The Hymn of Death (2018)

It was beautiful but short, and we had not enough time to get acquainted with the characters.
It's natural, however, because it's based on reality and how sad it was …
I would tell if a story was unreal, that the characters would not commit suicide because they could overcome difficulties with love.
But since this story is real and has happened in the past, it has changed the truth.
The lesson we can learn is that if we let others determine who we should be, our lives will be destroyed, and this could lead to loss of our opportunities to go to our dreams or even love someone.
Anyway, I liked the show, though it was sad, but it was a good drama.

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Something about it stays with you

This 3-episode series is wonderfully shot, the storyline is captivating, and the acting is great. I loved so many things about it and it's definitely worth watching. There's just something about their love that failed to capture my heart and immerse me in the feeling that their love had to trump all else. I think I'd have liked to see more pivotal moments where their love grew, and them really fighting against the odds for each other - so that the ending would have had its full impact. Still, like I said, I loved so many things about it - the poetry; the letters; the feeling of needing to fight for something when the battle is much bigger than one can truly win; and the struggle between what one desires for oneself and external expectations. It's the kind of drama that would mean different things to different people, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

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THIS IS BEYOND LIFE OR DEATH...

HOW IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE?
I must admit that I initially came to the drama because of the actors and also because I heard it was inspired by a real-life story, but this feeling as if my heart is burning...I don't remember ever experiencing it before.
My first thought when seeing how short it was was that it would probably have less impact than a classical 12/16-episode drama would have, however, I couldn't have been more wrong.
I am writing this review as soon as I have finished it because of the strong impact it had and because I feel I can only do it justice if writing form the heart. The depth I saw here was far from what I could have imagined. While the real-life story and the production altogether gives realism to the series, the acting is on a different level. The reason I say this is because it is not a basic love story with predictable twists and conflicts. While all the romantic dramas out there try to portray true love, I believe this does it more than any drama I have seen so far.

BEYOND APPEARANCE
Not only is the love story on a different level, but the other themes are beautifully portrayed as well: self-discipline, personal responsibility, familial duty, self-denial, suffering, self-discovery and the role of art - it simply feels like a page of history realistically and artistically presented.
Art is particularly prominent. Each of the characters has contact with art and their reactions differ - while some find life, joy and relief in their artistic endeavors, others are greatly pained by the seemingly shameless irresponsibility art encourages. Either way, the drama is a story of how art shaped people and gives them what the world around them failed to offer: comfort and freedom of expression.

TILL DEATH DO US PART AND AFTER...
Their acting made it feel like everything was real. Their devotion, suffering, joy and love felt all too real. Their connection was so strongly presented that I think the most-expected kiss was the least powerful demonstration of their love, whilst in other dramas that is the climax. To have such powerful portrayal of one's love that the most expected act seems rather insignificant, that is something I have never seen before! I remember thinking to myself at some point: "Even if they never kiss, their love was too beautifully displayed to claim there would even be need for that". I am profoundly impressed by the depth of feeling they could deliver. I can only think of two other times when a series has left such an impression on me. It truly is something else! This is something I will never forget...

It is at times like these that I remember why I love acting so much. Thank you!

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You'll surely love this drama!

This one was a good one. I really liked the story. It's heartbreaking though that it's based on true life events.

Ever since the drama started, I kinda realized what the ending would be. To be honest, it would've been better if that opening scene on the ship is actually removed. Personally, I find things way more enjoyable when they turn out to be what I least expect them to.

I really liked Shin Hye Sun's acting. Such big applause for her. She spoke so loudly to us just through her eyes and body movements. Can't quite speak this highly for Lee Jong Suk though. During many of the critical scenes we see him just standing or barely speaking to Hye Sun. His lips also gave me the feeling he was slightly smiling or trying to look good for the camera most of the time. I think that's just his resting face though. Yet I would've preferred something different, this was not a happy story after all. The moment he got out of the police station he also seemed way better or chilled than what a real person in that situation would be. The fighting scene with his father was very powerful and I think he did so good on that one. Overall I would say; maybe that's the kind of character he had to portray, maybe it was also due to poor acting/directing but we needed a stronger ML.

