K Drama Recommendation or not: Royal Family

Title: 로열 패밀리 / Royal Family

Genre: Melodrama

Episodes: 18

Broadcast network: MBC

Broadcast period: March 2, 2011 - April 28, 2011

Air time: Wednesday & Thursday

Main cast:

Yum Jung-ah as Kim In-sook

Ji Sung (Protect My Boss) as Han Ji-hoon

Kim Young-ae as Gong Soon-ho

Cha Ye-ryun (Dr. Camp) as Jo Hyun-jin

Jun Noh-min (Queen of Seon Deok) as Uhm Ki-do

Why you should or should not watch Royal Family?

There are just many explicit product advertisements in this drama. It makes me think Royal family is based on true story of Chaebol family in Korea. So you never get why there’s Apple frenzy all around the world, check this drama and get yourself a new cell phone or PC tab.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

    

Yes watch this, if anti-heroine makes you think a drama writer is good playing psychedelic. No, if watching anti-heroine, makes you feel like to give someone a slap on the face, to see her fallout as the happiest thing on K drama la, la, la, land, and if you never get to see one, you just want to shut your TV or lappy off.

Anti-heroine's trademark expression: "Omigosh... MyShitHitTheFan"

Character development. The reason behind why I like makjang drama is this kind of drama often offers good character development and complexity. Let’s see:

Kim In-sook (Yum Jung-ah), at first, is portrayed as an all tight-perfect kind-victimized heroine. Her character creeps me out. The perfect kinder she is, the scarier she is. It is because you can’t read her, but you can feel there’s a crack somewhere in her character since no body is perfect. But later, they try to make her character more sympathizing. Kim In-sook character starts to lose its grip on me. Getting some sympathy does her not. Turning to "half-baked" anti-heroine she does. If all the attempts to make her more sympathizing don't work, I just hope they give her straight up anti-heroine role with being full-villain like Jo Pil-yeon (Jung Bo-suk) in Giants, Mishil (Go Hyun-jung) in Queen of Seon Deok, or Chae Do-woo (Kim Kang-woo) in Story of A Man. Because she is the female lead, she can be like them? Oh well, at least she is success in making me realize there’s a lead female character that I hate more than a spineless clinging woman, a woman who acts spineless.

Han  Ji-hoon (Ji sung). This character develops to no where. Han Ji-hoon character is shadowed by Kim In-sook. When I become to dislike Kim In-sook at the later part of drama, I dislike him too. When I have no sympathy for Kim In-sook, I have no sympathy for him too (not even with all the puppy love). Even I don’t care if suddenly he disappears after some episodes. He's just too obvious (I blame this drama synopsis partially), ruining the mystery part that I expect from every makjang drama that I watch. Anything more, I can not say, except Ji Sung over-acts sometime. But he’s cute, and then here’s end of all reasoning.

Jo Hyun-jin (Cha Ye-ryun). I don’t know about her acting, but I like her character actually. Like Ji Sung, she is also easy on my eyes. I ship this pairing. I wish I can see more of them playing cute together. But, alas… She's no Park Shi-hoo's woman version.

Gong Soon-ho (Kim Young-ae). She is the ordinary evil mother in law and a good career woman that means a lousy mother. 

Uhm Ki-do (Jun Noh-min). This actor looks slightly like Uhm Tae-woong (Dr, Champ, Queen of Seon Deok) for me. If you ever watch Giant, his character is sort of Lee Sung-mo kind of character (the older brother of the 1st male lead) even it got the same minimum face expression. What Kim In-sook means for him is still a mystery for me till now.

Storyline

If you distaste birth secret so much, don’t watch this (WHAT ?!? It is like telling all k drama addicts to stop watching all drama in K drama la, la, la land. The rehab will be full). Like proper makjang drama, Royal Family has one, the lousy one. The revelation of it is just bleh, wasting "birth secret effect". If you like noona –dongsaeng romantic relationship, watch this.If you can not understand why a mother like affection can turn to lover affection, DON’T watch this. If you don't like Autumn Fairy Tale, Memories of Bali, Stairway to Heaven, Bad Guy ending, this drama is no for you. But for me, after almost half of the episodes, every time trio Kido-Jihoon-Insook on screen, with teeth gritting, hair pulling, yelling on screen, there's nothing that I want except wanting to see their fallout, no redemption whatsoever. So the ending is all about satisfaction for me. *evil laugh*

My helicopter of consolation

Rating

Its average rating is 9, 6% nationwide. It aired at the same time when K drama drought happened this year (thank K drama Gods it ends gracefully with May madness). It became the winner among three dramas (Royal Family, 49 Days!, Thorn Birds (Joo Sang-wook: woohoo)) air at Wednesday –Thursday time slot. It hit 10, 8% nationwide and 13, 9% Seoul at final episode. 

