my drama fix

The Scarecrow proves to be a really well made noir murder mystery with the performances, from the entire cast, being its strongest point.

I can’t say this is a kdrama anyone can watch as it’s deeply frustrating and infuriating. Especially when you know it’s based on real events.

Unlike the famous Bong Joon-ho film, this kdrama flips the story and delivers a first hand account on what the victims of this case went through at the hands of the police and prosecution. Even decades after the events.

There’s no justice in this story, even when the truth comes out. The pain lives on as a open wound, festering, leaving those who had to go through this terrible experience changed forever. The good are broken down by guilt and the weight of responsibility, the bad get away with murder for too long.

Still, the final scene let us know there’s hope for healing. The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.

Disclaimer: I am not korean, just an art curator with a deep appreciation for Asian cultures that it’s working on a masters about it. So all my opinions are my own based on my knowledge and experiences.

The controversy around the kdrama Perfect Crown became much bigger than a normal “historical accuracy” debate. It turned into a flashpoint for anxieties about Korean identity, nationalism, China-Korea historical tensions, public broadcasting, and South Korea’s increasingly polarized political climate.

The biggest backlash came from Episode 11, especially a coronation scene involving the character played by Byeon Woo-seok. Critics argued that the kdrama used symbols historically associated with Korea being subordinate to imperial China rather than sovereign itself.

On paper, this sounds niche or academic. In South Korea, however, these topics are emotionally charged because of long-running disputes over korean historical sovereignty, chinese claims over aspects of Korean culture, the “Northeast Project” controversies and online nationalism between Korean and Chinese netizens.

So even though the drama was fictional and set in an alternate constitutional monarchy, many viewers interpreted the imagery symbolically rather than fictionally.

Why did this become political? The controversy exploded because it landed in an already tense national atmosphere.

South Korean politics in the 2020s has become intensely divided between conservative/nationalist camps and progressive/liberal camps. Cultural issues increasingly become political identity battles, and historical representation is especially sensitive because both sides often use patriotism, anti-China sentiment, national pride, “protecting Korean culture” as political language.

The backlash intensified after reports that the drama received funding support from KOCCA (Korea Creative Content Agency). That shifted the discussion from fandom criticism into government accountability, cultural policy, nationalism and media responsibility.

A lot of the loudest criticism appears to have come from conservative or nationalist spaces, framing the issue as: disrespecting Korean sovereignty, weakening national identity, being overly influenced by China and evidence that cultural elites are detached from patriotism.

This overlaps with broader conservative distrust toward entertainment/media industries.

Was IU targeted because of her progressive image?

IU has long had a complicated relationship with Korean political culture because she is often perceived as leaning socially progressive.

This perception comes from her public donations, feminist readings of some songs, support for marginalized groups, association with more liberal cultural circles and previous online attacks from anti-feminist communities.

Did Byeon Woo Seok receive the same criticism?

Not to the same extent. Byeon Woo-seok was heavily criticised but IU absorbed more scrutiny overall.

This is because IU is much more culturally symbolic as one of Korea’s biggest celebrities, a top musician, a long-established public figure and someone people project values onto. That means controversies around her often become morality debates.

Byeon Woo Seok, while very famous after Lovely Runner, is still primarily seen as an actor/idol heartthrob rather than a symbolic public figure. His persona is perceived more apolitical and, as a result, criticism toward him stayed more narrowly tied to the drama itself.

Reality is female celebrities receive harsher ideological scrutiny and, more often than not, a disproportionately intense backlash online compared to male counterparts.

IU has dealt with this dynamic before.

So even when both leads apologized, online discourse often focused more emotionally and personally on her.

It's been a while since I had so much fun with a jdrama.

Every member of the cast was great, playing each respective character perfectly, delivering great comedic timing in contrast with some more serious and deadpan performances. They all had fire chemistry together. Particularly the leads, Hashimoto and Miura, who played off each other with ease in every scene they shared.

Although, some developments (such as hospital politics) were kinda predictable, the real fun was on each medical mystery, that played as a Sherlock Holmes cast. Sometimes to shocking turn of events.

Much of the comedy lives or dies with the editing, and thankfully this drama understands this and does a terrific technical job on it.

If I had to review this drama for the romance and comedy, I would give it a solid 8. The characters' chemistry is really good and the story compelling. Most of what was shown in this drama was lovely and heartwarming in many ways but, in order to watch this drama, I had to put aside all knowledge of Japan's history in the 20th century.

I'm not japanese but, most of my childhood, I attended a school created by the community and even I had the opportunity to live in Tokyo for a while. All this to say that I am no stranger to the culture and its history, and that as a consequence I have my own educated opinion which it's very positive but I also believe the negative can't be ignored.

To set a japanese story in 1936, it's certainly a choice. But making your leads a navy officer and his wife makes my eyebrow rise in suspicious (IYKYK). This was an issue for me because it was always in the background and driving the story and character's experiences (as the very final narration clarifies, with no qualms). There was even offhandedly comments from supporting characters about the current political situation. As much as I wanted to "enjoy" this drama, I couldn't help but wonder if I was watching a revisionist story, maybe even subtle propaganda, trying to paint certain group of people in a better light and sweep under the rug some of Japan's darkest chapters in the history of the country, region and world.

This was a rather mild watch. It had a good start but lost momentum when it dispersed from the leads’ relationship and never fully developed the motivations behind the main “villain”. So, the stakes were never there. I am, overall, disappointed as the leads had great chemistry and I was looking forward to see them play it off as they worked cases together. But that barely happened.

The importance of being earnest.

I admit I had high expectations for this drama. For starters, I really love Zhu Yi, the author of the original source material. She has a way of writing really beautiful stories about love and growing pains, that touch on subjects such as loneliness, self-love, friendship and overcoming society's prejudices in contemporary China, without making the characters' realities too harsh and cold. In her stories there's always room for hope and change.

Adding to this, I already knew Director and screenwriter Chu Yu Ning thanks to his impeccable work in the classic romcom It Started with a Kiss (and its sequel). So, I knew not only he would do an outstanding work but the team that he would bring to for this adaptation would be up to the highest standards. Finally, when it was announced Bai Jingting and Zhang Ruonan would be starring as Sang Yan and Wen Yifan, I knew this would be probably one of the best dramas of the year. I was right.

The First Frost is a beautifully shot story about two people loving each other unconditionally because they share a deep understanding of whom the other person is, and accept them with flaws and all. Sang Yan and Wen Yifan were never friends, they were always meant to be more, and their relationship is certainly based in a partnership of equals that respect each other. And because of this, they are able to navigate natural feelings in life such as heartbreak and fear of abandonment, and other more harsh situations such as overcoming childhood trauma and parents' neglect.

Every character in this drama was casted perfectly and all the actors brought their A+ game. Even when I fundamentally disagreed with some characters, such as Yifan's mother, the character and story building made me understand she was product of society and her environment, but I give props to The First Frost for delivering one of the most satisfying resolutions to this particular storyline. For too long we have been characters narratively forced to forgive neglecting or downright abusive parents, Wen Yifan said we are doing things differently from on.

There's a lot of value and importance in what The First Frost has to say about women's experiences through life, and how much we need positive people (of all genders) around us. Sang Yan is not perfect but he certainly is an ideal that we should aspire to, particularly the men. Yifan's journey was to learn that you don't need to be healed in order to receive love from others. Or, perhaps even more importantly, to love yourself.