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This is probably one of my most anticipated Korean dramas that I’ve been excited about and have been looking forward to in a while. In a very long while actually. It stars my most favorite actress in the entire world, Park Bo-young. Combine that with one of my favorite actors in Choi Woo-shik and I was sold. And then to pair them up with writer Lee Na-eun of “Our Beloved Summer” which I enjoyed along with director Oh Choong-hwan of “Hotel del Luna” and “Castaway Diva” and I knew there was no reason why I shouldn’t watch this drama. Once news came out that “Melo Movie” was going to be released in February, I religiously checked daily for any updates, photos, or promotional materials. I watched all the interviews, trailers, teasers, and clips repeatedly over and over again because I was that excited. I love Park Bo-young and Choi Woo-shik so much and I just couldn’t believe that I would finally get the chance to see them in a drama together. It truly was a blessing.

“Melo Movie” stars Park Bo-young who plays a movie director named Kim Moo-bi. Her name stems from the word “movie” because her dad was a movie fanatic. She ends up coming across another movie fanatic named Ko Gyeom played by Choi Woo-shik. Together, the two get to know each other and develop romantic feelings for each other only to separate for five years and then be reunited again. Rounding out the cast includes Lee Jun-young who plays Hong Si-joon, a songwriter whose 7 year relationship with his girlfriend Son Joo-Ah (Jeon So-nee) suddenly ends. As a result, the former lovers are forced to navigate a confusing and chaotic relationship with each other in the midst of work and life. Given the title of the drama, there’s plenty of movie references throughout the 10-episode show but as we will come to watch and learn, there is also plenty happening behind the scenes.

So with that, I’m going to try my best to stay as calm, fair, and neutral as possible throughout my recaps of this drama (though I’ll have to be honest and admit that I’m watching this drama with rose-colored glasses LOL). I’ve already binge-watched all the episodes so it’ll be fun and interesting to pick up little tidbits and details along the way with this re-watch. I hope you’ll have as much fun as I did watching this drama. Let’s get started!

Melo Movie Episode 1: It Will Become Scenic When Dawn Comes

The episode starts off with an introduction of our male lead character, Ko Gyeom. At the age of nine, he had only one dream: to watch every single movie that’s ever been made. And that was easy for him because he lived at a video rental store that belonged to Park Sang-sik. Gyeom had access to a whole library full of videos to watch everyday and would occasionally be visited by his older brother, Ko Joon (Kim Jae-wook), who would stop by before heading out to work. Eventually, as Ko Gyeom got older, he was able to watch all the videos in the rental store. It’s not until one night of hanging out during a movie night with his two best friends, Joo-Ah and Si-joon, that Gyeom reached an epiphany. Since he loved movies so much, he should strive to become an actor.

So Gyeom sets out to achieve his dream and he attends an audition for the upcoming movie “Wealth and Prosperity” directed by Ma Seong-woo. He’s a little too excited and also a bit odd. Director Ma isn’t all that impressed with Gyeom’s audition and even tears up his profile after the audition ends. Just as Gyeom prepares to head out of the building, a lady opens the entrance door to enter inside. Gyeom catches sight of her for a few seconds but what especially stands out to him is her name: Moo-bi. As a fellow movie lover, he can’t believe that someone’s name is actually Moo-bi. It’s love at first sight and name for Gyeom and he can’t help but stare admiringly at Moo-bi. After walking past him, Moo-bi turns around and the two lock eyes for a few seconds.

