I’m obsessive-compulsive and I’m annoyed with myself that I didn’t finish my trope compilation of Episode 6.
The first half is here: Episode 6
And here’s the other half.
1. SungJoon as the resident evil, albeit an illegal resident evil
The reason I’m ambivalent about SungJoon is that there’s a guy more depraved than him, Cho ChulGang. Going by my “estimable knowledge” – quote unquote – of kdramas, SungJoon is going to be the lesser of two evils and will get his redemption arc. He’s bound to be transformed into an absolute softie or romantic idealist so the writer can reinforce this message that there’s inherent goodness in all of us, even conmen.
Here,
he’s beginning to empathize with Seri. He couldn’t believe that her siblings would do anything, including exiling her in North Korea, in their power struggle over the conglomerate.
2. Hair-pulling
Ahjumma: What happened? Did she pull your hair or something?
SR: My gosh. Do people also pull hair here?
Ahjumma: When you fight, you pull their hair. What else can you do?
Ahjumma Collective: Right. Do you not do that there? You ought to. You need to pull her hair. Exactly. Right.
Seri. It’s true. We are indeed of the same ethnicity.
lol. I thought hair-pulling, like wrist-grabbing, was just a kdrama trope. I didn’t know it was a sociological marker of kinship.
Seriously, there are tropes I’d be glad to the last of in future kdramas. The binge-drinking, the forced kiss, the abusive-boyfriend-turned-softie, the mean mother-in-law, the face-slapping, the too-stupid-to-live-heroine, to name a few.
3. The Perfect Daughter-in-Law stereotype
This ahjumma is right. Seri’s too argumentative that I doubt she’ll get along well with a mother-in-law who expects a deferential daughter-in-law. #Truth And I’m NOT speaking from experience, okay? 🙂
SR: You must have misjudged me. I smile to the elders and talk to them in a very gentle manner.
Ahjumma: Samsuk, did you know? You are smiling with your eyes, but you’re talking back to me. When you do that, I want to bash your head in. Others wouldn’t have put up with that.
4. The contrarian of the group
Yes. I didn’t expect this character to be so comical. If Seri identifies him as male, I’m sure he’s going to say that he’s transitioning, just to get the last word in.
I always look forward to their bickering. He said that he wouldn’t go on the picnic.
But I noticed that he was the one pulling the cart,
the one holding the fishnet when they finally caught fish,
the one who helped with the crabs,
the one who served the tray,
and the one who wrote a farewell poem for her.
“Farewell Poem for the Woman”
When you hammer a nail, the nail goes into the wall.
When the wind blows, a persimmon falls from the branch.
But this woman does whatever she wants to do.
She didn’t die when we fired a gun at her.
When we criticize her, it doesn’t affect her.
Oh my. What a troublemaker she is.
But as you’re leaving soon, please do me this favor.
Take care. Don’t get hurt.
Live a good life. Don’t forget us.
If you’re exposed, don’t you dare give my name away.
hahaha. I re-arranged the poem so there are 10 lines there, too.
5. In lieu of a puppy, there’s piglet
Remember I said that heroes have to be good to children and animals.
I agree with Seri. Remember what I said about fish head soup in Love O2O? I can’t eat something that’s staring at me. Eyeball to eyeball.
Remember this?
So, yes, I love pork chops. But this piglet looks like a pet dog sleeping beside her.
My answer remains that same.
6. The noraebang session
As if the farewell poem wasn’t enough, there was also a goodbye song. Had they been Seoul, the equivalent of this scene would be a sing-along session in a noraebang.
There’s always a trip to the noraebang in kdramas where the hero and heroine have a meaningful encounter. But since they’re in North Korea, this open-air session will have to do instead.
In case you’re wondering, here’s the song.
When the Cold Wind Blows
by Kim CheeYun
If the cold wind blows, I know I’m gone
The passing wind, leaving only my longing
If the leaves are falling, you know I left
Only memories will remain on the fallen leaves
I used to shake my little heart at one time
Your warm eyes
It’s so cold that
Is it because season changes?
