Delicious (Sweet) Proposal - 맛있는 청혼

A 2001 release from Korea about Kim Hyo-dong (Jung Joon), a young, orphaned boy who grows up despising his adoptive father, but who ends up working super hard to save the family business; a Chinese restaurant in Seoul.

At age three or four, Hyo-dong is left by his single mother at a Chinese restaurant in Incheon, and Kim Kap-soo (Park Geun Hyung) who owns the restaurant, takes him for his own son.
Kap-soo is a mild-mannered, unassuming man with a rare gift: the ability to cook exceptional-quality food without the benefit of an olfactory.
He has no sense of smell.

Kap-soo grew up in an orphanage, and at age thirteen, he and his best friend decided to run away, and somehow, they met a man who taught them how to cook Chinese cuisine.
A contest eventually revealed the better skills of the two, young men, and Jang Tae-kwang (Kim Yong Gun) became Kap-soo's mortal enemy from that day on.

It was a suspicious fire at the Incheon restaurant that robbed Kap-soo of his ability to smell anything, as he ran inside the restaurant to save Hyo-dong, and it was always assumed that Jang Tae-kwang set the fire deliberately, out of spite.

Twenty years pass, and Jang Tae-kwang is a wealthy man who built an empire with Golden Dragon restaurant chains.
He's still determined to destroy Kap-soo, even though Kap-soo is practically impoverished and eeking out a living at a tiny, Chinese restaurant with his sister, brother-in-law, a niece, and Hyo-dong.

Tae-kwang's son, Jang Hee-moon (So Ji-sub) graduates from a prestigious college in the states, then returns to help run the family business.
He's tall, dark, and handsome (or as one lady describes him in the drama, GQ).
He's also cold and ruthless, like his old man.
All he cares about is money, power, and success.
His sister, on the other hand, Jang Hee-ae (Son Yeh Jin) is the poster-child for sappy, sweet, and sentimental.
The stereotypical Asian good-girl with a pretty face, gentle nature, and is soft-spoken as well.

While Hee-moon wants to run the business, Hee-ae wants to work in the kitchen, making the delicious food.
She blows off a potential husband by acting hilariously tough on an arranged date, and then she beams with pride as she announces to her baffled father that her thirty arranged meetings are up, so she's off to conquer the world of cooking.

MEANWHILE, Ma Shi-nae (So Yoo Jin), a really poor girl from the country is forced to run from creditors, and she ends up in Seoul.
Her dream is to open a three-story restaurant with her name over the door.
She bumps into Kyo-dong by opening a dressing room curtain when he's stripped to his tighty whities, and they're both naturally mortified.
Later that night, though, he sees her squatting in an alley going potty, so they're even.

These, three characters end up together at the cooking school, but love has already blossomed for Kyo-dong and Shi-nae.
Not for one another, though.
Shi-nae is falling in love with Kyo-dong, but Kyo-dong is helplessly attracted to Hee-ae. Naturally, Hee-ae likes them both as good friends, but it isn't long before she begins to feel something big for Kyo-dong.

Oppa Hee-moon is instantly attracted to Shi-nae, but he's not as adept at the ways of love, nor does he possess the natural-born skills of one who grew up in a loving environment, to do anything or say anything that might help him to win Shi-nae's heart.

It's sad and depressing, and it wasn't at all what I expected when I began to watch Delicious Proposal.

From about episode three until episode eleven, I wanted to give up watching.
It was boring, repetitive, and with those lingering, pregnant pauses that really annoy me now.
Having to stare at someone for what seems like an eternity while they weep, or ponder, or walk alone at night drive me absolutely mad.
However, they're excellent opportunities to run to the bathroom, or grab more water from the fridge. :)

There was not nearly enough SO JI-SUB for my interest to remain, yet because he was in the drama, I couldn't bring myself to quit the show.

Kwon Sang-woo received more air-time when he arrived in the middle of this 16-episode drama than my honey, SO.
Not that that's a BAD thing, of course, but the odd thing is, the boy who worked at his father's 7-11 (Ji-sung as Jun-su)seemed more attractive to me than Sang-woo OR Jung-joon.
But, isn't that usually the case when they pick leading men or leading women for these dramas?
I don't get it, but then I don't suppose the writers, directors, and producers get it either.

Delicious Proposal worked, though.

Jung-joon was interestingly handsome throughout and did a marvelous job acting.
SO-fine plays the hard-ass, dead-pan prick to the hilt every, single time, and
Sang-woo stops traffic no matter what role he portrays.

