Tamna the Island, episodes 1-10

Oooh, I have such unabashed puppy love for this currently airing MBC drama. It’s not a life-altering, “forever” kind of love – more like just a very serious crush. Which is why it’s such a gosh-darn shame that, in light of the show’s consistently poor ratings, its broadcasting network decided to cut it down from its originally planned 20 episodes to 16. What that means is that because the final 10 episodes had fo0r the most part already been shot, they had to be cut down into a mere six. Needless to say, fans are pissed at the prospect of watching a heavily edited and significantly reduced second half of a series in which they’ve already become emotionally invested. So much of the story must get lost in the condensing of ten hours of material into six! And so, in spite of my love for this drama, I stopped watching after episode ten (the last episode to be aired in its original, unedited form.) I feel that it would be better to wait for the full version (which will eventually air in other countries and be released on DVD) than to watch a chopped-up, mutilated version of it now. And so to reconcile myself with the idea of going completely cold turkey on this drama (for now at least), I decided to write this post all about how freakin’ adorable it is.

Tamna the Island (also known as “Shipwrecked!” or “Tempted Again”) is based on an ongoing soonjung manhwa of the same name and takes place during the Joseon era on an island province called Tamna (present day Jeju Island). Since Tamna historically has a kind of niche culture distinct from mainland Joseon society, a brief explanation ought to precede any discussion of this drama. 17th-century Tamna was kind of like the sticks of Joseon: a remote, uncivilized, backwater region. Nevertheless, the island was valued (and heavily taxed) by the government for its natural resources, most of which came from the sea. In a kind of reversal of traditional gender roles, the women of the island dove for abalone while the men stayed home and managed the households. The female divers, who performed difficult and undesirable work, were not allowed to leave Tamna, and were indentured to the island for life. Also, because Westerners were about as common in Tamna as aliens, any who appeared there were generally viewed as freaks and treated as criminals, even to the point of being arrested, sent to the capital, and executed. One last important aspect of 17th-century Tamna is that it was the place where political offenders were exiled by the mainland government in much the same way criminals of the British Empire were sent to Australia. People who watch a lot of sageuk (period) dramas should recognize this practice. (Remember how Jang-Geum was banished there on a trumpted up charge in Dae Jang Geum?)

And so, with the stage thus set, the drama tells the story of an English castaway who washes ashore on Tamna. Fortunately for young William, he is found and hidden by a young female diver named Jang Beo-Jin. Despite the language and cultural barrier, the two form a very sweet and innocent friendship. Around the same time, an arrogant and scholarly young noble man named Park Kyu arrives from Han Yang (the capital), having been recently exiled to Tamna, and is given to the care of Beo-Jin’s mother, the head diver of the village. The story of how these three characters collide and come together against the odds in 17th-century Tamna provides for plenty of humor and drama in this unique and fun series.
Pierre Deporte (Korean name Hwang Chan-Bin) as William. Honestly, this guy’s acting takes a lot of getting used to, and even then can be accepted only with a huge grain of salt. And yet I’m prepared to do all this and more, because I like the character so much. He’s a little hard to take at firs, what with his fake blonde hair and even faker English, but as soon as the character starts “learning” Korean (the actor’s pretty fluent) it gets so much better. William may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but he has a sweet, innocent charm about him that completely won me over. It’s fun to watch him and Beo-Jin together because even though they’re a kind of oddly matched pair, they’re basically each other’s first loves, and it really is quite sweet. Plus, it’s hard for me to ignore the fact that this is quite possibly the first time a White person has ever been portrayed in such a positive light in a drama, not to mention taken on a leading role. The drama does a great job, I thing, of incorporating his character in a way that’s both sensitive and intriguing, in spite of the bad hair and accent. For instance, look at this bit of dialogue from episode 5, in which William discusses with his sailor friend a misunderstanding that occurred between him and Park Gyu:

William: Park Gyu… He looked at me like I was a bad person. I think he misunderstood something. I was just trying to save her-
Yan: Don’t expect these people to understand you. You’re just a freak to them.
William: Why do they hate me?
Yan: Joseon has always been a closed country. The locals are afraid of foreigners and try to kill them.
William: I don’t understand. Beo-Jin isn’t like that.
Yan: Yeah, well, she’s a weird one.
William: No, she’s not strange.
Yan: Don’t get too attatched. Sooner or later you’ll have to leave this place.

