:: Sixtwentyseven ::

After catching up on a few japanese dramas/specials I thought it would be nice if I catch up on a korean drama as well. Of all the dramas still pending in my stash, I've decided to watch Padam Padam first.

Padam Padam caught my eye not because of the lead actor or actress, but because of the OST that I happen to listen randomly. I think I've mentioned before that if the OST of a drama is good, most than likely I will watch the drama. And this proves true for Padam Padam, where the OST really caught my attention. So for this time round, I thought I should introduce the OST first and I leave my reviews for the drama later.

The first song that caught my eye is the first OST from the show. The song is sung by Noel, a 4 men vocal group who recently made their comeback after a 3 year hiatus. I was introduced to their song albeit randomly as well and since then I never turned back. The title of this song is called "To Live" and the song fits the sorrow of the main character who is innocent but the whole world doesn't believe in his word.



The second song of the OST is sung by Jea from Brown Eyed Girls. The title of the song is "Fool for You" and it talks about the sweet and innocent love of a girl for a guy. For your info, Jea is a very talented artist who composes as well as produce songs for other singers as well as for her own group. I also love Jea's voice and I do feel her voice suits OST tracks very well.



The third song of the OST is a powerful track sung by Hwanhee. The song, "Don't Go", is about wishing a lover's well-being as it tells the pain of the ended relationship. I don't exactly touch Hwanhee's songs as it did attract my attention but this song definitely did. It was very well used in the drama especially for emphasizing the emotions of the male lead. Of all the tracks, I think this is the most powerful track in the OST although Noel's "To Live" is a close second.



The fourth song of the OST is a slow ballad by Kim Yeon Ji, who is formerly in the now-defunct group Seeya. Compared to Jea's "Fool for you", "Love is Right" is more mellow, but not lacking in emotions.



The last song of the OST is by a group called F.I.X, and the song they sung is called "Because it's you". Although the lyrics highlights the pain felt from a lover who is gone (spoiler alert!), I would say the song is applicable to any scenario, be it death or the person is going away for a period of time for work, study etc.



And if you think you still doesn't have any idea what this drama is all about, I think the clues in the OST track can somewhat point you in that direction.

Padam Padam is a french word for "to thump", and this drama exactly talks about the heartbeat of love that is so strong that it can withstand the obstacles that stood in its way. Yang Kang Chil (Jung Woo Sung) was wrongfully accused of a murder and he spend 16 years behind bars. In the prison, he met a fellow inmate Geok Soo (Kim Bum) who claimed that he is his guardian angel and told him that 3 miracles will happen to him, hence asking him do not give up on life and the world. After his release, he went back to his hometown Tong Yeong to patch things up with his mother due to his conviction. There, both of them worked as handymen and at this time he met Jung Ji Na (Han Ji Min), a vet who hired the both of them to renovate her animal hospital. Through their interactions, Kang Chil began to fall in love with Ji Na, but he doesn't know how connected Ji Na actually is to his conviction. Will their love withstand the obstacles ahead?

The last time I watched any Jung Woo Sung drama/movie was Athena, and to be frank I feel Athena wasn't a good performance from him. He was okay, but I do feel that the drama can do much more from his acting. However, Padam Padam trully tested Woo Sung's acting and I got to be mightily impressed with Woo Sung in this drama. As a thug, he was convincing enough when he terrorised his mother when they first met. As a lover, he became soft and gentle. And when he realised he had an illness, he broke down and cried. The crying scenes in particular, left a deep impression on me. Jung Woo Sung, Han Ji Min and Na Moon Hee, who acted as Kang Chil's mother gave solid performance in the drama. There were a few particular scenes that required one take and the actors and actresses had to synchronize their emotions and crying scenes in one take. 2 instances impressed me a lot: 1st was between Kang Chil and Ji Na when Kang Chil told her to visualize the scenarios where he was in pain and gave her his decisions and instructions should he leave this world. 2nd would be the scene between Mother and child where Kang Chil's mother chided him for losing all hope and trying to send everyone away from him.

Besides the crying scenes, I was also impressed with one scene in particular where Kang Chil was knocked down by Ji Na's car early in the drama. I think this is the first time where I see a scene that was shot from the victim's perspective. I do not know if there are any camera effects but if there aren't, then I'm impressed with the stuntman for that scene.

Overall, this drama is really entertaining for me although at the end I thought they dragged the drama a bit. I really give the OST in this drama 5 stars and for the plot itself I will rate it very highly. Oh did I mention Kim Bum's hot 6 packs and the Kim Tae Hee-aura Han Ji Min as well?

Do catch this drama as I think it's a very good drama.