Don't You ... Forget About Me: Episode 1

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From left to right, The cover for the Korean drama Damo, showing a woman in red holding her hands in a martial arts pose.. Center image, the core cast of the Taiwanese drama Tokyo Juliet, a middle aged man and woman, and next to them a young woman and young man, the two lead characters. righ image, a poster for the Japanese drama Buzzer Beat. The centre of the image is a young man about to place the basketball in the net. Behind him, a range of other characters from the drama, and directly under the net, a young woman, the female lead This blog exists "for whenever 500 characters at Mastodon is not enough" which is reason enough to build a series of posts around a thread I posted at Mastodon. A nostalgic look back at very old OST tracks from various Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Taiwanese  I've watched. All were released prior to 2010 and all except one I scored at least 6/10. The exception (chosen for its musical rarity), I scored at 5.5/10. Each 'episode' lists two years, except the last, which is exclusively 2009 Dramas. This first episode covers 2003 and 2004, the earliest years from which I've watched qualifying Dramas.  They are listed below grouped by year of release and sorted by the order in which I viewed them.

As the title indicates, I have a simple mind, so compiling the list was a lot of fun. It was VERY nostalgic, with some "awww"-inducing entries, and some "eww"-inducing ones. Some of the Dramas that wowed me as a neophyte I would never watch now, either because they make me cringe, or because their content now offends my altered sensibilities. BUT, the music from them is still worth a listen, and I will definitely be re-watching some of the Dramas featured here. If anyone (a) reads this series and (b) finds a Drama they like from it, that would really make this trip down memory lane worthwhile. 

 

 2003

 Damo 

Poster for the Korean drama Damo with the title character Damo at the top. Beneath her two male characters from the drama. Al three are superimposed on a background of a group of horses and riders on level land. At the far right of the image is the name of the drama in Chinese characters.

This was the first Ha Ji Won KDrama I watched, and it remains my 2nd favourite. It REALLY surprised me by literally starting at the end - the first scenes shown at the very beginning of episode one are the last scenes shown at the very end of the final episode. It's also noteworthy for being unusually short for KDramas of the era. As a sign of how much of a raw newbie to KDrama I was when I watched this,  for a very long time I thought a "Damo" was a female detective, as the titular Damo in this Drama was. I like the rock version of this theme, it fits with her character, I think.

 

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This is a true classic KDrama, one of a handful that I flatly REFUSE to call by its common English title. This is not just me being (typically) contrary, it's relevant to the whole point of the Drama. A remarkable biopic about a woman so exceptionally gifted she is one VERY few non-royal women listed in the ancient Joseon archives, the Korean title is simply her name/title. The Drama is literally all about her, so calling it by her name makes sense.

For ten years, this was the ONLY pure sageuk I'd watched, and it is a must-see, I think. The 54 episodes feel a bit like 540, and the seemingly endless kitchen cook-offs prompted me to nickname the Drama "Medieval Kitchen Rules", but as a Drama all about a real life FEMALE genius, it's a rare treasure. By which I mean RARE. 

I have now completed more than 330 KDramas and started another 100+, and this remains the ONLY one built around a female genius. KDramas featuring MALE  kindergartner Harvard  PhDs are a dime a dozen, but this Drama excels for showing an actual historical figure, a  real genius who also had to work really hard to achieve the fame that earned her the title denied her by the common English name of the Drama. This incredibly catchy song is repeated so often that using it as the basis for a drinking game would be a REALLY bad idea. 

   

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 Kimi Wa Petto

Poster for the Japanese drama Kimi wa Petto showing the two leads sitting side by side. The female lead on the left in grey trousers and a green top. Next to her the male lead in light colored trousers and a light blue top.

The original Kimi Wa Petto is pretty much the archetypal specimen  of what makes Japanese Dramas unique. In my opinion, it lost its nerve a bit at the end by opting for a more conventional relationship, but  it remains a great example of the quirky offbeat Japanese sensibility that doesn't fly in KDramas - which is why I have not watched (and will not watch) the Kmovie remake of this true JDrama classic. That the only copy of the song I found on YouTube had large Spanish subs filling the frame is a reflection of the age and rarity of the Drama, I guess. But since I have some Spanish versus no Japanese, they're helpful. 


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2004

Sweet 18

 
Poster for the Korean drama Sweet 18 showing the two leads in traditional Korean wedding attire

This upbeat song comes from the KDrama "Sweet 18" The storyline's a bit marginal these days, about an arranged marriage with an 18 year old bride, but in a 'life imitates art' story, the 2 leads were together IRL for several years after the Drama, which was filmed when she was 19, and their onscreen chemistry was so good that I watched and enjoyed  the show twice. Very much of its era, it probably could not be made today, but if you are looking for a romcom "relic", this is not a bad choice.
 

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This cute song, sung by the female lead, my clear Sinophone fave (Ariel) Lin Yi Chen, is from a somewhat odd  Taiwanese Drama. The really odd bit about Love Contract is at the end, it left me scratching my head at how to react to the Drama as a whole. The lead couple reunited AS a couple (and then exes) TWENTY YEARS later in the simply outstanding "Imperfect Us". That one is very much worth a look, and easier to find than this one, but sadly Ms Lin does not sing in it. Despite that, do check it out!
 
 

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 Orange Days

Poster for the Japanese Drama Orange Days Showing the two leads In an orange frame with a slice of orange above them to the right. The female lead is on the left of the image and the male lead is on the right.

 
 EVERY time I think about this great Japanese Drama, I think of one scene. Shibasaki Kou plays a gifted musician dealing with going deaf, and the Drama features A LOT of sign language. Including an (imo) iconic scene in which she uses a universally understood hand gesture, one that I don't recall ever having seen in any KDrama of the era. That scene, which really is important to the story,  IS in this MV, I'm happy to report 😁
 
Juvenile amusement aside, this is a fabulous Drama. Shibasaki Kou is a great actor. This was the  second of hers I'd watched. I first saw her in my very first JDrama, Nobunaga Concerto, and this role was another complex and independent character that cemented her as one of my favourite Japanese actors.
.

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 MARS

 
Poster for the Taiwanese Drama MARS with the title in Englkish and hanzi characters in the centre of the image. Above it, the face of the 2 leads spliced together and looking away from each other. Below the title, the 2 leads are shown on a motorbike

As Orange Days is a 'must-see'* Japanese Drama from 2004, so MARS is a 'must-see'* Taiwanese Drama from 2004. The 2nd TWDrama in this list, this one comes up often when discussing 'overlooked gems'. The death of  the female lead Barbie Hsu from  pneumonia at only 48 in February 2025 did bring this Drama back to public notice for a while, and (re)watching this Drama would be a fitting tribute. 

This short version of the theme from the opening might lure some to check MARS out, as  I don't recall any KDrama built around motorbike racing as this Drama was. 
 
*There is no such thing as a must-see Drama.  
 


That concludes episode one. Grab a Kopiko and a Subway, the next riveting instalment can be found here.
 
  
EPISODE 2
EPISODE 3
EPISODE 4

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