The thread is open.
This will be my sports drama of the season. I liked the wholesomeness of the other sports drama I’ve seen, “Racket Boys” (2021), and I’m hoping this one will follow suit. I don’t know much about ssireum, or the Korean traditional wrestling, so this show should be educational for me.
Episode 5 is out today…so watch out for spoilers. @Welmaris, @Snowflower, please put the episode on the heading of your commentary, so readers/lurkers can opt to skip it if they haven’t watched the episode yet. Thanks!
Starring: Jang Dong Yoon
Episodes: 12
Start Date: Wed, Dec 20
Airs on Wednesday and Thursday
Where to Watch it: Netflix
Network: ENA
Let’s enjoy the show.
Thank you, @packmule3. This will be my perfect start to the dramas airing in 2024.
I like this drama so much! The ML is refreshingly different than the tsundere chaebol so often seen in kdramas. If I had to choose two words to describe him, I would pick integrity and intuition.
I find the writing assured and well-paced. The investigation reveals are balanced by great character moments.
Jang Dong Yoon is simply perfect for this role. I hope his performance receives the recognition it deserves.
I started watching this Kdrama yesterday afternoon, in between loads of laundry, and was so engrossed that I ended up bingeing through Episode 6. My back was so knotted from too much time in front of the TV that I had trouble sleeping last night.
From the start of this show, it is obvious much care has been put into it. The opening credits montage is done in sand art (or animated to look so), a nod to the importance of the sand on which ssireum athletes spend much of their lives. Sand shapes their bodies, minds, and souls. Kudos to the art director for giving us that association from the get-go. (In case someone here hasn’t before seen sand art in action, here’s one of the shorter works by sand artist Ilana Yahav. https://youtu.be/sKo7oy2p44U?si=9jAsEdtB904rk6Yb)
The director of Like Flowers in Sand, Kim Jin Woo, has many projects he’s completed since 2012 (and two as assistant director in 2009), but the one that most stands out to me is Healer, which is one of my all-time favorite Kdramas. I hope he’ll work magic with this drama, and so far my hope hasn’t been disappointed.
The lead scriptwriter of Like Flowers in Sand is Won Yoo Jung, who wrote The Lies Within. I didn’t watch that 2019 drama, a political thriller and whodunit. The quality of that script gets mixed reviews on MyDramaList. On DramaBeans, The Lies Within gets 8.7 out of 10 from eleven user ratings. Let’s hope Won Yoo Jung has honed his craft since that show.
Like Flowers in Sand takes place, for the most part, in a seaside village best known for having produced many great ssireum athletes. Most of the residents of the (fictional) village of Geosan have some connection to the sport of ssireum: current or former competitors, family of current or former competitors. The village appears gritty, a bit down on its luck economically, but Geosan Arena hosts ssireum championships that are covered by professional broadcasters. The slice-of-life depiction of the village provides some of the charm of this show, but also some of the tension in the plot. There is an abundance of gossip, and plenty of us-versus-them mentality within the community. Someone who was a lifelong friend can become an adversary for reasons large or petty.
So what is ssireum? According to Wikipedia, it is “a folk wrestling style and traditional national sport of Korea that began in the fourth century.” In its modern form, the first competition was held in October 1912. SSireum is so important to Korean culture that both North and South Korea filed a joint application to UNESCO for it to be included on the Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. Despite its long history and past importance in Korean culture, ssireum as an organized sport diminished in popularity. Here’s a 2010 article in The Korea Herald about the decline of ssireum. https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20090702000102
Ten years later, an article in The Korea Herald trumpets the resurrection of ssireum. https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200122000869
According to the website for the Korean Ssireum Association (http://ssireum.sports.or.kr/gnb/eng/team.php) there are currently 19 men’s teams and 6 women’s teams. The goal of the affiliated International Ssireum Foundation is to promote the sport outside of South Korea. Perhaps this drama Like Flowers in Sand is part of the effort to include ssireum in the Korean Wave.
Fans of Jang Dong Yoon who have seen him cross-dressed as a lithe female in The Tale of Nokdu may be shocked to see him with weight on his frame in Like Flowers in Sand. He’s so committed to realism in this role that he’s bulked up to competition weight for the class–Taebaek–in which his character competes. (And as his character, we see him gobbling food!) Here are the most recent (as of 2018) caps of the professional ssireum weight classes:
Taebaek (flyweight) – 80kg
Geumgang (lightweight) – 90kg
Halla (middleweight) – 105kg
Baekdu (heavyweight) – 140kg
These four weight classes are named after famous mountain peaks on the Korean peninsula and Jeju Island.