Back to the story: the whole thing about one's duties towards their families really gets me thinking during every drama . I really admire the respect and massive consideration children are taught to have and express towards their families ever since they're little. It reflects such positive energy to me and makes me feel warmhearted. Yet, this story was terribly sad. Such great talented young people had to suppress their true feelings and selves for their family needs. Even worse, they decided to take their life way while calmly chatting and watching the sunset on a summer afternoon. How heavy could their hearts be at such a young age? Time are different now for sure. Yet I hope we all learn to be more thoughtful towards one's life and freedom.

All in all, I really appreciate this drama. Everything was nicely depicted, especially the fighting and loving spirit of youth during 1890-1926. Despite its tragic ending, their love was beautiful. Only in the end they understood Takeo Arishima's motive of taking his life away. Death can also be a choice, a choice to live.

P.S I pray they found the peace they were yearning for.

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This drama has absolutely wrecked me.

Trigger warnings: Suicide, Death

First of all, let me tell you that this drama has absolutely wrecked me. I knew what was bound to happen but when it did happen, I was still caught off guard. That last scene was such an emotional moment, something that will forever be engraved in my memory.

I have put off watching this for so long because I was well aware of the tragic backstory and I just didn't know if I can handle it. However, upon watching this, I've realized that Shim Deok and Woo Jin's story is more than just a tragedy. It was also a beautiful story of falling and fighting for love, owning your identity, appreciating art, and finding peace.

I am still conflicted over how the characters resolved the conflict in the end and even before watching this, I couldn't imagine what reasonable reasons would push two people to end their life together. Although, I know I wouldn't be able to fully understand their pain, I had a glimpse of what led to these two people to do what they did and I'm just glad it was for love and they were at peace. Most importantly, they weren't alone, they had each other. The fact that they didn't even falter and waver once and remained resolute with their decision actually haunts me. It's fightening and admirable at the same time. They know the only way they could be together is to leave this world together. They were very flawed people. If you will overanalyze things, some things could've been avoided and dealt with properly and things could've ended differently but at the end of the day, they were just humans struggling to live and to love and facing very real and dangerous situations so I would choose to remember them as two beautiful people who fell in love with art and with each other, then ultimately decided to be somewhere that would be more appreciative of this love.

Shin Hye Sun and Lee Jong Suk were both commendable in their roles. They both inflicted their own touches to Shim Deok and Woo Jin's characters and they have succesfully brought them to life. I am always in awe of Hye Sun and how she always delivers phenomenal performances and her role as Shim Deok wasn't any different. I felt her character's joy and I especially felt her pain. Jong Suk also was quite a revelation in this one. I've loved him since I first knew him but honestly, this was one of his most powerful performances, in my own opinion. I am especially stunned by how their characters didn't even need words in expressing what they're feeling. Their eyes always do most of the talking.

All of the other elements of the show such as the cinematography, the music, the dialogues, the poetry (!!!), and just the overall vibe of it fit so perfectly together. They all complemented each other so much and and everything helped convey such a melancholic retelling but at the same time, a beautiful masterpiece.

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??

Andai ya, andai, Sim-deok gak jatuh cinta sama U-jin pasti dia bakal mau aja nikah sama bangsawan kaya raya itu. Bangsawan itu kelihatannya beneran baik dan bersedia menopang hidup Sim-deok beserta keluarganya. Kalau dia mau nyoba deket, pasti lama-lama bisa cinta juga. Inget kan di episode 1, Sim-deok awalnya gak mau ambil risiko ikut tampil dan mau cari aman aja karena dia pengen hidup dengan nyaman. Yaa, semua ini menjadi rumit karena Sim-deok sedang cinta-cintanya sama U-jin, tapi gak bisa bersama, plus masalah finansial yg menghimpit karena dia satu-satunya pencari nafkah di keluarganya.

