I wrote a separate review of “Life is Beautiful.” The movie is too good to be treated as a mere companion piece for my analysis of our kdrama.

Link here: Life Is Beautiful: A Retrospect

Here are the similarities that I can see.

1. Willpower

In the movie, the hero Guido believes in willpower to alter events. He thinks that by force of will, he can manipulate situations to his advantage. So he uses his willpower to attract the attention of Dora, the woman he’s in love with, and to get the German dog away from his son Joshua’s hiding place.

a. In our drama, the Yeonsu also believes in willpower. When she was a kid, she used her willpower to ignore the kids’ ostracism. In a way, she’s like Guido and his family who are excluded and banished from society because they are Jewish. In her case though the kids rejected her because she didn’t have parents and she was poor.

Yeonsu’s voiceover: They say the more you try to ignore the past, the more you become trapped in it. Even though time passed, and I became an adult, I was still that same little girl who was at that playground. That’s how my life has always been. To avoid getting hurt, I hurt the people I loved. I disguised my low self-esteem with a break-up.

But unlike Guido, Yeonsu doesn’t believe that life is beautiful. She broke up with Ung because she thought she couldn’t escape her impoverished and miserable existence. So with her willpower, she decided to forge through life without him.

Yeonsu’s voiceover: I pretended like everything was fine and hung onto the hope that I would get used to it. That was when it happened. The day that Ung doesn’t remember.

Ung: Just tell why we have to break up. Tell me why, Yeonsu. If you don’t tell me why, I’ll have no choice but to hate everything about myself. I’ll come to think of myself as someone who deserves to be abandoned. (dropping the phone)

Since we know HOW his father abandoned him on the street at night, it makes sense that he would feel this way about Yeonsu breaking up with him on the street at night, too. Nighttime would be the loneliest for him.

Yeonsu: I’m going through a rough patch right now. My family is going through a financial crisis. I can’t afford to be dating anyone.
Ung: (picking up phone)
Yeonsu: And there’s no reason for you to share this misery I’m in. That’s why.
Ung: Pfft. Is that it? I would rather have you tell me that you didn’t like me anymore. If that’s why you’re abandoning me, that’s just ridiculous.

Yeonsu’s voiceover: That’s what the past does to you. The more you try to run away from it, the more it traps you in, so that you make the same mistakes again.

Thus, despite believing in willpower, Yeonsu views life as futile. She’s trapped no matter if she uses all her willpower and energy to run away from her troubles. In contrast to Guido’s optimistic outlook on life, Yeonsu holds the pessimistic view.

b. Aside from Yeonsu, JiUng also believes in willpower. NJ confided in him how difficult it was for her to find friends. He told her to life is how she perceived it to be. If she wanted an ordinary life, she could pretend that her life was so. It’s mind over matter.

NJ: I’ve been working since I was young, so there are things I can’t have that are normal to most people. It’s not easy to befriend someone you’ve met through work. But I also have no time to meet new people. That’s why I just gave up making friends.
JU: You know what? If you want to live an ordinary life like the others, just pretend that you are. It may seem difficult but it’s all about your state of mind. And if you keep doing that, you don’t even have to pretend anymore. We can’t just blame our surroundings. After all, it’s our life we’re talking about. It’s our loss to think like that. So you should give it a shot before you give up entirely. That’s all.
NJ: Lately, you’ve been comforting me unexpectedly.

JiUng is echoing the message of the movie. Because Guido believes that life is beautiful, he always finds a way to turn an unhappy moment into something funny and magical.

Take for instance the rainy evening when he crashes the car. It should have been a total disaster because Dora is with him. Dora isn’t impressed, to say the least. Not only does she get soaked in the rain, but her dress gets ripped, too. But when she tells him that one needs to have the right key to open her heart, Guido rises to the challenge. He tells Dora that he can get the key from Virgin Mary herself.

It’s all a mind trick. He remembers a handyman who always shouts for his wife to drop the key from the second-floor window. He goes under the same window and pretends to be the husband demanding the key. He shouts, “Maria! The key!” Just on cue, the key comes flying down, seemingly from heaven. He catches it and asks Dora if that’s the key. Dora is dumbfounded. Lol.

This scene reminds me of Ung suddenly appearing behind Yeonsu to walk her home from a company meal. He calls her up and Yeonsu’s pleased to hear him.

