Full House - Korean Drama
I was in Seoul in October last year. My Korean friend, knowing that I was obsessed with Korean dramas, told me then that there was a very good series currently showing in Korea called “Full House”, and that it was very funny. Now, this friend of mine, she absolutely hates all the domestic Korean soapies (they are way too weepy for a modern Korean woman like her!), so for her to say that “Full House” was a good show, and that everyone was rushing home after work to watch, caught my attention. I have been on the look-out for the drama to hit our shores ever since.
So finally, after the longest wait, I got my hands on a dubbed version less than two weeks ago. I will cut right to the verdict - IT IS FANTASTIC!!! WONDERFUL! BRILLIANT! [Spoilers ahead]
It is everything the last series I watched, Beautiful Days, was not. It is hilariously funny, the leads are wonderfully natural and have perfect chemistry with one another. The plot is interesting and not too convoluted, focusing mainly on the growth and development of main characters, with a happy ending that is just spot-on and most satisfying. Perhaps I have been watching way too many tearjerkers, and this is just a breath of fresh air. Lovers in Paris came close, but Lovers had a vague ending which I disliked, and that spoiled the whole show for me.
Synopsis: Han Ji-Eun (played by Song Hae Gyo) is an aspiring writer living in a beautiful house by the beach (nicknamed “Full House”) which was built by her late father. Her two best friends, having landed in financial trouble, plotted to have her house sold to current popular actor Lee Young-Jae (played by Bi or Rain), who has been evading a series of scandals. The two crossed paths during a trip to Shanghai and from then totally rubbed each other the wrong way. Young Jae is in love with his childhood friend Kang Hye Won (played by Han Eun Jung) but she in turn was in love with another childhood friend Yoo Min-Hyuk (played by Kim Sung Soo) - yes, we cannot avoid those multiple-orgy type relationships. In a brash moment, both Ji-Eun and Young Jae decided to enter into a contractual marriage so that Ji-Eun can “work” as a maid and get back her “Full House”, while Young Jae is able to get some respite from scandals as well as to let Hye Won to be with Min-Hyuk (or so he thought). Despite their frequent quarrels and fights, both Ji-Eun and Young Jae are unable to fight off their attraction to one another. However, just when their marriage may move on to become a “real” marriage, Hye Won, having been rejected by Min-Hyuk, wants Young-Jae back. Min-Hyuk also fell in love with Ji-Eun, thereby obstructing the path to true love. The scandal regarding their contractual marriage also threatens to explode and hurt Young-Jae’s budding career. Can Ji-Eun and Young Jae, despite their differences and numerous obstacles, confess their feelings for each other and stay together for good? YES, YES and YES!!!!!
10 things I absolutely love about this show:
1) Perfect chemistry between Ji-Eun and Young-Jae: they are just so funny together. True opposites in both physical appearances and characters e.g. one is extremely untidy (the pint-sized one) and the other is a fastidious nut (tall and hunky). They are just a pair made in heaven. Both young, the bickering couple is like two squabbling teenagers, and their antics are true comedic moments. In contrast, their quiet moments are so touching and heart rending it makes me want to cry. By the end of the show, I was literally yelling at the screen, “Tell her you love her, you FOOL!!!” because I want them to be together!
2) Great plot: The premise of the show is obviously contrived (an alternative Cinderalla meets Prince Charming), and the meaning of “Great” here is not in the same degree as “Great” in Jewel in the Palace. For a romantic comedy, a great plot will hit all the right spots with the audience. The bickering, if kept on for too long will become boring and even grating, but the producers wisely kept the show to only 16 episodes. The pacing is kept up, and the sad moments are not dragged out and thus kept their poignancy. The concentration on the two leads playing house makes their falling in love all the more believable. There is no BIG Evil Third Party, both Hye Won and Min Hyuk are realistic characters and they don’t come up with sinister plots to break the leads up, and when they realise that Ji-Eun and Young-Jae are truly in love, they step aside gracefully.
3) Complementary sidekicks and other characters: Because it is a relatively short drama, there are no other nonsensical side-plots running concurrently to distract us from the main story. These characters including Ji-Eun’s idiotic friends who betrayed her and sold her house, and Young-Jae’s cute and loving family all contributed to Ji-Eun’s and Young-Jae’s progressive relationship. In particular, Young-Jae’s family, comprising of granny, dad and mum and their interactions with Ji-Eun are very heart-warming and funny. For once there is no stupid family standing in the way of true love unlike 10 zillion other Korean shows.
4) Classic moments: There are just so many of them I don’t know where to start. The one that had me laughing out loud was their “honeymoon” bedroom scene (I believed it was in the Phuket Banyan Tree!!!!!) when they fought over each other for the right to sleep on the luxurious king-size bed. Another was when they were stuffing each other with sushi while pretending to act as a loving couple in front of reporters. Other classic moments included both Ji-Eun and Young-Jae performing the “3 bears” in front of the family and each other, and many other scenes when they are hurling insults at each other, calling each other “birdbrain” (him to her) and “weirdo/pyscho” (her to him).
