As promised. Sorry it took me this long to post; I just got back home. 🙂
1. Her suffocating house
The first architectural feature that struck me odd about Seri’s house is the lack of natural air. Her place was a hermetically sealed. Rewatch that scene again when her mother opened her apartment. It felt like a bank vault had just been opened, and a bank heist was about to unfold right in front of our eyes.
Presenting the unlikely bank thieves, lol.
Inside Seri’s home, the temperature would have been set to dual controls. Obviously, the greenhouse needed a different temperature setting from her own glass house. Her tropical plants would require humid air while she would have set her thermostat to her comfort zone. Her air-conditioner, heater, and humidifier would have to be programmed in two ways — or three, if her sleeping quarters have different settings from her living space (lol, like in my house. I like it colder in the bedroom because it’s fun sleeping under comforter).
So far, I don’t see windows she can open to let outside air in.
In contrast, JungHyuk’s home is open aired. His living room allows natural cross ventilation because of the open door on one side and open windows on the opposite side. Breeze can enter one way and exit the other.
What does this tell us about their personalities?
I already told you, didn’t I? Seri is a hothouse plant.
Although she complained about the aggressive competition in her chaebol family, it’s indisputable that she’d been given a lot of advantages growing in such luxury. She felt suffocated by all that pressure her family’s wealth brought, and she needed fresh air to see her privileged lifestyle from a different light. Her paragliding accident gave her fresh perspective.
As for JungHyuk, he’s all-weather guy.
2. Lack of natural lighting
As far as I can tell from Episodes 9 and 10, all the light inside her glass house comes from electrical fixtures like wall scones, lamps, ceiling lights, accent lamps, and chandeliers. I’ve yet to see natural light within these glass walls.
To me, the glass walls create an illusion because she could see her plants outside the glass, and then imagine herself living outdoors and under the sun. But unless she’s living in the penthouse, I don’t see how her indoor ceiling would be open for a skylight.
To be honest, I found her apartment depressing. I love sunlight, windows, alcoves, and French doors. Sunlight helps produce serotonin and endorphins, two chemicals in our bodies that are known to be anti-depressants. They make us feel good and positive about ourselves.
But Seri seemed to live in an dark and enclosed space, a cocoon of sorts.
I interpret this as a sign of her need to be self-contained, and self-sufficient. She didn’t want to be reliant on family and she wanted to be free of them whom she considered toxic. So, in this luxurious space of hers, she was closed off from them. This was her inner sanctum and she didn’t allow anybody inside.
But to me, family is like sunlight, too. They’re anti-depressants. They make us feel good and positive about ourselves. Although Seri didn’t need to expose herself to her family all the time since she found them wearisome, I must point out that her own passive-aggressive behavior and her antagonistic words – not to mention her superiority complex – didn’t engender a loving, sisterly feeling toward her. Love goes both ways, too, as we all know, and she hadn’t been a ray of sunshine to her siblings and their wives. I’m not totally surprised about the lack of kinship among them.
Sarcasm detected.
In contrast to Seri’s dark apartment, JungHyuk’s house had to rely more on natural lighting. Electrical consumption was monitored and regulated, so his house had to allow as much natural light in as possible, for as long as daylight was available outside his house.
I particularly like that even his bathroom was well-lit by sunlight. She didn’t need vanity lights to see herself in the mirror.
Also, his yard became a natural extension of his living space, and he could cook, eat and entertain outdoors as well as he could indoors. His men came over to his house and treat it as a gathering place. (The Grouchy One invited himself in to use the bathroom.) Seri’s house didn’t look as welcoming…perhaps because I didn’t see a kitchen and dining area.
3. No family photographs
There were old photographs in JungHyuk’s home.
Of course, everybody noticed the absence of family photographs at Seri’s place. Instead she had framed pictures of her company Seri’s Choice’s opening day.