So while Gyeom was watching movies at the age of nine, Moo-bi was getting into trouble when she was the same age. After getting into a fight with a kid, Moo-bi’s dad comes to pick her up at the playground and apologizes for her actions. Moo-bi has always had to compete for her dad’s love and attention. He loved movies so much he named his daughter after them. He loved movies more than he loved Moo-bi. Moo-bi never got to spend time with her dad because he was always working on them every time. So since Moo-bi didn’t get much time with her dad, she instead had fun with her childhood friend, Woo Jeong-hoo. To Moo-bi, her dad is so absent in her life that she considers him as good as dead. But when her father actually passed away, she was conflicted on how to feel. Even if she resented her dad to an extent, she never actually wanted him to die. After her dad’s funeral, Moo-bi finally sits down to watch the movie that he directed and dedicated most of his time to working on titled “Four Leaf Clover.” And upon watching the movie, Moo-bi’s in disbelief at how boring and plain the movie was. This was what she was competing against the entire time? So while Gyeom aspires to become an actor at the age of 26, Moo-bi works as an assistant director at the same age. She wants to prove to her father how ridiculous it was to dedicate his entire life to making movies, especially the one that he directed. And though Gyeom and Moo-bi are completely different from each other, they have their own reasons and goals for being in the movie industry. It’s their involvement with movies that allows them to cross paths with each other.

Sang-sik is now the owner of a pub called Vide Bar and Si-joon works there part-time while also producing music. Joo-Ah joins them shortly afterwards with some food and the three sit down to chat and catch up. Sang-sik isn’t the most supportive of Si-joon’s decision to drop out of college to pursue music but Joo-Ah finds it admirable. She also plans on following in Si-joon’s footsteps as she has a dream of her own that she would like to achieve. After nagging at the two, Sang-sik notices that something seems off. Where did the last member of their friend group go?

That friend is busy being on set and playing an extra in a movie. But it’s not as smooth as Gyeom expected it to be. He messes up scenes and he gets yelled at by Director Ma. But just being on set is good enough for Gyeom because of another reason. He gets to be with Moo-bi. He likes movies but he also likes Moo-bi. He can’t help but be smitten with her while on set and continues to pay extra attention to her. But there’s also much more to Moo-bi than what Gyeom initially thought. On one particular occasion, he catches her smoking a cigarette by herself while on a break. So this prompts him to think: when you’re curious about someone.. isn’t that what happens in melo movies? Haha. While Gyeom is enamored with Moo-bi, Moo-bi feels quite differently. All she wants is for him to stop pestering her. She’s annoyed by him because he stands out too much. He’s constantly surrounded by people and is quite the popular guy. It’s not until Gyeom assists Moo-bi with carrying a basket of props to one of their filming locations that she confronts him. She has a hard time making friends with people. Not everyone is like Gyeom who’s a ‘whelp’ and has golden retriever energy.

So this gets Gyeom thinking that night. Whelp? What does Moo-bi mean by that word? While hanging out with Si-joon at his studio, Gyeom learns that the word means a puppy that eats poop. LOL. But Gyeom is so delulu that he assumes Moo-bi is interested in him. Joo-Ah joins the two guys a little later and she shares her plans of entering a screenwriting contest. She wishes to become a scriptwriter. But all Gyeom can think about is Moo-bi and he announces to his friends that he has a crush on someone. But neither Si-joon or Joo-Ah are interested in what he said and only care about what type of pizza to get for dinner. LOL.

Outside of work, Gyeom and Moo-bi have their own rituals. Gyeom hosts movie nights with his brother, Joon, and the two agree to watch a Stephen Chow movie. Gyeom even goes on to share with Joon about his crush on Moo-bi. After the movie ends, Gyeom goes on his laptop and starts typing away. Meanwhile, Moo-bi heads home after a late night of work and returns to her mother’s meat market. She’s exhausted but she still has enough energy to also talk to her mom about Gyeom. He reminds her of her dad and finds him tiring. Moo-bi’s relieved that she takes after her mom.

Another day of filming means another day of Gyeom pestering Moo-bi. Whether it’s tripping her on set to get her attention, stealing costumes to blend in and sit at the same table with her during lunch, or following her after a long day of work, Gyeom enjoys being with Moo-bi. But Moo-bi isn’t interested in befriending Gyeom or getting to know him. She doesn’t feel the same way about him. If she needs his help one day, she’ll let him know when that time comes but for now, she’s good on her own.

