K-drama Review: What's Up?

By saryre

I think I have found my new K-drama favourite. Actually, What’s Up? really took me off by surprise. I wasn’t that excited about the premise, nor did I care about the cast. Moreover, it took a long time before it began airing. At one point, I was convinced that the drama had been dropped completely. So when it actually started I wasn’t expecting it to be my taste at all. But, boy, was I wrong! I loved it so wholeheartedly with my anticipation constantly growing for the next episodes. I don’t even know if it’s fair to compare What’s Up? with the usual dramas because it sure doesn’t fall on the same level. I felt like I was watching a really long (but well worth the time) movie production. Seriously, there is a lot that other drama creators could learn from What’s Up?...like A LOT.

What I first noticed was that this What's Up? did not try to force me into loving it with pretty (idol) cast, cutesy factors or unnecessary drama. No, What’s Up? won me over because it didn’t have any of that superficial-ness. It had a wonderful cast, lovable characters, a gripping story, heartbreaking conflicts, great editing and directing, and impressive musical performances. What’s Up? felt sincere. And most astonishingly, it did it all with a great pace that never made the drama bothersome to watch.

Anyhoo, the story is about a musical school and its students striving to become musical stars. But it concentrates more on the characters than it does on the musical performances. That is not to say that we didn’t get to hear them sing, I most definitely did get a fair amount of eargasms. 

But since the show has its focus on characters, then instead of a plot summary I’ll give you short descriptions of our heroes/heroines:

Jang Jae Hun (Lim Ju Hwan) is from a poor background and without any purposes for his future. He wanders the streets and robs drunk businessmen with his two friends. After he causes a car accident on a night escaping from the police, Jae Hun decides to go to university to pursue acting, but ends up in a musical department.

Ha Do Sung (Daesung from Big Bang) hides his face behind a mask. Do Sung is a famous rock artist Hades that conceals his identity so that his upper class mother would not be associated with him. He ends his career as Hades and auditions to musical school.

Park Tae Yi (Kim Ji Won), a lovable and naive country-pumpkin, wants to be a musical singer. Her deceased father was a well-known artist back in the day.

Eun Chae Young (Jang Hee Jin) is a young actress who desires to become an A-list star. She has experience in entertainment industry, but her limited skills stop her from achieving her goals.

Oh Doo Ri (Lim Ju Eun) has spent her life pretending to be someone she is not to please her mother. She auditions to musical school to be free from her mothers influence, and to live her life the way she wants.

Lee Soo Bin (Lee Soo Hyuk) spends his time composing music to late midnight, and then sleeps all day. His composed and elegant appearance collides with his lack of organization skills.

Kim Byung Gun (Jo Jung Suk) knows everything about musicals and believes himself to become a famous star one day. However, all his efforts are ruined by his fear of stage and singing in front of others.

Sun Woo Young (Oh Man Seok) goes around looking a homeless person and cares little of his job as a teacher. He constantly clashes with the professor Yang on the subject of his ignorance.

Professor Yang (Kim Mi Kyung) is the principal of the musical school. She is strict and serious with her students, yet her authority is shattered every time Sun Woo refuses to obey her rules.

NB! SPOILER ALERT! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! 

Why I enjoyed it and why I think you should too (there’s a lot, I know):

The characters/cast. Oh how I love dramas that give me characters that are so complex and layered that I can’t help but love each and single one of them. I truly did (even Chae Young). I was so invested in them and their problems, that every episode got more exciting for me as I got to know them more and more. The relationships between characters were so interesting as there were these unexpected bondings that caught me off guard (e.g. Tae Yi and Soo Bin, Byung Gun and the Ghost). Which is even more surprising is the fact that there were many rookie actors in What’s Up?, yet they all did a wonderful job at bringing the characters to life. My first thoughts before the release of this drama were about the cast. Unfamiliar faces worried me a lot. I am now ashamed to say this, but I figured the cast would turn out to be the low-point of the drama. But it turned out to be the exact opposite – it was actually the high point of What’s Up?. 

The Jae Hun and Tae Yi couple. This pair was so adorable, yet the love story itself was a heart-breaking roller-coaster ride. Jae Hun was my hero. No longer am I a sucker for only bad guys, good guys rule. He was such a good friend to Do Sung, even though he himself had feelings for Tae Yi. And our puppy-eyed Tae Yi was ever such a crybaby all clueless about her own life, while insightful of others. I like that her character was an ironic take on the stereotypical drama heroine we all love (and sometimes hate).  

Tae Yi’s conversations with her „father“. It was most probably Tae Yi’s own conscience that took the form of her father, but it was, nevertheless, one of the things I loved. I loved the playful teasing between them and the valuable advice that Tae Yi got from him.

The comedy. I appreciate good humor, and What’s Up? had a lots of it. Byung Gun was probably the best at getting me laugh out loud (I looooved him). While the drama emotionally drenches you, it also lightens the mood with witty lines and tiny jokes. „Crying at one moment and laughing at the next“ is not just a saying with this drama.

