As requested by sumei6462. I hope she’s not a spammer nor a troll. 😂 Will edit later.
MinHo shippers: Just a heads-up.
MinHo is capable of noble idiocy. More so than Dr. Ye, a self-confessed unemotional guy. Don’t assume that he and BoYoung are the endgame just because we see more of his struggles and his pathos. It’s possible that he’ll give up BoYoung because he loves her very much. To me, the endgame hinges on 1) BoYoung, and how far she has deluded herself that her infatuation for Dr. Ye is real, and 2) Dr. Ye and how his character develops in the next episodes. Right now, he’s definitely not lead character material but a stock romantic character. But I can always blame this actor’s uninspired performance. 🙄 I felt conned by his good appearance. lol.
Here are the poems used in kdrama. On a few of them I’ve scribbled some notes. I’ve covered the primary thematic poems in my posts but the secondary love poems which I find sentimental and trite, were given a pass. Unless they’re Taylor Swift or Reba McEntire or country music, I’m too old to be talking about first loves.
But if there was a line that needed a second glance or wasn’t so clear, I tried to explain. Like the poem “Joke.”
I may have to edit later to add more ideas. Feel free to add your thoughts on the poems. Sometimes your comments jog my memory and that’s very helpful.
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Episode 1: Flowers that Bloom When Shaken
Flowers that Bloom when Shaken
by Do Jong Hwan
No flower blooms without being shaken
The most beautiful flowers in this world
All shake as they bloom
As they shake, their stems straighten in an upright position
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.
- Additional poem read at the end of the episode. Dr. Ye saw her drop a piece of paper but didn’t chase after her. Foreshadowing?
Episode 2: Every Moment is Like a Flower Bud
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
A Fresh Start
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.
- Additional poem at the beginning of the episode. Note same name as heroine.
- Told herself to follow poem’s advice and focus on work and not her emotions.
Pain
by Yoon Soo Chun
After one heartbreak an invisible wound
Remains one’s heart
- Another poem. The wind ruffled the pages and Dr. Kim thought BoYoung was reading this before nodding off to sleep. She commented, “Oh my goodness. Even though she seemed like she was okay, she must still be deeply hurt because of MinHo. Gosh, poor thing.” This was BoYoung’s same comment in Episode 8 after Dr. Kim’s encounter with ex-husband, that she “seemed fine.”
- Seems to be applicable to everybody, except Namwon. Lol. Because Namwon talks about 10 years ago. The people who hide behind jokes (eyeing MinHo) are most likely the saddest ones. We have the back stories of Defcon, JooYoong, Drs. Park and Kim. We’re still missing the three main characters plus Dr Kang. Which works out because we still have 4 weeks to go.
- Edited (5/5/18) to add this: NamWon too suffered a heartbreak when he had to let go of a girl because he was too poor to date her. And yes, it’s most invisible because there are people who don’t talk about their heartaches. They’re not the “walking wounded” like Dr. Ye whose bad love affair (rolling eyes) is fodder for everybody, but they’re walking silently anyway with broken hearts.
One Sided Love
by Lee Nam Il
That voice, which happened to call my name
I loved that voice.
I stay up all night dreaming about that one gesture.
And I fantasize about our future because of your smile.
When your scent brushed by me
And told me that it loved me
I shattered to pieces as if I was sunlight.
- Quite the opposite. She shattered to pieces as if she was sunlight when he told her that he didn’t love her.
Episode 3: I Like You
I Like You
by Kim Yong Taek
One spring day, I saw your love
Light up my backyard with happiness
Which was once dark, under the shade.
You, who called me out from the darkness with your love
With bright light that can only come from darkness
You stood in front of me
And smiled like a wild flower.
Ah, even the thought of you makes me happy.
- Poem read as MinHo rode the cab home. He studied pic of BoYoung’s hilarious slam-dunk pose.
First Meeting
by Ha Geum Joo
I’m very thankful to you
Who treated me like a flower
When life was the coldest.
I was stepped on a lot
And never got any attention on this journey
By meeting you,
I met a new me.
I’m very thankful to you
Who treated me like a flower.
- Another poem narrated as BoYoung delivered the staff lecture. This poem would fit BoYoung’s and MinHo’s first meeting, too.
Episode 4: Standing Close
Standing Close
by Ki Sa In
Her bent back collects newspapers and cardboard boxes
Her work pants are loose on her shrunken body
When a car enters the alley, she stands close to the side.
With her small cart which is her only flesh and blood
Standing close in solitude
Like a spider on a dirty cement wall
Like an old sting ray at the bottom of a water tank.
Standing low and close to a gray wall.
Once the car passes, the grandmother who was like crinkled paper
Slowly straightens out again.
The cart’s wheels follow her at her heels like young goats.
If I think about the worn out television that will turn on in that room
If I think about the tilted sink, pots, and pans
And the bent back that will stand in front of it.
I choke up.
If I think about the rag in the corner which she has probably wrung out
Other poems sent by text. BoYoung was texting while drunk.
Spring Is Here Because You’re Warm1 by Kim Nam Kwon
Spring Is Here Because You’re Warm2 by Kim Nam Kwon
Spring Story by Ok Pil Gyun
Episode 5: It’s Okay If You Don’t Love Me
It’s Okay If You Don’t Love Me
by Lee Jung Ha
It’s okay if you don’t acknowledge me.
A new leaf will sprout, even under the cold rain.
And the stars will come out, even if clouds cover it.
It’s okay if you don’t offer me a hand.
I blazed up like a dry leaf
As someone who couldn’t say a word
I’m okay with being in one-sided love.
And then becoming love myself.
My love,
It’s okay if you don’t love me.
Love and Happiness
by Jung Yeon Bok
I’m happy because I love you.
And because I’m happy,
I love you even more.
My happiness grows
with my love for you.
My love, is it okay to be this happy?
As I gently press down my overwhelming love for you.
I’m happy because I love you.
- This was read after she came home from the dinner with Dr. Ye where she spent fantasizing about him. Note: she was playing on the swing like the painting with the child on a swing set.
Joke
by Lee Moon Jae
When you’re faced with something beautiful
If you think of someone you wish was by your side
You’re in love.
When you’re faced with quiet scenery or delicious food
If no one comes to mind
You are either strong or really lonely.
In order to make the bell ring louder,
the bell must hurt more.
- This was read after she came home from dinner with colleagues and Dr. Ye who told them all that he wasn’t interested in dating anybody who works in the same medical field and hospital as his.
- “In order to make the bell ring louder…”What makes the bell sound?
- To make the bell peal louder, the bell clapper has to hit the bell harder (= hurts more). But no matter how hard you hit the bell, if the bell isn’t hollow inside, then no sound will come from it. The empty space or the void inside the bell makes bell sound possible. ~ The lonelier you are, the more human you become.
- After the poem, she was back at her place, and she asked herself if she really liked Dr. Ye. She invited herself to MinHo’s beer party and blurted out that she was miserable because she liked somebody she wasn’t supposed to like.
Episode 6: Family
Family
by Choi Bum Young
If you can’t say you’re hurt when you feel hurt,
You’re not family.
If you can’t say you’re happy when you’re happy,
You’re not family.
A sweet and soft ice cream cone
Isn’t enough to become a family
Pain, happiness, and love must be shared.
And you must endure all hardships in prayer
Until you can feel it together.
That’s how we become a family.
You must be able to express your sadness
And be able to cry together to be a family.
You must be able to express your happiness
and be able to be happy for one another to be a family.
You must feel like you’re under the same blanket
no matter where you are to be a family.
- BoYoung sees MinHo alone and sits on swing with him. Invites him to buffet because he missed his birthday dinner.
Morning
by Chun Sang Byung
Morning always feel so happy
The day begins
And the starting point is right now.
After I wash my face,
I start my chores
And open a book
Today might be my lucky day.
I hope I hear some good news…
Under the beautiful sky.
- Another poem in the story. All day long, MinHo thought he was lucky not to have BoYoung in love with him anymore. But as he turned out, he was lucky that she was there to celebrate his birthday with.
Episode 7: The Cricket and I
The Cricket and I
by Yoon Dong Joo
The cricket and I had a chat on the grass.
Cricket, cricket. Cricket, cricket.
We promised to keep our chat a secret between the two of us.
Cricket, cricket. Cricket, cricket.
The cricket and I chatted under the bright moonlight.
- Although poem was texted to Dr. Ye, poem fits for MinHo and BoYoung.
- Poet is BoYoung’s favorite.
Jealousy
by Jung Ho Seung
The fall rain only loves the withered leaves
I felt so jealous
That I tumbled about in the withered leaves
Until the fall rain stopped.
