Hilleo

I decided to watch Healer because of my friend. She was absolutely crazy about it at the time it aired, and it was hard not to be interested while listening to her talking about it.

I suppose I should mention that I wasn't quite sure about the main leads at first. I watched Park Min Young in two dramas before (City Hunter and Sungkyunkwan Scandal), and although I didn't dislike her, I wouldn't plan to go out of my way to watch her. My first encounter with Ji Chang Wook was when he guested in Running Man, during which although he was handsome, he hardly appeared as attractive.

Good for me, I tried to keep being open-minded. Apart from letting myself be affected by my friend's suggestion, I also watched a cut from an episode to see the chemistry between the two main leads. It didn't completely convince me, but enough to sense a certain level of their chemistry together - which I actually liked.

So at a certain point, I kind of felt it was time and gave it a go. I kept my pace of one episode a day at first, not quite know what to expect. The first struck of emotion for me was in episode 6, then it bloomed in episode 8, and from then on it was pretty much an one-way street, I couldn't go back anymore. Some days I watched two, or even three episodes at a time. My friend said, "Well, that sounds about right".

The thing I liked the most about Healer, surprisingly or not at all, was the chemistry between Seo Jung Hoo/Park Bong Soo (Ji Chang Wook) and Chae Young Shin (Park Min Young) in the drama. They gave me lots of feels. I forgot them in real life and immersed myself completely into that fantasy world. It was rare since I hadn't been able to totally get into the mood of any Korean dramas as of late, let alone feel the romance and believe it was real. This pair broke the stuffy and frustrating air I was feeling for the past 3 years about Korean dramas in general. It was lovely, adorable, light, trusting. When you see those two, you simply genuinely want them to be together, not because they went through a lot and they needed to be together just for the sake of it, but because they deserve each other. Whenever I saw them, it made me all light up inside. Fluttering. Happy.

Apart from the OTP (one true pairing), it appeared to me that everyone who took part in the project was putting their all in it, and they worked so amazing in harmony together that it also reflected on screen. Both Ji Chang Wook and Park Min Young were passionate about their parts, they gave lots of suggestions and really tried to understand their characters. For Ji Chang Wook's character - Seo Jung Hoo/Park Bong Soo, I think we're bound to love him. It was a guy who was strong and intelligent and brave, and at the same time had this dorky and awkward side to social interactions (especially to Young Shin's father) that was super duper cute. For Park Min Young's character - Chae Young Shin, she did this type of character before but for the first time ever, something was different. She had a certain depth and comfort that made it easy and pleasant to watch. It felt like something just clicked. I get annoyed easily with unnecessarily silly and naive characters, but this time I actually liked Chae Young Shin a lot, simply because it wasn't that type. It was true she needed to be protected, yet to me it seemed that you didn't need to be strong all the time. If something was out of your reach and ability, it would be better to leave it to people who could handle it instead of fighting blindly no matter what. What would be wrong with receiving help when needed? Young Shin was brave whenever the situation called for. It led me to believe that the script was written logically after much thought. I'm pretty sure many people will have withdrawal symptoms after watching Healer, so I would recommend you to find what the writer Song Ji Na as well as the assistant writers had to say about it, plus listen to dramabeans podcast about Healer too. Also for the first time since forever, Healer managed to get my brain working on the insights it provided. What a feast.

Now when I listen to Healer main theme song, it makes me want to go run through the rooftops. And when the first line in Eternal Love by Michael Learns to Rock turns up, I can't help but agree, yes, "It's a beautiful feeling"...