Film actors plus a sophisticated script. Just when you think it's getting predictable, it becomes unexpected. See what I mean in the Korean Drama - Lovers In Prague
In Lovers In Prague, Foreign affairs officer Jae-Hee (Jeon Do-Yeon) tries her best to keep a low profile in Prague as the daughter of South Korean's president. Putting her life back together after a painfully silent separation from Young-woo (Kim Min Joon) was no easy feat. Things take an unexpected turn when she meets Sang-Hyeon (Kim Joo-Hyuk), a police sergeant who arrives in Prague attempting to mend the broken relationship with his girlfriend Hye-joo (Yoon Se-Ah).
This drama rates very high on my list. Much like My Lovely Sam Soon, it matches film actors Jeon Do-Yeon and Kim Joo-Hyuk (winner for the 2005 Baeksang Award for Best Actor in a TV Drama) with a sophisticated script and plot elements that keep things from becoming predictable.
One point that makes this particular drama stand out is that the characters are adults in thier late twenties to mid-thirties - each brought up in very different homes. The micro-managed parent of Young-woo is very controlling - always wanting things his way and his way only and always sending henchmen out to snoop and do his nasty work. Match that with the somewhat laid-back parenting of Jae Hee, the South Korean president who trusts that he raised his daughter well enough to do the right thing. Counter with the deceased parents of Sang Hyeon and the abandoned and abused Hye joo and you have a better understanding of the character's motivations.
Apart from the well paced story, another aspect I quite enjoyed was that they actually shot part of the drama in Prague amidst the cobblestone roads and the old architectural landscape. Even in the flatness of video, the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful.
Performances from the three main leads are consistently strong. Joo-Hyuk's rough and rugged police sergeant, Sang Hyeon, completely deserved the Best Actor Award. And while I didn't really like Jae-Hee at first, she definitely grew on me as the story progressed.
YA Entertainment releases it on 6 discs.