Yeonsu: Perfect timing. We just parted ways.
Ung: Did you drink a lot?
Yeonsu: No, not that much.
Ung: Are you going home?
Yeonsu: Yes.
Ung: I wanted to pick you up, but I knew you wouldn’t like that.
Yeonsu: Me? Did I?
Ung: Mmm. You used to say you’d be embarrassed if I came to pick you up when you could’ve just walked home. You wanted to be independent.
Yeonsu: I can’t believe you still remember all that.
Ung: Of course, I remember all sorts of things.
Yeonsu: But back then, I only said that because I didn’t want to take up your time. And you would have spent a lot of money on cab fare. Back then, it seemed like a lot of money. It was intimidating.
Ung: So you actually wanted me to come pick you up.
Yeonsu: Yes.
Ung: Okay. Then look behind you.
Yeonsu: What?

She turns around and sees Ung.

Ung: From now on, tell me these things in advance. If you don’t tell me, I won’t know since I’m an idiot. So promise that you’ll tell me everything.
Yeonsu: Mmm.

Just like Dora, Yeonsu’s speechless. Yes, the guy may be an idiot, but the girl will always be moved to see him willing to make extra effort for her.

Ung’s voiceover: I still don’t know why we broke up. I’m sure she’ll tell me one day. Waiting is what I do best after all. And once I find out why I’ll make sure to prevent it from happening again. I’ll make sure to prevent it from happening again.

Ung: I listen to and remember everything you tell me. So keep telling me.
Yeonsu: Okay
Ung: Let’s go.

c. Ung displays his willpower, too. It must bother him not to know the reason for their breakup but he’s willing to wait until he’s ready.

2. Riddles

In the movie, the riddles serve a purpose: they’re eyeopeners.

At first, they were a means for Guido and the German Dr. Lessing to form a bond. But at the end, the riddle dispels any hope that Guido may have fostered that Dr. Lessing would rescue him and his family from the camp.

This is Dr. Lessing’s final riddle.

Dr. Lessing: “Fat, fat, ugly, ugly, all yellow in reality. If you ask me what I am, I answer, ‘quack, quack, quack,’”
Guido: (stunned)
Dr. Lessing: “Walking along I go, ‘Poopoo.’ Who am I? Tell me true.” A duckling, right?
Guido: (nodding his head)
Dr. Lessing: Is it a duckling? It’s not! A veterinarian friend of mine sent it to me from Vienna. I can’t send him mine until I solve this one. I thought a duck-billed platypus but it doesn’t go “quack, quack, quack.” A duck-billed platypus goes ‘pfft.’ I translated it into Italian for you last night. Well, what do you say? Everything points to a duckling. Help me. For heaven’s sake, help me. I can’t even sleep.

I’ve explained my “final solution” in my review of the movie.

There’s a similar riddle in our kdrama. Do you know what it is? Lol. I just told you.

The riddle is Yeonsu’s reason for breaking up with Ung.

It’s not only Ung who’s puzzled by her reason for breaking up. Her grandma also wanted to know why.

Grandma: By the way, Yeonsu, did you break up with him back then because we were going through a hard time?
Yeonsu: What?
Grandma: Did you break up with him because you had to carry all the burden yourself?
Yeonsu: No, Grandma. Why would you think that? We just fought and broke up. You know I have a nasty temper just like you. That’s such a silly thought.

But the Grandma knew that she was lying. Ung had no idea that something happened to their family five years ago.

This meant that Yeonsu kept their family’s financial crisis hidden from him.

Just like in the movie, Ung and Grandma weren’t going to have the answer to their riddle.

3. Silence

Silence was one of the themes in the movie. Depending on how the characters exercise silence, it could mean bravery, complicity, resignation, or survival.

In this drama, silence also came in several forms. For instance, when Yeonsu refused to tell Ung and Grandma why she broke up with him, I thought she was trying to be brave. Stupid, yes. But also brave.

When Ung decided to wait for her to tell him her reason for breaking up, his silence meant patience.

When Ung gave his dad pocket money to buy his fish rod, their silence showed complicity.

Ung: Don’t you have any money saved up? Gosh! I pity you, Mr. Choi.
Dad: What are you doing? Did you come here to tease me?
Ung: (sidling up to his dad)
Dad: Why are you getting so close?
Ung: Come on. Open your pocket.
Dad: Hey. Why? What is that? Hey!
Ung: Don’t tell mom. Buy that rod and keep it well hidden. Don’t let her find it and have her scold me as well.

