Summer Strike: Eps 1 & 2 Open Thread

The thread is open.

Here’s the link to @nrllee’s review. Enjoy!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AyUtOzQkXXC8X8kbnWeKPoTqtqH2TYf4RG2Apupkglo/

I like it so far. It’s not mind blowing. Rather predictable. So it needs charming lead characters to hold my interest. Has Hometown ChaChaCha vibes. But I am hoping that SiWan will give me more than “good boy (or is it bad boy now?)” Kim SeonHo. I like the FL so far. So that’s a plus. She had most of the scenes in Ep1.

41 Comments On “Summer Strike: Eps 1 & 2 Open Thread”

  1. Thanks @packmule3. I just finished Ep2 and I still like it. So I am staying to watch. Bonus is that it’s just 12:eps?

  2. PS. The link above doesn’t work when you click on it. This is it.

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AyUtOzQkXXC8X8kbnWeKPoTqtqH2TYf4RG2Apupkglo/

  3. That’s good.

    I saw parts of it on Viki this morning. But I couldn’t find Siwan in the first 15 minutes so I bailed out. 😂😂

  4. Thanks, @nrllee. It’s better if I leave your comment alone, and not copy and paste the whole thing.

    I don’t have my laptop and my iPad (or the Apple operating system) copies extra codes when I transfer comments directly onto WordPress.

  5. @packmule3 so far it feels more like the main protagonist is YeoRum (the FL). The story revolves around her more and SiWan seems incidental. That’s because the story is narrated by the FL so far and we know pretty much everything about her. We get to hear her thoughts but nobody else’s. SiWan is a bit of a mystery. Especially in Ep2 when she meets him and we get to see her interactions with him. I will pen some thoughts tonight and put it in a Google doc with pics.

  6. Annyeong 🍂

    I’m curious about Im Siwan so i’ll be watching this show… the best parts of Ep 1 is her quitting, her revenge to the boss (she looked better casual haha), and the last scene with her floating in the ocean – why? coz i LOVE doing that when i swim in the pool. wish i can swim in the ocean more often, but this is not Hawaii and i don’t live in a tropical island haha.

    “My life is on strike!”

    love it. though i wish i can say the same thing. but for now, go girl!!!

  7. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    Thanks @pkml3 and @nrllee. That was a great write-up and observation of many metaphors for what the show is telling us in images. I enjoyed it!

    I came to watch not for Si Wan or Seol Hyun but because a library featured LOL. Well, it’s nice to see a good, traditional sort of library. Lots of wood and real books. I seem to see more digital libraries, or modern ones, … stark and shiny metallic, without much soul. Of course there are others that are more homely and a public library with a children’s section is quite a relief.

    Yeo Reum certainly takes things to the other extreme. From daily rushing about/running, working, and non-stop movement, she swings into mostly sleeping, even to drunken sleeping in the day. It’s fortunate that she has not met with dangerous people when she’s not even conscious.

    I found all the methods that Jae Bum tried to use to wake Yeo Reum up, without touching her, hilarious. Especially his efforts to make the scraping, and scratching sounds and flicking water at her face! He even dropped a pile of books on the floor! Tut tut!

    I like that he never had any hard feelings over being hit by the ball that Yeo Reum kicked. In the end, she also hit her own head against the door and had the bigger bruise on her forehead.

    She’s just going into her ‘do nothing’ life all willy-nilly, while DB seems to have chosen and embraces the quiet life. The other librarian gives the opposite attitude since she wants to trade the boring life for Seoul that YR just escaped. Ultimately most situations can be ‘good’, depending on what we make of them.

    Dae Bum impressed me by his ability to anticipate what each person needed, and to know what action to take. He has the gift of foresight. He knew his colleague was going to scream so he shut the windows. He knew that it was no use nagging the kids to get out of the library so he carried off one of them and the others followed. He knew that Yeo Reum was going to walk into traffic and quickly stopped the truck for her.

    From the preview, it seems that YR will be a mess, but it’s likely that DB will be just the right person to help straighten her out. 🙂

  8. @GB I laughed out loud too when he tried to wake her with his rather unusual methods (especially the fingernails on chalkboard? 🤣🤣). I was counting the “strikes” on her in her dealings with DaeBom (?). Strike 1 – she called him Unnie 😂😂 (she had her come uppance when the boys called her Ahjumma 😂😂. Strike 2 – she kicked the ball ⚽️ which hit him on the head 😂😂.

