Oh, Oh, Lytro!
Explore, play, click around the image to bring elements into focus. It's light field photography. It's Lytro. And taking pictures takes some serious thinking.
Travel, chocolate, married life, Asian dramas and Colombian and Chilean telenovelas, music, unrepentant VP, photographing places and people, studying 한국어, exploration of ideas, cultures, food, or life.
Explore, play, click around the image to bring elements into focus. It's light field photography. It's Lytro. And taking pictures takes some serious thinking.
I received a Lytro camera for Christmas and it (finally!) arrived this week.
Now I have to figure out how to take full advantage of it.
This review was written for and was published in the Korean Quarterly
One of the most popular dramas of 2010 was the inventive and fanciful “Secret Garden” and it justly deserves the many accolades. Not only does it boast two of the most handsome and star-powered acting in Korean movies and television in its lead actor and actress, Hyun Bin and Ji-won Ha, but its riches include an impressive book, direction, camera work, and OST (official soundtrack). It also serves as one piece of Hyun Bin’s temporary farewell tour, completed just prior to his entering the Marines to fulfill his mandatory military service. And what a sendoff! Not only does he create a memorable character in his “dual” role, but he scored a major hit on most music charts with, “Keu Namja” (“That Man”) for the drama’s OST. Equally, his costar Ji-won Ha gets the perfect showcase in her “roles” to illustrate why she is so sought after for film and television work. Why the reference to “roles” for both actors? This is a fantasy drama that has a lot of fun with the body – or perhaps it is more accurate to say “soul” – swapping concept!
Listen to Hyun Bin sing "That Man"
For some, the idea of a drama that deals so heavily in a fantasy make-believe world may be a turn-off, getting in the way of the delicious meat-and-potatoes of dramas: romance. In “Secret Garden,” viewers will have the chance to feast on both the desired romantic staples and have as dessert the extra fillip of fantasy as tempting as the sweets table at an Italian wedding!
The story introduces us to the respective worlds and personalities of our protagonists and the people close to the in the first two episodes.
Joo-won Kim (Hyun Bin) is the head of the exclusive Loel Department Store, and a man of seemingly infinite neuroses. He works only two days a week (much to the chagrin of his family and top management), yet is very successful in his work. He is all competence and perfectionism and an emotionally distant figure. One of his tendencies – much to their annoyance or fear – is to question those who report to him with, “Are you sure? Is this the best that you can do?” But this is a mask. He is a man who suffers from extreme claustrophobia and related panic disorder. His shrink is number one on his speed dial. He’s lived his life in the insulated bubble of the very rich upper class, so his meeting and subsequent dealings with Ra-im Gil bring him into a world that is foreign and confusing to him. She seems as poor to him as someone you might encounter in the pages of National Geographic!
Ra-im Gil (Ji-won Ha) is making her way in the world as a passionate and dedicated young stuntwoman. She works on a team headed by Jong-soo Im (Phillip Lee), and at the beginning of the story is working as a stunt double for a spoiled starlet. Because the work status of a stunt double, especially, it seems, for a woman, is so low, she is treated with relative disdain by the star and the director, yet she redoubles her efforts and apologizes when things go wrong because that is how things are and what she must do. She behaves like one of the guys on her work team in order to blend in, but there is a part of her that wistfully wishes that she could revel (and reveal) her feminine side too.
This story includes a number of interesting characters, most notably Sang-hyun Yoon, who plays a “Hallyu Star” known popularly as Oska. His character’s real name is Woo-young Choi and he is Joo-won’s older cousin, rival, nemesis, sounding board, and friend. Oska is equal parts brash, sensitive, self-aware, sincere, blunt, and a tiny bit full of himself, but in such an amusing way that viewers will fall completely head over heels for him. Oska is a singer, performing songs that skew just a little (read: a lot) too young for him and he knows it, but he has a huge fan base, especially in Japan, and is putting out a new album. Bored with this, or perhaps realizing that he’s trapped in a place he doesn’t want to be, he decides he’ll mentor a new talent when he spots Tae-ssun Han (Jong-suk Lee). Too bad that the kid wants little to do with him, at least until they come to terms! Oska not only has the adoration of thousands of fans, he is Ra-im’s idol too. She turns to his music as solace in times of stress and warms herself with a memory of once having met him and worked on a film with him when doubling for Seon-ah Kim. (The drama’s writer has a field day with a number of meta-type references to previous dramas, real life actors, singers, and situations.) Two of the lovely songs from the drama’s OST are performed in the drama by Yoon; they are “Here I Am” and “Bara Bonda” (“Looking at You”). Spending a lot of his time as a careless playboy, he has “a past” with Seul Yoon (Sa-rang Kim), who has decided that she’s going to make him pay by setting her cap for his cousin, Joo-won.