- First time a poem was read by a male narrator.
Episode 8: The Point of No Return
The Point of No Return
by Kim Chul Hyun
Leaving the person you love
And turning
As if you no longer love him.
Hiding the pain in your heart
And turning around
As if it doesn’t really hurt.
Hiding your unwanted parting
And turning around
As if it doesn’t matter.
Holding back your tears
And turning around
As if you’re not weak.
If you love that person
You can’t turn back
Because you love him.
- Poem is read as Dr. Kim cries over ex-husband’s picture, MinHo turns his back on sight of BoYoung and Dr. Ye returning from lunch, and Dr. Yang going home alone.
- The point of no return = the decisive moment when they are willing to let go, leave, vanish and to disappear out of sight = BECAUSE they love the other person so much they are willing to endure separation from them.
- For Dr Kim: when she sees husband with wife and unborn child
- For MinHo: when he sees BoYoung happy with Dr. Ye
- For Dr. Yang: when he’s reassured that staff members will be retained by the hospital
To You
by Lee Jong Hwa
You’re my everything
All paths lead up to you
All songs are meant for you
And I’m blinded by your light
I can only see you in a crowd of countless people in the plaza
I see you in every flower along the streets
I see you in the coffee that I make time to drink
I can picture you along the mountain hills where the sun sets
Everything in the world looks different now
And “waiting” no longer exists in my dictionary.
I’m always close to you.
- Poem read while BoYoung and Dr. Ye walked during their lunchbreak
I wanted to share some more of my thoughts with you about MH & episodes’ titles.
At this point I feel like every single title of each episode has direct connection to MH character. It can be argued that he is a main lead/second lead so it is given that one of the central characters has to be connected to each episode’s story BUT we can’t say the same about Dr Ye.
Let me explain in details.
1. [Flowers that bloom when shaken] – this is about MH-BY that were fighting thorought the first episode. Dr Ye was not even in the picture back then
2. [Every moment is like a flower bud] – again flowers. And those flowers are MH & BY who reconcile because they happen to experience patient’s death. All of the poems in this episode is about them as well. First one is about regretting (MH hurting BY) & second one is about fresh start (MH-BY). Though it can be said that fresh start comes because of Dr Ye.
3. [I like you]. Let’s revise poems from this episode: “One spring day, I saw your love”. We all know who confessed in spring to whom. MH is in taxi during this poem’s narration smiling over BY picture. It is the first moment they clearly give us a hint that he actually likes her. Second poem’s words “I am very thankful to you who treated me like a flower” – MH &a BY are flowers in this story so this poem could also represent MH’s thoughts but I won’t argue that it fits Dr Ye -BY first meeting (as she is a flower treasured by him)
4. [Standing close]. This is interesting. BY is trying to impress Dr Ye the whole episode but at the beginning of the same episode MH declares to BY that he decided to “become close to her” in these exact words. He follows her everywhere as well &I after messing up tries to comfort her. They stand close when they meet old lady.
5. [It’s okay if you don’t love me]. In this episode MH keeps being confused with his friends that he is the one that BY loves & he is trying to figure out the way to reject her. He can’t do it straightforwardly this time & then thinks for a moment that she has given up. He is thinking “Is she trying to tell me that it’s okay if I don’t love her?”. The only thing is that deep inside he doesn’t realize that actually does love her (has feelings for her) that’s why he can’t reject her this time & that this time it is not OKAY for HIM that she happens to be in love with Dr Ye as he finds out.
6. [Family]. This episode’s title doesn’t even require any explanations as we meet some of our chacarcters’ families throughout the episode. And we happen to know nothing about dr Ye’s family for some reason.
7. [The Crciket and I]. MH represents a noisy cricket who keeps making things complicated for BY. As a poem says they “promised to keep our chat a secret” but MH couldn’t at the end as he was jealous which brings us to poem #2 of this episode
8. [The point of No Return]. MH is finally at the point of no return because he admits that he likes BY. There’s no point in denying this anymore. He admits that after he has given up the hope to switch his thoughts to another girl in the club. Actually this realization must have at least come to him when he saw BY &a Dr Ye returning from lunch date. That’s why he is “turning around as if it doesn’t really hurt”.
Yes! I totally agree with you. Good points.