    I also liked that so far there’s not the “country folk are all nice and wholesome” vibe coming out. There’s just as much despair and dissatisfaction in life out in the country too eg the lady librarian who is desperate to get out of the country into Seoul. And nastiness and prejudice. I also liked that YeoRum still defaults to her pushover self in the country – her inability to stand up for herself in the convenience store (the owner went through her whole bag when he thought she was shoplifting), her reticence in confronting the high schooler (who did the shoplifting) outside the library. It’s kinda dangerous for her to be living on her own in the run down billiard hall but I guess she didn’t have much of a choice? I have a feeling (to be confirmed) the realtor wanted her to spruce it up and also to perhaps increase its property value by renting it to her so the next person who does wouldn’t be as creeped out by the fact that someone died there.

  9. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    @nrllee
    Yes, I believe that the ‘generosity’ of the billards hall owner has to do with making use of YR to clean up the dismal shell so that he can sell it at a much higher price. In effect, he’s getting paid by the maid to clean the place for him!!! Of course in the process she gets a roof over her head, but she has to expend loads of money to do fix all the stuff that’s rotten. The poor girl has been had, but she thinks she’s the lucky one.

    Another theme that occurred to me is that first impressions are not as they appear. DB is not an ahjumma and he is not mute, but it was easy to come to that conclusion in the beginning. In the same way Angok might be different from Seoul in that it’s quieter and in the countryside/seaside, but it is obviously not as idyllic as YR would like to think it.

    I kind of echo the ex-BF who suggests that she enabled people to treat her with disdain. She does not have the presence of mind to protect her own interests or awareness of being ‘used’ when dealing with wily folks. She does not plan her future or have a dream to improve her lot, other than providing for her mum and getting married to her boyfriend. Now that both these are gone, she is purposeless.

    She shortsightedly thinks that Angok is her destination, but I’m watching to see if she can make more of it or if it is actually a step on the way of a more fulfilling life’s journey.

    I’d like to see if she gains a greater degree of self-assertiveness. Perhaps she has to be pushed to extremes, as she had been at her workplace, before she steps up to defend herself.

    Another thing that strikes me is that she seems to only have her brother and the ex-BF, but no other person that is close to her. I can’t find it now, but I thought I saw a poster that had 4 individuals and a dog in it. I trust this means that YR gets to have a group of friends and a friendly dog to spend time with. 🙂

  10. We end Episode 2 with an ominous view through the eyeglasses of a man standing on the rooftop of the next building over: he’s smoking and watching Yeo-Reum. There’s a voyeuristic feel to the camera angle. @GrowingBeautifully, I fear you may be right that the town harbors a despicable character or two, but since this show isn’t billed as a thriller, I suspect there’ll be folks who really around our hapless female lead.

    Yeo-Reum does seem lacking in emotional intelligence, doesn’t she? And stunted in social skills. When she decides on a whim to settle in that seaside town, she knows nothing about the community. When she thinks no one will be watching, or care, when she day drinks, she’s being unrealistic. A small town setting is not conducive to living anonymously.

  11. Ugh! …rally around, not really…

  12. @GrowingBeautifully, the artwork of the opening credits shows four people and a pup having a good time on a rooftop, and four people and a pup standing on the shore. But most of the opening credit drawings are of the female lead and her experiences, suggesting this is her story.

    We also can assume from the English title this show has been given–Summer Strike–that there will be an end to the period of time when the characters don’t want to do anything. I think the literal title is ironic. As I see it, winnowing and selling belongings, moving to a new community, and creating a home from a decrepit building take a tremendous effort physically, mentally, and emotionally. That’s far from doing nothing!

  13. Ep 2 thoughts

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D41VnnPNRhsKEBaV8Bwj8doduHKkYWRdjFtlY930BgM/

    Yes to @Welmaris about the sudden ominous turn of events at the end. Also yes to YR still being quite gullible. She’s still a pushover. I wouldn’t have allowed the shop owner to take out everything from my backpack. I would’ve unpacked it myself for him to see? And I would not have been cowed by the rude high schooler. I would’ve put her in her place.

