After Pachinko, you must watch this devastating historical K-drama on Netflix

K-dramas are known for their light-hearted romantic comedies, but other genres have been gaining attention lately. South Korean writers and directors are beginning to explore the world of visual entertainment by presenting us with masterpieces beyond the usual romance, such as: The glory, Squid games, Sweet homeand even reality TV hits like Singles Inferno. Although it’s not a K-drama, Pachinko is a character-driven, heartfelt story tied to true historical events about Koreans who immigrated to Japan during World War II. If you like the story of Pachinko and you’re looking for your next binge-watch, why not give the K-drama a try? The anthem of death? The drama is directed Park Soo-jin, who has previously worked on hits like Dr. Romantic And While you were sleeping.

With Shin Hye-sun And Lee Jong SukThe K-drama focuses on the story of a talented soprano and playwright in Korea during the Japanese occupation. Other recognizable faces in the cast include: Lee Ji-hoon And Lee Sang-yeob. Shin Hye-sun plays the character Yoon Shim-deok, who becomes the first successful Korean soprano during the Japanese occupation and records the song “Praise of Death” in 1926, which becomes the first Korean pop song. Lee Jong-Suk plays Kim Woo-jin, a playwright who focuses on spreading stories of rebellion through his performances. The two characters fall in love and their fates intertwine to form a heartbreaking love story.

“Pachinko” and “Hymn of Death” are somewhat similar

Just like pachinko, The lives of these two characters are directly influenced by the socio-political events surrounding them. The Japanese occupation of Korea was a traumatic time in Korean history Pachinko vividly depicts the generational struggle of a family affected by these events. In contrast, The anthem of death is a more intimate exploration, The film focuses on the experiences of two people fighting for their right to live on their own terms. Yoon Shim-deok and Kim Woo-jin are two rebellious souls and artists who strive for freedom of expression in their art and life. Shim-deok is forced to pursue financial success through fame as her family’s breadwinner, while Woo-jin is forced to conform to societal and familial expectations. Together they find support and support each other in their fight against their fate, until they finally tell a timeless story of love and heartbreak.

The first biggest hurdle blocking the couple’s path is that they are at home in Korea Woo-jin has an arranged marriage with a woman named Jung Jum-hyo. This causes Shim-deok to take a step back and just want to focus on her career and not get caught up in an affair. Things go from bad to worse for the couple as their relationship becomes more and more strained as Shim-deok becomes the public eye and political tensions between Korea and Japan increase. But despite so many external forces working against their love, the two still love each other.

Both Pachinko And The anthem of death have complex and painful romancesExploring similar themes of love during wartime. Both shows are seriousabout the fragility of a war-torn era and the resilience needed to overcome its challenges, especially when it comes to personal relationships. To top it off, there are tonal similarities too. The dark, melancholic and intense tones of The anthem of death will certainly attract Pachinko Fans used to tragedy and heartbreak Pachinko. From the perfect storytelling and the perfect script execution to The two stories are artistic and visually stunning masterpieces, They explore cinematic language to the best of their ability. The anthem of death has a darker and more vibrant color composition, mixing deep reds and blues, visually expressing the passion associated with the desperation of its main characters. The shows have overlapping themes such as love during war, broken marriages, forbidden romance and the social constraints of the time.

“The Hymn of Death” is based on a true story

One thing that determines The anthem of death Another thing to note is that not only is it based on historical events, but the show tells the story of two very real people. The story is loosely based on the lives of couple Kim U-jin and Yun Sim-deok. Kim and Yun were both born in Korea and later studied in Japan. Yun came from a humble background and was trained for her music career at the Tokyo Music School. Although Kim came from a wealthy background, he studied English literature at Waseda University and also dabbled in poetry. After meeting in Tokyo, the two carried on an on-and-off affair until August 1926, when they decided to stay together forever and jumped off a passenger ship traveling from Japan to Korea. News of the couple’s death caused great outrage among the Korean public, and over the years their story has been adapted several times.

The anthem of death is available to stream on Netflix in the US

Based on the New York Times bestseller, this sweeping saga chronicles the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations as they leave their homeland to survive and thrive.

Release date

March 25, 2022

Pour

Lee Min-ho, Minha Kim, Anna Sawai, Jimmi Simpson, Eun-chae Jung, Jin Ha, Kaho Minami, Yuh-Jung Youn, In-ji Jeong, Jun-woo Han, Soji Arai, Steve Sanghyun Noh

WATCH ON NETFLIX