Seo Woo as Jang Beo-Jin. I don’t have a whole lot to say about the actress, except that she does a great job of bringing a nice, youthful energy to her character without being annoyingly over-spunky or cutesy. Beo-Jin has a wonderfully, open, straightforward, and caring nature that leads her to instantly and wholeheartedly accept William as a basically good person, and to defend him against those who might reject him for being different. I guess she knows how it feels to be different as well. As an unskilled, low-level diver indentured to the island for life, she’s somewhat of a black sheep in her village. She’s always dreamed of leaving Tamna, and in a way William opens up for her the possibility of a world beyond the island’s shores.

Im Ju-Hwan as Park Gyu. Ok, I like the rest of the cast, but I absolutely love Im Ju-Hwan as Park Gyu. I wasn’t really expecting much from this relatively inexperienced model-turned-actor, but as far as I’m concerned, he’s the real standout of the drama. He may be askinny guy with delicate features, but the dude’s got this beautifully deep, manly voice, and totally OWNS his character. As the city-reared scholar-noble, he’s initially dismayed to find himself exiled to the backwaters of Tamna at the beginning of the drama and entrusted to the care of lowly peasants who don’t show him the respect he so obviously deserves! It’s hilarious, really. Nobody really knows the details of his crime, but there’s a persistent rumor that it has something to do with harassing women. Ha! Of course, there’s more to him than initially meets the eye, and we eventually learn (spoiler alert) that he’s actually an undercover official sent to Tamna by the government on a secret mission. Although initially unimpressed with the uncivilized island society and the uncouth Beo-Jin, he slowly comes to respect, admire, and even love both. Im Ju-Hwan is so awesome in this role. He makes the character endearing and funny, but also anchors it with some very deeply felt, vulnerable moments; when he tears up on screen it’s so good I just want to die. You can bet your bottom dollar that if Im Ju-Hwan appears in another drama in the future I’ll be all over it like white on rice.

Before I go any further, I have to say that yes, this drama does feature two guys falling for the same girl, but there’s so much else going on, and each individual relationship between these three people is so distinct and well-developed, and intriguing, that what romantic conflict there is never feel clichéd or contrived or cheap. I just think this drama’s got a whole heck of a lot going for it. Being based on a long-running manhwa gives it extensive source material to work with, and the story’s been really well adapted by the production team. (There are some other manga/manhwa-turned-dramas where this has not been the case. Boys Over Flowers springs directly to mind.) The Tamna setting also differentiates the drama from other fusion sageuks out there and allows for a fresh and unique kind of story. The scenery is breathtaking, and as for the music, this is the first OST I’ve been interested in for a while. It just baffles me that this drama’s been getting such poor ratings. Oh well. I’m really impatient to watch the second part of the series, but I’ve liked the first ten episodes too much to feel ok about watching a condensed version of the last ten. Sometimes it’s the little moments that really make a drama worthwhile, and I’m afraid those are the ones that will get lost in the re-editing. So I’ll just wait. Yet in spite of the fiasco MBC’s caused in this drama’s run, I’m still glad I tuned in for the first half. I enjoyed it that much.

Some music from the soundtrack:

이어사나 (Ending Theme) - Jane Park

Your Tears (Main Theme) - Jane Park

Dae Jang Geum, where have you been all my life?

Holy shizzles, maybe I need to start watching more sageuk dramas (period kdramas, typically set during the era of the Joseon dynasty.) I’m a pretty voracious kdrama consumer, but my appetite generally leans pretty exclusively towards the trendy genre. I mean, I’ve dabbled a bit in fusion sageuks, most notably with last year’s action/comedy/hero-story Hong Gil Dong, although that was really just a trendy drama dressed up in traditional garb. As for the only other sageuk I’ve watched, Painter of the Wind, even that can be said to be moderately fusion as well in that it demonstrated a very modern sensibility in both story and execution. Pure sageuks, on the other hand, are played totally straight. (It’s sort of like the difference between A Knight’s Tale and Ivanhoe.) So basically Dae Jang Geum is my first completely bona fide, totally legit, sweepingly epic sageuk drama. My impression? Looks like I’ve been missing out.

There are many people who thoroughly enjoy both sageuk and trendy/fusion dramas, but there are also quite a few purists out there who fall solidly into one camp or the other. Personally, I can see how the trendy stuff might be a lot more accessible to younger, non-Korean viewers. While the shorter trendy dramas tend to be more fast-paced and instantly gratifying, the sageuks are much slower, usually more serious in tone, and obviously require more of an understanding of traditional Korean society and culture. Basically, they don’t translate as well, and they’re typically viewed by a much older demographic. Yet in spite of all this, sageuks are usually the programs with the highest ratings, and the genre’s continuing to thrive along side their more youthful counterparts.

