Life Lesson from What's up: More eyeliner, more badass. Rules of dramaland.

Written by kaedejun

The last of the 2011 musical dramas that ended in 2012, and probably the best. What’s Upfollowed the dreams of a group of students who wanted to be a star! It’s very similar toYou’ve Fallen For Me, and yet it managed to take on a more serious tone, showing the rivalries and friendship that grew out of all these students who had one remarkable professor who made them think about why they were in that school, and to be true to themselves. Only then could they become the best.The stakes were higher in this drama than You’ve Fallen For Me, which was appropriate for college students.

What’s Up is easily one of my favorite dramas this year. I loved this drama for the talent involved. I discovered Jo Jung Seok and his musical greatness, the richness of Im Joo Hwan’s voice, the raw ferocity in Im Joo Eun, the awesome-ness that is Oh Man Suk and the thrill of listening to Daesung. It also had one of the most elusive OST’s for me to access, and therefore I honor this drama to be the song representative for this review of the year. Their songs – renditions of Broadway classics, or purely original – were catchy and lyrical, and were played on repeat for me. The chemistry between the students was wonderful because I really felt that they were their characters. I do believe that Song Ji Na wrote a very solid story because she made the characters rich, considering that she had to juggle up to ten characters and weave together their stories while also showing their growth. With such strong personalities, it’s as if their life stories wrote themselves on the page, and it felt like there was always plenty of material to share.

Even though it was a 20-episode series, I was left wanting for more, wanting for another year with these characters. I kind of felt disappointed when it began to rush on tying up loose ends, and focused more on Im Joo Hwan and Kim Ji Won‘s love story. The drama then became a little more conventional, showing how these two characters were in love, but never really meant to be because of something in the past.

What’s important for me is that it is something I could watch again and again. The drama is about growing up, whether it’s facing your fears, facing your past, or facing your uncertain future. And that is something you never stop doing.