Oska’s playboy ways are the catalyst for introducing Joo-won and Ra-im; Oska needs Joo-won to prevent the spoiled actress for whom Ra-im’s doubling from holding a press conference after he dumped her. As Oska is the image of Loel, it’s important to Joo-won to protect his louse of a cousin, but it’s also great leverage to get him to resign his contract with the store. Fortunately for us viewers, on the movie set he’s directed to Ra-im who, because she’s dressed like the actress and mistakenly identified, and away we go! He manages to insult her but when put into his rightful place by the fiercely proud Ra-im is struck by the force of her personality. She is like no one he’s ever met before and he finds any number of ways to meet up with her, including going to the Stunt Actors Academy to find her and going through a hilarious audition process to have the chance to talk to her! Yes, you’re going to score with the ladies when you wear a tracksuit that is made of dark blue sequined fabric – and it’s not going to matter if it was hand-stitched in Italy! He gets her attention during a workout session that will have many viewers wishing that all sit-ups could be so… “Stimulating!” More of his neuroses are revealed as he finds himself imagining Ra-im accompanying him in his solitude; he talks to her, chides her for not being the type of woman he should know or care about, and pictures her in many different ways. In short, he’s captivated by her and has no clue how to deal appropriately with his feelings. Maybe she could be like “the little mermaid” in the children’s tale; he can enjoy her company and then she could disappear? He is often a world-class jerk, until the fateful events that lead to the soul swapping (and sometimes even after that, because hey, soul-swapping is a stressful business!)
Ra-im is understandably confused and irritated by Joo-won’s high-handed ways and makes no effort to hide these feelings. Why is he so persistent? Why should he care about how people perceive her? Doesn’t he know that he just makes her life that much harder? But his attention reminds her that she would like to be seen as a woman too. She’s fortunate in having as a friend and roommate Ah-young Im (played very appealingly by In-ah Yoo), who works at Loel. She’s called upon to be both confidante to Ra-im and to occasionally help as a go-between for Joo-won, ably assisted by the scene-stealing Kim-sung Oh, who plays Joo-won’s hapless assistant, Sung-woo Kim.
The benefit to the soul-swapping storyline not occurring until very late in the fifth episode is that the viewer has time to understand the characters, and to sympathize with them (or hope, in the case of Joo-won, that he gets a big karmic comeuppance and learns some valuable lessons). Once the switch happens, the story takes off in a whole new direction – or perhaps it should be compared to a parallel track. The main romance and discovery storyline is still ticking away very nicely, but then you get the added bonus of the simultaneous “OMG I’m her/him!” storyline in which the two lovers learn important things about each other and life. The moment in which the two discover that they have become “Joo-wonda” (Ra-im inhabiting Joo-won’s body) and “Ra-him” (when Joo-won discovers he has breasts) may require you to replay the scene several times because you will have been laughing too hard on the first viewings to have caught all of the dialogue! Major praise goes to both Hyun Bin and Ji-won Ha for throwing themselves completely into the characterizations of their “other” roles. As Joo-wonda, Ra-im could be said to have a leg up because she’s been working in a man’s world in a physical profession, but she’s got zero experience with the intimate side of the man’s world, let alone the elite world of the rich Joo-won. Plus, she finds herself in close proximity to her fangirl idol Oska and can barely hide her urge to “squee” whenever near him! On the other hand, as Ra-him, Joo-won must deal (in a side-splitting moment that will be relished by most women) with female undergarments, the unrequited love of Ra-im’s boss (and therefore his rival) Jong-soo, but a thousand times worse for him is that he must be the physical and unafraid Ra-im, Stuntwoman.
A fellow viewer with whom this reviewer shared the “Secret Garden” experience complained that she felt the drama could have stood on its own without the soul-swapping storyline, but I could not agree. Joo-won needs to understand Ra-im’s world and her pride and to gain a bit of her courage and Ra-im needs to learn how to face the world with a greater sense of self-worth and yes, entitlement. By learning more of each other by being each other, the two grow into a couple that breathes for each other. And this is a beautiful thing!
