Ep 3 I think I am Ssangyeonsulsa

Ssangyeonsulsa = agent of love = Cupid, Joseon-style

1. From “goddess of love” to “agent of love”

Back in Episode 1, as JungWoo’s voiceover described what a Ssangyeonsulsa was, we watched SoonDeok’s method of matchmaking up-close. She was tying a Dongsingyeol knot, which in Korean folk art, is a token of “love, loyalty, and luck” and symbolizes the “binding of two hearts forever.” [source: Korea.net]

But as she was working on this knot, she tripped a young lady who then fell in the arms of a passing gentleman.

The stunt behind this couple’s “accidental meeting” reminded me the Fates. You know, the Three Fates in Greek mythology? They weave the threads of life of mortal beings.

source: https://www.metmuseum.org

To me, SoonDeok was similar to these goddess. She would be the one in charge of spinning the love-lines of a couple into a happily-ever-after story. She herself was keenly aware of her extraordinary talent for matchmaking. She said as much when she was introduced in Episode 1.

Jeong SoonDeok: Age 27
Left State Minister’s second daughter-in-law and a peddler
Special note: double life

In her interview, she explained her work, saying, “Couples I match up live happily and have many children. So, families with daughters tend to come to me more often.” Then, to an unseen interviewer, she replied, “Ah. I can just see it. Whether they are a match or not. You can say I was born with the ability to recognize fate.” She grinned impishly.

Episode 3 picked up on SoonDeok’s pride and confidence in her talent. She was proud of her accomplishments.

Given how irascible JungWoo had been in previous meetings (plus the awkward daydream encounter), she had doubts about working with him to get the three maidens married. But she felt obligated to take on the role of matchmaker because she was worried that he would marry off the ladies to just any bachelor, without any consideration for the ladies’ happiness. She was the only one who could prevent him.

Outside their meeting place, she steeled herself to accept the job.

SoonDeok: “I will match the old maidens.” That is the first thing I am going to say. I can do this. No matter how rude he speaks, just focus on Lady Samsoon’s marriage.

She exhaled loudly then burst into the room.

I laughed at JungWoo’s sudden change of demeanor at the sight of her. Before she entered the room, he was growling at his manservant Bong that there was no way he would apologize to SoonDeok. He did nothing wrong; he wasn’t the one who broke the rules and boundaries.

JungWoo: (fiercely at Bong) Enough! I will immediately…
SoonDeok: (marching toward him)
JungWoo: (whimpering)… would like to apologize. I am sorry about last time.
SoonDeok: I will match the old maidens.
JungWoo: (stunned) Since you agreed, the conditions –
SoonDeok: (stunned) However, I have conditions.

His manservant Bong quickly made them sit down before they changed their minds.

Note here: If you ask me, I think Bong is a minor Cupid in this story. He may not have the gift of sight like a Ssangyeonsulsa, but he certainly took care of JungWoo and facilitated his romance with SoonDeok.

JungWoo laid out his conditions first. She had no problems meeting them.

SoonDeok: Summarizing the conditions, the timeline is in two months, only the old bachelors are allowed, and I do every step with you, Sir. Is that it?
JungWoo: That is correct.

This is funny. Down the road, he would add to his list of work conditions…or demands. Some of them rather frivolous, like keeping a distance of three steps from each other and answering his letters right away to prevent his heart palpitations.

SoonDeok: I will tell you my conditions, then. Since I am the matchmaker method without any objections. (smiling)
JungWoo: (scoffing) What are you saying is that I have to follow your order. Right?
SoonDeok: Rather than my “order,” it means I will lead since I am the expert.

The sub isn’t so neat. She meant that rather than think of it as following her “order” (aka her command), he should think of the situation as following her “lead” as she would lead him on what to do. It was only reasonable that she led him as she was the professional matchmaker here.

JungWoo: That is the same thing!
SoonDeok: Really? (smiling widely at him again)

She gave him the “eye-smile” and instantly, he felt a heart-twinge.

Beside him, Bong the Cupid rolled his eyes. He knew his master well. He was the first one to recognize that JungWoo had “totally fallen for her.”