    Good point @GB about “first impressions”. I agree.

    YR is a sitting duck really. I guess that’s where DR comes in to help her. So far he’s rescued her on more than one occasion. He may be selectively mute and unassuming but he’s observant and knows the lay of the land. She needs him to navigate this “personal journey” of hers unscathed.

  14. @nrllee, Yeo-Reum’s father isn’t with the family because he’s dead. The mom is resentful that she was left alone to carry the burden of providing for the family; that’s not an uncommon emotion for a surviving spouse and parent to feel. We’re told that her mother is laid to rest next to her father. Yeo-Reum also realizes she’s become an orphan. She does not appear to have a close relationship with her older brother.

    It is interesting to me to see the contrast between this show and My Liberation Notes. Both shows touch on the soulless drudgery of commuting and working for a living, but the three siblings of MLN dream that moving into Seoul from the countryside will reinvigorate them. In this show, our female lead escapes Seoul and her job in order to find herself.

    @nrllee, in the opening dream sequence when Yeo-Reum is banging on the classroom door and windows with no reaction from those inside, it was like she was a ghost. Her presence and actions do not enter their consciousness at all. That dream was a visualization of the questions: Do I exist? Do I matter?

    I loved seeing Yeo-Reum taking note of the world around her once chance dragged her off the hamster wheel: the cherry blossom petals at her feet, the plastic bag blown by the wind (a metaphor of her empty life?), cherry trees in full bloom, sunshine, etc. Her eyes were opened to things that had been around her, but she didn’t see because her nose was to the grindstone.

  15. I agree with all of the statements above. Moving to a new area can be difficult, as no place is without its own problems. It’s a leap of faith that has a learning curve. Yeo Reum has had a stress triple hit: loss of mother, loss of a long relationship with her BF, loss of employment. Her reaction could have been worse than just moving away. I think that Yeo Reum had the realisation, when she was sorting out her belongings, that she had been compensating herself for her misery by purchasing many small things she didn’t actually need. At least she was able to sell them.

    Yeo Reum moving into a decrepit space reminds me of various strange places I rented when I first moved to Seattle. My goal was a normal flat – either a good studio or 1 bedroom – but the rental market rose faster than my wages. I shared with university friends when I could; I lived a studio above a garage that I repainted at my own expense; I was the ‘manager’ of a student house and had to do repairs, gardening and collect rent from the tenants, etc. I finally managed to get a decent rental about 6 years on. I loved living in that area and found that the struggle was compensated by the pleasures of living there.

    I particularly agree that moving out of a city into a small town would mean that Yeo Reum is under more of a magnifying glass, not less, so her public drunkenness and eccentricity would be remarked upon. Yeo Reum clearly hasn’t figured it out yet, similar to the FL dentist in HT CCC. She doesn’t seem to have a realistic sense of how she is perceived or what she must do to be considered normal in a small-town context. It reminds me of CLOY, when Captain Ri tells Se-ri to tidy her hair or the locals will think she looks like a madwoman.

    The progressive efforts in the waking up scene was hysterical. Also, the little kids playing with her ropy perm and calling it Medusa. Lol. I think she thought the Dae Bom’s muteness was due to him being deaf, since she didn’t realise until he spoke, that he could hear the noises she was making in the restroom. 🤦‍♀️

    She’s awkward in many ways, but Dae Beom is as well. We don’t see him with anyone besides his co-worker and the local kids. He seems to be a loner so far, but it’s not clear why. I wondered why Yeo Reum didn’t tell the shop owner about the student stealing. If I was accused of stealing, I would have, in self-defence. But there’s probably a reason later in the drama.

    @nrllee, yes to Im Siwan’s ‘angelic’ face when he turns around in the library. With the perm, he’s almost too pretty to be male.

  16. Perhaps it’s the era of escaping to seaside locations. In the UK, the remote southwest area of Cornwall or the far north of Scotland and its islands figure in novels. The FL running away to a seaside location was also a theme in Love Struck in the city, when the FL consciously assumed a different personality than she had in her mundane city life. I don’t think Yeo Reum has started off much different than how she was in Seoul, but some particular changes would be good for her. In the village she’s a misfit, but the ML seems to be as well, although he’s a local misfit and perhaps in part like that intentionally.

