In the summer of 1994, as a scorching heat wave hovering around 39 C swept across Korea, the mere appearance of three good-looking actors and one beautiful actress on TV lulled viewers into completely forgetting about the sizzling heat.

The 16-episode TV series “Feelings" (느낌), shown on KBS from July to September 1994, starred three of the then most popular actors: Son Ji-Chang, Kim Min-jong and Lee Jung-jae. The trio played three brothers who fell head over heels for one beautiful woman. The woman was played by a then rookie actress, Woo Hee-jin.

The stars, all in their 20s and all three charmingly refreshing, won the hearts of many people, especially younger audiences in their 20s and 30s. They instantly became national heartthrobs.

The story of “Feelings” begins with an unexpected visitor knocking on the door to the house of three brothers: Han Bin, Han Hyun and Han Joon. The guest is Kim Yuri, a long-haired art student with flawless looks. She had been adopted by French parents when her parents passed away, and was in Korea for her summer vacation. She stayed at the home of the three brothers for a while, as their mother was a friend of the woman's adoptive mother.

No sooner do the three brothers see the beautiful young woman than they all fall head over heels for her. There's Han Bin, the most caring and eldest brother. There's Han Hyun, the second oldest, who seems to be indifferent to women and who's the most intelligent among the three. Lastly, there's the youngest brother, Han Joon, a troublemaker who rides a motorbike and who always gets into trouble. They all try to win her heart. Yuri, meanwhile, has different feelings toward each of the brothers with each of their completely different personalities.

One day, the second brother happens to hear a recorded phone conversation between his mother and her old friend, and soon finds that one of the three brothers is Yuri’s biological brother. He soon has a suspicion that it might be him, as he looks quite different from the other two and is also not sure of his blood type. The fact that he might be her brother leads him to misery, as he has already fallen for Yuri. He doesn’t say a word about it, though. The impetuous youngest brother, Han Joon, meanwhile, confesses his feeling to Yuri, who doesn’t’ take it seriously. When news comes that her mother has fallen sick, Yuri has to return to France.

Four years later, Yuri comes back to settle in Korea, as her mother has passed away. When Yuri is back, the three brothers fall in love with her again. The one and only person whom she really loves is, ironically, Han Hyun, the oldest brother, who firmly believes that he's her biological brother. He, of course, rejects her confessions. As Yuri falls more deeply for him, he says to her that, “Among us three brothers is your biological brother!” It turns out to not be Han Hyun, though. It’s Han Joon, the youngest, who most likes Yuri and who has already confessed his love to her. When Yuri’s biological parents died, the mother of the three siblings took in Yuri’s brother, now Han Joon, as a son, while the friend of the mother who lived in France adopted the daughter, Yuri. When he learned his birth secret, Han Joon, in total disarray, talks to himself as he looks at Yuri from a distance: “It’s okay to not be able to have you. It’s because we’ve been together from the start.”



The straightforward and sometimes nerve-raking love story, as well as the birth secret, increased the sense of drama and tension as the story progressed, causing audience enthusiasm to reach new heights.

The drama’s theme song, “With You,” which starts, “You, look at my eyes,” was a hit, too, even further heightening the ardent feelings among the three brothers toward one woman. The male lead actors Son Ji Chang and Kim Min-jong sang the song together, and after the drama ended the song was still popular for a long time, topping many music charts.

The female lead, Woo Hee-jin who debuted as a model for TV commercials, rose to stardom with this smash-hit series. Her pure, clean image, boosted by her fair skin and long dark hair, set a new trend among young female TV-watchers. Many women were spotted at the time sporting long skirts with long wavy hair, just like Yuri on the show, even during that summer's heat wave.

“I tried to pursue my own style in ‘Feelings,’” said Yoon Seok-ho who produced the drama. “In fact, I chose to cast actors and actresses who had their own distinct feel, as I decided to name the drama ‘Feelings.’ I also tried to bring to light the charms and nuances that each character owned.”

Yoon is one of the nation’s leading drama producers who has since created a series of hit TV shows, including “Autumn in My Heart" (가을동화) in 2000 and “Winter Sonata" (겨울연가) in 2002.

Saseungbongdo Island (사승봉도) on the west coast, off of Incheon, was featured in the 1994 hit TV show “Feelings.” Saseungbongdo Island, a small island that juts out into the Yellow Sea off the coast of Incheon, boasts an outstanding seascape with great white sand beaches and clear blue water. One of the most famous scenes from “Feelings” was filmed on a picturesque island off Jawol-myeon in Ongjin-gun County, Incheon, far to the west of Seoul. The main chracters all arrive at Saseungbongdo Island for a summer getaway. A one-hour ferry ride from Incheon Port's International Passenger Terminal brings passengers to this small, serene uninhabited island. Often called “The Island of Sand" (사도, 沙島), this island has a vast area of sandy beach that unfolds along the seashore. At high tide, the beach is 2-kilometers long and about 200-meters deep. At low tide, the beach stretches some 2.5 kilometers and is almost 1 kilometer deep at some points. Along the slope of the island are rich forests of pine, oak and alder. During the summer, in particular, the white sand of the beach is crowded with vacationers swimming in the sea and fishing from the rocks. Because the tidal variance is so large and because the water, even at high tide, is so shallow, swimmers of all levels can enjoy their time there. Low tide also gives another source of enjoyment: holidaymakers can catch their own seafood with ease, with sea snails, conches, octopus and crabs all over the beach. Due to the island's jaw-dropping beauty and peaceful landscape, many TV shows have been filmed here, such as the reality shows “Two Days and One Night" (1박2일) and “Infinite Challenge" (무한도전), on KBS and MBC, respectively, as well as the 1994 MBC drama “The Last Match" (마지막 승부). They've all been set on the island. ※ How to get there: It’s not easy to get to the island, as there’s no means of transportation to bring you directly to the island. First, take a ferry from Incheon Port's International Passenger Terminal that sails to Jawoldo Island (자월도) and Ijakdo Island (대이작도), and then to Seungbongdo Island (승봉도). The ride takes about one hour. As there’s no regular boat service to bring you to Saseungbongdo Island (사승봉도), you have to hire a local boat on your own. That will only take about 10 minutes to get there. Keep in mind that there’s only one or two ferries per day to Seungbongdo Island during the off season, while more than four per day run during the busy time of the year.

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: KBS, Yonhap News
jiae5853@korea.kr