[KOREAN TV DRAMA REVIEWS] 패션 70s (Fashion Seventies)

THE SHOW

When SBS aired its first ever broadcast, on December 1991, it became the first big privately-owned commercial broadcaster in the country. Even though the first ever commercial TV broadcast took place on May 1956, thanks to businessman Hwang Tae-Young, his DBC TV didn't last long. The entire Seoul had no more than 200 TV sets, and it wasn't until the 70s that TV would pose a serious threat to movie theaters as Koreans' favourite source of entertainment. Born in an era when MBC was completely dominating the game -- with 여명의 눈동자 (Eyes of Dawn) and 사랑이 뭐길래 (What is Love), two of the top rated TV Dramas of all time, both over 60%, both airing near the end of 1991 -- the 'youngster' SBS had to quickly find its identity when it came to TV Dramas, establish itself as a valid alternative to the other two titans KBS and MBC. Although almost 50% of the country tuned in to Channel 6 to watch 댁의 남편은 어떠십니까 (How's Your Husband?) in 1993, marking the first big hit in SBS history, it wasn't until the end of 1994 that the new channel started showing an identity of its own. With more money to invest attracting top stars, SBS started seriously pushing what would become their flagbearer in the TV Drama arena: the 특별기획 (Special Project).

1994's 모래시계 (The Sandglass) announced SBS was not just a major player, but it was there to stay. Casting huge stars Choi Min-Soo, Go Hyun-Jung and Park Sang-Won; hot new faces like Lee Jung-Jae; great veterans like Park Geun-Hyung, Jo Kyung-Hwan, Im Hyun-Shik, Kim In-Moon and more, 'The Sandglass' had one of the most impressive casts ever seen in a Korean TV Drama. But what made it shine was the powerful combination of two of the biggest names in the business: writer Song Ji-Na and producer Kim Jong-Hak. The two, 'stolen' from MBC where they worked together on two of the most important TV Dramas of all time -- 1988''s 인간시장 (Human Market) and 1992's 'Eyes of Dawn' -- created what is still hailed by many as SBS' best TV Drama ever, the perfect example of a well made 'Special Project'. Spanning decades of Korean history, including an impressively staged and tremendously poignant recreation of the Gwangju massacre, the Korean 'Godfather' was born. Choi Min-Soo became by far the most popular actor in the country, Park Sang-Won made a career for himself repeating similar 'good man' roles in the future, Go Hyun-Jung was on the mouth of everybody, and Lee Jung-Jae became one of the hottest young star in the industry.

Although the tradition of the big scale/big budget/big cast 'Special Project' continues today, SBS has rarely been able to recapture the magic of 'The Sandglass'. That 'Special Project' label has become ordinary, something you could stick on anything with big casts and big budgets, like a soulless Hollywood blockbuster. Two different subgenres emerged amongst those 'Special Projects': anything trying to ape the elements that made 'The Sandglass' a success -- like 올인 (All In), written by the great Choi Wan-Gyu, a truly excellent 20 Episodes Drama... followed by 4 Episodes of spin-doctoring nonsense which almost derailed the whole thing; and over the top melodramas with huge stars -- like 천국의 계단 (Stairway To Heaven) and 아름다운 날들 (Beautiful Days), which give new meaning to the word cliche. Even when good shows like 파리의 연인 (Lovers in Paris) made their occasional appearance, a lot of people who had been watching those older Dramas felt robbed. Robbed of that lyrical and majestic cinematic beauty, that humanism in the midst of tragedy, that strong and allegorical social commentary found in Dramas like 'The Sandglass'. But things changed this Summer, when another alumni of the 'Drama Kingdom' came to save the day: PD Lee Jae-Gyu.

Groomed by the MBC system, Lee was assistant producer on Dramas like 아줌마 (Ajumma) and 국희 (Guk-Hee), but it wasn't until 2003 that he exploded on the scene, with a little show called 다모 (茶母, Damo). For a long time, Historical Dramas were only concerned about recreating to perfection important facets of Korean history: from Jang Heebin to King Yeonsan, from Hur Joon to Hong Guk-Young, from the scheming and intrigue of the Royal Palace to the class division between 쌍놈 (commoners) and 양반 (noble literati). Full of maniacally intricate storylines, incredibly careful attention to detail and often great acting, those shows were often the favorite pasttime of older viewers.

