Thoughts on Beethoven Virus, or…Knowledge vs. Genius

Just a month or so ago I posted a review of a drama I’d finished watching, and now I’m already back with another! This time it’s for Beethoven Virus, and it may have already replaced Unexpected You atop my list of favorite dramas. I hate to sound hyperbolic, but one must consider the sample size of five dramas watched so far.

This one is about a classical orchestra, and fortunately, our old friend Mr. Poffenberger isn’t the conductor. I actually heard about this drama from a co-worker of mine early on when I first went to Korea, and ever since then it always stayed in the back of my mind. I was a bit reluctant to watch it though, when I read a brief description of the plot and it said that the three main characters formed a love triangle, because I’d already seen two dramas that included love triangles (perhaps three, if you count the indecisive romance storylines in Three Dads, One Mom). To my relief, the love triangle was actually a secondary, if not tertiary, storyline. In the end (this might be a spoiler, so don’t read the rest of this sentence if you plan to watch it), it proved not to be all that significant, and the overall story worked just fine that way.

Plot

Though this drama had an ensemble cast, there were three lead characters:

First is Maestro Kang Gun Woo. He’s a world-renowned conductor due to his exceptional skill, but he’s also an arrogant, demanding perfectionist. Because of this, he’s earned the nickname “Orchestra Killer,” as he’s never lasted longer than six months with any orchestra.

The next character is a young cop, also named Kang Gun Woo. Gun Woo plays the trumpet as a hobby, but he has no musical aspirations, because he met Maestro Kang when he was a teenager and was put off by his condescending attitude. The experience soured him on classical music, so he’s never tried to make anything of himself as a trumpeter.

Finally, we have a young woman named Du Ru Mi. She’s a music school graduate who plays the violin and dreams of playing in an orchestra, but she’s currently stuck working in her city’s cultural arts department.

Ru Mi comes up with an idea to promote their city as a music capital that could potentially attract musicians from all over the country. She puts together a publicly-funded “project orchestra” of experienced musicians to get the ball rolling, but the conductor she hires turns out to be a fraud who steals their money and runs off. Because of this, the musicians all quit.

Determined to make the project work, and also to avoid the shame of losing public funds, Ru Mi tries to assemble a new orchestra. By sheer luck, she discovers Gun Woo living near her, and she eventually convinces him to join. Other musicians who join the group include an office worker who plays the contrabass, a cabaret trumpeter, a teenage girl from a poor family who plays the flute, Gun Woo’s cellist aunt who’s been a housewife for the last 20 years, a former oboist for the Seoul Orchestra who was kicked out because he was in the early stages of dementia, and two sisters who played electric violins.

She also hires a new conductor: none other than the famous Maestro Kang. How this small-time orchestra manages to land a world-class conductor like him I’m not sure, but hey, it’s a work of fiction. The demanding Maestro isn’t happy with the accommodations Ru Mi originally books for him, so she temporarily puts him up in Gun Woo’s house while she looks for a different place. However, Maestro Kang decides he likes Gun Woo’s place, and essentially moves himself in, much to Gun Woo’s dismay. Gun Woo still hates the Maestro from their earlier encounter, and now he has to share his house with him.

At first, Maestro Kang is unhappy with the amateurs he’s expected to lead, and he refuses to do much work with them at all. The musicians are usually left on their own to practice, and Gun Woo proves useful in helping them fine-tune their parts in the conductor’s absence. They soon discover that Gun Woo can’t even read sheet music, but plays completely by ear. Previously unbeknownst even to himself, he’s a musical genius.

The discovery of Gun Woo’s genius is a turning point for both him and Maestro Kang. Once Gun Woo becomes aware of his ability, he realizes that music is his true passion and decides to take it more seriously. Maestro Kang, on the other hand, has a personal resentment for geniuses, mainly because he isn’t one, and achieved his superlative musical skill through hard work. When the orchestra members start preferring Gun Woo’s leadership to his, the Maestro realizes he needs to prove his superiority, because his years of experience and training still offer value that Gun Woo’s genius doesn’t.

