PPBongi

Series from South Korea this year have been either disappointing or almost getting there. Until now. This is an exceptional and rare story and, for me, an objet d’art. With a caveat emptor, however. This is NOT a story or series for the BL traditionalist, as it has no romance warble to it. In fact, it is the antithesis of that. It has realism and veracity. This narration stands alone and is an epic. From the very beginning, the story envelops you in an aura of darkness and keeps you there throughout. It is a story of and about depression and its depth on one specific man, who tries on occasion to rise above it by attempting to display empathy towards others. Unfortunately, every time he does so, it creates the wrong impression on the person with whom it was intended to help. And worse than all of that, he is powerless to stop himself or see how his compassion may have caused the pain. He is too far down into the depths of his own despondency. This is a harsh and cruel story. While it might appear that there are no winners here, only losers, I would argue just the opposite. To appreciate this story, you must suspend your own sense of what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. These protagonists and antagonists are not playing by our rules. They have given up on living. This is a story of a vast swarth of people who live life functionally, not humanly. This is their reality and it is not pretty. And there are no happy endings here for most of them. The bad people will continue to do bad things. Such is the existence of this (literally our) world. I was profoundly moved by the story, its production, and the intense acting of this drama. It is a pensive and reflective saga of the less glamourous aspects of love storytelling. This does not diminish its validity; it simply offers a different perspective. One that is real, honest, genuine, yet disheartening. Such is what life is all about. This is unquestionably a quiet and deeply pensive masterpiece,