Hyun Bin - That Man

That Man...

All right, I admit I'm a late bloomer.


Be it in my interests in boys, or catching up on the (not) latest movies, on humming the (not) latest tunes, to what have yous.


Again, my love lust for That Man, Hyun Bin, also came late.


I must confess that I have seen his earlier drama, My Lovely Kim Sam Soon (which I initially abandoned bacause I couldnot find its appeal) and movie,  Millionnaire's First Love, but did not really notice him. In the former, the leading lady, Kim Sun Ah, just overshadowed him like how Obelix overshadowed Astrix (and rightly so) and in the latter, his looks and character did not really manage to pull my heart strings (sowwy).


For me, the drama that really propelled him for Korean idol-dom is truly Secret Garden.


And like I said, though many have prodded me to watch that truly whimsically and fast paced drama, I kept putting it off due to the dorky and (to me) unappealing promotional cover.

See what I mean??

And only a year later, after the Secret Garden frenzy has actually died down, did I pick my DVDs up to give it a go. And did I knock myself on the head, then!


I just love the drama, the characters, the songs, the colours and most of all Hyun Bin ssi. Enough to rewatch it 2 more times right after I watched it the first time. Even You're Beautiful didn't do that for me, though both have managed to share the same spot of My All Time Favourite Dramas in my heart.


I'll definitely recap Secret Garden soon.



And like how I did a marathon with Osamu Mukai for the first quarter of 2012, I have devoted my second quarter of the year to dear Binnie :)

My lovely couple

Since Secret Garden, I rewatched (and finished) My Lovely Kim Sam Soon (I still can't identify with the leading lady though - somehow I can't stand anybody feeling inferior about themselves because of something as trivia a slight weight problem; many other bad things happening around the world, girl, get a life and get moving... and getting yourself a husband will not solve all the world's (and your) problems!).




Sorry for the impromptu burst of indignation (blush).


Since then, I also watched The Snow Queen (with Sang Yuri), Worlds Within (with Song Hye Gyo), Late Autumn (with Tang Wei) and rewatched Millionaire's First Love (with Lee Yeon Hee). 


And I'm not biased, seriously, but that man act!


So, why did only Secret Garden propelled our cutie pie to 'super-Korean-stardom'?


Well, my take is - in MLKS, he was overshadowed by the ever competent Kim Sun Ah (although I don't quite like Sam Soon, the character, I do like Sun Ah, the actress), The Snow Queen was too melodramatic for a time that was already into RomComs (by mid 2000s, Korean-dramas have overstayed their Winter Sonata-like genre), Worlds Within was a tad boring (though I believe he was most gorgeous there) and Millionaire's First Love was just blegh....and can't vouch for the others that I haven't seen and Late Autumn, which was also just so-so, was done after Secret Garden.

Binnie and his leading ladies (Snow Queen, Worlds Within, Millionaire's First Love & Late Autumn)

So, my conclusion is, no matter how good looking the actor and how well he can sing and act, a good script plus an experienced production team are definitely more essential in the Korean la-la land (and whichever la-la land, come to think of it). In fact Worlds Within gives you a very clear picture on who calls the shot in the Korean drama and film industry...and unless you are Jang Dong Gun, an up&coming actor does not.


So, even if Hyun Bin looks a little (well, a lot actually) dorky in Secret Garden, his character there, the storyline, the songs, the other cast members and the cinematography are just perfect. I was kind of afraid the more experienced Ha Ji Won would steal the thunder but I was glad Binne held his ground.

Secret Garden

And while some may argue that the body-swapping angle is a little fantasy-like - I say, just chill chicas, and enjoy the drama without asking too many questions (grins).


So, enough with the ranting, I'll just share Hyun Bin's rendition of That Man, the male anthem for Secret Garden. While methinks he should still stick to purely acting (coz he lipsynced at his fanmeet), his studio singing voice is not all that bad (grins).

Credit : clairrpark

(Download That Man mp3 by Hyun Bin)