Bullet Point Review: The Hymn of Death
Published in
3 min readMar 10, 2019
- The Hymn of Death is a stellar example of how to pack the sensibilities of a 16 or 18 episode drama into a tight 3-hour runtime.
The plot is based on the life Korea’s first professional soprano, Yun Sim Deok (played by an excellent Shin Hye Sun), and her meeting and subsequent relationship with Kim Woo Jin, (Lee Jong Suk, looking like he walked straight out of an anime), a student of English Literature. Now, I went into this drama without any background knowledge, so some revelations, which were otherwise expected, came off as a surprise for me, hence, my viewing experience was a bit different. - The plot unfurls in the 1920s, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. It is set at a crux of time when old ideals clashed with the new will to work for the cause of liberating your country. Woo Jin’s father owns a large number of businesses and isn’t affected in any way by the Japanese invasion. Hence, he finds it absurd why his son would want to fight for the liberation of the country when there is such a large business to handle, and they can live comfortably. This is reflected in their costumes as well — he still dresses in the traditional Hanbok, while Woo Jin dresses in suits; his room is designed in a traditional manner which we often see in sagueks, while Woo Jin writes at his desk while consuming a great deal of alcohol and cigarettes.
Sailing in a similar boat is Sim Deok who is the sole breadwinner of the family and extreme poverty forces her to (almost) accept the offer of working for the Japanese government, which her parents see no problem in, as doing so will help put food on the table, but something she finds completely repulsive. Such difference of opinions, or rather indifference to the political situation from their families is what causes them great sadness, anger, and helplessness, and as an escape, they find refuge in each other. This conflict is well addressed for its short run time.
- The title of the drama is the name of Yun Sim Deok’s last (recorded) song. The show begins with a death, and even with constant shots of lush green surroundings, there is decay and despair all around Sim Deok and Woo Jin. There is the death of relationships — Woo Jin, his father and his wife, death of patriotism — the Korean officers who work for the Japanese government, death of free speech — everything needs to be censored by the Japanese government, the death of language — everyone is forced to speak Japanese. So, when Sim Deok and Woo Jin decide to end their life, there is sadness, but so is happiness, as it is freedom from all the misery.
- The set and costume design were authentic, and along with the casual switch between Korean and Japanese in the dialogues, it gave a much needed ‘lived in’ feeling to the characters.
- Shin Hye Sun really shines in this drama. I have seen her as a supporting actress in various other dramas, and I am glad that she is finally in a lead role. She brought a certain grace and vulnerability in her character, which was restrained yet emotional, and in accordance with the time period. My only problem with her character arc was how easily she starts a relationship with Woo Jin, especially after knowing that he is married. The topic never once comes up in their conversation, and I just wished that angle could have been explored more.
