Heartstrings / You've fallen for me (2011)

Country: South-Korea
Genre: school, music, romance, youth, friendship
Format: drama 15 episodes
Cast: Park Shin Hye, Jung Yong Hwa, Kang Min Hyuk, Song Chang Ui, Soo Yi Hyun, Woo Ri, Lee Hyun Jin, Im Se Mi, Jang Seo Won,
Synopsis: Lee Kyu Won (Park Shin Hye) studies traditional Korean music and instruments, major in gayaguem, because her grandfather is one of the most famous pansori tellers (Korean traditional music genre/ story-telling). To live up to grandfathers expectations she cannot listen to any kind of modern nor western classical music. At the same time there is Lee Shin (Jung Yong Hwa) who is the lead guitarist and singer of the university band The Stupid, which makes him the most popular guy in university. A broken promise leads to all kind of big changes in themselves and school, from music duals to big school anniversary musical.
Rating: 4/5
I do not know what to say for a start.. I hopes were higher than it really was. The drama had only 15 episodes, when usually Korean dramas have 16. One special episode aired before 8th episode, because female lead Park Shin Hye was in a car accident, it lead to a big changes in the script and lost of last episode. The first episodes go really slow as about three episodes in a row Lee Shin (Jung Yong Hwa) is really depressed. If you want to get faster to the great part, you may just watch the Special, because that is a short version of first seven episodes, it seemed like it did not lose any important scenes, so I think you will not miss anything.

To me it seemed that the drama gets great since 8th episode, so if you are eager to watch everything (aka all episodes) then do not lose your hope ^^ But there are scenes which has only song and video, but no action, which makes it slow. Drama has a great and big OST too. At first (about for three episodes) there are many side-stories, many many different characters, unexplained thing and it is  hard to follow, but it all becomes clear eventually.
I did not understood how they can fall in love so quickly. Did Lee Shin fell in love with the dance professor just because he saw her crying?? okey the woman was beautiful and talented, but it really does not make sense. Also I did not see since when he began to have feelings for Lee Kyu Won? Beside just hearing a guy sing does not make a girl fall hopelessly in love with guy, which seems to be usual in it. It might seem that director has feelings for Lee Kyu Won, but actually it is all because he sees a potential in her. There are no other emotions than friendship and professional help.

Lee Shin makes a big change in himself, but he stays to say great mean things xD I did not thought that he would be so understanding and caring like he ends up to be, but it was weird how talkactive and honest he was with his father, but I think he just tried to make up those lost years. I did not understand how they were looking similar?? They just had same haircuts..
Lee Kyu Won.. I think she was great when she stood up for herself and was very independent, but many times she seemed so hopeless and crybaby. I have heard that many watchers ask why she is wearing those kind of clothes, but I think it was one thing that made her different from other girls. Beside, she was learning traditional music and lived with her strict grandfather.

I really like to give a credit to make-up artists and stylists. First of all, "the red eyes from too much crying and less sleep" make-up was great (or Jung Yong Hwa suffered from some kind of a eye disease). Only bad thing the make-up artists did was that horrible pink / purple lip-stick. Maybe it would have looked nice, but it did not fitted for lips. It more looked like the lip-stick has already come off of the lips and only some of the color has stayed on them (It happens a lot with lip-sticks when they are on for too long time). (Eating a bilberry gives you the same result if you crush it with your lips xD).  Most of the characters wear stylish clothes ^^

Earnest highlights of the drama are a lot of hand holding scenes and the relationships between characters. I have not seen it in any other drama (okey maybe in "Buzzer beat") that a relationship does not suffer from any misunderstandings and everybody trusts their partners. They all are really supporting and caring.
There were three characters who I absolutely loved: always-eating-happy-cute-dude Yeo Joon Hee and team Hyun Ki Young - Lee Soo Myung. They all were so cool, cute and stupid XD No matter what I do have fallen for one of them xD Yeo Joon Hee was played by Kang Min Hyuk who is a member of C.N.BLUE, that means a band member with Jung Yong Hwa =)
The annoying characters were Han Hee Joo's mother and the second director or a head of the department. They just were annoying no matter how you look at them. Han Hee Joo ends up to be a better person than she looks like. But it surprises me that it had so few annoying characters, just look how many annoying characters "You're beautiful" had!

It is a great drama, if you bare with long scenes and look at the brigth side of it. I think that they would have been able to make it even better, but due to certain curcumstanses they had to do it this way. I hope they get a chance to make a new special episode in future, but I am afraid that it might stay just my hope. (Even better would be youtube specials like "Playful kiss" had, but they have different production companies).

SPOILER review: I did not see it coming that Sa Rang and Lee Soo Myung ended up together!!! Sorry it is in last episode, but it is sooooooooooo unexpected and it is a spoiler review =P Also in the end Kyu Won's and Lee Shin's story looked like a remake of a remake of a director's and dance professor story. XD the second remake was the musical. The worst scene was the total end of the drama... this kiss scene was more than horrible and it looked very uncomfortable.. Even though Park Shin Hye is my favourite Korean actress, she is just one of the "fish kissing" actresses. I do not understand, they study singing, dancing, acting, but no one teaches them to kiss in a way it would look believable. ( Or does the most people in Asia do "fish kissing" in real life?? O.o) I hope she improves this side of her in future, because if she studies to kiss in the right way, she will definitely continue to be my favorite actress.  Also, because they had to give up on 16th episode, the end came too soon, looked like some parts really were missing.
That  throat disease that Han Hee Joo had, Jung Yong Hwa has had it in real life too and he went under the surgery, but he was able too sing after it well (but I have no idea how long it took to get better again).
I do not understand, why dramas use the sentence "You must like me / I want / hope you will like me / continue to like me /etc" as a love confession from the main male character. It is just wierd and does not sound like a confession. I would not understand that kind of confession ever.