The OST. Dammit, how mad I am that thy didn’t release official versions of the songs we heard in the drama, because they were vocally magnificent and hauntingly beautiful. Moreover, they were perfectly fitted to the story. Whenever we heard a character sing, it was connected to the present emotions and conflicts. My favourite voices of the drama were of Byung Gun, Daesung and Tae Yi. Chills went all over my spine whenever they sang. Those are some talented people, I say.

The plot. Do I really need to say more? Okay, I will. The story was really good: well written, unexpected, and intriguing. The whole plot was divided between characters and each episode concentrated more on one or two of them. That being said, I loved that the others weren’t completely ignored at the same time. Even if the focus was on those two characters we got hints about the rest. So, consequently in the next episode when the focal-point had moved on, we still got to see tiny details of those who were in the spotlight in that previous episode. I really enjoyed this circulation because it granted me the chance to get to know everyone equally. In result, I appreciated all the characters as they all were essential to the successful continuation of the plot line.   

The tiny clips at the end of episodes. These extra scenes were probably the result of extensive editing, yet they complimented the information we got from the episodes. Short and pertinent.   

The Doo Ri and Sun Woo couple. Although they weren’t an actual couple (I would not have liked if they had been) it was clear how alike they were. Both loved to mess with others to entertain themselves. But simultaneously, both Doo Ri and Sun Woo were really good advice-givers. I also loved how the school collectively accepted their weird relationship, and how they were teasingly made fun of. It was so sweet.

The campus ghost. Hee, this guy was awesome. More like a guardian angel than a real ghost, but still another great minor-character of What’s Up? 

What I didn’t enjoy:

The ending. I guess it’s not fair to say I utterly hated it, I didn’t. But I was a tad bit disappointed that the ending didn’t give us a concrete conclusion and more insight to the future. I figure that the ending felt rushed because they had to edit out many scenes for it to fit into the schedule. The after effects of the editing did not rear its ugly head until the very ending when we were suddenly cut off. Yet I feel that they strived for an open ending in that sense that not every conflict would be solved. Honestly speaking, there were many problems that were simply too complicated to be solved within the series (e.g. Daesung’s and Doo Ri’s conflicts with their mothers). But I was expecting to see the whole musical in the end, the fact that I didn’t made me sad.

Overall conclusion:

Thank goodness that What’s Up? wasn’t dropped. This is definitely in my favourite drama list and I would recommend this to any drama-lover. Life is too short to spend it all to Asian dramas, but this is a must for musical-drama-lovers. In fact, I think that the new era of dramas is starting, and What’s Up? made the first introduction.

My ratings (10 being the highest):

Plot: 9 (The ending could have been better, considering the otherwise near-perfect plot construction.)

OST: 10 (What would I give for an official drama OST with all the songs?)

Acting: 10 (No shortcomings from this cast.)

Cinematography and editing: 10 (Though I like to see vivid colours, this drama had a very fitting palette. The dark atmosphere called for the grim tones. The editing was good even though the ending suffered a little from it. And there were so many beautifully filmed scenes, the show actually started with one of the most memorable ones.)

Romance: 10 (This wasn’t exactly in romance genre, but I did get a good amount of butterflies in my stomach.)

Comedy: 10 (Also, not in comedy genre, but handled the humor superbly.)

Memorable quotes:

Byung Gun: "I wonder what Soo Bin hyung did to our room this time.
Going to my own room is so traumatic. Every day is a horror story for me."
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Sun Woo: „People say the stage is a fake world. No way. It’s the stage where it has to be real. Everyone is watching there. You can’t fool them. It’s harder to find the real stuff in the real world. Everyone is just full of crap. So whenever you feel real emotions, remember it well. It’s really precious.“

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Chae Young: „I guess just like the countryside is a foreign country to me, this world may be a foreign place for you too.“

Tae Hee: „This world? Seoul?“

Cahe Young: „If you can't stand it, then cry, and run away as soon as possible.“

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Doo Ri: „Do you want to know the truth? Most people in this world aren't that interested in you. Of course they can talk shit behind your back. But that's not because they are interested in you, it's because they are bored. So if you go around this world looking like that, there might be some people who will laugh at you for it, but in time, they all forget. And that's the truth.“

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Sun Woo: „Why do you speak?“

Byung Gun: „To convey my thoughts…to convey my heart..“

Sun Woo: „What about singing?“

Byung Gun: „Err..“

Sun woo: „Singing is to convey things you can’t put in words.“

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Sun Woo: „Do you know what a secret is? It’s like a cancerous virus. If you remove it in the early stage, you’ll recover. If you leave it alone, it will spread uncontrollably…in your body…until you die.“

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Doo Ri: “Before we were 19 years old, the world would not let us think of anything…not to think…but just go ahead and do whatever needs to be done…only then we can live… When we’re 20 years old, our lives start changing. Even though I can’t be sure if it’s the world or me who is changing, but something is slowly and surely changing…To a 20 year old, the world is 1 part warm miracle and 999 part cruel reality mashed together. The world is a recollection. ”