But the interactions just don’t stop and when the two coincidentally meet at a wedding for their respective part-time jobs (Gyeom as the host and Moo-bi as a videographer), Moo-bi still is hesitant in talking to Gyeom. Gyeom’s face lights up when he sees Moo-bi at the same wedding and he chalks it up to coincidence. He really didn’t plan any of this. He’s also interested in her future as a filmmaker. Maybe they can team up doing wedding gigs – he’ll host and she can shoot videos. But just like all the other times, Moo-bi isn’t interested.

But Moo-bi can only hold up for so long. When the production crew prepare to go on a trip for filming, Gyeom ends up joining the same bus as Moo-bi. Since she’s sitting by herself, she’s close to removing her backpack so that Gyeom can sit next to her. But at the last second, another staff member offers the seat next to her for Gyeom so he sits somewhere else. Moo-bi can’t help but feel a bit disappointed. As if that wasn’t enough, Moo-bi falls asleep on the bus and wakes up to hear the sound of photos being taken of her. Of course, it’s none other than Gyeom who snapped some photos of her sleeping (he’s soooo annoying LOL).

After filming ends, Gyeom stops by to purchase some corn from a street vendor. He doesn’t pay attention to the time and ends up missing his bus. But it’s not all that bad because he’s not the only one left behind. Gyeom is delighted when he discovers that Moo-bi also missed the same bus. Haha. So the two wait at the bus stop for their next bus. While they wait, they munch on the corn that they bought and chat with each other. Moo-bi can be a bit feisty but she argues that there’s more to her just like how there’s more to life than movies. Gyeom himself must not be jolly all the time, right? Speaking of movies, Gyeom is curious about Moo-bi’s ambition of being a director. What type of movies is she going to make? With a serious and straight face, Moo-bi shares that she plans on creating an awesome melo movie. In response, Gyeom spits out the corn in his mouth. So what about him? Does he plan on continuing to be an actor? Though Gyeom hopes to keep his acting career, it’s also a bit simple for him. He likes movies. Movies as in films, not movies as in Moo-bi. But Moo-bi didn’t interpret Gyeom’s comment as flirting. The reason why she stared at him after his comment was because it reminded her of someone who said the same exact thing (AKA her father).

Gyeom and Moo-bi ride the bus back into town together and Gyeom joins the empty seat right next to her. Even if the bus is mainly empty and there’s a ton of seats open, he likes the one next to her the best. Moo-bi closes her eyes to get some rest and the memory of her picking up a phone call from her father back when she was in high school flashes in her mind. She suddenly wakes up with tears rolling down her eyes and her hand grasped onto Gyeom’s hand. She claims that it was just a mistake and the two sit in silence for the rest of the bus ride. But Gyeom can’t help but glance at Moo-bi out of concern.

It’s the last day of filming for Director Ma’s movie. Moo-bi unexpectedly runs into a journalist who knew her father and the man assumes Moo-bi must be working in the movie industry to fulfill the dreams of her late father. Moo-bi sternly warns the man to stop making assumptions because it’s not the truth. Meanwhile, Gyeom watches the entire conversation go down not too far away.

Back at Vide Bar, Sang-sik permits Si-joon to go home early from work so that Si-joon can go celebrate his seven-year anniversary with Joo-Ah. Meanwhile, it’s the last day of filming so the production crew and actors celebrate with a wrap party. Director Ma is emotional and concerned about his career and Gyeom is concerned about Moo-bi. He follows after her outside in the snow and finds her smoking by herself not too far away. He approaches her and just like all the other times, he converses with her.

