Poem a Day: Reply Series for Therapists

I was looking for a slow-paced kdrama with a slice-of-life theme and I think I found it in “Poem a Day.” It reminded me of the Reply series. lol.

Who wants to join me here? lovebangwon? onlysb? 

The literary title almost scared me away but the poetic execution of the words into actions convinced me to stay. I always like it when the director exerts effort to match the cinematography with the writer’s script.

Take for example the ending scene of Episode 1.

The lead character, a depressed BoYoung was sitting on a bench along a path near her hospital and reading a bunch of letters from her former patients. They were letters of gratitude for her “friendly” service. In one of them, the patient wrote back the poem BY once read to her for comfort.

Pain and Sadness Can Also Become a Path
by Lee Chul Hwan

I realized this after a long time of pain
That pain can also become a path.

There is no life where no wind blows.
The wind must blow, so that the tree will root deep inside the earth
So that it won’t fall over.
That is why the wind shakes the trees
That is why the wind shakes all of us
Pain can also become a path.
Sadness can also become a path.

After reading it, BoYoung realized that she too was consoled by the same words she had given to her patient; it was like her poem had come full circle, and returned to the “owner.”

Then, as she stood up to walk home, a letter fell from her pile. She didn’t notice it and kept walking. A man picked it up and called after her. But she didn’t hear him and she receded into the night.

To me, the poem was foreshadowing her new beginning. Her pain and sadness just paved the path. And do you see the stoned path through the trees? That was too literal. lol. 

I liked how the visuals of this scene matched the poem itself.

I often search for moments like this when the director can surprise me with the aesthetics to fit the language and emotion of the script. Im this kdrama, the ending of Episode 1 worked for me and it reeled me in to continue with Episode 2.

But what I really enjoyed so far in this drama was the apple story in Episode 2. Of course, there were a few comedic moments that kept me interested. Like, DefCon portraying an indecisive doctor. lol.

Image result for poem a day kdramacredit: asianvote

This is an inside joke, you know. DefCon is a member of the variety show 2Days, 1Night. I used to be a regular follow of this show (never watched Infinite Challenge). In 2D1N, he’s known as a worrywart. He earned the moniker “anxious pig” because he always worries about little inconsequential things, like winning the games, the reactions of their audience, his reputation, etc.

This kdrama is parodying his character in 2D1N because his extreme anxiety to make the right decision causes him to be infuriatingly indecisive. Call it paralysis by analysis.

The other characters are just as quirky. But the apple story is the pièce de résistance for me.

BoYoung and her arch-nemesis/ex-crush/subordinate Min-Ho were asked by a patient to peel a bag of apples as a favor. His tired wife was still sleeping and he didn’t want to wake her up. For a variety of reasons which I won’t explain, BoYoung found the request “burdensome” and she passed the job on to MinHo, who also didn’t want to do it. He mangled the task and the patient asked him to please slice the apples prettily.

Their patient died the following day.

At the funeral, the wife expressed her deep gratitude for the peeled apples. It had been her birthday that day and apples were her favorite. But since she couldn’t slice them, and neither could her sick husband, the husband requested BoYoung to do it. The wife was thankful that BoYoung didn’t reject the request despite her busy schedule and had delegated the job to MinHo.  It had given her husband great pleasure to see her eat those apples, and that happy moment had been his last.

Naturally, the two were guilt-ridden.

What I also liked about this scene was the play on words. The Korean word for apple is sagwa, and sagwa is the homonym of the Korean word for sorry. Thus, apple = sorry, apology, regret.

Did you see the significance?

The patient was SORRY for the trouble he was causing to the therapists because of the APPLES. But he had no recourse but to bother them because he wanted to gift his wife with her favorite apples.

After his death, both BoYoung and MinHo were also SORRY that they felt encumbered by the patient’s small but (as it turned out) LAST request.  The apples, too, became a symbol of apology to them.

We’re no longer talking about apple being the homonym of apology. The apple is symbolically an apology.

Moreover, to me, it’s an amusing take on that American idiom, an apple a day kept the doctor away. The bag of apples ALMOST did keep away BoYoung and MinHo from faithfully performing their duty, that is, to care for the well-being of their patient. Because of the “power struggle” between the two of them and their “past,” they nearly forgot what they needed to do.

Thankfully, the incident with the apple taught them a timely lesson. When the two shared a drink afterwards, BoYoung wailed her deep regret for allowing emotions get in the way of her duty. Afterwards, stoic MinHo called up his parents vowing to take his work seriously from then on.

To me, the poem BoYoung read at the beginning of the episode foreshadowed the events.

