@kuroshio asked:
Is anyone here is familiar with Korean Culture?
I started to watch K-drama since last April. I literally do not know any Korean,but I have a question hoping anyone can give me a hint.
I found that butterflies and rain scenes are quite often seen in K-drama. For example, in “Goblin” white butterfly is the incarnation of a deity; we can also see a butterfly on “Ode to my father”, ” Rooftop Prince”, “Secret garden….etc.
Accrodind to “Google”, butterfly means good marriage at a wedding, does it have others symbolically meaning in Korean culture?
Also according “Google” , Korea doesn’t rain that often as it shows on K-drama. Does “rain” has a significant meaning than other cultures usually have?
For example, rain may mean sad, tear, or unexpected accidents in my culture.We do rain a lot here, but still there is not that much rain scenes in our drama or movies.
I will really appreciate it if anyone who is familiar with Korean Culture can give me a hint.
I don’t know much about butterflies, kuroshio, but here’s an old post on rain and the YELLOW umbrellas.
To me, the rain is a TROPE in kdramas. Just imagine a kdrama as salad. Tropes are elements that are consistently found in kdramas:
nasty mother-of-the-guy,
nastier ex-girlfriend,
guy’s chaebol family,
poor girl
hospital confinement,
a cutesy, accidental first meeting,
rainy weather,
childhood connection,
trip to the beach or amusement park,
misunderstandings,
etc.
These kdrama tropes are like ingredients of a salad:
tomato,
lettuce,
carrots,
cucumber,
olives,
croutons,
sunflower seed,
feta cheese,
mushroom,
vinaigrette, etc.
These kdrama tropes are building blocks of the story. The rain is necessary aspect of the story because, by just adding droplets of water and a small umbrella to a scene, the writer gets to telegraph to the viewers how the lead characters interact with each other (i.e., the guy is protective) and how far their relationship has progressed since their first meeting.
And because the rain will show the writer’s message, the rain will have a different context or significance for each kdrama.
I know one Korean superstition about the rain. It’s about the “fox rain.” It was mentioned in the kdramas, “My Girlfriend is a Gumiho” and “Reply 1988.”
A fox rain is what we call a “sun shower.” The sun is shining, there are no clouds in the sky, and yet it rains. According to Korean folklore, when there’s a fox rain, it’s because the tiger is marrying the fox. The clouds have an unrequited love for the tiger and they’re crying tears, which fall down from sky in the form of raindrops. But since the clouds don’t want to witness the wedding of the tiger and the fox, they’re hiding behind the sun.
Now, in the kdrama, “Psycho but It’s Okay,” the rain was an impetus to show GT’s real feelings. The writer used the rain to strip off GT’s armor (armor = his jacket. He removed his jacket.) so he could demonstrate his concern for MY. He’d been trying to distance himself from her. He told her to leave him alone. He walked away from her.
But when he realized that she was walking out in the rain, his only thought was to rescue her.
In a way, he’s the “Zombie Kid.” He’s RAVENOUS for affection, like a zombie. But he also knows he can’t sate his hunger by associating with MY. Why? There are at least, three reasons:
One, his Hyung is fixated on MY. Being the good brother, he can’t steal from his Hyung.
Two, MY is psycho and emotionally NOT GOOD for him. So far, GT has exhibited a strong sense of self-preservation. MY has repeatedly says that she likes him because he’s “pretty.” He was warned by the publisher that she’d “eat” him up. Meaning, to dominate and overwhelm his being. But GT didn’t need to hear this warning since he knew her personality ever since the butterfly incident.
And three, he’s afraid that when he shows his real needy self, he won’t be worthy of being loved for who he is.
I hadn’t thought about the fact that the ML was afraid to approach the FL also because of his brother.
Great information about foxy rain, too. 😉
The tropes are useful. It’s a shortcut to immediate understanding. For example, when a character doesn’t need to be elaborated due to a lack of screen time, a trope is preferable to give a quick idea of what the character is all about.
