Spring Waltz

Spring Waltz  ¨

Pronounced:
bom-eh-wal-cheu
Starring:
Seo Do-Young, Han Hyo-Joo, Daniel Henney, Lee So-Yeon, Choi Shi-Won
Directed by:
Yoon Seok-Ho (Autumn Tale, Winter Sonata, Summer Scent, Invitation)
Produced by:
Moon Bo-Hyeon
Written by:
Kim Ji-Yeon and Hwang Da-Eun
Dates Airing:
March 6, 2006 – May 16, 2006
Time Airing:
Mondays and Tuesdays, 9:55 PM (Korea)
Episodes:
20 (scheduled)
Genre:
Romance
Official Website:
[Korean]
Related links:
Soompi Forum Link (discussion, images, links, etc)

Synopsis
In this final instalment of Yoon Seok-Ho’s season dramas, the story takes us to Austria, where an accomplished young pianist Yoon Jae-Ha (Seo Do-Young), also known as ‘Chris Y’, meets an aspiring designer Park Eun-Young (Han Hyo-Joo) on a train ride.
Even though Jae-Ha is reluctant to befriend her, the fresh and innocent look of Eun-Young reminds him of his childhood love. The two meet again later, but this time, Eun-Young is the love interest of Jae-Ha’s best friend and manager Philip (Daniel Henney). Though Jae-Ha and Eun-Young continue to run into each other, almost always in an unpleasant way, Jae-Ha is falling for the woman who reminds him of that heart-wrenching childhood love of his.
Just as Philip seems to be near Eun-Young all the time, Jae-Ha has Song Ee-Na (Lee So-Yeon) by his side. Ee-na claims Jae-Ha proposed to her while they were both kids, but the truth is, Jae-Ha has no memory of such an event since he’s not always been the Jae-Ha that the world now knows…

Review
Like the rest of the ‘season’ dramas, Spring Waltz is visually stunning. The drama is presented like a color-rich storyboard with perfect music to accompany each scene. Director Yoon once again brings forth a fairytale to life, but unfortunately, the storyline needs more work.
Nonetheless the main leads are perfectly cast. Seo Do-Young’s deep, sad eyes convey the sorrow of Jae-Ha without any words necessary. Lead actress Han Hyo-Joo’s fresh, girly appearance also seems a perfect fit. The weaker links are the two supporting actors. Daniel Henney, who despite being one of the most handsome men in the Korean entertainment scene, is really quite distracting. His constant use of English, then German, then some random Korean phrases here and there, as well as his overuse of hand gestures and that very adorable-but-not-always-appropriate smile break the continuity of the story. Lee So-Yeon is actually a pretty good actress, as seen in her previous works, but the problem with her here is that her character is not very well defined. She just seems like the typical third wheel with a jealous heart and the potential to turn evil when desperate. One would think a character with her level of education and status would have a little more depth than the emotional infant she is.
To make the drama worse, Han’s fresh appearance soon loses its appeal when her acting shortcomings become apparent. Eun-Young’s reaction to almost everything is that same ‘dazed and dumb-founded’ look that Han is fond of sporting. It doesn’t make her any less attractive, but her character soon becomes rather boring and frustrating to follow. This story is enchanting and beautiful despite the flaws, but the shallow script, combined with the inexperience of the cast, make it difficult to continue watching the drama after about episode 8. I was quite disappointed with Yoon’s finale to the season dramas.
Rating:
6

Credits:
Graphic by: kiss the rain.
Edited by: moogles