Thank You
Title: 고맙습니다 / Thank You
Genre: Melodrama, Romance, Comedy
Episodes: 16
Broadcast network: MBC
Broadcast period: 2007-Mar-21 to 2007-May-10
Cast:
Jang Hyuk as Min Gi Seo
Gong Hyo Jin as Lee Young Shin
Shin Sung Rok as Choi Suk Hyun
Kim Sung Eun as Suh Eun Hee
Seo Shin Ae as Lee Bom
Screenplay:
Lee Kyung Hee
The basic storyline could scare even the most open-minded people on earth. I often thought of myself as one unprejudiced person and yet I somehow lacked objectivity and opted to not watch this drama while it was airing just because it dealt with AIDS. But after reading great reviews, I’ve decided to try and be unbiased. I could probably say, I don’t regret watching it, I only regret not watching it while it was still airing. And for that I wanted to say Thank You to everyone who encouraged me to watch this drama.
Though the beginning of the drama seemed rather confusing especially Young Shin’s dream sequence, it picked up when we finally get to be introduced to the characters that will change the way we view things in life and the way we face difficulties as well.
Min Gi Seo is a doctor, so brilliant that he could take a nap while doing a procedure in the operating room and manage to create miracles of bringing people back to life. When he was dealt with a life-shattering ordeal of losing the woman he loved to cancer, he turned his back on his profession. No matter how hard he tried to save her, his efforts weren’t enough and it was heartbreaking to see him realize that he can’t save everyone and equally painful to know that the one person he couldn’t save was the woman he deeply loved.
Gi Seo’s struggle of coming to terms with his grief was enough to make me cry buckets. But one particular scene that had me gagging on my snot (there’s just too much since I can’t stop crying), was the scene where Cha Ji Min told Gi Seo about a girl who got AIDS because of the mistake she has made as a doctor. And that even though she cowardly didn’t admit that she’s at fault, in her heart she still harbors the guilt of her long ago oversight. She asked Gi Seo to find the girl if she didn’t have the time to and tell the girl for her how sorry she was for causing her so much pain. A cute teddy bear Ji Min bought at the harbour was her parting gift to the girl, a thing which the girl can hug when she’s sad and would give her comfort when she’s feeling lonely. It was most poignant to see how peacefully Ji Min left as soon as she found Bom. And Gi Seo resents the fact that she didn’t even properly said goodbye to him.
The highly self-assured doctor, so well respected in his profession was gone along with Ji Min and was replaced by a man who has lost the will to live. This suffering man met a single mother who despite all the hardships she’s forced to endure still manages to put up a brave face in front of her daughter and in spite of everything be grateful of the simplest things that brought comfort and joy to the people she most cared for. These two people from very different backgrounds and contrasting views on how to go about with their lives were forced to coexist and soon enough no matter how unlike they are to one another they’ve managed to create a balance within themselves.
The timid, always a push-over, extremely well-mannered and kind-hearted Young Shin finds the courage to talk back and yell at the stranger who rents a room in their house. It would seem like Young Shin could only be very open and unguarded in the company of this rude, demanding yet enigmatic man. The same thing can be said to Gi Seo who sheds the uncaring, devil-may-care, brutish façade of his when he’s around Young Shin, Bom and the grandpa, Mr. Lee. Looking back at the time he scolded Bom about always being late to school, how he was telling her to live responsibly, you can already see that he started caring for the little girl when he picked her up in his arms trying to protect her from the speeding car. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who could forget the time when Mr. Lee won’t stop chasing Gi Seo around yelling at him, “Pee, hyung!” That was a hilarious gem of a scene. But what struck me the most as I watch the scene unfold was the way the seemingly heartless ahjusshi manages to cast off his annoyance to help the old man find his way home. Watching Gi Seo’s tender treatment to Grandpa and the way he help the old man up on his feet after dropping dead because of chasing him around then taking Grandpa’s hand to walk him home was deeply etched in my head. This among other things made this drama truly one of a kind. It made a viewer feel warm in the chest just watching such a moving scene that doesn’t even include an interaction with the male and female lead stars.
Practically the turning point in Young Shin and Gi Seo’s relationship is when Gi Seo woke up upon seeing Young Shin crying beside him. At that point, Young Shin stopped being the ahjuma (old woman) he could bully and boss around (though he never really came across as disrespectful to her). From then on, he saw how vulnerable the seemingly formidable Young Shin. He then started to want to ease her pain as seen by him wiping her tears away. And once again, the genius that was Lee Kyung Hee has done the unexpected. She builds up that scene to be as melodramatic as any Kdrama addict could expect even ending the episode with such a cliffhanger but then she picked up where she left off and have us all feeling mushy when we saw Young Shin’s effort to deny that she did nothing but nurse Gi Seo all through the night. It was a roller coaster-ride that scene, because of the question Young Shin posed to Gi Seo. “Are you happy with the way you’re living?” Such a telling question, really.
The writer provided variety to the drama by mixing the dramatic scenes with slapstick antics from the very well rounded characters. Funniest that I could remember were scenes where Grandpa kept greeting and bowing to the ahjuma Mrs. Song who’s fallen asleep while sitting, and him calling Seok Hyeon’s mother as Buddha and the time when Young Shin thought Gi Seo was her father when she was on a drunken state. Equally funny was when Gi Seo strikes back and told Young Shin how much he missed her and love her like any father would.
