BLUEMING – 2022 – South Korea

BLISS RATING: ★★★

“Sometimes home is a person.” – Quote from Blueming

While I know this series is based upon a manhwa, admittedly I know nothing about this form of comic books. Perhaps that is at a disadvantage for me. So, I can only review this series from the perspective of film. I started watching this series with no understanding if there was any meaning to the title, since I was unfamiliar with the term.

Frankly, after watching it, I am not sure that I had a grasp of what was it really trying to say. So, I looked up the definition of Blueming which is defined as “a person who has the potential to attain spiritual enlightenment”, essentially, through being in balance and finding purpose. After I looked up the meaning, I had an ‘aha’ moment and could now see how the story fit into the definition. I wish that had been made clearer from the beginning; for me. This series, then, would have been seen in a pellucid light. 

It is overall a simple basic love story seen through the eyes of two individuals. But these two individuals are seeing the world through their own prismed glass windows. If you look at this series, through those individual lenses, then the story can be a beautiful saga.

Si Won (Kang Eun Bin) appears to be an outgoing individual but has an introspective past. Incredibly health conscious, he inwardly is an insecure person with almost overwhelming feelings of unworthiness brought on by shame. He meets a breathtakingly handsome male student by the name of Da Un (Ju Hyuk Joon). In Si Won’s eyes, he is the epitome of perfection and therefore he must be looking down on him with contempt. Slowly, Si Won begins to see that Da Un likes him and likes him for who he is. Da Un understands Si Won, accepts him without reservations, and is devoted to him, perhaps a bit too much. Apparently, he influenced the decision of the film by Si Won’s that was unexpectedly entered into a contest where Da Un’s parents were the judges. 

Interestingly, the story is replete with the influences of the families, specifically the mothers of these two, with the fathers being in the background or essentially unimportant. Si Won’s mother mentors him to lose his childhood weight, so he is not mocked again by classmates.

Although the father leaves them, she keeps the family together despite her highly, neurotic and almost manic need to present themselves as respectable. Her influence over Si Won is undeniable. Da Un’s mother, while giving him everything he could want, is essentially absent from his life. They are not ‘bad’ parents; just unavailable. Therefore, Da Un pretty much grows up by himself, feeling his own sense of insecurity by isolating himself. Perhaps not outwardly showing his internal struggles, but certainly inwardly and they are always with him as he carries them around.

This is a well-acted series with good chemistry between the two main actors. Their connection is very believable and the way they grow into their relationship is realistic. While there is no artificiality about their relationships, there is no depth to it either. It just did not click for me and seemed a bit too neatly presented. We know a bit more about Si Won but Da Un remains pretty much a mystery. He has such a flat affect about himself that it was hard to relate to him or to know what he is thinking. He is persistent in wanting to be with Si Won, which gives him a charming and enchanting quality. However, we really do not get to see him at a deeper level or experience his vulnerabilities that make him more relatable. Otherwise, he seemed so controlled. 

Unlike others, I simply was not captivated by this series. Here are my reasons why.

1. I found the story confusing. I just could not connect the dots in this series. The story became too obtuse for me to follow. It at times just did not make sense as to why certain behaviors were done or people reacting the way they did. The flow of the story was just too sporadic.

2. Frankly the editing was poor. I had a hard time fathoming which parts were real or fantasy or what was past and what was present. The last episode completely baffled me from a logical perspective, and I got lost.

3. The character development is so weak that I just did not care about them. I wanted to know them more. What made them tick both individually and together. I just did not see that. I found Si Won’s insecurity a bit too much at times and Da Un’s passivity just a bit too convenient at times.

4. Too many tropes which made the story unoriginal and formulaic. I know the story lends itself to being predictable, but you need to make these tropes not so obvious or give it a fresh direction.

5. If you shorten a manhwa, then do it in such a way to define the main point and stick to it. If you want us to see, know, and feel Si Won and Da Un, then set it up so we can believe that. There is no need for superfluous sub-stores such as infatuations or sub-plots that literally go nowhere. All the subplots should only go towards seeing the characters in a light of who they are and how they develop their relationship especially since this series is so short.

Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? As I said previously, this is a well-acted but essentially an uninspiring story. The only character that had any real depth to who was the character is Kim Sun Hwa as Si Won’s mother. While brief, she brought such a rich depthness to her role. Strong-willed, determined, but painfully focused on what she thinks is best for her children. She does instill in them a drive to succeed and be productive. While her methods are questionable, her resolute is laser-focused even without support from the father. She had to do it alone. One of the most believable and powerful scenes is when she shares with Si Won how she feels about her portrayal of who she was in his movie. Both realized how sad their lives have been and how extensive the emotional pain has enveloped them. They both learn to accept who they were without either one understanding the other. Kim Sun Wa’s performance is very powerful, and you cannot only see but sense the impact she had over her son’s character. So much more was conveyed in this role not by words but by her presence. 

Overall, this series for me was forgettable and had little impact on me. Its production was too unfocused, and the plot too predictable. There is an ebb and flow to this series that if I had known its definition, I think I would have seen the connection clearer. Their relationship is indeed one of balance and finding a purpose that will work to foster their relationship to greater enlightenment for both. I wish that had been more precise in its implementation. Although this series is good, it just is not consequential or remarkable.