There are two reasons for this post: to get more people to watch When the Camellia Blooms and to talk about how all of us could use a sprinkle of hope. 2019 has been a hard year for many people, so it was nice that right before it ended, we got a drama that reminded us that we aren’t all bad. That when we work together, we can make miracles happen, and we do genuinely care about each other. (As I listen to myself from 2019, I wish I could go back and tell her to enjoy the next few weeks a little more, and maybe invest in GameStop. Alas, I think all of this applies even more now. If you somehow haven’t seen this drama, I hope it might give you joy.)

We wrote a first impression on When the Camellia Blooms, but I didn’t contribute because I had dropped the drama. But, Twitter struck again, and there were several people talking about Pil Gu, and how awesome of a son he is. They also posted a clip of the OTP’s kiss. It totally won me over.

After catching up, words escaped me when I tried to convey to one of the other fangirls why I liked the drama so much. It just soothed my weary soul. As the series progressed, and the characters layers deepened, it was clear that everyone on this show was flawed, but not in a way that was evil or made them a bad person. I loved how each character changed throughout the show. They all grew and learned from their mistakes. Some more than others, but isn’t that how life works?

I normally go for a different type of leading man, but Yong Sik proved to be the kind of person we all need in our lives. Someone who helps you raise your head up and stand taller. Someone who looks past what others say, and makes you believe how amazing you are. He may have been a bit of an over enthusiastic bulldozer at the beginning, but his love for Dong Baek and her family, touched my heart.

Through it all Dong Baek was the backbone. She was fierce! And yet, she cried on so many occasions. It helped remind me, that even though I have to be strong for my family, it’s okay for them to see that I have weaknesses.

We all have weaknesses.

Each mom they showed in the series made bad choices for their children, but when you analyzed why they did it, it really was because of the love they had for their child. How many of us worry about each decision we make for those we are responsible for? And age didn’t always make them smarter. Yong Sik’s mom had to work through her own stubbornness to finally release her son to love Dong Baek.

I think 2019 was a hard year for all of us here at Drama Kimchi. Our recaps may have had a bite sometimes, or showed how disappointed we were in a show. It’s not easy to put happy words on paper all the time, when life keeps knocking you down.

But we’ve managed to laugh and cry with all of you this year. Like all the regular police officers and the ahjummas down the street, we may be normal people who can’t save the world, but we have each other and we care about one another when it really comes down to it.

This drama received very high ratings in Korea, and I can see why. Sometimes if feels like all you hear about are the horrible people and the injustices that are going on. But, Camellia’s message that there are still good people out there, really resonated. I’d say it was desperately needed.

I know I needed it.

Paraphrase from the last episode:
Miracles don’t exist. It’s just the little heroes inside us working together. It’s all acts of kindness done by kind people.

Until the next miracle,

Drama Geek

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi