White Christmas (2011) - Kdrama Review

 -May contain major spoilers-

This drama contains heavy topics (such as su*cide and self-harm) beware.

White Christmas (화이트 크리스마스) is an 8-episode KBS mystery thriller Kdrama (from their Drama Special Series) starring Baek Sung-Hyun, Esom, Kim Young-Kwang, Sung Joon, Lee Soo-Hyuk, Kwak Jung-Wook, Hong Jong-Hyun, Kim Woo-Bin and Kim Sang-Kyung.

Summary

At a super-elite private boarding school hidden in the mountains named Susin High, 7 high school students decide to stay in the building on the 8 days of winter break after receiving a mysterious black letter that threatens them that after 8 days someone will die under the school clock tower. 

The students are: Park Mu-Yeol (Baek Sung-Hyun), a model student who is quite upright (and is sort of the leader of this group), Yoon Eun-Sung (Esom) Mu-Yeol's ex-girlfriend, she is considered the prettiest girl in school, she is a top student, she used to smile a lot and be very popular but her personality seems to have changed suddenly, Jo Young-Jae (Kim Young-Kwang) a bully who is not liked by the group of students (he seems to have a crush on Eun-Sung), Choi Chi-Hoon (Sung Joon), he is Susin's best student, he is a science genius but is very cold, Yoon Soo (Lee Soo-Hyuk), nicknamed "Angel", he has a rock band and seems to be haunted by a "ghost", Yang Kang-Mo (Kwak Jung-Wook) he is a deaf student who wants to be a journalist and always carries a video camera with him (he also seems to have a crush on Eun-Sung), Lee Jae-Kyu (Hong Jong-Hyun), is a very quiet student, he was the smartest at his previous school but now he has a lot more competition (the others don't even know who he is) and there is also an 8 student Kang Mi-Reu (Kim Woo-Bin) he is also a top student who is a troublemaker and likes to play pranks (he was hiding inside the school). Accompanying them is the P.E. teacher Yoon Jong-Il (Jung Suk-Won).

The students and teacher help a man who was injured in a car accident. That man is Kim Yo-Han (Kim Sang-Kyung), a psychologist who appears to be very kind.

On their third night "alone" at school, a body appears buried in snow in front of the school fountain and the students who were trying to solve the mystery now have to become "monsters" to fight a monster, leading to a philosophical question...

Are monsters born or are they created?

Thoughts

White Christmas is an outstanding thriller that sort of works as a character study with a lot of rookie actors who went on to become stars.

This drama has really good cinematography and I think snowy backgrounds always make the setting stand out in a movie or series. The ending of episode 3 gives me the chills every time I watch it.

As I wrote before, most of the actors in this drama are rookies but they are all very good I think Lee Soo-Hyuk was the "weakest" link in the cast (although I think he is a really good actor). My favorite characters were Mu-Yeol, Chi-Hoon and Eun-Sung, with Mu-Yeol and Chi-Hoon usually being the ones that move the plot forward. 

The OST is fantastic, and the use of Vivaldi's Nisi Dominus throughout the drama is phenomenal. I also really liked Spring I Love You Best by Big Baby Driver and DJ Krush Song 2, what I didn't like is the use of Britney Spears Toxic as the closing credits, it kind of takes you away from a serious ending.

I recommend this drama if you like to watch mysteries and like a good ensemble cast with a variety of different characters.

DO NOT WATCH THIS DRAMA IF YOU CAN'T STAND ANY OF THE HEAVY TOPICS MENTIONED AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE.

Rating

Acting - 9/10

Plot - 10/10

Mystery - 10/10

OST - 9/10

Cinematography - 10/10

Overall Rating - 10/10

Extended Drama Info.

Quantity of Episodes: 8.

Run Time: 65min/each.

Release Date: January 30, 2011.

Network: KBS2.

Directed by: Kim Yong-Soo.

Written by: Park Yeon-Sun.

Starring: Baek Sung-Hyun, Esom, Kim Young-Kwang, Sung Joon, Lee Soo-Hyuk, Kwak Jung-Wook, Hong Jong-Hyun, Kim Woo-Bin and Kim Sang-Kyung.