The Dark Storyline Of ‘Sound Of Magic’ Compels Viewers To Believe

Do you believe in magic? If your life is as grim as Yoon Ah-yi’s in the Korean drama Sound of Magic, you may need to believe in magic to survive. Reality has not treated her kindly. Ah-yi, played convincingly by Choi Sung-un, is in a terrible situation. Abandoned by her father, the high school student is desperately trying to survive and provide for her younger sister.

Working part time after school does not earn her enough to pay the rent on the home she and her sister live in. A plea for help only lands her in a dangerous situation. She’s so desperate for help that she meets a strange man, who claims he is a magician, at a deserted amusement park. It’s a crazy move, but Ah-yi has run out of options. Luckily, the strange man might actually be a real magician, although possibly an insane one, and an adult who seems determined to protect her. Will there ultimately be a price to pay? It’s hard to tell and Ah-yi has rightly learned not to trust anyone.

Ah-yi does need a champion. She is pestered at school and harassed by the debt collectors her father ran away from. The only person who looks out for her is her equally smart classmate Na Il-deung, played by Hwang In-hyeop. They both start out being cynical about magic. Ah-yi comes to believe in magic first and that might be because she needs it more.

Sound of Magic is a strange drama in which magic seems both hopeful and menacing. Characters seem kind and then are cruel. Ji Chang-wook makes a shadowy magician, a rumpled seedy Peter Pan, who could just be crazy. He could turn out to be a hero or a villain. Or unable to really help her. Ah-yi has no choice but to find out.

That’s the position viewers might find themselves in too. Where is this quirky musical drama going to take me and do I believe in magic enough to go there? The music is a melodious mixed bag, with a frothy high school dance number, sweet duets and moving commentary on the educational rat race. Viewers will likely take a chance on this original drama, if only to see what kind of tricks Ji’s complicated magician character manages to pull out of his hat. Both the addition of musical numbers and the dark storyline make this drama compelling.

The drama is based on webcomic Annarasumanara by Ha Il-kwon, which ran on Naver.

Ji previously appeared in the dramas Healer, Lovestruck in the City, Backstreet Rookie and Melting Me Softly. Choi appeared in the drama Beyond Evil and the films Ten Months and Gentleman. Hwang previously appeared in the dramas True Beauty, 18 Again and The Tale of Nokdu.