Saturday, July 14, 2012

Rooftop Prince and the Case of a Missing Song

The plot line was more than complicated, Lee Gak, a Joseon crown prince transported to modern day Seoul along with his three loyal colleagues where he tries to solve the mystery behind his wife's death in Joseon. Rooftop Prince (Romanized: Ok-tab-bang Wang-se-ja) aired from March 14, 2012 to May 24, 2012 on SBS and competed directly with 'The Equator Man' and 'The King 2 Hearts'.

Now that the series is over, I have been gripped by another aspect of the show, a missing song...

Beware: Spoilers Ahead

Boasting a cast headlined by Park Yoochun and Han Ji Min as the main characters, it featured hilarious laughs along with great sound tracks. The end parts featured emotional scenes when we were disclosed the sacrifice of Bu-Yong, Joseon Park-Ha that originally was lined up to marry the crown prince. Throughout its airing, the ratings for the show switched up and down with either of the three shows coming on top every different week. At the end, Rooftop Prince was able to come out on top and beat the two other respective shows by achieving higher ratings. All three shows were really good from what I read and at the end, Rooftop Prince deserved it.


Loved the Rooftop Prince teasers and all its goofiness. 
Rooftop Prince headlined the time-traveling Joseon era-Modern Era genre that has now started to spread with similar concepts in 'Queen In Hyun's Man' and 'Dr. Jin'. There have been a lot of people saying that 'Queen In Hyun's Man' was better than 'Rooftop Prince' around the web. After watching both of them, I can say that both of the shows were really good and had their own individual charms. In case of Queen In Hyun's Man, the logistics were really good and the intrigue was there. Rooftop Prince might have sacrificed logic for laughs but it was worth it because the funny skits kept the show distinguishable. Both of the shows were gripping from the beginning to the end. I particularly liked how writers in both show were able to connect the dots to show a much bigger picture. 

Particularly Rooftop Prince, I was impressed with how the show managed to answer a nagging question that was put out in Episode 1, even though we had to wait till Episode 20. Can't complain.


What dies though it lives, and what lives though it dies?

That question was posted by the scholarly crown prince to the equally smarty pants Bu-Yong. And the answer turned out to be Bu-Yong. Confused? Then, you are in the same boat as Hwa-Yong, the crown prince's wife and Bu-Yong's evil older sister. She snaps at Bu-Yong and says, "Bu Yong, why are you saying that the answer is your name?" Well, Bu-Yong explains that Bu-Yong is another name for the lotus flower. Furthermore, when the flower dies, it is buried underground and in order to flourish again, it must take in what has died in order to live. The flower dies for its seed to fall to the ground and begins a new life that way. I was really impressed with the way the writer explained a complex question and answered it with a poignant touch.

Now to the case of the missing song:
Why the sad faces? Don't be sad, Joseon Power Rangers. We will get justice someday. Song will be found.





Crime: Kidnapping & Illegal Transactions
Suspect: Rooftop Prince Music Directors
Victim: An Innocent OST Song
Officers Assigned: Invisible Track Team
Witnesses: Viewers everywhere
Date: March 12, 2012

This is a crime not often seen because the music directors are usually of good character. But the crime has nonetheless been committed and the victim must get justice. An innocent Song had ambitions of being featured in the drama 'Rooftop Prince' and gain recognition beyond Korea. It was that type of dream and without knowing; Song got trapped and was kidnapped by the music directors. The overflow of sadness must have been heartbreaking, particularly since the song was still a minor. The evil music directors then held the song captive and allowed it to play only in the teaser. The poor soul was heartbroken and has since then been missing. Therefore, being the head and sole officer of this blog, I charge the music directors of 'Rooftop Prince' with the crime of Kidnapping & Illegal Transactions. To atone for their crimes, the song must be released as a digital single and be given a chance to achieve its dreams again.

Song was first heard of in the following teaser release:


Song was deceptively put in the teaser so that Song would go unnoticed but the truth could never be hidden. In the teaser, Song can be heard from 0:00 - 0:20, and judging by the small teaser we were given, it was certainly not wrong in dreaming of a better future. It had all the makings of a sweet, heart-felt OST song but it was never given a chance, and that is unfair.

Putting all the kidding aside, the song could have produced as a small piece just to be used for the teaser and not have been developed into a full song because the music directors would not leave out a sweet song in the OST. Even then, they should have made it into a full song because they were the ones that teased the listeners.

Never Stop Dreaming, Song. We will get justice someday, someday.

[Video Source: chyin1219 @ YouTube]

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