2017 – A Year in K-Drama

 

Earlier on, I thought 2017 was all going to be about time travels in the land of K-drama. The year is opened with Tomorrow with You (내일 그대와), then followed by Tunnel (터널), Chicago Typewriter (시카고 타자기), The Best Hit (최고의 한방), My Only Love Song (마이 온리 러브송), Reunited Worlds (다시 만난 세계), Deserving of the Name (명불허전) and Go Back Couple (고백부부), just to name a few.

But halfway to the end of the year, 2017 turned out to be about upholding justice and deconstructing and reconstructing traditional and conservative values. From feminism, gender equality to social justice, many 2017 dramas are offering alternative perspectives to the rather demanding and exhausting widely accepted values. This probably can be seen as a means of escapism from the dreadful reality of Hell Joseon. Strongest Deliveryman in particular talks about escaping this heartbreaking living conditions.

Quoting from Korea Exposé, ”To the South Korean state demanding life, denizens of Hell Joseon answer: “The best thing for a South Korean is never to be born; the second best is to die as soon as possible. For the young South Koreans who have grown to detest their nation, the Republic of Korea — Daehan Min’guk — already ceased to exist some time ago. They now call this land Daehan Mangguk: the Failed State of Korea.”

As alternatives to the cliché love story between a chaebol and a poor girl, this year, K-drama offers love stories between the mediocre in Fight For My Way (쌈, 마이웨이) and the beautiful proletarian love in Just Between Lovers (그냥 사랑하는 사이). In the ultra-competitive dystopian “survival of the fittest” job market and education system where everything wrong about free market (crony) capitalism is amplified to its logical extreme, watching the lives of the working class commoners feels like a relief breath from the suffocating always-on-the-run life.

Age Of Youth 2 (청춘시대 2), Temperature of Love (사랑의 온도) and Because This Is My First Life (이번 생은 처음이라) argue the gender stereotypes and reconstruct conservative family and relationship values. Age Of Youth 2 even brought up issues still considered taboo in South Korea.

I also find a pleasant progress in many of this year’s romantic themed dramas, which is consent. More and more writers seem to emphasise the importance of consent and mutual agreement as K-dramas, especially in the romantic themed ones, are so used to patriarchy, and even worse, misogyny. Man grabbing woman’s hand and drags her around, man forcefully kiss woman where she eventually gives up and falls into his charm after a short resistance are some of the common scenes seen in K-dramas. Romanticising dating violence unfortunately is (unconsciously) widely accepted, that even The Korean Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) ruled out one very problematic scene in Our Gab Soon as portraying dating violence. The scene looks like a rape attempt. Misogynist.

Temperature of Love (사랑의 온도), Because This Is My First Life (이번 생은 처음이라) and again, Just Between Lovers (그냥 사랑하는 사이) came like a fresh breeze, the answers to misogynist dramas, where consent does matter, and men and women are not an entirely different breed, and  women have the initiatives and make the first moves. Without belittling the effort, the offered ideas may look slightly basic or elementary, but it also needs to come into consideration that many things are taken in an extreme level in South Korea, these also include patriarchy and gender biases, and not to be left out, superficiality.

2017 also sees K-drama writers exploring new themes, like sci-fi in Circle, said to be the first in K-drama, followed by Duel; a common theme in movies, but rather rarely seen in K-drama and a prison life in Wise Prison Life / Prison Playbook (which is introduced as “Black is the New Orange” spin-off in Netflix).

If last year tvN and JTBC’s dramas dominated the top list, this year tvN’s sister station, OCN shoots to prominence with its signature crime dramas. OCN even pulled off a hat-trick with Tunnel, Duel and Save Me.

No drama really stands out this year, which makes it more difficult in compiling the list. Having said that, there are so many good, even great, dramas with varied themes that are really worth to watch. So, here are the top 10/11 of 44 dramas I managed to watch in 2017.

