Drama Special Series Season 1: White Christmas (2011)

This is a well written, tightly plotted thriller. There was excellent set up and pay off, resulting in good plot twists. Occasionally they would somewhat lead you to believe something false, which I thought was… a little annoying tbh (like oh noooo this character got hurt! Oh wait, no, they’re fine). Nor did I 100% buy into the psychology in this show (it’s a little too ~magic~ for me, with hypnosis and hallucinations) but I do think that the scenarios the kids were forced into were compelling. You really get to know these characters and it’s interesting seeing them think and react to what’s happening. The show has a strong plot and focuses on that, and I feel like the psychological aspect is just the coating on top. I also appreciate that romance wasn’t really a part of the plot. The acting is good overall, I think Esom, Hong Jong Hyun and Kim Woo Bin stood out the most from the young cast. The main antagonist is good as well; idk I feel like I’m spoiled from having watched so many crime/thriller shows so I didn’t find him that scary (plus the whole psychology ~magic~ stuff). I *really* liked the ending and I thought the show did an excellent job of having the plot running up until the last minute. This is definitely a good, short watch, with a great plot that will keep you hooked until the end.

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I'm honestly speechless. This show was just PERFECT. Everything from the direction to the acting, with a fantastic script! It keeps you guessing toward the end, and when it concludes you know there could not have been a more powerful ending. Expect your heart to be wrenched and broken but so worth it. I'm a fan of European cinema and this show honestly reminded me of my deep love for obscure movies. this is just something else. I will forever be envious of the people who are going to encounter it for the first time. Brilliant show. Brilliant. Just, mind blowing. Subtle. Poetic. Everything is a metaphor. This is why I started watching foreign cinema. Exceptional, intelligent stuff like this.

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Wonderful Ideas, Executed Questionably

White Christmas attempts to be so much and fails at nearly all of it.

It succeeds at being a cheesy, atmospheric 2011 drama with a unique storyline. However, it leaves much to be desired in it's execution of everything else.

I thought that when Hyejung cut Mireu's hand in the same spot as Yohan and Mooyul, for some reason, described Yohan to the police with only that singular trait that Mireu would be framed as the killer. Yet... he isn't. And it is never mentioned again. This is just one example of a way in which White Christmas fails to fulfill it's potential.

I was optimistic when starting this drama, yet when the psychiatrist nearly gets away at the end because somehow the police didn't recognize his face when he simply told them he's 'actually the teacher, believe me guys', you have to wonder if KBS thinks you're a stupid little mutt that'll eagerly lap up anything they pour in your silly little dusty doggy bowl. The face of the serial killer that they are chasing, that has been displayed on a massive screen during the hostage negotiation, they completely forget and assume must actually be the seven day old frozen body with a gun in its mouth but a gunshot wound on his torso on the roof?

When the children push him over the ledge at the end, he says "I've won", as if we are supposed to contemplate if the children really did become monsters for pushing a serial killer that made their friend commit suicide, that the incompetent police nursed back to health, to his certain death. No, good for them. Is that really the supposedly big, morally grey question they left us with? Could they not have made it a little bit more ambiguous or thought-provoking? Them turning on each other while in the school was much more compelling and interesting, even if that was sometimes underdeveloped as well.

I'm being really negative, but the show had some merit. It was often so ridiculous it was funny, much like Boys Over Flowers which I love dearly. Chi Hoon falls over a small and not-at-all steep hill in the snow and then Moo Yul drops to his knees in despair. He throws him a rope and then screams in agony as he drags his limp body up the 30-degree incline, blood dripping from his hands from friction. I don’t even understand how Chi Hoon ripped up his leg so bad when he just tumbled down a snowy hill for ten seconds, but it would have been entirely feasible (not to mention much easier) to grab his arm and just drag him up either way. I was in shock watching this scene. It was some of the best unintended comedy I have seen in a K-Drama in my life. Not to mention the acting (in this show in general) is often almost so bad it's camp. When it's not frustrating or boring, White Christmas does have a Boys Over Flowers-esque campy charm to it.

I really do love when a show is atmospheric in a way that is served by its clearly 2000s-early 2010s camerawork. It made me feel like I was really there witnessing Hyejung flirt with Eunsung; I could almost smell the unintentional homoeroticism. And the classical music in the soundtrack was an objectively insane choice. That one non-classical song they kept playing also absolutely fucked. I want to try to watch again sometime to see if I would like it more a second time around. I just wish they did what they did... better. With more nuance. With a more substantive and cohesive plot. With less boring filler. A more compelling outcome. I would say "Remake when?", but I fear that that rendition would only take away the shitty 2011 camerawork quality that I love oh-so-much and leave us with all the flaws of the original.

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White Christmas was a perfect drama.
The setting, the characters, the plot.
Everything about it was utterly gripping right until the very end.
It's hard to come by a drama so different and so brilliant.
I recommend this to anyone who wants a great drama to watch.
A special shout out to:
Yoon Soo- a tragically beautiful character with a lot of room to grow
Chi Hoon- an undeniably smart and quick witted character with a lot more to achieve
Cameraman Yang- an imperfect character; determined to carry on
Moo Yul- a leader who worked to keep everyone safe in the most dire situation
These characters are the ones I will mention because of how they stood out to me. However, all of the characters in the drama were much appreciated.
To those who watch this drama, I hope you appreciate them too.

