Heart-tearing Cruel Love

Heart-tearing Cruel Love
by Isah V. Red
Manila Standard Today

I am a certified fan of Cruel Love, a 2008 Korean drama known originally as Bad Love, about a cellist Elaine (Na In Jung in the Korean language version) who is torn between Stephan (Lee Soo Hwan in the original language) and Yuan (Kang Yong Ki), a rebellious pop artist.

I don’t understand why our series must be meandering about a very simple premise, while the Koreans can be so simplistic, nearly minimalist focusing only on the characters involved in the story, and develop their plotline very logically.

GMA-7 has definitely found a perfect late night drama in this one starred by Korea’s most popular stars—the bodilicious Kwon Sang Woo as Yuan, pretty Lee Yo Won as Elaine, and the sexy Kim Sung Soo as Stephan.

We are now in that part of the series where Elaine is having second thoughts about her relationship with Yuan after learning how Yuan is connected to Stephan. Stephan meets up with Elaine to convince her that their relationship should end.

Yuan and Elaine continue to spend time together despite the predicament she’s into. Elaine all the while thinks that she’s already paid for the consequences of falling in loving with Stephan, but after discovering how the two men are connected, she is torn between her love for Yuan and her past with Stephan.

How can Elaine escape the cruelty of pain brought about by her past affair with Stephan? Will she finally give up her love for Yuan to end Julienne’s constant badgering and revenge?


Isah V. Red is a well respected entertainment columnist and he writes for Manila Standard Today one of the leading broadsheets in the Philippines. Visit his columns at http://www.manilastandardtoday.com