But the younger audience felt left out of those shows' charms, directing their attentions towards Trendy Dramas. Be it for the difficult language used in the Joseon (or earlier) Dynasty, certain rules the genre had to follow, or simply because they wanted quick and mindless entertainment, teenagers rarely found anything to enjoy on the various 사극 (Historical Dramas) shown on TV. But 'Damo' was different: from wire action inspired by HK TV Wuxia serials to the melodrama found on some of the most popular Korean TV Dramas, the show was the country's first real Fusion Drama. It wasn't a big hit on TV, but had a huge following online. It had something a lot of other Historical Dramas have a hard time capturing: a great cinematic humanism, the likes of which you could only find in those great old Dramas of the early to mid 90s.

If it weren't for Kim Jong-Hak Production working on this show, many people would have seen Lee Jae-Gyu joining SBS to make his first TV Drama there as bad news. After all, even great writers have had a hard time doing great work in a station which always seems to push the glitz and glamour ahead of storytelling and creativity. Even people like Lee Byung-Hoon, helmer of some of the best Historical Dramas in Korean TV history -- like 허준 (Hur Joon) and 대장금 (Dae Jang Geum: Jewel in The Palace) -- is having a hard time with his new SBS Drama 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong). And 패션 70s (Fashion Seventies) risked even more: although it was initially planned as a 30 Episodes Drama, the majority of the cast was only signed for 24 Episodes. After endless negotiations, top stars Joo Jin-Mo and Kim Min-Jung first extended their contracts to 26 Episodes; then as the show recorded ratings of over 25% they finally signed up to the 28th and last episode. But to achieve great things, you always need to suffer great difficulties, which seems to be the reason why 'Fashion Seventies' makes every single one of SBS' Special Projects since 'All In' pale in comparison.

Using the same Sony HD Camera George Lucas wasted on his latest Star Wars film, 'Fashion Seventies' catapults us into early 50s Korea, the small village of Sariwon in what would be later known as North Korea. In the midst of tragedy, the lives of four young children enter a fateful connection which will follow them through their entire lives: mature and calm Dong-Young (Kim Young-Chan) is the son of General Kim (a predictably great Choi Il-Hwa), aspiring to become a great leader like his father. Jang Bin (Eun Won-Jae) is the exact opposite: having to mature next to a mother he calls 여사님 (Madame), someone who openly admits she has no value as a parent, he's an impulsive time bomb ready to explode. On the other end of the spectrum we have Joon-Hee (Byun Joo-Yeon), innocent and cute as a button, growing up like a princess thanks to the attention of his rich father (a fantastic Jeon In-Taek); and Kang-Hee (Jung Min-Ah), conditioned by her mother's anti-social behavior but learning from all her mistakes.

Those four lives follow separate paths thanks to the war, and when we jump to the Seventies, it's a whole new playing game. Joon-Hee (Kim Min-Jung)'s father runs a chaebol, Dong-Young (Joo Jin-Mo) is working for the government, and Bin (Cheon Jung-Myung) spends his time playing with the police. But reality is actually a little different, with adoptions coming into play, and the central role of Deo-Mi (Lee Yo-Won) emerging from the various plot developments. But I won't say anything more, for the story is written well enough that spoiling those developments would make this seem like your average Korean TV Drama. Let's just say writer Jung Sung-Hee was able to carve an interesting portrait of four characters living in a dark period of Korean History, but an age full of hope, passion, and creativity. An era when Fashion had a kind of creativity, following that 'Bohemian hippie' trend, which fit perfectly with the sentiments of Korean people in the 70s.

But even though the Drama is well written, what shines is Lee Jae-Gyu's cinematic humanism. Those four initial episodes are some of the best TV you'll see this year: touching, funny, with amazing sets and excellent special effects -- It's no 태극기 휘날리며 (Taegukgi), but the explosions are quite impressive -- and that feeling you're watching something written like a great novel, immersing yourself completely into the story. If you watch enough Korean films and TV Dramas, you'll know great child actors are not a rarity, but this Drama employs some of the best in the country. 7 year old Byun Joo-Yeon seems poised to become a big star in the future, a sort of second Moon Geun-Young, as she's had important roles in half a dozen films already -- from 조폭 마누라 2 - 돌아온 전설 (My Wife Is A Gangster 2) to 내 남자의 로맨스 (How To Keep My Love), from 이대로, 죽을 순 없다 (Short Time) to the upcoming 도마뱀 (Lizard).

