MBC Drama Festival "More Than More" is crowned with the title of a short drama of a lifetime, with the actors, scripts, and production hitting a triple beat. This was especially true of Jo Seung Woo, whose role shined over the role of the main characters.
On Thursday, November 28, 2013, one episode long drama "More Than More," the fourth series of the MBC Drama Festival, unveiled the story in expectations. A drama scriptwriter Kim Yi Young, who had written "Ma Yi," write the scripts of "More Than More" and PD Choi Jung Kyoo co produced the drama "More Than More" with the writer Kim Yi Young. Actors and actresses Jo Seung Woo, Han Sang Jin, In Kyo Jin, Park Ha Sun, and Jo Min Ki starred in "More Than More" free of charge. Especially for Jo Seung Woo, "More Than More" was his first drama since "Ma Yi" eight months ago, and the first short drama since his debut as an actor. It is truly a welcoming scene to watch him back on TV. Jo Seung Woo replied to the high expectations of his first drama in eight months with his great acting.
"More Than More" is a story of poet Lee Sang of the 1930s, who was an exemplary "modern boy" of the time. The story depicts the process of which Lee Sang, played by Jo Seung Woo, solving mystery incidents. Jo Seung Woo, who played the main character Lee Sang, flew in the costumes of the 1930s as if they were his real clothes. Especially his cunning yet natural acting shone through the screen. His detailed portrayal of the "geek poet" Lee Sang with his particular eyes and hand gestures made the poet Lee Sang come alive.
This drama stars in a random gallery in Seoul in the year 1970, when Soo Young, played by Jo Min Ki, visits the gallery. He presents to the student who works at the gallery as a part time job a portrait painting called "Woo In Sang," done by painter Koo Bon Woong, played by Jung Kyung Ho, and reminisces of the geek poet of Lee Sang of forty years ago. In Kyung Sung (Seoul) of the 1930s, poet Lee Sang, portrayed by Jo Seung Woo, was suffering from leukemia and taking the fact that people did not acknowledge his poems as a laughing matter. He was not even interested in the independence movement of Korea, and continued to life the life given to him. People criticized Lee Sang as a man of "youth filled with cynicism and despair."
Then one day, Lee Sang's friend Hiroshi showed him a secret paper with mysterious words shortly after he died. And then Lee Sang's life is intertwined with that of Kyung Hye, played by Park Ha Sun. Kyung Hye tells Lee Sang that the mysterious words in the secret paper Hiroshi left before his death is closely related to the hidden box of gold that King Ko jong had hid for Korea's independence movements. Since he would find the hidden box of gold by deciphering the meanings of the mysterious words on the secret paper, Lee Sang was intrigued by this project. In other words, Lee Sang was intrigued to solve the project not because he was into the independence movement, but because he wanted to show the world himself that there was, in fact, no hidden box of gold from King Ko jong.
Over the years, Lee Sang came closer and closer to the reality of the hidden box of gold after speculating and reasoning with the mysterious words on the secret paper and hiding from the eyes of the Japanese militaries residing in Korea for years. However, what Lee Sang found in the hidden box of gold was not a lot of gold, but a ring he had left for Empress Myung Sung. Lee Sang then got frustrated, saying in desperation, "This is it? This was all? This was really the future of Korea?"
Later on, Lee Sang is released from the Japanese military residing in Korea with the help of Koo Bong Ung, and Kyung Hye is imprisoned by the Japanese military. Kyung Hye tells Lee Sang when he visits her in the prison that Empress Myung Sung is in fact alive and well. Kyung Hye then added, "Like the portrait painting hanging in the café, you have both the passion and desperation. So I thought you should know this news." Lee Sang realized the kind of person he is, and felt hope for life for the first time in his life. He said to Soo Young (Maeng Sae Chang), "Look at the streets. The world is such a gloomy place. So I will enjoy this despair for a while, especially because the desperation and passion are all going to be mine," and walked away to find his life.
All in all, MBC Drama Festival "More Than More" does not tell the life story of Lee Sang since this is not a biographical drama. However, the drama transformed the life of Lee Sang into a detective story with the addition of the fictional element, "hidden box of gold from King Ko jong." The production team of "More Than More" showed full of tension in the production of the drama, which made the audiences feel as if they were watching the Korean version of Sherlock Holmes. However, the ending, which did not wind up a lot of the elements of the story remained a little disappointing, since the production team tried to convey a lot of stories in this one episode drama.
The acting of the actors and actresses was as gorgeous of the line-ups. Jo Seung Woo depicted the perfect character of Lee Sang, as if he had been possessed by Lee Sang. Jung Kyung Ho, Im Kyo Jin, and Maeng Sae Chang played the best reporting roles, and Park Ha Sun, Jo Min Ki, and Han Sang Jin showed off their calm acting skills. The actors and actresses in "More Than More" shone greater because they have appeared in the drama free of charge for their friendship with the staff members of the MBC Drama Festival's production team and for the betterment of one episode dramas.
Meanwhile, MBC Drama Festival "More Than More" airs ten episodes of one episode dramas using the UHD (Ultra High Definition) television technology for the first time in the history of Korean broadcasting. In addition to "More Than More" on the next episode of MBC Drama Festival "Murder News From Ha Neul Jae" is to air with actor Seo Kang Joon, and actresses Moon So Ri and Lee Sae Young.
