After 50 episodes, at last I’ve completed another drama. Since I enjoyed Unexpected You so much, I decided to
take the plunge with another family drama, length and all. By “family drama” I
mean one that centers on a family, not one that’s geared toward a family
audience. These dramas generally aren’t made for children, though by our
standards they’re probably pretty tame.
The reason I chose this one is because I had been curious about it for some time. The first thing I ever saw of this drama was the graphic to the right. Notice anything unusual about it? Perhaps the fact that one of the people in that photo isn’t Korean? Yes, I was curious to see how this drama treated the issue of white foreigners in Korea, and that poster suggested that one of the daughters in the family was in an interracial relationship. Being a nationalist, this is the type of thing that piques my interest. Would they promote it? Discourage it? Be indifferent to it? My curiosity made me decide that it was time to give this drama a viewing, even if the possibility of me being stuck watching 50 episodes of a drama I didn’t particularly like existed.
Plot
The Goong family has four children, each of whom has the same name as a gem. The first two are daughters Bi-Chwi (Jade) and Ru-Bi (Ruby). Bi-Chwi is an aspiring drama writer, and is generally very sensible and mature. Ru-Bi works as a nurse, and is a bit of a gold-digger. At the beginning of the series, she’s engaged to a doctor at the hospital where she works. Following them are sons San-Ho (Coral) and Ho-Bak (Amber). San-Ho is studying to be a diplomat and like Bi-Chwi, is very level-headed and mature. Ho-Bak, a high school student, is more like Ru-Bi, not above doing underhanded things for personal gain.
All four children are generally responsible and intelligent, but their parents are another story. Both of them frustrate their children by making foolish decisions that cause hardship for the family. The mother frequently spends money they don’t have on frivolous things, and early in the series, the father reveals that he has a one-year-old son who was the product of an illicit affair.
Eventually, the children decide they’ve had enough, and after a long airing of grievances, they kick the parents out of the house. The two grandmothers who live nearby allow the parents to stay with them, while the kids run the house on their own.
Also joining the family are two boarders. There’s white American Kyle, who speaks fluent Korean thanks to his Korean stepmother. Kyle comes from a wealthy family, but he gave it all up to pursue his calling as a Buddhist monk.
The other boarder is Yeong-Gook, the son of the wealthy Seo family. His home is a mansion, where he lives with his stern but loving father, his harried mother and his rebellious teenage sister Ggeut-soon, who’s a constant source of frustration for the parents. Yeong-Gook’s father is a self-made success, and he attributes it to the fact that he grew up poor and had to struggle for everything. He wants his son to understand that struggle as well, because he believes that self-reliance will make him stronger. When Yeong-Gook moves in with the Goong family, he doesn’t reveal that he’s from a rich family, and they constantly wonder why this guy who would appear to be poor seems so knowledgeable and well-mannered.
As you can imagine in a drama with so many characters, there are many story threads that go off in various directions and intersect in different ways too. Can all these threads be brought to a suitable conclusion in just 50 episodes??
Writing and Acting
The writing isn’t going to be a source of complaint for me, as I thought it was generally pretty good. It was funny, the main characters were interesting in their own ways, and they did a good job tying the storylines together. There were some threads that were left hanging, but I guess that’s often to be expected.
As for the acting, I’m going to be frank here. The acting in this drama was not one of its finer points. Not that the acting in these dramas is generally award-worthy, and I doubt most people who watch them expect it, but still…if you’re looking for standout performances, you won’t find them unless you stick it out toward the end. Near the end, Ggeut-soon had to deal with some heavy moments, and the actress who played her really poured her all into it. At those moments, she managed to move me. Other than that though, the acting was average-to-below-average.
In the case of Kyle, I read that the guy who played him had no previous acting experience, that he was just an expat who’d been living in Korea for many years and could speak the language fluently. All I can say about his lack of experience is that it showed. I’m not bashing him, since acting is harder than it looks. I kind of feel bad that he was thrust into such a difficult task so early in his acting career.