OST. Yes I won't leave you without any song to sing. I realize there's to type of how OST is played in drama. First, drama that plays its OSTs over and over again through out all the episode like they are the theme song of certain scenes. Second, drama that plays various OSTs from the 1st episode to the last episode, so some of OSTs might not get the chance to be played again in later episodes. Royal Family is the second. My favorite OST is Don't Cry by 간종욱 Gan Jong-wook. This song is played in few 1st episodes of Royal Family. Gan Jong-wook's voice is wonderful.

간종욱 (Kan jong-wook) - Don't Cry
[Lyric, Romanization, Translation]

고요해진 이 세상에서 all alone
Goyohaejin i sesangeseo all alone
In this quite world all alone
얼어붙은 마음은
Eoreobutheun maumeun
My heart that's freezing
또 어느새 더 깊게 스며든
Tto eoneusae do gipke seumyeodeun
Then before I know, I lost my self so deep in it
눈물은 let it go
Nunmureun let it go
Tears let it go

부서진 기억 한 조각이 on my mind
Buseojin kieokhan jogagi on my mind
Fragments of broken memory on my mind
가슴 속 저 끝 한 사람 keep inside
Gaseum sok jeo kkeut han saram keep inside
Heart belonged to that last one person keep inside

Don’t cry, 붉은 눈물에
Don't cry bulgeun nunmure
Don't cry, for redish tears
Don’t cry, 삼킨 한숨에
Don't cry samkhin hansume
Don't cry, for swallowed sigh
Hear me? 무너져 갈 때 whenever you need, just lean on me.
Hear me? Muneojyeo gal thae whenever you need, just lean on me.
Hear me? When you feel weak, whenever you need, just lean on me.
Don’t cry, 갑갑한 하루
Don't cry, gapgaphan haru
Don't cry, a hard day
Don’t cry, 가득해도
Don't cry, gadeukhaedo
Don't cry, even if it filled you up
Hear me? 조금 쉬고 싶을 땐 I’ll carry you all through the night.
Hear me? Jogeum swigo sipheul ttaen I'll carry you all through the night
Hear me? When you need a little rest, I'll carry you through the night
언제라도 그렇게
Eonjerado geureokhe
So whenever

어디로도 갈수가 없는 my heart
Eodirodo galsuga eopneun my heart
There's no where to go, my heart
입술 뒤에 숨어서
Ipseul dwie sumeoseo
Hiding behind these lips
점점더 깨져가는 유리가 되어
Jomjomdeo kkaejyeoganeun yuri ga dweieo
More and more, it becomes glass that's going to break
I don’t know if I can go on, 지금처럼
I don't know if I can go on, jigeumcheoreom
I don't know if I can go on, like now

Don’t cry, 붉은 눈물에
Don't cry bulgeun nunmure
Don't cry redish tears
Don’t cry, 삼킨 한숨에
Don't cry samkhin hansume
Don't cry swallowed sigh
Hear me? 무너져 갈 때 whenever you need, just lean on me.
Hear me? Muneojyeo gal ttae whenever you need, just lean on me.
Hear me? When you feel weak whenever you need, just lean on me
Don’t cry, 갑갑한 하루
Don't cry, gapgaphan haru
Don't cry, a hard day
Don’t cry, 가득해도
Don't cry, gadeukhaedo
Don't cry, even if it filled you up
Hear me? 조금 쉬고 싶을 땐 Don’t cry
Hear me? Jogeum swigo sipheul ttaen Don't cry
Hear  me? When you need a little rest, Don't cry

부서져간 기억 조각들이 또
Buseojyeogan kieok jogakdeuri tto
A memory that's going to be shattered to pieces and
내게 속삭이며 찾는 only one
Naege soksagimyeo chaneun only one
As whisper searching out for me, only one
눈빛은 또 이렇게 break me down again.
Nunbicheun tto ireoke break me down again.
Look in your eyes and how it break me down again.
Don’t bring me down

Don’t cry, 붉은 눈물에
Don't cry, bulgeun nunmure
Don't cry, for redish tears
Don’t cry, 삼킨 한숨에
Don't cry, samkhin hansume
Don'r cry, for swallowed sigh
Hear me? 무너져 갈 때 whenever you need, just lean on me.
Hear me? Muneojyeo gal ttae whenever you need, just lean on me.
Hear me? When you feel weak, whenever you need, just lean on me
Don’t cry, 갑갑한 하루
Don't cry, gapgaphan haru
Don't cry, a hard day
Don’t cry, 가득해도
Don't cry, gadeukhaedo
Don't cry, even if it filled you up
Hear me? 조금 쉬고 싶을 땐 I’ll carry you all through the night.
Hear me? Jogeum swigo sipheul ttaen I'll carry you all through the night.
Hear me? When you need a little rest, I'll carry you all through the night
언제라도 whenever you need 그렇게.
Eonjerado whenever you need geureoke.
So whenever, whenever you need

Thanks to:
wiki for the info
CJENMMUSIC for the video
naver for the original lyric