Azure Spring: The Drama I Didn't Know I Was Looking For.
The first episode of Azure Spring dropped today on Kocowa while initially it wasn't on my radar a short reel picqued my interest. Rambling thoughts below, very light spoilers:
My watchlist is full of kdrama rom-coms and comedies, what's been missing for awhile is something grounded. Azure Spring seems to promise a touch of realism and a slice of life story to savor amidst the other dramas, all sleekly produced with stunning visuals, preposterous situations, and situational humor.
Azure Spring is visually captivating in a different way though, it's the location that pulls you in with long lingering shots the landscape. Set on an island off of Gyeongsangnam-do, the landscape is breathtaking; beautiful azure blue rippling water, distant hazy mountains, and a light blue sky.
The first episode hints at two people running away from their past; for An Na it's unrealized dreams which leadsto her homecoming of sorts, moving back to the small seaside town where she grew up in the home of her haenyeo (female diver) grandmother. For Deok Hyeon you feel tragedy is lurking behind his stoic demeanor and the dog tag with a bullet hole that he wears around his neck, prominently displayed on his tan chest from spending hours in and near the sea. Water connects them.
This is a kdrama that offers a quiet exposed glimpse in Korean life beyond Seoul or the commonplace character tropes. Dramas like My Liberation Notes that goes beyond the sheen of Seoul to the heart of family and endurance in the countryside; like Flowers in the Sand that offers waygookin an opportunity to see a part of Korean heritage that the rest of the world has few opportunities to see and experience.
I'm eager to see where this drama takes us, what we will learn and experience along the way.