Synopsis & Review

Winter Sonata is a tragic, but romantic drama that stars Choi Ji Woo as Jung Yu-Jin and Bae Yong Joon as Kang Jun-Sang. Jun-Sang transfers into a school in Chuncheon to look for his "dead? father. Through his extraordinary talents, he acquires thorough attention in his new school. Among them is a girl named Yu-Jin. Although she despises Jun-Sang's attitude at first, she realizes that she is truly in love with him. Despite their love, however, it suddenly ends one night as Jun-Sang involves in a terrible automobile accident. Jun-Sang dies and Yu-Jin falls into months of dark heartbrokenness. Ten years later, she is dating a man named Kim Sang-Hyuk and is about to get married. However on the engagement day, she sees a man that looks just like Jun-Sang. She runs after him but loses him. Could this be Jun-Sang?

This drama revolves around one main theme: the fate of Yu-Jin and Jung-Sang. Although violence is not seen throughout the drama, conflicts among many unrequited love and fatal accidents cause their fate to be unpredictable. Winter Sonata is not a comedic, humorous drama, but a tragic, romantic story. The lovers face walls of problems they have to overcome, slowly moving towards the bittersweet ending.

Winter Sonata consists of 20 fifty-minute episodes, and every episode is effective and important. Compared to other Korean series, Winter Sonata is a bit longer, yet it didn't feel as if the series was dragging or too slow. The drama also includes a good OST, the soft voice of Ryu and his sentimental songs, From the Beginning Until Now, and My Memory add a sad, yet romantic mood to the story.

Winter Sonata has three main characters. The main female character, Jung Yu-Jin, changes her position in love many times throughout the drama. She repeats true love and heartbrokenness as she finally meets her destiny. The male character, Kan Jun-Sang, makes many changes throughout the series, including changes to his name and his personality. He is a dark, gloomy character in the beginning but evolves as the drama goes on. Kim Sang-Hyuk is a static character; he stays in love with Jung Yu-Jin through the entire drama without changing his feelings. Although he faces unrequited love, his feelings were kept constant throughout the movie. In my opinion, Jung Yu-Jin is the main heroine of Winter Sonata. She goes through difficult times and situation, nevertheless, keeps an optimistic view of her fate with Jun-Sang.

Winter Sonata is a melancholy series, yet it's still incredibly interesting and kept my attention throughout. For anyone looking to shed a tear or two, Winter Sonata might be a good choice for your next Korean drama series. If you are not a big fan of tearjerkers, this series might prove a bit too heartbreaking for your tastes, but still, suck it up and watch.

Discuss Winter Sonata