Ryu Bo Ri, the writer of the SBS drama, “Do You Like Brahms?” sat down for an interview to talk about what inspired her to write the drama.
The romance drama “Do You Like Brahms?” is about the classical musicians torn between their dreams and the harshness of reality as they pursue their love of music. Kim Min Jae takes world-renowned pianist Park Joon Young, while Park Eun Bin stars as an aspiring violinist Chae Song Ah who enters the field later in life than her peers.
When asked why she made the protagonist of the drama classical musicians, Ryu Bo Ri explained that classical musicians have practiced playing an instrument for hours every day since they were young. And they spend every day of their entire lives practicing even though their level of success is not determined by how many hours of practice they put in.
The writer said that she thinks it would be impossible to do if they didn’t truly love music, so she portrayed characters who have passionately loved something or someone for a long time. And the first people that came to her mind were classical musicians.
Regarding the age of the characters to be 29 years old (by Korean reckoning), she replied that although the drama’s characters are 29 years old, their situations are special. It is because Song Ah re-enrolled after graduating from college. Even though she’s 29, she’s still a student who hasn’t had much experience in the real world.
The writer continued saying that Joon Young took time off from school to go on a concert tour, and after taking several years to recharge, returned to school. The character is still a student, so he similarly doesn’t know much about the real world. Meanwhile, Hyun Ho and Jung Kyung are leaving school for the first time after quickly receiving their doctorate degrees.
Ryu Bo Ri went on to say that she’d like people to focus on the fact that these young people who have only known music all their lives are now at the moment right before they take their first steps into the world. A moment in which they feel both excitement and fear about what lies ahead.
Lastly, when Ryu Bo Ri was asked to name the scene from the drama that she had put the most effort into writing, she replied that it was on the scene in the first episode when Song Ah watches Joon Young perform through the small window in the door to the stage.
Every Monday and Tuesday, “Do You Like Brahms?” airs at 10 p.m. KST.