It struck me while I was writing my post on Episode 6 or MH’s lucky day/happy birthday that ALL the main or titutar poems theretofore were in fact relevant to MH and Boyoung, and not Dr. Ye. I’ve said before that Dr. Ye was a red herring.
However, majority of the viewers are being influenced to think that Dr. Ye is the lead because when the poems are narrated, his image is the one that appears and LINGERS on the screen at the end of the poems. That’s a subliminal. 🙂
Or, as in the case of “The Cricket and I” and “It’s Okay If You Don’t Love Me,” the viewers see BoYoung “give” the poems to Dr. Ye. That’s why MH’s connection to the poems is diminished.
That’s why I focused on the minor poem, “Morning” in Episode 6, instead of “Family.” On the VERY superficial reading, it would appear as if it was meant for Dr. Ye because BoYoung placed the copy of the poem on his keyboard. However, I wanted to demonstrate that on a DEEPER interpretation, it was actually referring to MH.
Dr. Ye had nothing to do with “Morning.” It was MH’s morning that was lucky because, the minute he arrived at work, HE saw the “good news” that BoYoung was out of his hair. But as we all knew back then, MH was in denial of his feelings.
BTW. I read one YeLiner’s comment that MH displayed a “sibling” feeling for BY whenever he teased her. He teased BY like a brother annoyed his sister. Dopey fangirl. I’ve been watching this romcom on Dramafever so I’ve been spared the vacuous comments of fangirls on watchasian, kissasian, dramaload, etc. How come the most oblivious girls are the ones most vociferous in their opposition to the MH-BY endgame? Hmmm…. Is there a correlation between empty and noisy? Ahh!!! Yes….the BELL in the poem, “Joke”! Well, then it’s gonna hurt more for those empty-headed and noisy girls when the clapper strikes. pwahahahaha.
I’m going to edit your post just to make it easier to read, okay? I’ll put spaces and color but I won’t edit the words.
Thank you so much for the sharing.. Btw im not a spammer 😂..it just fun to read the poem when they are related to what happened in each episode..
Hahaha😆 Glad you came back. I was going to block you as spammer if you didn’t. 🤣 I had most of the poems down because I’m been writing about them for each episode. But the love poems meant for the Dr Ye – I skipped those because they were too sappy.
Which one did YOU like?
Thank you very much for the list of poems and the analysis. I started to write a list with the poems that appeared in every episode too. This drama (and the very first minutes of the first episode of The Great Seducer) made me curious about Korean literature (and especifically poetry), so I am really thankful for that. Sometimes you find the inspiration in the less expected way. In my case was through Kdramas. This website is awesome. Thank you for your analysis and hard work.
Also a fan of HYG.
Awesome! If you find a poem that I missed, please just post it here. Thanks!
I wrote about The Great Seducer poem, too. That one was well-chosen. The Korean poems I’ve encountered so far in these kdramas are easy to understand. There’s a simplicity about them. It also helps that the poems’ observations about nature are the same.
Like waves: they always mention the motion: receding, rising, ebbing, coming and going.
Plants and flowers: pure state, growing, curling, blooming, falling, withering, dying.
lol. If Western poems had been this simple, then I wouldn’t have been turned off literature in high school.
Who’s HYG again? I’m sorry. I don’t pay much attention to the actors, unless they’re mononymous like Siwan, Joy, and Yoona. Keeping characters’ names straight is already hard enough for me.
I love the poems in episode 5 & 8😁.. I spend my time to watch this drama although I was busy because this is the first drama that make me curious about Korean Literature.. Their literature is not boring as what I’ve learn before at my school…😂😂
@packmule3 sorry, I am so used to using just the initials also for dramas….. I was talking about HwaYuGi…since you also have a section with that drama on this page.
I haven’t found new poems, your list is amazing! thanks again…..hope you also post another one when we’re in the next episodes (if possible) 🙂 I am trying to keep updated the watch list but nowadays is pretty difficult with so many new (and old) godd dramas…..
I really love the poems that exist in this drama, especially “I like you” by Kim Yong Taek, I also like the instrumental background song when Woo Bo Young read that poem on episode 3. Do you know what the name of the instrumental background song? can you tell me? thankyou^^
Oh hi there! Another APaD viewer delurking! 👍
I don’t know the name of that instrumental song but Nearsea, lovebangwon, mslee do you know?
There are a few songs I’d like to download from ITunes but Poem a Day and You Who Forgot Poetry don’t show up on the search.