Spring Waltz

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Spring Waltz
봄의 왈츠
(Bomui walcheu)
Genre Drama
Produced by Lee Jae Sang
Network KBS2
Original run March 6, 2006 – May 16, 2006
No. of episodes 20
Original time slots Mondays and Tuesdays at 9:55 p.m.
Spring Waltz
Hangul 봄의 왈츠
Hanja None
Revised Romanization Bom-ui Wal-cheu
McCune-Reischauer Pom-ŭi Wal-ch'ŭ

Spring Waltz is the fourth and final installment of Yoon Suk-ho's seasonal drama series, Endless Love - following Autumn Fairy Tale, Winter Sonata and Summer Scent.

Contents

[edit] Series Development

Spring Waltz, a 20-episode Korean television miniseries, was the final feature of the season-themed drama series directed by Yoon Suk-ho. Although the story shares the similar format of genuine love and childhood memories, Yoon adds several fresh twists and turns into Spring Waltz. In this miniseries, the drama's message is conveyed more actively through the season spring. Love is compared to the way spring blossoms into their lives, bringing a sense of hope. Love is also depicted as gently embracing the protagonists' lonely hearts, which are chillingly numb in the midst of a long and harsh "winter". Another noticeable change is that this series is the only feature out of four season series to include overseas locations, namely in Austria, where the shootings have taken place around well-known tourist spots such as Hallstatt and Salzburg. Moreover, most of its production money has come from external sources and investments made by domestic and foreign interests. With news that the drama was sold to nine countries including Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines (The Philippines already air it on ABS-CBN[1] on December 25, 2007) [2], the series garnered wide-spread attention from the media industry even before the series aired in March of 2006.

One of the most striking differences that this series has taken in comparison with former series is the cast. All four main characters are relatively, or almost completely, new faces who take the leading role for the first time. The casting of two main characters playing lovers – Seo Do-young for Jaeha (a model-turned actor who has appeared minorly in few TV shows) and Han Hyo Joo for Eun-young (appeared in teenage sitcom series “New Nonstop5”), has brought a controversial yet refreshing breeze into the drama’s production. Daniel Henney for Phillip, (also a model-turned actor) who probably is the most known actor out of four, has an established acting career, mostly through “My Lovely Sam Soon”. Lee Soyon for Inna, on the other hand, is a traditionally educated actress who has appeared in many TV shows and movies including the film “Untold Scandal”(2003). At interviews, Yoon has told the press that he deliberately chose to work with new faces rather than the already-established actors, who tend to have chiseled images that do not have enough flexibility. Working with new faces, Yoon says, is “like working on a new painting on a new white canvas.”[citation needed]

[edit] Exploring the Island, Love and Spring

Renowned for his captivating ability to bring picturesque sceneries and memorable music onto the screen, Yoon takes maximum advantage of the spectacular view of Hallstatt lake to convey Jaeha’s sorrow and his yearning for his lost identity and lost love.

"If you truly love and miss that person, Then, love will come again when you meet that person again. Just like playing a game of hide and seek, No matter where he/she hides or even if you can't see him/her, He/she must be waiting at some place for you. Amid the countless chaos, Just like the sincere prayers of love. The people in love will surely meet again."

- Park Eun-young (taken from episode 1 of Spring Waltz)

One of his main motifs for this series is the 'island,' - Chungsan-do - a place that is seemingly isolated from the rest of the world. At the beginning of the miniseries, a father and son escape from the city, running away from the trouble the father has caused. They end up arriving at Chungsan-do, a remote yet beautiful island. There the son – Suho - meets a girl, Eun-Young, who lives with a single mother. Eun-Young's mother happens to be an old friend of Suho's father. Upon the father’s request, Suho and Eun-young end up living together under the care of Eun-Young’s mother. The story then unfolds into series of incidents that provide the basis for the conflict when Eun-Young and Suho fall in love again when they are older.

The director Yoon and his production crew reportedly hunted for the perfect island settings for months. They eventually decided on few islands located in southern Cholla province. Chungsan-do appears as the site where the young Suho and Eun-young meets and reunites again as adults, whereas heart-shaped Hanuneom beach in Bigeum-do is the place where the children to share the innocent feeling of affection and love towards each other.

An island as a place, Mr. Yoon says, tends to be a fantasy in everyone's mind. It brings out a sense of nostalgia which is quite distant from the reality of everyday life. Childhood love also is a fantasy in many a memory. Spring Waltz explores such fantasy of our first love – how the pure and genuine love for someone can face the reality of living with mental bruises and an identity-crisis, and eventually heal the painful process of forgiveness and reconciliation, just like the way spring brings us a hope.The most popular character of this hit series is En Young.

[edit] Synopsis

The first is in the island.