Friendship, Romance And Beyond: Chicago Typewriter / Sikago Tajagi (시카고 타자기)

 

Writer and revolution. It’s something that I have to see. Literary and history have become the subject of my interests for several years now, so this type of premise caught my attention right away. Well, to be honest, it was more because of Lim Soo Jung’s return to the small screen. Her last drama was 13 years ago and she has since acted more in movies and been dubbed as one of South Korea’s A-list actors, starring in different genres and scales, from romance to arthouse, from indie to blockbuster.

Though I was never really impressed with her acting, but she did fit some of the roles as if they were tailored to suit her. A delusional young woman who thinks she’s a cyborg in Park Chan Wook’s ‘I’m A Cyborg, but That’s OK’ probably is the best example. Throw in Yoo Ah In and Go Kyung Pyo in the picture, the more reason to watch, though I am never a fan of Yoo Ah In and I never get the hype, but I don’t dislike him either.

Lim Soo Jung in ‘I’m A Cyborg But It’s OK’

Chicago Typewriter‘s story revolves around writers who lived in the 1930s’ Japanese occupation of Korea, and are reincarnated into the present as a best-selling writer in a slump, a long-time fan, and a ghostwriter. Using flashback narrative, the story’s going back and forth between the present year and the 1930s, with our heroes keep getting flashing images of their past lives in the present time.

Yoo Ah In, Lim Soo Jung, Go Kyung Pyo

[SPOILER ALERT]

In the previous life, Han Se Joo used to be Seo Hwi Young, a writer who was stuck writing third-rate romance novels as under Japanese colonial regime’s watch, writers didn’t have the freedom to write anything they wish. Hwi Young quit medical school to pursue writing, but he was blacklisted because his writings brought up the social and political themes. Hwi Young was best friend with Shin Yool, who decided to just quit writing and ran a club called Carpe Diem (Seize The Day) instead of writing third-rate novels (whatever that means), where they formed camaraderie with Ryu Soo Hyeon. Soo Hyeon was left alone by her father, who chose to commit suicide than getting arrested by the Japanese soldiers, when she was a kid. The adult Soo Hyeon then became Joseon Youth Alliance’s sniper.

In 1930s, the three were youth revolutionaries of the Joseon Youth Alliance, bound together by the same freedom and independence dreams. Furbabe wrote a very detailed and meticulous historical background of these Korean independence movements, including the resistance groups, and even historical figures, which the drama loosely based upon. Unrelated to the topics, but personally it’s interesting for me to learn that most of these figures were leftist activists (I see so many similarities with Indonesia’s history as both countries were entangled in the same wars), which seems to leave almost no trace in the present South Korea. Quoting from @_Jessee’s analysis, “In the opening sequence, the typewriter is likened to a machine gun that uses the Korean alphabet as bullets. It is especially poignant in the context of Korea under the Japanese rule. Leftist writers who believed literature should serve the cause of class liberation founded the Korean Artists Proletarian Federation (KAPF), which was eventually forced out of existence by the Japanese in 1935.”

In 2017, they meet once again. This time Seo Hwi Young has reincarnated into Han Se Joo (both played by Yoo Ah In), an idol-like best-selling writer who finds himself trapped in a long-term writing drought, or as they like to call it, a slump. Se Joo meets Jeon Seol (Lim Soo Jung), an ex-shooting athlete turns veterinarian and his long-time hard-core fan who is willing to jump at any chance to get close to him. The story later reveals that Jeon Seol is the reincarnation of Ryu Soo Hyeon (also played by Lim Soo Jung). Then there is Yoo Jin Oh (Go Kyung Pyo), a mysterious guy who suddenly appears in front of Se Joo and claims to be Se Joo’s ghostwriter, who is literally a ghost writer. He was trapped in the in-between world not being able to rest in peace because he didn’t know why he died, or what we Indonesians call it, hantu penasaran. The three then work together to finish a novel which will supposedly can help Yoo Jin Oh to discover the cause of his death.