There are myriad reasons for watching this drama: the most significant one being the incredible chemistry between Hyun Bin and Ji-won Ha. Yes, chemistry, chemistry, chemistry! What a beautiful thing that is! I love the way he falls for her so completely and he knows what this is because he feels it, and yet he doesn’t because he’s never felt this way before. I shouldn’t enjoy his dominating her by sitting on her the way he does in one scene in the Stunt Academy (he’s so tall and she’s so tiny) but, well, she had it coming because she was the one kicking him and tossing him around at the time. If you play with fire, you get scorched by Hyun Bin’s eyes! There are times where they are so angry at each other that you don’t know if they’re going to self-combust or fall on each other and kiss each other madly. You will hope for the latter, though be prepared for Joo-won’s incredible pill of a mother (played by the incomparably icy Joon-geum Park) to step in just at the worst possible moment.
Much too can be said about the world these characters inhabit, especially the brilliant choice of the home used for Joo-won. An architectural stunner, his house (it cannot in truth be called a home unless Ra-im is there with him) is a crisp, white, ultra-modern showpiece set in acres of open space, with a deck overlooking a beautiful ornamental and natural-looking pond. It is open plan and minimalist and a sterile cocoon for the neurotic Joo-won. It’s almost as if it is a geometric eggshell of a womb in which he can hide from the world, yet it is so open and airy that he is free from his fear of enclosed spaces. In spite of this, there are spaces in this house that are inviting, such as the library and his loft-type bedroom. Even if you do not care for modern architecture, you may find yourself wanting to move in. And, it contrasts beautifully with the small apartment that Ra-im shares with Ah-young, filled with the objects one collects during one’s life, cozy and warm.
You may notice that this reviewer has not provided many details to the drama and there is a reason for that; there are so many delightful moments to the way the story unfolds that to describe them here would rob the story of its impact. They should be experienced first-hand, without spoiling one’s personal discovery. When you can, as soon as you are able, make time to go play in this garden!
Watch "Secret Garden" at Dramafever.com – http://www.dramafever.com/
i. If you wish to unmold the cake before icing and serving, butter the pan lightly and line the bottom and two sides with a piece of parchment paper. Take care when mixing not to disturb or tear the paper.
ii. Alternatively, prepare the ingredients in a separate bowl.
1. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar until the butter is well distributed. The mixture will be very dry and still powdery.
2. Stir in 1 tablespoon of milk or water, then sift the cocoa powder over the mixture and cream to blend.
3. Mix in the vanilla.
4. Add the second cup of confectioners’ sugar.
5. Add as much of the remaining liquid as necessary to make a thick, creamy icing. (This makes enough icing to generously frost the top and sides of the cake.)
Reviewed for the Korean Quarterly
Have you been looking for a drama that will satisfy everyone in the family? Well, look no further, because Sungkyunkwan Scandal is up to the challenge!
This drama is definitely a little charmer, mixing in some of the best features of stories like those in You're Beautiful and Coffee Prince, only this one is pure Joseon fusion sageuk fun, based on a comic novel of the same name. With a similar premise of a young woman dressing as a man to function in a male environment in common, a lot depends on the ability of the actress in question to convince you not so much that she’s convincing as a man (though it might be more appropriate here to say “boy”), but rather that her character belongs in the world she’s inhabiting. Min-young Park as Kim Yoon-hee (and disguised as Scholar Kim Yoon-shik) is central to the success of the story. It is how those around her behave and treat her and how she responds in turn that make this drama the delight that it is. But more on Miss Park and the rest of the cast after a brief description of the story.
Mixing a dash of reality with a big dose of playful fiction, Sungkyunkwan Scandal is set during the reign of King Jeong-jo (played by sympathetically by Sung-ha Jo) and is populated by real characters (Yak-yong Jung, one of the leading philosophers of the era in which the drama is set, as played by Nae-sang Ahn) and fictional ones. It describes genuine historical issues, namely the geumdeungjisa and the search for this document. The geumdeungjisa was an historical document that was said to have described how one political faction, the Norons, manipulated King Yeong-jo into killing his son, the Crown Prince Sado (father to King Jeong-jo). Its significance is revealed during the course of the drama and the search for the document has consequences for the main heroes and heroine. It also includes entertaining fictional challenges to the success and/or safety of the protagonists, regularly placing one or more into jeopardy.
