The songs we featured during the recap:
“You” by dori
“That Day, Us” by Nam Hye Seung and Park Sang Hee
The heartbreaking backstory behind Ho Su’s accident, his physical disabilities, and the emotional burden he carried for years after his father’s death.
How a simple misunderstanding at a track meet completely changed the course of Mi Ji’s life and fueled years of regret and depression.
The emotional revelation that Ho Su fell in love with Mi Ji during their climb up Dusonbong Peak because she believed in him when he could not believe in himself.
How Mi Ji unknowingly accepted Ho Su completely, including his scars and disabilities, and why that moment meant everything to him.
Mi Ji’s struggles trying to survive in Mi Rae’s corporate job, including writing a report despite having no business experience or college education.
Kim Tae I’s mysterious but growing interest in helping Mi Ji and the ominous final scene suggesting deeper motives and hidden connections.
The moving story of Mi Ji’s grandmother helping her emerge from isolation and depression with the mantra: “Yesterday is over, tomorrow is yet to come, but today is yet unknown.”
The fierce small-town gossip network surrounding Mi Rae and Se Jin, and how rumors once again push Mi Rae to withdraw from others.
Ho Su stepping fully into his role as Kim Rosa’s attorney and confidently taking on his former law firm and the Korea Finance Management Corporation.
The looming legal showdown between Ho Su and his former mentor Lee Chung Gu over Kim Rosa’s land.
The shocking and vividly filmed “truck of doom” sequence that revealed the devastating accident involving Ho Su and his father.
The growing emotional confusion between Ho Su and Mi Ji as both characters struggle with hidden identities, unresolved feelings, and drunken confessions.
Our discussion of Ryu Kyung-soo, including his memorable performances in Itaewon Class, Lovestruck in the City, Tale of the Nine Tailed: 1938, and why his unique screen presence makes him such a compelling actor.
References
K Drama Chat is a weekly podcast where we take one Korean (K) Drama each season and and recap and analyze each episode. K Drama Chat is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pandora.
Things I love about Episode 5:
ReplyDelete- the developing subplot of Mirae's coworker Kim Tae-i.
- the continuing support/perspective offered to Hosu by his former sunbae. She is an absolute gem.
- the big reveal (to us and to Miji) about how and why Hosu fell for one twin and not the other.
- the whole strawberry jam incident, another example of how homemade things/gifts have special significance in kdramas, in contrast to flashy designer items.
[Sidenote: are women really obsessed with expensive handbags IRL? Is it a Korean thing, or just a kdrama thing, or just an actual 'thing'. This is so outside of my lived experience!]
Doremi, fantastic comments, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI know women who are absolutely obsessed with designer handbags and clothes. I know many women who swear by Rent the Runway. So yes, this is a thing.
What's awesome about Mi Ji's support for Ho Su is that she didn't help go up the mountain. She just knew he would make it up. That faith in Ho Su kept him going. LOVE that!
Yes, and not a trace of pity. A suggestion (rejected) that a stick might be useful, and a brief glance at his scars. That's it.
DeleteI’ll admit I was a little disappointed when this drama was picked for this season; not because I am not a fan, but rather because I had watched it pretty recently. However, I am really enjoying rewatching and glad this was picked, as I’m not sure when I would get around to rewatching. I had forgotten how good Park Bo young is in this role (roles?). She puts on another great performance in this episode. The younger actress who plays the young Mi Ji/Mi Rae is also quietly amazing.
ReplyDeleteDoremi, South Korean’s obsession with luxury handbags, and luxury goods in general, is a very real this. Apparently, South Korea outspends all other countries on luxury goods per capita:
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/13/south-koreans-are-the-worlds-biggest-spenders-on-luxury-goods.html
Louis Vuitton bags are known as “3 second bags” in Seoul because they say you see one every three seconds!
https://asianews.network/south-koreas-obsession-with-designer-handbags/
There’s even a word/term called Pyeonbaekjok (편백족), which translates as "convenience store and department store tribe". It refers to someone who is extremely frugal in their everyday life so that they splurge on one or two luxury purchases.
Malcolm, I'm glad that you are enjoying and appreciating Our Unwritten Seoul this time around!
DeleteAnd yes, Park Bo Young and the actress who plays her younger selves are amazing!
Hi Doremi, I also liked the scene with the sunbae - LOL. I was thinking of the song "I married her just because she looks like you" by Lyle Lovett when she was giving him a hard time about falling for his first love's twin. Anyway also for this episode - I think they showed the scene with teenage Mi-Rae collapsing into Ho-Su's arms a couple times. Now that Ho-Su tells Mi-Ji, Mi-Rae looks sick. But in the previous versions it did look like they were a couple.
ReplyDeleteAlso watching "Everyone Is Trying Here" or "Everyone Is Fighting Against Their Own Worthlessness" as the literal translation. I didn't particularly like ML at the beginning but now I'm on Ep. 6 and show has gotten better each episode. Very well written as you'd expect; if you had a great lines compilation you'd come up with a dozen an episode. Also great performances. Besides the leads the supporting cast is great - Oh Jung-Se is good (he's played unlikable characters like in "Mr. Plankton" and "Touch Your Heart" so this was better). And I thought Kang Mal-Geum looked familiar and realized she was Han So-Hee's mom in "Gyeongseong Creature".
I guess they were showing Miji's perception vs reality for those Hosu/Mirae 'embrace' scenes. :)
DeleteAs for other Kdramas, I tried and abandoned Dr Romantic, and I'm enjoying My Royal Nemesis.
