Spoiler Warning: This editorial/review contains light spoilers for this drama, with large spoilers indicated. If you do not wish to be spoiled, read at your own risk. I'm not someone you would call a Korean drama fanatic. I've tried to watch nine different dramas in the past three years, and finished a whopping four. What I do like about the medium is that it's relatively short--it's much easier to see a drama to its completion than many American shows, where twenty or more hour-long episodes make up a sometimes countless number of seasons. With K-Dramas, you know how much time you're going to devote from the beginning. So why have I only finished four?
It's a question I can't even answer. Maybe it's because I prefer straight comedy to romances, detective sagas, and weepy melodramas. Maybe it's because I can't stand the rich, meddling mother trope, a staple of hits such as "Boys Over Flowers" and "Secret Garden". (And let's not even talk about the amnesia and cancer tropes.) Maybe it's because the first drama I watched was so terrible that I'm skeptical of every new show. But despite all of this, every once in a while (well, four times so far), a show comes along that just plain works for me.
"The Greatest Love" is one such show. After I loved 2010's sweet, charming "My Girlfriend is a Gumiho", I decided to check out the latest drama from sisters Hong Miran and Hong Jungeun. "The Greatest Love" is the story of Gu Aejung (played by Gong Hyojin), a former member of The National Treasure Girls. After reaching the top with their single "Heart Thumping" ten years ago, they abruptly broke up, and the public blames Aejung. As a shamed former idol, she does whatever she can to appear on television, her brother acting as her manager. Her name means "affection", and Aejung fits the bill, doing what's best for her friends and family instead of herself.
Aejung's daily routine reveals the struggles of a D-List Korean celebrity--the expensive scarf she wears in this scene is on loan from a friend.
On the opposite side of the spectrum is Dokko Jin (played by Cha Seungwon), one of Korea's most famous actors. His image is on everything from billboards to bottles of vitamin water, and he's universally loved by the public. Behind closed doors, however, he's a childish, entitled prima donna continuing his long-since fizzled relationship with fellow star Kang Seri (Yoo Inna) for publicity and commercial contracts.
True to his childish nature, Dokko Jin fancies himself a superhero, and outside of his management his only true friend is Aejung's nephew, whom he calls "Ding Dong".
When Aejung overhears an image-breaking conversation between Dokko and his manager, she's allowed into his first-rate management company in exchange for her silence. With the help of the company's director, Aejung gets a spot on the new season of "Couple Making", a "Bachelor"-like show that pairs a perfect man with female celebrities. The host of "Couple Making" is Seri, who was also in the National Treasure Girls, and is infuriated that Aejung is returning to the spotlight. She repeatedly plots to have Aejung eliminated, but the show's "perfect man", an oriental medicine doctor named Yoon Piljoo (Yoon Kyesang), takes a liking to her. On the sidelines, Dokko wrestles with hisgrowing attraction to Aejung, but finds she wants nothing to do with him.
The set of fictional variety show "Couple Making", where Aejung and Piljoo meet.
On paper, it doesn't seem that different from the average Korean romantic comedy. What levitates "The Greatest Love" above typical fare are the performances of the leads and the winning satire on the madhouse world of celebrities. Aejung is sympathetic without being overly dramatic, and it's heartbreaking to watch her former colleagues and the public shame her. (In one gut-wrenching scene, her young nephew overhears two local women outside a convenience store gossiping about his aunt.) Her reactions to her troubles are understated and genuine, and when she cries, it feels natural rather than melodramatic. Dokko Jin's childish nature takes some getting used to, and there are, admittedly, moments when he seems borderline insane or too dim to be realistic. He mellows out as the drama goes on, and his romantic side eventually wins you over. There aren't many male leads that look as enamored with their love interest as Dokko does with Aejung.
Aejung (left) was the most popular member of the National Treasure Girls, but took the blame for their breakup. Former member Mina, who disappeared from the public eye, confides in Piljoo that Aejung is her "savior", but leaves out the details.
As veteran drama writers, the Hong sisters know the entertainment industry inside and out, and they use that knowledge to great effect in the show. The leads are a reminder of how little we know of celebrities- the hated Gu Aejung is selfless and kind, and Dokko Jin's benevolent image is a mask he takes off when the cameras stop rolling. They played around with this idea with the "fake fairy" Yoo Heyi in "You're Beautiful", but in "The Greatest Love" it takes center stage. In a brilliant and hilarious cameo, Lee Seunggi, himself rumored to contradict his golden-boy image backstage, and Dokko challenge each other's egos--only to hug and smile when a horde of fangirls spot them. The characters are constantly aware of their public image, whether it's through reading netizen comments online or imagining them on toilet paper--each time, the audience realizes the public doesn't even know a quarter of the story. The Hong sisters' best commentary on the celebrity world, however, lies at the end, when (HIGHLIGHT FOR SPOILERS) Dokko finds himself in need of surgery. In case something goes wrong, he records a message to the public, telling his management that he will leave Aejung the most valuable thing he has--his image as a beloved top star. (END OF SPOILERS) By making the viewer emotionally invested in the well-being of Aejung, we realize how little we know of celebrities and, in spite of that, how intimate we feel with them, quickly (and maybe incorrectly) passing judgement on their actions. Celebrities are constantly on stage, and anyone with a keyboard can be a critic.
When he learns that he's been turned down for a Hollywood film on account of his poor English, Dokko Jin imagines netizen comments flying at him on pieces of toilet paper and then glaring at him from the bathroom mirror.
The Hong sisters aren't perfect writers, and one thing I noticed in their previous works was a reliance on ongoing metaphors. "The Greatest Love" takes this flaw and runs with it, and at times it feels like they add a new metaphor for the main couple each episode. Two of the metaphors rely on an innate knowledge of classical Korean culture, and if, like me, you're not Korean, they may be lost on you. The duo also devotes less time into developing their side characters, which was glaringly obvious with Piljoo--while he's appealing in the beginning, his storyline falls flat in the last five episodes. Seri, too, isn't far removed from the conniving female villains of other romantic comedies, but I found her transformation in the final act oddly compelling. There are still pieces of the Hong sisters formula that I dislike, but in many ways, "The Greatest Love" improves on their previous dramas.
In the first episode, Seri reveals that she and Dokko haven't been dating for over a year, but they continue their "relationship" in order to collect money from an endorsement deal they have as a couple. source:
>www.koreaboo.com
>www.koreaboo.com
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