“The Sound of Magic” is very much not a typical Korean drama. It’s a bit of a musical although there are times when there are long elapses of time between musical numbers. It is a scant six episodes. It can’t completely leave behind school bullying, tiger parents, useless school administrations or class divides but its heroine and her journey are neither a Cinderella story nor a rehash of other familiar rags-to-riches storylines.

A note before diving into the heart of things…

The Netflix influence is obvious here and it works well in some areas and very badly in others. The production value is phenomenal. The special effects are maybe not Hollywood summer blockbuster level, but they are as good as it gets in streaming. And this is a narrative that very much fits in a smaller number of episodes rather than the typical 12-20. On the other hand, the Netflix full season drop rushes the viewing process, increases likelihood of spoilers and deflates the suspense that should be building from episode to episode. This isn’t a new issue, but it’s not dissipating as Netflix makes further inroads in the genre.

Ji Chang Wook plays Ri Eul, a mysterious figure living in an abandoned amusement park. Why the amusement seems to be unsecured and intact allowing him to live there and anyone else to wander through it is never explained and perhaps that’s because no sane explanation could be invented. Same for why the local police seem to have hardly any awareness that it exists. Regardless, the script throws attempt after attempt to make him an ambiguous character but with uneven success. Despite some gaping logical holes though, Ji Chang Wook not only imbues the character with the Top Draw Talent Charisma but nails the quiet mysteriousness and elegant physicality of Ri Eul. Among his recent work, it is several steps higher in quality than anything else.

Choi Sung Eun has a more generic character as Ah Yi, a teen abandoned by her parents, living in poverty, picked on by schoolmates and with a firehose of bad luck aimed directly at her. It’s not whether she’s got things the hardest in this show, it’s whether a similar character from the industry can match her distress. Despite not breaking any new ground, Choi Sung Eun dispatches the song and dance numbers with aplomb, manages to keep an inner core of joy & hope deep down inside the character and never lets the bigger names in the cast push her presence out of the spotlight. There’s perhaps a bit of a missed opportunity that perhaps this actor could have taken a more complex and original character much further, but possibly that’s something for future roles.

Hwang In Youp completely switches gears from his most recent work to a bookish star student and it’s a mixed bag. He can pull off the young skinny kid with glasses look, but the macho baritone delivery that pops up on a fairly regular gives it away that this is not a natural thing for him. The character heads in an awkward direction too as his Il Deung is not quite an academic rival, nor a very good bff and not convincing as a boyfriend for Ah Yi while the short runtime doesn’t allow him to generate any meaningful connection with Ri Eul either.

Ah but the supporting and guest cast is magical. Im Ki Hong is always a delight. Choi Young Joon, Kim Hye Eun, Yoo Jae Myung and Yoon Gyung Ho sparkle. The standout, however, is Ji Hye Won as a classroom instigator that checks all the boxes for enmity without the over-the-top mustache twirling melodrama typical bully act.

Given the character sketches, the narrative setup is easily apparent. Ri Eul gives Ah Yi moments of relief from her dreary life. But is he for real? Director Kim Seong Yoon does a nimble tightrope walk between musical & fantasy & more generic teen coming-of-age slash the drudgery of present day reality and the desperate yearning for escape to a more magical world. He keeps the plot moving. There is plenty of tension buildup and cliffhanger suspense throughout. As for whether he nails the landing at the end, eh, it’s not entirely clean. Things don’t clearly resolve for anyone but one minor guest character. Maybe that’s more like real life and makes it better? Maybe but if so, then it’s perhaps not the musical or fantasy show deep down that it was advertised to be. Maybe it would have been better re-genre’d as a Nancy Drew or Scooby Doo teen mystery than a Roald Dahl musical fantasy.

Still, while the destination may not be Shangri-La and “The Sound of Magic” is likely an also-ran for any year-end lists, the journey there is a treasure with no shortage of excellent acting and production and a refreshing plot. Recommended and fairly strongly.