That Fool
It's the holidays, so what better time to catch up on my beloved K-drama?
Gawd. It's been so long. I miss all the drool-worthy hunks, and the green-eyed-monster-inducing hottie actresses. I miss crying over some emotional incident, which really doesn't make sense, since all the stories are fiction and it's not like it's happening to me >.<
But I miss the whole K-drama experience, you know?
Hah. You wouldn't know if you weren't a K-drama fan too. Outsiders just wouldn't understand it.
Anyhow, I've finished watching this 16-episode series called 'That Fool' or 그 바보, that, in my opinion, is one of the best I've watched so far (which are not that many, admittedly =.=). However, I believe that it comes very very close to dethroning my ultimate BEST K-drama ever since I first watched it almost 3 years ago -- Coffee Prince or 커피 프린스. (Bear in mind, my K-drama addiction is in its relatively baby stages. So this is still my personal favourite.)
Coffee Prince was just the BEST in my eyes. The guy was charming and cute (Gong Yoo has the cutest smile EVER) and the girl (Yoon Eun Hae) was oh-so-adorable in a tomboyish way :) Although the storyline is rather typical (girl pretends to be a guy, guy falls for girl, emotional conflict and conflicts of other kinds ensue, guy and girl get together, they live happily ever after), but the drama still somehow manages to draw you into the lives of characters. They are really very endearing. Well, at least to me. :)
Anyhow, for 3 years since, all the K-dramas somehow do not measure up to the standard that I had, due to how much I absolutely LOVED Coffee Prince. I mean, there were good ones, there were okay ones, and there were just plain lousy ones. But Coffee Prince trumps them all. (Not only because I'm kinda in love with Gong Yoo :P)
Till now.
그 바보 (ge pa bo) is about a good-hearted sweetheart of a man named Goo Dong Baek. He is so good-hearted, and so kind, that at times he is too naive, and naive to a fault. As fate would have it, this humble postman one day meets Han Ji Soo, a national celebrity and superstar actress who is having an illicit relationship with the man of her dreams, Kim Kang Mo, who unfortunately is already engaged. To avoid the discovery of their relationship, and to protect the man she loves, Han Ji Soo strikes a deal with Goo Dong Baek (who happened to be at the scene) to keep it a secret. In even more desperate circumstances, Han Ji Soo and (poor) Goo Dong Baek suddenly find themselves in a 6-month contract marriage, a fake union to conceal Han Ji Soo and Kim Kang Mo's secrets from the rest of the world.
(WARNING: If you like what you're reading so far, and you intend to watch the drama yourself, don't read the subsequent paragraphs if you do not want to be bombarded with spoilers. You have been warned.) (But but butttt I'm hoping you don't mind spoilers and read on anyway :D)
Things get complicated when Goo Dong Baek falls for Han Ji Soo, despite her earlier selfish intentions. And unexpectedly (or, as expected in K-dramas :P), Han Ji Soo falls for Goo Dong Baek's honest and endearing personality. Of course, Kim Kang Mo will not take this sitting down. Han Ji Soo and Goo Dong Baek suffer a lot of hardship and pain before they finally reveal the truth to the rest of the nation and embrace their new start in their fake-turned-real love relationship.
I love this drama for several reasons:
1) The underdog wins. Goo Dong Baek has less-than-ordinary looks and is "just" a lowly postman, as compared to the high-rising company director Kim Kang Mo. However, Goo Dong Baek's honesty and sincerity win the girl over. Status and position is not everything.
2) Looks are secondary. To be honest, one of my first reactions to this drama when I looked at the DVD cover was, "Yer, why the starring guy so ugly wan?" Frankly, Hwang Jung Min (as Goo Dong Baek) is plain compared to the other Korean heart throbs that have preceded him. But I have to admit, he is a damn good actor. His character first annoyed me, then amused me, and after that, I could not understand how I can ever dislike a person like Goo Dong Baek. :P His personality won over the heart of the girl of his dreams (and mine), and she learned to care for him, despite his dumb dumb looks.
3) It's not all lovey-dovey. The drama doesn't just focus on how Goo Dong Baek woos Han Ji Soo, but also how, with his sincerity and good-heartedness, he eventually tends and mends the broken relationship she had had with her brother, Han Sang Chul . Despite Sang Chul finding out that Goo Dong Baek was a fraud husband, he grew to like him, and treated him as brother, 형 hyung. The way those two guys roughed each other up was, surprisingly, heart-warming. :)
4) Comedy. There are certainly plenty of laughs coming from Goo Dong Baek as he bumbles and stumbles in a media-frenzied world that is foreign to him. Suddenly he is famous, his name is well-known in the country, and therefore, news-worthy to the paparazzi. Goo Dong Baek's sister, Goo Min Ji (acted by Lee Chung Ah) also provides plenty of laughs just by being in character. Oh, the stitches in my stomach I had because of her !!! *chuckles*
5) Personal growth. Han Ji Soo (Kim Ah Joong) was selfish in the beginning, and she looked down on the bumbling Goo Dong Baek for being as foolish as he seemed to be. But she grows as a person, learning instead to look beyond the exterior to the heart within the person. She learns how to let herself be happy instead of always sacrificing herself in the name of love.
By the end of this drama, I was positively buzzing with enthusiasm and thoroughly ashamed at my doubting the series just from the hottie-scale of the lead actor. (But the more you look at him, the more endearing he is :P Have I used the word 'endearing' too many times? But he is endearing, he is.)