The first eight episodes are quite a drag to be honest. Only after the past lives story takes over most of the plot, the drama gets more interesting. Too bad that it had to take eight episodes for the drama to finally pick up its pace. To make it worse, the present story feels underdeveloped compared to the past lives’ story.

Lim Soo Jung’s performance unfortunately is a big disappointment. She seems lost in figuring out how to portray these two different characters. Both Jeon Seol and Ryu Soo Hyeon come across as weak characters, which is ironic since both are shooters, so I expected they would have some sort of tenacity as well as versatility and resilience, but instead she looks like a fragile glass doll.

Same case with Go Kyung Pyo, especially since he only had to play one character. In his hand, both Shin Yool and Yoo Jin Oh fell a little bit flat. Shin Yool was supposed to be Hwi Yeong’s Fitzgerald to Hemingway, Lee to Capote, Yin to Yang. Unfortunately Kyung Pyo’s performance couldn’t match up to Ah In’s, making him look more like a subordinate rather than a comrade.

Now Yoo Ah In. I finally get what the hype was all about. He does exude this so-called ‘star’ aura. Though I find his acting is always a bit too theatrical, it kind of works for this drama. He’s the only one of the three that sort of successful depicting both characters given to them. Han Se Joo is a kooky and awkward writer hiding behind his palace of fame and fortune, while Seo Hwi Young is the leader of an independence movement hiding behind his third-rate author identity. It still doesn’t impress me that much, but I finally get him. Slightly off topic, I even think that he’s probably one of the very few of South Korean celebrity that can pull off the 80’s oversized slouchy trousers trend while other failed miserably (even Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook looked ridiculous in them). The other one being Bae Doo Na in ‘Secret Forest’. Further analysis of Han Se Joo/Seo Hwi Young’s characterization and backgrounds can be read here, though it’s Yoo Ah In’s biased (since it’s a fansite).

 

While the show is far from being flawless, but the details (especially the past era parts) are commendable. For me, the highlight of the show is the relationship that goes beyond friendship and romance. It’s a camaraderie shared for the love of motherland and freedom, to achieve a higher purpose, a sovereign nation. It’s heartwarming, though unavoidably heartbreaking in the process.

A Familiar Formula Yet Well-Executed Drama: Tunnel / Teoneol (터널) (2017)

Choi Jin Hyuk, Lee Yoo Young, Yoon Hyun Min

It seems like that time-slip is K-Drama’s favourite plot this year. After the success of last year’s ‘Signal’, several dramas soon following its step and use the same concept with different themes. Earlier this year we have ‘Tomorrow With You’ (which slightly reminds me of ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’), a fantasy wrapped in a love story. And then there is also ‘Chicago Typewriter’, which relies on political history to be its background as well as part of its plot, though it’s not exactly a time-slip drama. I guess this trend won’t end any time soon as several upcoming dramas have revealed that they will also be using the time-slip plot, like ‘Deserving The Name’.

Using a familiar plot or theme is not an uncommon practice as plagiarism is unfortunately still prevalent in South Korea. From little observation I did of the K-entertainment industry, what usually happens is that they “borrow” other work’s ideas and than recreate it into new works, which then makes it morally vague to be called plagiarism.

Take ‘New World’ for example. It is South Korea’s take on the classic ‘police-triad moles in both organisations’ theme, popularised by Hong Kong’s ‘Infernal Affairs’ and later remade by Hollywood’s ‘The Departed’. Does it bring anything new to the equation? Nope. Does it do this formula well? Yep. Way better than the over-hyped Hollywood version even, I’d say.

Or ‘My Palpitating Life (My Brilliant Life)’ (2014) which I can’t help but be reminded of ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ (2008). My Brilliant Life was based on Kim Ae Ran’s 2011 novel of the same name, while Button was loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Now on with Tunnel. I once said when talking about ‘Marriage Contract’ that “not bringing anything new to the table doesn’t mean that something will instantly fail. Sometimes it’s a matter of execution,” and this is also the case with Tunnel (as also with ‘New World’).