  17. Annyeong 🍂

    @welmaris – i guess the literal translation of the title “i don’t feel like doing anything” is a wishful thinking. i have the same sentiment haha. but “summer strike” sounds temporary, seasonal. maybe she just needed a break. we all do. we need to live a balanced life. when YR got drunk, i feel like she was emulating the town folks, but she went to the extreme coz i don’t see the town folks getting drunk. they drank soju, but moderate. i guess, YR tends to go “all the way” like quitting and moving to a seaside town just like backpacking haha. loco. i do like that her goal is to “find herself.” i am rooting for her.

    @GB, it’s funny how YR ended up in a library to start. that would be me, as well. but i’m surprised that a small town like that has a pretty nice library. is it 2 strikes and YR is out? haha. DB is a pretty mellow guy- he doesn’t get angry. but yes, i also found it amusing to see DB used several unusual methods to wake up YR from her drunken stupor. daebak! did she sleep for more than 8 hrs already? without peeing? and she drunk more water afterwards? ay yay. so sad that the bathroom is outside. that security measure is too much for a small town, i believe.

    @NRLLEE interesting that our DB is a selective mute. i was surprised as well. poor YR, can’t get over the that fact out of embarrassment. how much noise did she make. it’s just normal for sure after holding it that long haha. yes, i also hope that Angok is a step to a more fulfilling life journey for our leads. even tho as you noticed, the town folk does not give out your typical “nice and wholesome” vibe haha. they scare me, actually. this is not Hometown Cha cha cha.

    @Fern, yes YR thought DB is also deaf haha. DB is really good in giving you the impression that he is mute. but looks like he is loved as well. era of escaping to seaside locations? my family in seattle likes to getaway to seaside locations. i do, too, being in southern california. but not since the pandemic. i want to do that again – when we have extra funds haha.

  18. Good thoughts everyone. Thanks for picking up that YR’s father has passed @welmaris, I missed that detail. The billiard hall is a metaphor for YR’s life now? Stripped to the bare essentials. With potential but needs a lot of work 😂. I think the fact that she has been given a “task” to do (clean up and maintain the billiard hall) would help her figure out what it is she wants to do with her life from now on.

    @Fern I find YR just allows people to walk all over her. She has trouble interjecting (even when falsely accused) and is apologetic constantly which doesn’t help. She needs to find her voice. She doesn’t have to be rude or argumentative but she needs to stand up for herself when the situation calls for it. She did so with her boss in Seoul but she’s reverting back to her default pushover self now that she’s in a new environment. I am hoping that as she makes her mark and puts her personal stamp in the billiard hall (her “home”), it will give her a sense of purpose and boost her self esteem so she starts to believe that she’s worth defending.

  19. I agree that it is interesting that one of the first things YR does is go to the library. I suppose it relates to her love of reading and her former job which seemed to be some sort of publishing company. I was interested that she based her decision to stay in Angok based on a quote she found in The Old Man and the Sea. “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” Yes, I should live here, she thinks. It’s good to see that she is inspired by this quote.

    The library may become like a character in the story. There seems to be good quality literature which YR appreciates. The floorboards squeak like the ones in my old house. It is funny because a library is supposed to be quiet. It shuts itself down at 8pm and re-opens itself at 8am.

    The library staff let the girl pupil throw her weight around. I wonder why people indulge her. There is probably a good reason which we’ll learn later.

    I’m not scared by the local town folk. To me they are realistic, rather than the fairy-tale sweet locals in HT CCC. They have their own struggles – especially the market grannies who all seem to be more or less retirement age but are still working to put food on their plates. They also may have seen their share of strangers from the city come and go. I wonder if the leads will stay put or not.

    @HK_Lady, I love being driving distance to the sea. Even a short while spent there is good for me.

  20. @nrllee, yes, Yeo Reum does let people walk all over her. I wonder where her weakness is from. When I was a child, I was taught to do as I was told and to respect adults, but that’s different from an adult being a doormat. I could understand if she was from another country and couldn’t differentiate between acceptable and non-acceptable customs so tried to not make problems. However, she is grown up and from the same culture.