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Amazing story and characters

This is one of the best drama I've watched.

I love most of the characters, but mostly Park Moo Yul and Choi Chi Hoon. I like how the series used a lot of symbolism and analogies to discuss the prevailing question of whether a monster is born or raised. The acting of all the actors are superb and the characters are deep and complex, each with their own trauma and psychological issues.

There are a few plot holes but I'm willing to look over it to ponder the story further. The pacing might be a bit slow and I almost wanted to drop it during the first episode but I'm glad I continued as this series is one of the most memorable one I've ever watched.

I also think that the cinematography and music is beautiful, and the story has a beautiful ambience found in no other place.

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I was kinda hesitant to start it but I'm glad I did. A perfect mix of suspense and thrill. I read the comments here and was surprised how many people dropped this.

But don't bother that, give it a try, you'll might end up loving it.


The story was really interesting. It's about how a group of students in between betrayals and danger, learns to trust each other.
The school setting was great.
The cast, don't even get me started. Give the casting director an award. I loved them together.
The villian was really refreshing.
The music although not my taste, was really fitting for the story.

Definitely give this a try.

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Atmospheric and just enough in length for the story it wants to present.

The drama starts slow, by presenting the setting- a boarding school only for the best students, the characters - the few students who stay at the shut down school for the holidays, and the mystery-letters sent to all of them with the same massage. From then on, the story is packed with thrill, good performances, action, mystery and suspense. The only problem with the series was that it didn't explore the impacked the "adventure" had on the students after it was over more in depth.

So, 8 out of 10.

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Who is the monster?

I think this is the first time where I liked every character.

Story
It's unpredictable till the end. I even wanted to look up spoilers but I stopped myself and I'm glad I did.
I predicted who sent the letters and who was the killer but those were easy things, what I didn't see coming was the ending.
I don't know what to say about it. I kinda liked it and I kinda didn't. For all that amazing build up it could have been better.
And that one gigantic plot hole at the end... It didn't ruin the story but it didn't make it better.
First seven episodes are a 10 and the last one is an 8 but I still liked the drama.
It's definitely worth watching and even though the ending could be better it's not disappointing. It gets a satisfying conclusion.
The part about everything being an experiment and the question: Are monsters made or born?
The sins of the kids weren't big, you can't even call those things sins.
So I would say the experiment failed and they are not monsters.
Someone might say they are, maybe it depends on how much we like the characters.
I liked the cinematography and the music, it made the story even better.
Every dialogue and scene is important.
The characters are three dimensional with flaws.
The best thing, there is a bunch of plot twists that make sense, they are not there for the sake of surprising the watcher.
Another thing is that we find out everything with the characters, we are never given more information than them. That means we solve the mystery with them.

The characters
- Moo Yul - the leader. At the beginning he is someone perfect, other's rely on him, they think he will solve everything but soon we see he is not perfect. I liked how even though he was desperate and it was hard, he still helped others when he could just choose to save himself. He has a hero syndrome as the annoying psychologist would say.

- Chi Hoon - the smart guy. At the beginning he seems cold and arrogant, it looks like he doesn't care about others but later we see he is a nice guy. He just thinks logically.
If he was the killer, they would have all been dead in one episode.

The whole group has two braincells and it's those two.

- Young Jae, the bully. He annoyed me the most. He jumps to conclusions and doesn't want to listen to others. He would solve every problem by beating people up. He pretends to be strong and scary when he is not. But he broke down and we saw he was weak, he just wanted to protect himself.
Still not an excuse for his shitty behavior.
The line - It's okay when others hate me but it's different when I hate myself. - That's when I started to kinda like him. Just a little bit.

- Yoon Soo, the quiet guy. His past is messy and his memory is messy. He sees a monster in the corner. He carries a lot of trauma that he didn't properly deal with. He follows what others do and just drops random clues about things.

- Eun Sung, the only girl. She is not happy anymore and she doesn't know why. She first wants to die but then does everything to survive. She is broken and scared but she still flights.

- Jae Kyu, the invisible guy. At the beginning he didn't stand out like the others. He just blended with the background but the more we saw him, the more we found out about him. At the end he was very visible and important.
At some point he looked kinda insane (that scene was amazing) but he came to his senses.

- Kang Mo, the weak guy. At the beginning he seems weak, he gets bullied and suspected by others. In reality he is not weak, he is strong and brave. He makes mistakes but never gives up.

- Mi Reu, the scary guy. I see a pattern, they are shown as something in the first episode but we see their real colors later. This guy is not scary. He is smart and funny.

- Psychologist, I could write an essay about him but I don't like him so I won't.

This drama is awesome. I recommend it for anyone who likes character driven stories and psychology. It's dark and maybe disturbing to some but I liked it.
It will probably stay in my mind for a very long time.

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