Music
Here are the songs I could identify:
김종욱 – 보석같은 사랑
비 – 9월 12일
Susan Jacks – Evergreen
아리 – 보석 비빔밥
Bus Stop & Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
조라조 – 슈퍼맨
심수봉 – 그때 그사람
자우림 – 일탈
Beth Nielsen Chapman – All I Have
소양강처녀
My Darling Clementine
Jens Lysdal – Queen of Wasting Time
KCM – 말해줘요
Instrumental of “L-O-V-E”
Instrumental of “The Power of Love”
Edith Piaf – Non, Je Regrette Rien
설운도 – 장미같은 여자
설운도 – 사랑의 트위스트
간종욱 – 보석같은 너
Michael Jackson – Heal the World
Lady Gaga – Alejandro
Barbra Streisand – The Way We Were
James Ingram & Linda Ronstadt – Somewhere Out There
박상훈 – A Song For Luka
Brown-Eyed Girls – Abracadabra
“White Christmas”
김수희 – 못잊겠어요
“Jingle Bells”
“O Holy Night”
혜은이 – 진짜 진짜 좋아해
남진 – 님과 함께
“We Wish You a Merry Christmas”
간종욱 – 내 여자입니다
Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas is You
안치환 – 사람이 꽃보다 아름다워
“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” theme
Survivor – Eye of the Tiger
사월과 오월 – 장미
조하문 – 이밤을 다시한번
강은철 – 삼포로 가는 길
KARA – Mr.
Britney Spears – Santa Can You Hear Me?
윤수일 – 아파트
Smokey Robinson – Being With You (cover?)
Dan Fogelberg – Longer (female cover)
심신 – 오직 하나뿐인 그대
박미경 – 그림자
Jennifer Lopez – Jenny From the Block
문주란 – 동숙의 노래
Whitney Houston – Million Dollar Bill
“Any Dream Will Do”
이린 – 핫쵸크
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat – Lucky
남규리 – 사랑한다는 말
이수미 – 사랑은 눈물의 씨앗
All I Ask of You
Pink Martini – Let’s Never Stop Falling in Love
이선희 – 나 항상 그대를
Jennifer Lopez – Let’s get Loud
U-Kiss – Am I Easy Going
After School – Because of You
Girls Generation – Oh!
George Michael & Mary J, Blige – As
Carnie & Wendy Wilson – Silver Bells
Katrina & the Waves – Walking on Sunshine
English
Words: silicone, cognac, entry, complex, t-shirts, valet, membership, resident, hormone, apple-mango, title, design, doorman, gray shirt, takeout, cheeky, brazen-faced, x-ray, action, hula hoop, sapphire, bench, ratatouille, caviar, booster, “excuse me,” brazen-faced fellow, sun cream, AIDS, stretching, musical, wine cellar, scotch tape, gay, cheers, stepmom, dark horse, dessert, handbag, evening, beach towel, “ladies first,” apron, orange juice, lip service, lobster, plastic, cabana, new box, sink, headlock, dressing, fever, drive, top star, swim, nightingale, mink, side brake, side mirror, “how delicious!”, off, fish, check, curry, avocado, house wine, tag, black, red, gold, chamomile, “you are my destiny,” bodyguard, endorphin, cruise, macho, diamond, hunting, documentary, night, day, evening (shifts), piano lessons, medium, house wine, ticketing, career woman, counter, emerald, yacht, silk, sour, sedan, American breakfast, dry, hyena, leader, bacon, psychopath, croissant, eyeshadow, strip show, dessert menu, health club, knit, snowboard, shocking, parka, battery, lounge, “me too!”, full set, big news, tuxedo, carnation, poodle, wool, cholesterol, “you’re my best friend,” veranda, honeymoon baby, spring coat, champion, call, escort.
There were some interesting t-shirts with English on them:
“Green & Gorgeous” (Is that an environmental message?)
“Start to stop the keeping warm jar” (The nonsensical English t-shirts are always fun.)
“You Ain’t Cowboy, You Ain’t Sh*t” (Ooh! Profanity!)
It’s not English, but the father said “Besame Mucho” and used it as a pun with the Korean word for “to season.”
Hey, I Know That Person
One of the grandmothers was played by the same actress who played Ji-Heon’s grandmother in Protect the Boss.
The actor who played Hye-Rin’s father in Sandglass played Mr. Seo here. Amazing that a guy who had a prominent role in such an iconic drama also counts such a comparatively rinky-dink drama like this one among his credits.