The ONLY time I welled up with tears was when the two, old men finally came together at the hospital, where Kap-soo served Tae-Kwang his famous chicken soup.

I also found myself to be snacking throughout the day while watching all but the last episode yesterday.
Alas, all I had to eat was fruit, salad, and yogurt ... but it was enough to make me feel queasy by day's end.
The food in Delicious Proposal ... I could almost smell it, it looked that good.
Ironically or not, it made me want to see a movie or drama based on KOREAN cooking and Korean FOOD.

Now for the WTF?? aspect of this drama ...

I think it's hilarious how traffic seems constant and droning whenever they're filming outside, yet when an actor pulls away from the curb, he doesn't, even look back, he just forges ahead, with no cars around for miles.
Makes me wish I had MY own entourage of folk who stand in the road so I can pull out without having to wait a few minutes for traffic to clear!

What is the deal with sleeping in your street clothes?
You take off your shoes at the door because you're supposedly fastidious and clean, yet you drop into bed off the street, without even taking off a coat, or your pants, or washing a day's worth of grime off your face?

Gross!

Lastly, I began to ask myself if Korean dramas have improved since 2001, or if they are worse now than ever before.

The answer is I'm not sure.

On the one hand, back in the day when Hallyu was hell-yeah!, I think the storylines had more meat on them, and the acting was sincere.
Now, because there are too, many teenagers involved, the storyline's revolve around issues that don't concern me anymore.

I worry greatly about never, again seeing these terrific, older actors in another film or drama.
And by older, I mean thirties, forties, and even fifties.
Which to me is PRIME, not old.

Those with staying power, such as SO, KWAN, and BAE might be around for awhile longer, but what about the rest of them?
Will they be relegated to period dramas or the silly game-show circuit, which folks in America are unable to see on a regular basis?
Or, will they simply fade away, forced never again to grace the silver screen with their impressive presence based solely on age or mass appeal?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again ...

I'll start my own campaign by writing age-appropriate stories that will have to include the veteran actors who made Korean drama what it is today.
I'll find the nerve to submit the stories and hope they are good enough for consideration, too.

THAT WAY, at least I will be able to continue to enjoy the stories, the drama, the escapism that is and probably always will be Asian Cinema.

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발리에서 생긴 일 / What Happened in Bali

Bal-li-e-seo Saeng-kin il


Throughout these 20 episodes, I kept asking myself, "What DID happen in Bali?"

I am guessing now that the title has everything to do with the last, two minutes of this drama.

What a dark, miserable show this was! Maybe now that I've seen the whole thing, the seductive sneer that the leading lady, Lee Soo-jung gave to So Ji Sup's character, Kang In-wook at the very start of the show was not a figment of my imagination!

A brief synopsis of the drama that I watched on Mysoju said that it's supposed to depict the 'real' topic of social distinction and money-grubbing mentality in today's Korean society. What it did for me was make me want less and less to visit that part of the world.

Personally, I'd love to have all the money in the world, go wherever I want to go, and buy whatever the hell I feel like buying. It wouldn't be so bad to have a hot, rich guy after my ass, either! Two would be pushing it, and that's what this drama did as far as I'm concerned.

Interesting too, was the unmitigated gall of Park Ye Jin's character, Choi Young-joo. Honestly, some of the things that she said throughout this drama had me shaking my head in utter confusion. Perhaps it's a rich way of thinking, but to treat anyone like an object, and then make outrageous demands like, "...we can be lovers after I'm married," and, "I'm only doing this for the money," and, "...what's love got to do with it?" are absolutely groundless. I know that she ended up noting that she behaved quite like the "trash" that she felt ruined her life, but still ... her character was the least believable of them all.

I hope this is one writer's convoluted impression of the "written in stone" caste system in Korea and not, actual fact. Kang In-wook actually made reference to it in the drama, but what he said was incorrect ~ unless the translator screwed it up (as usual). Until the middle ages, Korea had no caste? I beg to differ, and not just in Korea, but all over the world, since time began, there have been the haves and the have-nots. The haves have always looked down upon, spat upon, and treated the have-nots as inferior nothings, to be treated like dirt or "trash". So, I guess I'm supposed to believe that the work-a-day Korean wants the prestige by having a diploma framed and hung on their wall, for the whole world to see and be impressed by. Whatever.

Ironically, a majority of the Koreans that I've met online claim to be Catholic. If this is true, then I am anxious to visit a Korean Cathedral when and if I ever get to that side of the world. I'm curious to know what the priest's say during their sermons, because being the richest, most powerful person alive is NOT a Catholic doctrine, trust me. For a country that hates Japan (and vice versa) they certainly seem to want to keep up with their enemy in this regard, which again does NOT make sense to an outsider looking in.