They’re colluding to deceive Ung’s mom.

Dad: My dear son!
Ung: Dad, she’s going to find out.
Dad: But it’s pretty expensive.
Ung: Gosh. I know. So I gave you enough.

I thought this father-and-son scene was sweet.

But that stranger observing from him from the other side of the street? Lol. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to guess that it’s his biological father spying on him to see how he’s doing.

A similar scene happened in “Life is Beautiful.” The grandmother of Joshua drops by the bookstore one day to see him. She pretends to be a stranger buying a book. She tells Joshua to hand his mother a letter and to say that it’s from his Grandmother. He answers that he hasn’t seen his Grandmother, but as she’s about to leave the room, he calls out to her saying, “You forgot your change, Nonna!”

I wouldn’t be surprised if Ung suspected that his father had come out of hiding to check on him. After all, he was famous.

As for Yeonsu’s bestie, her silence meant her delusion. lol.

5. Preservation of Innocence

As I said in my review of the movie, its most significant theme is preserving childhood. Guido wanted to pass on the innocence, imagination, laughter, and play that he’d experienced as a child to his son Joshua. Preserving Joshua’s innocence was the greatest gift he could have given him.

In our drama, we see Guido’s character in Ung’s parents. Despite his memories of abandonment, Ung grew up with a happy childhood. Like Guido, his parents worked hard to keep up the pretense that he was their one and only biological son. They hid the truth from him since he was a child suffering from trauma. When he grew up, they continued to treat him like the precious son he’d always been.

Unfortunately, JiUng couldn’t say the same thing about his mother. He had a bad childhood because his mother neglected him.

However, I think Yeonsu’s grandmother wasn’t any better than JiUng’s mom. I dislike her brand of “tough love.” In my opinion, if she heard Yeonsu crying for many days in the bathroom years ago, then she should have at least checked on her, What was she waiting for? I dislike it that she waited to blame Ung for making her granddaughter cry when she could have done something to comfort Yeonsu.

Grandma: Yeonsu told me not to say anything to you. I’m only saying this because you came here on your own.
Ung: Okay.
Grandma: You like her, don’t you?
Ung: I’m sure I like her much more than you think I do.

lol. I like how Ung corrected her misjudgment. He did it quietly so she didn’t become defensive.

Grandma: Good. That’s all that matters. Please stay by her side.
Ung: You don’t need to worry.
Grandma: What I mean is make sure you stay by her side for a very long time. Don’t leave her anytime soon.
Ung: (nodding)
Grandma: Ever since she was little, I was the only person she could rely on. She didn’t have any friends or family.

Didn’t she wonder that perhaps Yeonsu didn’t have any friends because of her? What did she do to help Yeonsu have friends or socialize better? She admitted teaching Yeonsu to be hot-tempered and to be selfish because they were poor.

Grandma: (continuing) Whatever it was, she always carried the burden herself. When our family fell apart and we had no money, that young girl strived to make ends meet on her own.

If she knew that she was the “only” person Yeonsu relied on, then she failed Yeonsu when she let Yeonsu handle the debt problem on her own. Wasn’t it Yeonsu’s uncle who incurred the debt? Was this uncle her own son? If this uncle was related to her, then she should have gone after him herself, instead of letting her granddaughter shoulder all the responsibility. It seems like she knew that her granddaughter was drowning, but she didn’t even bother to toss her a lifebuoy or a helping hand.

Grandma: (continuing) Anyway, I think she has always had feelings for you. So please don’t make her feel lonely and stand by her side.
Ung: Okay. Don’t worry.
Grandma: I know that my words might put pressure on you. But I have no choice. I can’t be by her side forever. That’s why I’m asking for your help.
Ung: (nodding)

This grandma really rubbed me the wrong way. She can’t compare to Guido in the movie. She raised Yeonsu to have a chip on her shoulder for being poor. I blame her for Yeonsu’s inferiority complex.

In contrast, Guido wanted his son Joshua to grow up thinking that “life is beautiful.” He was aware that Joshua’s childhood would shape the man he would become so he protected him from the harsh reality as long as he could.

Without question, Ung’s parents came closest to being Guido in this drama.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Okay, that’s it for this episode. I need to hurry up because I’m starting “Twenty-five, Twenty-one” this week.