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The crescendos of life are showcased in SBS drama 'Do You Like Brahms?'

A scene from ongoing SBS drama "Do You Like Brahms?" [SBS]


When it comes making a fictional story more realistic, its all about the details.

Many screenwriters are taking inspiration from everyday life and moving away from the cliché storylines of ordinary girl meets handsome, rich businessman.

Many industry professionals have been lending a hand to making these plots as realistic as possible. Former Judge Moon Yoo-seok wrote stories for tvN “Miss Hammurabi,” which tells the story of the life of judges and the various disputes they have to settle, and No Seon-jae, who used to work for a publication about child care, put together tvN's “Oh My Baby," in which the protagonist is a deputy manager at parenting magazine company.

Currently airing SBS drama “Do You Like Brahms?” is the most recent drama focusing on the realities of life. The series is based on the lives of a group of 29-year-olds trying to forge careers in the music scene. The lead characters are Chae Song-a, who became a music school student later in life because she couldn’t let go of her love for music, Park Jun-yeong, who became a successful musician thanks to his natural talent but is slowly losing interest in music, and Lee Jeong-gyeong who was raised as a child prodigy but is now reaching her limits.

The drama has gained popularity especially among fans of classical music in Korea, as it depicts real-life problems and decisions that those trying to make it in the music scene face. Fans call Monday and Tuesday — the days the drama airs — “B-day,” taking B from the title of the drama. They also refer to themselves as members of an orchestra and regularly post online, even on days when the drama is not being aired.

Behind “Do You Like Brahms?” is writer Ryu Bo-ri, who studied violin and business at Seoul National University, and then got her masters in performance arts management at New York University. She continued her career in marketing at IMG Artists and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as an intern and then went on to work at New York Philharmonic and Sony Music.

Ryu, who is still writing the script for the drama, had an email interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily. The following are edited excerpts.

A scene from ongoing SBS drama "Do You Like Brahms?" [SBS]








BY YOU SEONG-UN [summerlee@joongang.co.kr]