The actor with a distinctive face who had a bit part in Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang, who I believe I also saw in Lovers in Paris, was in this one too. I wish I knew the guy’s name. He only plays bit parts.
Other Observations
The main family’s name is “Goong,” which I’ve never heard before, since it’s apparently so uncommon. In the first episode, Kyle asks “There’s a family name ‘Goong’ too?” I guess that was meant to show that the writers are aware of how uncommon a name it is. I think that this is an example of “Lampshade Hanging,” though the TV Tropes site has so many nuanced tropes that I don’t have them all memorized.
In one of the obligatory noraebang scenes, Bi-Chwi sings “Evergreen,” and it’s obvious she doesn’t speak English. Does my Korean singing sound that bad, I wonder?
This was yet another drama that had a scene of someone on the toilet. Scratch that. Not just a scene, but many scenes. I’ve seen them in several of these dramas, but this one may have broken the record. There’s something about Koreans and pooping that just seems less taboo. I don’t know what it is. Why would anyone want to see someone sitting on the toilet?
Obviously this is going to be a problem when you’re casting a large family, but the four children didn’t seem anything alike in terms of looks or mannerisms or anything like that.
Kyle, who’s a white American like me, struck me as similar to a minstrel show character. Maybe it’s because he was speaking a different language, but he didn’t act very realistically in terms of what I’d expect a white American to act like. The character just seemed kind of corny in a lot of ways. I guess it gives you an idea of what it looks like when people from a different culture try to write a character from your own culture. As someone who’s attempted to write an episode of a Korean drama before (yeah, yeah, nerd alert), I can attest that it’s hard. Since I’m not a Korean, I don’t think like a Korean, and therefore, it’s hard to put myself inside the head of one. I’d imagine that Korean writers have similar difficulties getting inside the heads of non-Koreans. As someone who reads a lot of perspectives on racial issues, I can attest that non-whites who try to size up whites frequently don’t get us.
At one point, the family was running a small restaurant and Kyle did some work there. One time a customer used him to practice a few basic English phrases. Boy, could I relate to that experience.
Since they don’t allow guns in Korea, the characters at various times express fear of criminals who carry knives.
One thing I didn’t like about this drama was the higher level of homosexual references than average. The only gay thing I can recall from any of the other dramas I’ve watched was a scene in Three Dads, One Mom where two of the guys take the baby for a walk in the park and are mistaken for a gay couple. It was a funny scene. This one though, had several more instances. I guess the writer is trying to erode taboos on such things. Ah, Cultural Marxism.
A common technique in this drama was to have a scene of someone explaining something suddenly sped up for comic effect, so all you see is the speaker’s gesticulations and all you hear are blips of sound. It was pretty goofy. They seemed to stop using it after a while though.
There was a blurred-out McDonald’s sign in the background of one scene.
There were a lot of obvious plotlines the writer intended that got changed. They foreshadowed things that never came to pass, and it just made the story seem nonsensical. Early in the series they showed the Seo family getting two wrong number calls, but there didn’t appear to be any purpose for them. My hunch is that it was supposed to be part of a plotline that was later abandoned.
Near the end, probably the last three episodes or so, they started playing leapfrog with the timeline. They’d continually jump ahead for months at a time, but you wouldn’t realize they’d jumped ahead in time to process the entire scene within that context. It made it confusing.
Due to their desire to tie everything up with a nice bow, I was a bit dissatisfied with the ending. Some of the plotlines didn’t turn out the way I hoped they would, and in some cases the decisions they made with the characters felt forced. Small spoiler alert: one of the characters dies near the end of the last episode. After this sad moment, they spend the last five minutes bringing you up-to-date with the characters in the future. As I said in my review for 49 Days, sometimes a well-done sad ending can be really powerful, but in this case it felt chaotic and not well-thought-out.
Final Thoughts
While I wouldn’t say I loved this drama, I’d say it kept me interested most of the way. I guess that’s something worthwhile. It was a bit imbalanced, but it had enough strengths to keep me from disliking it, and it had plenty of elements that I definitely enjoyed. For that reason, I’m going to rank it in the middle of all the dramas I've watched.