And there’s lots of mushy and romantic Gi Seo and Young Shin moments as well that kept the audience glued to their TV. The time when Gi Seo teased Young Shin for them to shower together was one of the many. It also includes the scene where Gi Seo hugged Young Shin in the car when she was so sick and when he tied her hair for her. There’s a lot more besides the kissing scenes but if I’ll continue on, I might not finish writing this review. It’s that many.
Not only does this drama tells the story of two people falling in love under the direst of circumstances, this drama also conveyed messages of great social relevance. It has provided immense insight on how a family suffers when a loved one is afflicted of AIDS. And though the subject was pretty heavy for some to accept (like me), the story didn’t come across as preaching and condescending instead becoming sort of informative in a very evocative way. I don’t think there’s someone out there who wouldn’t be moved to tears as they watch Bom get bullied at school for having the contagious disease or when the townspeople beat up Young Shin and at the same time trashing their home in their attempt to drive the family out of the island. Not only does the subject of AIDS was tackled. The storyline of Young Shin’s grandfather has also been greatly highlighted. Young Shin has been shunned away by her suitors upon knowing that besides having to take care of a young girl, they’ll also have to take care of an Alzheimer’s stricken old man. I loved the fact that Young Shin continued to take care of Grandpa as opposed to the others who expressed great disdain and suggests to send him to a nursing home. I appreciated how Young Shin doesn’t see the old man as a burden and sees him as her source of inspiration. In the world we live in, it has been common to see the elders being brought to these institutions because their family doesn’t want to carry the burden of taking care of them. This drama has shown us this sad reality and dealt with it in the most sensitive and endearing way possible.
Another thing that sets this drama apart from the rest was the fact that every character gets to show a sense of redemption. No matter how cynical and uncaring Gi Seo has been, he just couldn’t turn his back on the people who needs his help. Also, even minor characters have their own moments of emancipation. Boram’s mother who was the one who asked Young Shin if Bom has AIDS eventually spreading the news in the entire island, the guy in the local motel who kept prying his mother away from Grandpa and the man who accused Gi Seo of killing his aunt while performing a medical procedure unmistakably showed deep remorse of what they did and tried to stop Young Shin from leaving the island. The biggest redemption belongs to Seok Hyeon and his mother. The way they struggled towards finally accepting Bom as part of their family is another gem in Ms. Lee’s belt. How she made us understand the reason why the grandma doesn’t want her son to marry Young Shin and why she’s so reluctant to let Bom be part of her son’s life is because of a deep rooted resentment she harbors for her husband. It made her character and her actions understandable coming off as more humane and less of a villain. The bath scene between Bom and Grandma is breathtaking in its simplicity and sincerity. Seok Hyun’s girlfriend also played a vital role and what I loved most about this secondary female character is the fact that she’s genuinely kindhearted which is uncommon in Kdramas. The fact that she let her man leave her and go to the woman he truly loved speaks volume. And Seok Hyeon probably learned a lot from her as he too let Young Shin be happy with Gi Seo.
Quite frankly, I think the one thing the writer wanted to do with this drama is break all the cliché that ever existed in Kdramas. And she did achieve her goal flawlessly and effortlessly.
The storyline, the soundtrack, the cast ensemble and the island itself completed the ingredients of this exceedingly commendable drama. I could still feel goosebumps every time I hear the main theme sang by Hun and his haunting vocals and heartfelt rendition of such a poetic song. The casting crew did a great job picking the cast. Jang Hyuk’s return project after serving his mandatory military service has garnered him the Top Excellence Award in 2007 MBC Drama Awards which he so clearly deserves. Count me in on the “When-did-Jang-Hyuk-get-to-be-so-hot-and-he-can-act-too” school of thought. Gong Hyo Jin who I adored in Sangdoo, Let’s go to School and Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy got to pull away from being stereotyped as a goody-two-shoes schoolmarm with her marvelous portrayal of Young Shin. This actress undoubtedly deserves the recognition that she got in the same award giving body who commended her performance as Best Actress for 2007. By shredding the image of sophistication most Korean actresses strive for and donning ahjuma-ish costume instead didn’t do anything to lessen her charm but made her character even more lovable and relatable. Who could forget the little girl who stole the show? Undertaking a role that would surely take its toll on any child, Seo Shin Ae brought Bom’s character to life big time. She’s the one who held the drama together. Being at the center of this drama could be daunting to any veteran actor and to lay down such great expectations to a child must be terrifying for her but she put up an amazing performance.
Another thing that I most certainly wouldn’t be able to forget with my sojurn with this drama is the fact that the fans, the viewers are very articulate, enormously incisive and highly critical of every detail, minute or otherwise. I love reading how one Soompi poster could piece by piece analyze each and every one of Young Shin and Gi Seo’s kissing scene.
If one drama could put a sloth-like procrastinator like me into action and share my thoughts about this drama into writing, then it sure as hell be an extremely great drama worth watching a gazillion times over.