Kalau U-jin itu, di sini diceritain kalau dia menulis dalam rangka memperjuangkan Joseon. Tapi ya, peran dia tuh gak segede itu sebenarnya, alias kalo dia gak melakukan itu ya gak apa-apa. Ya aku ngerti sih, meski hidup dengan nyaman sejak kecil kalau sepanjang hidup menjalani kehidupan yang ditentukan ayahnya dan gak diberi kesempatan untuk menjalankan apa yg dia sukai memang terasa sesak. Tapi lo ya, yg disuruh ayahnya tuh masuk akal dan ayahnya pun gak jahatin siapa-siapa walau dia keras. Gak ada salahnya kalau ingin hidup dengan aman dan nyaman. Selain itu, istrinya juga baik dan bukan tipe istri yang suka nuntut ini itu. I felt sorry to her.

Huft.

Walau gabisa relate, aku bisa ngerti kenapa mereka lelah. Cinta terlarang, masalah finansial, tuntutan keluarga, hanya punya satu sama lain sebagai sumber semangat, tapi susah juga kalau pengen kabur untuk hidup bersama dan mereka gak bisa juga mengabaikan persoalan keluarga.

Pasti rasanya kaya bertemu jalan buntu. Mau kabur gak bisa, mau bertahan udah gak kuat.

Yaa karena ini kisah nyata, maka dramanya juga dibikin begitu adanya.

Rest in peace, Yun Sim-deok dan Kim U-jin.

Btw, aktingnya Shin Hye-sun keren banget.

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Korea's "Romeo and Juliet!"

As I write this review, I am listening to “Only My Heart Knows” by Sohyang—the greatest female singer on the planet--which is the most eloquent way and expression that I can think of to captivate what I’m feeling after finishing this extraordinary series. Sohyang does for “Hymn of Death” what Celine Dion did for “Titanic.”

Romeo and Juliet is considered one of the best romances ever written. Of course, it was also a work of fiction. Jack and Rose were also considered a great romance, but they were fictional characters in a historical event. Yun Shim-Deok and Kim Woo Jin is about real people back in the mid-1920s whose lives abruptly ended when they committed suicide together by jumping off a passenger ship. Now, to some, this may seem to be a tragic romance. As with so many things in this world, it really does depend upon your perspective.

What happens when oppression and suffering become so great that they make a person feel trapped? Let me point out that those who commit suicide or consider it an option are feeling trapped. They feel that there is no other way out of whatever situation they are in. Whether or not you agree with the act doesn’t matter. It’s what they are feeling. How do I know? Because it was something I attempted once myself.

Yun Shim-Deok was a woman well ahead of her time. She was outspoken and wasn’t afraid of being bold and going against a system she didn’t agree with. For the 1920s, this was more of a rarity than most people realize. Coming from a poor family, she was essentially the family’s sole means of making money. She was also given the responsibility—albeit unfairly—to also make enough money to pay for the education of her siblings. But, at what price?

Kim Woo Jin is a writer from one of the richest families in Korea. His father expects him to forsake the foolishness of being a writer and run the family business while being married to a woman who is more about duty and doing what his father wants than being a supportive, loving wife.

Both show incredible talent in their respective fields. Kim Woo Jin is a gifted writer of poems, plays, and criticism—not to mention his love letters to Yun Shim-Deok. Yun Shim Deok is able to captivate audiences with her beautiful voice. And yet neither is allowed to pursue their passion. Kim Woo Jin’s father won’t allow his son to write, and the Japanese attempt to use Yun Shim Deok for their own, sick and demented reasons, caring nothing for her singing talent.

It's been said by many that there are few things sadder than wasted talent. What does it do to a person to not pursue the life they want? What does it do to twist someone’s talent to the point where it’s no longer what it is supposed to be?

Whether you are simply using your son or daughter to carry on family obligations, such as running a family business and having them marry whom YOU want them to, or using your son or daughter by holding them hostage under the “family obligation,” for financial reasons, the result is the same: you are using your children. You are treating them as property, and children are not property. And if you are unable to support your children in helping them pursue their own passions, then you are not fit to be a parent. No, it’s worse than that. You have no right to even call yourself a parent, any more than the parent who is indifferent and neglects his/her children.