Tunnel is the latest drama to draw its inspiration from the “Hwaseong Serial Murders”, proceeded by Bong Joon Ho’s masterpiece, ‘Memories of Murder’ (2003); Jung Byung Gil’s ‘Confession of Murder’ (2012); and tvN’s ‘Gap Dong’ (2014) and ‘Signal’ (2016). It was accused of alleged similarities with ‘Signal’, not to mention that the story also revolves around detective life, but if we look at it closely, looks like it might be a combination of ‘Gap Dong’ and ‘Signal’’s plots and characters.

In Tunnel, “Detective Park Gwang Ho (Choi Jin Hyuk) desperately tries to catch a serial killer in 1986. He chases after the serial killer and goes through a tunnel. On the other side of the tunnel, Detective Park Gwang Ho finds himself in the year 2017. The serial killer has resumed the killings that began 30 years ago. Detective Park Gwang Ho works with Detective Kim Sun Jae (Yoon Hyun Min) and Professor of Criminal Psychology Shin Jae Yi (Lee Yoo Young) to catch the killer.” [Asianwiki]

While in ‘Gap Dong’, “Moo Yeom’s (Yoon Sang Hyun) father was a suspect in the “Gap Dong” serial murder case. Because of the detectives’ oppressive investigation, Moo Yeom’s father killed himself. 17 years later, Moo Yeom is a police detective who spends his career chasing dead ends and helping juvenile delinquents. After the statute of limitations on the case expires, Moo Yeom becomes resigned to the belief that Gap Dong is dead. But then a series of incidents occur in the town that bear an eerie resemblance to Gap Dong’s crimes. Yang Cheol Gon (Sung Dong Il), who was a police inspector at the time of the original murders now a well-decorated officer, has recently transferred back to Iltan, and to his dismay, Moo Yeom joins his investigation team to catch Gap Dong once and for all.” [Asianwiki and Wikipedia]

I haven’t watched ‘Gap Dong’ so I can’t be firmly sure in comparing both dramas (and I don’t intend to watch it in the near future yet), but from the synopsis alone, I guess I can say that there are three characters in Tunnel who seemingly are the development of Gap Dong’s characters, and they are:

• Park Gwang Ho (Choi Jin Hyuk) =  Yang Cheol Gon (Sung Dong Il)
• Kim Sun Jae (Yoon Hyun Min) = Moo Yeom’s (Yoon Sang Hyun)
• Shin Jae Yi (Lee Yoo Young) = Maria Oh (Kim Min Jung)

I also found a few similarities in the plot twists which I’m not going to reveal since spoilers might ruin the thrilling sensation of watching those detectives attempts in unraveling cold cases.

So is it original? No. Is it plagiarism? Grey area. Does it work? Very well, indeed.

Tunnel’s strength is definitely its solid story development. It is neat and intense as each episode almost always ends with an unpredictable twist. Sure, it’s not as intricate and as multifaceted as ‘Signal’, but every episode is as carefully planned to keep the revelations suspenseful from beginning to the end. While ‘Signal’ also touched the social and politics subjects, Tunnel chose to stay true to its crime-fantasy path.

There are of course some flaws and loose ends like how the drama fails to maintain the consistency of Park Gwang Ho’s time-leap formula. The three lead actors, though are good, sometimes do come across a little theatrical, especially Lee Yoo Young with her doll-like wide-eyed flat expression. Yes, she was supposed to have that cold exterior look to her, but it’s just too predictable and one dimensional. Same case with Choi Jin Hyuk & Yoon Hyun Min’s all dense and steely personae, though Choi’s gesture as a father when he suddenly found out about it is quite commendable.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Choi Jin Hyuk, Yoon Hyun Min

Though the chemistry and dynamics between the two main leads are undeniably charming (Gong Yoo – Lee Dong Wook successors FTW!), it is Kim Min Sang who plays Mok Jin Woo that captivates me the most. He brilliantly evolves from a nice guy and a detailed forensic expert into one creepy psychopath killer.

