"Hanoi Bride" Yet Another Piece of K-Classic
SBS Special Commemorative Drama "Hanoi Bride" Yet Another K-Classic" !
Greetings from Singapore & Wishing one & all a Happy & Prosperous Year Ahead.
May I share my thoughts after watching this special 2-part Korean Drama produced to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the end of Vietnam War.
It's truly commendable that SBS lends a helping hand and shares its talents by producing this special 2-part series shot in Hanoi and Korea to commemorate the end of the Vietnam War, its 30th Anniversary I believe a joint project including Vietnamese cast as well. I'm very touched indeed.
Sincerely hope in future we can see more of such similar projects extended to other Asian countries as well, helping us to tell our stories as I sincerely believe K-Dramas have set the industry standards.
Besides the beautiful location shootings on the landmarks of Hanoi, it is commendable to know that the cast also made efforts to learn to speak the Vietnamese language.
The philosophy/life skill imparted in this storyline is I discovered - "marriage is about buying a pair of shoes: you should have the right to choose a pair you feel comfortable and not to be over duly concerned about how people feel about it".
I'm deeply impressed as usual by the writer whose hidden message and impact to me is not so much the romance between the lead actor and lead actress but rather the impact of their romance on the lead actor's elder brother and his sweetheart love - a girl from the same hometown and better qualified than the elder brother who was a farmer.
The exciting part is both brothers "fell for the same Vietnamese girl" and when the elder brother came back to Korea with a future Hanoi bride under a matchmaking arrangement organised by the Korean government, the younger doctor brother was shocked to see his Hanoi girlfriend whom he lost contact due to manmade circumstances....................
The elder brother had yet to consummate their marriage but the trip to Korea was regarded more of an exploratory trip for the future bride to consider marrying him. Her apprearance created tension to all and enabled the elder brother's sweetheart to re-discover the wholesome character of the elder brother who had always put her in his heart until he finally had to give in to their mother's persistent pressures to find a spouse.
Happy ending as elder brother's former sweetheart began to see him from a human perspective rather than by qualifications (case of woman marrying down) and to gather her courage to accept him while the younger doctor brother returned to Hanoi looking for his "lost pair of shoes" !(case of man marrying a woman of lower social status as his mother initially was strongly against this marriage as she preferred his lady doctor colleague - scolding him for not choosing a diamond in front of him !
I find that I can connect very well with the Asian values, thoughts and concerns aired by the parents' characters which mirror the way we also think when choosing a life partner from Asian perspective.
Please watch when you have the chance !
Best regards,
Wee Fong-Fong
Singapore