She didn’t feel the need to have reminders of her father and brothers since there was no love lost among them. However, I find it odd that she didn’t have a picture of her father, considering a) he was supposedly her biological parent, and b) she was thought to be uncannily prescient to have grabbed her father’s hand at her doljanchi or fortune-telling ceremony. One would think that she’d display her father’s picture because he’d be a source of pride and inspiration for her.
But still stranger for me is the fact that she took a surreptitious shot of her mother and framed it. Despite her supposedly non-biological mother coming over to her apartment to express her disapproval of her decision to list her company, she displayed her mother’s picture afterward.
Let me post their conversation here.
Seri: By the way, what brings you here?
Isn’t this odd how her “fake” mother would always discuss sensitive issues like this away from the rest of the family? The other time she did this was after the dinner announcement in Episode 1. She wanted Seri to inform her father that she couldn’t lead the company but she confronted Seri about it outside the house, out of earshot of her brothers and father.
Mom: So you will list your company. You must know that your brothers aren’t doing so well. Must you do that?
“Listing” her company meant she was going to turn her privately owned company into a publicly-traded and publicly-owned entity. While this move meant more constraints on her control and management of her company, going public gave her more prestige and more capital to invest in future expansion and operations. Her decision to list the company would show her father that she was more entrepreneurial, and capable than her brothers.
Seri: My brothers and my dad have nothing to do with my company. I founded it and raised it. Now, I will list it. Mom. It wasn’t easy to get this far by myself. It was really hard.
Her statement here may or may not have been disingenuous. It’s possible that she didn’t have any ulterior motive to show up her brothers. It’s possible that she didn’t want to show herself outperforming them and was merely thinking of what was good for her company. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt here.
Mom: No one asked you to do that. I know exactly what you are playing at. You want your father to see it and realize that you are better than your brothers. You want to get chosen. You want to take everything!
See that? Her “fake” mom hurled this same accusation at Seri after that dinner in Episode 1. She repeated herself, “I guess you want to take what you can take.”
Seri: Mom.
Mom: “Mom”? If you let go of your greed, we can have an easy relationship like a real mother and a daughter.
Seri: It isn’t greed. It’s my dream.
Mom: Do you think you deserve that luxury?
Remember: Seri is believed to be the result of her father’s indiscretion/infidelity.
The “fake” mother was accusing her of wanting to upstage her half-brothers, so she’d be chosen as her father’s successor. This was Seri’s “greed.” Moreover, her “fake” mother blamed Seri’s greed as the cause of their uneasy mother-daughter relationship.
The implication here is that Seri’s “fake” mother felt aggrieved that her own biological children would be denied their rightful spot at her husband’s company, and that her husband’s lovechild would take over the chairmanship. Her mother’s feelings are understandable; it’s human nature to want the legitimate children inherit more than the illegitimate child.
So, the “fake” mother’s words should have hurt Seri, at the very least. If not that, then her mom’s words that she wasn’t a “real” daughter should have insulted and RILED her up.
So I seriously wonder why Seri even bothered to print the picture of her “fake” mother and frame it after being insulted? Why didn’t she delete that photo?
4. Designer items vs books, books, books
Of course, Seri’s house looked chic, but it didn’t look comfortable. Her couch appeared to be made of stone and cushioned with color-coordinated pillows. There were no casually draped throw blankets.
A couch like this would be custom-made but it didn’t look inviting. It didn’t entice you to curl up and drift away with a cosy book or a warm boyfriend.
Unlike his house.
But Seri learned to integrate her work with her home. Her walk-in closet, for instance, had the feel of her both her jewelry and handbag sections in her store. All her things were displayed as if they were on sale.
JungHyuk on the other hand had books. After seeing her house, it’s understandable why Seri complained that his books were all dark and difficult. She meant that his house looked somber because the books weren’t for light reading.
Seri’s office looked photoshoot-ready with her awards properly displayed and her tasteful knick-knacks on her desk.