5) Tender and/or heart-breaking scenes: Though not that many, these are well acted out and filled with aching poignancy. One of my favourites was when Young Jae stood Ji-Eun up on a “date” (they had started to fall reluctantly in love) when he rushed over to comfort Hye Won and she stayed up late to wait for him to come home. When he finally returned and she demanded an explanation, he got defensive since he felt guilty (some artistic license here cos I can’t remember the exact script):
YJ (shouting): I never told you to wait up for me! Why are you so stupid? Who told you to wait so long for me?
JE (hurt and indignant): You stood me up and you’re calling me stupid? Where did you go? Did you go and see her?
YJ (angry and defensive): What business is it of yours? You are not my anyone!
JE (tears in her eyes): Whatever we have right now, it means nothing to you?
YJ (pausing, then ground out): Yes, whatever we have right now, it means nothing to me….you mean nothing to me.
JE (taking in a deep breath, and staring back at him, tears rolling down and saying in a quiet and dignified manner): I understand. From now on, you, and what we have here, will mean nothing to me as well.
My GOD! Is that heartbreaking or what!!?!? Trust me, the scene went better than what I wrote above.
6) Superb and well directed ending: A lot of good dramas, not just Korean, fall into the trap of a rushed or weird ending. I get extremely frustrated when this happens, and it happens a lot. Sometimes, like in the case of Beautiful Days, it seems that the director has forgotten that he has only that much time to conclude the series, and therefore the ending is so abrupt. Others like Lovers in Paris, went for an “unconventional” ending, which meant nothing at all. Do directors really think that audience don’t care about endings at all? It doesn’t matter if the ending is sad or happy, loose ends should be tied up properly. If it is a happy ending, I want to see how happy the couple is, especially if they spent the last 15 episodes apart! I want to know they are truly living happily ever after! I want to see them doing mudane things and enjoying each other’s company after the final love declaration! Full House made me very, very happy to have sacrificed my sleep and sat through the entire series. I gave a standing ovation in my living room after the credits came up.
7) Rain the actor: He is not Bae Yong Jun for sure. I don’t really know how to describe him - he has such a small boy’s face (ok, he’s only an innocent 23). Small slit eyes (and they are not even symmetrical!) which disappear when he grins a cheeky or boyish grin. (I told Mr Boo that with the Korean Wave, his looks have increased in market value since he also has small and droopy eyes.) But such a gorgeous body!!! 
Tanned, tonned and not overtly muscular. Tall and lithe. And he stripped often enough in the show for me to drool over his body. Meow! His looks grow on you. And I give him props for acting his role so very well. When he is blustery he is all macho crap, when he is romantic and in pain I want to hug and comfort him! (And my pedophilic tendencies rear their ugly heads again!) And he says the cheesiest lines so very well and makes my heart fly to the heavens. His final declaration to Ji-Eun goes something as such:
“I love you Ji-Eun. The seas and skies may disappear, but I will still love you. It may be the end of time, and my very being may explode into a million pieces, I will still love you.” Corny? Yes! Romantic? Yes!
And now, sigh, I am a fan. I just went to buy his CD!
8) Song Hae Gyo the actress: I never did like her in the previous shows I have seen, including Autumn in My Heart, Hotelier and All In. She was way too weepy then, and she still looked so young and childish to be a mature and lovelorn leading lady. But she was well-casted in this role as a shrewish, independent and strong young woman. Many Internet denizens commented that they never knew she had a funny bone in her, and I agree!! In fact, I think she should just do comedy from now on! She is absolutely perfect for it! And she looks absolutely luminous in the role. I think she has been hard done by the previous dramas. She is also the perfect foil for Rain.
9) “Full House” itself: In the show, “Full House” stands for “a house filled with love and romance”. According to Internet writings, the gorgeous house by the beach was specially built for this show for the grand price of US$1,000,000. It is so beautiful with its spiralling staircase, floor to ceiling glass windows, fantastic views, garden, porch - good lord, anyone can easily fall in love in such a place! I want to buy it and live with Mr Boo (although he is nothing like Rain….)!! How much is it?? I think I would be a retiree before I could even afford to live in something like that! 
10) Great soundtrack: What is a good show without a good soundtrack - think Winter Sonata. Then again, there is hardly any Korean drama, even the relatively bad ones, that has a bad OST. All the songs and music fit the mood perfectly.
As I continued watching Full House, I kept changing my ratings for the drama. I started out giving the show 4 out of 5 boos, gradually moving up to 4.25 and then telling myself I would raise it up to 4.5 if the ending was well-done. However I thought to myself, what great flaws are there since it fulfilled my key criteria of providing me great entertainment? Am I fair to compare this to Jewel in the Palace when they are in totally different genres? So in the end I decided: for a romantic comedy/drama, Full House Gets Full Marks!
Rating: 5 out of 5 boos!! (A first ever!)