Gun Woo wishes to learn conducting from Maestro Kang, but the two men have very different styles and philosophies when it comes to making music. The Maestro views the orchestra as his own instrument, and thus has technical perfection as his goal. Gun Woo, however, views the orchestra as a bond between people, a collective journey they’re all taking together, and his goal is to make the experience enriching for everyone involved. Eventually, when the orchestra undergoes changes, Gun Woo has to decide where his loyalties lie.

Writing and Acting

I have nothing much to say about either one except that they were generally superb. The story flowed well, the different plotlines were tied together well, and I was probably emotionally moved watching this drama more than any other I watched, though a lot of that might’ve been due to the timeless beauty of the music that accompanied most scenes.

Some of the secondary actors weren’t as strong as the leads, but generally they were good enough. The behind-the-scenes episode that went with this drama showed how much work went into producing it, and I admire all they went through.

Music

Obviously there was a lot of music in this one, given the theme. Classical music can seem boring by itself, but when you take time to react to it emotionally, it’s more powerful than most music out there. It made me realize that there is an inherently higher artistic value in certain forms of expression.

There were some pop songs too, however. Elvis’ “In the Ghetto” played on the car radio in one scene, there were some girls doing a dance to Lee Hyori’s “U-Go-Girl” in another scene, and, perhaps most humorously, there was a scene in a roller rink where “Tarzan Boy” was playing. I know Korean people know that song, because it’s on the noraebang playlist. There's also a big scene that involves the orchestra playing a pop song called "거위의 꿈" ("Goose's Dream"), which is apparently well-known in Korea.

Another that amused me was in a scene where the orchestra members are relaxing and playing around. One of the former electric violin players plays Jang Yoon-Jeong’s “이따 이따요” on the violin. I wouldn’t have recognized it if I weren’t a fan of hers.

Of course, there was also the recurring love theme pop song that so many of these dramas have, and I suppose it’s a sign that my Korean is advancing, because I could understand certain phrases in it without listening especially closely.

English

Most musical terms they used were from English or Italian, since classical music, of course, is European in origin. I’m probably missing several words here, but here are all the English terms I noted:

orchestra, encore, violin, classical, trumpet, U-turn, contra bass, cabaret, “bravo!”, “good!”, Maestro, “orchestra killer,” all-black, pension, shower curtain, project, tuning, first, second, third, condition, comedy, ambulance, beautiful, “thank you,” handicapped, animation, “no!”, energy, psycho drama, charisma, waltz, tempo, president, general, letter C, score, circus, size, legato, trioles, syncopation, first class, yes, “nice cue,” detail, amateur, lesson, master key, ensemble, flute, cello, alcohol, bowing, solo, repertory, paprika, “stop!”, arts center, slow, mic test, variation, big news, VIP, “I’ll be back,” touch, bonus, audition, stalker, “so what?”, intern, hyena, knock, IQ, control, melody, image, gum, psychology, telepathy, rival, A minor, time machine, “don’t play too fast,” pro, date, crescendo, decrescendo, captain, standby, pattern, schedule, container, tape, romantic, “give up,” “the best,” espresso, string, ballet, mouse, demo tape, soloist, concord, lip service, full betting, poker, call, check, masochist, symphony, sketch, b-boy, “hey man!”, xylophone, harmonica, recorder, beret, debut, “OK, buddy,” coup d’etat, out, card, harp, plus, minus, podium, test, navigation, camp, Powerpoint.

Ending

This was probably the first drama I saw where I actually thought the final episode went smoothly. It didn’t feel disjointed or uneven, but like a seamless conclusion to the story. It does leave the future of certain characters somewhat vague, but the ultimate purpose of the story was how the characters grew from their experiences, so in that sense I’d say it achieved its goal. The final scene made me well up with emotion, so that’s enough for me to say it hit the mark.

Other Observations

I saw several white people in this drama, presumably because classical musicians are frequently of European ethnicity, and would therefore be willing to travel to other parts of the world to play. There was a Caucasian woman in the original orchestra that quit, and two or three others who joined Maestro Kang’s orchestra later. One named Jessica auditioned and spoke English, but she sounded like she had a Russian accent. There was also a white woman who played the oboe, and Maestro Kang spoke to her in English. There was another who appeared to be of European origin, because her vocalizations sounded like German or something.