  21. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    @HK_Lady and @nrllee, yes, I kind of want the Library to be a character in itself. A place that helps shape some of the conflict or which aids in pushing the plot. It might be subtly happening since at least it was a library book that got YR to decide that she will not be defeated, and to live in Angok.

    Episode 2 starts with the waves washing away Yeo Reum’s name written in the sand. It erases her past identity, then it’s at the library where she restarts her identity (in a sense) as a library member with a new ID card.

    That laughable photograph of her looking taken by surprise and quite gormless perfectly reflects what she’s like. When she walked in the market, she was shocked by a lady throwing out a basin of water in front of her in the street and then later by a minor explosion. She’s a walkover when rented a decrepit building, when trying to point out the phone mix-up and pushed away by little boys. But at least in the library, she finds some calm. I’m reminded that she’s run off to find herself, so let’s see how much a role the library has to play in this.

    It’s also the place where she gets to meet the people who may be more instrumental in her future endeavours. She gets to spend more time than ever expected with DB, and to share some unsolicited ‘intimate’ knowledge of each other LOL, just because the library shut down on them.

    Some things I noted:
    The meeting with the rude school girl was a bit strange… when YR asked if the picture on the phone was her grandmother, the school girl did not get it at all, assuming that YR was referring to her. I know that the Korean language allows dropping the subject when speaking, but surely the school girl could have figured out what YR was referring to.

    What I found surprising was that YR actually helped herself to the left over food and soju from the next table.

    Some parallels… DB had tried to wake YR up by stomping around and walking over her but the poor guy in sleeping bag, was stepped on/tripped over by YR when she entered the office.

    DB had drawn her a map to the realtor’s office on yellow paper, then in the morning he found a crushed yellow piece of paper, on which she had drawn herself thinking of needing the toilet. LOL

    At the restaurant, she’d said to herself that she didn’t care what anyone thought of her and had gotten drunk, but became embarrassed about what DB may have heard of her in the toilet. So she has nothing left to lose and vows to live her life to the fullest.

    I, too, found it weird that a country library should have such a system where the library locks down automatically and the humans can’t override it. I thought that as librarian, DB could have hit a switch somewhere or called someone in charge to override the lockdown for 1 night or to delay it, but on second thoughts, it could be because he didn’t want YR to get into trouble. Everyone thought she had left the library because she’d been drunk and been told to leave. So if she had been found sleeping in the library, she might have been reprimanded.

    It was sweet of DB to keep YR company when he couldn’t wake her up. He didn’t want her to wake up and find herself locked in alone. He thoughtfully ran in front of her to open the main door, so that she could rush out, when she was trying to make it to the washroom.

    When DB does speak, we find out that he has a good relationship with the other librarian’s mum who is trying to win him over (to do what?) by plying him with food. So that’s something to keep an eye on.

    I like the change in BGM that fits the change in action and denotes the mood for many scenes, and the ending scene of YR being watched had the music starting ominously (it sounded familiar!) but then became a normal English OST song, that was a good unexpected musical twist.

    I commend Im Si Wan for being able to impart so much information in silence.

  22. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    I meant to tag you @Fern in my long post, but that’s OK. We have the same ideas about the library! 🙂

  23. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    @nrllee yes, good point! That billiard hall is definitely a metaphor for YR’s life: “With potential but needs a lot of work”. In making it a more livable and inviting space, I trust that she’ll be well on the way to finding herself and making more of herself than she has done so far.

  24. I know the plot needed a reason for Yeo-Reum and Dae-Beom to spend a night together, but the more I think about the library security door, the more unrealistic I think it is. That’s a serious fire hazard if there isn’t a manual override. People trapped inside could be killed by fire or smoke. The fire department and other emergency personnel could not get in to save the library or anyone in it. I will not suspend disbelief on this point, holding firm my opinion that Show got this wrong.

    Was anyone else impressed by SiWan’s abdominal strength when he, in his sleeping bag, pulled his legs up and did a backwards somersault after Yeo-Reum tripped over him?