But to me, it lacked soul because there weren’t any bookcases and books to be found.
5. Bathroom
Boo. The set coordinator did a terrible job designing this.
One, those rattan chairs and table are out-of-place in a bathroom. What’s the point? Did Seri think that bathing, showering, and taking a dump now a spectator’s sport? The bathroom is never a place for a tête-à-tête, unless she and her special someone are soaking in a jacuzzi.
Two, the lighting fixtures don’t match anything. The chandelier over the tub is Granny’s style; the hanging lights on the tree are kitschy; and the crystal pendant light over the counter is too ornate for the overall woodsy theme of the bathroom.
Three, there’s a gold tub faucet with a chrome shower fixture. Fail. Go with either gold or chrome but not both.
Four, what are those pebbles doing there? For a spa massage? Ugh. Water can pool between pebbles and if it’s not drained or dried out properly, gross mildew can form.
Actually, if the plumping fixture of his bathroom was upgraded and a sink, tub, and shower stall were added, his bathroom wouldn’t look so primitive.
The mosaic tiles on his bathroom have been on the upswing in recent years. His plastic tub was freestanding like her own tub was. A freestanding tub is trendy but what I don’t like about it is there’s no ledge to put a book, shampoo, bubblies, and…candles.
See? She could only use one aromatherapy candle because there wasn’t enough space for candles.
6. Last but not least, triangles
I’m sure you noticed them too. The interior of her home features a lot of triangles and hexagons. Look at her ceiling, the wall, and the shelving unit. Even her cone pendant lamps look triangular from the distance.
These are unusual shapes found in modern homes, not traditional ones.
The shapes give a distinct and dramatic flair to her home. To me, they say a lot about Seri’s personality. She considers herself creative and innovative. She likes to experiment with design and art. And that’s obvious with the artwork that she chose.
In comparison, the interior of JungHyuk’s home favors squares and rectangles, or what’s known as solid shapes. Squares and rectangles typically indicate a predictable character who likes things done right and in perfect order. Like JungHyuk.
Ah! He has a lot of curtains, too, for a guy….lol.
His place actually has more clutter than Seri’s home, but since they’re neatly stacked, arranged or put away, his place doesn’t look disorganized.
Between the two homes, JungHyuk’s house looked lived in and his things well-worn. But it has lots of potential (hahaha if it weren’t in North Korea, of course). With better plumping and toilet features, and bit of renovation, the features of his house can level up. In contrast, Seri’s pad is a designer place. It’s either you take it or leave it. Meaning, no minor changes will convince you to like the apartment, if it didn’t appeal to you at first sight.
Excellent observations! I wanted to comment on Seri’s clothes. Her outfits in SK were well tailored but also devoid of color (mostly black and white). In NK she wore hand knitted sweaters, with bright colors often mismatched. Not fashionable, but very cozy and warm.
This is a very interesting post to read. It reminds me of a paper I once read on how to interpret interpersonal communication and relationships through the architectural design of the interior of a residence. One thing I noticed in Seri’s pad is that there does not seem to be a “communal” area for spending time together, talking, laughing, arguing, watching TV, etc. In other words, she does not have close relationships in her life. No families and no friends. JH’s house seems to be the opposite. It is a lived space where relationships grow.
🙂 I told you we can discuss Eps 9 and 10 for two weeks and never run out of topic. AND I haven’t started on how handsome HB was on the motorcycle or mentioned his dimples yet. pwahahaha.
You’re right. JH’s house looks like a place where relationships can grow. It has a homely feel about it. Seri’s pad? Not so much. But I’ve to see her kitchen and dining room first. Who knows? These two areas might be something different.
I forgot to comment on their bedrooms. They look alike for some strange reason. Beds big enough for two people, plain wooden headboards, a ledge on the wall to put stuff on, regular pillows, beddings. I was expecting Seri’s bedroom to be more opulent or eclectic or just more personal because the bedroom is usually where people place their keepsakes from childhood, from college and from traveling. I think the set director fell asleep on the job. lol.
