Review I

DREAM HIGH

Ah, the world of Korean Drama. Sentimental, emotional, shocking, tear wringing, squeal inducing adictiveness. For the past few years, we were hung up with the historical dramas, going back to the Three Kingdom period (The Great Queen Seondeok) to Joeson (Yi San, Dong Yi, Dae Jang Geum). The interesting result is now my brother and I can reply "yes, Your Majesty" sarcastically to each other...in Korean. Oh, and a little while after Dong Yi, we went around saying "Moya?" in that perfectly enraged, frustrated, and shocked tone Jang Hee Jae coined as a major villain.

But after we moved to Reno, there must have been some kind of drama-

selecting time warp, because instead of another historical drama with guys showing off martial arts moves (they couldn't really fly, back then, right?) and girls with impossibly long (and styled) hair, Dad picked dream high, a 21st century 16 episode deal about a bunch of teens who go to Kirin Art High. Talk about culture shock. So instead of learning graceful, sarca

stic, formal respon

ses, I'm trying to pick up the main character's favorite catchphrase: "Hey! You wanna die?"

Dream High, for all practical purposes, is a Korean version of Fame. The storyline has mor

e twists and turns, more shocks (and adictiveness), and more personal rivalry then Fame does, but I still like both. While Fame's struggles are mainly with the rigorous coursework, Dream High works with personal relationships as well as really, truly, biased jerks. I found Fame to be of a story about achieving glory, and Dream High a little more about overcoming obstacles.

There's the main character, Go Hye Mi, a really, truly, annoying person who's used to being the best, but her dreams of going to Julliard remain unrealized because her father has gone deep into debt.

Initially, she isn't accepted into Kirin Art High, and when she is, she is put in the half admission class (of four people), aka, the graveyard. The drama focuses on her personal growth, how she changes into a truly caring person and learns to put her emotions into the song.

This is Yoon Baek Hee. She starts out in the drama as "Go Hye Mi's Follower/Servant", dressing exactly alike, and doing everything she can for Hye Mi. After being betrayed at the Kirin High auditions by Hye Mi, she turns against her, and when Hye Mi is accepted into Kirin High, makes Hye Mi's life positively

miserable. She debuts earlier than Hye Mi, along with Jin Guk, causing a rift between Jin Guk and Hye Mi.

Unlike Hye Mi, who gets steadily more human as the drama progresses, the drive for fame, dominance (over Hye Mi) and Jin Guk cause Baek Hee to become less human. It's after she tries to kill Hye Mi that the audience realizes that what looked like 'normal' bullying has been steadily escalating, and Baek Hee has become a monster.

Meet my favorite character, Song Sam Dong. He's a country boy with unparalleled talent, and he absolutely worships Hye Mi. When she's being bullied at school, he's the one who stands up for her (shielding her from being egged, punching Jin Guk, as well as saving her from Baek Hee's murder attempt) and of course, just like in Beethoven Virus, he's loosing his hearing. Nooo!

Sam Dong is a refreshing character after watching a bunch of teens

who aren't really that nice crawl their way through misunderstandings, betrayal, rivalry and high school love (more like battle their way through, really). At this point in the drama, he's completely devoted to Hye Mi and to protecting her in school (Protecting?). His refreshing honesty, unmistakable talent, and innocence regarding his talent are a nice change from the rest of Kirin High, who are all, in one way or another, struggling to become Korea's next sensation. At the same time, we also see his complex relationship with music, as he falls into depression after receiving the news that he is losing his hearing. His story is one of overcoming all the obstacles against all odds, and right now, we know that, deaf of not, he'll definitely become one of Korea's pop stars

This is Jin Guk, or whatever his name is (he has two

of them--don't ask). We first meet him when he jumps in and saves Hye Mi from a bunch of creepy loan sharks who are badgering her about her father's debt. Of course, the next time we see him, he's creating one huge comotion during the Kirin High auditions with a fire extinguisher. He has a troubled relationship with his politically career obsessed Dad, who wants to send him abroad to study, and a bit of an on and off relationship with Hye Mi (hear the word's love triangle, anyone?). A strange series of circumstances and Yoon Baek Hee lead him to sacrifice his friends when he debuts alongside Baek Hee, and from henceforward, he's a traitor.

