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12 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Like a beautiful painting or song, 25 February 2002

Author: Filburt-3 from San Francisco

Like many love songs, Gaeul donghwa is trite and over dramatic. But if you can allow yourself to be vulnerable and accept the story, you will be treated to many emotional evenings. The series unfolds like a modern fairy tale (donghwa stands for fairy tale).

In contrast to American soap operas, Gaeul donghwa was planned as an 18-episode soap opera. Some of the plot twists are dramatic and unexpected, but all essential to the plot and serve to enrich the characters.

That said, the series could've been trimmed by a couple of episodes or so, as it is filled with countless flashbacks and several moments of "come on, not that again!"

Still, rest of the series is so powerful that I suspect even the most jaded and macho viewers will surrender their ego and bring their eyes to tears.

What is the message? I like to paraphrase my review of my all-time favorite film, Breaking the Waves. It paints each facet of love (e.g., mother-to-daughter, friendship, romance) with palette of honesty and beauty.

And what beauty.... The series is very beautifully shot, like the "yellow umbrella" scene where one of the lead characters sees the other character for the first time in many years. And acting is superb throughout, including the children.

Highly recommended!

10 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
The Best Korean Series Ever, 25 February 2005

Author: blue44 from Philippines

This series is excellent. In Korea it is known as "A Tale Of Autumn" or "Autumn's Fairy Tale" but when this TV drama was broadcast in Taiwan, the title was changed to "Endless Love". This moving TV series describes love in its various manifestations: love for family, unconditional love, and loving endlessly and is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes. The lead female character faces life's misfortunes with steadfastness and optimism, demonstrating her strong character and true inner beauty. It is equally loved by audiences in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Beijing & even in the Philippines. This phenomenal series is very in demand here in the Philippines, actually it is still in broadcast. Now, it has a 3rd run on Philippine Television. Never in my life i ever seen such series. All the actors did a great job, they are all acting wise and considered famous not only in S.Korea but also in many parts of Asia. I truly adore Song Hye Kyo because she is so beautiful and well-suited for the role. I will say this endlessly that this series is perfect. No other series can compare.

8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Love it, 22 October 2003
Author: ednalyn99 from Manila

Endless Love (A tale of Autumn/ Gaeul donghwa) is the first soap opera to elicit an emotional response from this reviewer. Soaps are the usual target for mockery due to the presence of bad acting, lame plots and even lamer dialogue. Endless Love, however, managed to overcome these weaknesses. It stands as one of the best soap operas I've ever seen.

It's the story of Joon Suh (Song Seung Hun) and Eun Suh (Song Hye Kyo), who for 14 years believed themselves to be blood-siblings. They share a close bond as shown in the scenes of their happy and idyllic childhood. Yet an accident when Eun Suh was only 14 revealed that she was actually switched at birth with another baby. Her real family is composed of a single mother and a rascal brother living in the throes of poverty. The daughter (Shinae) who lives with that poor family is Joon Suh's real blood sister. After some dramatic scenes, the two daughters are switched back to their real families. Joon Suh's family leaves for the States as a way to start over while Eun Suh stays behind with her poor mother and grows up terribly missing her brother. Eight years later, Joon Suh returns to Korea in search for Eun Suh. They meet again via JoonSuh's best friend, Tae Sukh, who also happens to be attracted to Eun Suh. The two former siblings are deliriously happy to be reunited, but complications take place as they realize that they are falling in love with each other. Joon Suh is already engaged to Yumei, while Eun Suh has just "accepted" Tae Sukh's declarations of "love". To make matters worse, their parents cannot accept a romantic relationship between them as they still see Eun Suh and Joon Suh as siblings. These complications drive the plot to an ending that will surely melt even the stoniest of hearts.

Despite its predictable storyline, it still succeeds in conveying sincere emotions, largely due to the chemistry of the two leads, Song Seung Hun and Song Hye Gyo.

Song Seung Hun in particular, was amazing in the role of the strong and honorable Joon-Suh (Johnny). It was a character that barely had any speaking lines yet Seung Hun hit every emotional note required for the scene. His expressive face (particularly his gorgeous eyes) clearly conveyed all of his character's conflicting emotions: his love for En Suh (jenny), his respect for his parents and his affection for his friends. Everything about his acting is restrained, yet he never comes off stiff or wooden. He projected strength and vulnerability without resorting to exagerrated theatrics common amongst young actors. It's definitely an amazing performance which sets him apart from his peers. There is no doubt in my mind that only Seung Hun, with his talent and maturity, could have played this challenging role. The other actors in the movie simply played their characters in a stereotypical manner that doesn't stand out, but doesn't disappoint either.

The story is also wonderful in that it is different from the usual American love story. It teaches us that lovers do not exist for themselves alone. The characters of Joon-Suh and En Suh love each other deeply, yet they also can't bear seeing everyone around them suffer. As such, they sacrifice their own happiness just to keep their families and friends satisfied. With such sacrifice, the audience cannot help but root for the two underdog lovers.

Top it off with beautiful cinematography and sentimental music and the audience is defintely set for an emotional experience with this series. Take my advice, this series is for keeps. It's bound to become an Asian classic. In fact, I think it already is.

7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
excellent film!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, 14 May 2003

Author: henry (CORAZONDELEON73) from seoul south korea

GaolDong Hwa(Autumn Story) is a moving drama about love, family relationship and conflicting issues within a family. A tragic love story, moving and exceptionally crafted. The cinematography is very good and the acting prowess of the actors are at their best. Song Seung Hun, Song Hye Gyo, and Won Bin are very good!!!. The supporting casts are excellent. The musical score fits the very emotion of the film and its screenplay. This film can be compared to some of the best love story films ever made for television. Highly recommended and a must see love story!!!!!!!!!!

5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Autumn Fairy Tale was simply fabulous..., 19 January 2006

Author: mangodude from Canada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I truly do not understand the previous comment of the scenes between Joon-Suh and Eun-Suh as being 'slow.' The scenes between the two are very heartfelt and heartbreaking, as they reveal feelings and thoughts they would share with no one else, not even their respective partners. (I'm referring to their adult selves...) I saw the TV series with English subtitles.

I knew their relationship would be rather uncomfortable to fathom for some people seeing as they had a very strong and close bro/sis relationship for 14 years. But I guess given how much they love each other, how many personal thoughts and feelings they shared, seeing how that they are now nowhere near-blood related (Eun-suh was accidentally switched at birth), and were separated for 9 long years (after Joon-suh, his 'new-real' sister and family moved to the USA, and then subsequently came back), I guess they went for more.

I'm not saying their relationship is not 'weird'. All I'm saying that their adult relationship was portrayed in a very real, very believable, very understandable manner. Their one-on-one conversations are always very deeply emotional, and very truthful, never hiding their real feelings.

After Eun-suh was found to have cancer + dying, and with basically everyone suddenly agreeing to their relationship, their conversations were more and more emotional.

I admit, freely, that I cried a lot during their one on one scenes, as their love, affection, and passion for each other was beyond undeniable.

Yes, I'm a guy, and I cried. It really affected me how very honest, loving and open they are with each other.

The writing, producing, and acting were just simply fantastic. Crying realistically and believably is not an easy skill. All the people in this movie/TV show put most Hollywood actors/actresses to shame with their acting skills, including all the big names.

I know this is a rather disjointed comment, so bear with me, only 2 more to go.

One of the final things I like to mention and was quite evident, was that the happiness of all the characters always seem to require some emotional sacrifice on Eun-suh and Joon-suh's part, ESPECIALLY Eun-suh.

It seemed to me every time Eun-suh found happiness (adult years)...

(esp. when Joon-Suh and Eun-Suh ran away to a ranch for a few days and got engaged. Shin-ae, the new-sister, this one-dimensional, me me me-only bitch, told the family about J & E's relationship in one hell of a whine-fest) ...Eun-suh would always basically have to ARGUE and EXPLAIN painfully WHY she should be happy, whether it be to her biological mother or her old family. Her character basically, in the beginning, sacrificed her mental and emotional state to keep everyone happy. She never had ANY emotional outlet until adult Joon-suh came back into her life.

...Basically the one person least deserving of death and sacrifice, and one who sacrificed the most (Eun-Suh), got the shaft. I got rather angry watching how Eun-suh constantly sacrificed her well being to keep everyone happy and emotionally-balanced. It happens to be sometimes when watching shows I really like.

...The last three episodes where Eun-Suh has cancer and near death, her final days spent with Joon-suh were heart-wrenching and very powerful (to me anyways, and yes, I cried again. I'm a big softie). When Joon-suh finally said "I Love You" to Eun-Suh while on a beach, you can just feel her heart just warm-up and melt. Her face has been a pasty white since she got cancer.

...Oh, oh, oh, I almost completely forget. Bear with me and let me mention another powerful emotional scene, near the very end.

At this point, with Eun-suh degrading and near death, she had asked Joon-suh to take pictures of her while she was still looking okay, and not coughing up blood.

Joon-suh had always said her, he would follow her to death. When Eun-suh found some poison pills in Joon-suh's desk, she becomes deeply saddened and starts ripping up the pictures. Joon-suh walks in and wonders why she's shredding the pictures.

The scene the continues between them is extremely emotionally powerful (again, for me. I don't know about you. I almost always cry during that scene b/c I can understand their depth of love for each other).

She's desperately begging him to promise her to not kill himself, but to go on and protect his family. He strongly says 'NO!' and says consistently 'How can you ask me to live without you? How can you?" All I can say is the scene was very moving and powerful for me. The acting between the 2 leads was just outstanding. Extremely believable.

