5 Reasons Why "Blueming" Can Be Considered A Masterpiece Of The BL Industry

"Blueming" the masterpiece BL drama of 2022 you should not overlook, here are five reasons that makes it the masterpiece it is.

Ash, Kpopmap Editor
5 min to read · Published : Apr 10, 2023

5 Reasons Why "Blueming" Can Be Considered A Masterpiece Of The BL Industry

"Blueming" Official poster

The BL genre is gaining popularity lately in South Korea with the release of around 5 dramas at the beginning of 2023. And as the genre grow, the quality and quantity also improved. However, that does not mean that previous dramas lack any of this. One good example is "Blueming". "Blueming" is a Korean BL drama released in 2022, and composed of 11 episodes of around 14 minutes each. Without looking to stand out, "Blueming" ended up being a real masterpiece, and this is for many reasons. If the scenario looks quite simple and classic, it is everything else that makes this drama a true jewel of the Korean BL industry.

"Blueming" did not try to set the standards higher, or be a game changer, yet, it probably played a big part in the improvement of BL dramas released after. Because BL is still a very recent genre of drama for the Korean film industry, there are many ways to improve, but in order to do that, some dramas must pave the way, and "Blueming" surely did that job for BL dramas. There are many settings that make a drama of better quality including the acting, the sceneries, the uniqueness of the scenario, the directing, and many more. And in "Blueming" most of those settings were the best they could've been for this specific drama. So let's see 5 reasons why "Blueming" can be considered a masterpiece of the BL industry.

1. The cast and their chemistry

"Blueming" Behind The Scenes

What makes a good drama is before anything else the cast. And more specifically their chemistry, meaning how much they get along together. That was a 10 out of 10 for the "Blueming" cast. Cho HyukJun (playing SiWon) and Kang EunBin (playing DaWoon) were very natural in their acting, making the growth of the character, and the evolution of their relationship very realistic as well. It didn't feel forced or pushed, everything was going smoothly, and it wasn't rushed either, making the change of status between their two characters really natural. The good chemistry of the actors is a must for BL drama to have a good and natural outcome, and improve the quality of the drama right away.

2. The inclusion of deep and serious topics

Along the drama, we get to learn a lot about both of the characters and their personal issues. This is something that had rarely been seen before, up until then BL dramas were somehow very light and did not touch on sensitive matters, but "Blueming" changed that. Of course, this is part of the original Webtoon story, but it was very well adapted onto the screen. Not everything was said, but by the facial expressions of the characters, their actions, and the various sceneries, some sort of symbolism arose from the drama and its key scenes. In case you did not see the drama yet, we shouldn't spoil too much, but topics such as family issues, and the struggle to find or accept oneself are touched upon in this drama. Another topic that should be mentioned is the film industry topic. It is a drama, yet it is talking a lot about the film industry as SiWon, one of the characters, is a film major student, so it is interesting to learn about the subject as you're watching a drama yourself.

3. The colorimetry and lighting representation.

"Blueming" drama

This drama was edited very precisely, putting specific care into the details of colorimetry, which is the control over the colors of an image or video. As mentioned before, "Blueming" is touching upon some specific subject, and colors are here as a means to translate the characters' emotions as well. For example, when SiWon is feeling happy, free of all pressure, the colors are very vivid and vibrant, and the light is also very bright, giving this same feeling of happiness and freedom the character is experiencing, on the other hand, when he is surrounded by people, or put under pressure, the colors will almost fade away, going for a very neutral and dark tone, which gives gloomy vibes to the scene, just like what the characters are feeling at the moment. So not only are colors very symbolic in the drama as well, but special care was put into the editing to give the drama this new layer, and quality.

4. The double meaning of "Blueming"

"Blueming" Drama and Behind The Scenes

The word is most commonly known as 'blooming' of course. We could think that "Blueming" is just a punch word, a way to stylize the title of the drama, but there is more to it. Of course, "Blueming" does make a reference to the word 'blooming', because of the love that blooms between the two main characters. But it can also be interpreted as the blooming/development of both characters separately as well. So there is a first hidden meaning right here, but that's not all. As mentioned before, the colorimetry of the drama is very detailed and well-thought, and actually, the entire drama was edited in a blue-scheme color. The whole drama has very cold tones, and it is due to the editing with blue shades as an overall layer, this is the first detail related to the use of "Blueming" as a title. The second detail that echoes the title is the omnipresence of the blue color. It might not be so evident when you first watch the drama because you're already focusing on what's happening, but if you look a bit more in detail, you will quickly notice a blue element in many scenes. It is almost invisible sometimes but it does contribute to making the title make more sense and gives this cold-tone vibe from the beginning till the end.

5. The highlight scene

"Blueming" Drama

Of course, what most people will consider the highlight scene of the drama is the intimate scene between the two characters. This scene has to be mentioned as a reason why this drama is a masterpiece for many reasons. First, "Blueming" was one of the first dramas to integrate a somehow suggestive intimate scene like this one. Nothing is shown that has to be censored, but it is quite easy to guess what is happening there. "To My Star" a BL drama directed by the same director as "Blueming" also did include an intimate scene, but it was given a touch of humor to make it a bit more light, while in "Blueming", the romantic, or should we say sensual" tension can be felt while viewing the scene. But not only was this scene a 'first' for the industry, but the way it was presented also played a big role. The reason why it is the highlight scene is not only because it is the peak of the romantic relationship, but the setting is a simple blue curtain from which comes a source of light, and the shadows of both actors. This is the scene where the color blue is the most present, and the fact that the actors are not in a close-up shot and only their shadows are reflecting on the camera really gives this sense of delicate touch and intimacy that represent the scene.

Those were all the reasons why "Blueming" can be considered a masterpiece of the Korean BL Industry, some reasons were pretty apparent, and some others were harder to guess, but we hope that they'll help you see this drama in a new light!