So what prompted me to emerge from my trendy drama comfort zone and foray into the scary world of sageuk? I guess just curiosity. I was curious about Dae Jang Geum in particular because of its insane level of popularity and international success. One of the highest rated dramas ever (53% at one point during its 2003 broadcast), Dae Jang Geum is also credited with contributing to the surge of international interest in Korean pop culture known as the Korean Wave. So I guess I was just curious as to what was so darn great about this show that captured people’s attention so thoroughly.

From the very first few episodes, Dae Jang Geum won me over completely. I still haven’t quite finished the series (I’ve got about six episodes left to go out of the total 54), but I couldn’t wait any longer to write this. The series may not have the fast-paced fun of your typical trendy fare, but it is definitely not at all boring or stuffy. Intense, riveting, exciting, beautiful, heart wrenching? Yes. Boring? No Way. When I first looked into the series I balked at the length of 54 episodes, but once I started watching I actually found myself glad that sageuks run so long because I’ve just been burning through these episodes. When I finish I think I might suffer symptoms of withdrawal. Or maybe DJG will be my gateway drug to sageuks (like Coffee Prince was my gateway drug to trendies.)

Alright, enough rambling. Time to talk about the drama itself. Dae Jang Geum tells the story of a woman named Jang-Geum. The “Dae” from the title refers not to her family name, but to the official title she eventually receives when she becomes the first and only woman to ever serve as primary physician to the king. The drama focuses on her entire life leading up to that achievement. The story includes elements of political intrigue, romance, tragedy, and much more, but at its core Dae JangGeum tells the very intimate story of a single woman’s journey. I only wish I could adequately convey the essence of this epic drama in this summary.

Portrayed by the lovely Lee Young-Ae, Jang-Geum is a woman of uncommon intelligence and talents (first in the royal kitchen, and later as a female physician), but who’s also very passionate, cheerful, and kind. She does have flaws, though. Although in most respects a very humble person, she has a dangerous tendency to be a little too proud in her own abilities. She also struggles to balance her desire for justice and her desire for vengeance.

Ji Jin-Hee plays Min Jung-Ho, a scholar-official of the upper class and Jang-Geum’s main love interest. While maybe not the most complex character ever written, he's definitely got the whole white-horse-riding-romantic-hero thing down pat. If I had to use one word to describe his character it would be dashing. His romance with Jang-Geum was very sweet (and even tear-inducing at several points). And all this accomplished without even a single on-screen kiss in the whole drama. Yeah, it might seem weird to have this sweeping, epic romance without any actual smooching, but then again how many kissing scenes are there in Jane Austen’s novels, considered to be some of the most romantic in the English language? It’s the same in DJG as in an Ausen novel: the implications of subtle glances and slight touches are enough to evoke pretty strong feelings such that when an actual embrace comes along it feels like the ultimate expression of passionate love.

Hong Ri-Na plays Jang-Geum’s greatest rival in the palace, Choi Geum-Young. Geum-Young’s the type of character who isn’t really villainous at heart, but who doesn’t have the backbone to be good when circumstances force her down a path of evil. She’s a very lonely person, and when Jang-Geum wounds her pride in a lot of ways she takes refuge in her family, who just so happen to be as villainous and power-hungry as they come. Kyeon Mi-Ri gives a great performance as Lady Choi, Geum-Young’s aunt and the head of the Choi Axis of Evil. Lady Choi’s one of the most nefarious, unscrupulous characters in the history of everything, but even she has rare moments of, if not of true remorse for her sins then of regret for the fact that she “had” to commit them. She bitterly and resentfully regrets that certain people commit the sin of refusing to submit to her authority, and thereby making it necessary for her to eliminate them.

The king (king Jungjong, played by actor Im Ho) is a pretty minor character up until the later part of the series. He’s a very gentle and honest man, but on the whole too mild and indecisive to be a truly strong ruler. There are lots of other characters in the series that I really love as well, but I just can’t list them all here, and I’ve already rambled on too much. I guess I’ll just conclude kind of lamely and say that this drama is really great and that it’s definitely made me want to check out more sageuks in the future.

Finally, I’ll just post this clip from episode 16. It’s a really beautiful scene in which Jang-Geum sees the ocean for the first time. Her adoptive father takes her to there to cheer her up when she’s depressed and they play in the water together, and then they run into … Min Jung-Ho!