Musings About KRW

I love Kim Rae Won (KRW). Prior to this, however, I've never watched his works - I think I've briefly watched A Thousand Day's Promise, Love Story in Harvard and My Love Patzzi on tv .... but I've never watched the dramas in their entirety. I knew who he was and I liked him as he had looked like a really nice person. It was after I watched Doctors last year, that I rekindled my interest in him. So much so that I wanted to attend his meet and greet session in KL last year! Lol! But I bet it wasn't only me. Doctors made KRW famous with fans, young and old.

Well, KRW's quite reserved, in that there's hardly any news of him. There's not much publicity, interviews, variety shows and for a long time, he kept his personal Instagram account private.

Lately, however, he can be actively seen, starting with a fan meeting in Taiwan in mid-February, and these past 2 weeks, he had been busy promoting his new movie,  The Prison; and thus almost everyday, I got to see new photographs of him and every few days, there would be new interviews. He was even on Guerilla Date at a university recently, and it was fun to watch fans reacting to his presence.

Looking at news of KRW daily, I, of course, anticipate his new movie, The Prison (KRW himself said it was good and I BUY HIS WORD TOTALLY!) which would be screened beginning 22 March 2017. Of course, I would have no hope of watching it then ... I'll probably have to wait at least another 2 months before I can watch in subbed online. Well, I really, really wouldn't mind watching it in the cinema if they would screen it here. According to Yonhap news on 13 March 2017....

The distribution rights for the movie were sold to such territories as North America, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, China, Japan and the Philippines during the European Film Market at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, according to Showbox"

Malaysia was not mention .... so ..... not sure. Sad.

Watching his publicity events made me miss his acting ... and I went back to watch Doctors. My Korean drama of 2016 was definitely Doctors. What excited me initially, was the pairing of the lead actors. I've always liked KRW. And I liked his co-star, Park Shin Hye (PSH) too. 2 actors I liked coming together in a drama ... it was like a dream come true!

I thought PSH has never been so beautiful than in Doctors! She looked really mature - I think it was because of her hairstyle and make-up .. and she looked stick thin, so she must have lost a lot of weight to portray the role of Hye Jung. Likewise, KRW has never looked so handsome. Well, don't get me wrong, KRW had a very sharp image during Gangnam 1970 and Punch days; but in Doctors, his stylish haircut and his make-up and his clothes made him look really youthful.

(Source : sbs.co.kr)

My favourite photo. Swoon .... 

To me, PSH and KRW really look good together despite the 9 year age gap between them. And when I scrutinised photos of them together, I thought they looked really alike. The bonus was that their chemistry sizzled on screen ....

(Source : sbs.co.kr)

Don't you think they share some resemblance? They could pass off for siblings .... but I'd rather they be lovers. Lol. 

Many reviews of Doctors mentioned the lack of a real conflict in the drama. Well, I agree. There lacked a convincing antogonist and a tight plot. But it did not bother me because Doctors was essentially a love story, set in a hospital. So when one watched it, one should focus on the relationship between the main actors - the development of their love story, and not really on the fluff surrounding their relationship at the hospital. What I found different from other drama was the fast-paced development in their love story. Attraction between the couple was felt as early as Episode 2. And by Episode 4, he was expressing his interest in her all over again. By Episode 5, he had confessed his love for her. By Episode 13, there were officially a couple. Heh.

I think KRW portrayed Dr. Hong Ji Hong brilliantly. KRW is Hong Ji Hong. Hong Ji Hong is KRW. I can't imagine another actor for the role. The character was smart and humble. Cheerful and funny. Confident and capable. And he was a great boyfriend material - he was so TOLERANT of Hye Jung who proved to be stubborn and unreasonable at times. He was so accepting of her flaws ... and I think that was what made so many fall in love with him.

My favourite scene in the entire drama was when he was trying to resuscitate his Dad. Kim Rae Won's acting was so real and so convincing that I felt for him and cried buckets. This, to me, was Daesang-worthy acting. Another scene which I found was swoon-worthy was the helicopter scene .... whereby he'd seen her for the first time after 13 years ... and the first thing he asked was whether she was married or had a boyfriend. The lines were so subtle, and yet, carried so much meaning. It surely pumped up my excitement of what was to come and I could not wait to see this couple fall in love with each other all over again!

I also went back to watch Punch, the drama KRW filmed in 2014-2015; This drama wasn't as popular as Doctors, because the content was rather heavy, dealing with corruption in the judiciary system and death. Here, KRW played the role of Park Jung Hwan, a prosecutor with a terminal illness, setting out to right what he had done wrong. Many reviewers thought the story was well-written, its many twists and turns which caught people by surprise.

For me, KRW delivered the role of Park Jung Hwan in a very compelling manner. His character was often seen brooding, but he, being an experienced actor was able to bring a lot of depth and charisma to his character. He was hardly boring and I thought his critically-acclaimed performance deserved a Daesang as well.

Today is KRW's birthday and while waiting for the first pictures of his fan meeting in Seoul today, I looked for his old movie to watch, Sunflower, filmed in 2006; it was a good movie, made so because of his solid acting. I felt for his character - a gangster who was trying to turn over a new leaf and yet because of the tragic circumstances he was in, he had to get involved with them once again. The movie was notable for its final scene, where it was KRW against the whole gang of thugs.

Well, I certainly look forward to his new projects. I do wish he will take part in many this year. :P Happy Birthday, KRW.