The Korean Drama Literary Connection

I have been a Korean Drama fan ever since my Grandma (할머니) brought us with her to visit Seoul around 2009. After that trip, I would always get my hands on the latest Korean drama.  And one thing struck me as interesting. Most of them have a piece of Korean literature with them. May it be of foreign or of local in origin. The Korean dramas would feature a literary piece, may it be a poem or a story, that makes this literary connection so interesting and entices the viewers to watch both the drama and read more on the written work being featured.

In the Korean Drama “Rooftop Prince” (옥탑방 왕세자), a story about a Joseon Crown Prince named Lee Gak (이각) played by Park Yoochun (박유천) who time-traveled into the present only to find out that he was fated to love Boo-Yong (부용) played by Han Ji-Min (한지민). The poem in the Korean drama was written by Lee Kyu-Bo (이규보) entitled Breaking Off Flowers (절화행 / 折花行). Lee Kyu-Bo was a famous poet during the Goryeo Dynasty who lived from 1169 to 1241. The poem goes this way (credits to: http://sonsang4.egloos.com/10478086, for an accurate Korean version of the poem):

折花行(절화행) / 李奎報 (이규보)

牡丹含露眞珠顆 (목단함로진주과) 진주 이슬 머금은 모란꽃을

美人折得窓前過 (미인절득창전과) 신부가 꺽어들고 창밖을 지나다가

 

含笑問檀郞 (함소문단랑) 방긋이 웃으며 신랑에게 묻기를

花强妾貌强 (화강첩모강) 꽃이 예쁜가요? 제가 예쁜가요?

 

檀郞故相戱 (단랑고상희) 신랑이 짐짓 장난을 치느라

强道花枝好 (강도화지호) 꽃이 당신보다 더 어여쁘구려

 

美人妬花勝 (미인투화승) 신부는 꽃이 더 예쁘다는 말에 토라져

踏破花枝道 (답파화지도) 꽃가지를 밟아 뭉개고 말하기를

 

花若勝於妾 (화약승어첩) 꽃이 저보다 어여쁘거든

今宵花同宿 (금소화동숙) 오늘밤은 꽃하고 주무세요

(Photo: screen-grabbed from VLC, I do not own any of the photos)

In English, the poem goes like this (credits to an original article from Asia-Drama.org)

The peony blossoms hold dew, like grains of pearl
The beautiful lady breaks off and picks the blossom, and passes before a window
Holding onto a smile, she asks her husband
Is the flower prettier or is my countenance prettier
The husband teases her on purpose, saying
For prettiness, I would say, the flower and its stem would win
The beautiful lady became jealous at the winning of flower
Stepping and destroying the flower with its stem, saying
If the flower is prettier than concubine
Tonight, sleep together with the flower

In another Korean Drama, entitled Secret Garden (시크릿 가든), is a drama about two people Kim Joo Won (김주원) played by Hyun Bin (현빈) and Gil Raim (길라임) played by Ha Jiwon (하지원), from two different worlds, Joo Won being a CEO of a shopping mall and Raim being a stunt woman,  were fated to love each other in the end. I like the part where they show that the characters appreciate the literary arts. First photo shows Joo Won reading Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (이상한 나라의 앨이스), a story about a little girl named Alice who follows a white rabbit to a rabbit hole only to fall and end up having interesting adventures in Wonderland. Even Joo Won likened himself to having the Alice in Wonderland syndrome, where he looks beyond the looking glass, being in a strange world. That strange world, which is loving Raim who was different from him. Below is a snapshot of the books they read (photo courtesy of: http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=hyoung7110&logNo=80121437524 and http://photo-media.daum-img.net/201001/21/khan/20100121180650637.jpeg).

A more recent Korean Drama, My Love From Another Star (별에서 온 그대) about a 400 year old alien named Do Min-Joo (도민주) who had to stay here on Earth after he was left here by accident. He meets and falls in love with a Hallyu star named Cheon Song-Yi (천송이) who happens to look like the girl he failed to save 400 years in the past. In the series, Do Min-Joo can be seen reading the book written by Kate Di Camillo entitled: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (에드워드 툴레인의 신기한 여행), a story of a white porcelain rabbit named Edward Tulane and how he came back to his owner after so many years. The most famous quote in the book was: "Someone will come for you, but first you must open your heart. . . ." Another interesting literary connection between a foreign author and the Korean drama. Do Min-Joo can be likened to Edward Tulane after his miraculous journey of 400 years. Song-Yi came to him, after he opened his heart and falls in love with her.

(Photo: screen-grabbed from VLC, I do not own any of the photos)

And another Korean drama that also had an interesting literary piece in it, is the recently airing Angel Eyes (엔젤 아이즈). The poem was written Hwang Dong-Kyu (황동규), a modernist poet born in 1938 and from Seoul. His poem Little Love Song (조그만 사랑 노래) appeared on the first episode of the series. Interestingly enough, the little love song caught the essence of the love between the main characters: Park Dong Joo (박동주) and Yoon Soo Wan (윤수완). The poem goes like this (credits to: http://leftwritelit.com/2014/04/little-love-song-by-hwang-dong-kyu/#comment-1370933960 for the poem):

조그만 사랑 노래
-황동규-

어제를 동여맨 편지를 받았다.
늘 그대 뒤를 따르던
길 문득 사라지고
길 아닌 것들도 사라지고
여기저기서 어린 날
우리와 놀아주던 돌들이
얼굴을 가리고 박혀 있다.
사랑한다 사랑한다, 추위 환한 저녁 하늘에
찬찬히 깨어진 금들이 보인다.
성긴 눈 날린다.
땅 어디에 내려앉지 못하고
눈뜨고 떨며 한없이 떠다니는
몇 송이 눈.

in English:

“Little Love Song”
by Hwang Dong-Kyu

I received a letter which bound yesterday.
The road which always followed behind you
suddenly disappeared,
and those things which weren’t the road went with it.
Scattered stones
which played with as kids
hide away their faces.
I love you, I love you…In the cold, clear night sky
I see the steady cracking of gold.
A thin snow falls.
Unable to settle anywhere on the ground,
a pair of flakes close their eyes and tremble
as they drift together.

Over all, I am fascinated with how the Korean drama have a huge respect for the literary arts. As I learned from my Korean friends, being a hermit kingdom for 5,000 years, Korea has a lot of things to be proud of and that includes their literary history. I hope to find more literary connections as I watch more of their dramas. This makes me want to have a personal library of Korean literature of my own, you think? ^_^