'While You Were Sleeping' Settles It: Park Hye-Ryun Is My Favorite K-Drama Writer

While You Were Sleeping tells the story of a reporter named Nam Hong-joo (Bae Suzy), who has the ability to dream of future events since she was a kid.  She is frustrated that, despite foreknowing tragedies before they can happen, she is unable to stop them.   One day, a rookie prosecutor named Jung Jae-chan (Lee Jong-suk) moves into the neighborhood.  The two start off on the wrong foot, which result to them becoming irked with each other.  However, soon, Jae-chan and Nam Hong-joo become friends and begin utilizing the ability of seeing the future through dreams in order to solve cases.  And along the way, as usual from K-dramas, a romance blossoms between the two.

I didn’t give a much more detailed synopsis above because it would have spoiled the pilot – the first two episodes – which I think is the strongest K-drama pilot I’ve ever encountered so far.  The first two episodes will hook you on the show by emphatically laying out what it intends to deliver.  And as it progresses, it mostly holds true to the kind of content and quality that its pilot promises.

WYWS (will be abbreviating it as such from this point on) is the third K-drama series I’ve watched in which Lee Jong-suk is male lead and Park Hye-ryun is writer.  The first one was I Hear Your Voice, which is my all-time favorite and what got me into watching Koreanovelas in the first place.  The second was Pinocchio, one of the better K-drama series I’ve ever seen, which if not for a few pitfalls and the uncle-and-niece element of the romance, I probably would have loved.  Thus, with WYWS also turning out to be a K-drama I immensely like, at this point, I can say Park is officially my favorite K-drama writer.

Here are the things I enjoy most about Park’s writing:

• Clever, engrossing storytelling.  Stagnant, boring moments are very rare, if not altogether nonexistent. The comedy, drama, and thriller are equally well-done.  She also uses flashbacks brilliantly to great effect.  One of her styles is to cut a scene at some point and then reveal its continuation later on, or replay a particular scene through the point-of-view of a different character, in order to magnify the emotional payoff of what’s currently unfolding.
• Emphasis on moral.  A Park Hye-ryun-written K-drama is somewhat like a modern fable or a study in ethics.  She’s not only concerned in telling a solid story, but also a thought-provoking one, in which the audience may receive and reflect on a life lesson or two.  And she does this in a non-preachy manner which only further enhances the story.
• An ensemble of endearing, well-realized characters.   Not only are the central characters very charming, well-developed, and fleshed out well, but she also makes sure the supporting characters are these things as well.  Thus, you will get to care for each one.  As for the villains, they aren’t simply there to be evil and create evil and be hated.  They are first and foremost characters that have personalities, motivations, complexities, and even struggles – being the source of adversary, bane, and menace comes second.  Nobody is really there just to be a mere disposable plot device.  Nobody is a weak link.  Which brings me to…
• An extremely likable “third wheel.”  I personally hate love triangles.  I think it’s an annoying trope.  But Park Hye-ryun is the first writer that I felt made it work.  In I Hear Your Voice, it was Attorney Cha, a fiercely loyal and idealistic character to a fault, but was wiser, kinder, and more courageous than either of the lead couple – Hye-sung and Soo-ha – and was a significant influence in making them more mature as individuals.  He was even arguably more deserving of getting the girl than Soo-ha, the male lead, and though the latter was initially infuriated of the former, the latter would eventually begin to acknowledge his shortcomings and the former’s strengths, that he would even consider him as his role model.  And now, in WYWS, there’s Han Woo-tak (Jung Hae-in), a valiant police officer who fills his room with geeky memorabilia and toys, loves reading comics, idolizes Batman, and has a corgi which he named “Robin.”  He becomes good friends with Hong-joo and Jae-chan, and the three of them – police officer, reporter, and prosecutor – become collaborators in solving cases or stopping tragedies to happen.  He develops a crush on Hong-joo, but he never really complicates the romance between the two leads.  Even the romantic rivalry between him and Jae-chan is good-natured, has no tension, and never succumbs to a bitter alpha-male conflict.  Jae-chan has never become seriously threatened or insecure that Woo-tak may steal Hong-joo away, and Woo-tak never attempts to flirt with Hong-joo when he understands that his two friends have eyes for each other.  Friendship is the primary dynamic among the three, and Woo-tak is so likable as a character and shares such fantastic camaraderie and chemistry with the two, that a resulting romantic element doesn’t make it awkward for anybody.  Thus, you get to root for them individually, be amused of their “love triangle”, and adore their feel-good bond.

I Hear Your Voice is Park Hye-ryun’s magnum opus.  Nevertheless, WYWS still involves her at the peak of her powers.  She has brought about a multi-layered show – with a fantasy and legal procedural premise like I Hear Your Voice – that involves well-executed and impactful twist-and-turns, thoughtful themes, riveting arcs, very appealing humor, and a consuming emotional core – just like I Hear Your Voice.  As a result, right from the get-go until the end, it’s very addicting to watch.  It’s not perfect, as there are a few parts that are cheesy and too melodramatic.  But that simply comes with the territory of being a K-drama, I guess.

However, one minor thing I disliked is it having the same half-hour-per-episode format that Suspicious Partner had.  Thus, it has 32 short episodes when it feels it should have just 16 long episodes.  This approach is a growing trend in K-dramas, and I’m not a fan.  The abrupt, anti-climactic cut of the first of every two episodes somewhat upsets the pacing a bit for me.  Besides, the episodes are intended to be watched in pairs anyway, as two episodes are shown back-to-back in the same date.  Thus, I’m at a loss why many K-dramas are now being presented like this instead of having the previously standard runtime of about one hour per episode, which I think is more effective in making the narrative flow more smoothly.

Lastly, let me mention that the performances are quite good across the board.  But, of course, the leads shine the most.  I’ve already seen Lee Jong-suk in previous shows so I’m already familiar with his capacity to shift between doing serious drama and cutesy comedic antics.  On the other hand, this is the first time I’ve ever seen Suzy Bae, and I really enjoyed watching her as much as the show itself.  I thought she’s really great – pretty, funny, and compelling.

So allow me cap this review with a GIF of one of her most memorable scenes: