There’s this song that I’ve been waiting to share with you all. I guess Valentine’s Day is good enough.
This is a breakup song called “Good Goodbye” by Hwasa. She’s from a girl group called Mamamoo but this is her solo released back in October of last year.
These are the lyrics from genius.com.
Good Goodbye
Sung by Hwasa
It’s fine, don’t look back my way
This pain I feel, yours run deeper
So now I’ll try to understand you
The way you lived and breathed for me, let go
I’ll rise above for you and just kill my ego [Pre-Chorus] Turn your back and walk away
You got it, you got it, yeah [Chorus] Goodbye will hurt us but we’ll keep it beautiful (Oh-oh-oh)
Smile even brighter, so I’ll drown in my own regret
Goodby-y-ye [Post-Chorus] By-ye-ye, ya-ya-ye
By-ye-ye, ya-ya-ye (By-y-ye)
By-ye-ye, ya-ya-ye
By-ye-ye-ye-ye
Drowning in regret, goodby-y-ye [Verse 2] A song made thinking about you
At last, you feel it shining through
The tears are welling up, still finding light in you
We’re in a quiet fade of two [Pre-Chorus] Instead of a thank you, it’s a
Goodbye, good goodbye, yeah [Chorus] Goodbye will hurt us but we’ll keep it beautiful (Oh-oh-oh)
Smile even brighter, so I’ll drown in my own regret
Goodby-y-ye [Post-Chorus] By-ye-ye, ya-ya-ye
By-ye-ye, ya-ya-ye (By-y-ye)
By-ye-ye, ya-ya-ye
By-ye-ye-ye-ye [Bridge] Even as the whole world is looking down on me
Even if there is no one on my side, next to me
Don’t worry, it’s okay
I’ll stay right here with me
I’ll be on my side instead of you [Chorus] Goodbye will hurt me, but I’ll let the teardrops fall
Even if I break down in regret, I’ve loved us after all
Goodby-y-ye [Outro] By-ye-ye, ya-ya-ye (By-y-ye)
By-ye-ye, ya-ya-ye (By-y-ye)
By-ye-ye, ya-ya-ye
By-ye-ye-ye-ye
There’s no more regret, goodby-y-ye
An interesting factoid about the music lyrics. Hwasa based this song after her personal experience. I saw her in one YT video, explaining this song. She said when she was young, she couldn’t imagine a “good” goodbye ever. But when she grew up, she realized that the mature way of handling a breakup is a “good” goodbye.
Here are the three music videos.
This is the original MV. Click on “CC” if you want to see the English subs.
There’s an interesting factoid about this MVThe guy in the MV is Hwasa’s crush. He’s the actor Park JungMin (sorry, I haven’t seen before) and she’s been crushing on him for 15 years or so. Hahaha. It’s a brilliant move on her part to hire him for her MV. Apparently, she wrote a long letter to him to convince him, and he answered with a pithy “yes.”
Note the symbolisms in the MV. (lol. This is BOD. We analyze these things!) She and the guy have different personalities. She’s free-spirited; he’s rigid and traditionalist. She wears a sexy red dress on the beach. He wears all black. They listen to different music on their headphones in the truck, instead of just listening to music blaring from the radio. He likes to read; she’s a couch lizard.
He isn’t mean, though. He goes along with her, picking up the shoes she leaves behind, carrying four luggages to her one…until he blows up, getting his nails painted by her.
The wounds on her knees and fingers are obviously symbolic injuries from their relationship.
Anyway, just watch the MV yourself. Just a warning: the song is pretty catchy. I’ve bought it from iTunes already and have it on repeat.
Now, two months after the song was released, Hwasa performed at the Blue Dragon Film Awards (which I’m sure many foreign viewers never heard of until this MV went viral). She invited the actor Park JungMin to dance with her and their performance just captivated the viewers.
Watch the MV and you’ll get why. I won’t spoil the enjoyment for you.
Now, this is the 3rd MV. I’m not sure, but she actually performed this at the M Countdown a month BEFORE the Blue Dragon.
This is superfluous, I know. But I’m posting this because the back-up dancer is cutie-pie and because he got the memo: the song is meant to celebrate their goodbyes.
But why I’m a sharing this for Valentine’s Day of all days?
Well, it’s to remind us to take a good look at this person you spent Valentine’s Day with and remember the feelings.
Heaven forbid you say goodbye to him but if ever things fall apart one day, I pray that you part ways amicably, gracefully. Because you once loved each other, wish each other well before moving on with the rest of your life.
Happy Belated Valentine’s Day @pkml3 and Everyone!
I usually feel that many MVs give us a whole bunch of images, like dream images, which do not really have to make sense.
That being said however, what stood out for me about this MV was that the couple just never hit mark … not only were they somewhat incompatible but what and how they chose for home was inappropriate, and they were dressed in pseudo wedding outfits but it was not a wedding. In the end it was just a facade of a relationship, best locked away and left behind.
That hard to manage, long, white dress really bothered me. How she could skip around without tripping over is beyond me, and she sat in the dirt in it!!!
