W- Two Worlds

Introduction to Korean Drama

K-dramas are television series in Korean language, made in Seoul, South Korea. They are not just popular in the East part of the continent, rather its popularity is spread around globally. They have recently taken the world by storm increasing its numbers in heaps and bounds

Popularity of K-Dramas

There is a surge of k-dramas and Korean culture worldwide. People all over the world are falling in love with the k-dramas. The curiosity of different culture and setting attracts the foreign audience to the industry. The USP of the K-dramas is the cute love story between the lead characters of the story. Apart from this, the industry caters to all kind of genres be it action, fantasy or thrillers. The bright, colourful and opulent setting, the steady pace and the art of compacting the series in a few no. of episodes adds to the popularity of the dramas.

Target Audience and Prominence

The k-dramas and the movies cater to all kinds of audience. It has productions for the pure love story lovers or the action lovers and suspense and horror lovers too. The art of cliff hangers and the happy ending is what keeps the prominence of the dramas alive. The narrative and the appearance of the series too add to the factors.

^{The World of K-Drama- Source: Google}

Introduction to the drama- “W- Two Worlds”

Summary

The story starts with the webtoon’s main character Kang chul. The series focuses on the eponymous titled webtoon, W by Oh Seong Moo. The webtoon is shown to be very famous and a bestseller on print. The story starts with Kang Chul becoming famous by winning the shooting competition in the 2004 Athens Olympics. But his happiness is short lasted as his family gets murdered and he is falsely accused of being the murderer. The story gets tangled when Oh Yeon Joo, daughter of the creator of W, is dragged inside the webtoon. The series then focuses on the murderer, the romantic relationship of the leads, the two-world mess and how to survive in the two tangled worlds.

^{The Promotional Poster- Source: Wikipedia}

Details, Episodes and Production

W is a 2016 Korean series, consisting of 16 episodes airing from July 20 to September 14,2016. The drama received praise for its unique premise and ranked first in Content Power Index in its premiere week. The genre includes fantasy, romance, supernatural gothic and suspense.

Cast and Characters

Lee Jong Suk as Kang Chul

Kang Chuk, the lead of the webtoon W is a cool minded, charming and hardworking person. He is a multimillionaire and an Olympic shooting winner. Lee Jong Suk as Kang chul is very promising and does complete justice to the character. The character is liked for the actor’s portrayal of Kang chul’s struggles in life brilliantly. His chemistry with Oh Yeon Joo is appreciable and cute.

Han Hyo-Joo as Oh Yeon-Joo

A 2nd year resident, Cardiothoracic surgeon in Myung-Se Hospital in the real world. She is the daughter of Oh Seong Moo, the author and illustrator of the webtoon W. She is also a big fan of the webtoon and wishes for happy ending of the same. She is pulled into that webtoon and eventually falls in love with the lead. Han Hyo Joo has beautifully played the character and successfully displayed every bit of the character’s emotions.

                                                                                                                                                             ^{The Manhwa webtoon- Source: Amino Apps}

Other Cast

1. Kim Eui-sung as Oh Seong Moo and Han Sang-hoon

2. Jung Yoo-jin as Yoon So-hee

3. Lee Tae-hwan as Seo Do-yoon

4. Park Won-sang as Han Cheol-ho

5. Cha Kwang-soo as Son Hyun-Seok

6. Nam Gi-ae as Gil Soo-sun

Themes Highlighted

Fascination about storytelling

The series takes on the questions on storytelling, and author being God. Is the author equivalent to the creator or God, Do the characters have free will or destiny, etc. The element of writer being too consumed in his works and not able to differentiate between real life and fictional world. The extent to which two worlds get entangled in each other is highlighted in the series.

The Webtoon Element

The major theme covering the series is the world of the webtoon. The series opens with the storyline of the webtoon, where Kang Chul is participating in the Olympics game. The real life is too affected with the rules and regulations of the webtoon. People from different worlds get stuck into different worlds. The webtoon also effects the readership of the book. The antagonist of the webtoon harms the people of the real world as well. The distinction between real world and the webtoon seems to be blurred.

^{The Book version of the webtoon- Source: Google}

Father- Daughter Duo

The father-daughter relationship is highlighted in the series very much. As Oh Yeon Joo’s parents are divorced, she does not live with her father. Oh Seong Moo is shown to be an alcoholic which leads to the destruction of his family. The webtoon was created by Oh Seong Moo inspired by his daughter’s drawing of the same cartoon in her childhood. Oh Yeon Joo keeps getting in the webtoon and because of this Seong Moo tries to end the webtoon. The end of the series signifies the sacrifice the father makes for her daughter’s happiness.

Relationships in Spotlight

Kang Chul and Oh Yeon Joo

This is the main bond highlighted in the series. The relationship denotes the connection between the two worlds. They both are the link to each other’s world. They both support each other throughout the time. Their relationship goes through a major phase of ups and down but in the end, both find their way to each other.

^{The Main Couple- Source : Google}

Yoon So-hee’s connection with Kang Chul

In the webtoon world, before the interference of Yeon Joo’s character, Yoon So-Hee was the female lead of the webtoon. She was the secretary of Kang Chul and his childhood friend. She was the one who was to eventually fall in love with the main character. But due to unexplained circumstances entry of Oh Yeon Joo’s character changed the plotline and Yeon So-Hee gets side-lined to be a side character.

Personal Review and Opinion

I came across this show right after I watched a casual sweet rom-com series. Right away, the series felt so fresh and engaging. It demanded all the attention and threw me right into the pace of action. The setup of both the worlds was done efficiently giving us all the necessary details to understand the theme. The chemistry between the leads was amazing as well. It was funny, cute, witty and of course romantic. The transition between the worlds is smooth and the Manhwa element of the characters suit them perfectly. The series didn’t feel boring but it did feel like it was engaging my mind too much. At times it felt too much to understand but the series manages the balance well and keeps you hooked. I loved all the elements the show offered. The series would give you the right amount of action, suspense, romance, sadness and all that giddy feeling at the same time.

Conclusion

W-Two Worlds is well received by the audience with mixed response from the critics. It has received a rating of 8.2/10 on imdb. This is surely a one-time watch for everyone.