not mind this others may easily take offence. This naturally moves us onto the second problem of the drama; the actual story progression behind the “ chemistry” behind main characters of Jung Saet Byul and Choi Dae Hyun. There’s no denying that by sourcing its material from the eponymous webtoon, the drama had pretty much already sealed its fate to be inundated with classic romantic trope cliches(especially between the “ younger” female lead and the “ older” Male lead).
In all honesty, this isn’t actually main concern over this “ age difference” behind the pairing. Instead, it is more how the drama actually presented the two characters; Saet Byul’s “ feelings” for Dae Hyun through physically clinging on to him could verge at times upon harassment ( especially considering that he respectfully had a girlfriend) whilst Dae Hyun’s ignorance for the majority of the drama was fairly unbearable to watch. The cliche of “ obliviousness” is of course a classic trope in most Korean dramas, however, whilst most shows actually present the respected lead being able to soon recognise or misunderstand their own feelings, Dae Hyun’s ignorance became fairly insulting for both his girlfriend and respectfully Saet- Byul.
This isn’t to say that he should’ve given Saet- Byul , a declaration of his love and run into the sunset with her in episode one, however, it did become apparent how these misunderstandings occurred for Dae Hyun’s girlfriend and what may have caused Saet- Byul to act the way she did if Dae Hyun was sending off wrong “ signals”. This naturally led a lot of the actual relevant plot being directed by numerous cliches and the sometimes unbearable toxic behaviour of Dae Hyun’s parents at times in the show ( particularly towards still using physical corporal punishment against Dae Hyun even if it was supposedly “ playful” and his mother’s rude comments towards Saet-Byul also).
Respectfully from an acting perspective , the show is a bit of an odd and mixed bag; Yoo Jung is probably one of the few decent actors in the drama, closely followed probably by Ji Chang Wook and then his fellow costars who could have some lacklustre line deliverances at moments ( particularly Kim Sun Young and Eum Moon Suk). In regards to Ji Chang Wook, it’s fair to say that although Chang Wook wasn’t terrible within his performance and certainly added a level of less glamour in his role as a 30 year old man still living at home, his performance in Backstreet Rookie certainly hasn’t been one of his best and most challenging performances ( in comparison to Healer, K2 or even Suspicious Partner ) either.
Backstreet Rookie’s scriptwriting by Son Geun Joo, channels the bygone era of ‘90s and ‘00s Korean movies and dramas where comedy scenes and setups were often seen as the norm . Sadly Geun Joo seems to lack awareness towards changing attitudes in South-Korea in a show which feels neither nostalgic of old dramas, or retro but old-fashioned, clumpy and questionable in parts. The comedy will evidently differ amongst viewers but nevertheless whilst the romance has a slightly cutesy air to it, ‘ Backstreet Rookie’ is the epitome of “ I’m going to watch during a binge watching season because I’m bored” rather than a long-time commitment.
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