Ranking:
The reason I chose this one is because I had been curious about it for some time. The first thing I ever saw of this drama was the graphic to the right. Notice anything unusual about it? Perhaps the fact that one of the people in that photo isn’t Korean? Yes, I was curious to see how this drama treated the issue of white foreigners in Korea, and that poster suggested that one of the daughters in the family was in an interracial relationship. Being a nationalist, this is the type of thing that piques my interest. Would they promote it? Discourage it? Be indifferent to it? My curiosity made me decide that it was time to give this drama a viewing, even if the possibility of me being stuck watching 50 episodes of a drama I didn’t particularly like existed.
Plot
The Goong family has four children, each of whom has the same name as a gem. The first two are daughters Bi-Chwi (Jade) and Ru-Bi (Ruby). Bi-Chwi is an aspiring drama writer, and is generally very sensible and mature. Ru-Bi works as a nurse, and is a bit of a gold-digger. At the beginning of the series, she’s engaged to a doctor at the hospital where she works. Following them are sons San-Ho (Coral) and Ho-Bak (Amber). San-Ho is studying to be a diplomat and like Bi-Chwi, is very level-headed and mature. Ho-Bak, a high school student, is more like Ru-Bi, not above doing underhanded things for personal gain.
All four children are generally responsible and intelligent, but their parents are another story. Both of them frustrate their children by making foolish decisions that cause hardship for the family. The mother frequently spends money they don’t have on frivolous things, and early in the series, the father reveals that he has a one-year-old son who was the product of an illicit affair.
Eventually, the children decide they’ve had enough, and after a long airing of grievances, they kick the parents out of the house. The two grandmothers who live nearby allow the parents to stay with them, while the kids run the house on their own.
Also joining the family are two boarders. There’s white American Kyle, who speaks fluent Korean thanks to his Korean stepmother. Kyle comes from a wealthy family, but he gave it all up to pursue his calling as a Buddhist monk.
The other boarder is Yeong-Gook, the son of the wealthy Seo family. His home is a mansion, where he lives with his stern but loving father, his harried mother and his rebellious teenage sister Ggeut-soon, who’s a constant source of frustration for the parents. Yeong-Gook’s father is a self-made success, and he attributes it to the fact that he grew up poor and had to struggle for everything. He wants his son to understand that struggle as well, because he believes that self-reliance will make him stronger. When Yeong-Gook moves in with the Goong family, he doesn’t reveal that he’s from a rich family, and they constantly wonder why this guy who would appear to be poor seems so knowledgeable and well-mannered.
As you can imagine in a drama with so many characters, there are many story threads that go off in various directions and intersect in different ways too. Can all these threads be brought to a suitable conclusion in just 50 episodes??
Writing and Acting
The writing isn’t going to be a source of complaint for me, as I thought it was generally pretty good. It was funny, the main characters were interesting in their own ways, and they did a good job tying the storylines together. There were some threads that were left hanging, but I guess that’s often to be expected.
As for the acting, I’m going to be frank here. The acting in this drama was not one of its finer points. Not that the acting in these dramas is generally award-worthy, and I doubt most people who watch them expect it, but still…if you’re looking for standout performances, you won’t find them unless you stick it out toward the end. Near the end, Ggeut-soon had to deal with some heavy moments, and the actress who played her really poured her all into it. At those moments, she managed to move me. Other than that though, the acting was average-to-below-average.
In the case of Kyle, I read that the guy who played him had no previous acting experience, that he was just an expat who’d been living in Korea for many years and could speak the language fluently. All I can say about his lack of experience is that it showed. I’m not bashing him, since acting is harder than it looks. I kind of feel bad that he was thrust into such a difficult task so early in his acting career.
