Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 8 of Hotel Del Luna. This pivotal episode is devoted to the relationship between Man Wol and Lee Mi-ra. We learn through flashbacks that Lee Mi-ra is Princess Song Hwa from Man Wol’s past. Princess Song Hwa is the person who ordered all of Man Wol’s gang members killed. In retaliation, Man Wol kills Princess Song Hwa on her wedding night. In modern times, Lee Mi-ra is Koo Chan Sung’s ex-girlfriend from the US. Man Wol invites Lee Mi-ra to the carnival at Hotel Del Luna and tries to ruin Lee Mi-ra’s life through an evil grudge, which Koo Chan Sung blocks. There is also a side story about an old woman who has recently died and an imaginary ghost created by a lonely woman in a loveless marriage.
We do a short recap of the show, and then we dive deep into the episode. We discuss:
Another beautiful song from the Hotel Del Luna OST. This time it’s “Can You See My Heart” by Heize.
What we loved about this episode.
How Man Wol forced Mago #1 to appear by stopping an old lady from going to the afterlife.
Man Wol’s grudges against Chyung Mung and Princess Song Hwa, who is Lee Mi-ra in modern times.
The show’s themes of grudges, regret and forgiveness.
How we are finally starting to realize the depth of Man Wol’s grudges and regrets.
The Power of Regret, the new book by Dan Pink, which explores our most common regrets and what we can learn from them.
Our favorite lines from the episode. Joanna’s favorite is from Mago: For a flower to blossom, she needs to feel the wind and face the rain, too. Jen’s favorite line is from Koo Chan Sung to Man Wol: I don’t care if this is your prison or your fence. I will stay here with you.
How Hotel Del Luna is both a prison and a fence for Man Wol. It both locks her in and keeps her safe.
Why Koo Chan Sung took the evil grudge intended for Lee Mi-ra.
How Man Wol decided to move the hotel and not tell Koo Chan Sung.
The side story with Gyeong-a, the made up ghost.
Our favorite Man Wol outfits.
How episode 8 connects with, and brings clarity to, episode 1.
Korean terms of endearment and the use of “a” at the end of a name to make a name a term of endearment.
How Filipinos absolutely love nicknames.
References
Heize on Kpop Fandom - https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/Heize
Philippine People Show a Knack for Nicknames - https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-03-09-8601170900-story.html
The Power of Regret by Dan Pink - https://www.danpink.com/the-power-of-regret/
I thought the discussion of names was really interesting. In Korea, how people relate to each other and who you are is very much centered on your relative ages and your relationship or relative status with another person. I think people only use given names (in Korea they're not first names!) with people of the same age (also classmates in school) that they are close to or to those who are much younger, especially children. Like Jen said, a lot of wives call their husband's "'child's' father", as in "Jen ahppa", usually using the name of the eldest child (and vice versa for the husband's calling their wives). It's because your relational position to others is what's important. It's quite different, coming from such a strongly individualistic society as America.
ReplyDeleteMy MIL calls my daughter "puppy" in English. The word "gangahji" means puppy in Korean, and it's also a nice way of saying dog, since the actual word for dog is often used as an insult.
Thanks for this great insight about Korean names and how what you call others is always in relation to your age, role and status.
Delete