Eun Gyeol May Be the Best-Written K-Drama Character Ever, Here’s Why

Summary:

• Twinkling Watermelon’s Eun Gyeol is the perfect example of good writing and acting.
• The guy has a lot of great qualities that make him a very well-rounded character.
• If you haven’t seen Twinkling Watermelon, you should check it out for Eun Gyeol alone.

Twinkling Watermelon is a heartbreaking K-drama-turned-comedy that aired in 2023 and featured a well-rounded plot, some twists (it’s a K-drama after all), good acting, and decent romance that grips your heart. The romance is not the main point of the show, though, and we’re not talking about it today. What we’re here for is Eun Gyeol and his beautiful journey in time, Back-to-the-Future style.

We don’t generally see a lot of shows/movies that are parent/kid centric. Twinkling Watermelon defied all K-drama expectations and devoted a significant amount of time to the way Eun Gyeol took care of his parents.

Honestly, if every parent could have a child that loved them like that, the world would be a beautiful place. Eun was willing to go the whole nine yards for his parents’ happiness, keeping them from heartbreak and teaching his mother sign language, basically opening the whole wild world for her to conquer.

He was not afraid to be vulnerable. We watched him break down when he found out his mom already knew how to sign her name, and it ironically meant “a clear sound”. It was gut-wrenching, and it was raw, earnest, and beautiful—exactly what we expect from a drama protagonist.

He carried a lot of responsibility which he internalized and didn’t really let out—the show did address that, and it is what makes it drastically different from a goofy feel-good story.

He was a protector. He saw his mom, helpless, not being able to express herself and communicate with the world, and he stood up for her, angry at knowing that his mom was being abused.

That soul-crushing moment when he defended her right to speak sign language (any person’s right, regardless of a disability) was hands-down the best moment of the show because we, along with Eun Gyeol, understood how psychotic and unfair it was to keep a HoH person from speaking sign language.

He helped his father, Yi-Chan, overcome a lot of issues. He couldn’t stop him from getting deaf, but he offered his support and love, subsequently talking the man out of taking his own life.

The ending that showed the family living a much more luxurious, upper-class life was not what fans expected or even loved. Whatever you might think of it, the most important thing is that Eun Gyeol, overcome with love for his parents, saved them both, opening the world for them and giving them opportunities they didn’t have before. A great and a well-rounded character, indeed.