She displays such sweetness and innocence, but in a sincere way, that it's hard to see nowadays in child actors. And that sincerity is important, because she plays her character like a real kid, not a good child actor being guided by a director (learn from this, Hollywood). I spotted Kim Young-Chan in quite a few good TV Dramas and films, and he always impressed me -- he's young Shin Ha-Gyun in 지구를 지켜라 (Save The Green Planet). The other two -- Eun Won-Jae from 2009 로스트 메모리즈 (2009 Lost Memories) and Jung Min-Ah, who played young Ha Ji-Won in 'Damo' -- effectively set the tone for their 'adult versions' later in the show.

It's inevitable that the older stars will be the focus, though. Returning after two years, after marrying pro-golfer Park Jin-Woo and having a kid, Lee Yo-Won plays a similar character to her old ones, but she does so with an air of maturity which you couldn't find before. I don't know if married life changed her, but she's tremendously believable even within the boundaries of her sweet and innocent character. Her emotional outbursts ring true, unlike what the norm of other SBS shows would dictate. Joo Jin-Mo is a surprise as well. Not that this is his first good performance, but he seems... different? I admit I haven't been impressed by anything he's done since 와니와 준하 (Wanee & Junha), even though his work in 때려 (Punch) was quite good, and he was effective in the entertaining 라이어 (Liar).

But he shows maturity and a physicality that is miles beyond the machismo-drenched lyrical platitudes he sang in Kim Sung-Soo's great 무사 (Musa: The Warrior). The real stars of the show, though, are Cheon Jung-Myung and Kim Min-Jung. Kim doing well is not a surprise, as she's one of the most intelligent and eclectic new stars in Chungmuro, choosing all her projects really well. But it's Cheon who really impresses. I remember seeing him on a Variety show (Happy Together) a few years ago, when he was still unknown, and thinking he looked like he could make an interesting actor. But I never expected him to mature into such a talent. His performances in Jung Jae-Eun's 태풍태양 (The Aggressives) and this, showing great chemistry with Lee Hye-Young and the other cast members, show Cheon is a talent to look out for.

The only major flaw of 'Fashion Seventies' is that it's not able to sustain the amazing emotional intensity of those first four episodes. But if that were the case, I'd be talking about one of the best shows of all time, so it's more a sense of disappointment than a real weakness. The quality seen on those episodes is so high, you'll keep looking for more. Which is why you might feel disappointed by the remaining 24 Episodes, which are nonetheless quite well made. I felt this while watching the show when it aired, but a second viewing on DVD helped eliminate that feeling, fleshing out the rest of the story in a better way, and letting the good acting of the older cast emerge. What's for sure is that the industry has found a new talented voice, that of PD Lee Jae-Gyu. Both his works -- 'Fashion Seventies' and 'Damo' -- display that kind of atmosphere which is hard to find in today's Korean TV Dramas, more concerned about ratings and overseas contracts than storytelling and evoking certain emotions. I'd actually love to see what Lee could do in Chungmuro, if given the chance. I wasn't there when greats like Kim Jong-Hak, Lee Byung-Hoon and Lee Jae-Gab started their careers, but given Lee Jae-Gyu's first two works, I'd say we have a major talent on our hands.

'Fashion Seventies' is only marginally about fashion, it's more about recreating a period, and the difficulties, the failures and triumphs people living in that era experienced. Does it recapture the magic of 'The Sandglass' and similar shows? Only for a brief moment, but you won't find many shows of this quality nowadays.

THE DVD

130 Bucks? No way!

You're probably saying that, right? Well, I can pretty safely say it's worth it. Housed on two beautiful boxsets, every disc having a different cover, with beautiful and different patterns (one uses a camo pattern, one with pois, another monotone), just like 'Damo' was the first HD Drama released on DVD, 'Fashion Seventies' continues the tradition with a 16:9 transfer, along with English and Korean Subtitles. Completing the set is the Drama's OST (quite good, especially the Bobby Kim and Park Hwayobi songs, and the score), and about 60 Minutes of interesting extras from various TV programs (including one showing mistakes in the show). The show will almost surely end up in my Top 5 of 2005, it's both a throwback to the great Dramas of old, and has elements which will appeal to new fans of both Korean Movies and TV Dramas.