The Real Gumiho

June 24, 2011

Since I’m bored and the relentless rain has managed to lock me in the confines of my apartment, I found myself gorging half of my food supply while watching the Korean drama My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. I had other choices but I had to finish what I started. So here I am. A word of caution, I am planning to be spiteful.

I enjoyed the entire drama but as I have predicted, there were some clichés. As I have observed in years of watching Korean Dramas, there will always be 3 important points:

1. Someone dies or suppose to die but is suddenly saved. It is usually the protagonist’s love interest. No matter how funny the first few episodes may be, the drama will always find a way to make you want to burst into tears.

2. There is a pivotal moment and it’s going to be big and will eventually cause the couple to temporarily part ways. The signs are scattered in the first few episodes of the series. These scenarios will be used as flashbacks when the truth has been let out.

3. There will always always be scenes where the couple becomes mushy and embarrassing. Sometimes it makes me smile but often it sends goosebumps down to the finest hairs on my back. It makes me say, “Kill me. Kill me now. I beg you.”

Nonetheless, even with these facts pointed out, I still watch them. I really cannot point a finger to it but there’s something in Korean Dramas that makes you want to watch them. I cannot say it is the uniqueness of the story. Most dramas are adapted from Japanese Manga. I think there is such quirkiness in the delivery of the script and in the personality of the characters that gives a lighter feel into the drama. It’s a little off and unorthodox but it is still effectively funny.

Now, I’m going to be ruthless. See, what I hate the most about this sort of drama is that the lead character feels like he/she is protecting his/her love interest by crossing her out of the list of people he/she should tell the big secret to. Come on! He/she can tell the world but not his/her other half. That’s ridiculous. We all know that if there is something important that needs to be discussed, it should be directly regarded to the person concerned. Too many cook spoils the food, they say.

Since we’re talking about the characters, I also hate it when the characters think that the answer is that simple. I do not mean that they have to over think but maybe they should think things through. Well, there would be no drama if they were smart enough to figure things out. I feel like retracting what I just wrote….hmm… let me think about it… No. I hate it. I also noticed that it is not only the main characters that have frequent mood swings. This goes for the rest of the cast. They’re all fickle but maybe with the exemption of the antagonist. Antagonists are always mean until the very end. They are either shamefully defeated or tragically persecuted. The end is always bleak for them.

As for the protagonist, he/she seemed to be fine at first like the person you would want to be or a person whose experience you can related to but cool enough to be looked up to or clumsy enough to be laughed at. But in the end, they are all martyrs. They always will appear to be bullied. And all of the sudden, their coolness is gone and is replaced by this sweet maiden who cannot hurt even a single fly. Suddenly, she is transform from this out-of-this-world girl to an epical saint. Does that happen in real life? Do people really become nice when they’re always attacked? I thought the normal response was to fight back and not succumb to the antagonist’s evil. Well, I guess that’s drama for you.

AND what I really do not get is why the characters seem to forget that they own a phone when they are looking for their mislead partners. I mean, I get it. The running of the protagonist towards the item of his/her affection is dramatic but please be logical. You have a phone. A phone is created for convenience. People, in general, know that. When there is someone a person wants to see, he/she doesn’t go running around the district yelling his/her name. He/she grabs the phone, dials the number and talks to him/her. It’s that simple. Now why can’t they get that?

I think my concerns are not only particular to this drama but to all Korean Dramas. I enjoy them, yes. But these things just really annoy me. And it is these things that often give away the ending. For me, that is. By noticing this pattern, I get to the end of the story easily. The only thrill I get are those in funny parts. Getting the ending becomes a no-brainer for me. I’m not bragging. I’m just saying that I can immediately see the flow of the story.

Well, that’s all I got to say for now. I’m planning to switch to Japanese mode. Du-RaRaRa. It’s not a Japanese Drama. I want to get back to my usual scene. Anime. I’m beginning to miss it. I hate to admit it but even if I’m already in college and is about to graduate, I still enjoy animated series. I think more thought is place upon Anime than Drama. Just my opinion.