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Lee Jang-hyun after single-handedly fighting a large number of troops
I suddenly found myself present in 1636. I was the last character that the writer developed but didn’t cast. I moved from one emotion to another. One time I was in pain, aching all over and another time, I was yearning alongside the main leads.
The war that broke out felt so vivid. I could feel their actions, decisions and interactions.
To tell you about the K-drama, My Dearest is a South Korean historical romance drama that depicts the Qing invasion into Joseon kingdom in the 17th century.
Then there’s the story of a mysterious man and a noblewoman whose love story is complicated and challenged by the war.
I’ll focus my review on four aspects: love, friendship, loyalty and history.
Love:
Lee Jang-hyun (Namgoong Min), a man who is carefree and charismatic but hides deep sorrow and a painful past behind his cheerful nature. He claims to have no interest in love, in fact he swears to be a misogynist until he meets Yoo Gil-chae (Ahn Eun-jin), a strong-willed noblewoman who initially lives a privileged life, she is undeniably the most beautiful, she knows it and thinks she could get anything she want but she faces hardship when the war breaks out.
Here is my review
Based on personalities, there is a great difference between a red flag and a green flag in a person but in my opinion, Lee Jang-hyun was a green sea. He was the green planet.
If we put love aside, he respected, cherished and protected Gil-chae. Even though he has a tragic and unresolved past, he moved on and built a great life for himself regardless of his initial social status.
He just didn’t only listen to Gil-chae, he was trustworthy, he brought everything she only imagined to do to life for her. He could have just left before the war and avoided unnecessary stress but he fought in the war just for her.
He practically lived for her, he practiced it even in the midst of heartbreak, disappointment and unstable country. Even to the point of giving up his life for her. What can get greener than this?
Yoo Gil-chae on the other hand had this vague vision and mindset of who her dream man was going to be. She lived her life trying to impress and get the man that she imagined her dream husband to be. Even though it was unrequited, she didn’t mind running the relationship with just her love for the two of them.
She found it so hard to actually come to the realization that it was all infatuation and the real deal is the person she kept casting away. The moment she found out and started loving him, the war, its consequences, unplanned distance, false information and time stood between them.
Their love life was a bittersweet one. It was very passionate, sacrificial and also very tragic at some point. The main thing is that I felt the emotions with them. The writer did an amazing job I must say.
Friendship:
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Gil-chae and Eun-ae
There was a great love in disguise between Yoo Gil-chae and Kyung Eun-ae ( the supporting lead actress played by Lee Da-in). At first, I thought I could predict their fate of probably fighting over the same man that pretends to be so uninterested but I was so wrong.
The love in their friendship started from their fathers and extends deeply between them. They passionately show how much they love and respect each other when they are faced with war and the only hope was survival.
They also depict this when they went broke after the war and Gil-chae shouldered the responsibility to make ends meet. They tried to stay with each other through all seasons and cared deeply for each other.
In terms of choosing a life spouse,I love that Eun-ae saw what Gil-chae didn’t see and didn’t for once rub it in her face or try to make her feel less of herself.
They kept each other secret and they’re each other's greatest supporters.
Loyalty:
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Gil-chae, Eun-ae and their servants in the winter while the war was ongoing
I loved the respectful bond between servants and masters. Both women had servants that loved them deeply. Including the servant of Lee Jang-hyun.From catering for their master and madam’s needs to being accountable and wise.
They nailed their roles and it gave what it was meant to give. Oh I love to see it!
History:
This might sound a little weird but I don’t do well with histories.
However, the display of history in this drama was top-notch. I learnt, I felt it vividly, I lived in it and I understood it perfectly. The war was based on real historical occurrences.
The Second Manchu Invasion of Joseon (1636) between the Qing and the Joseon kingdom. This led to a larger war between the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, and the Joseon Kingdom.At some episodes in this movie, I was very angry at the king of the Joseon and then I learnt about the dirty politics of the kingdom.
One other thing that I must mention was the choking purity standards for women. I learnt the word “chastity” and it was no joke for the women in this drama. Imagine being casted away, led to live a shameful life or even expected to take your own life because some man grabbed you by the wrist?
I saw husbands neglect their wives, families neglect their mothers, children live a shameful life because their mothers came across an intruder during the war. It doesn’t matter whether they were taken advantage of or not. A captive is captive and the trauma of the Qing intruders’ awful treatments stuck with them like glue. Interesting!
The cinematography, the language tone, the culture and tradition( outfit and charisma), the whole historical accuracy, oh my Gosh. This movie got me going online to browse and learn more about the history. It was well represented I must say.
As the last few scenes unfolded, there was an ache in my chest. I was anxious and reluctant. Somehow I wanted to know how it ends and at the same time, I hated that the drama was coming to an end. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the new life I created and lived in the drama.
When I was finally done, I sat there, stared at my mobile phone’s screen and I felt a strange emptiness from within. It was as if I was being taken away from my favorite place.For days, I could quote some of the dialogues and my mind still replays some lovely scenes.
Whenever I scroll on TikTok and I come across the OST of my dearest, I just get drenched in the emotions of the characters. I still felt their struggles and successes.It’s so hard to start another drama. It’s as if no drama could beat how good “my dearest” was.
I miss it. I miss the characters. I secretly wish that I could rewind time and experience it all for the first time again. However, I’d definitely rewatch the drama all over agin later.
Trailer
OST: original soundtrack.
My Dearest (2023).
South Korean drama.
21 episodes.
Thank you for reading my review.