1% possible

It's time once again to write about trivial topics, ha ha.

I mentioned this K drama, 1% of Anything, sometime back. The title is grammatically odd but it is what the show is about - that even if there is a 1% possibility of something working out, there is that possibility of things turning out well in the end. I kind of like that storyline. It is a 2003 production, making it a contemporary of Stairway to Heaven and All In. Rom-coms weren't quite in yet at that time so it must have been quite a change from the usual fare then.

This show will appeal to die-hard romantics and anyone interested in watching the precursors for many later rom-com scenes. I recognised so many scenes here that were copied in shows like My Girl, Goong, etc. (For all I know, maybe this show copied those ideas from elsewhere.) The show also has practically all the elements you would expect in K drama - rich family versus poorer family, blind dates and match making, best friends, one girl and two suitors, love contracts, younger brother, grandfather... It even has some TVB ideas - cruel stepfather and kidnap!

Nevertheless, I did find it entertaining (though 26 episodes is way too long) because it had some quirky takes on those stock ideas. Like there is often a scene where the guy is pestered by another girl and the girlfriend happens to come by and overhears only part of the conversation and thus misunderstands everything, right? Well, here, the girlfriend happens to come by at the right time and thus sees and hears everything and so there is no misunderstanding. Then there is the time when the girl's dad spings a dating contract on the guy. Funny.

Also, it was nice for a change to have a guy who makes up his mind about the girl very fast, unlike many heroes who take about half the series or more to decide/realise that they like the girl.

And there was a nice soundtrack. I can still hear the song in my head. The last time that happened was when I watched Love Revolution. And I can still hear Ken Hirai...

The main girl, Kim Jung Hwa, is beautiful. The guy, Kang Dong Won, should have had a better haircut but his character was rather endearing.

Han Hye Jin, of Be Strong, Geum Soon and Jumong fame, is here as a secondary character, the best friend. These must have been her early days and I can see why she became a top choice for later dramas. Her acting overshadowed that of all the main characters.

My friend A says she has gone off K drama because she is tired of how everything is fake and made up. I do agree with her on this. Apart from Han Hye Jin, I would say the other people acted fairly competently in a textbook sort of way - they delivered their lines and played their characters in the most 'correct' way they could. Hence the 'fakeness'. And, of course, the cast is, as usual, telegenic and you suspect everyone has had some work done on their faces, teeth, etc.

So I was really glad when Ariel and Joe came back on TV in They Kiss Again. More on that another time!

Pictures from here