There’s a bit of humor in Like Flowers in Sand relating to the names in the ML’s family. His father, a ssireum champion, is named Kim Tae Baek (also the name of the flyweight class, although actor Choi Moo Sung looks more imposing that flyweight). The oldest of Tae Baek’s three sons is Kim Geum Gang (named after the lightweight class) and is also a ssireum champion in that class. The second brother, Kim Han Ra is a champion in the Halla (middleweight) class. The youngest (smallest and weakest, according to his mother) is Baek Doo. As he says to his mom at 37:54 in Episode 1, discussing the possibility he was accidentally switched at birth, “Who knows? Maybe your real third son is some successful 140kg Baekdu-class wrestler now.” He laments he cannot live up to his name, “I’m the only lame one.” He later jokes that he’ll change his name from Baek Doo to Jiri. (Jirisan is the second-tallest mountain in South Korea.)
On a side note, there are four non-professional divisions under the Korean Ssireum Association: Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College and Semi-pro. The weight classes in these divisions are age appropriate.
One of the reasons the Korean Ssireum Association instituted weight classes is to increase competition in the sport and improve its image. When heavier competitors had the advantage, it discouraged lighter-weight athletes from entering the sport. Beauty standards favoring idol-slim builds turned potential fans away from ssireum. The Korean Ssireum Association is working hard to revise its image. This video is an effort to show that ssireum athletes can be beautifully beefy, and watching ssireum matches may appeal to people other than grandpas.
https://youtu.be/0JKkWoAEga8?si=AW3Sy-q-FX1NH07M
@Welmaris, thank you for the ssireum info. I have seen ssireum in dramas, but only in historicals. The Painter Of The Wind and The Matchmakers are the dramas that came to mind. I was not aware that ssireum was still practiced today.
I binged the first 4 episodes on New Year’s Eve, and now I am counting the days until next Wednesday.
Thanks for the research, @Welmaris. I was watching a talk show (My Little Old Boy) last night in which 2 members of Super Junior looked at their debut photos. One commented that back then they had to look thin and sickly to meet popular demand, and that it’s less common now.
On a tangent, in the same show Choi Siwan shaved a copious beard that he had grown fairly quickly for a film on air. Poor guy gets no relief for having more hair genes than is usual in his part of the world.
Oh, wow! Thanks for all the research work you’ve done, @Welmaris. And the background information. No wonder I was getting confused. I didn’t know Baekdo had two brothers!
To recap what you wrote:
The weight divisions in ssireum are:
Taebaek (flyweight) – 80kg
Geumgang (lightweight) – 90kg
Halla (middleweight) – 105kg
Baekdu (heavyweight) – 140kg (or 308 lb)
The names of the men in the Kim family are:
Father: Kim TaeBaek, an former flyweight champion,
Oldest son: GeumGang, was a lightweight champion
Middle son: HanRa, was a middleweight champion,
Youngest son: BaekDoo… ?
All the men, except BaekDoo, lived up to their names. Played by Jang Dong Yoon, there was no way he could ever reach heavy weight class (308 lbs) even if he ate a whole cow a week. lol. Just for comparison to us, Americans, Tom Brady, who’s arguably the greatest quarterback of all time, weighs 225 lbs and stands at 6’2.
@Packmule3, Jang Dong Yoon’s height is 5ft 10in (177cm), on the short side by South Korean leading man standards. For comparison, Song Joong Ki is slightly taller at 178cm. If Jang Dong Yoon tried to bulk up to qualify for the heavyweight class, he’d be as tall laying down as standing up!
The four weight classes named after famous Korean mountains are for professional ssireum athletes. Divisions from primary school through semi-pro have different names and caps for their weight classes.
We don’t know in which class, if any, the father Kim Tae Baek earned his championship. Weight classes were first introduced in 1956, and were revised as recently as 2018. I need to do more research, but of course I’m limited to reading what is online in English.
Found something. But since I’m typing this on my mobile app, I can’t paste in the link. Let me post this, then move to my laptop.
Thank you @Welmaris for the research! I love the details you provided!
I started watching this show over the weekend and I’m now up to date. I like the characters, the leads and the story, with ssireum as a backdrop. It’s my first time to watch the ML and he embodies his character to a T. I’m excited to see the FL was from 25/21 cast, happy she now has a lead role. Oh Dusik definitely glowed up!
