I’m watching the K-drama, twenty-five, twenty-one, for the final essay assignment. It’s been a few weeks since I finished the show, and the show has become completely ingrained in my mind due to how impactful I found it.
This show does stray very far from a traditional telenovela, especially due to the novelty of the show. I do believe that one of the main characters, Ko Yu-rim, holds “Cinderella” qualities. She may not be the main protagonist, but she has overcome poverty, similar to Cinderella, although not with the help of a “prince” character. She overcame her poverty by working incredibly hard to become the best national fencer in South Korea. That title helped her provide for her family, and when things became tougher for her family, she changed her nationality to Russian to make even more money. I also believe Ko Yu-Rim has the “Cinderella” ending, which is quite opposite from the protagonist’s ending. She was able to marry her high school boyfriend and receive endless amounts of love from him, despite moving from South Korea to Russia for some time.
The closest thing this show has to an antagonist or “evil stepmother” character would also be Ko Yu-Rim. Ko Yu-Rim hasn’t visibly acted like an “evil stepmother”, but she has acted condescending to the protagonist, Na Hee-do several times. She always told Hee-do that Hee-do would never become as good of a fencer as she is and that she was not even worthy of competing against her.
I do believe this show does best to show the aspects of an epic love story. The main couple, Hee-do and Back Yi-jin (male protagonist) are very attractive people. The male protagonist has a really great smile as well. The female protagonist does cry quite often, and when she does, she still looks very pretty doing so. Both the female and male protagonists are incredibly talented, which is apparent in their ability to cry so often on command and make the viewers become emotionally attached to their relationship. There are several romantic elements to the story, like how Back Yi-jin comforts Hee-do about the issues she is experiencing with her mother. There are great obstacles to overcome in the show for this couple, such as separation between the two of them due to Back Yi-jin’s brother getting threatened by people at his high school or conflicts in finding time for each other. The audience loves this couple, and consistently rooted for them, however, this couple couldn’t have the perfect ending. They were never able to find time for each other while in a relationship, so they had to go their separate ways. This show doesn’t end like a conventional epic love story.
Hey Nikhita! I really liked reading your post about Twenty-Five Twenty-One, it seems super interesting. Something that really stood out to me was the ending with the main couple not ending up together despite following many of the other qualities of an epic love story. This seems to be a much more realistic ending, but not necessarily the fairy tale love story that can overcome any obstacles that most of us watching melodramas hope for. I am just curious how the audience reacted to this ending haha. What did you think of this ending?
ReplyDeleteHey Nikhita, this is a great post. It is interesting reading your perspective on this show and how it both follows and subverts the traditional telenovela narrative. I found it very interesting that the main couple do not end up together. I think it adds a layer of realism that through all the trials they’ve faced, it was the lack of attention in their relationship that ended it. This makes me wonder if it was an amicable breakup or a huge fight. In many shows, the ending implies they live happily ever after the conflicts of the story are finished. yet they don’t talk enough about the conflicts in the relationship like compatibility and time constraints.
ReplyDeleteHey Nikhita!
ReplyDeleteWhere do I even begin..
I am such a sucker for kdramas like Twenty-five Twenty-one. The plot, the cinematography, the color grading, the styling.. just everything about the show is an obsession of mine.
I like how although you acknowledge that Twenty-five Twenty-one is pretty different from a telenovela, you still compare some of the characteristics the two share. I agree with your description of Ko Yurim and how she can be seen as both "cinderella" and the "evil step mother" simultaneously. Her character goes to show how a person can have different sides to them. Of course, it is a good thing that she worked so hard to get where she is, but was it necessary for her to bring Na Heedo down with her unkind words?
I guess what really contrasts this kdrama from a typical telenovela is that it does not end like us fans would hope. The main couple does not end up together. Although I was really upset about this when I first watched the show, looking back at it, I realize just how real it is. Not everything in life works out. Friendships, relationships, careers.. things often come to an end even if we don't want them to.
Overall, I think you analyzed different aspects of the show really well! Great job! :))