Thank you, for the great observations! Twice Seri said that what is one one’s shelves tells you about that person. Hmmm. There is nothing cosy about Seri’s space so it made me wonder if she ever has people over. In her family, only her mum had been there. I also don’t feel that she spends much time at home herself. To me the place looks purely for show, as though she’s prepared for an interiors magazine to come in at any time for an article. Hard surfaces, as you say, except for the bed, which looks soft to the point of suffocation. Having said that, I would have been disappointed if her house was minimalist in design, as it wouldn’t have been appropriate to her character’s personality up ’til then. I am actually happy that it’s not pink and frilly.
An abundance of geometric designs are on trend where I live, too; but trends don’t last, thank goodness. The overuse of gaudy artificial lighting in the photo of Seri’s sister-in-law taking pictures actually surprised me; I thought she had better taste.
Both JH’s home and his parents’ home struck me as mainly very brown and reminded me of my in-laws’ decor when I first moved here. Interesting to have brown as a default colour. I preferred JH’s village house as it had a more tactile look. Windows that open on a fine day and plenty of curtains to keep the cold out in the winter if one lacks central heating.
I should have liked some books, though. I have a surplus I could have donated to the cause. I am curious to see what the flat looks like during the day, so am awaiting the next episode.
Good comments.
I think we’ve all come to the same conclusion that Seri’s place doesn’t look it’s welcomed a lot of visitors. But no, it’s not minimalist in design. Her preference for black-and-white outfits would suggest a sleek, minimalist approach but I’m glad that she isn’t color-averse at home.
Yes, JH’s home and his parents’ house are all brown because of the wood. Wood usually suggests warmth but since the wood in JH’s ancestral home is dark wood, there’s an air of being outdated, of feeling vintage and historic. lol. Seri’s family home however is all marble, and marble gives this cold, dignified, do-not-mess-with-me feel. You can’t track mud on marble floors.
Such fabulous observations. There is a saying in my language, “Every house quietly whispers about who lives within it”. However, My current home doesn’t say anything about me/us at all. I live in custom built homes provided to executives expected to move cities/countries often as part of the job. Housing given to us is built and furnished uniformly and considered a “perk”. All the 50+ homes for executives of equal stature look so similar.
If you were to find out about who we were as people, you’d have to look in our storerooms full of unopened boxes of shipping companies carrying books, knick knacks from cities/countries loved and lost and sometimes a whole childhood packed away.
Hey Packmule3,
Just stopping by to say “hi”
Hushhh
Hushhh, my dear friend!
You found me!! 😂 Good! You can analyze the acting skills of Hyun Bin next since you’re the professional acting coach here.
It’s so intriguing that a discussion on something naive on television can make you reconsider your ways 🙂 I’ve been thinking so much about this post. We never considered putting our hearts into decorating the home we live in because well, as I said, it’s adequately equipped and we’d move in a couple of years anyway right? After this post, we’re getting some plants this weekend. This place needs to look like we live here 😌
I have read the article and what the you wrote is what i was thinking and couldn’t put down on paper.
I found everything EVERYTHING on to the point, indeed RJH’s house seems more live whereas YSR’s feels cold and business like. There is almost no diffence from a business place, But then again YSR was all about her work and career. Also it looks more of a set.
I liked the observation about the natural light. I coulnd’t agree more.
Also the concrete couch was the first i noticed. How uncomfortable it must be and that apparently does not spent time there.
I dont know though if your/ours thoughts also represent the writer’s, Director’s thoughts (or whoever is responsible), and they wanted to reflect each character’s personality in their houses.
I hope so because YSR’s house seems depressing like was she.
She needs to move. Or a huge renovation.
Did you notice the concrete couch too?😂 That was too avant-garde for me.