Some may see the scene as cheesy and derivative, but to me, it was anything but.

....Ok, my final note (I promise.) The music. Simply fabulous. They basically use 4 songs (2 melody, 2 with lyrics) to highlight certain critical happenings/scenes in the move/TV show. I thought the constant/consistent use would annoy me, but it didn't. All 4 pieces are distinctly different and fit perfectly with the scene being highlighted.

*********** FINAL MARK: 10+++++++ out of 10 ***********

Hope my pseudo review/comment/storytelling/opinion wasn't too jarring,

Managodude

P.S. I had originally started a much longer post. It was getting a bit long winded so erased it and was just going with the first paragraph and that would be that.

Then this comment started getting longer... longer.... longer.... as my train of though just kept rolling.

Hope you like the movie/TV show as much as I do. I doubt it, but I hope you do.

I left a lot of great scenes out of this opinion piece. o include all of them would turn this opinion piece into a rather long E-S-S-A-Y.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
heart-breaking drama with great lines and scenery, 6 January 2004
Author: keski from Seoul, Korea

This drama by Suk-ho Yoon was a hit not only in Korea, but throughout Asia. It was the center of the Korean Wave(a cultural craze for Korean TV, music and movies in East Asia) attracting many tourists to Korea as well as Korean actors to Taiwan and other countries.

It's not uncommon to see attractive young heroines in tragic situations, and tangled love situations, but it's more than that. It's about family, strength, and love that just cannot be. The ending is somewhat abrupt, but up to that part, it's mostly good.

Hye-gyo Song's lines such as "I forgive your sins," became a great hit, and the theme music "romance de amor," a Spanish folkmusic that appeared in the movie "Jeux Interdits" breaks your heart whenever it comes out.

The scenery, which takes mainly in the Kang-Won province in the mountainous eastern part of Korea, is wonderful - a trait of Yoon's dramas.

As the first part of the three season-themed dramas, the first part "Gaeul dong hwa" is the best and most original. Personally, the child actors should be highly acclaimed for their acting.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Great, 27 March 2003
Author: krnkcshg from US

Autumn Fairy Tale is a great drama. Those that didn't fall in love with it, obviously doesn't know the elements of an excellent drama. Even though all of the acting wasn't so great, Song Hae Gyo's skills of acting are magnificent. The story seemed strange at first, but then as I watched the series, I fell in love with it. It's GREAT!!!

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
I loved this series., 30 September 2003

Author: yellowcherry from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

*possible spoilers*

"Autumn in My Heart" or "Endless Love" - or whatever you wish to call this series - is a masterpiece. This is the most moving and influential Asian drama I have seen. Even after watching this for the second time, I still was emotionally drained and cried my eyes out. It tells the story of a heartbreaking, tragic, and doomed love.

The cast is beautiful, to say the least. The music is lovely. Everything about this series has a certain type of grace and beauty.

This drama has great strength. I was reeled into the story, into the life of a girl who found out that her family wasn't really her family and had to watch her loved ones leave her behind. I pitied her and cried for her even though she didn't pity herself. Her life doesn't get much better, but her true love does come back for her. You will see angst, injustice, and utter tragedy. Mixed in the sad air is a true love that you can only wish to find. The ending left me speechless and stayed with me for days. I can never forget the story of Eun-suh and Jun-suh.

However, if you are a critical person without much of a heart or you don't get caught up in fictitious stories, you probably will not like this series. You would only see the flaws. Save yourself the time. A note of warning to others - don't watch if you don't want to be depressed. But if you DO want to see love in all of its innocence and two people who love each other to the end, watch "Gaeul donghwa."

4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Not that bad, 27 January 2004
Author: cadet_jmr from Philippines

I'm just going to write this just for replacement for the previous comment about this drama series, maybe the previous writer was just envy about the beauty of the leading actress. Well, overall, the storyline is good, the actors and actresses really fit their positions especially for first timers like Hye-gyo Song. The ending is beautifully written and very touching. I just hope many would watch this epic drama considering this is one of the best I've seen!

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Cheesy fun, but have the remote nearby. . . ., 29 April 2002
Author: drou

. . .to fast-forward through the countless flashbacks and slow (if beautiful) establishing shots. Expect a lot of repetition in themes and even plot events. There's heavy foreshadowing, and the final two episodes still come to a fantastically melodramatic finish.

The basic premise concerns two girls switched at birth, one being from a rich household, the other from a struggling, poor one. They're in grade school before the truth is discovered. In Korea blood-ties are extremely important, so despite the pain each family experiences, the girls are restored to their "rightful" places. Years later, the older brother from the rich family searches for the sister he knew as a child-- and the drama ensues from there.

The cast is extraordinarily attractive, and the acting is-- all right. Won Bin apparently made quite a name for himself with his part as a jaded-player-with-a-heart-of-gold.

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