When the cold wind blows, I’ll miss you
But don’t think of me again anymore
I used to shake my little heart at one time
Your warm eyes
It’s so cold that
Is it because season changes?
When the cold wind blows you’ll be lonely
But don’t think of me again anymore
But don’t think of me again anymore
source: https://lyricstranslate.com
7. The Survivor’s Burden
SR: You really aren’t going to see me off? But I thought that you would accompany me to the airport.
JH: We should part our ways here. (pause) Please take care on your way back.
SR: (nodding her head then sighing) It might not be the case for you, but I think I’ll miss you.
He just stared at her. If he could have an imaginary conversation with her in his head, he would be telling her, “You THINK you’ll miss me? I KNOW I’ll miss you.”
SR: (continuing) I might think about you from time to time. No. I’ll think about you often.
He didn’t reply. She was waiting for him to say something so it must be frustrating for her that she was talking to a sphinx. How was she to know that what he really wanted to say couldn’t be said? He was just running the words in his mind.
SR: (continuing) But we can’t even ask how each other is doing. That’s a bit upsetting.
He didn’t answer immediately.
JH: The moment you leave here, I hope you’ll forget everything about this place and me, go back to the life you have been living and stay healthy there. Just pretend that you had a nightmare.
And I love that he described her stay there a “nightmare,” and not a dream. That was deliberate. A dream can range from a happy, wild, sad, scary, to romantic thought, wish or memory that enters in our mind while we sleep. But a nightmare is a dream that’s specifically unpleasant and frightening; no one wants to live through a nightmare twice. To me, comparing her stay to a nightmare was his way of emphasizing that their parting was irrevocable. This was final.
And then he offered his hand.
SR: (sighing) Instead of shaking my hand, (pausing) can you give me a hug? I won’t ever see you again.
He didn’t answer, and he continued extending his hand,
so she took it.
Of course, most of the viewers felt robbed of a romantic moment. “He should have hugged her!” “What the??” “Oh come on, JungHyuk!!!”
“Just kiss the girl!”
But wait a second. This was a MAJOR TROPE that a lot of kdrama viewers didn’t get. I don’t want you, bitches, to miss it, too.
I shall call it the “survivor’s burden.” Essentially, the lover tells his beloved that it’s okay for her to forget everything they’ve shared because he’ll be the one to do remembering.
I first learned of this “mindset” (for lack of a better word) while listening to a song by Younha, “It’s Okay” (2013). The lyrics went like this:
“I’ll remember everything
so you can forget it all
So you won’t have a
heavy heart and hate me.”
Then, while I was watching “Hotel del Luna,” I encountered it again.
From Episode 12. Chansung reassures Manwol that it’s okay for her to die and that she shouldn’t be worried about him when he sends her off. Talking about her death, their separation, and his grief in euphemism, he says, “They might pile up and become very heavy and painful. I’ll handle them all as my share. So don’t be scared when you leave me. This… to the weak human that I am, who’s doing his best with all of his might… is love.”
In other words… Chansung is saying that yes, he’s just weak human, so of course, their separation is going to be painful for him. And yes, her death is going to take its toll on him. But because he loves her, he’s going to bear the burden on his own, so she should go in peace.
Now, in this kdrama, we see a reenactment of this “survivor’s burden.” Like Chansung, JungHyuk was telling Seri to leave without regrets, without looking back. But unlike Chansung, JungHyuk didn’t explain that he was going to be the one to do the remembering for both of them. That’s why he begged for that extra photo.
By offering her that handshake, and declining to hug her, he intended the “forgetting” to start right there and then. Even as she stood right there in front of him, he was already letting her go.
A hug would only be another thing for her to forget — and for him to remember.
If I were him, I couldn’t trust myself to maintain my composure. I’d probably start begging her to stay,
and I ABSOLUTELY wouldn’t want an audience to witness my mental breakdown. Remember, Gwangbum the Handsome was waiting in the truck, and the Rat was eavesdropping.
This would be me if I were JungHyuk…
lol.