It’s hard to renovate Seri’s pad. Repainting won’t do the trick. Knocking down walls and redoing the ceilings won’t be easy. I think she should just move. 😂
But who knows, she might have a kitchen or a dining room that opens up to a balcony with a view of Seoul or something.
Take it easy, arihsi. You’re a new mom so it’s understandable that you’re too exhausted to decorate your home. 🙂
House plants are a good start. Don’t forget to google which plants are poisonous to have around young children. Your baby might be too young to crawl now but soon enough, your baby will be crawling and chomping on anything interesting in sight. (Mine loved to eat newspapers and books. Lol.)
I’m not surprised. Big house when you’re living alone can be very cold and empty, because they just lack human life. Seri has always been alone and feared relationship (her “fake” mum seems 100% responsable of that) being only proud of her success. Her home is the same.
When JungHyuk’s house is small but cozy and full of life with his ducklings, his memories.
Dear everyone, I love all of these observations. However, I’m now feeling like I should have a big tidy-up this weekend. Lol.
Looking over the photos, the colours in the seating area are festive. If I had Seri’s place for a weekend, I would invite everyone I know for a drinks and snacks party. They would mostly be standing, so it would work. Afterwards I would leave. Concrete sofa. 😑 It belongs in a public space or park. Not even my lurchers would like it.
It was concrete, wasn’t it, Fern? My eyes didn’t deceive me??
When I saw it, it occurred to me that we’re lucky that JH was NOT the type to fling Seri over his shoulder and dump her on the couch to ravish her. Because Seri would have a concussion if her head landed on that concrete couch.
The couch should come with a warning label of its own. “No jumping on the couch. No horse-playing, either.”
I say rent chairs from the caterers, or tell your friends to BYOC (Bring Your Own Chairs).
Or you can rent those tall round cocktail tables. You don’t need chairs for those.
Agree. I think that’s what the set decorator wanted to convey here with the differences in the interior design of their homes. 🙂
Blimey, you are up early! I didn’t know it was concrete or cast stone until you pointed it out, but it surely does look like that. BTW, I did see some books in Seri’s honey-comb shelves, but they looked like props – like books with big pics and small print.
And now a commercial break…KPop style…😍😂
https://i.ibb.co/fkdWM6S/457-B34-E4-9169-4275-BCD5-3-DFC0-AD8-EE5-A.jpg
PS I have very large hands 😂
LOL. This deserves a special mention on the blog. Where are you?
nrllee, well done, you! My daughter’s fave. (I’m more the one below…were I but young.
Did you mean Kai? hahaha.
Good choice. Or as the kids say nowadays, “Rawr!!”
Seriously, though, I feel sorry for that kid. His image is over-sexualized but, in that interview that @agdr03 shared here from an Ellen Degeneres’ daytime show, he struck me as an airhead. I hope one of these days, he wouldn’t feel disgusted with this boytoy image superimposed on him…all in the pursuit of fame.
Not one of the men in his group is exempt from that image, but it seems to have stuck to him the most and I am sorry about that. It’s one of the big drawbacks of K-pop and K-drama as well for most of the performers – enforced image and a disconnect from the simple pleasures and realities of life in one’s twenties.
I don’t know that he is an airhead. He seems to be someone who doesn’t think well on his feet (like me) and his English is good but not great. He knows that his face is his fortune but he seems a thoughtful person and is said to be a bookworm.
“Where are you?”
Was at SM Coex (Seoul) yesterday 😂. Daughter dear did the rent a hanbok palace photo tour day before. Yes I was the photographer and yes I used the “burst” function as instructed. I thought I did a decent job but she didn’t think so. 😂 I thought she was breathtakingly beautiful (but I am biased). This is her sashaying around in her noble lady outfit in GyeongBokGung Palace.
https://i.ibb.co/N1tjsFz/AA379-E34-6034-4-CFD-9-D7-F-24-AD4-B768-B41.jpg
@packmule3 on second thoughts can you remove that link with her pic. And replace it with this one? She may not appreciate her face being on a public forum. Thanks 🙏
Done! 🙂
She’s beautiful, nrllee!! You’re making me green with envy.
