Spring Waltz

Korean Title: Bom-ui Wal-cheu
English Title: Spring Waltz
Genre: Romance, Drama
Episodes: 20
Broadcast Period: March 2006 to May 2006

Cast
Han Hyo Joo as Park EunYoung
- Kim Hae Sook as Jo Yang Soon (adoptive mother/aunt)
- Park Chil Yong as Park Doo Sik (father)
- Choi Si Won as Park Sang Woo (younger brother/cousin)
- Yoon Yoo Sun as Eun Young's birth mother

Seo Do Young as Yoon Jae Ha
- Geum Bo Ra as Hyun Ji Sook (mother)
- Jung Don Hwan as Yoon Myung Hoon (father)
- Daniel Henney as Phillip (agent/best friend)
- Lee So Yeon as Song Lee Na (childhood friend)

Choi Ja Hye as Hong Mi Jung (Eun Young's best friend)
Kim Mi Kyung as Kim Bon Hee (Mi Jung's mother)
Park Hee Jin as Kim Hee Jin (Lee Na's friend)
Han So Hee as young Eun Young
Eun Won Jae as young Jae Ha (Lee Su Ho)

Synopsis – No spoilers, don't worry
Park Eun Young gets herself ready to leave Korea for Austria at the beginning of the series, after winning a crystal designing contest. On the plane, she meets Song Lee Na, who speaks of a childhood friend she hasn't seen for fifteen years. Eun Young is happy for her, wishing her luck. When she arrives in Austria, a man named Phillip approaches her, mistaking her for Lee Na.

Phillip claims he has spoken to her on the phone, but is confused when she doesn't seem to know much English. He offers to take her bag but she cries out for him to stop and calls him a thief. It isn't until Lee Na steps out from behind the boarding gates that Phillip realizes he's made a mistake.

Phillip brings Lee Na to Yoon Jae Ha, her childhood friend from years ago. When they see each other, though, Jae Ha is cold and does not speak much to her. She does not tell him who she is at first and decides to interview him. When she asks him whether or not he misses anybody from Korea, he says he doesn't but has a flashback of a little girl named Eun Young. Lee Na gets angry, and when Phillip comes by to tell her that Jae Ha always gets like this before a major concert, Jae Ha realizes who she is.

After leaving Lee Na and Jae Ha to spend some quality time together, Phillip bumps into Eun Young on the streets. They clear up the misunderstanding from before and spend the day together. Phillip finds Eun Young charming and cute, almost immediately developing feelings for her. He gives Eun Young two tickets to Jae Ha's concert before leaving for the day.

Eun Young bumps into Jae Ha on a train, but they do not know who the other is. When she accidentally spills some chilli paste onto him while he's sleeping, she gives him a red knit sweater with a teddy bear on it to wear. When she asks him his name, he says that his name is Chris. So she tells him that she's Alice from Alice in Wonderland. They share a rather short conversation and she gives him a ticket to his own concert (not knowing that it's his), because she wants to compensate for the laundry fees.

Back in the present, Eun Young meets Phillip again in the main lobby where Jae Ha's concert is being held. He brings her into the stadium and sits next to her, but she says that the seat is taken, hoping that the stranger from the train will arrive. He doesn't, obviously. She sees him on stage and finds out who he is.

Actually, Jae Ha and Eun Young met long before her trip to Austria. They were in love many years ago, and back then his name was Lee Ho Su. Ho Su and his family moved to the remote island where Eun Young was staying because they wanted to escape debt. However, after Ho Su's father took all of their money and left, they decided they were going to leave. After meeting Eun Young, though, he was captured by her innocence. But one day, Su Ho disappears, leaving Eun Young sick in the hospital.

At the after party, Phillip introduces Eun Young as his new girlfriend, to which she does not respond. As they do not mention her name, Jae Ha still does not know who she is. Lee Na, who recognizes Eun Young, praises tells her that Jae Ha was the childhood friend she was taking about on the plane. Eun Young says they look good together.

After a dance with Phillip, they switch partners. As Eun Young is dancing with Jae Ha, he ridicules her, asking her if she changes her name each time she finds a new man. Angry, she storms off but he goes after her. He accuses her of acting innocent to seduce men, and even had him fooled. Eun Young, knowing who he is, feels heartbroken and troubled. He gives her back the sweater but she doesn't want it. So he throws it down the stairs.

Wanting to leave, Phillip goes after her. She trips and twists her ankle. Phillip takes good care of her and it is evident that he's fallen for her. However, she leaves early the next morning and leaves a note for him. She thanks him for taking care of her and explains that she had to leave early for the crystal museum (which is the reason why she had come to Austria in the first place). Eun Young also leaves him a present, a carefully decorated shell with crystals. It's similar to the one Eun Young gave Jae Ha when they were young.

Phillip shows Lee Na and Jae Ha, to which Lee Na praises her for her work. Then, she mentions that she does not even know the girl's name. When Phillip replies, “Eun...Young? Eun Young.” It is then that Jae Ha finds out who she is.

Jae Ha and Eun Young's love starts to develop again, and the truth as to why he left her behind all those years ago is slowly revealed. Can their love endure the harsh spring tragedy from many years ago?

The Verdict
Although there is a very typical love triangle, I must say it was quite exciting. The love triangle between Daniel Henney, Han Hyo Joo, and Seo Do Young was so believable and just so thrilling! I mean, at first, I was all for the Daniel-Hyo Joo pairing, because he's just so handsome and she's just so pretty. He's also so nice to her and it was just a pity that she never had any feelings for him. Jae Ha was too cold for someone as flamboyant and adorable as Eun Young, but I slowly began to change my mind, especially when he smiles at her for the first time when she's tumbling around drunk trying to find her shoes. What a totally cute scene!

Another one of my favourite scenes was when Eun Young runs away from Jae Ha's concert after party and twists her ankle. Phillip lifts her into his arms and puts her on the hood of the car. He takes off his bowtie and ties it around her foot. That was a squeal-worthy scene.
And at first I really liked Lee Na, because she's really pretty and was just so cool. I don't know why, but I liked her. But towards the end of the series she got all psycho and moody. Why do the third-parties always turn out so crazy? I felt bad for her though, what happened to her was pretty tragic, she just couldn't handle it well I guess.

Anyway, Jae Ha's and Eun Young's relationship develops beautifully, and it made me cry at certain points. The drama is well done although it gets just a tiny bit draggy towards the end. Eun Young always tries to run away from Jae Ha, but she finds that she is unable to hate or resent him and thus goes back to him, which I find absolutely heartbreaking for her. Well, Spring Waltz is a wonderful drama and I highly recommend it! Let's give it a four out of five star rating.