"그때의 우린, 그 어느 어른보다 심각했고, 치열했고, 힘겨웠다."
"at that time, we were more serious, fierce and we struggled more than any adult."
the quote sounds less cool in english, unfortunately. A LOT less cool.
so i've been watching a korean drama called, "응답하라 1997 (Respond 1997)." to be honest, it's the greatest drama i have ever seen. i once felt really sad that many of my friends couldn't read korean when i read a korean webcomic called "구름의 노래 (song of clouds)." compared to that, i now feel that it's a full-blown tragedy that many of my friends cannot speak/understand korean b/c i love this drama and i want them to love it too.
this drama is about what life was like for a group of high school friends starting in 1997 and it flashes back and forth b/t 1997-1998 & 2012, at their high school reunion. when i first recognized the greatness of this drama, i wondered, "if given the chance, would i want to repeat my high school years?"
the answer, of course, is a resounding "NO." if someone was to ask me that question, i'd cut them off with my answer. "if given the chance, would you want to repeat your high," "NO. NEVER." the weird thing about it though, is that i remember those days very fondly and i'm sure i'm not the only one. honestly though, i've given much thought to this seeming paradox. i remember my high school days very fondly, but i would never want to repeat them, leading me to the conclusion that i only remember them fondly b/c i'm no longer in high school.
don't get me wrong, there were definitely great moments from that time of my life, but if i'm honest, i think there were many more sucky moments that i'm choosing not to remember, like all the time i spent studying chemistry, for example.
but back to the show. one of the reasons it's SO great is the music. they only play songs that were popular at the time period the drama is portraying and it's a great way to remember. i wrote this before and i'll say it again here, music helps you remember specific times in your life and not just that, music can also come to represent that time period. therefore, it's important to be alive when that music is first released. otherwise, you can enjoy that song, but you can't REMEMBER that song. there's a distinct difference that makes all the difference in the world.
however, it's not just the music. the drama is very faithful to life in 1997. the characters in the drama use modems, phones with cords, beepers, payphones, etc. i grew up during a time before cell phones and the wide-spread use of the internet. i listened to cassette tapes, carried a walkman and the only way to get music was to actually go to a store to buy physical tapes/cds. this drama makes me remember those times fondly. kids today probably think the way we lived was so inconvenient, but that's b/c they're stupid.
but these reasons are merely icing on the cake. what is the foundation and the most important piece of the greatness is the story itself. the story of falling in love for the first time is a universal story everyone can relate to. i like that in the drama, the main character falls in love with his life-long best friend b/c of the way she looks without glasses. i'm sure most people would like something more dramatic, but real life isn't that dramatic. =)
there's a scene in an episode where one of the characters is studying the game of basketball from a book b/c she wants to be able to relate to the guy she likes. that scene made me smile, b/c let's be honest, haven't we all done something ridiculous b/c we liked someone when we were in high school?
i truly feel blessed to have grown up in the 1990s. i was old enough to experience life the way it was in the 90s, yet still young enough to embrace the newer innovations of the 2000s and now 2012. i wonder if i'll remember this time of my life as fondly 15 years from now?
enjoy the drama for those that can, you won't regret it. =)
