One word that I can think of to describe his drama is beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Every aspects of it is glorius: the story, cinematography, the scenery, the dialogue, the expressions, gestures, every turn of events, every brush stroke of the paintings, everything.

The Painter of the Wind is basically an adaptation of a bestselling historical novel by Lee Jung-Myung who took artistic license in portraying the main character, Shin Yun-bok/Hye Won, who was Joseon's famous painter back in the 1700s as a female. The real Yun-bok was male, though. In the novel, as in this drama series, Yun-bok is portrayed as a female in disguise.

The story of The Painter of the Wind begins with another main character, Kim Hong- do/Dan Won walking alone through a mountainous grass field to an empty hut, telling us in voiceover about someone he holds dear. He arrives in front of the hut, slowly opens the door to find it empty with only a large painting of a woman standing at the corner of the room.

He approaches it, holds it and cries.

"I am now going to tell you about one person. I am, right now, joyful yet sorrowful. I am happy when I think of that person, but to lose that person, I am riddled with sadness. She was my student, my teacher, my friend...and my love." he said.

It is such a beautiful and heartbreaking beginning which gives a foreboding sense of what to come and how the story will end.

After that prelude the story begins. It centers on Shin Yun-bok, a talented young painter who disguises herself as a boy in order to be accepted into the prestigious royal painting institute. Her adopted brother, Shin Young-bok, is there as well. I said adopted brother because Yun-bok is in fact and orphan. Her parents were murdered 10 years ago. She was adopted at a very young age and assumed an identity of a boy since.

Anyway, what Young-bok feels for Yun-bok is more than brother-sister. He loves her but dares not confess his true feelings for her. Instead, he dedicates himself to making her happy and safe. To Young-bok, his sister is nothing less than a god. He gives her unconditional and undying devotion, not even cares that eventually it will mean his life.

At the institute he always follows her around to make sure that she is safe and not being discovered.

Then one day Yun-bok paints a picture that puts her life in jeopardy. She paints a picture of the queen dowager waiting for her lover.

It causes an uproar because it is deemed obscene and inappropriate. The Queen Dowager recognizes herself in the picture. So an investigation as to who painted it is ordered. Kim Hong-do is called back from the mountains to find out who the painter of that picture is.

Kim Hong-do is a genius painter. He has a keen sense of details and the king liked him. The court official was so jealous of him that they schemed ways to send him away to the mountains.

Hong-do can tell right away that Yun-bok is the culprit in this case. But he is too impressed with her talent that he cannot bear to reveal that she is the one who is behind the painting. He protects her by offering his hand destroyed instead of hers. He sends her away to protect her but she decides to return and take responsibility for painting the picture. Hearing her confession, Young-bok proclaims that, in fact, it is he who painted it and asks for his sister be spared.

 
Hong-do pleads with the king not to waste such talent. The king then devises a plan to force the Queen Dowager to cancel the harsh punishment. However, somebody has to pay the price. The burden falls on Young-bok. He is sent to a place that makes color powder. Yun-bok is distraught with guilt that her brother suffers for her. She tries destroying her hand with a stone and loses her drive for painting.

Hong-do slowly draws her out of her shell and makes her want to paint again. She becomes his student.

It begins a journey for the master and his student towards the pursuit of improving their craft and overcoming all kinds of odds. Yun-bok dares to challenge the limits of society of the time which does not allow women to be subjects of paintings. Not only she paints women, she has even gone further by portraying every minute details which make her paintings come alive. Through the whole process of her finding her call, Hong-do is by her side supporting and challenging for her to do better.

After so much struggle, Hong-do and Yun-bok become royal artists, commissioned to paint the king's portrait. Yun-bok accepts the assignment hoping to please the king and ask for him to let her brother return. Unfortunately, the red paint that is supposed to be used for the robe of the painting is destroyed. Yun-bok asks Young-bok to mix such paint for her. Making paint colors is a dangerous process, especially if it is done for a large quantity. Young-do was poisoned. He hallucinated, fell from a scaffold and died.

