The Best Korean Drama of 2012: Revisiting Rooftop Prince

Park Yoo Chun as Lee Gak and Han Ji Min as Park Ha

I originally watched Rooftop Prince while it was airing March 21st through May 24th of last year. Each week I was freaking out while I had to wait for new episodes because I loved it so much. I recall watching the last 5 episodes or so and crying the whole time. As I was watching it, I had already planned on watching it again all together down the road. Sure enough, I was stricken with the unavoidable desire to watch  Rooftop Prince last week, and I am very glad that I did.

***SPOILERS BELOW***

I have watched My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, Coffee Prince, and Personal Taste all twice each, so I already knew going into it that I can enjoy a drama when I watch it more than once. I didn't expect I would such an intense reaction like I did to watching Rooftop Prince again, though. One would assume that knowing everything that happens and how it will end before hand may ruin the suspense, but I gained a whole new perspective on the drama this time around. Since I already knew that Prince Lee Gak (Park Yoo Chun) and Park Ha (Han Ji Min) were going to end up loving each other, I started getting emotional from episode one. As soon as I saw the dead corpse floating in the water and I knew it was Boo Yong, I started to feel sad. The drama takes on a whole new meaning when watched from the perspective of knowledge as opposed to ignorance of the plot.

When I started to think about the fact that Lee Gak went back to Joseon where Boo Yong was dead, the princess and her family had tried to kill him, and he wouldn't be able to live with Park Ha, I felt my heart breaking. I think that watching it for a second time also shed light on the significance of the final scene of the show. The scene, which flashes from Yoo Chun as Yong Tae Yong (Lee Gak's reincarnation) with Park Ha to Tae Yong in Joseon garb appearing as Lee Gak, was very confusing but beautiful to me the first time I saw it. Now that I have watched the entire drama twice, I think I have a better idea of what that scene means. Lee Gak/Tae Yong loves Boo Yong/Park Ha and vice versa. It is a very simple answer, but I was thinking of it too literally the first time around and trying to figure out if Lee Gak had come back from Joseon to be with Park Ha. What I believe now, though, is that just as Boo Yong had loved Lee Gak 300 years before and then again as her reincarnation, Park Ha in present time, Tae Yong fell in love with Park Ha via their souls' eternal connection. I really love this story because I can imagine them being reincarnated to infinity and still finding each other.

Choi Woo Sik, Lee Min Ho, and Jung Suk Won

Of course, I cannot fail to mention the prince's posse. Lee Min Ho (1993) as Song Man Bo, Choi Woo Sik as Do Chi San, and Jung Suk Won as Woo Yong Seul are perfect. During my initial viewing I hadn't noticed how quickly they picked up on the ways of the contemporary world. It amuses me that these Joseon men could learn to master smart phones in such a short period of time, but many people who have lived in this time period all of their lives can't figure them out. I understand that these characters are not real, but the portrayal of them becoming technology whizzes was hilarious to me when I relate it to the stupid people I deal while working in tech support.

In essence Rooftop Prince is one of those rare shows/movies that I could watch over and over again without getting tired of it and also pick up new things each time. I am already planning to watch it again in another 8 or 9 months. So, to those who loved Rooftop Prince the first time around, I suggest you watch it another time and experience the ecstasy all over again. Watch it on DramaFever.com.