Wednesday 5 November 2014

The Greatest Love 2011


"The Greatest Love" is a romantic comedy written by the Hong Sisters, who wrote many popular Korean dramas such as "Master's Sun" and "You Are Beautiful". I was not keen to watch when it first broadcast because I found the male lead Cha Seung-won a tad old and not very handsome. (Sorry to CSW fans!) I am not a fan of Gong Hyo-jin too because I don't find her pretty. (Sorry to GHJ fans!) However, I discovered their charm while watching this drama. Cha Seung-won is extremely charismatic and humorous, while Gong Hyo-jin has an attractive quirkiness about her.

Anyway, I started watching "The Greatest Love" after my interest was ignited by a funny clip of Cha Seung-won singing G-Dragon's "Heart breaker" in the drama. The first 2 episodes are a bit slow but trust me, once you get past episode 2, it gets addictive and you can't stop watching until the end.

Cha Seung-won plays Dokko Jin, the nation's top action star. Gong Hyo-jin plays Gu Ae-jung, who used to be part of  "National Treasure Girls" (NTG), a popular idol girl group. She is now a struggling B-list artiste after NTG disbanded and she is hit by some scandals. Yoo In-na plays Kang Se-ri, an ex-member of NTG, and a top actress now. Dokko and Se-ri used to date but broke up a year ago. However, they pretend to be still dating to avoid bad publicity.

Dokko and Ae-jung meet by chance, and become embroiled in a series of misunderstandings and misfortunes. In a nutshell, she accidentally ruins his chance of going to Hollywood and he hates her for it. However, in a weird turn of events, he falls for her one day after hearing her mobile ringtone - NTG's hit song, "Thump Thump". He had a heart operation years ago and now wears a wristband heart tracker. He notices that his heart beat increases rapidly every time he is with Ae-jung or thinks about her.


Meanwhile, Ae-jung participates in a reality show, "Couple-making", which is similar to "The Bachelor". This show is hosted by Se-ri and in it, female celebrities compete for a non-celebrity bachelor, Yoon Pil-joo (Yoon Kye-sang). Pil-joo is a traditional medicine doctor, rich, handsome and from a prominent family. He is not interested in showbiz or celebrities, but is forced by his mum to join the show. He falls in love with Ae-jung while Se-ri falls in love with him. Thus, a love 'square' is formed.

Dokko confesses his love for Ae-jung and starts pursuing her. At first, she doesn't take him seriously. Later, she is overwhelmed and rejects him due to low self-confidence. Dokko doesn't give up, and finally she is touched and accepts him. However, he suddenly finds out that his love for her is just an illusion. During his heart operation years ago, his surgeon blasted NTG's "Thump Thump", which is why his heart reacts to the song. Dokko breaks Ae-jung's heart by telling her that everything is a mistake and he has never loved her.    


Dokko feels an emptiness after dumping Ae-jung, and feels jealous when he sees her with Pil-joo. He realizes that he is actually in love with her and tries to win her back. They finally get back together, and he expresses his love for her in a live variety show. However, the public is not supportive because they feel that Dokko is too good for Ae-jung. His popularity dips but he stands firm in his love for her. As typical of most romantic comedies, they manage to overcome all obstacles with true love, and there is a happy ending.

"The Greatest Love" attempts to explore some phenomenons in the Korean entertainment industry in a lighthearted way. For example, how celebrities make use of social media for publicity, and how in turn, social media contributes to the invasion of their privacy. Look out for a cameo by Lee Seung-gi as himself, a top star who is at odds with Dokko in private, but pretends to be friendly in front of the media.

This drama made me laugh a lot and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A must-watch if you like romantic comedies.            


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