쾌걸 춘향

Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang is a 2005 South Korean television series starring Han Chae-young, Jae Hee, Uhm Tae-woong and Park Si-eun. It aired on KBS2 from January 3 to March 1, 2005 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 17 episodes. A modern retelling of the classic Korean folktale Chunhyangjeon, the romantic comedy series was called "fusion-style" for, among others, mixing rap with pansori in the background music. This is the first Korean drama written by Hong Jung-eun and Hong Mi-ran, and remains the highest-rated in their filmography, with a peak viewership rating of 32.2%. The story begins when Lee Mong-ryong is transferred from Seoul to a high school in Namwon, North Jeolla Province. Chun-hyang does her best to help Mong-ryong, her first love and the son of the Namwon Police Station chief, to enter a prestigious university. However, after meeting with Mong-ryong’s first love, Chae-rin, Mong-ryong’s love toward Chun-hyang is shattered, although Chun-hyang’s love remains unwavering. One day, Byeon Hak-do, CEO of a famous entertainment company, appears in her life. He exudes confidence that he can make any woman fall for him. But as Chun-hyang shows no interest in him, his self-esteem is damaged profoundly. Byeon Hak-do is determined to make her love him.

The silliness and the chaotic descension of old rom-coms remains unmatched. The improbable setup of their story was stretched too thin but it worked with their abrasive behavior. I found the highschool arc to be tolerable despite having the infamous "theater" episode trope just like most school themed media. The leads were a bit old to be passed as highschoolers but at least they switched the setting shortly after. The main conflict lasted for too long and the drama tried to take more serious tone during it which wasn't fitting for the story or the characters. This also forced the ending to be really short and quick. The main soundtrack with vocals was quite good. On the other hand, there's a certain type of soundtrack that always accompany Uhm Tae Woong across different dramas and I can't figure out how or why?