A Fresh Start
by Oh Bo Young

I untangled the twisted knot
I also took out the thorn
Without lingering attachment or regret
I straightened out my position
I let the twisted relationships go
With a lighthearted feeling and a confident mindset
I erased yesterday with the hope of a better tomorrow

BY’s and MinHo’s “fresh start” began with that apple.

However, the intriguing part about the apple and the notion of a “fresh start” is what this meant to their future relationship.

When an apple truck rolled by, he looked at the apples with regret. He said aloud that he should have sliced it “prettily.”  To me, he could have sliced the apples AND his rejection of BoYoung neatly. Back then, he too CUT her out of his life in a CARELESS manner, like the unwanted apples.  

The last poem of the Episode 2 was clearly referring to his scornful rebuff of BoYoung’s affection.

Every Moment is Like a Flower Bud
by Jung Hyun Jong

At times, I regret it.
What happened back then might have a gold mine
That person back then,
And that object back then
Could have been a gold mine.

I should’ve gotten closer to you
And talked to you more
I should have listened to you more
And loved you more

I wonder if I sent you off
As if I was hard of hearing
As if I was absent-minded
I should have loved those moments more.
Every moment is like a flower bud.
A flower bud that blooms when I’m eager

That’s why this kdrama reminds me of the Reply series. If we put Episode 1 and Episode 2, what do we have?

The Reply series’ infamous “husband-hunt.”  As of Episode 2, it isn’t clear who’ll end up as the leading man here for our leading woman.

The new doctor is the obvious, saner, more mature, and worthier choice. Besides, Boyoung had already taken one path, and MinHo another. She was on a bus home, he was walking on a dark street home.

But, as the last line of the poem said, a flower blooms when one is eager.

I think I’ll blog about this show for now…

 

9 Comments On “Poem a Day: Reply Series for Therapists”

  1. Thank you. It’s such a beautiful perspective. I love this drama and definitely Will wait for your review about it. Have a nice day. 🌸

  2. Alright!!!! I found another follower of this show.

    Let’s spread the love for this kdrama by analyzing it, bitch-style. lol.

  3. I’ve read only the part about the first episode to not get too spoiled buuuut it sounds nice. “pain can also become a path”, part of me says “pft, of course” but the poem sounds nice and you’ve made me curious to see more of this. I’ll give it a try too.

  4. Hahaha. I’m hoping you’ll all join me too. But I understand that the pacing here is slow.

    I’m not trying to be a snob (but I naturally am because a self-proclaimed bitch) but the poem IS low-brow. I so agree with you. It’s no brainer that pain and suffering too shall become a path. 😂

    But to me the poems here are meant to be expository rather than inspirational. 😂🤣 They serve as explanations to the succeeding movements, dilemmas, and decisions of the characters. So they need not be profound.

    I’m not MOVED by the poems. But I use them as tools to predict and determine the narrative, like clues in this “who’s her true love” guessing game.

    But I’m telling you the apple 🍎 connection is good. I posted it over at Soompi because I didn’t want people to miss it.

  5. I’m watching!! 🙂
    I liked Drinking Solo, thus a no brainer for me…
    I’m quite an introvert, thus won’t be commenting much, probably… but will definitely read all your interesting and thorough posts!! 👍

  6. 🤓Alright! Do join me! It’ll be funny if this turns out to be another Reply type of kdrama. I don’t want this blog to turn into a shippers/groupie thread but it’ll eventually transform into that if I keep focusing on one couple. 😝

    What’s Drinking Solo? What’s the connection? Same production team? The actors? Never seen nor heard of them before. But that’s okay.

    To be honest, I nearly dropped it when I saw the two boys, Minho and ?Lacoste? kid. I couldn’t tell them apart!!! 😔

    And the internet is a good place for introverts like you to express themselves. There’s anonymity, for one. Then you can always walk away without having to excuse or explain yourself.

    I like the lead actress here because she’s cute. 😋 I remember her as the younger sister and the love interest of Running Man’s Kwangsoo.

  7. this one good?
    im currently busy loving pretty noona male lead, jung hae in. lol

  8. This is “daebak level” good!

    I want to watch Noona but I’m squeamish about the noona angle. I’ve sons and nephews… and if a noona or a cougar go after them, I’ll probably give the “young lady” quote unquote the third degree. A difference of a year or two won’t matter but five is pushing it.

  9. You should also watch Pretty Noona if you have time. You won’t have to worry about their age differences because she’s only supposed to be 4 years older than him, him being 31 and she, 35, and she’s his sister’s bestfriend.

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