I watched "Pinocchio": shedding my own tears in other people's stories

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While Taiwanese dramas generally still stick to the character setting of “rich man vs. poor girl”, or the plot always revolves around “cancer, car accidents, poor medical treatment”, Korean dramas have already found a new way and boldly stepped out of their own style.

To be honest, I haven’t watched many Korean dramas. Except for the classics “Dae Jang Geum” and “My Love from the Star”, I only occasionally watched Korean dramas broadcast on local TV stations while turning the channels with the remote control. To answer the question “Why are Korean dramas good?”, I may not be able to cite the classics and give too many convincing answers—but just from the “Pinocchio” (피노키오) of South Korea’s SBS TV station that I am currently watching, I have a lot of feelings. In addition to subjective love or disgust, there are still many issues worthy of discussion.

In order to take care of friends who have not watched the Korean TV series “Pinochio”, let me briefly excerpt the introduction on Wikipedia!

“[Pinocchio](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9A%AE%E8%AB%BE%E4%B8%98_%28%E9%9B%BB%E8%A6%96%E5%8A%87 %29)” (Korean: 피노키오, English: Pinocchio) is a Mizuki mini-series broadcast by South Korea’s SBS on November 12, 2014. It was co-created by the director of “I Hear Your Voice” Jo Soo-won and the screenwriter Park Hye-ryun. The main actors are Lee Jong-suk and Park Shin-hye. This drama stars Choi In-ha, a journalist who cannot lie due to Pinocchio Syndrome, and tells the story of how she, Choi Dal-bu, a taxi driver-turned-journalist who lives under a pseudonym due to an accident, and Seo Beom-chao, the son of a chaebol who has no contact with ordinary people, became journalists.

In fact, just by looking at this plot synopsis, it is not difficult to see the charm of Korean dramas. Compared with the plots of Taiwanese TV dramas which are generally monotonous, in “Pinocchio”, the screenwriter Ms. Park Hye-ryun not only delicately outlines the love entanglement between the male and female protagonists, but also incorporates serious social events, intergenerational upbringing and even the bloody media ecology into the TV series, making people feel excited after watching it.

In Taiwanese TV dramas, plots such as courtroom dramas or business wars are also common. However, perhaps due to factors such as production and broadcasting funds or a lack of talent in directing and editing, the plot layout or the performances of the actors are always not as three-dimensional and layered as those in Japanese or Korean dramas. Whether the production unit has done its homework in advance and how much attention it pays to details such as set decorations and props can easily be reflected in the success or failure of the entire drama.

In addition, almost all the protagonists in Taiwanese TV dramas come from wealthy families or have extraordinary wealth (especially idol dramas). They feel out of tune with the lives of ordinary viewers, and it is difficult for people to resonate with them. On the other hand, Korean dramas are not only good at describing family conversations, but also particularly like to capture the stories of low-level people, showing the warmth of daily life through the ups and downs of life and destiny.

When some friends heard that I was watching “Pinocchio”, they would think that the reason why I like to watch this Korean drama is because I was a reporter in the past, so I am interested in this drama that describes the lives of media practitioners. In fact, this statement is only half correct.

For example, “Pinocchio” talks about the life-and-death experience of firefighters and the life of media reporters traveling around to collect news. It can handle multiple themes and complex character relationships at once in a limited time, which shows the skill of the writing and directing team. As someone who has published novels before, I am particularly curious about the ability of screenwriters and directors to control scripts.

A truly powerful storyteller will not only make people believe or be obsessed with the story, but also make people think that they are in the legend.

It is indeed a small blessing for the audience to find their own touch in other people’s lives; and seeing the protagonist receive happiness, it seems that I have also been saved. Although “Pinocchio” is still in theaters and the plot may take twists and turns at any time, I was lucky enough to watch this TV series and it also made me see myself.

Why are Korean dramas so good? This is indeed a big question. But after watching “Pinocchio”, I gradually got some answers: maybe, because Korean dramas allow us to find ourselves in different stories!

It sounds a bit silly to shed tears in other people’s stories, but this is the privilege of being an audience, and it is our life! Do you think so?

♪ Image source: [pixabay](https://pixabay.com/zh/%E4%B9%A6-%E9%98%85%E8%AF%BB-%E7%88%B1%E6%83%85%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B-%E6%95%85%E4% BA%8B-%E7%BD%97%E9%A9%AC-%E5%B0%8F%E8%AF%B4-%E7%8E%AB%E7%91%B0-%E7%B2%89%E7%BA%A2%E8%89%B2-%E6%B5%AA%E6%BC%AB-419589/)

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