But unlike before, Moo-bi finally opens up to Gyeom this time. Their conversation lasts a lot longer. Moo-bi admits that she finds it uncomfortable to talk to people and get closer to them. She reasons that they’ll just leave her one day, especially the ones who only show a bright and cheerful side of themselves. They’re usually the first ones to leave. So if Gyeom was to let Moo-bi in on his secret, would she still like him and not leave him? Moo-bi has no words in response to Gyeom’s question. Instead, the two stare into each other’s eyes for what seems like an eternity before Moo-bi pulls Gyeom in for a kiss. This is her response to his question. This is how she truly feels about him. The two pull away from each other for a few seconds and Gyeom wonders if this is just another one of her mistakes. Just like how she claimed that her holding his hand on the bus was a mistake, was kissing him also one? But Moo-bi answers that it wasn’t. So Gyeom and Moo-bi go in for another kiss to confirm their feelings for each other. Gyeom finally understands now why he was drawn to Moo-bi for some reason. Just like him, perhaps it was because she too was just trying to get through the dark night. Gyeom and Moo-bi get through that night together but it doesn’t last for long. Because when dawn arrives, Gyeom is gone.

Meanwhile, Joo-Ah and Si-joon’s relationship ends. On what was supposed to be a celebration for their seven-year anniversary, she wishes to break up.

Epilogue

A vehicle is shown falling into a river at night in the pouring rain.

My Thoughts:

Gaaah, it’s so hard to write this commentary having already finished the entire drama and knowing what I know now. That’s why this re-watch was so insightful and helpful in understanding why Moo-bi and Gyeom were the way that they were. It was fun to pick up on the little hints and clues that the drama expands on in later episodes.

Just like how we saw in “Our Beloved Summer”, Choi Woo-shik’s comedy timing and acting is seriously one of the best and he’s just so funny in such a natural and seamless way. It’s not easy for actors to act funny and there can even be this pressure to execute that humor. Some actors try a little too hard and it comes off as forced. But Choi Woo-shik is on a completely different level in that along with being a very good actor, his comedic acting is effortless. Even though this was my second time watching this episode, there were still moments where I laughed out loud or where I had to pause the video because I was laughing too much. I loved seeing him play Gyeom who’s extroverted, social, talkative, annoying, and silly. Given that he worked with the same writer in “Our Beloved Summer”, there’s going to be comparisons between Choi Woong and Gyeom. But I appreciate that these two characters are different from each other. While I enjoyed Choi Woo-shik as Choi Woong, I think I like him a little bit more as Gyeom. There’s just something so different and funny about watching Choi Woo-shik play a character who’s an extrovert. I loved watching him pester Moo-bi and ask her questions to get to know her better. I loved watching him interact with Director Ma at his audition or on set. I loved watching him hang out with Joo-Ah and Si-joon and be completely delusional about his crush on Moo-bi. I loved watching him interact with Moo-bi and his reactions to anything and everything she said or did. This speaks volumes about Choi Woo-shik’s talent in portraying his characters but also just how fun, annoying, childish, and entertaining Gyeom is. There’s never a dull moment with him.

But as we saw at the end of this episode, there’s a reason for his upbeat and bright personality and there were things that he was also going through in his own life. He himself was going through a dark night. He himself had a secret. And he became drawn to Moo-bi because he realized that she too was enduring dark nights and had struggles of her own. In a way, he didn’t feel alone. Him falling for her because of her name may sound childish but I also chalk that up to him just being a little childish and fun and clumsy. Then at the end of this episode when he was serious with Moo-bi for once, we saw a new side to his character that hinted that there was more to his story.

The same thing could be said about Moo-bi who came off as cold, stern, and aloof. She was neglected by her father growing up, always felt like she was second to her dad because he loved movies more, and never received the type of love and attention from him that she craved. She seemed unapproachable and kept her distance from everyone. But as we saw during the scene at the bus stop with Gyeom, there’s more to Moo-bi than we thought. Gyeom never expected that Moo-bi would have had plans of creating a melo movie. He probably expected something more along the lines of maybe a thriller or horror movie based off of her personality and interactions with him so to hear her say a melo movie completely threw him off. Moo-bi may seem pessimistic but there’s more to her. Gyeom may come off as clumsy, funny, and positive but there’s another side of him that no one knows about and that he doesn’t show. Gyeom and Moo-bi’s relationship seemed like one of those instances where they say that opposites attract but at the same time, maybe Gyeom and Moo-bi are not all that different from each other.