Anyway, to be serious now, I’m sure if JungHyuk could copy Chansung’s words, he’d say:
“Your leaving, Seri, will cause me grief. But I’ll handle it all as my share. So I hope you forget everything about this place and me, when you leave here, and go on with your life. This…to a pathetic man like me, who’s doing his best to hold everything in, with all of his strength…is love.”
Do you see why I thought the hug was appropriate at this time?
I have the same feeling about Sung Joon too, that he is not really the bad guy and will be given a redemption arc by the end, maybe ending up with Dan iust so all loose ends are neatly tied, err paired. I remember @packmule3 you had predicted this in a previous trope post too. I’ve seen this sort of character in a lot of kdramas.
About that one contrarian in the group trope, that’s a character I’ve seen in lots of kdramas too – all blustery outside but actually the strongest supporter inside. They sometimes die in the end, or are about to die and reveal their true feelings and then magically recover.
I liked your analysis of “survivor’s burden” – that “I will pretend that I’m unaffected and be strong for both of us so you can move on” scene. I do think it’s “noble idiocy” and it would be far better if true feelings were confessed. That way, there would be the consolation that the same emotions are being felt and reciprocated by both. But for scriptwriters of kdramas, this is a common trope that they use to show how self-sacrificing the hero or heroine is. So I get the intent behind such scenes.
When Sungjoon was speaking to Dan about the problem with setting a marriage date, he gave approximately 10 examples there, as well as letting slide that he became attracted to his ex (Seri) after his arranged marriage fell through. His motives have become more complicated as well.
hahaha. We’re getting obsessed with this tomato plant/10 nice things to say.
To say that his motives are complicated is an understatement. I don’t think he knows his real motives himself. 🙂 He cares for Seri…in the sense that he admires her brains. She’s someone he couldn’t predict.
With Dan, he count count, “Five, four, three, two, one,” and expect her to come around. But with Seri, just when he thought she was going to come in from the cold after that confrontation with JH, she took his car and bolted. lol. He didn’t see that coming.
And did you observe how he was gazing at her (with admiration??) when she demanded him and his butler to explain their Escape Plan for her? The way she ordered them around…it was as if she was in a corporate meeting asking for her minions to give her her “options.” But instead of being annoyed with her bossiness, he looked positively awestruck.
Then, that proposal of his. I thought his action was sweet. He said, “I know it’s just on paper, but I think we should do it right. I’m not sure if I could get you a wedding dress or wedding photos, but it’s not a wedding without a wedding ring, right?”
Awww…he went through the trouble of getting her a ring. I like that he tried to do right by her. I wasn’t surprised that he wanted the marriage to be real. However, since I don’t have their backstory (i.e., when did he begin to like her, had he always been thoughtful like this, did Seri misjudge him before, was he really a gold-digger), I thought this scene was contrived. It didn’t feel real to me because it had no context.
Anyway…
He could be a real schmuck. I can’t dispute that. But moments like this tell me that not all is lost with him.
Dan is more his speed than Seri, though. He can’t catch up to Seri.
Gold digger and some-time schmuck, yes. I think as well that he is really jealous of Seri’s relationship with JH. (His face, when he was telling her the bad things that could happen if she didn’t give JH up…) That, plus his inability to control or predict her, adds to her attraction to him. Almost feel sorry for him.
Yes. He seems to be jealous of Seri’s relationship, but I don’t know what he can do about that. He’s scared of JH…
I also thought he wasn’t faking his fear when he found out that Dan was about to out Seri’s presence. She stood up to leave and he grabbed her arm to detain her. He told her calm down and think rationally.
Of course, Dan was bluffing; she’d do anything to protect JH.
My problem with SJ however is that he doesn’t plan well. He can think on his feet, true. I like that scene when he spoke English to the NK street patrol.
But he doesn’t play chess; he doesn’t think three moves ahead; he doesn’t think ahead of the consequences So whatever he plans to do, his plan seems to be just a stopgap, a temporary measure, an improvisation.
Seriously, I’d be frustrated with a guy like him. hahaha.
Concur with all. He certainly didn’t think ahead when he got Chul Kang involved. Maybe he’ll get a bit smarter by and by.