  25. @Fern @GB I would love it if the library turns out to be a character of the story. This is one of my favourite quotes

    “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”
    ― Charles W. Eliot

    I think that’s why I love libraries. The books. And the fact that you’re supposed to remain quiet. Talk is in hushed whispers and everything is “ordered” into neat little categories. There’s a calm that’s hard to find outside. Maybe that’s representative of DB. Quiet. Calm. Doesn’t speak.

    It sounds like the electricity actually turns off? For 12 hours? The clock showed 8pm when the electric doors started to roll shut. Then it came on again at 8am. Maybe it’s a country town thing. 😂

    DB seems rather sweet. I felt sorry for him when YR tried to return the blanket and she tripped over his head? feet? I couldn’t tell because of the lighting and because he was cocooned inside the sleeping bag. 😂. I agree @GB that SiWan’s acting has been commendable as he’s conveyed so much in silence so far.

  26. @welmaris 😂😂😂 SiWan’s abdominal strength? I didn’t think to go there but you’re right 😂😂. So did she did kick him in the head or legs? I was trying to work out if she kicked him in the legs or head because he was cocooned in that sleeping bag.

  27. @Welmaris and @nrllee, I agree about the timed lockup for the library – very unsafe. There absolutely MUST be an over-ride for that. Dae Beom lit a candle there, which surprised me as well. As @GB said, Dae Beom may have kept the lock on to keep YR safe until he woke. But why didn’t he open it once they were both awake? Or open one of the windows, which weren’t covered by the security blind, so she could exit like that if necessary? Slight plot-hole to make it interesting, I guess. Gentlemanly of him to let her go first.

    @GB, I could only assume it was YR’s name in the sand because I didn’t see subs for that. Thank you. I also didn’t catch that there may have been a miscommunication about the grandmother wallpaper, so good catch. We miss so much not knowing Korean. What I took away from that scene was that the grandmother is the rude student’s most important person – perhaps they live together?

    Regarding YR’s drunken episode – my impression was that perhaps she never drank soju before and was trying out the sensation of drinking with a meal, being inspired by the other customers. Is that possible? She only ordered one bottle and she may not have known her limits? The 2nd bottle that was shown on the table was the half-empty one she took from the neighbouring table after she was drunk. I think that if she knew her soju limits, she wouldn’t have drunk to the extent of barely being able to navigate, even if she thought no one cared.

    (This is a big supposition, but if I were her, I wouldn’t have wanted to get drunk at office parties if her boss was such a lech.)

  28. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    @Fern
    You certainly have a point there about YR’s drinking. I thought she had never tried drinking in the daytime during lunch, and that was why she ordered a bottle when she saw the seniors there drinking with their meal. She then commented on how nice it was to eat hot and drink cold (or something like that). Actually I’d have thought eating so much would have kept her from getting as drunk as she did (another plothole?). But she may have been a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, and certainly she should never drink with her colleagues if the horrid boss was around.

    Yes, the auto-shutdown and power off for 12 hours was very unsafe. I’ve only ever seen it in a drama in a big office building (saw this in ‘A Rational Life’) where there are security guards about anyway, so that people can call for help. And even then, there’s no total shutdown of electricity, just that the doors auto lock until the morning.

    My subs showed that the words in the sand actually spelled out the drama name on top, ‘Lee Yeo Reum’ in the middle and ‘2’ referring to the Episode number:
    Summer Strike, Episode 2
    Lee Yeo Reum

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DFv2TAUi2pisPIp6pObmDicPVyRCu9k6/view?usp=share_link

    But the name of the Episode looked like computer graphics while LYR’s name was really scratched into the sand.

    What I took away from that scene was that the grandmother is the rude student’s most important person – perhaps they live together?

    Yes, me too. One would normally put up an image of someone very significant as one’s wallpaper. I’d like to meet the grandmother and find out if she’s rude or polite. 😝

  29. @Growing Beautifully, in the previews YR looks at the rude student from a distance. She is hanging out with rude shopkeeper man. YR seems concerned, but perhaps rude shopkeeper is rude student’s relative (rudeness running in the family?). I don’t have a clear take on his age. It also might explain why she gets away with taking things from the family-owned shop that she may need for school (number 2 pencils, was it?).

    If I were locked in a building with no restroom for 5 hours, I would be gnawing the furniture. Lol. Then I would be calling 911 or breaking windows to get out.

  30. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    LOL @Fern, I’d be the same!!!

    I’m thinking that if YR had really come in directly to the library to sleep, then she’d have had to … er… hold her pee for more than 12 hours. It would have been from lunch time to the next morning!!! No way I’d survived that! 😖 😫 😩 😅 😂

  31. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    @Welmaris, ah yes, the 4 individuals and dog were in the opening credits… I still searched and there really is no poster of them together. That’s a bit strange. In fact every poster has only either one or the other of them or both.

    In order to dig into this, and because I re-read the original write-up on this show taken from Soompi by @pkml3, I did something I’ve never done before… I went to Soompi to read up the articles there. I also noticed that @pkml3 saw a tag of THRILLER!!! but that tag has disappeared??? Curiouser and curiouser.

    I thought that the thriller element is possible since we have a voyeuristic neighbour watching YR and a death in the billiard hall where she now lives.

    However the articles on Soompi no longer mention anything ‘thrilling’. The only mysteries mentioned are to do with why DB is in Angok.

    I’ve copied the links and parts of the articles but I’m posting them separately so that WordPress does not reject my posts.

    On the other actors who should be along for the ride in this series:

    https://www.soompi.com/article/1550464wpp/watch-im-siwan-seolhyun-and-more-bask-in-their-newfound-leisure-in-teasers-for-upcoming-romance-drama

    In addition to Ahn Dae Bum and Lee Yeo Reum, there’s Kim Bom (Shin Eun Soo), a tough high school student who skips class but still ends up at the library, and the innocent Heo Jae Hoon (Bang Jae Min), who has a crush on Kim Bom. Last but not least is the scene stealer puppy named Winter.

  32. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    On the Director and what she says:
    https://www.soompi.com/article/1553662wpp/summer-strike-director-shares-how-seolhyun-and-im-siwan-brighten-up-the-filming-set

    Director Lee Yoon Jung of “Summer Strike” has shared behind-the-scenes stories from filming!

    Viewers’ anticipation is high for the drama as it is directed by Lee Yoon Jung of “Coffee Prince,” which many K-drama fans consider as one of their favorite dramas. Director Lee Yoon Jung also showcased her unique directing skill that touched the hearts of youth in various projects such as “Triple,” “Heart to Heart,” and “Cheese In The Trap.”
    Director Lee remarked, “I like the incompleteness of youths who are anxious, shaky, and full of uncontrollable energy. The characters in this project are similar to that. It may seem like a losing choice on the outside, but perhaps the choice of ‘I don’t want to do anything’ may be the most aggressive one. Lee Yeo Reum’s attempt to live her life while putting herself at the center made me think a lot.”

    Director Lee also shared her impressions on working with Seolhyun and Im Siwan. She said, “When I first met Seolhyun, I thought that she would do really well in this role. It turned out to be true when we worked together. Seolhyun showed lots of interest and affection toward her co-stars, staff, and even dogs. She received everyone’s love for the entire time we were filming.”

    She continued by complimenting Im Siwan. She said, “Im Siwan even came down to live in Gurye. He is a passionate person who does his best in everything. He is an actor who cares about not only his own role but the entire project with affection.”

    The peaceful and beautiful scenery of Angok Village including the cherry blossom road and the beach that was previewed in the main trailer has already captured the hearts of viewers.

  33. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    What Seol Hyun thought about Yeo Reum:
    https://www.soompi.com/article/1553210wpp/aoas-seolhyun-opens-up-about-relating-to-her-new-drama-summer-strike-needing-to-find-herself

    AOA’s Seolhyun has shared her thoughts on her upcoming drama “Summer Strike”!

    “As soon as I saw the script, I thought to myself, ‘This is it!’ So I sought out the director and said I wanted to do the drama,” recalled Seolhyun.

    “I thought that the character of Yeo Reum was really similar to me,” she continued. “Yeo Reum worked hard to survive in a fiercely competitive society, but while living like that, she becomes someone who has no idea who she herself is. I related to the concept of Yeo Reum proclaiming, ‘I’m not going to do anything,’ and taking a break in order to get to know herself.”

    Explaining why she related so strongly to her character, Seolhyun shared, “I, too, once took about a year off and took the time to figure out who I was. That time was such a huge help to me in living my life. I chose this drama hoping that Yeo Reum would feel that way too.”

