Romance in Paris (2004, SBS drama special)

Romance in Paris is addictive. With its first three episodes showing the landscape of Paris, it is no wonder why the audience would be beheld by the picturesque scenery of the city of Amour. The Eiffel Tower, Seine River and other sights and sounds of Paris are captivating in the opening scenes of this drama. However, this is not the only captivating factor. The drama itself is also alluring and draws viewers in with each subsequent episode.

This is a Cinderella story. Although there is no real prince living in palace with a line of maids and a butler, the male protagonist here could be said to be a reincarnation of one. Suave, rich, smart, he is everything that you could ask for in a guy. Our Cinderella is, as the name suggests, a poor, optimistic, beautiful lady with an enchanting smile that could melt almost any guy.

The actors in this show are excellent. It seems like the roles were tailored just for them. Our prince is Park Shin-yang, who is better known for his movies like A Promise and The Letter, both of which were hits in the 1990s, rather than drama roles. An outstanding actor, he gave an excellent rendition of the role, Han Ki-joo, who is the GM of a multi-national coporation dealing with cars. Initially, after viewing the first two episodes, his acting seemed a little stiff. In fact, I was wondering why the PD chose someone who cannot act to take upon the lead role. But as subsequent episodes were unveiled, I was really impressed with his performance.

Kim Jung-eun, best known for the movie Marrying the Mafia, is the hard-broke girl Kang Tae-young, who is constantly being fired in her part time jobs. Although she had never taken on the leading role in a drama production, Kim shows her own charisma and proved that she also is worthy of becoming an A-list actress. She is the one who provides the soul for the drama with her forgetful character and cutsey performance.

Of course, we should not forget another actor, Lee Dong-gun, who acts as Yoon Su-hyuk, who together with Park Shin-yang is head over heels for Kang Tae-young. It was amazing to see how much Lee Dong-gun has matured in his acting skills. When I first saw him in Ad Madness in 1999, he was still an aspiring singer acting in minor roles in small productions. But his depth in portraying Su-hyuk's inner emotions was overwhelming. At 24, he is definitely an excellent actor to look out for. In fact, after watching his performance in Romance in Paris, I had the urge to view his earlier works such as Sweet 18.

A Cinderella story, but is it a Cinderella ending? If there is one flaw in the drama, it is definitely the ending. After watching the ending, questions marks were flying in my head. It was simply incomprehensible. In fact, I had to re-watch the last episode again to try to understand the ending. But sad to say, another attempt to do that would be futile. My guess would be that the PD would want the audience to comprehend it at their own discretion.