▲  These photos, provided by KBS, show scenes from the final episode of 'Oasis.' (PHOTOS NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, Apr. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korean period series “Oasis,” starring Jang Dong-yoon and Seol In-ah, has wrapped up with an average national viewing rate in the range of 9 percent.

Per Neilson Korea on Wednesday, the finale of Korea Broadcasting System’s coming-of-age series, aired at 9:50 p.m. on Tuesday, scored an all-time highest rating of 9.7 percent.

In the final episode, Lee Doo-hak (played by Jang Dong-yoon), Oh Jung-shin (Seol In-ah), and Choi Cheol-woong (Choo Young-woo) mended their broken friendship and became close friends as they were back in high school.

Lee Doo-hak and Choi Cheol-woong, who were once each other’s best friends but then turned into enemies after going through a tragic incident, realize that they were biological brothers.

Lee then gets the bullet on behalf of his younger brother Choi, and Choi makes a sincere apology to Lee as Lee loses his mind with the bullet on his shoulder.

As he suffers from utter remorse at the fact that they, who were de facto brothers, have been going up against each other with hatred, the two finally make up and reestablish their relationship.

Set during the 1980s and 1990s, the series has been receiving positive reviews by capturing Korean modern and contemporary history, starting from the democratization movement and rapid economic growth in the 70s and 80s to the IMF crisis that hit the country in the late 90s. The confrontation between the political gangster Lee Doo-hak and prosecutor Choi Cheol-woong over the bold and proactive Oh Jung-shin reminded some viewers of the iconic television series “Sandglass,” aired in 1995.

The cast’s exquisite acting skills kept viewers on the edge of their seats, having them get immersed in the story. Jang, who expressed a wide range of emotions, perfectly impersonated Lee Doo-hak, a tenant farmer’s son who gets frustrated by the fact that he cannot show off his capabilities and gets closer to the dark world. In the meantime, Choo Young-woo also delicately expressed the emotions of Choi Cheol-woong, who gets crooked out of jealousy against Lee.

The series also shed light on the then-ongoing struggle of class conflict by sharing the coming-of-age stories of these two, who come to live completely different lives despite being brothers due to their opposite family backgrounds. Although Lee clearly shows much more potential than Choi, he repeatedly faces the overwhelming barrier of class difference, which had viewers look back on modern society.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)

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