From "Boys Over Flowers" To "The Heirs": The Necklace As A Symbol of Love
There are enough necklaces in the plots of kdramas to launch an extensive jewelry collection and new dramas continue to add glittering examples.
You may have noticed that the necklace always has some significance, often having to do with the ability to express and accept love.
In a recent episode of "The Heirs" Choi Jin Hyuk gives Jeon Hyun Joo, the woman he loves, a necklace that's shaped like a wishbone.
His character sees it as an affectionate gift but she felt burdened by it and any further dependence on his wealthy family. He gave her a wishbone so she could use it to wish for whatever she wanted, even though a metal wishbone is not likely to break and predict the outcome of a wish the same way an actual wishbone might.
A few weeks before "The Heirs" began So Ji Sub bought Gong Hyo Jin a necklace in "The Master's Sun." Uncertain of his feelings, he asks a ghost to deliver it. That necklace had a sun symbol because Gong Hyo Jin's nickname was Big Sun and she shone so brightly that ghosts were attracted to her. At one point she even seals his memory in the necklace, so he will forget her.
Necklaces are used in various ways in kdramas. Men give them to the women they love. Women refuse them. Women wear the necklace but won't let anyone see them. Women accept them and then lose them. Necklaces not only store memories. They help retrieve them.
In "Boys Over Flowers," Lee Min Ho gives Gu Hye Sun the kissing star necklace, which features a moon and a star. He says he is the star and she is the moon. It's his way of saying he will always be there for her. She almost drowns trying to retrieve the necklace and the act reminds him how important she is to him.
In "49 Days," the necklace is shaped like a teardrop because Nam Gyu Ri has 49 days to find three people who are not relatives that will shed a tear for her. If she collects these tears, she will live. It seems easy enough but it's not. For every hard won tear, the necklace glows.
"You're Beautiful" had a double star necklace. Jang Geun Suk gives Park Shin Hye the double star necklace as a token of his affection, along with the pig-rabbit he created by meshing two stuffed animals.
Jang Geun Suk, also gave Moon Geun Young a necklace in "Mary Stayed Out All Night." He presented her with a cat necklace, because she liked to say "Meow." It was a paltry gift compared to her diamond engagement ring but it was the one that won her heart.
And then there's the key necklace that Yoo Seung Ho gave to Yoon Eun Hye in "Missing You." It's a necklace that once belonged to his mother, a woman whose tragic fate he spends trying to revenge. It's a symbol of how pretty and yet poisonous their relationship is.
Pretty or perilous, necklaces glitter through kdrama plots.
