For this month’s installment in our ‘Offstage’ series, we’re taking a look at the spectacularly successful screenwriter Kim Eun-Sook. The definitive writer of romance dramas, one might even call her the queen of melo; and we’re willing to bet you’ve all watched at least one of her dramas before.
She is famous for her unapologetic use of cliches, Cinderella stories, destiny and fated romances. Once she said at an interview that “the key is making characters that are different, so the audience forgets the cliched setting“. I love this – cause it’s true. Fundamentally, clichés are such because we do like them, we like the familiarity of them, they’re comfortable. But what marks a good writer is how they use them; how they twist it, how the characters react to them. Well, Kim Eun-Sook has definitely cracked the code – she’s masterful at employing them, and she knows it. I have to admit I thoroughly enjoy her interviews in general; her attitude is incredible, she’s such a powerhouse of a lady.
Lovers Trilogy
Her career skyrocketed in 2004, with her second ever drama, ‘Lovers in Paris’. To this day it’s one of the most viewed Korean dramas of all time. This was a classic Cinderella tale. Yes, the filmed most of it in Paris, and yes, of course this made it all the more romantic. This drama was a national phenomenon in Korea, anything less would be an understatement. Young, talented and poor AF Kang Tae-young (Kim Jung-eun) works as a housekeeper for rich yet cold Han Ki-joo (Park Shin-yang). After a failed fake girlfriend ruse, they end up falling for each other for reals and pure unadulterated melodrama ensues; love triangles, horrible family members, tears, the lot.
Kim Eun-Sook followed this up with two more dramas, in a disconnected trilogy of sorts. Neither was as successful as the first one, but both had solid viewerships. First was ‘Lovers in Prague‘ in 2005, but here the power dynamics were flipped; Yoon Jae-Hee (Jeon Do-yeon) is the daughter of the Korean President and a diplomat, and the male lead Choi Sang-hyun (Kim Joo-hyuk) a police detective. I have to note, the female lead was so much better here, and I don’t just mean Jeon’s acting skills. It’s actually interesting to see how Kim’s female protagonists evolve through her shows – but more on that below.
The final drama in the trilogy in 2006 was simply called ‘Lovers‘, although it also had an overseas setting (in Hainan, China). We can only assume the producers felt ‘Hainan’ doesn’t automatically sound as romantic as Paris or Prague.
At this point, Kim Eun-Sook had solidly established her brand as a storyteller. So of course the next thing she does is a completely out of left field drama about TV producers. I mean, it was still a melodrama, but her 2008 series ‘Or Air’ centers around four entertainment industry professionals. It got praised for its realistic depiction of the behind the scenes of filming a drama.
Nothing but home-runs
At first glance, her next massive hit, 2010’s ‘Secret Garden‘, is just another Cinderella story. Ah, how wrong can first impressions be. Here rich CEO falls for the utter coolness of a professional stuntwoman, and then they start body swapping when it rains. This drama was apparently Kim Eun-Sook just trying to have some fun, and we are thankful for it.
‘Secret Garden‘ is just mandatory. From Hyun Bin’s blue tracksuit to Ha Ji Won’s general badassery as Gil Ra-Im, this series was gold. It’s a perfect embodiment of the whole ‘different characters make you enjoy the something otherwise cliché’. Gil Ra-Im is strong, outspoken, has a real career, and actually stands up to people (I know, right?). Certainly a far cry from ultra-passive Tae-Young.
Her next two dramas were also very popular – first ‘A Gentleman’s Dignity‘ in 2012, and ‘The Heirs‘ in 2013. These two stand out because the former is about a group of men in their 40’s while ‘The Heirs’ is her only high school drama to date, while Kim’s protagonists had generally been in their late 20’s- early 30’s up until then. As Kim’s name was pretty much a guarantee of success at this point, bigger and bigger names were starring in her dramas. Jang Dong-gun made his big comeback to TV in ”A Gentleman’s Dignity’, after twelve years in film. Lee Min-Ho and Park Shin-Hye starred in ‘The Heirs’.
Afterwards, Kim went into a short hiatus until 2016, and we can only assume she had some kind of revelation during that time. I mean, we already knew she was no one-hit wonder, but none of us saw her next few dramas coming; she’s been consistently out-doing herself with each one.
Comeback
‘Descendants of the Sun’ was a major international hit. It actually contributed to increased tourism both in Korea, and in Greece, where part of the filming took place. Starring Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo this drama is set in the fictional country of Uruk. This time, a soldier and a doctor are trying to save people in their own way when they meet and fall in love.
Then came my personal favourite; ‘Goblin‘, full title ‘Guardian: The Lonely and Great God’. Kim Eun-Sook wanted Gong Yoo to play the titular character so badly that she apparently hounded him after he was released from his military service. Gotta love her go-getter attitude. Was this a flawless drama? Lol, no. Did it bless us with one of the best bromances in k-drama history? Absolutely. Do I maintain that it would have been a whole episode shorter if it didn’t have quite as much slow motion staring? Forever. Was it completely engrossing and addictive? Hell yes!
On the evolution of Kim’s heroines, I thought that Eun-Tak (Kim Go-eun) was rather unique. Her reactions to just about everything were never what I expected. In a way it’s still Cinderella , because she’s a normal teenager, and the Goblin is well, a powerful immortal being. But she’s forward, hard-working and honest and the circumstances are indeed special, so we don’t really get this vibe at all. Not to mention, we can clearly see her agency in all this, which makes all the difference.
Next was Kim’s masterpiece. Having wanted to try her hand at historical dramas, especially after Goblin, she graced us with ‘Mr. Sunshine’. Alongside Goblin, they respectively are the top 6th and 5th highest rated Korean cable dramas.
This drama is completely unique among Kim’s works. It’s the story of a Korean boy who escapes to the US in 1871, and later returns as military officer. There is of course, the mandatory romance, but this time it’s set against a historical backdrop and events which add so many more layers to it. This critically acclaimed show also had amazing female leads; We got well-rounded, outspoken and self-reliant women in a context that wanted them meek and quiet. #testify
Current and upcoming projects
Maybe to bring balance to the universe after so many huge successes, Kim Eun-Sook finally had a flop. Or maybe it was just the year. In any case, 2020 series ‘The King: Eternal Monarch’ may have been her lowest performing drama, but it certainly had its moments. The main issue shared by detractors was the female leads; It was odd, after such great heroines, that Kim decided to backtrack into poor gender stereotypes. The ridiculous amount of product placement did not help either.
When all is said and done though, we have to hand it to her for her ability to tell stories we like to watch. I have to say, what most amazes me about this writer is her ability to keep doing what she does best without boring audiences. She likes her clichés and clearly so do we. Her characters are so diverse and they don’t follow the tropes they find themselves in. Also, I respect how far her heroines have come and how they constantly evolve. Out of all the clichés, it’s good that she doesn’t recycle the one with the boring bland female lead whose only claim to fame is being kind and pretty.
It’s same to say everyone is looking forward to what she writes next; judging by her track record, we’ll definitely hear about it.