This series is powerful and eloquent in depicting two souls who loved each other so much that they refused to leave each other. Not even in death, as they left this life together. It’s beautifully done with incredible performances by Lee Jong Suk and Shin Hye Sun. They have incredible chemistry, which is obviously necessary in order to make this series work. My only very small complaint is that I wish a singer had helped Shin Hye Sun train as a singer. Even if it wasn’t actually going to be her singing, she doesn’t open and move her mouth as a singer would.

The series is short at only six episodes (three via Netlfix as they combined each episode into pairs), but it’s not a series that is easily forgotten. It stays with you from the opening moment of the first episode when you see the two pairs of shoes on the deck of the ship to the moment when Kim Woo Jin and Yun Shim Deok are dancing and then slowly begin to walk to the deck’s edge. And I can’t help but think that the real Kim Woo Jin and Yun Shim Deok are smiling somewhere together.

Most people look upon death as horrible and tragic. That isn’t always the case. And I can’t feel that way about Kim Woo Jin and Yun Shim Deok. If nothing else, I hope this series makes people stop and think, especially parents and how they treat their children. No one has the right to take away another person’s passion and happiness. Those who do so—those who attempt to live vicariously through their children—are the vilest and most selfish people I can think of. Therefore, love and support your children in whatever endeavors they choose. Just remember, that their lives are not yours. Their lives are theirs! And for better or worse, they have the same right as you do to live it as they see fit. Every human on earth was given the same, greatest gift: the freedom of choice. The very nature of “Hymn of Death” cries for freedom! Freedom to live and to love.

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I started the drama to complete a challenge and this may have biased my perception. I'll never know but I wasn't carried away by their love story, even though I'm the kind of viewer who enjoys impossible love. In this drama, I didn't feel the chemistry between the couple.

This historical drama based on a true story tells us about the passionate and forbidden relationship born of love at first sight during the Japanese occupation of Korea between the literature student Kim Wu Jin and Yun Sim Deok, student opera.
Two solitaires who lived, or perhaps survived, in the face of social pressure and the oppressive presence of those around them thanks to their passion.

The plot is very slow and almost boring at times. The dialogues and situations suggest a gloomy climate, sadness and a form of self-effacement. There are very few moments when the characters are happy. The end isn't so suprising, it's a conscious decision, in their perspectives, their love kept them from freely life.

These words from Kim Wu Jin ran through my head for quite some time.
"Do you really live? No, I'm waiting for death to live. "
"I listened to the curses I was cursed with, they're my only refuge in this world tormented by the devil. "

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Such a beautifully tragic story. So underrated. (Not really a spoiler if you know the true story ig)

No words can describe how much I loved this. It is so beautiful and tragic and the fact that it's based on a true story makes me even so much more emotional. So if you're feeling like you want to cry to a K-drama, here you go. Such a short story yet still delivered much more than 90% of the K-dramas that have 16 episodes with each episode being 10 hours long. Yet I do wish we had more time to learn about the characters. I watched this a pretty long time so I don't remember all the details but I remember genuinley liking it and man the emotions I felt, as mentioned I think my emotions were double cause this actually happened with two very real people. But of course, we gotta give credit to the actors, I think if the cast includes Lee Jongsuk and Shin Hyesun you should automatically know that the acting is gonna be pretty much perfect, they always know how to portray a character properly so they never disappoint that's for sure. So I can say with confidence that they gave Kim Woojin and Yun Simdeok justice. I gotta say that the quote at the end got me BAD I was literally crying rivers at 1:30 a.m in the morning (?). Right and I don't pay attention to music and OSTs so don't trust my ranking there!!

RIP to Kim Woojin and Yun Simdeok, I pray they get to have their happy ever after in the afterlife.

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Even a tragic ending can be an invisible blessing

One of the best kdramas I've seen. It's based on a true story during the Japanese colonial ruling times in Joseon Korea and has only 3 eps but so much to it. love, death, history, tragedy, musical, melodrama, forbidden love, arranged marriage, bibliography, rich male lead, poor female lead, star crossed lovers, disapproving parents, and more. Both male and female leads did an amazing job in portraying the emotions. This kdrama really showcased not everything has to end on a good note. Even a tragic ending can be an invisible blessing. Deffo one of their top tier work for me. I gave it a 10/10. Deffo recommend for everyone to watch it.

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