    As for what viewers should keep an eye on while watching the drama, Seolhyun remarked, “Yeo Reum is a bit different from main characters in other dramas, in the sense that she’s introverted and there are times when she’s timid to the point where it can be frustrating. However, Yeo Reum’s charm is that she’s like a reed. She is swayed easily, but she never breaks.”

    She went on to add, “I hope you’ll look forward to seeing Yeo Reum gradually change as she begins to find herself.”

  34. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    Im Si Wan’s view of his character:
    https://www.soompi.com/article/1552900wpp/im-siwan-is-a-shy-and-pure-hearted-man-living-in-the-countryside-in-summer-strike

    Im Siwan, who showcases a variety of acting transformations in each project he takes on, exudes charming vibes once again in his new role as a man living in countryside in “Summer Strike.” Im Siwan will take on the role of Ahn Dae Beom, a librarian who is shy to the point of not being able to answer when someone starts a conversation with him. To better portray his character, Im Siwan changed his hairstyle to a long wavy perm which highlights his pure and youthful appearance.

    Regarding his transformation, Im Siwan commented, “First of all, I let my hair grow long to portray the rural youth Dae Beom. I felt that Dae Beom is a pure yet mature person who cuts down on unnecessary conversations and treats people wholeheartedly.”

    The actor also mentioned, “As the story’s setting moves from the hustle and bustle of the city to a village in the countryside, I felt very comfortable as if I were taking a deep breath.” Im Siwan continued, “When I stay in Seoul, my life pattern and my pace [of living] tend to get faster, so I stayed in the countryside while filming this project, trying to focus on filming while slowing down my pace.”

    “Summer Strike” is working to include various filming locations including Gurye, Gokseong, and Namhae, raising anticipation for the heartwarming and comforting story to come.

  35. “No way I’d survived that! ����������”

    @Growing Beautifully, I’m trying not to think about it anymore. Her drawing was so funny.

  36. @GB thanks for those links and summaries. I think the “thriller” aspect is related to the death in the billiard hall. It would’ve been at least 20years ago? Because it was mentioned that the place was vacant all that time? So even if we’re looking at a killer at large, this person would be potentially in his 40s or older…assuming he/she was over the age of 20 when he/she killed someone?

    As for the squeaky floorboards, that reminded me of Nijo Castle in Japan. The nightingale floors. Source https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3918.html

    “The Ninomaru Palace served as the residence and office of the shogun during his visits to Kyoto. Surviving in its original form, the palace consists of multiple separate buildings that are connected with each other by corridors with so called nightingale floors, as they squeak when stepped upon as a security measure against intruders/ninjas.”

    So the librarian would know if someone walked in or out of the library 😂😂.

  37. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    Hah! @nrllee, thanks for this bit of information. I’ll never abuse squeaky floorboards again, LOL. Actually, they would come in handy in my home. We are forever going around so quietly that we end up sneaking up on each other and giving family members shocks. 😱 😲 😑 😂 We literally have to deliberately make sounds so that we don’t give each other heart attacks. 🤣

    On the other hand, when we are alone at home, it will be real creepy to hear the squeaks. Already we find that from a certain bathroom window, we seem to hear a person speaking as if in the next room, but actually it’s the neighbour in his garden or something. Used to get me quite anxious, going around to look for a stranger upstairs!!!

  38. Between dogs and squeaky old floors, intruders wouldn’t stand a chance at our house. I heard about the nightingale floors but didn’t know any details. Thank you, @nrllee.

  39. @Fern @GB our whole family tried to make our way into the inner sanctum where the shogun resided without making any squeaks – picture us plastered against the side walls attempting to shimmy along 😂😂 like ninjas 🥷. But no can do. Squeaked in spite of our best efforts. 😂😂😂.

  40. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    @nrllee when you mentioned shimmying along the wall, an image of the ridiculous side-stepping, swivelling, undulating pelvic walk of the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’s Newt Scamander, as he tried to get out of a cave walking like some clawed, scorpion-like creatures, without getting killed, came to mind. I hooted with laughter.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5OQ1GfJMYw

    or

  41. @GB 😂😂😂.

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