SoonDeok: The signing fee is to be paid in advance.
JungWoo: I heard from the Chief Royal Secretary. (signaling Bong to release the money) One hundred nyang per person, so a total of 300 nyang. Of that, 150 nyang is the signing fee. The rest will be paid on the day of the wedding.

SoonDeok’s eyes widened. She didn’t expect to earn so much from the marriage deal. She grabbed the money but JungWoo whacked her hand with his fan. He demanded that she signed the contract first. He traced her hand on the contract.

JungWoo: If all the weddings do not take place by the end of May, you will have to pay back twice the signing fee you received. Do you understand?
SoonDeok: (making a face) I am Yeojudaek, the goddess of matchmaking. I never fail.

Noteworthy: She prided herself in being the goddess of matchmaking. But after her meeting with Mrs. Maeng, she wondered if she was the Ssangyeonsulsa, or agent of love.

So, what’s the difference between the two? This is the way I see it:

a. When she called herself the “goddess of matchmaking” (note: “goddess” means “ace” or “master”), she believed that her excellent powers of observation and reasoning, and superlative skillset made her matches successful.

b. When she began thinking of herself as Ssangyeonsulsa, she attributed her successes to fate, i.e., her supposed gift of recognizing fated lovers.

2. JungWoo’s List of Do’s and Don’ts for SoonDeok

They’re mostly don’ts. But he lashed out at her because of her putdowns.

They met in the village to go to the Maeng sisters’ residence. JungWoo was without his sidekick Bong; I’m sure he abandoned him again because he wanted to spend time with SoonDeok alone. He arrived early at the meeting spot and practiced his “pose” to impress her, but she came from the opposite direction.

JungWoo: W-why are you coming from the direction?
SoonDeok: Does it matter which way I come from? (giving him the eye-smile again)
JungWoo: (feeling heart spasms again)

SoonDeok: Did you come out alone today without a servant?
JungWoo: I have you as a servant! (motioning at his donkey) Why are you laughing?
SoonDeok: I have only seen young masters and women ride donkeys. I have never seen a full-grown scholar ride one. My orabeoni – Anyhow, every adult I know rides horses.
JungWoo: (insulted) That is what is called the fallacy of hasty generalization.

SoonDeok: Huh?
JungWoo: (pedantically) It’s the error of thinking that your shallow experience constitutes the universal truth…Oh forget it. I did not expect you to understand so just lead the way now.
SoonDeok: Sure, sure.

She said “ne” (or “네”) which means yes. But the way she repeated yes, “Ne, ne,” sounded patronizing or dismissive to JungWoo’s ears. Kinda like she was saying, “Sure, fine. Whatever.”

He mimicked her, saying, “Ne, ne. Tsk.” He was being childish, of course.

But before he could hop on his donkey, a couple men on horses rode past them. He would have been a roadkill if SoonDeok didn’t grab him out of the way.

One good outcome of his near-accident with the horses is that he decided to ditch the donkey. I guess after seeing men galloping on horses, he realized that he would look rather ridiculous ambling on a donkey.

Later, SoonDeok wondered if riding the donkey was better than nothing.

SoonDeok: The day is hot. Perhaps we shouldn’t have left the donkey behind.
JungWoo: I just didn’t feel like bringing it, so do not worry.
SoonDeok: Sure, sure.

She did it again. JungWoo ignored her this time.

Out on the field, they encountered a dog. Frightened, he covered himself with his fan while she shooed it away.

SoonDeok: Are you scared of puppies?
JungWoo: (insulted) I am not scared of them! Dogs are instinctively prone to attack when you move more. So I was standing still! You don’t even know anything. My goodness. You have no idea. (running off)

Then they had to climb uphill. Compared with the indefatigable SoonDeok, his energy was clearly flagging. He wanted to stop and drink.

To make matters worse, he slipped. SoonDeok attended to his twisted ankle without giving their “skinship” a second thought.

I was laughing the whole time that they were arguing about his foot. He wanted her to release his foot and keep her distance from him (not to mention to keep her decorum) so he pushed her away with a finger to her forehead.

But she pushed hard against that finger of his and gave his ankle a big tug.

It was really such a ridiculous scene; my sides hurt from laughing.

SoonDeok: (fixing it) There! Did it hurt that much? You will feel better soon.

Lol. She didn’t get it. It was his pride that was hurting, not the ankle.