Will comment more later. Thank you @pm3 for this thread!
Episode 7 SPOILER
SPOILER
We learned why Du Shik is so invested in the current match-fixing case: the same person was involved in match -fixing 20 years ago, and because of that her family had to leave town in the middle of the night.
The identity of the mysterious coffee shop is revealed as well. Hopefully there will be cooperation between her and the police.
The strength of this show is not the plot, but its characters. We got plenty of Baek Du-Du Shik moments, including a hilarious piggy back ride. It is obvious that Baek Due has not been able to win a senior championship because Du Shik was not by his side. She truly was (and still is) the wind beneath his wings.
This show entertains me so well that the episodes zip by, and I am grumpy about having to wait for the next episode to be released.
I learned more about ssireum in Episode 7, that the physical struggle between the competitors actually starts when they’re gripping each other’s satba (the sash tied around the waist and one leg). There are things they can do to make it difficult for their opponent to get a good grip. And as suggested by Du Sik, undercover as General Manager Oh Yoo Kyun, releasing grip on the satba might also be a winning strategy.
Du Sik encourages Baek Du to return to being sly in his wrestling, as he was when he competed as a child. I don’t know what word was used in Korean, but the English word the subbers chose in translation encompasses being clever, crafty, cunning, wily…even deceitful. It suggests pushing boundaries, outthinking your target, being unconventional and gaining advantage through surprise.
Du Sik accuses Baek Du of having lost his competitive edge by becoming too nice and self effacing. He’s spent so much of his life putting others’ wants ahead of his own that he’s lost sight of what he wants.
Watch out, Du Sik. You may get more than you bargained for when Baek Du recognizes his heart’s desire and gives free reign to his sly self. She was forewarned when he invited her the night before the competition to hang out in his room to have… For those who are new to Kdramas, a late night invitation to have ramyeon is suggesting a sexual encounter. The slang term “Netflix and chill” is a similar euphemism. I almost spit out my zinfandel when I read the conflation “ramyeon and chill” in the subs. After Baek Du delivered his invitation to Du Sik, she interpreted it in the slang context. “What are you trying to pull here?…Do you even hear yourself? Hang out in your room and chill? And have ramyeon? You’re a dirty dog.” As innocent as could be, Baek Du explained that he was concerned Du Sik hadn’t eaten much at dinner and might be hungry later. “Du Sik, you’ve got to listen to what I say more literally, with a pure mind. I know we’re grown-ups over 30, but talking about ramyeon doesn’t always imply something sexual.” Sly, indeed. He’s now put in Du Sik’s mind the possibility there could be a sexual encounter between them, and implied the thought came from her first.
This show is like a bowl of chicken noodle soup prepared by a loving mom and served on a cold day. Stay gold, show.
The ML of this show has something in common with the ML of Alchemy of Souls: both characters are not aware of their own power and are underestimated by others.
Very astute, @Snow Flower!
@Snowflower,
Now, I am sorely tempted to watch this because you brought up “Alchemy of Souls.”
I watched the first 3 episodes but I can’t keep up. You know, with the way I concentrate on episodes, I can only really write on one kdrama ..or my work-life-husband-family-friends-community-hobbies-garden-beach balance will wobble. It’s winter now though so I have more time indoors and don’t have to drive to the beach (and wineries!) on the weekends. Maybe there’s hope yet for me to catch up with y’all!
Do you want me to open a new thread for you?
@Welmaris,
I’m double-posting your comment. I left the other one alone in the “What Are We Watching – January” thread.
Safe travels! Enjoy your get-together with @Phoenix, @Fern, and @Kate in London. Leave an empty chair for the rest of BODers. 🙂
******
I loved Episode 9 of Like Flowers in Sand, and will watch Episode 10 today, but wanted to comment on 9 before my thoughts got jumbled. @Packmule3, I look forward to when you get a chance to watch this show, because I think you’ll give it a thumbs up. As I mentioned before, the screenwriter, Won Yoo Jung, wrote The Lies Within, a 2019 thriller & mystery drama that was generally well received. Like Flowers in Sand isn’t a thriller, but it does have mystery that is making the plot wind tighter and tighter. I love how a scene in an early episode seemed a bit silly, perhaps a way to reveal (show, don’t tell) some of the ML’s character, but by Episode 9 we’ve seen that same scene several times from different perspectives, and what happened in those moments was pivotal.
