TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME (Drama about disability)

Unlike ordinary couples, Jin-woo and Mo-eun are hearing and deaf lovers. Feelings develop from the beginning of the episode when the two meet on Jeju island. An accidental and brief meeting that will then continue until the two return to the city of Seoul.

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Tell Me That You Love is a remake of the 1995 Japanese series Aishiteru To Ittekure, as well as Jung Woo Sung's comeback to drama after 11 years.

'Down the Mountain' is the right term for chungmuro actors (a term for top actors in Korea who play movies more often) when taking drama projects. So, it's no wonder that this drama is also well received by viewers. Not to mention, the director of the series is Kim Yoon-Jin, the director of the previous booming drama Our Beloved Summer.

Tell Me That You Love me starts airing on November 27, 2023, and can be watched on the ENA Korean network.

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CHARACTERISTICS

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• Cha Jin Woo (Jung Woo Sung)

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As a deaf mute, Cha Jin Woo who grew up with discrimination is also deeply traumatized by his past love story, becoming an adult Cha Jin Woo who is very careful to accept new people as his lover, Cha Jin Woo is also a person who feels no need to bother many people. His only trusted friend is Hong Ki Hyun. Cha Jin-Woo also teaches fine arts at an art center. He is a talented artist. Played very nicely by Jung Woo-Sung, I'm actually a little confused about how to judge the acting of this chungmuro actor, because it's very good, relaxed, and all the gestures he does are almost always on target.

• Jung Mo-Eun (Shin Hyun-Bin)

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A former flight attendant who gave up her good job because she was tired, Jung Mo-Eun then rekindled her initial passion for entertainment. She started from scratch to become a rising star. The meeting with Jung Woo-Sung who is deaf-mute, is a very new thing for Mo-Eun, she also did not think she would get to know Woo-Sung closely. Mo-Eun is a quiet but determined character, she independently learns sign language in order to interact with Woo-Sung. The gesture of her hesitation in practicing sign language, or her expression when she carefully introduces Woosung, or what I highlight most is Mo-Eun's role is very real with the reality when people are new to or close to a disabled person. They tend to feel attentive or compassionate, even though it makes the disabled person uncomfortable. This is also emphasized in the series.

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INTERPRETATION

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As a developed country with very high cases of discrimination in Korea, shows like Tell Me That You Love should be propagated, because it teaches the audience the importance of equality. There is no longer a word 'abnormal' for people with disabilities, because they are also normal and just like everyone else, they are more special. In addition, it also makes us as the audience realize that we should try to learn sign language. This is very exciting, because learning sign language is my unrealized dream, and after watching Tell Me That You Love Me made me excited again to want to learn independently through Youtube. Later on, I actually learned sign language a little bit, and the easiest thing was to learn sign language through songs, because while learning, we can also sing.

Another thing I highlighted from this series is when a hearing person falls in love with a deaf person and starts to feel lonely because for a hearing person who is used to sounds suddenly gets the opposite condition when feeling around his deaf lover, not to mention, the anxiety of his heart, when he is careful to introduce his deaf lover to his family. Although what we expect is always about acceptance, however, rejection is always inevitable... this is what can always be captured on Cha Jin Woo's face when entering into the world of a newcomer.

The details of why someone who used to be able to speak then decided to stop speaking after he became deaf due to an incident, is also depicted here. The details of Woo-Sung's past of trying to speak despite not being able to hear is met with a bad reception and makes Woo-Sung afraid to speak again.

Storyline, plot, point of view, characterization, everything is good, although it received a low rating in the Korean national rating, Tell Me That You Love Me received a satisfactory rating on IMDb, which is 9.8/10. Cinematography with soft light lighting techniques tends to produce a warm and relaxed impression. This technique is actually similar to that used in the drama Our Beloved Summer. It makes the audience feel not bored and also does not make the eyes tired. To be honest, I was binge watnching and marathon while watching this series. LOL

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SUMMARY

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If you are a fan of melodramas with light stories and not many antagonists, even almost no antagonists, Tell Me That You Love Me is highly recommended. Especially for those who like adult love stories that are calm, and relaxed but full of meaning, then this series is very good to watch to fill your spare time.

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