I have already seen the dvd a dozen time but the picture doesn’t really interests me so i skipped buying it but when i’m searching about some of the best Korean Dramas, The Last Scandal of my Life appears on different sites as one of the Best Korean Dramas of 2008 and that interests me and sparks my curiosity to watch it.
The Kdrama evolves on the story of a happy go lucky but with a strong personality, housewife “Hong Sun-hee” who lives her life supporting her daughter because her husband was always not at home and tricks her to get a divorce so he can marries a richer woman because of his ranking debt. Hong Sun Hee accidentally meets her classmate and first love , Jang Dong-chul (Jung Joon Ho) who happens to be a well known actor who pretends that he is on his early 30′s.
Because she needed money for her to support her daughter, she accepted the job of being a nanny in Song Jae-bin’s house and this is the time were they realized that there is still love in their hearts, even after 20 years. But just like in any other drama, it is not always happy times, there were a scene when a former love of Song Jae Bin appears and try to threaten their relationship by telling the truth that Xun was indeed Jae Bin son. The drama ends well where Song Jae-bins eventually fight for his love and Hong Sun Hee accepted him and they were eventually married.
The Last Scandal of My Life
Many commented that the drama starts low and the actress, Cho Jin Sil overly acted on the first few scenes. I guess, there are some scene that the actors did not really shine but if you would watch the drama from beginning to it’s end, you will appreciate it and will eventually felt something.
I have read that the drama was very successful and talks were made to have a second season or what we called part II but an unexpected event happened wherein actress, Cho Jin-Sil takes her on life and committed suicide on the bathroom of her own room where she shares with her mother and her two children.
On a personal level, it makes me sad to learn that a talented actress and a struggling mother of two would eventually end her life because of public ridicule and defamation that causes her great pressure and stress. I believe that Cho Jin-Sil is a victim of an old society who believes that single mom is not capable of being strong. According to Times, Cho Jin-Sil Choi spoke openly on the taboo topic and sought to change the unpopular public perception of single moms in South Korea. “Korean society does not like strong women, and thinks single moms have a personality disorder,” says Park Soo Na, a national entertainment columnist.”
The news said that Choi had killed herself “in a momentary impulse” because of great pressure and broken heart because of the rumors that spread all over the net that her good friend, Ahn Jae Hwan killed himself because he was not able to pay his debt were netizens says that Choi was the cause of this death because he was indeed a loan shark which driven a fellow actor, Ahn Jae Hwan, to kill himself.
A very sad truth if I may say, Choi is considered as Angelina Jolie or Julia Roberts of South Korea having done numerous movies and television acting. For 20 years, she was he country’s cinematic sweetheart and as close to being a “national” actress but this ended when she was found dead hanging on her bath tub on October 2, 2008. But before her death, she suffered for four years finding her tracks on showbiz after her divorce, because many companies were still reluctant to give prominent roles to single mother.
With her beautiful performance on this Kdrama, she won , 2008 MBC Broadcasting Award: Best Contribution Award and Drama Series Top Excellence Award for Actress wherein she was not able to receive personally because of her untimely death.
I could never imagine that Korea would be as sensitive and closed on the issue of single parents considering the fact that they allow divorce on their law. If they really value the family, or having a complete family, they would have never allow divorce in the first place but I always have a soft opinion regarding divorce. For me, if the marriage could not really work and you are being beaten (like what had happened to Cho Jin-Sil) it is just a right attitude to seek on your own, a family that will love you no matter what. it is just too sad that a beautiful , talented and strong woman would just eventually become weaker because of a story that should not be talked in the first place.
Divorce has been a major talk in the Philippines for so long, people are still having second thoughts on accepting it and I guess, there are many conservatives that still don’t believe about divorce.
the last scandal of my life
The suicide of Cho Jin-Sil is indeed the last scandal of her life. True sad because unlike on the story of her KDrama which gives her a happy ending, her life ends with problems, dismay, frustrations that lead to her death.