Yun-bok cannot accept the fact that her brother died because of her. She tears the king's painting after hearing the ministers question the quality of the paint used in the portrait. The king is furious and orders her beheaded. Hong-do pleads for the king to forgive her to no avail. He eventually throws his hand into the fire to prove how much she meant to him. The king is moved and designs a plan to set Yun-bok free.

Through all the trials and tribulations Hong-do and Yun-bok have to overcome together, their relationship deepens. There is no doubt that there is an attraction there. Maybe for Yun-bok, Hong-do is like a father figure to her. He has done so much for her. He cherishs her talent. He supports her in everything she does. He is her teacher, her mentor, her friend. He is the only support system she has left after her adoptive family starts to disintegrate. 

Their low-key love affair is sweet, beautiful and touching. He is much older. He is in his eary 30s. She is 18. However, at this point, Hong-do still thinks that Yun-bok is a boy. So he doubts his feelings toward her/him.

Not until toward the end, after he finds out not only she is a woman, she also is his best friend's daughter whom he has been searching for 10 years, he dares to accept his true feelings for her. Toward the end, before they part way, Yun-bok asks what she is to him.

Shin Yun-bok: In your words what am I to you then?

Kim Hong Do: You are my pupil...also my friend...you are closer than my best friend's daughter.

Shin Yun-bok: Is that all there is?

Kim Hong-do: You are my best friend's daughter...my pupil...the person that I want to protect to the very end...you are my love.

I literally cried. Finally, he said it. He admitted it. It was so touching. It was the moment I had waited for for the whole entire week. (It took me a week to watch the entire 20 episodes.)

I really like it when they are together.

The relationship between Yun-bok and Hong-do might seem strange, the relationship between Jeong Hyang is even stranger. Jeong Hyang is a courtesan. She is also a musician. Yun-bok is drawn to her since the first time she laid eyes on her.

Their path cross a few times after that and Jeong Hyang falls for Yun-bok, of course, thinking that she was a boy. At the same time Yun-bok also allows her friendship with Jeong Hyang to develop into love. Their attraction to each other is so intense that at one point Jeong Hyang wants to go all the way.

Even after Yun-bok's true gender is revealed, they still continue to call each other my beautiful beloved. It is quite understandable why Yun-bok can fall in love with Yeong Hyang. Yun-bok has been living as a man for a very long time. She is forced to live that way by her adoptive father who wants to use her skill as a painter to glorify his family. She probably lost her female self. Yeong Hyang is a musician. She plays gisaeng (some kind of Korean musical instrument). They are both artists, to say the least. They can see beauties in each other. Their relationship develops purely out of love and care for each other.

In this sense, love in Painter of the Wind breaks all barriers. It has gone beyond age and gender. Ultimately, it is the unconditional love, rendered beautifully, that makes this drama so touching. Be it the love between Yun-bok/Hong-do, Yun-bok/Jeong Hyang, Yun-bok/Young-bok, it's all unselfish and unconditional. Each is willing to sacrifice his/her life for the other. For example, Yun-bok's brother has never thought about his own well-being if it means Yun-bok would be able to continue her passion for painting. His love for her is unrequited all the way to the end when he gives her the paint that ultimately would lead to his death. The only consolation he receives for his sacrifice is a tearful embrace from her.

However (and this is a big however), I am all for Yun-bok and Hong-do. To me every scenes they are together is priceless. He is not the best looking man on the whole entire planet, even somewhat eccentric at time, but he exudes charm and warmth. And the way they try so very hard to hide their feelingss toward each other truly makes sparks fly. And with everything he has done for her, how could she not falling in love with him?

All in all, this drama has everything, an excellent cast, beautiful music, great story, remarkable acting, and great camera works. The only problem I have is the ending. I just don't see why Hong-do and Yun-bok have to be separated from each other. It's just too heartbreaking. They both are such beloved characters. They deserve to live happily ever after with each other.

Create Date : 30 เมษายน 2557
Last Update : 3 มิถุนายน 2557 21:29:08 น.		7 comments
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