The story succeeded with Eun-young’s plane ride to Austria, where she happens to sit next to Song Ina, who is on her way to meet her childhood love, Jae-ha. However, Jae-ha (also known as Chris Y), who has now grown up to be a young, accomplished pianist in Austria, does not seem pleased with meeting Ina again after 15 years of separation. Eun-young, on the other hand, excited about her first overseas trip, bumps into Phillip (Jae-ha’s manager and best friend), who mistook her as Ina whom he was suppose to pick up at the airport. The four meet in different turns of circumstances and incidents, as the story of love, fate and destiny begins to swirl.

[Eun-young] meets Jae-ha on her train ride to a classical concert, a gift from Phillip. Jae-ha is also on his way to that concert too, in which he is performing. Though Jae-ha displayed reluctance and indifference to be friendly to Eun-young, the two are immediately attracted to each other – especially for Jae-ha, because of the way she reminded him of his long-lost childhood love (which is not Song Ina, as Ina mistakenly believes). After the concert, Jae-ha meets Eun-young again, but soon finds out that Phillip is romantically interested in her. Even with Ina by his side, and the fact his best friend is interested in Eun-young, Jae-ha cannot stop thinking about her. Eun-young, though she realizes that Jae-ha is a renowned pianist and Ina’s supposed first love, also finds herself drawn to Jaeha.

[edit] Cast

The names used in the Philippines are in parentheses.

  • Seo Do-young 서도영 as Yoon Jae-ha/ Su-ho (Christian Y.) 윤재하

Jaeha is a talented classical pianist of the next generation who has been closely watched with deep interests and concerns by Koreans since he won a prize in a famous concert. Even though he was brought up in a rich and enviable family under his father who is a foreign diplomat, Jaeha is a lonely person having only one friend because of his eccentric and particular personality. He is a well-mannered and dutiful son to his parents and never harms others, but his piano melody always sounds sad. He is hidden in a veil showing his true feelings only to his best friend and manager, Phillip. He is a sad person keeping the secrets of the past that nobody knows although he has a charismatic personality and wonderful environment.

  • Han Hyo Joo 한효주 as Park Eun-young (Arianne) 박은영

Eun-young is a diligent person who works at her adoptive mother’s gimbap (Korean rolled rice) house in the daytime and sells homemade accessories and clothes at her street stand at night. Even though she could not finish her studies, she is a talented person who is good with her hands and is to be able to win the grand prize in a handicraft contest open to the public. She never looses her smile nor her dashing spirit although she lives in poverty. She has an opportunity to visit Austria from her prize winning in the handicraft contest and meets Phillip and Jaeha by fate. Eun-young who does not know of this ironic fate deeply misses Suho from her childhood. .

He is the only friend as well as the global manager of Yoon Jaeha. He was born to Austrian father and Korean mother and was expected to become a promising musician during his childhood. He plays the piano, the cello, the guitar, etc. Even though there are no musical instruments that he cannot play, he gave up playing music instruments. Instead, he decided to pursue his dream of a musician by becoming the manager of Jaeha who Phillip acknowledges as being a true musical genius. He is not only a considerate and warmhearted person who kindly understands Jae-Ha’s fretful personality but also is a romantic. Phillip is in love with Eun-young and despite knowing that she loves Jaeha, he chooses to stay by her side.

She is a capable career woman who started her career from the bottom and became the director of the planning department in a leading classical record and concert planning company by her own ability even though the company is owned by her parents. Ina is a perfect woman with remarkable beauty, wonderful background, and outstanding ability, but there is only one thing that she earnestly desires for. It is Jaeha who played the piano with her during her childhood. She has exceptionally liked Jaeha ever since her childhood; thus, she gave up playing the piano and left for Canada to find Jaeha after he left Korea. She has a reckless personality to do so. However, she could not find Jaeha but completed her study in Art Business in Canada. She voluntarily tries to promote Jaeha’s debut in Korea after she happened to see an article of Jaeha activeness in Austria.

Supporting Cast

  • Choi Ja Hye 최자혜 Eun-young's friend
  • Kim Hae Sook as Eun-young's adoptive mom, also her aunt
  • Choi Si Won 최시원 as Eun-young's brother, also her cousin
  • Eun Won Jae as young Jae-ha
  • Han So Hee as young Eun-young

[edit] Production and Telecasting

Telecasting: KBS

  • Executive Producer: Kim, Jong Sik
  • Chief Producer: Moon, Bo Hyun
  • Producer: Lee, Jae Sang
  • Executive Producer: Park, In Taek
  • Director: Yoon, Suk Ho
  • Scripter, Writer: Kim, Ji Eun, Hwang, Daun, Ha, Mi Sun

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Spring Waltz has been aired at the Philippines through ABS-CBN, from December 25,2007 to February 14,2008. Though it was successful in Korea, it suffers from low ratings in the Philippines, due to its rival show, "Coffee Prince" which is also a Korean drama series.
  • Daniel Henney (Philip), also appears in "My Name is Kim Sam Soon". (also shown in the Philippines)
  • The English version of "One Love" sung by Acel Bisa - one of the OSTs of the drama - became very popular in the Philippines.

[edit] See also