Jin Gook seems to be a badly formed character-- while all the other character's personalities, ambitions, dreams, and goals pop, he's the one who is stuck in a state of perpetual limbo. His main purpose in Dream High appears not to be one of a personal story, but rather as an object, or force, that incites conflict. His relationship with Hye Mi, especially, seems to serve more as a plot device than an actual relationship. Either that, or he's bipolar. No, not really. But, screenwriting flaws or not, his epic hair makes up for it.

Alongside the main highschool cast, there's my second favorite character, Pilsook. Pilsook has an amazing voice, but most of Kirin High believes her unable to debut because of her weight (one girl says, if she were 30 kilograms lighter, Pilsook may be able to debut) She's really shy, and sweet, and has a humongous crush on Chipmunk boy. It's really pitiful, some times.

Oh yeah, meet Chipmunk boy, aka, Jason. But really, he looks like a chipmunk, right? Right? He's an amazing dancer, and apparently, he doesn't need to work for it. Great, another coaster. But the good thing is, he's really nice to PilSook, so I guess it works out...

Jason and Pilsook's relationship seems to work out mostly as a side story/comic relief (the two of them are so cute!), however, their relationship contains complex dynamics that often question the ideas of goals and hard work. Pilsook, after loosing 200 pounds for Jason, soon realizes that she did all that for someone with no ambition, and berates him to work harder, as a friend. The ideas of hard work as well as really, really awkward love are complexly intertwined throughout their relationship.

And then, there's the teachers. Oh boy, and trust me, if you're looking for a bunch of intense weirdoes, look no further.

First up on the list, is Kang Oh-Hyuk, the lowest scoring teacher in Kirin High, and of course, he's also the one training Hye Mi, Jin Guk, Pilsook, and Sam Dong, in the graveyard. He exemplifies what the director says in the begining-- the loser, yet the loser with so much potential, with the right push, he might become a star.

Kang's story is a remarkable one about strength and empowerment. He is the one who stands by the Half Admission class as a surrogate father figure and he's willing to sacrifice everything to help them realize their dreams. Kang is also the loser, reborn. The drama slowly watches him change and grow, as he transitions from a true loser to the brilliant, confident teacher whom we realize, has always been there inside of him, it just needed the chance to grow.

This is Kang's old high school friend, whom he betrayed, but now they're working together to help the Half Admission class become stars...Yang Jin Man, the dance god. No, not the nice, sophisticated, intelligent looking guy on the right, the creepy looking punk on the left. Teacher Kang is weird. Period. Even though he's one of the Half Admission class' most important teacher and he would do anything for them, he goes to such great lengths to avoid being identified with them. My favorite stunts of his are the times when he lectured the class using two cellphones put on speakerphone, and when he disguised himself as a robot to avoid identification.

Yang Jin Man doesn't have as much depth as Kang Oh-Hyuk does, he functions more as a source of comic relief and occasional Oh. My. Words-- that dance move was amazing. His relationship with Teacher Shi, however, is one of my favorite parts in the drama. After locking her alone in a closet to prevent her from spoiling the fake showcase, Kang Oh-Hyuk leaves to settle the matter on his own terms, and Teacher Shi, preparing to kick down the door (in a surprisingly girly fashion) is rescued by Yang Jin Man. It's love at first sight-- at least for Yang Jin Man. The way he's so oblivious to the fact she doesn't really like him is insane...

Which brings me to Teacher Shi Kyung Jin. Woah. Talk about a nutcase. We first meet her as she scatters 1000 tacks on the floor of her dance class and cheerily informs the class they must pick them all up in 5 minutes or else their footwork-- with bare feet, I might add-- would become very interesting. I love this lady.

(Sorry...this is something I had stewing on the back burner for a long --long long long long...--- time! Promise that I'll write about actual life in Reno soon! Also, the ending is a bit abrupt, but, well, I thought I had fan-gushed on long enough :D)