There are other delightful ways this show displays the personality of the ML, Kim Tae Baek. He talks to himself all the time, and it really seems to fit his character rather than just being for the benefit of the audience. My mother used to mutter to herself frequently, and being her bratty child, I’d chide her, “Mom, who are you talking to? Nobody’s there!” Tae Baek is known by the villagers to be quiet, and outwardly appears simple, but there are moments which we get glimpses of his depth. He may not be book learned, and he may not be quick, but he’ll tirelessly wrestle with a thought once he’s grabbed hold of it.
In Episode 9, entitled “All That We Have Lost,” Tae Baek ponders what he meant when he said he’d also lost much after the death of a ssireum wrestler in their town. Others’ losses are more apparent, but he knows deep inside his life was diminished by the tragic events all those years ago. After long introspection he’s finally able, in his unique way, to put his feelings into words.
In Episode 9 we see Tae Baek expressing himself other times, although not always well. When a rumor about him and the FL spreads like wildfire through the village, the FL, Du Sik, coaches him to say, “So if someone asks you what’s going on between us and if we’re really dating, you should say, ‘No way! Not in a million years! If you keep spreading this weird rumor, I’ll sue you for defamation and spreading false rumors, under the Criminal Act, Article 307, Paragraph 2.’ Put your foot down like that.” When a short time later Tae Baek is confronted by men of the village, he says to them, “Guys. If that’s what all this is about, don’t you worry. Because that’s absolute nonsense. Listen. Between the two of us, there is nothing going on. Not in a million years. If you keep spreading this weird rumor, I will…You know…I will sue you all according to some law. I’m putting my foot down. This is what you were all fussing about? Jeez.” (I wish I could get the full impact of his delivery in the Gyeongsang dialect.) When it seems like the whole town is ganging up on him, the rumor having reached dangerous proportions, Tae Baek says to the assembled villagers, “You know what? You won’t believe me. Even if I say it’s not true, none of you here will believe me. I know that…This has happened before!…This happened to Du Sik a long time ago. Du Sik’s family kept saying it wasn’t true, but none of you believed them. Am I wrong? You all kicked them out in the end! And now you’re accusing people of something they didn’t do, and trying to hurt them. Is that it? Are you trying to kick someone out again? Is that what you want? Please, just please. Stop it, okay? It can be hurtful to some people. Most of you here probably don’t know or even care about it, but those who are wrongfully accused will live the rest of their lives in pain. So please…Just please!”
Amen
My goosebumps attest to that latter scene being exceptionally well written, well acted by Jang Dong Yoon, well directed, and effectively filmed.
@Packmule3, I wish there was a separate thread for Like Flowers in Sand, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to contribute to it the next few weeks. I’m soon leaving for England, and in the two-plus weeks I’ll be traveling, I don’t know how much time I can devote to watching and commenting on Kdramas. But the good news is that I’ll be meeting for lunch in London with @Fern, @Phoenix, and @Kate!
@pm3,
Thank you for all you do! If you can’t keep up with all the dramas, you don’t have to. Thank you for opening this thread. I enjoy your analysis of “The Matchmakers.”
I’ve started this, too, having finished up the dramas I wanted to finished and dropping all others. It starts off a bit slow but the characters are very interesting – particularly as @Welmaris, @Snow Flower and @Janey said.
What’s with the reservoir deaths in K-dramas? It’s nearly another trope; Vincenzo, Castaway Diva and now this.
I thought more about the parallels between Like Flowers In Sand and Alchemy of Souls. The FLs are also similar. Both of them have experienced childhood trauma which led to lost of innocence and forced identity change. Both FLs appear independent, confident, and competent, at the cost of living a life that is not their own. In both dramas, FL attacks the ML at their first meeting. And also, the attack causes the ML to recognize the FL.
Thanks, @Packmule3, for reposting my long comment to this thread. But as @Snow Flower pointed out, I got the names wrong. Some people struggle with face blindness, but when it comes to characters and actors in Kdramas, I suffer from name blindness. My apologies to anyone I may confuse with my mistakes.
Come to think of it, most the time I can’t get out of my mouth the correct name for either of my two daughters. I know who I mean, but the names jumble as I speak.
