Spring Waltz

Spring Waltz is the fourth and final installment of Yoon Suk Ho's season drama series. The first drama was Autumn Tale, followed by Winter Sonata and Summer Scent.

"If you truly love him….if you genuinely miss him, someday you can meet and love him again…. Just like us playing a hide and seek during our childhood days,…. no matter how deep he hides himself from the world, and disappear from my sight, he who hides shall be somewhere out there…..always be waiting for me, the tagger. Regardless of how often failing to catch or missing each other's ways, at the end of the day, your most earnest desire and pray shall lead you to him……only to meet and love again." - Excerpts from Eun-young's narration, Episode 1 of Spring Waltz

Details

Spring Waltz - All rights reserved - Yoon's Color

• Title: 봄의 왈츠 / Bom-ui Wal-cheu
• Genre: Romance
• Episodes: 20
• Broadcast network: KBS2
• Broadcast period: 2006-03-06 ~ 2006-05-16
• Air time: Monday & Tuesday 9:55PM
• Theme Song:Loveholic - One Love

Introduction

Spring Waltz, a 20-episode Korean television miniseries, is a final feature of the season-themed drama series directed by Mr. Yoon Suk Ho. Although the story shares the similar code in telling stories of genuine love and childhood memories, Mr. Yoon takes a bit of different paths this time by adding several twists and turns into the story's complexity. One of those differences, is that the theme of the season of spring is engaged in the drama's message more actively – the way love finds us is just like the way spring blossoms into our lives…bringing a sense of hope and gently embracing a long and harsh coldness of the winter as well as the loneliness in our hearts. Another noticeable fact is that the series is the only feature out of four season series, to include overseas locations – in Austria, where the shootings have taken place around well-known tourist spots such as Hallstatt and Salzburg. Also, most of its production money has come from the external sources and investments made by domestic and foreign interests. With a news that the drama has been sold to nine countries including Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and others, the series has earned a wide-spread attention from the media and the industry even before the series aired in March of 2006.

One of the most striking differences that this series has taken in comparison with former series, is the cast. All four main characters are relatively, or almost completely new faces who take the leading role for the first time. Especially the casting of two main characters playing lovers – Seo Do Young for Jaeha (a model-turned actor who has appeared minor in few TV shows) and Han Hyo Joo for Eun-young (appeared in teenage sitcom series "Nonstop 5"), has brought a controversial yet refreshing breeze into the drama's production. Daniel Henney for Phillip, (also a model-turned actor) who probably is the most known actor out of four, has established himself solid acting career through "My Lovely Sam-Soon". Lee So Yeon for Inna, on the other hand, is traditionally educated actress who has appeared in many TV shows and movies including the film "Untold Scandal"(2003). At interviews, Director Yoon has told the press that he deliberately has chosen to work with new faces rather than the already-established actors who tend to be too-chiseled in their image with not enough flexibility. Working with new faces, he says, is "like working on a new painting on a new white canvas". With that said, it has been still a challenge for Yoon to go with such an unexpected path, considering the amount of anticipation the drama has received.

When the series aired in past March, concerns whether the new actors are capable to carry the weight of the story have disappeared, as Seo and Han making picture-perfect lovebirds and portraying their characters as if they "really" are Jaeha and Eun-young.

Exploring Fantasy of Love, Spring and Island

Established for his captivating ability to bring picturesque sceneries and memorable music onto screen, Mr. Yoon takes the maximum advantage for the spectacular view of Hallstatt lake overlaid with Jaeha's sorrow and his yearning for the lost identity and love.

One of his main motif for this series is island, a place that seems to be isolated from the rest of the world. At the beginning of the story, a father and son escape from the city and from the trouble he has caused, ends up arriving at a remote yet beautiful island of Chungsan-do. There a son – named Suho, meets a girl, Eun-Young, who lives with a single mother who happens to be an old friend of his father. Upon the father's request, Suho and Eun-young end up living together under the care of Eun-Young's mother. The story then unfolds into series of incidents that will change these young children's lives forever.

The director Yoon and his production crew has hunted for the perfect island settings for months, eventually deciding on few islands located in southern Cholla province. Chungsan-do appears as the site where the young Suho and Eun-young meets and reunites again as adults, whereas heart-shaped Hanuneom beach in Bigeum-do is the place for the children to share the innocent feeling of affection and love towards each other.

An island as a place, Mr. Yoon says, tends to be remained as certain fantasy in our thoughts, bringing out a sense of nostalgia that can be quite distant from the reality of everyday life. Our childhood love, similarly remains as fantasy in our memory. The story of Spring Waltz explores such fantasy of our first love – how the pure and genuine love for someone can face the reality of living with our bruises and identity-crisis, and eventually heal the painful process of forgiveness and reconciliation, just like the way spring brings us a hope.

Synopsis

The story begins with Eun-young's plane ride to Austria, where she happens to sit next to Inna (Lee-Na), who is on her way to meet her childhood love, Jaeha. However, Jaeha(a.k.a: Chris Y), who has now grown up to be a young, accomplished pianist in Austria, seems not pleased with meeting Inna again after 15 years for some reason. Eun-young, on the other hand, excited about her first overseas trip, bumps into Phillip (Jaeha's manager and best friend), who has mistaken her as Inna of whom he was suppose to pick up at the airport. The four meet, each in different turns of circumstances and incidents, and their story of love, fate and destiny begins.

On her train ride to classical concert - a gift by Phillip – Eun-young meets Jaeha, who is also on his way to his concert. Despite of him displaying his reluctance and indifference to be friendly to Eun-young, the two are immediately attracted to each other – especially for Jaeha, because of the way she reminds of his long-lost childhood love (and that is not Inna for him). After the concert, Jaeha meets Eun-young again, but soon finds out that she is in fact Phillip's love interest. Even with Inna by his side, and the sense of disappointment that his best friend is interested in Eun-young, Jaeha can't stop thinking about her. Eun-young, realizing that Jaeha is a renowned pianist and Inna's first love, also finds herself drawn to Jaeha time to time.

Cast

• Seo Do Young 서도영 as Yoon Jaeha 윤재하
• Han Hyo Joo 한효주 as Park Eun-young 박은영
• Daniel Henney as Phillip 필립
• Lee So Yeon 이소연 as Song Inna 송이나

Supporting Cast

• Choi Ja Hye as Eun-young's Best Friend
• Kim Hae Sook as Eun-young's adoptive mom, also her aunt
• Choi Si Won as Eun-young's brother, also her cousin
• Eun Won Jae as young Jae-ha
• Han So Hee as young Eun-young

Production and Telecasting

Telecasting: KBS2

• Executive Producer: Kim, Jong Sik
• Chief Producer: Moon, Bo Hyun
• Producer: Lee, Jae Sang

Production: YOON'S COLOR

• Executive Producer: Park, In Taek
• Director: Yoon Suk Ho
• Scripter, Writer: Kim, Ji Eun, Hwang, Daun, Ha, Mi Sun

Distributor: YOON'S COLOR (email: contact@yoonscolor.com)

External Links

• Official Website by Yoon's Color
• Official Website by KBS
• Daum Spring Waltz Zone (Korean)

Related News

• Article: TV Drama "Spring Waltz" Sold in 8 Countries (KBS Global, 2006-02-21)
• Article: 'Winter Sonata' Producer Readies New Drama (The Korea Times, 2005-04-18)
• Interview: Producer Yun Seok-ho, the creator of Yonsama and the "hallyu" frenzy (KBS Global, 2005-01-17)