Music
Here are the songs I could identify:
김종욱 – 보석같은 사랑
비 – 9월 12일
Susan Jacks – Evergreen
아리 – 보석 비빔밥
Bus Stop & Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
조라조 – 슈퍼맨
심수봉 – 그때 그사람
자우림 – 일탈
Beth Nielsen Chapman – All I Have
소양강처녀
My Darling Clementine
Jens Lysdal – Queen of Wasting Time
KCM – 말해줘요
Instrumental of “L-O-V-E”
Instrumental of “The Power of Love”
Edith Piaf – Non, Je Regrette Rien
설운도 – 장미같은 여자
설운도 – 사랑의 트위스트
간종욱 – 보석같은 너
Michael Jackson – Heal the World
Lady Gaga – Alejandro
Barbra Streisand – The Way We Were
James Ingram & Linda Ronstadt – Somewhere Out There
박상훈 – A Song For Luka
Brown-Eyed Girls – Abracadabra
“White Christmas”
김수희 – 못잊겠어요
“Jingle Bells”
“O Holy Night”
혜은이 – 진짜 진짜 좋아해
남진 – 님과 함께
“We Wish You a Merry Christmas”
간종욱 – 내 여자입니다
Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas is You
안치환 – 사람이 꽃보다 아름다워
“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” theme
Survivor – Eye of the Tiger
사월과 오월 – 장미
조하문 – 이밤을 다시한번
강은철 – 삼포로 가는 길
KARA – Mr.
Britney Spears – Santa Can You Hear Me?
윤수일 – 아파트
Smokey Robinson – Being With You (cover?)
Dan Fogelberg – Longer (female cover)
심신 – 오직 하나뿐인 그대
박미경 – 그림자
Jennifer Lopez – Jenny From the Block
문주란 – 동숙의 노래
Whitney Houston – Million Dollar Bill
“Any Dream Will Do”
이린 – 핫쵸크
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat – Lucky
남규리 – 사랑한다는 말
이수미 – 사랑은 눈물의 씨앗
All I Ask of You
Pink Martini – Let’s Never Stop Falling in Love
이선희 – 나 항상 그대를
Jennifer Lopez – Let’s get Loud
U-Kiss – Am I Easy Going
After School – Because of You
Girls Generation – Oh!
George Michael & Mary J, Blige – As
Carnie & Wendy Wilson – Silver Bells
Katrina & the Waves – Walking on Sunshine
English
Words: silicone, cognac, entry, complex, t-shirts, valet, membership, resident, hormone, apple-mango, title, design, doorman, gray shirt, takeout, cheeky, brazen-faced, x-ray, action, hula hoop, sapphire, bench, ratatouille, caviar, booster, “excuse me,” brazen-faced fellow, sun cream, AIDS, stretching, musical, wine cellar, scotch tape, gay, cheers, stepmom, dark horse, dessert, handbag, evening, beach towel, “ladies first,” apron, orange juice, lip service, lobster, plastic, cabana, new box, sink, headlock, dressing, fever, drive, top star, swim, nightingale, mink, side brake, side mirror, “how delicious!”, off, fish, check, curry, avocado, house wine, tag, black, red, gold, chamomile, “you are my destiny,” bodyguard, endorphin, cruise, macho, diamond, hunting, documentary, night, day, evening (shifts), piano lessons, medium, house wine, ticketing, career woman, counter, emerald, yacht, silk, sour, sedan, American breakfast, dry, hyena, leader, bacon, psychopath, croissant, eyeshadow, strip show, dessert menu, health club, knit, snowboard, shocking, parka, battery, lounge, “me too!”, full set, big news, tuxedo, carnation, poodle, wool, cholesterol, “you’re my best friend,” veranda, honeymoon baby, spring coat, champion, call, escort.
There were some interesting t-shirts with English on them:
“Green & Gorgeous” (Is that an environmental message?)
“Start to stop the keeping warm jar” (The nonsensical English t-shirts are always fun.)
“You Ain’t Cowboy, You Ain’t Sh*t” (Ooh! Profanity!)
It’s not English, but the father said “Besame Mucho” and used it as a pun with the Korean word for “to season.”
Hey, I Know That Person
One of the grandmothers was played by the same actress who played Ji-Heon’s grandmother in Protect the Boss.
The actor who played Hye-Rin’s father in Sandglass played Mr. Seo here. Amazing that a guy who had a prominent role in such an iconic drama also counts such a comparatively rinky-dink drama like this one among his credits.
The actor with a distinctive face who had a bit part in Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang, who I believe I also saw in Lovers in Paris, was in this one too. I wish I knew the guy’s name. He only plays bit parts.
Other Observations
The main family’s name is “Goong,” which I’ve never heard before, since it’s apparently so uncommon. In the first episode, Kyle asks “There’s a family name ‘Goong’ too?” I guess that was meant to show that the writers are aware of how uncommon a name it is. I think that this is an example of “Lampshade Hanging,” though the TV Tropes site has so many nuanced tropes that I don’t have them all memorized.