 

All and all, Tunnel is a very well-crafted drama that will glue eyes to the screen despite bringing nothing new to the table.

2016 – A Year in K-Drama

2016 had been a year of K-drama for me. Of the 137 K-dramas aired in 2016, I gave in to 33 of it. Thirty three… that’s like… a huge waste of time *sigh* I feel I missed one drama still, Memory. I’ll probably watch it sometime soon.
[Update] “Memory” is a nice drama. Both Lee Sung Min and Junho did deliver, but the drama is definitely not as solid as other tvN’s dramas will be mentioned in the list.

Mostly popular for its romantic comedy clichés, tragic melodrama or over-the-top family conflicts and never ending feuds, much like its counterpart in the cinema world, K-drama is at its best when it touches subjects with sincerity and genuineness (that of course applies to basically any kind of work of arts).

Of the 137 K-dramas, I passed the daily and weekend dramas which are mostly equal to our daily sinetron. Think of dreading love story which includes conquering abusive mother-in-law’s (to her daughter-in-law) love, betrayal, all sorts of illnesses, from sudden nosebleed to amnesia you name it, the daily and weekend dramas have them all. But once in a blue moon there’s family drama like “Five Enough” which is just sweet and simple (still with a bit of touch of silly and unreasonable but tolerable conflicts, of course) like the good ol’ TVRI’s family dramas.

2016, for me, belongs to Jo Jin Woong. Underrated oftentimes and mostly played supporting roles, 2016 finally saw Jo in two strong leading roles. Early in 2016, Jo played an upright and morally conscious but heartbroken Detective Lee Jae Han in Signal and in the second half of 2016 he came back to small screen transforming into an uptight and ambitious, rough-spoken but a soft-hearted family American television series’ Entourage. And in between, he starred in the highly anticipated and critically acclaimed “The Handmaiden”, a Park Chan Wook’s mesmerising erotic fantasy/thriller.

So I guess it’s only fitting to start this list with one of the dramas he starred in this year, Signal.

Next >

A Plea For Justice: Signal / Sigeuneol (시그널) (2016)

Lee Je Hoon, Kim Hye Soo, Jo Jin Woong

Saya nggak ngerti kenapa waktu itu saya melewatkan Signal saat dramanya tayang dan lompat dari Reply 1988 ke Dear My Friends. Mungkin karena waktu itu sibuk mengejar (drako) yang lain atau mungkin juga karena saya gak pernah terlalu menggilai genre-nya.

Signal, seperti banyak didaulat penontonnya, adalah salah satu drama terbaik di 2016. Namun dengan genre drama kriminal, sepertinya tidak banyak yang mengulas kentalnya kritik sosial politik Signal.

Signal

Signal

Signal

Signal

Signal

Signal

 

Sekilas Signal mengingatkan saya pada “Frequency”, sebuah film tahun 2000 yang dibintangi Dennis Quaid (sebagai Frank Sullivan, ayah) & Jim Caviezel (sebagai John Sullivan, anak). Jika di “Frequency” si anak berkomunikasi dengan almarhum bapaknya sehari sebelum si bapak meninggal 30 tahun lalu dengan medium walkie-talkie, di Signal Lee Jae Han (Jo Jin Woong) menghubungi Park Hae Young (Lee Je Hoon) saat Hae Young sedang berusaha menghubungi pengemudi truk yang manghalangi mobilnya di tempat parkir. Secara konsep memang keduanya mirip, tapi kekuatan Signal adalah bagaimana penulis mengelaborasi konsep tersebut sehingga hasilnya tidak sekedar menjadi pengulangan.