As the singer and main character in the MV, and the driver of the car, it’s obvious who was the boss in that relationship. The ‘boyfriend’ was the more submissive, good sort who went along with whatever she decided, until he had enough! Her goodbye gesture was less a farewell than a ‘Get Lost!’ LOL.
Good points, @GB.
Yes, that white dress also bothered me for the same reasons. I feel for the guy (in the MV) because he looked like the steady, mature one in the relationship while she was the high-maintenance girlfriend/fiancée/bride/wife/whatever. I would get tired of her antics quickly if I were him but he was tolerating it. And then, in the end, she was the one breaking up. Hahaha.
Oh well.
As for the Blue Dragon MV, I know that it went viral. The fans were ooh’ing how “oppa”-ish the actor. But I don’t know… On one hand, he’s definitely following the script of the MV. He’s supposed to look exasperated (he put his hands on his waist) when she tossed her red shoes. He’s supposed to look shy and reluctant when he danced the “wavy” thing with his hands. He’s supposed to have this “put-upon” look — or burdened look — while she dance-flirted with him. Because that’s how it was on the MV: he was the doing the things SHE liked to do. She was, as you pointed out, the dominant one, and he was the submissive one.
But on the other hand, I do wonder if art is imitating life. That the actor himself does feel awkward about all this attention on him. I heard fans are clamoring that he dates her. Oof! 🙂
I guess that’s why I like the “M Countdown” version, too. There’s no burden on the male dancer. Just come in and dance then leave. Alrighty.
@pkml3, Is this the right actor…
https://mydramalist.com/people/1567-park-jung-min ?
He was in shows I didn’t watch and owns his own online shopping business. It’s likely he won’t be in many new shows either, as he does not really need the work??
He looked a little awkward: just had to be the ‘prop’ for a while. Maybe he took time out to do Hwasa a favour, after that long letter business. Perhaps he also received a fee to make up for the time he had to spend on the MV.
Truthfully, I don’t see what there was to go viral about with that MV. 🧐🤨🤔😉
This clip tries to explain why the MV went viral, but I don’t agree that it looks romantic at all LOL. To me, they were just playing their parts.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3P3PCILR7u4
@pcml3
Anything and everything is grist to the mill.
Thanks for shining brightly.
I wont watch the clip however and it should come with a caution notice — I had this song on an unremoveable internal loop for what feels like months — also there were interminable challenge videos on Instagram. What they call earworm status. It is a good thing it wasnt issued during the big Korean exams or they would have had to ban it like they did APT.
oh, I forgot — Park Jeong Min has a leading role in Humint, a film (spies yay!) that has me anxiously awaiting its streaming distribution.
He has done several dramas lately, Newtopia, the 8 Show and Hellbound. But since 2018 he has appeared as a lead actor in about a dozen movies, while about half that as a lead actor in dramas.
I looked him up when the MV came out, and because I heard that lots of younger Korean women have crushes on him. It just shows that movies are a more important part of viewing experience for the kids than for us, I think. Also he does non-romances like Harbin, which I put on my to-watch list, but which inevitably float towards the back of the plan-to-watch-someday…
Looking him up, there are a lot of Park Jong Mins but fewer Jeongs, as well…
@GB,
It’s this one.
https://mydramalist.com/people/2879-park-jung-min
His name is also spelled as Park JEONG Min.
I don’t recognize him either. He could be a good actor for all I know but he looks unremarkable to me. In another YT video, Hwasa recounted that she and her friends watched a movie of his starring Lee JeHoon, the “Signal” guy. All her friends gushed at Lee JeHoon’s face/acting/whatever. All she could see however was Park Jung Min. Lol.
I think there are several things going on here. On one level, there’s the original MV. On another level, there’s the backstory of Hwasa’s crush on the actor and the letter. On yet another level, there’s the video from the Blue Dragon festival where he replicated the scenes from the MV. Then, there’s another level involving the REACTION of the viewers who watched the live performance with the knowledge of this singer is STILL crushing on the guy she’s dance-flirting with.
Then there’s the empathy (or cringe) level. We know how silly/goofy/desperate we can look when we’re trying to attract the attention of this guy who’s beyond our reach.
Then, there’s the music level. Whatever the visuals are, the song is catchy. I find myself doing the “shoulder shake” to the beat during the chorus part. hahaha.
I guess we don’t have a romantic cell in our bodies anymore, @GB. That or we’re so used to analyzing cdramas and kdramas that we don’t easily fall prey to “romantic” scenes anymore.
🙂
I do like the central message of the song, though. Whatever happens, just promise to say goodbye gracefully in the future, should things go south.
I guess if we compare a love affair to contact sports, this promise to have a “good goodbye” is like players promising to adhere to good sportsmanship before the competition starts. Both winners and losers just shake hands then exit the court, field, stage.
Or the song could be compared to a pre-nup. lol. Both parties agree to protect assets and shield themselves from liabilities.
Good ending comments, Queen. 👏🏻
So this is why I saw those videos of them at that awards night.
My Valentine’s Day was spent with Ed Sheeran. 😂 I got free ticket but hubby didn’t mind and we had dinner with the boys the next day. ☺️
Nice, @agdr03! You ditched your hubby for Ed Sheeran. Hahaha.
He survived. 😂