Family’s Honor…

Okay, this is one of those dramas that you overlook for a long time and then one day, due to acute boredom, you decide to take a whack at it. And then, BAM!. Just like that. You fall in love. Maybe not so much for you, but for me, that’s exactly how it happened. Once I watched it, I could not stop rewatching. Sadly, it’s also one of those dramas that didn’t enjoy popularity. And no matter how much people watch it now, it will always be known as one of those dramas…

Title: Family’s Honor

Also known as: Glory of the Family

Episodes: 54

(Don’t let the 54 episodes deter you. You will wish it was 100 eps. I promise.)

Plot: Ha Dan Ah is very dignified and beautiful yet she also had a sad life. Dan Ah was married in her 20’s, but her husband died in a car accident during their honeymoon. She will be pursued by two men, a man from a rich family, Lee Kang Suk ( and a man who is younger than her, Jung Hyun Kyu . The drama chronicles how the Ha Family upholds their aristocratic reputation.

This description from d-addicts.com doesn’t do this drama nearly enough justice. You’ll understand why as we go along. Okay, so I’m going to review the couples first.
Ahh, the sweetest couple. This brings back so many memories…

Han Dan Ah and Lee Kang Suk ( Yoon Jung Hee and Park Shi Hoo respectively) are seriously one of the main characters with the best chemistry I have ever seen. Of all the relationships in this drama, this isthe most fascinating one to me. Perhaps that is a direct result of them being the main characters. Or maybe I am supposed to find them fascinating. Whatever the reason is, I find that this relationship isportrayed in a very realistic way. We have all come across or know of someone who found it hard to move on after the death of a loved one. I admit, sometimes I feel like if I died, I wouldn’t want my loved ones to move on and get on with life easily. Call me selfish, but I wouldn’t want them to move on at all. However, the situation with Dan Ah is quite different. A lot of times I felt like, “Enough already! Get over it!” (That’s horrible, i know). And before I’m lynched,  I do have reasons for feeling that way.

First, Dan Ah had barely known her deceased husband. You see, it was one of these arranged marriages and she and the guy had just met each other a couple of times before they got hitched. That hardly spells eternal love to me. Maybe it does to you?

Second, the marriage was consummated before he died. This is one of those gray areas. I personally feel that if a marriage is not consummated, it doesn’t qualify as a real marriage. The law must agree with me because unconsummated marriages can be annulled quite easily.

Third, it has been 10 long years already! Okay, so let;s just say Dan Ah did feel affection, or even loved her late husband. Isn’t it too much to ask that she grieve for this person her whole life? 10 years is no joke.

Nonetheless, regardless of how I feel about the whole situation, Dan Ah obviously had different ideas and reasons for how she lived. She felt guilty for living while her husband dies. And this is where I’m inclined to agree with her to some degree. He would have lived if he hadn’t turned her side of the car away from the oncoming car. That was one of the most selfless things a person could do and obviously, he deserved more than to be forgotten easily. But here’s the thing. Dan Ah wanted to live her whole life in gratitude to him by not getting involved with anyone.

This is where Lee Kang Suk enters the picture…  And let the record indicate that he is by no means a good person. He’s ruthless, wicked,emotionless, manipulative, and feels no guilt in taking businesses away from people. That’s how he was raised. But also, he’s honest(he tells you he’s ruthless and wicked upfront) and handsome. At first glance, it’s hard to see how these two people, who have nothing in common, will connect. Kang Suk, who’s only good and kind to his family, and Dan Ah, who has “universal good-doer” stamped on her forehead. Where’s the attraction?