Park Hae Young (Lee Je Hoon) & Lee Jae Han (Jo Jin Woong)

Park Hae Young ditangkap Cha Soo Hyun (Kim Hye Soo) karena disangka tuking kuntit seleb yang suka menjual gosip-gosip dunia hiburan. Ujung-ujungnya Hae Young malah bergabung menjadi bagian dari Cold Case Team, bagian dari tim kepolisian yang mengusut kasus-kasus lama yang belum atau tidak terpecahkan. Hae Young dan Jae Han kemudian bertukar informasi dengan medium walkie-talkie dan bekerja sama memecahkan kasus-kasus tersebut bahkan berusaha untuk mencegah agar kejahatan tersebut tidak terjadi.

Kasus-kasus yang ditampilkan dalam Signal berdasarkan beberapa kasus kejahatan terkenal di Korea, seperti kasus pembunuhan berantai Hwaseong (yang juga jadi inspirasi film “Memories of Murder”) dan pemerkosaan berkelompok Miryang. Beberapa insiden besar yang jadi latar belakang juga berdasarkan kejadian sebenarnya. Persamaan keduanya adalah bahwa keduanya merupakan hasil kejahatan manusia dimana tidak ada seorangpun terbukti bersalah dan bertanggung jawab atas insiden-insiden tersebut.

Serial kriminal seringkali tidak memiliki dimensi lebih dari sekedar dikotomi jahat dan baik. Namun dengan mengeksplorasi kasus-kasus kejahatan yang tidak terpecahkan, Signal dengan cerdas juga melontarkan kritik keras, yang bahkan hampir terasa seperti sebuah permohonan, atas cacat dan korupnya sistem peradilan dan keadilan bagi masyarakat dimana hukum hampir selalu tumpul ke bawah. Didukung dengan dialog yang tajam, Signal terasa begitu berlapis secara dimensi maupun perasaan.

“Do you know why your brother was framed? It was because he had no money, power or connections.”

 

“Hilang” sangat lekat menyelimuti Signal, baik dalam arti fisik maupun rasa. Cha Soo Hyun dan ayah Lee Jae Han yang kehilangan Lee Jae Han; Park Hae Young dan kakaknya, Park Sun Woo yang kehilangan kehangatan keluarga hingga Lee Jae Han yang (nyaris) kehilangan harapan pada sistem peradilan dan negara. Heart-breaking.

Penghilangan orang secara paksa (enforced or involuntary disappearances) adalah kejahatan yang paling banyak melanggar hak-hak dasar manusia. Bagi yang ditinggalkan, penderitaannya bisa berlangsung bertahun-tahun karena tidak pernah ada kejelasan sehingga mereka tidak tahu apakah harus terus berharap dan menanti atau merelakan. Penghilangan orang secara paksa seringkali berkaitan dengan kejahatan rezim politik dan terjadi secara struktural. Signal mampu menterjemahkan ini dengan bahasa yang non-politis dan lebih condong ke humanis. Hasilnya bukan hanya mencengkeram namun juga terasa indah walaupun menyedihkan dan membuat patah hati.

Naskah Signal ditulis Kim Eun Hee dengan amat detil nyaris tanpa lubang. Adegan-adegan kunci disebar dan diulang di episode yang berbeda namun dijahit dengan sangat halus sehingga membuat penonton berpikir “Oh, iya waktu itu kan begini…” Cantik sekali. Perpindahan kamera yang cair dan mulus dari masa kini ke masa lalu dan begitu pula sebaliknya membuat Hae Young dan Jae Han seakan-akan tidak terpisahkan oleh masa namun berada di ruang waktu yang sama. Padahal ide komunikasi beda masa ini bisa aja terjebak jadi dagelan konyol gak masuk akal.

Namun ini tidak lantas menjadikan Signal melulu serius. Signal juga menyelipkan humor dan romansa yang terasa menyatu dan wajar, sesuai konteks dan tidak dibuat-buat. Walaupun episode terakhir sedikit terasa lepas dan kurang intens, tapi pentupnya membuat Signal menjadi utuh full circle.