Into this world comes Yoon-hee Kim, who has been making her way in the world camouflaged as her brother, Yoon-shik Kim, in order to support her family and pay for her brother’s medicines. Her deceased father was a respected scholar but he has left the family with few resources. The most notable one is the education he provided his daughter. She’s used it in copying books and other documents for a local bookseller, but a situation arises that places Yoon-hee and her family’s wellbeing at risk. She makes the decision to sit the entrance exam illegally for Sungkyunkwan University. (Note: the drama is set in a fictionalized version of the real life Sungkyunkwan University, the original school founded in 1398 was the most important seat of learning in the Joseon era.) This is a decision that will radically change the course of her life (and, perhaps, history!)
She’s challenged in her mission by the exceedingly intelligent, highborn and well-connected (his father, played by the ever-excellent Gap-soo Kim, is Left State Minister Lee Jung Moo), handsome, and oh yes, exceptionally rigid-minded Lee Sun-joon, played by Micky Yoochun in his first major acting role. Whereas Yoon-hee is more cynical, expressive, and passionate about the world and how things are, up until this point Sun-joon has only thought about the “haves and have nots” in theoretical terms, but his fateful encounter and subsequent relationship with Yoon-hee will change his life forever as well. This drama is a perfect example of a couple who are clearly written as two individuals of strong mind and character who complement each other – to use the cliché, “complete each other” – in the fullest sense of the term. It’s a delight to watch them grow and develop a genuine friendship that is not contingent on a male/female relationship, but more as two intelligent and counterbalanced minds.
Of course, that’s not to say that there isn’t a male/female relationship that blossoms in this tale – but it’s a twisted path to get there because our singularly straight-and-narrow-path Sun-joon hasn’t got a clue that his new fellow scholar is a girl. And yet, he feels compelled to defend this strange small-boned “lad” in a number of situations that range from the hilarious to tension-filled dangerous.
Descriptions of this drama make reference to the “Joseon F4,” a nod to the infamous F4 of Boys Over Flowers, the four famously handsome and charismatic young "flower" men of that drama. The writer tosses a wink and a nod to that concept with the addition of two other important characters: Joong-ki Song as the flamboyant provocateur and ladies man, Goo Yong-ha, and Ah-in Yoo as the surly radical with a cause, Moon Jae-shin. The popular Yong-ha goes by the nickname “Yeo-rim,” in tribute to his skill with women, and Jae-shin is known as “Guh-ro,” or Crazy Horse, for his wild and untamed behavior. These two are the first to discover Yoon-hee’s secret but, for their own reasons, undertake separately to protect her identity. And really, they’ve got enough to worry about!
Yong-ha is busy playing both sides of the political arena at Sungkyunkwan – when the story opens, he’s part of the coterie of the school’s president, Ha In-soo, son of the Minister of War (and the man who holds the threat of ruin over Yoon-hee’s family, amongst his other crimes), played by Tae-soo Jun. In-soo can give Sun-joon a run for his money when it comes to rigid, but he’s not blessed with the latter’s same sense of fair-play and fair-mindedness. Yong-ha tosses in his lot with Yoon-hee, Sun-joon, and Jae-shin, ostensibly because it amuses him, but he becomes a powerful ally in the process as he brings a clever mind to the table as well and is gifted in all manner of game playing and schmoozing.
As for Jae-shin, school is the perfect place for hiding a little open rebellion. He’s busy masquerading as a leafleting ‘terrorist’ known as the Red Messenger. One of his red paper leaflets, in fact, points fingers at the government for burying the truth about the geumdeungjisa and starts the hunt in seriousness for both the perpetrator known as the Red Messenger and the geumdeungjisa. He too is drawn to the fierce intelligence and determination in Yoon-hee to excel, no matter the task, and as well to her sense of right and wrong which marches firmly in step with his own. His knowledge of her gender gives him a different perspective than that of Sun-joon’s and the reactions of both young men to this “cuckoo in the nest” lead to many laughter-filled moments.
Many of you will discover, in watching Sungkyunkwan Scandal, a newfound (or heightened) appreciation for the introspective, observant, not highly verbal, men of minimalist facial expressions, repressed, but still manly types – namely Micky Yoochun – and Ah-in Yoo. Micky especially looks well suited to the school uniform, the top-knot and headband – even in the gat (the wide-brimmed horsehair hat worn by the scholars and most highborn men) that often suits no one well! Yoo is equally charismatic in those robes, but sporting a wild and unruly mane of long locks, restrained only for official school functions. If you find yourself wishing that somehow both young men could win the girl, you will not be alone!