I would recommend this drama for anyone who is searching for laughs and tears, for the breaking of personal stereotypes and an underdog love story. It's really worth watching ! :)
Gawd. It's been so long. I miss all the drool-worthy hunks, and the green-eyed-monster-inducing hottie actresses. I miss crying over some emotional incident, which really doesn't make sense, since all the stories are fiction and it's not like it's happening to me >.<
But I miss the whole K-drama experience, you know?
Hah. You wouldn't know if you weren't a K-drama fan too. Outsiders just wouldn't understand it.
Anyhow, I've finished watching this 16-episode series called 'That Fool' or 그 바보, that, in my opinion, is one of the best I've watched so far (which are not that many, admittedly =.=). However, I believe that it comes very very close to dethroning my ultimate BEST K-drama ever since I first watched it almost 3 years ago -- Coffee Prince or 커피 프린스. (Bear in mind, my K-drama addiction is in its relatively baby stages. So this is still my personal favourite.)
Coffee Prince was just the BEST in my eyes. The guy was charming and cute (Gong Yoo has the cutest smile EVER) and the girl (Yoon Eun Hae) was oh-so-adorable in a tomboyish way :) Although the storyline is rather typical (girl pretends to be a guy, guy falls for girl, emotional conflict and conflicts of other kinds ensue, guy and girl get together, they live happily ever after), but the drama still somehow manages to draw you into the lives of characters. They are really very endearing. Well, at least to me. :)
Anyhow, for 3 years since, all the K-dramas somehow do not measure up to the standard that I had, due to how much I absolutely LOVED Coffee Prince. I mean, there were good ones, there were okay ones, and there were just plain lousy ones. But Coffee Prince trumps them all. (Not only because I'm kinda in love with Gong Yoo :P)
How can you not love that crooked smile???
*sigh*
Till now.
That Fool !
그 바보 (ge pa bo) is about a good-hearted sweetheart of a man named Goo Dong Baek. He is so good-hearted, and so kind, that at times he is too naive, and naive to a fault. As fate would have it, this humble postman one day meets Han Ji Soo, a national celebrity and superstar actress who is having an illicit relationship with the man of her dreams, Kim Kang Mo, who unfortunately is already engaged. To avoid the discovery of their relationship, and to protect the man she loves, Han Ji Soo strikes a deal with Goo Dong Baek (who happened to be at the scene) to keep it a secret. In even more desperate circumstances, Han Ji Soo and (poor) Goo Dong Baek suddenly find themselves in a 6-month contract marriage, a fake union to conceal Han Ji Soo and Kim Kang Mo's secrets from the rest of the world.
(WARNING: If you like what you're reading so far, and you intend to watch the drama yourself, don't read the subsequent paragraphs if you do not want to be bombarded with spoilers. You have been warned.) (But but butttt I'm hoping you don't mind spoilers and read on anyway :D)
Han Ji Soo and Goo Dong Baek
Things get complicated when Goo Dong Baek falls for Han Ji Soo, despite her earlier selfish intentions. And unexpectedly (or, as expected in K-dramas :P), Han Ji Soo falls for Goo Dong Baek's honest and endearing personality. Of course, Kim Kang Mo will not take this sitting down. Han Ji Soo and Goo Dong Baek suffer a lot of hardship and pain before they finally reveal the truth to the rest of the nation and embrace their new start in their fake-turned-real love relationship.
I love this drama for several reasons:
1) The underdog wins. Goo Dong Baek has less-than-ordinary looks and is "just" a lowly postman, as compared to the high-rising company director Kim Kang Mo. However, Goo Dong Baek's honesty and sincerity win the girl over. Status and position is not everything.
He reminds me of Mr. Bean =.=
3) It's not all lovey-dovey. The drama doesn't just focus on how Goo Dong Baek woos Han Ji Soo, but also how, with his sincerity and good-heartedness, he eventually tends and mends the broken relationship she had had with her brother, Han Sang Chul . Despite Sang Chul finding out that Goo Dong Baek was a fraud husband, he grew to like him, and treated him as brother, 형 hyung. The way those two guys roughed each other up was, surprisingly, heart-warming. :)
Min Ji and Sang Chul
4) Comedy. There are certainly plenty of laughs coming from Goo Dong Baek as he bumbles and stumbles in a media-frenzied world that is foreign to him. Suddenly he is famous, his name is well-known in the country, and therefore, news-worthy to the paparazzi. Goo Dong Baek's sister, Goo Min Ji (acted by Lee Chung Ah) also provides plenty of laughs just by being in character. Oh, the stitches in my stomach I had because of her !!! *chuckles*
She's reaaalllyyy pretty :)
5) Personal growth. Han Ji Soo (Kim Ah Joong) was selfish in the beginning, and she looked down on the bumbling Goo Dong Baek for being as foolish as he seemed to be. But she grows as a person, learning instead to look beyond the exterior to the heart within the person. She learns how to let herself be happy instead of always sacrificing herself in the name of love.
By the end of this drama, I was positively buzzing with enthusiasm and thoroughly ashamed at my doubting the series just from the hottie-scale of the lead actor. (But the more you look at him, the more endearing he is :P Have I used the word 'endearing' too many times? But he is endearing, he is.)
I would recommend this drama for anyone who is searching for laughs and tears, for the breaking of personal stereotypes and an underdog love story. It's really worth watching ! :)
Comments
haha..the fool mr bean IS so dorky funny looking