I absolutely adore Korean time travel dramas! When I was in Korea, I felt that history was so alive, side by side the ultra-modern, that a blend of "today" and "yesterday" must be a part of everyday life for people living there. No time travel or fantasy drama was too much for me --- until "Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter."
This drama is charming, but I have been perplexed: Sun Ok-Nam, the Mama Fairy, is simultaneously a sweet halmoni (Grandma) (Ko Du-Shim) and a beautiful young woman (Moon Chae-Won)? Jeom-Soon (Kang Mi-Na) is her lovely daughter who transforms into a cat with potential tiger moments? Of the two men, which one is Mama Fairy's husband reincarnated: Jung Yi-Hyun (Yoon Hyun-Min) or Kim Geum (Seo Ji-Hoon)? And what about the talking deer and the son, who's an egg? If the acting hadn't been so good and the animation so engaging, I would have given up.
Then, somehow I learned that this drama is based on the Korean fairy tale, "The Fairy and the Woodcutter." Perhaps the references to the fairy tale were in online synopses about the drama that I saw when checking out how many episodes the drama would be or where I had seen Moon Chae-Won before. Given the fairy tale theme, the beautiful talking deer and other special effects made sense - but they didn't really because, of course, I don't know the story of the fairy and the woodcutter. Again, I am experiencing that lack of background knowledge, lack of Korean "story grammar," that first made Korean dramas so engaging, so intriguing for me. Years ago and many, many dramas ago, almost every scene was a surprise to me. The actions, the relationships were all so unexpected. I loved it! I was being exposed to Korean culture in such delightful ways. Yes, I fell in love - not just with Bae Yong-Joon in "Winter Sonata," but with all aspects of Korean culture. Doing so vicariously, I experienced no negative effects of "culture shock" or cross-cultural miscommunication. Every drama taught me something new about Korean life and values. (Yes, I know TV is not real life, but the K-dramas on TV were my window into parts of Korean culture.) Recently, after watching so, so many dramas through the years, the story lines and the characters' relationships were becoming predictable, a complaint you sometimes hear, but which I'd always disagreed with - they hadn't been predictable to me, at least, until recently.
Then suddenly, "Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter" throws me for a loop! I can't imagine how this drama is playing with the plot of the fairy tale. What are the unexpected twists the writers built in to engage those very familiar with the fairy tale? I have no idea -- and I'm not sure I want to find out. Is reading up on the fairy tale going to spoil my current adventure with the story? What would I lose if I had more insights into what might happen? I was glad that the one youtube video I watched on six popular Korean fairy tales ("Learn the Top 6 Korean Fairy Tales" by LearnKoreanwithKoreanclass101.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmPwUFfxYsc) only said that he wasn't sure if this should actually be a kids' story because the woodcutter kind of threatens the fairy to marry him. Hmm.....
"Mama Fairy" has challenged me to learn more, to go deeper. Fairy tales hold and nourish the cultural psyche, so I need to read up! In my search on Amazon, I found Julie Kim's Where's Halmoni?, a storybook that introduces children to the characters in Korean fairy tales and myths. I definitely want to get that - after I finish watching "Mama Fairy."
With only four episodes left, I feel I need to protect this first viewing experience. Later, I will read the actual fairy tale, watch youtube videos of it, and read more Korean fairy tales. For right now, that lack of background knowledge and total unpredictability keeps me watching and charmed. And yes, I am hoping for a happy ending! But you know Korean dramas don't always go for that easy ending, all perfectly tied up with a bow, and fairy tales from all cultures can be pretty tragic. Right now, I am hoping that the egg-son hatches and gets to see his dad reincarnated, alive again, and I kind of think the psychiatrist who has been in love with Jung Yi-Hyun for ten years will comfort him when he loses Mama Fairy to Kim Geum, or Kim Kim, as they call him. You may be watching and you may have other insights and predictions, but my guess is based on how caring Kim Kim is to the tigerish cat-girl, Jeom-Soon. He has helped her out whenever he could, just like a real dad would!
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