 

Lee Je Hoon

Ini dapat terjadi tentunya juga berkat akting andal 3 pemeran utamanya, Lee Je Hoon, Kim Hye Soo dan Jo Jin Woong. Yes, Lee Je Hoon is somewhat over the top in earlier episodes. Tapi seiring episode berjalan, lebaynya mulai menurun dan gak terlalu teatrikal lagi. Somehow that almost didn’t bother me at all. Biasanya saya akan kecapean nonton yang modelan begini, tapi akting Lee Je Hoon masih terasa relevan buat saya.

Kim Hye Soo

Kim Hye Soo tampil sangat menawan sebagai Cha Soo Hyun muda yang sedikit lugu, manis dan penurut sekaligus Cha Soo Hyun dewasa yang berwibawa, tenang dan taktis. Kim Hye Soo adalah satu-satunya pemain yang berada di 2 masa dan mengalami perubahan karakter cukup signifikan di drama ini. Something about Kim Hye Soo’s face that makes her believable as both a 20 year-old and 40 year-old.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Salah satu adegan Kim Hye Soo yang paling mengesankan buat saya adalah saat dia menyadari bahwa ingatannya telah berubah, saat itu juga.

 

 

 

Jo Jin Woong

Tapi buat saya Jo Jin Woong adalah jiwanya Signal. Lee Jae Han di tangan Jo Jin Woong jadi sosok yang sangat memikat di luar kesederhanaan karakternya. Lee Jae Han blas perwujudan naruni manusia yang mendambakan keadilan. Hidupnya lempeng berjuang menegakkan kebenaran walaupun dibikin patah hati melulu oleh sistem yang busuk.

Geraknya grasa-grusu, bahasa tubuhnya canggung, tapi gigih, pantang menyerah dan penuh harapan. Seperti halnya Lee Jae Han merupakan perwujudan naruni manusia akan keadilan, Signal adalah manifestasi sosok Lee Jae Han yang merindukan dunia yang lebih baik.

“Is it the same there? If you’re rich and have connections, do you get off the hook after doing shady deeds? 20 years have passed. Something must have changed.”

Signal

Signal

Signal

Signal

Signal

Signal

“But if someone committed a crime, regardless of how much money or conections they have, they must pay for it.”

Di episode pembuka, penonton dihubungkan dengan karya sutradara Kim Won Seok sebelumnya, “Misaeng” (yang juga bagus tapi belum sedahsyat Signal. Dua-duanya tayang di saluran televisi tvN), melalui alusi gosip (fiktif tentunya) cinta segi tiga Im Si Wan, Kang So Ra dan Byun Yo Han (ketiganya bermain di Misaeng). Sedangkan di episode penutup Kim Won Seok seperti memberikan homage pada 2 film mafia terkenal Korea karya sutradara Yoo Ha, “A Dirty Carnival” & “Gangnam Blues 1970”, dimana yang pertama Jo Jin Woong juga berada di dalamnya sebagai pemeran pembantu. I don’t know why. Mungkin hanya sekedar adegan perkelahian mafia yang umum. Begitu juga permainan aspek rasio gambar yang diregang secara vertikal sepertinya merupakan homage terhadap “Memories of Murder”. Di luar gambar, musik pun memiliki warna dan rasa yang mirip dengan Memories, gelap dan menyayat dengan lagu-lagu bernuansa masa lalu. Apalagi lagu Melancholic Letter (우울한 편지) oleh Yoo Jae Ha (유재하) yang bermain di latar setiap aksi pembunuhan di Memories juga muncul di Signal episode 10.

A Dirty Carnival

Gangnam Blues

Signal

(Searah jarum jam) A Dirty Carnival, Gangnam Blues, Signal

 

 

Secara pribadi, saya menempatkan Signal sejajar dengan Heard It Through The Grapevine. Mind-blowingly brilliant.