Rain, snow, night, all these simple elements help restore impressions.
The final scene of Episode 4 could also take place in full sun to reverse the trope, but this would need to be worked out perfectly. For example, blinding sun and causing discomfort, lots of wind. Backlight effects. On the beach, with sea spray. The heroine takes her pen and throws it into the ocean. No song, on the contrary the very strong sound of the surf, at least at the beginning of the scene. It can also restore the feeling of abandonment. You can get a good bit stormy hug in full sun with that, moving.
I can try to imagine that, but is it as effective, and does it fit the story?
@pm3 unnie 😆
Im posting and capture your explanation about zombie kid on my twitter
With your blog link 😁
https://twitter.com/lovebangwon/status/1279129082878259200?s=21
Hope ppl will come and discuss more about it’s okay to not be okay drama here.
New link:
https://twitter.com/lovebangwon/status/1279131336159068161?s=21
I added source on capture pic 😂
😈 who are you calling unnie?!! 😟
Go ahead. Do what you want with it, Lovebangwon.
@kuroshio, I suppose the idea that it doesn’t rain that often in Korea is a matter of perspective. Where I live, we have what is classified as a Mediterranean climate and get an average annual rainfall of 14.9 inches (379.2 millimeters). It looks like averages for Seoul, South Korea, in the month of July are 16 days 330 mm, and in August 14 days and 350 mm. So if I went to Seoul in either July or August, I’d think it rained a lot. We joke where I live that we just shrug our shoulders when we feel a small earthquake, but run to look out the window whenever it rains.
Some viewers are so tuned in to the umbrella trope in Kramas that I have seen discussions trying to find symbolism in the color of the umbrellas being used by various characters.
Since you’re relatively new to Kdramas, @kuroshio, you might find this list of tropes helpful.
EDITED: 7/4/2020: link removed as requested by poster, @welmaris — packmule3 🙂
I found a Soompi note on Korean superstitions that mentions butterflies. https://www.soompi.com/article/1222973wpp/13-unique-korean-superstitions-may-not-known
This idea of butterflies not touching eyes, I heard as a child to do with moths. We do notice that moths leave a ‘powdery’ substance (I suppose they are the scales on the wings) that I was told not to touch and definitely not to breathe in even. As in most ‘dust’ particles, it was just unhygienic and could make one sick.
Another very brief mention specified the colour of the butterfly, ie it was the red butterfly that could bring about blindness. There are also good things said about them… so be aware that it’s not all bad.
“According to a Korean superstition, these dainty creatures have quite an evil to them. Apparently, if you touch a red butterfly (or moth) and then touch your eyes, you will go blind or have vision problems.” – From https://www.butterflyinsight.com/red-butterfly-color-meaning-and-myths.html
There are myths and beliefs from all over the world, over a myriad creatures. It would be fun to get an encyclopedia of myths and legends or superstitions and find out how some of these may have started.
As for the rain, sometimes it can be seen as an impartial or common denominator, bringing all parties to the same ‘level’. The rain falls on the bad and the good alike, for instance. In TK:EM @pkml3 was noting that it rained during the king’s funeral but not on Lee Gon. Hence, rain that acts ‘weird’ is a sign of something supernatural or divine intervention or is a clue or message.
Rain can be good or not so good … they can be showers of blessings, refreshing waters of cleansing, turpid (as in foul) or turbid (as in unclear) waters of death/destruction, depending on the context.
MY’s Ep 3 dream had her as Child MY staring into dark water, hearing a plea to be saved from its depths. Creepy water flowing from unseen sources to touch a person is horrific. Rain that heralds arrivals and change may just be a marker for a fresh start, a re-think, a change in direction.
The rain falling on GT and MY at the end of Ep 4 was refreshing at the end of a long day (or of many years) of pent up emotions, because regardless of the weather, GT had made a new decision to change direction, and MY realised that she was not being totally rejected and abandoned yet again at last.
