Before I bumped into Hotelier, I wasn't interested much in TV dramas,
as I hate complicated conflicts, or sentimental feeling they give. One
day, my mom borrowed [Winter Love Song] series, and that made me hate
tv dramas more than ever, though the casts performed good acting skill
and it pictures good scenes, I didn't like the plot, so unreal, and emotionally
tiring...
Then one night, after a battle
in a long nighttime coding session, I saw a bundle of another drama (my
mom is a real fan of K dramas), and that was [hotelier]. As I had drunk
3 cups of coffee, failing to get sleepy, I tried killing time by watching
hotelier.... and what happened then was, I unconsciously drank 2 more
cups of coffee, as I couldn't stop running one episode after another.
Yup, Hotelier got me right from the start. What got me first was the hotel
profile and the staff, how they fight together to get the 30th anniversary
party successful, and their closeness, so that in the later episodes,
I understood why Zhen Yin (Jin Young) couldn't choose Dong Xian (Donghyuk)
over the hotel. It is very rare to find dramas that portray professional
lives and Hotelier did that, and did that tremendously well!
And then, the main characters: Jinyoung, Taejuhn, Donghyuk, YoonHee...,
and the relationships among them.
I would say, the triangle love of Jinyoung, Donghyuk, and Taejuhn, is
portrayed well as a mature realtionship, not a teenage-like love stories
where the characters who are in love tend to overact in showing their
love or jealousy. Taejuhn's and jinyoung's lovers-turn-friends relationship
is so ... like the real world's. I like watching the scenes where they
quarrel over small things, and how they worry about each other, and...
one of my favourite scenes is when Taejuhn, Jinyoung, and Donghyuk were
on the phone after Donghyuk's and Jinyoung's dance at Diamond Villa. And
of course, the love story of Donghyuk and jinyoung... it's what attracted
me the most.
Not to belittle the other characters, I like them all so much. The House-keeping
Division, the front desk team, the kitchen staff, & the F&B group...
they really lighted up the drama.
Overall, Hotelier portrayed various aspects and kinds of love, the love
of a family, of a man and a woman, for friends, for work they choose,
and also the sacrifices they have to make for the choices they chose in
life.
As for the actors, I think BYJ, SYA, KSW, SGH & others did a great
job here! SYA really lived up Jinyoung, so energetic... that I admired
her for being able to run wearing high-heeled shoes. KSW's Taejuhn won
my sympathy, for being the public lovable number one, in the drama. KSW
had done successfully in making Taejuhn's character. BYJ's Shin Donghyuk
won our love for sure, right! BYJ really brought Shin Donghyuk to life...
I was just wondering... if BYJ performed as 'Han Taejuhn', how would that
be?
As for those who watch hotelier for BYJ, I had watched BYJ's WLS, though
I would say his acting there wasn't so bad, Joonsang & Minghyeong
wouldn't beat Shin Donghyuk for sure. WLS's Joonsang and Minghyeong were
made to be easily loved by the audience, as he is heroine's love, while
Shin Donghyuk had to fight to win the heroine's love and the audience's,
well..., maybe it's just me as I hate him so much for being so arrogant,
selfish, and cold hearted, at first.
I like Hotelier not because of BYJ or anyone in particular, but because
of the overall aspect of the drama drawn me close, very close. I hope
I can see other works of BYJ, SYA, KWS, SHG... if my works let me...,
and yes... I would like to see BYJ and SYA pairing in another drama or
film.
Yes, I was so intoxicated by Hotelier, as well as by the coffee I drank
during watching the drama that I had to meet a doctor for coffee 'overdosage'.
And I'm still watching hotelier..., the only drama I found worth to be
in my collection list.