Curtain Call

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Synopsis

Yoo Jae Heon is a kind, optimistic and bright man. He works as an actor for a theater company, but struggles to make ends meet. One day, he is hired to play the grandson of Ja Geum Soon. She is the rich CEO of a prestigious hotel, who lost her North Korean family after the war. To fulfill her dying wish, Jae Heon accepts to become her lost grandson.

My Opinion (No Spoiler)

This show is a beautiful and somewhat poetic melodrama that perfectly portrays family ties. Characters are all complex and profoundly humane. I really appreciated the fact that there was no real villain. They are all well-intended, and have everyone’s happiness at heart. The connection between past and present is as heart-wrenching as moving, as it displays the grandmother’s love and longing for her family. But, it also shows that major historical events, like the Korean War, can still have consequences today for the people who lived them. Finally, the idea of a play within a play was excellent. It allowed for an even better storyline woven in the threads of time. If you are into family dramas, I highly recommend Curtain Call.

Analysis

• A play within a play
  Characters
  Locations
  Title explained
• Humanity at its best
  Ja Geum Soon, the heart of the family
  Yoo Jae Heon, the fake grandson
  Park Se Joon, the cold cousin
  Park Se Yeon, the legacy-bearer
  Bae Dong Je, the obsessed ex
  Jung Sang Cheol, the loyal friend
  Ri Moon Sung, the real grandson
• The Korean War and its long-lasting consequences

A play within a play: Curtain Call is a drama that tells the story of a fictitious family. Characters like Ri Moon Sung, Park Se Yeon, or Ja Geum Soon are played by actors (Kang Ha Neul/Noh Sang Hyun, Ha Ji Won, Ko Du Shim respectively). The plot is made up of various twists and turns that were created for the purpose of the TV show. Within that drama, it turns out that there is a second play, that of Yoo Jae Heon (Kang Ha Neul) pretending to be Ja Geum Soon’s (Ko Du Shim) long-lost North Korean grandson. This second play is deeply intertwined with the first one. This process is called a mise en abime in the theatric jargon.

Characters: The drama is punctuated with clues that characters only exist for the sake of the play. Indeed, Yoo Jae Heon’s background is unclear. He was apparently abandoned at an amusement park, and ended up in an orphanage. But, that’s it. Nothing on his biological parents, or even on his uncanny resemblance with the CEO’s first husband. Same for the actual grandson Ri Moon Sung. His father died in North Korea, he is married to a sick woman whom he is desperately trying to save, but we never get to see his life, how he arrived in China, or even if his wife is still alive. Park Se Yeon and Bae Dong Je’s (Kwon Sang Woo) relationship is mysterious. We don’t know how they met or why they didn’t get married. Park Se Joon’s (Ji Seung Hyun) life is as blurry as others’. He is married to Hyun Ji Won (Hwang Woo Seul Hye), yet there is no information regarding their encounter for example. All of these holes point out towards the fact that characters only serve the intrigue built up on their family drama.

Locations: Just like a play takes place in a theater on a stage, Curtain Call has just two main stages to let the intrigue unravel. First, the family house where most of the important scenes take place (encounter with the fake and real Ri Moon Sung/heartwarming moments with the grandmother/family dinners…). It is used as backstage as well. Yoo Jae Heon, Seo Yoon Hee (Jung Ji So) and Jung Sang Cheol (Sung Dong Il) pull the strings from the fake couple’s room where they prepare for the next act. After the house, you have Nakwon Hotel. The building connects the family to the external world and allows for new incidents to occur. For example, Jae Heon meets his two friends from theater there, Se Yeon gets entangled with her former lover Bae Dong Je and discovers the truth about her fake cousin’s identity through her flight attendant friend. Problems surface in the hotel and are then solved in the house.
Besides that, Nakwon Hotel is at the center of the play. It’s the physical representation of the grandmother’s longing for her North Korean family, as well as the main dissension point between the cousins. Finally, the name of Nakwon Hotel is symbolic in itself. ‘Nakwon’ means ‘Paradise’ in Korean. On a basic level of understanding, the hotel is luxurious and prestigious, so clients would come there to enjoy their stay, chill and relax, as if they were in Paradise. But on a higher level, the hotel is a metaphor of Ja Geum Soon’s dying wish: Unite her two families. On the one side, the hotel sheltered her South Korean grandchildren, as well as Ri Moon Sung who ended up there. On the other side, Nakwon Hotel is the place where the grandmother and her North Korean husband meet again. As Geum Soon is about to die, she sees herself reuniting with her lover, before they enter ‘Paradise’ together.

Title explained: In theater, ‘Curtain Call’ is the moment when actors come back on stage at the end of a play to be recognized and thanked by the audience. In the drama, this is exactly what happens when Jae Heon traces back the entire plot in front of all the characters. By doing so, he expresses his affection towards the grandmother and other members of the family for taking him in though he was a fake. It works the other way around too, as the play enables all characters to understand each other’s decisions and behaviors. Finally, it allows the grandmother to thank Yoo Jae Heon for bringing her comfort and happiness in her last months.
As for the sub-title ‘Trees die standing’, I believe you can interpret it the way you wish. For me, the grandmother represented the tree of the family. She is at the center of all the relationships. Even if she dies, she leaves behind her hotel, a huge tree that bears her story, her past, but also the History of North and South Korea.