Another thing to note in this drama about umbrellas: how often MY drags the tip of hers along the ground. The annoying sound reminds me of when she took a knife point and ran it around the edge of her plate to get her publisher to stop talking. I suspect she knows the sound will grate on people’s nerves.
@Welmaris, I noted that she has the habit of not wanting to listen to people speaking unless it’s something she wants to know.
You’re right about MY stopping CEO Lee from talking. He had been telling her that she needed to change her attire before the storytelling, so that she would not scare the children. She felt that it was a biased viewpoint which was a dangerous thing. CEO Lee said that he thought that she was more dangerous and she stopped him with the knife on the plate. Before this, she’d already corrected the misconception or biased view of the little girl, that princesses were the pretty ones. Basically she wanted to go on stage as a pretty witch. She had rejected a viewpoint that did not agree with hers.
There were 2 other times I recall.
1) After her fairy tale lesson, when GT questioned her about her take on fairy tales and whether she really believed it was enough to just accept one’s own reality when the rest of society treated one as different (my paraphrase) she yawned loudly so that GT stopped speaking. She didn’t care to hear a differing opinion?
2)In the car when GT wanted to put on the radio she knocked his had away from the radio dials. She said she didn’t want to hear other people talking. Only he could speak about anything. She chose whom she’d listen to. On the surface it was as if she did not care for other perspectives on a subject that she had an opinion on, or she did not care for topics outside of her interests. Or she would choose whom she might listen to if they said what she wanted.
She was also generally indifferent towards negative public opinion, unlike most celebrities. Which was why she could push the slimy book critic down the stairs or publicly humiliate the family at the book signing event.
She seems to focus on what she chooses to fixate upon and throws caution to the winds. (Personally I find that pretty free-ing but it’s inconsiderate LOL.)
You’re right, Welmaris!
The sound (and visual) of MY’s umbrella scraping the ground reminded me of fingernails deliberately scratching the blackboard. They grate on the nerves, as you said. And you’re right. It had the same effect as the knife she was dragging on her plate. They all sound villainous.
These sounds are usually enough to “trigger” people and induce discomfort or distress. MY knows the effect she has on people but she basks in it.
@Packmule3, I should offer you two apologies: one, for not thoroughly reading something to which I posted a link in this thread; and two, for bothering to ask you to remove that link. I scanned the linked list of Kdrama tropes but didn’t carefully read it before posting. Having now gone through it with more attention, I find some of the points made by the writer either offensive or off the mark. The writer’s ignorance and prejudices are showing, and I don’t want to seem to align myself with them. Thanks, in advance, for your attention to this matter.
Done, @welmaris! 🙂
@Packmule3 Thank you for bringing this up. As usual, I’m amazed!! And I didn’t know the fox rain was a thing. Also the tropes are helpful to understand k-drama more. I definitely have a totally new aspect of K-drama from now on.
@Welmaris Thank you for sharing your experience.
@GB The tips about butterflies are amazing. I enjoyed them very much.
@Packmule3 I learnt something new from here again. Thank you! I enjoyed the fox rain story. In my part of the world, when it’s rains with the sun shining brightly the old folks would say there will be alot of prawns to catch!
Your nbr 1 reason (GT can’t be stealing My because of his Hyung) has come to fruition with the last episode. I do worry for Hyung ST’s melt down. But who knows he may be more perceptive than we think he is especially in that scene when he opened his eyes when GT says he loves him more than MY when GT got home drunk and hugged him.
If we have a sun shower, I know to put the sun at my back to see a rainbow.
I’ve automatically started to note umbrellas in k-dramas thanks to your BoD posts over time. Shoes, too. MY has fabulous shoes and if not, pretty bare feet. I don’t think we’ll see her in trainers or hiking boots, although she did take the Volvo SUV off CEO Lee in a rare practical move. Lee also has nice shoes. Probably this is PP. Poor GT just has work shoes or trainers.