In one of the obligatory noraebang scenes, Bi-Chwi sings “Evergreen,” and it’s obvious she doesn’t speak English. Does my Korean singing sound that bad, I wonder?
This was yet another drama that had a scene of someone on the toilet. Scratch that. Not just a scene, but many scenes. I’ve seen them in several of these dramas, but this one may have broken the record. There’s something about Koreans and pooping that just seems less taboo. I don’t know what it is. Why would anyone want to see someone sitting on the toilet?
Obviously this is going to be a problem when you’re casting a large family, but the four children didn’t seem anything alike in terms of looks or mannerisms or anything like that.
Kyle, who’s a white American like me, struck me as similar to a minstrel show character. Maybe it’s because he was speaking a different language, but he didn’t act very realistically in terms of what I’d expect a white American to act like. The character just seemed kind of corny in a lot of ways. I guess it gives you an idea of what it looks like when people from a different culture try to write a character from your own culture. As someone who’s attempted to write an episode of a Korean drama before (yeah, yeah, nerd alert), I can attest that it’s hard. Since I’m not a Korean, I don’t think like a Korean, and therefore, it’s hard to put myself inside the head of one. I’d imagine that Korean writers have similar difficulties getting inside the heads of non-Koreans. As someone who reads a lot of perspectives on racial issues, I can attest that non-whites who try to size up whites frequently don’t get us.
At one point, the family was running a small restaurant and Kyle did some work there. One time a customer used him to practice a few basic English phrases. Boy, could I relate to that experience.
Since they don’t allow guns in Korea, the characters at various times express fear of criminals who carry knives.
One thing I didn’t like about this drama was the higher level of homosexual references than average. The only gay thing I can recall from any of the other dramas I’ve watched was a scene in Three Dads, One Mom where two of the guys take the baby for a walk in the park and are mistaken for a gay couple. It was a funny scene. This one though, had several more instances. I guess the writer is trying to erode taboos on such things. Ah, Cultural Marxism.
A common technique in this drama was to have a scene of someone explaining something suddenly sped up for comic effect, so all you see is the speaker’s gesticulations and all you hear are blips of sound. It was pretty goofy. They seemed to stop using it after a while though.
There was a blurred-out McDonald’s sign in the background of one scene.
There were a lot of obvious plotlines the writer intended that got changed. They foreshadowed things that never came to pass, and it just made the story seem nonsensical. Early in the series they showed the Seo family getting two wrong number calls, but there didn’t appear to be any purpose for them. My hunch is that it was supposed to be part of a plotline that was later abandoned.
Near the end, probably the last three episodes or so, they started playing leapfrog with the timeline. They’d continually jump ahead for months at a time, but you wouldn’t realize they’d jumped ahead in time to process the entire scene within that context. It made it confusing.
Due to their desire to tie everything up with a nice bow, I was a bit dissatisfied with the ending. Some of the plotlines didn’t turn out the way I hoped they would, and in some cases the decisions they made with the characters felt forced. Small spoiler alert: one of the characters dies near the end of the last episode. After this sad moment, they spend the last five minutes bringing you up-to-date with the characters in the future. As I said in my review for 49 Days, sometimes a well-done sad ending can be really powerful, but in this case it felt chaotic and not well-thought-out.
Final Thoughts
While I wouldn’t say I loved this drama, I’d say it kept me interested most of the way. I guess that’s something worthwhile. It was a bit imbalanced, but it had enough strengths to keep me from disliking it, and it had plenty of elements that I definitely enjoyed. For that reason, I’m going to rank it in the middle of all the dramas I've watched.
Ranking:
1.
Beethoven
Virus (5)
2.
City
Hunter (7)
3.
49 Days (9)
4.
Dream High
(13)
5.
Unexpected
You (4)
6.
Sandglass (11)
7.
Three
Dads, One Mom (2)
8.
Assorted
Gems (14)
9.
Delightful
Girl Choon-Hyang (10)
10.
Ad Genius
Lee Tae-Baek (12)
11.
Lovers in
Paris (1)
12.
Hwang
Jin-Yi (6)
13.
Spring Day
(3)
14.
Protect
the Boss (8)