I’m glad I’m not the only one! My errors aren’t limited to dramas or family. It makes my writing really slow some days. Sometimes I have to look up a cast member I can remember, or another drama and connect the dots until I get the correct information. Just warning you, @Welmaris. 🤪🤦♀️
Happy to know @Welmaris, @Fern, @Kate, @Phoenix are meeting up in London! I’m so excited for all of you. Have fun!
I finished the last episode and it was a good wrap up and a satisfying watch. There are so many things that I like about this drama that were effectively portrayed. The seaside small town community dynamics and the power of rumors. The friendship of the children focused on play when they were kids and still sharing a bond upon rediscovering each other when adults in order to solve a crime that has changed their lives in more ways than one. That crime broke them apart when they were kids and had brought them together again when they were adults. They got the closure they deserved especially for Dusik and Miran.
The love story is slow burn and I liked that Baekdu knew that she was Dusik from the start. And he is the only one who recognized her! There were no pesky love triangle, too! And the ending where they all manifested their wishes as kids 20 years ago was sweet. I learned so much about ssireum and why Baekdu was considered as a prodigy. He just had to believe in himself and be himself when he competes. Dusik and his coach friend remind him of this and made it possible for him to be a champion. His character (childlike but not childish, good heart, )is very refreshing and wonderfully portrayed by the actor. I also like the FL and the gang and the kid actors who portrayed them. I’m going to miss seeing them every week.
@Janey,
Thanks for the review. It’ll help those who come after to decide whether they want to watch this show or not. 🙂
Have a great weekend!
Happy weekend @PM3! It’s a cold and wet weekend in California so I’ll be snuggling in a blanket and watching kdrama.
@Janey, we DID have fun in London. I was familiar with the writings of @Phoenix, @Kate, and @Welmaris from years of reading their comments. The feeling was a bit like going to a school reunion where you have some ideas about the people you are encountering but still get to know them further and share stories and laughs.
That is awesome @Fern! Thanks for updating us how the BOD reunion in London went. Cheers!
@Janey, I suppose it’s good to get rain in California, just as long as the heavens don’t over-do it. Keep those aquifers full for the long dry summers, right? It’s drizzly here, but similar to Seattle or Portland OR type weather, so it’s our normal.
I hope that you can keep warm and cozy over the weekend. I have to finish Like Flower in the Sand now so I don’t lose my familiarity with the earlier episodes.
I’d like to add that I’m always in the lookout for strong female characters in the dramas I watch. I definitely found it in this drama. The FL and second FL are so different in personality and temperament but they have both exhibited the strength, bravery and persistence to find justice for themselves. The scene of Miran with the psychopath killer was so nerve-wracking but she held herself with her quiet strength and calm, even if her neck can be snapped in a second. Those scenes revealed so much about the killer, not as focal point of the drama but a good closing element. And for Dusik, her physical “glow up” was great but she did not really change. I love her as a kid, the best childhood experience but also the most heartbreaking to leave that all behind. They could have moved on and not come back to Geosan but they did and faced their “demons” head on. Now, reunited with their friends, they were able to resolve it. This might be a stretch – if ssireum can also have a women’s division, that would have been cherry on top! Dusik would have done great there.
@Janey,
Wikipedia informed me that there are ssireum championships for women now. I can see Du Shik returning to Geosan as a manager of the ssireum team. Maybe she can coach a women’s team too.
I agree that Miran showed incredible strength and control in a tense situation.
I loved the final scene of the friends together.
Thanks for the info @Snowflower! That is awesome! Dusik can definitely coach or be the manager of the women’s team! Or the men’s team, too!
Love the gang being reunited and even the other police undercover partner of Dusik has adapted to their group and also to the small town. He knew everyone even more than Dusik! LOL!
@packmule3, there is something nearly perfect about this drama. I’ve finished 10 out of 12 episodes and I can confirm what the others have said about it. Well cast, visually stunning with some repeated colours in the buildings, the sea and colours of the clothing of the locals. There’s a particular salty red, blue and off white shown here that seem to be essential colours for this fishing village. One market scene shows 3 women wearing variations of this colour scheme.
Either the actors have amazing timing or the edits are so precise. I just watched a reveal among the same age characters and watching some being apprehensive, some avoiding eye contact, one trying not to laugh while the last clueless one runs his mouth on and on…
The thing is, I really am interested in the characters whether main or supporting. There is a crime that is the genesis of the drama, so it’s not just added on as a device. Like @Welmaris, I look forward to each episode. (I admit to ff the wrestling scenes a bit, as I do with medical operations in dramas.)