«Winter Woods» - Dealing with an inevitable farewell

In the recently completed tvN drama《Goblin》, the Goblin (Kim Shin) and his bride (Ji Eun-Tak) end up falling in love with each other beyond life and death. Surprisingly enough, the most touching scene for viewers in《Goblin》was not about falling in love but rather accepting the end of it. Although this is the most undesirable outcome, Goblin’s tragic ending is what ultimately touched the hearts of its viewers.

The main characters of «Winter Woods», Jane and Winter, share this same relationship. Kim Shin lives as an immortal goblin that is as powerful as God, but he is fated to repeatedly break up with the only woman he loves. Similarly, Winter also lives an immortal life but is reborn and experiences death through Jane, who he chooses to part ways with.

«Winter Woods» is a story that focuses on accepting an inevitable farewell in a fairytale-like setting. Similar to《Goblin》, Winter Woods also describes each character’s state of mind as they come to terms with accepting their fate. It shows that a happy ending is just meant to satisfy the readers.

The pain of separation is heightened when both people are sure of the love they have for one another. This certainty along with the unavoidable fate that they share truly makes it a tragedy. «Winter Woods» illustrates the feelings of each character in order to accurately convey this message to the readers. For example, Winter becomes aware of his own feelings and goes on to confirm Jane’s feelings for him. The fact that Winter is a “created human” adds to his persuasive power. Winter begins to learn new things through Jane, and in the process of becoming more human he begins to care for her which makes the readers understand his point of view.

Jane’s sense of helplessness is understandable considering Winter is such a special person. Even though it is sad that Winter decides to leave Jane in the end, she has no choice but to accept his decision. Given that Jane was faced with a problem that no ordinary human being could solve, all she could do was to accept it.

Winter’s sincerity and Jane’s helplessness make their love story even more dramatic. Naturally, this is used to increase the emotions of the story and make it more effective. Nevertheless, «Winter Woods » captivates many readers because it portrays emotions in a delicate and beautiful way. Even if we know this type of love doesn’t exist in real life, dreaming about the possibility of this beautiful love story excites us and touches our hearts.