As in Unexpected You, several of the characters had unusual names. For instance, Du Ru Mi. I’ve never heard “Du” as a family name before, nor “Ru” as a character in anyone’s name, but I presume they’re actually used in real life if the writers used them. I’m guessing “Du Ru Mi” was supposed to sound like “Do Re Mi,” since this drama has a musical theme. Her full name (두루미) actually has a meaning in Korean though. Apparently it’s a type of crane, which you can see pictured on the right. Maestro Kang often called her “쌈닭,” which means “gamecock,” as an insult. I wonder if it was meant as a play on the avian nature of her name.

The poor flautist girl was named Ha I Deun (하이든), which is the same as the Hangeulization of “Haydn.” I picked up on that before they made any recognition of it within the dialogue. Like “Ru,” I can’t recall ever hearing anyone use the character “Deun” in their name.

As in Unexpected You, people frequently take issue with the way they’re addressed, saying things like “How dare you talk to an elder that way?” or “How can an employee talk back to her employer?” Not that we Westerners never expect some level of hierarchy to be recognized, but in Korea they seem nearly scandalized by a violation of these principles. I Deun was infamous for not using polite speech when talking to others, which characterized her as poorly-behaved.

Unlike Unexpected You, which seemed like it went out of its way not to give any two unrelated characters the same family name, this one had several characters named “Kim,” and “Kang” was common too. I thought it was more realistic that way, since Korean family names occur with much more frequency than we would be used to.

Episode 5, where the orchestra plays its first concert, may have been the best episode of any Korean drama I’ve seen yet. Seriously, it moved me several times. Episode 10, another that involved a performance, was outstanding as well. I actually wanted to applaud when they finished performing. They were that good.

Having watched Amadeus recently, I can see parallels with this story, namely that Maestro Kang envies the genius of the younger Gun Woo. Unlike the tragic ending of Amadeus, Maestro Kang doesn’t end up destroying Gun Woo and living the rest of his life with guilt, but there is (I hope I can say this without spoiling anything) a bit of a power struggle between the two at one point. There’s even a scene where Maestro Kang is watching the movie, as if to emphasize the similarities.

I read that the actress who played Ru Mi grew up in America, so when she spoke English she sounded perfect. It was almost unbelievable that her character would’ve lived in Korea her whole life if her pronunciation sounded that good.

I thought Maestro Kang was a perfect example of how strength of character enhances our view of a person. He was tough, uncompromising and sometimes even mean, but he was also dedicated, principled and took pride in his work. There was only one point where he did something truly wrong, and it was more a sin of omission than a direct wrongdoing. It’s a good reminder of how being “nice” isn’t always the way to be one’s best.

There are some things that shouldn’t be complained about too strongly, especially when the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. Nonetheless, I just wanted to comment on something that bothered me, specifically, the English subtitles. The subs on Dramacrazy, the site where I watched the videos, were apparently done by fan volunteers, and for the most part, they were very good. However, there were frequently inconsistencies between episodes, such as with spellings, or words used. It would seem that the team that translated them didn’t agree on certain standardizations beforehand. Not that I couldn’t follow the story well, it’s just that at times I got confused, and I wondered if it was because something was mistranslated. As a Koreaphile though, I had to take exception with one thing I saw in the subtitles: There was an episode where the subtitles called kimbap “sushi.” I’m sorry, but this isn’t Japan, and kimbap is not sushi! That’s just going too far.

Final Thoughts

If I had to rank all the dramas I’ve watched, it’d probably look like this:

1. Beethoven Virus
2. Unexpected You
3. Three Dads, One Mom
4. Lovers in Paris
5. Spring Day

Spring Day was the only one I would say I didn’t care for all that much, so Lovers in Paris being second from the bottom isn’t meant to mean that it’s not worthwhile.

If you can’t tell by now, I really liked this drama a lot. I’m glad I got to see it, and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s interested in watching a drama that has great music, good characters and isn’t bogged down by contrived romance.