JungWoo: (haughtily) Do you think I did not know how to do that? I was not even prepared emotionally.

Lol. This was funny. Why did he have to prepare “emotionally” to fix his sprain? But this is when he began his attack.

JungWoo: (shouting) How can you be so careless, even if you are an uneducated merchant? Please get away.
SoonDeok: Why are you so angry? You are lashing out without a reason, just like the Resentful Man.

I like that she wasn’t afraid of him and answered him back. But then, she didn’t she was unaware that he was the infamous “Resentful Man.”

JungWoo: What did you say?
SoonDeok: Omo! I’m sorry for comparing you with the Resentful Man, Prince Gyeongwoonjae. That scumbag.
JungWoo: Scumbag? You haven’t even met Prince Gyeongwoonjae.
SoonDeok: (reasoning) Having entered the wedding with the Princess means the marriage was official. Isn’t he a scumbag then for claiming that the marriage was void? Tsk.

And JungWoo had no answer to that. To get back at her then, he added to his list of don’ts.

JungWoo: There is a clear class difference between you and me. So maintain a distance of three steps between us from now on.
SoonDeok: Sure, sure.

Lol. She did it again. This time he didn’t let it pass.

JungWoo: Do answer only once! It bothers me!
SoonDeok: Sure! Please hurry up and come.

Lol. She followed his command. She didn’t repeat “ne” like he asked her to, but she still got the last words in.

But one nice thing about JungWoo’s personality is that his anger is easy come, easy go. Not long after he shouted at SoonDeok for her lack of propriety, he forgave her. He noticed that she kept looking back at him as if something was troubling her but couldn’t express it.

JungWoo: Stop glancing over awkwardly and say what you need to say. It is bothering me a lot. Tsk tsk.
SoonDeok: (playfully stepping back toward him)
JungWoo: (moving to the side to keep three steps between them)

He was sticking to his rules.

SoonDeok: Setting up three maidens would be possible within two months, but wouldn’t arranging weddings be too much? For nobles, it is customary to marry off the next child six months after the older one marries.
JungWoo: (haughtily again) Did you think I started without knowing that? I will make all three of them get married on the same day.
SoonDeok: Joint wedding?! (excited) Sounds great! How did you come up with that idea?
JungWoo: The Old Teachings say the oldest child needs to be married first, but they never said that they could not be married simultaneously. So it is not against the customs of the nobles. More importantly, weddings are held at the bride’s home. So, a joint wedding is proper for sisters.

I like the way he came up with this. Since he memorized the rules and regulations inside out, he could take advantage of the ambiguity in them. He could be a constitutional lawyer if he were working in Washington DC.

SoonDeok: (skipping) You are very clever in many areas. Perhaps because you are an inspector.

I like SoonDeok for these: a) she doesn’t hold grudges, and b) she gives compliments where compliments are due. JungWoo just glowed with her compliment.

JungWoo: (pleased as punch) I am a very intelligent and knowledgeable person.
SoonDeok: (thinking to herself) This guy! He can be cute, just like Geun Seok.

I think she found his “inner child” cute. It appealed to her “mommy” instincts to nurture people around.

JungWoo: (changing topic) Is the plan to put pressure on the sisters going on as scheduled?
SoonDeok: (confidently) The third maiden should have left the inn by now. Do not worry.

She skipped merrily ahead. He tried to follow her, but his ankle was still painful.

I know this is a long transcript of their dialogue. I don’t mind doing it for these reasons:

a) it helps us to spot things we might have missed during the first watch.

b) it helps us develop an ear for the tone of JungWoo and SoonDeok’s comments. For instance, we could hear the petulance in JungWoo’s remarks, or the brush-off in SoonDeok’s replies. We could also tell when they were mocking or humoring each other.

c) it helps us identify their insecurities. For JungWoo, he worried that that SoonDeok would find him nerdy and unathletic. He ditched the donkey after SoonDeok commented that it was only for young kids.

But he “punched back” by calling SoonDeok uneducated. Fortunately, SoonDeok didn’t mind her vocabulary mistakes. As far as she was concerned, she was a quick learner anyway and the more he corrected her, the more she improved.

d) it shows JungWoo and SoonDeok getting to know each other. It was a long trek through the countryside, and the fact that JungWoo and SoonDeok traversed it without killing each other demonstrated to us that they could get along despite their personality differences, and her unfavorable first impression of him.