And about that girl… One of the stumbling blocks for many in a cross-dressing drama is the complaint, “Well anyone can see she’s a girl!” Yes, this is true enough when you just look at Min-young Park. She’s slight, has large, expressive eyes, fair skin, and to our eyes she's a girl, but she's not wimpy when it counts. Her Yoon-shik remembers that “he” is a young man at most times and behaves with the natural freedom that a young man would enjoy (though occasionally she's hesitant the way a young woman might be in the era when women are the bottom of the totem pole). She has, after all, been playing her brother for a while now in order to support the family. She’s also a character you can root for. In particular, while there are several well-done subplots through the series, one in particular highlights the character growth of “Yoon-shik” and Sun-joon. The sequence of events dealing with the archery competition (episodes 4-7) is a terrific little story arc.
These kids aren't just there playing school, there are some serious life-and-death types of things happening to them and the loveliness of the surroundings and the attractiveness of the cast doesn't mask the fact that if Yoon-hee is found out she can be killed, or that ‘Crazy Horse’ is playing a dangerous game, and even Sun-joon has a lot at risk. He's got that family connection to live up to/down, and doing things that challenge his ideals of right and wrong really pull him out of his comfort zone and also place him at risk.
Arguably, the most charismatic performance of the drama is that of Ah-in Yoo, as well as the showy role of Yong-ha by Joong-ki Song, but truthfully, this drama belongs to Micky Yoochun’s Sun-joon. He came in for criticism for his characterization of Sun-joon during the early episodes of the drama, but he worked for this viewer completely from the very beginning. His facial movements in many scenes are limited but it works with his feelings, even any nerves he might have had also play right into his role. He's asked to play someone who could be a prig but his eyes always convey a wider range of emotions. Perhaps his life in the intense spotlight as a member of DBSK and subsequent highly publicized split from the group contributed to his ability to mask his outward expression. If you want to know what he’s feeling, you have to read it in his eyes. How Sun-joon grows from the stalwart, self-controlled young man who learns to act with his heart instead of his head, and to trust in doing the right thing for the right reasons and accept consequences is one of the great delights in this drama.
There are many entertaining sequences in this drama but it doesn’t forget the romance. I never knew that removing hats could be so intense! Without giving away the pleasure in watching the scene for the first time viewer, this scene involving the simple removal of a hat is absolutely one of the sexiest scenes I've seen in a while and it yet it was so chaste and pure. There are also a number of other “ill-advised” love stories in the drama that could be seen as ripped from the pages of a Shakespeare comedy; In-soo’s sister (played Heo-rim Seo) does her best to marry Sun-joon, a noted gisaeng has a passion for the considerate Yoon-shik, whereas In-soo is driven mad by his jealousy and unrequited love for the gisaeng.
It’s also worth noting that both the setting of the drama and how it was filmed makes it as lovely to look at as it is entertaining. It also features a number of melodic songs (some performed by Micky Yoochun and other members of his new group, JYJ) as part of the soundtrack.
Sungkyunkwan Scandal was served well by its youthful leads but the contributions by more senior members of the cast are exceptional as well. King Jeong-jo (Ha) is represented as fair-minded and attentive to his peoples; his close ally and friend, Professor Jung (Ahn) is a friend and guide to the young scholars, and protector to the daughter of his friend; Minister Lee (Kim) is a principled man who appears to have made terrible choices for the good of the kingdom, even if it means sacrificing others.
What I think it did particularly well was to build on the tension in the drama, with the plot and the characters. Is Sun-joon's dad a bad guy? Will he have to choose between father and lover? I think they did a great job of subtly exploring that angle. The awesome Gap-soo Kim’s rectitude is something that could be seen as repellant and standoffish, the way Sun-joon was heading at the start of the drama. And yet he was close to his wife (and son to mother) so you sense that there's love in that household.
The many other characters that round out the cast play their parts equally well. Indeed, this drama can and should appeal to all ages. By including a few modern principles to the traditional setting, it creates a sense of timelessness; the acting was entertaining, the characters well rounded, and there were personalities for everyone. Spunky heroine who deserves the man who wins her…? Check. Heroic young man who demonstrates his love…? Check (times two)! Great supporting character stories…? Check!
I will enjoy seeing this one again.
Nothing beats a good Bobby Kim song to make the soundtrack of a drama come to life with subtext.
From the "Iris OST," sung by Kim Tae-woo