I love her hanbok too. Great choice! Did it take long for her to choose which one to wear? And how cute was that? She had her own purse.
What about shoes? Did she get the Korean shoes with the boseom (?) socks?
Awww that was a gorgeous pic of your daughter @nrllee (I’m sure she takes after her Mom 😉), why didn’t you do that hanbock with her? 😊 I’m so jealous!
Sorry I’m late to the great comments about the houses but I didn’t notice that brick of a sofa 😁 what the? No extra naughtiness to be done there as you can die. 😂
Wait! You’re on episode 8? of Dr Cutie? I need to catch up. I haven’t read your whole post but I’ll get time today. From the pics of the main leads, they look cute already. ☺️ Wait for me ok?
I fast-forwarded, my friend. You know me, I’m very good with FF-ing scenes when it comes to Cdramas.
Yes, no hanky-panky on a couch like that.
No hanky-panky.
No canoodling.
No snuggling.
No nothing.
“She’s beautiful, nrllee!! You’re making me green with envy.”
😂❤️
It was a package – they did her hair too. No shoes. She walked around in her own. The lady helped her pick. The number available was mind boggling and she helped my daughter pick. I didn’t bother because I was designated paparazzi and I don’t have the long hair to go with it. 😂. It was fun watching her sashay around the Palace grounds.
The photos will be treasured, nrllee. Your daughter looks so lovely and you did a great job. This looks like one of the trips of a lifetime.
Dear Packmule3,
I have nothing to say about Hyun Bin’s acting. It’s been perfect and he has the cutest pout. Rarely can a man his age pout like than and not have it be a turn off. But he did it. He is great at showing restraint and yet letting you know that there is so much unexpressed feeling there.
Second male lead needed to have more charisma to be a threat. Instead he is just kind of pretty and doesn’t threaten the ultimate outcome at all. Almost any of the 5comrades would have been more interesting. I’m not saying he’s bad. He isn’t. But he’s only adequate, from my perspective.
How are you liking the show, hushhh?
I can see what you mean about the second male lead….but I wouldn’t call it “charisma” exactly. To be a threat, as you said, the actor needs to add a bit more “twisted”ness to his role-playing. Like a younger version of Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. Something that would make him appear like a loose cannon: unpredictable and havoc-wreaking, so he could help Seri et al. take down the bad guy.
In Ep 10, he looked like a puppy. Not menacing at all.
Yes, Hyun Bin moved up. He’s overtaken Lee Dong Wook (the Goblin’s reaper) in my favorite ahjussi catalogue. lol.
I’m really glad you found me here. I’m laid-back about moderating so go on ahead and discuss anything. Aside from politics and law, I don’t shush people for going off-topic. My big problem however is I’m still technologically inept.
@pm3, this is why I have always felt there needs to be standardized testing on basics of motherhood. My baby, she who is an eater of baby lotions (will lick from arm upon application), grabber of baby wipes to attempt eating (will fight you with all might), and user of “Goodnight Moon” as a teether (I fight to read to her. She thinks it’s food that I’m denying her) will rejoice in having these new objects to shove in her mouth. It still didn’t occur to me. Can you imagine?
Conclusion. No house plants till she pays her own taxes.
@pm3 did you notice that the people did not change into indoor slippers in Seri’s house? Being old fashioned, even after all these decades in the US, the idea of wandering around in a home tracking outside dirt all over the place makes my skin crawl…
Love your observations❤
I seriously enjoyed reading all the things you spoke it’s like pouring my heart out. Personally I liked her kitchen and dinning a lot. Tbh. And her bedroom in the episode. And damn I loved the couple I just can’t get over them. Hehe
I wish to see them together in more projects