3. What marriage means for the traditionalist like JungWoo

JungWoo laid out his arguments for marriage of the three sisters to Mrs. Maeng. I thought his arguments were interesting. They gave us the prevailing attitude of people, especially the nobles, towards marriage as a “civic” duty.

JungWoo: I came to help your unmarried daughters get married. I will take care of preparing their partners and dowry, so you do not have to worry.
MM: You came in vain. My daughters are not interested in marriage and I do not intend to force them.
JungWoo: What nonsense is that?
MM: What does not make sense to you?
JungWoo: If a woman does not get married past a certain age, their resentment will lead to plagues. For example, the current drought—

What?! Soooooo, can climate change be blamed on single women’s bitterness at their unmarried state? Lol.

MM: (interrupting) It rained two days ago.
JungWoo: It was not enough to end this drought.
MM: My daughters personally chose to be unmarried, so they hold no resentment. Thus, they are not responsible for this drought.

Mrs. Maeng: 1; JungWoo: 0

JungWoo: Madam, it is the natural duty of a woman to marry a husband and have children. May I ask why you are neglecting your daughters?

He wouldn’t have known how sexist this reason was. Back then, this was the normal view on marriage.

MM: What do you mean, neglecting? I am merely respecting my daughters’ wishes. Also, I think it is more dutiful for my daughter to take care of their widowed blind mother, rather than for them to be marry and serve stranger in their in-laws.
SoonDeok: (shocked at Mrs. Maeng’s words)
MM: Now that you know my daughters do not need matchmaking, please go back.

At the end of this drama, JungWoo would change his position. He would no longer think it was imperative for him and SoonDeok to get married to end the drought or to fulfill her natural (I say “civic”) duty. They were following  “their” own time.

4. Why SoonDeok wants to become a Ssangyeonsulsa

SoonDeok: I found out why I keep going around recklessly to find matches for people. Even before I got married, I helped set up many couples.
Sister-in-law: Even though I did not see it, I believe it.
SoonDeok: But even now, I am matching up people despite the risks I take.
Sister-in-law: You said you did it for money.
SoonDeok: No, no.

She said “Ani. Ani.” Lol. Just like when she said yes to JungWoo, she repeated the word, “no.”

SoonDeok: I must be a Ssangyeonsulsa.
Sister-in-law: What is that?
SoonDeok: I will look into it more but it’s supposedly a mountain god who can recognize lovers. It is cool, right? That is why I was so hung up over matchmaking. It was my fate. I worried whether I may be abnormal for getting involved in others’ romance so much. But that was because I was Ssangyeonsulsa. Ssang.Yeon.Sul.Sa. Even the name is so cool.

Interesting, isn’t it?

My comments:

a. Both JungWoo and SoonDeok felt that something was wrong with them. For JungWoo, his chronic bodily pain drove him to find a cure for himself. He didn’t know that this pain was due to the energy of a Ssangyeonsulsa recognizing a fated couple. However, he lacked one key attribute of a Ssangyeonsulsa, namely, the overwhelming desire to match people. It was SoonDeok who possessed this quality. Even she was young, she had been driven to pair couples together.

b. Mrs. Maeng assumed that SoonDeok was a Ssangyeonsulsa based on SoonDeok’s answers to her questions.

SoonDeok: Madam, I am Yeojudaek who does matchmaking in Hanyan. It may seem like I’m bragging, but madams in Bukchon call me the “goddess of matchmaking.” When I match up a couple, they love each other deeply and have many children, so with families with daughter –
MM: (interrupting) Are you trying to say you are a Ssangyeonsulsa?
SoonDeok: I don’t know what a Ssangyeonsulsa is. I am saying that I can find the right partner for your daughters.

But Mrs. Maeng insisted that she didn’t want her daughters to marry. She only changed her mind after SoonDeok persuaded her that she was her only hope of securing love matches for all her three daughters.