Humanity at its best: The great asset of the drama is its capacity to depict a variety of characters, all unique and complex, without introducing a single villain. Despite their disagreements, each individual aims at protecting the grandmother and her legacy in his/her own way.

Ja Geum Soon, the heart of the family: The matriarch of the family lived through the tragic Korean War which cost her a family. Since then, she hasn’t gotten over the event. She bears the scars of the past, longing for her husband and son stuck in another country. Despite her sadness and nostalgia, she tried to move on and create a new life in South Korea. Yet, she never forgot and was torn between two families. She understands that her pain has been passed down to her grandchildren, and turned into resentment for some. That’s why she’s not upset when she discovers she’s been lied to. She understands that her relatives wanted to offer her some last happy moments before her death.

Yoo Jae Heon, the fake grandson: The fake grandson may have started the play for the sake of arts and money, but he got entangled in the web he wove himself. He took a liking in the grandmother, who brought him the maternal warmth he missed as a child. He found an adoptive family in these strangers: A mother figure, a lover in the person of Park Se Yeon, a brother in Park Se Joon and Park Se Gyu (Choi Dae Hoon). Jae Heon is empathetic, kind, and grateful. He could’ve left right away when he was uncovered, but he chose to fulfill his mission by making the grandmother happy until the end.

Park Se Joon, the cold cousin: The oldest cousin appears to be cold and mean. Yet, he hides a certain warmth that he only shows to those closest to him, like his wife. When he was a kid, his parents went abroad to promote the hotel, but unfortunately died in a plane crash. Since then, he’s resented the hotel. He believes that it took his parents away from him. That’s why, he’s so intent on selling it. To him, the hotel is synonymous with pain, death and loss. When he discovers the truth, he plans to use it as leverage to get rid of the hotel. However, he slows down the process to protect his grandmother from the shock of having been manipulated.

Park Se Yeon, the legacy-bearer: The youngest of the family loves her hotel as much as her grandmother. The building represents her relative’s past and struggles. Knowing this, she refuses to get rid of this family legacy. Her will to protect what she has explains why she doesn’t denounce Jae Heon right away. She also has developed feelings for this free-spirited kind man, so she gives him a chance.

Bae Dong Je, the obsessed ex: Park Se Yeon’s former fiancé has never known failure in his life, apart from his marriage with her. His desire to have a perfect life turned into an obsession for the woman, whom he avidly pursued. He even tried to use his hotel shares to force her into marrying him. Fortunately, Dong Je realizes that this is not love that they share. He gives up, after Jae Heon delivers a pretty accurate analysis of his behavior.

Jung Sang Cheol, the loyal friend: The grandmother’s secretary is the orchestrator of the masquerade. While he was looking for Ri Moon Sung, he found out that the latter was involved in petty crimes. Out of love and loyalty for the woman who rescued him and saved his life, he decided to hire actors. Though his methods were clumsy, his intentions were good and honorable.

Ri Moon Sung, the real grandson: The real grandson may seem rough on the edges, but he’s been through a lot. He witnessed his grandfather die after a life of longing. Then he saw his father succumb to a heart attack. He had to fend for himself pretty early on in a harsh country. As if it were not enough, his wife suffers from liver cancer. Traumatized by the loss of his entire North Korean family, he refuses to abandon his wife. That’s why, he goes to China and gets involved with gangsters. Even if we don’t know what happens to his wife, Ri Moon Sung enters the family right before the grandmother’s big finale. He makes amends and lets go of his resentment towards her. Indeed, he thought her to be responsible for his misery, when circumstances are to blame. Thanks to Jae Heon, he is accepted into this new family and starts the process to become a South Korean citizen with the help of Sang Cheol.

The Korean War and its long-lasting consequences: Curtain Call begins on a dramatic note, as we witness young Ja Geum Soon and her then husband trying to escape North Korea. The Korean War (1950-1953) is about to start and fleeing on the remaining American boats is the family’s last hope. Unfortunately, Geum Soon is separated from her lover and baby. While Ri Yeong Hoon’s (Kim Young Min) father is climbing the ladder to get onboard, a child falls. He climbs back down to save the boy, but is stranded on the beach. This tragic separation – that represents division on a country- and family level – is the trigger for all the events that arise afterwards. Ja Geum Soon longs for her family, and desperately hopes to see them again. So, she establishes her business on the seaside, where she ‘lost her heart’. Over the years, her hotel flourishes to turn into the prestigious Nakwon Hotel, and she starts anew with another man.
That being said, it’s clear that the war didn’t stop after it had ended in 1953. Peace may have been established, but numerous families remained split apart with no possibility to reunite. This national event is not only a social, political, cultural shift, but also an emotional scar borne by many Koreans. Ja Geum Soon is the allegory of actual individuals who were split between two worlds: Their hometown (North Korea), where their heart and memories belong; and their country of adoption, where their future existed. Even in 2022, Ja Geum Soon and her entire family – especially her grandchildren – suffer from the consequences of that separation through emotions like resentment, longing, sadness, nostalgia, anger, etc… which put them all in turmoil, and influence their daily decisions. The wounds are still so vivid for Ja Geum Soon that they even impact outsiders like Yoo Jae Heon and Seo Yoon Hee who feel the need to appease her.

P.S.: Considering the ending of the drama, there has to be a second season. There are too many situations that have been left unsolved, so I hope they will give us answers. What do you think?