Review: When the Weather is Fine

A Portrait of the True Self-Healing Drama

Description

Alternative Name : I'll Find You on a Beautiful Day

Hangul : 날씨가 좋으면 찾아가겠어요

Genre : Drama

Based on : I'll Go to You When the Weather is Fine by Lee Do-woo

Author : Han Ga-ram

Director : Han Ji-seung

Cast : Park Min-young, Seo Kang-joon

Country of origin : South Korea

Number of episodes : 16

Duration : 60 minutes

Distributor : JTBC

Synopsis

When the Weather is Fine is a Korean drama released by JTBC that aired in 2020. Inspired by Lee Do Woo's novel of the same title, Han Ga Ram rewrote the story as a drama script, which Han Ji-Seung later directed.

The drama is set in a Korean countryside village called Bookhyun Village. A woman named Mok Hae Won (Park Min Young), after many years of pioneering a career as a cello teacher in Seoul, finally chooses to return to her hometown during the winter and leave her job. In the village, she lives with her aunt in a childhood home called "Hodu House," which used to function as an inn but has now closed.

Im Eun Sob (Seo Kang Joon) witnesses Hae Won's return to Bookhyun Village, which causes Eun Sob to recall fond memories from the past. Eun Sob himself was Hae Won's high school friend, or they even knew before that. Eun Sob owns a bookstore called "Goodnight," and in that small village, he lives with his parents and younger sister.

Review

If you ask me which genre of drama I'm looking for, "When the Weather is Fine" is a great choice for the "Healing Drama" category that I like. Especially considering that this drama is adapted from a novel and has a storyline in the range of poetic words, my love for this drama has doubled.

Since the past year, I have started reading Korean literature that has the themes of self-healing and self-development. Why Korea? Everyone has their own preferences. And for me, self-healing-themed books from South Korea are the best. When I found out that this drama was based on a novel with that theme, without thinking, I immediately watched it. Some people might say the storyline is too slow or boring.

But for me, watching When the Weather is Fine when I was on a hard day and feeling hurt was very comfortable and warming. The storyline made me feel peace in my heart. While watching each episode, it was like I was sitting under a big tree, closing my eyes while feeling the cool air sweep across my face.

Discussing the storyline, Park Min Young and Seo Kang Joon's chemistry is unquestionable. Both of them taught me what healthy relationships mean in each episode. There are not many arguments or disputes because they both have good maturity despite being wrapped in a bitter past.

Eun Sob and Hae Won always listen to each other's stories, trying to put a position on each side to try to understand. Even when one of them is grieving, they are there to encourage each other. Giving hugs and warm words may not heal, but at least let each other know that they are not alone.

Rather than the present taking place in the drama, I will discuss each character's past. Because that's the point of the drama—how each character lives with a wound in their heart that they carry from the past and haunt, waiting for someday when the weather will get better as well as how they feel.

Starting with the female lead, Mok Hae Won, and her family story, there is a lot of bitterness in their past. And all the misfortunes they experienced started with Mok Hae Won's own father. Throughout the drama, I kept wondering what would happen if her mother hadn't married the man and met someone who was really gentle. I did agree with her words, stating that she was sorry for her husband. But I interpreted the word pity differently, making me feel angry with Shim Myung Joo, Hae Won's mother.

That's right, I also feel sorry for Hae Won's father, who couldn't control his anger when he was emotional and beat his wife, then begged on his knees before his wife to apologize. But what's the point if he still can't control his anger and makes the same mistake?

My anger grew because I knew that there were many such couples in this world. Couples whose one of them likes to play physically in the household. But it's even sadder since they choose to continue living together despite being injured and knowing they'll be injured again in the future. Shim Myung Joo, for example, was unable to guarantee that the wounds she received would heal.

In the end, the child will also be hurt mentally. What I don't understand is why Hae Won didn't realize what was happening at her house until she entered high school. Even after her husband is gone, Shim Myung Joo doesn't tell her daughter the truth at all. I mean, how does Hae Won feel when she finds out that the father she has loved all this time, whom she thinks is gentle, often abuses her own mother? Very bad.

If the past of Hae Won and her family is heartbreaking, then the past of Eun Sob and his little family makes me feel understood. As Eun Sob's father said when he took his son to the beach,

"Some people are destined to live alone from birth to death. Your father is one of them."

That is why, from childhood to adolescence, Eun Sob has been afraid of nice things and affectionate treatment. For what his father had taught. And that's the reason why I choose to live a pathetic life. I live my own destiny because I have anxieties, as Eun Sob's father mentioned. In the end, all of this enjoyment and warmth will be temporary, and I will return to the pit of being lonely repeatedly.

But there is one thing: I don't agree with Eun Sob's parents' decision, thinking that doesn't mean we can selfishly leave people at will. Appreciate what is, including the closest people who are always by our side. Let's admit it, life is not about "me" alone. But how do I relate to "them," who ultimately become "us". I'm sure that time will definitely come for everyone, when the weather is fine.

Overall, I highly recommend When the Weather is Fine, as I mentioned at the beginning. If you are looking for self-healing drama, either because you are hurting or because you are living a suffocating life, try to lighten your heart's burden by reading the stories of Hyecheon City's residents. Listen to poems or fairy tales read by the "Goodnight" community of book lovers every night. And join the echo with daily posts on Eun Sob's blog.

When the Weather is Fine inspired me to create a personal diary and blog, join a community of book lovers, and set up my own bookstore later in life. Hopefully, after watching it, there are some moral messages and inspiration that you also get from this drama.