Rewatching this episode also made me appreciate the way that the drama contrasts and compared Gyeom and Moo-bi’s lives. It first started with their upbringing at the age of nine where Gyeom loved watching movies while Moo-bi was getting into trouble and rebelling against her father. Then at the age of 26, he worked hard to become an actor while she worked hard to become a director. Then later on, the drama showed their respective relationships with their family. While Moo-bi came home to her mother at their meat market and things seemed kind of dull and monotonous, Gyeom got to have some fun by watching a movie with his brother. It was sort of their tradition and illustrated how close they were to each other and how well they got along. Through and through, the drama showed how different Moo-bi and Gyeom were from each other which was why it was fun and interesting to see them get to know each other better. Moo-bi let down her walls and became just as curious about Gyeom as he was about her. He reminded her of her dad. He loved movies just as much as her dad. He enjoyed being on set even if he didn’t have anything to do or didn’t have any lines. Gyeom was exhausting to Moo-bi in the same way that her dad was exhausting to her because of his love and passion for movies. It’s unfortunate that just when Moo-bi finally let Gyeom in after being cautious and weary of him, he disappeared on her.

Knowing what I know now after watching the entire drama, I now have a better understanding of this episode and things make a little bit more sense to me (if there’s anything I know about writer Lee Na-eun based off of “Our Beloved Summer”, it’s that her stories are never told in a linear, consecutive manner and that she unveils more details as the show progresses). But something that I remembered thinking when I finished watching this episode the first time around was how much more detailed I wished some of the scenes were. I remembered being a bit confused because while I don’t remember everything that happened in “Our Beloved Summer”, one thing I knew the drama did do generally well was focus on the details. And in this first episode in “Melo Movie”, there were just a few scenes where I wished we had gotten some more details. In particular, I really wanted to see more during the bus scene where Moo-bi unexpectedly grabbed Gyeom’s hand. Granted, the drama spent a little bit more time on this scene in later episodes but since I obviously didn’t know that during my first watch, I was kind of sad that there wasn’t more to this scene. I would have liked to see more details from Gyeom’s reaction to Moo-bi grabbing his hand to Moo-bi actually grabbing onto his hand to just the overall feeling and mood in that moment.

To wrap up the recap for this episode, I really wished that I could say that I’m going to be as neutral as possible in assessing the characters and their stories (especially Moo-bi and Gyeom). But it’s just so challenging for me because I love our main leads so much and I’m a huge fan of both actors. I’m definitely watching this drama through rose-colored glasses and enjoying every single second of all the Gyeom and Moo-bi interactions. I honestly can’t really tell how I would have felt about Gyeom and Moo-bi’s relationship had it been any two other actors portraying these characters.

But if there is one thing that I’m relieved about in regards to Gyeom and Moo-bi’s relationship, I’m glad that as childish and annoying as Gyeom was with showing his interest in Moo-bi, I never really felt like he was overdoing it and disrespecting her boundaries. After watching the teaser and trailer and pre-release clips, I was afraid he was going to keep pushing her buttons and make her uncomfortable and, therefore, make me feel uncomfortable. But thankfully, I didn’t feel any discomfort or frustration with Gyeom at all. A part of that was because of his funny and delusional personality but also because his curiosity in Moo-bi was fun and sincere. Why was Moo-bi always alone? What more was there to her story? Why was her name Moo-bi? Why was she involved in the movie industry? Then when Moo-bi didn’t want Gyeom’s help, he backed off. And when he did approach her, she didn’t turn him away because she was just as curious and interested in him. There was this funny and adorable banter between the two and I’m glad that it wasn’t off-putting or frustrating to watch. It was only the first episode but “Melo Movie” was already so fun to watch. Just like how Gyeom was entertained by movies, there were plenty of good and funny things to be entertained by in this first episode.