SoonDeok: The government plans to wed all the old maidens, so if you remain stubborn, your daughters may end up marrying partners who are unsuitable for them. I want to prevent that.
MM: By any chance, did you act as a matchmaker between the Ha family and the Ahn family three years ago?
SoonDeok: Yes. That’s correct. That match is one of my proudest achievements.
MM: They are of different parties. How did you think to match them up?
SoonDeok: They looked so lovely together that I could not help but set them up. You probably will not believe me now, but I can see whether or not a couple will be a good match.

Ha! This was where Mrs. Maeng made the wrong conclusion. She assumed that SoonDeok was referring to a Ssangyeonsulsa’s gift of sight. She didn’t know that SoonDeok was referring to her power of reasoning. By using her logic and reasoning, she could “see” whether a couple was a good match for each other or not. She didn’t see an “invisible thread” connecting the couple like Mrs. Maeng did when she was once a Ssangyeonsulsa.

Note: the fact that her previous matches ended up as love matches — DESPITE her lack of special sight — demonstrates to me that a rational approach was just as effective as divination at predicting a successful marriage.

5. JungWoo researches on the Ssangyeonsulsa.

After their visit to the Maeng residence, SoonDeok asked Jungwoo about the Ssangyeonsulsa.

SoonDeok: You said you are very smart, right?
JungWoo: That’s right. I am the smartest man in Joseon.
SoonDeok: Then, do you know who Ssangyeonsulsa is?
JungWoo: She is a mountain goddess from Goryeo folk tales who is capable of recognizing lovers.
SoonDeok: Wow. You really know everything, Sir.
JungWoo: If there is anything you do not know from now on, ask me.
SoonDeok: Then, please find out more about Ssangyeonsulsa in detail.
JungWoo: Why?
SoonDeok: (telling him about her conversation with Mrs. Maeng)
JungWoo: Ssangyeonsulsa is a figure from folk tales. So it may not be a real person.

I sense that he didn’t want to get her hopes up high.

SoonDeok: I’m asking because I think I am a Ssangyeonsulsa. It is an important matter to me, so please find out for me.

JungWoo: Forget it. I have no time when I am already busy matchmaking for old maidens.

Ha! That took him less than five minutes to change his mind and rescind his offer to ask him anything she needed to know.

SoonDeok: All right. I will look into it myself once these maidens are wed.

The funny thing is after they separated, he spent the rest of the day in the palace library researching about the Ssangyeonsulsa.

Then at night, he began writing down what he had read.

So why did he tell SoonDeok that he was too busy to look into the Ssangyeonsulsa then?

He liked that she came to him with the question. He was proud to show off what he knew. And he was flattered that she was impressed with his encyclopedic knowledge. But he probably felt that he needed to play indifferent so he could properly research the topic and surprise her with a completed book on the subject.

That’s my take on his sudden reversal: he wanted to surprise her with gift of a book on Ssangyeonsulsa. In a way, he was playing a “push-pull” game on her. He was “pushing” her away by declining to help her. But he intended to “pull” her back by giving her the book when she least expected it.

6. Miscellaneous: the couple profiles

I want to keep notes on the profiles. Episodes 1 and 2 featured SoonDeok and JungWoo, respectively. Now, we have the couple villains.

Jo Young Bae, Left State Minister, Dogno Party Leader
Note: A henpecked husband.

The note about being a henpecked husband made me laugh.

He said, “Are there naïve people who still believe Joseon is a kingdom? Joseon is a country of nobles. The reason is that kingship is continued through blood, not competence. A collective intelligence is the answer to chaotic ages like ours.”

By nobles, I think he was referring only to the male nobles. There were no advisors to the king. I also thought his remark was ironic, considering his wife, Lady Park SoHyun had more cunning than the collective intelligence of the male nobles he was bragging about.

Park SoHyun, Jo Young Bae’s wife, Honorable Lady Junggyeong
Note: a shadow ruler

She said, “Clearly Joseon is clearly a country of women. A clan is like a tree that lasts hundreds of years. So, its roots must be strong in order for it to prosper. I believe a clan’s women are what forms the roots hidden underground. Therefore, no matter the crisis, if a clan’s women stand their ground, the clan will never fall. That is why I believe Joseon is a country of women.”

It’s interesting that, just like the king had a successor in the Crown Prince, Lady SoHyun too had a designate “crown princess” in her household who could take over her once she was gone. It was SoonDeok.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Gotta end this. I’m too sleepy.