The biggest tear-jerker I’ve ever seen, Kdrama or otherwise, is The Snow Queen. I can’t even begin to tell you how I sobbed at the end of that drama. I was watching it alone, upstairs, with a pillow over my mouth to stifle the noise of my crying, when all of a sudden someone from downstairs came running up, worried I was in some kind of pain because they could hear my wails. They weren’t too happy when they found out my sobs were due to a broken heart because of a show I was watching. About a year later I watched it again, with a friend, and my reaction wasn’t much better even though I was aware of what was going to happen. I’ll never be able to think of those old fashioned pagers again without wanting to cry.
The drama starts out with a poor, but brilliant young man, Han Tae-Woong, transferring to an élite school because of his excellent grades. There he meets Seo Keon-Ho, a classmate who needs to be the best in order to please his demanding, cold-hearted father. At first they are rivals but then become best friends, so much so that Keon-Ho wants to set Tae-Woong up with his sister. One day Tae-Woong saves a little girl from being bullied, gives her some money to take a taxi home, and as a thank you she gives him her very expensive pager. Soon after, she pages him to help her run away from home. He does help her “run away” for a day by going with her to an amusement park. When the day is done, he sends her back home with the pager, agreeing to meet up with her again at the amusement park on a certain day. Meanwhile, Tae-Woong and Keon-Ho are thrilled to be going to a mathematic competition together. While at the competition, Keon-Ho talks to his father on the phone and his dad reminds him he needs to take first place because “No one ever remembers who got second place”. A horrible tragedy happens that changes Tae-Woong’s entire life and he never makes it to the amusement park to be with the little girl.
That’s just the first episode. I’m not giving you any more information because when you watch it you’ll already know what’s going to happen and you won’t be as sad because you won’t be surprised. I doubt anyone could cry as hard as I did, but I want your heart to feel it as it happens, not in advance.
Hyun Bin stars in this love story and does a marvelous job. He’s quite a versatile actor. His performances are always stellar no matter what kind of character he plays. My favorite, up to this point, is Kim Joo-Won in Secret Garden but his acting is fantastic in this, too. Tae-Woong is a likable character and one that is easy to feel sympathy for.
Sung Yu-Ri plays Kim Bo-Ra, a self absorbed, rich girl who wants to rebel and has had to deal with medical problems her entire life. She’s unhappy and wants out of the emotional pain she is constantly feeling. I didn’t know whether to think she was a jerk or feel sorry for her, which means good acting. She played both sides of Bo-Ra’s personality well.
As I mentioned before, the ending of the show is sadder than you can imagine. However, I’ve read some comments from other people who have NO understanding of the ending at all, including the friend I watched it with the second time. I had to explain it to her as I was crying nonstop. Without that understanding the drama becomes just another sad love story. No, no, no folks! Please think carefully at the end and put it all together correctly! If you still have questions, feel free to contact me about it. I’d be happy to fill you in.
Even the soundtrack to The Snow Queen makes me melancholy. I was listening to the instrumental theme song, which just melts me, when someone heard it and said, “That song sounds so sad.” She had no idea that the music went with a heartbreaking drama, yet she could feel the sadness in the notes. I can just imagine the composers being told, “This is a sad love story so we need heartbreaking music.” Well, if that was the case, they got it spot on! And it’s not just the title song that tugs at your heart. If you go to YouTube you can see/hear Hyun-Bin singing First Snow’s Love from The Snow Queen‘s original soundtrack. His voice is so soft and calming and, once again, the song sounds so sad.
The scenery at the beginning and end of the show is amazing. Tae-Woong is up in the frozen wasteland of “Lapland” where the Snow Queen lives. As far as I could find out, the show was only filmed in South Korea so I can’t help but wonder where those barren snow scenes were shot.
If you happen to be a very sensitive person, I suggest caution. The Snow Queen is sad from beginning to end. Even the little bit of positive that occurs is laced with some heartache here and there. This one is not for the soft-hearted, however, it’s one I highly recommend! Just be aware, if you usually sit down to watch a Kdrama with your favorite treat, you may want to change that to a full box of tissues before you start the last episode of The Snow Queen.
Score: 7
The Good:
Hyun-Bin
Writing
Plot
Heartbreaking but wonderful ending
The Bad:
There’s not a lot of vivid colors throughout the show
Very little happiness