In Episode 1 of this 2015 melodrama, the handsome, popular actor Ji Eun-ho walks from his dressing room onto the stage at a press conference, and a Q&A occurs.
Reporter: "What's the best thing about being famous?" Eun-ho: "It'll be easy to find the person I'm looking for."
Reporter: "Who are you looking for?" Eun-ho: "My fiancée."
Reporter: "What's her name?"
Before Eun-ho can answer that question, the story flashes back 20 years to when he was in high school and met and fell in love with Eun-dong, a girl in upper elementary school who had befriended him. By the end of Episode 1, Eun-dong has disappeared from his life, leaving him bereft and, unbeknownst to him, at the beginning of a long journey to find her.
That journey-their shared destiny-is at the heart of "This Is My Love." The journey will be long, winding, and filled with obstacles and mystery. In the language of '60s hippies, their journey will be "heavy." I found the series so heavy that I couldn't binge-watch the series. I needed a break from the tension now and then.
The two of them met-by accident, literally-when he was 15 and she was about 10, and they immediately formed a strong bond with each other. They swore allegiance to each other and sealed it with a handshake akin to a pinky swear.
Within days, however, that bond was torn when Eun-dong was orphaned by the death of her grandmother, adopted by a couple, and moved from her home in Chuncheon to Seoul. Eun-ho's twenty-year search for Eun-dong leads him to the press conference and his public declaration of his love for her. His search for Eun-dong immediately becomes a huge story in the media.
The characters, all played very well by an outstanding cast, include childhood friends and acquaintances of Eun-ho and Eun-dong; supportive parents and Eun-ho's sister; liars; and self-interested schemers.
The story of a twenty-year quest to find a loved one surely resonated with people on the Korean peninsula, which has been divided since 1945, when the Soviet Union and United States divided Korea along the 38th parallel and then occupied northern and southern portions, respectively. This division was to have been temporary, but it has endured for 74 years because Korea became-and still is-a pawn in the Cold War. Families with members on both sides of the divide have been separated from their loved ones for generations.
The excellent script, direction, and acting will keep you watching and wondering what will happen to the two lovers, whose lives and story play out in newspapers, on television, and in Eun-ho's book about his search for Eun-dong. I hope that you find this series as enjoyable as I did.
