Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Descendants Of The Sun





Jumping on the bandwagon before the craze stops. This is by far, one of the most touching dramas that has been aired of late. It has all the element rolled into one: action, romance, comedy, drama. Not to mention good looking cast. There is no doubt that every drama that Song Hye Kyo stars in will become a hit, and all the male leads that star along with her shoots to instant fame. Just to mention a few, Rain, Hyun Bin, Jo In Sung, Lee Byung Hun, Song Seung Hun. This seems to be evident for her co star male lead for Descendants Of The Sun, Song Joong Ki.


No offense to our dearest Song Joong Ki and his massive fan base (oppa saranghae), but this is the first time I heard of his name. It is through Descendants Of The Sun that I come to know of this actor. Why have I not notice him previously? I don't know, since I did not watch the dramas that he starred in previously (which are mostly period dramas and I don't fancy period dramas).


After coming across repetitive promotional ads for this show and a tsunami of fan ravings about Descendants Of The Sun, it piqued my curiosity of this much raved about actor that is recently discharged from National Service. Somehow, it is as though all the stars aligned, KBS World was about to air that show. Lucky me. I didn't have to turn on the mole mode and search tirelessly on the internet for kind souls that share videos of the show. After some homework on google and several entertainment news videos on Song Joong Ki, I finally got my answer to why I have not noticed him before. This is partly due to the fact that he is mostly the extra in most shows that he has acted in previously (based on entertainment news briefing on his past). It is also partly because of his baby face which was a disadvantage to him (most male leads have strong, manly features, thus making them more memorable). Looking at his previous shows prior to his enlistment into the army, he really looked like a kid. Very teenage. Military service has certainly done him good, as we can now see that his appearance has certainly taken several notches up, and he is looking manlier.


 His portrayal of a flirty soldier in this show, with the abilities of James Bond, Superman, Batman, Ironman (all superheros rolled into one), who is at the same time macho, romantic, loyal and capable of everything, in Descendants Of The Sun, it isn't surprising that he has become a global phenomenon, and every woman's dream man. His charisma has wooed the viewers around the world and sent the show's rating sky rocketing.


This drama deserves immense amount of credit. Each genre of the drama is nicely executed. Just the correct dose of everything with tongue in cheek humour.


Synopsis

Descendants Of the Sun tells the story of a group of medical staff that has been dispatched to a war torn country, Uruk on the pretext that they are there to set up the hospital's new project, which is a medical facility for that country/area. The truth was it was a punishment on the team leader, Dr Kang Mo Yeon (Song Hye Kyo) who turn down the hospital director's advances on her. Because she hurt his ego when she refused to sleep with him, he abused his authority and sent her there with hopes that she would come begging for forgiveness . Unfortunately, Mo Yeon is a strong willed woman, so off she goes to the troubled zone.



Medicube in Uruk
                                                 

Captain Yu Si Jin (Song Joong Ki) is a member of the Special Force Team of the Korean Army. He just returned from a mission and was on a day off with his buddy Sergeant Seo Dae Yong (Jin Goo), killing time at an amusement park. There they run into a rascal that stole someone's bag. Being great law abiding citizens, both of them gave chase and managed to catch the thief after he ran into a motorcycle and fractured his limb. While performing rescue medical procedure on the thief, Seo Dae Yong's handphone was picked pocket by that thief . Hence both soldiers went to the hospital where the thief was being sent to, to retrieve Seo Dae Yong's phone. The thief tried to escape from the hospital, and Mo Yeon 'confiscated' his hand phone (which was actually Seo Dae Yong's phone) to prevent him from leaving the hospital. When Si Jin called Dae Yong's number, Mo Yeon saw the caller ID Big Boss and thought that there were the mafia and that the thief was trying to run away from them. Thus leading to the misunderstanding on our cutie captain.


In Uruk, Mo Yeon was reunited with Captain Yu Si Jin (Song Joong Ki), whom she previously mistaken for a mafia due to an episode at the hospital. Both dated briefly but had a fallout in Seoul.



On a movie date. (A very cute photo of both leads.)




She was surprised and a little happy to see him at the tarmac in Uruk, but was disappointed when he walked passed her without acknowledging her.





A series of events took place in Uruk; car driven off cliff, landmines, earthquake, epidemic outbreak, illegal mafia dealings, etc. All of which made our little flirty soldier boy shine brighter than the stars in the sky and become a hero that will always come running to everyone's rescue. Most of the mishaps involve non other than our sweetheart, Kang Mo Yeon.
Their feelings for each other grew deeper with every obstacle that they encounter in Uruk.



Some random shots of the show



Our little flirty soldier boy working out.
 (One of the selling points of the show : Abs)




Sneakily, "driving" her on a date to a place she enquired about when she saw the road sign. (Boyfriend goals : where to find a guy that will whisk you off on a speed boat to a beautiful beach just because you randomly asked what does the sign say and whether it's far?)






Getting himself into trouble because of Mo Yeon 
(Boyfriend Goals: Where can you find a guy who would risk his life end up getting punished because of you?)


So macho


There are many parts of the show that is very touching. The casts portrayal of their  characters and their emotional journey is truly on point. For instance, the relationship between Seo Dae Yong and Yun Myeong Joo, I can't help but feel that their love is so painful and difficult. There are so many obstacles in their way form Myeong Joo's father's disapproval, to their job. 


Spoiler

There has been much speculation on the ending of the show. Hinting that it will be a sad ending. I hope that our darling flirty soldier boy does not die in the end, much to the speculation that he will. 
There is a hint in the MV of the drama's OST- the song by Yoon Mirae - Always (0.07 s) which show our female lead walking pass two tomb stones, perhaps indicating the passing of both soldiers? I certainly hope not. Thou shall NOT die.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE0eV2YR51k


So sad that the drama is coming to an end. Going to miss seeing Yoo Si Jin.

Sunday, April 03, 2016

Mosquito Woes

I don't know why mosquitoes are attracted to me. Recently, Mosquitos have become a nuisance. Their bites are like poison and leave behind scars. If they would just stop picking on me, that would be great. 
            The result of mosquito bite. Sigh. Such an eyesore.