I binge-watched the 8 eps of The Wonderfools with Park Eun-bin and Cha Eun-woo. Almost gave up after the first ep, which I found annoying, confusing and tedious (!). But it got better. It's like a mix of Stranger Things (skipped some gross/disturbing scenes) and the 'Christmas Invasion' episodes of Dr Who. Not one of my fave kdramas, but an interesting change of pace from Our Unwritten Seoul.
Only a week and a half until I finally get to watch Lovely Runner!
Doremi,
DeleteI am unlikely to watch Wonderfools despite the wonderful PEB.
Idk, it sounds like an American series with Korean actors. Also, I am still not interested in superheros after watching them for years.
Dr. Romantic was my 4th Kdrama (January 21). I thought it was reasonably good, but way too long (20 ep). I liked it overall, but nowhere as much as the general public. I think it was very popular in Korea, and one of the few (before the involvment of American money) dramas that had more than one season. I didn't watch subsequent seasons, and I don't think you are missing a lot by dropping it.
SD guy.
DeleteI have caught up with "We Are All Trying Here".
I am loving it. Unless they mess it up on the finishing line, it is the favourite for my favourite drama of the year, an possibly even a 5 stars, which is very rare for me.
Of course this a subjective opinion, but to me Park Hae Young is in a league of her own amongst korean screenwriters.
I have been collecting some of these quotes.
Her dialogues/monologues are so amazing, because most of the time they are surprising and beautifuly written.
There are lots of nice quotes from other dramas, but they are mostly recycled ideas written, or expressed beautifully and artistically(nothing against that btw)
Of course she also has some of those, but she has a lot of genuinely original stuff.
I'm reading such mixed reviews of We Are All Trying Here that I'm gonna hold on it, although if Seven Seas gives it 5 stars, I'll have to reconsider.
DeleteI'm still on Phantom Lawyer and want to start My Lovely Nemesis next.
Doremi, have you not watched Lovely Runner? I watched it on Viki and I'm really glad it will be on Netflix soon! I hope you love it; I loved it!
And you guys already know that I'm a sucker for great dialogue.
Joanna, I watched the first 2 eps of Lovely Runner on free Viki membership when it came out, but my budget means I only subscribe to Netflix. (Also the device I used to watch Viki on is just about dead!)
DeleteI already know I will love this show. Idols, time travel, high school love - a few of my favourite things!
Joanna,
DeleteWhile I appreciate the vote of confidence, I don't think I am the closest to you in taste.
We certainly agree on a lot, but we also disagree on a lot.
WATH is certainly not My Mister. If anything, the series is borderline comedy despite its very heavy and serious themes.
As for general reception.
Well, as Kdrama is becoming increasingly mainstream, PHY series are actually loosing popularity and declining in ratings.
I just hope there will be still people willing to produce unusual dramas.
Doremi, I think you will LOVE Lovely Runner. I hope you do. I watched it twice and rewatched many scenes, many times. I had to understand the timelines and how the cycle ends.
DeleteSeven Seas, you might be right that we don't have similar taste, but I respect your opinion nevertheless. So fun to see hear about what others are watching and why!
I am loving We Are All Trying Here. Yes, I’m on the other end of the spectrum whose top Kdramas are My Mister and My Liberation Notes. I am anxiously waiting for the last two episodes this weekend. I told my sister that watching this series is like reading a good book. I had to rewind most of the time as I don’t want to miss any line.
DeleteIrma,
DeleteMake some space for me on your end please :)
My Mister is my favourite drama full stop. Regardless of language.
While watching WAATH, I have actually gone back to it and started to watch little bit.
I totally agree with you that WAATH is like reading a good book. And, I am also rewinding, rewatching, and even writing down some of these quotes.
Let's pray like Dong-Man that the last two episodes are great.
What other dramas (even if not Korean) occupy that space and you like?
There is one I can recommend, and very little talked about.
Lost (2021) starring Jeon Do-yeon & Ryu Jun-yeol. Lots of unhappiness and mopping around lool. But, I love those series :). It has, however, also some very beautiful monologues.
.....You see, I am great believer in the opening lines of Anna Karenina : "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"
DeleteSeven Seas, same! I've rewatched My Mister AND My Liberation Notes while waiting for new episodes of WAATH. I'm not a fan of ongoing series with weekly releases, but since it's Park Hae Young, I cannot wait.
DeleteThank you for recommending Lost. I have not heard of it. I checked out the comments in their Asianwiki page, and I think this series is to my liking.
For the current year, aside from WAATH, I enjoyed watching In Your Radiant Season (on Disney+). My favorites are the slow burn slice-of-life dramas like Misaeng. Last year, I enjoyed When Life Gives You Tangerines and Our Unwritten Seoul. For J-Drama, I recommend First Love on Netflix.
Irma, have you watched Our Blues? Slice of life on Jeju. Amazing cast. Difficult, emotional, story lines. I cried several times.
DeleteMalcolm, I have seen Our Blues and liked it. But since I watched it right after My Liberation Notes, I didn’t give my 100% as I was hung over the latter. I would need to watch it again and take it all in this time.
DeleteSeven Seas, the PEB character in Wonderfools is more like her role in Hello My Twenties than any other I can think of. She is kooky, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteAs you can tell, I have my reservations abt the drama as a whole, so wouldn't say it was a must watch for anyone, let alone you, based on what you've said here that you enjoy. :)
I did enjoy the show's idea that weaknesses can become strengths given the right circumstances.
I will watch WAATH at some point, sounds great!