NOTHING about Bali made sense to me!

It's drama; I know. It's not supposed to make sense, it's not supposed to make you think, or even to reflect for that matter. It's mindless, paperback novel kitsch meant to take the middle-age housewife away from the everyday and transform her into a world of make-believe. I know this, and yet I can't help but to question just about every aspect of the writer's reasoning. Perhaps that's because I'm a writer too.

So for the nonsense ... I'm sorry, but what woman in her right MIND would choose ANY man over SO-Fine Ji-sup???? I know, I know ... the $$$ was supposed to make all the difference in the world.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Excuse me, but at 25 the ONLY thing on a woman's mind is making babies. If you're born rich, I guess you want to marry rich, but even then, I'm sure the gal hopes for some strapping, six-footer with a dashing smile and bedroom eyes to sweep her off her feet in the boardroom, yes? If the construction guy that moved in after Ji-sup's character moved out, if he had $$$, would our ambivalent Ms. Lee have wrapped her legs around HIS groin??? I think not.

Shin Yi's Park Mi-hee was the ONLY believable character in the entire show. She was cute, funny, and had a normal sense of values. And, what has being an orphan got to do with being useless or poor? Your parents die, so ... you are expected to crawl inside their graves with them, is that it? Again, I'm shaking my head in utter bewilderment here.

Ok, it starred SO Ji-sup, and that's really all that I cared about. From the moment that he arrived on-screen, my heart raced and I felt all warm inside. He's a stone FOX, and I'm madly in lust with him. I want to see him naked, and thank you, THANK YOU for letting him disrobe a few times during the long, drawn-out drama.

I'm trying to recall a time when I ever saw him smile in anything that he's acted in. I know he can, and when he does, it probably lights up the room! But, he's always playing a down-trodden, life-beaten reject that ends up taking a major beating for no, realistic reason other than he's poor. He drives me wild, and in those clothes that he wore, I went nuts just looking at him. Which, again, makes me wonder how they cast actors for roles in these dramas.

I can't think of a woman alive that could remain unaffected the moment that a guy like him looks at you with them EYES of his!? That's when the knees go weak, the heart starts to pound, and your face heats up with blush. Not EVERY guy is capable of having that affect on women, so what were we supposed to believe about Ms. Lee falling in love with the useless, pathetic waste of life that capped her sorry ass in the end? She's lying in bed, next to a NAKED SO JI-SUP, and she's thinking about HIM instead??? YAH! Totally credible.

Speaking of HIM ... Jo In-sung is very tall! Ok in the looks department, and a very, good actor! I had no idea how he really felt about Ms. Lee until he cried. And then he cried some more, and then he cried some more! Yes, he was obsessed with the poor girl, but for a reason that STILL escapes me! He said that she was honest and had no pride, which was only half-true. Ms. Lee was the most DIShonest of them all, in my opinion. Ji-sup's character was entirely honest, even when he intended to screw the company out of all that money. I rooted for him the entire time because I knew exactly what he was up to the minute that he moved in next door to the girls.

He He He.

I couldn't figure out, though, how he felt about Ms. Rich-Bitch until more than half-way through the show. And I couldn't figure out why either man fell for our Ms. Lee, either.

As gorgeous as Ji-sup is, and they made sure to express that fact NUMEROUS times during this drama, what the hell did he need with EITHER woman? He could have pulled off the playboy stint MUCH more credibly than our so-called hero, Jo In Sung as Jung Jae-min. Wait a minute. Perhaps even THAT is reserved strictly for the ultra-rich in Korea, is that it? Regular guys can't be playa's unless they 'gangsta'?

Sigh

Every time I watch one of these things, I swear that I'll never watch another ... but then I do. It's the guy's fault, not mine! They make me love them, and they make me want to see them again and again and again, too. I know that's why these things took off the way that they did. I'm not alone in my way of thinking OR feeling about the sexilicious pulchritude running around in that country! I'm trying to think of my own childhood, and if there were EVER as many gorgeous, sex-appealing men alive at one time to drive such a mass of women crazy? I didn't watch television in my youth, so i wouldn't know. I didn't even want to go to the movies back then, and I had no idea about Asian films until after college. It's a strange and wonderful phenomenon that will come to pass, I'm sure. When that day comes, I hope that I'm too old to care anymore. For now, I continue to fan my blushing face and dream about all of the glorious, manly magnificence that is Asian cinema!

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