K Drama Chat

Today, we’ll be discussing Episodes 17 and 18 of Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-shin, Yoo Yeon-Seok as Goo Dong-mae, Kim Min-jung as Kudo Hina, and Byun Yo-han as Kim Hee-sung. We discuss:

• That a solar eclipse has special meaning spiritually and in astrology: this is a time of radical change, you are being called, be ready!
• Hui-seung’s annulment of his engagement with Ae-shin and how it’s really an act of love.
• How Hui-seung, Dong-mae and Hina Kudo are answering the call to be someone else and become a protector of Joseon.
• How Lord Go’s petition to the King was historically correct. During the Joseon dynasty, there would be peasant uprisings and petitions to the King by bowing in front of the King’s palace.
• How the King is protecting the protesting nobles from the Japanese by locking them up, in much the same way that Eugene is protecting Ae-shin by confining her to the legation.
• How Dong-mae is shot and lots of people rush to protect and help him, including Hui-seung, who got him to the hospital, and Hina Kudo, who threatened Dr. Matsuyama should Dong-mae die.
• How Eugene’s lowborn status is now fairly public because he has now told the King and his advisor, Ae-shin, Dong-mae, and the cadets at the military academy.
• How Lee Wan-ik is losing influence and he’s getting more dangerous as a result.
• The K Drama elements from this episode: food, alcohol, clothing, flowers.
• Our favorite lines from the episodes.
• What is happening at the end of episode 18, namely Dong-mae has just cut off Ae-shin’s hair, and Col. Mori now knows that Ae-shin had Eugene’s music box.
• The Hallyu wave across the globe and the enormous popularity of Korean music, dramas, food and movies.

References:

• Hallyu Wave
• Meaning of a solar eclipse in astrology
• The Bulgae legend
• Marriage in Joseon

Today, we’ll be discussing Episodes 15 and 16 of Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-shin, Yoo Yeon-seok as Goo Dong-mae, Kim Min-jung as Kudo Hina, and Byun Yo-han as Kim Hee-sung. We discuss:

• How Ae-shin and Eugene are spending a lot of time together at the start of episode 15 but by the end of episode 16, Ae-shin was asked to kill Eugene and then they’re forbidden from seeing each other.
• How Ae-shin and Eugene’s relationship has suddenly become very public.
• Eugene’s decision to stay in Joseon because he’s being pulled deeper into Joseon’s affairs and he wants to protect Eun-san and Ae-shin.
• How Lee Jeong-moon and Eun-san order Eugene killed, and then Lee Jeong-moon asks Eugene to become the Drill Instructor for the Imperial Army.
• How Eugene goes through Joseph’s affairs and discovers a box from Song Yeong, which further proves that Joseph was deeply involved in Joseon affairs and was likely running letters for the King for some time.
• Dong-mae’s release, how he kills Diplomat Suzuki, and how he warns Ae-shin’s grandfather that someone destroyed his letters to the nobles.
• How Hui-seung finally learns Eugene’s story, he decides to cancel his engagement to Ae-shin, and his decision to start a Korean language newspaper.
• How this whole show is about forbidden, unrequited love.
• The continuing bromance between Eugene, Dong-mae and Hui-seung, who are united in their desire to protect Ae-shin.
• Of all the K Drama elements, the most important is the plum blossom flower, which means resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity.
• The Korean Empire and the Gwangmu Reform enacted by the King.

References:

• Korean Empire on Wikipedia
• Timeline of the Gwangmu Reform

Today, we’ll be discussing Episodes 13 and 14 of Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-shin, Yoo Yeon-Seok as Goo Dong-mae, Kim Min-jung as Kudo Hina, and Byun Yo-han as Kim Hee-sung. We discuss:

• How the chameleon plant, which represents change and transformation, is a metaphor for these two episodes.
• How we go from Ae-shin and Eugene spending time together at the ocean, to Eun-san asking Ae-shin to kill Eugene; how did we get here?
• How Eugene has figured out who all four men in the photo are; this investigation is threatening The Righteous Army.
• How Eugene pieced everything together using the letters from Hamgyong province, the telegram from Hamgyong, and Joseph’s death.
• How Lee Jeon-moon and Eun-san see Eugene as a weakness for Ae-shin, as well as a threat to The Righteous Army, so he needs to die.
• We learn more about Ae-shin’s parents and how they died, as well as the reason her grandfather betrothed her to Hui-seung.
• How Hui-seung and Ae-shin’s grandfather both want Hui-seung to protect Ae-shin, but via different means.
• Dong-mae’s imprisonment and subsequent rescue by Eugene.
• The shifting loyalties and identities of Ae-shin, Eugene, Dong-mae, Hui-seung and Hina Kudo.
• How Eugene, Hui-seung and Dong-mae are all now actively helping each other.
• Our favorite lines from the two shows.
• The saeguk (historical) genre of K Dramas and why they are so popular.

References:

• Saeguk in Wikipedia
• Korea’s Fusion Saeguk

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 12 of Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-shin, Yoo Yeon-Seok as Goo Dong-mae, Kim Min-jung as Kudo Hina, and Byun Yo-han as Kim Hee-sung. We discuss:

• How Ae-shin and Eugene start the episode passing each other on the street but end up taking a trip together at the end of the episode.
• How Eugene has changed his mind about leaving Joseon and now wants to teach Ae-shin how to use the Russian bolt action rifle.
• How Minister Allen was bribed by Lee Wan-ik and threw Eugene to the wolves.
• How Dong-mae showed his caring and concern for three of the women in his life: Ae-shin, Hotaru and Hina Kudo.
• How Eugene, Dong-mae and Hina Kudo all wonder why a noble lady would take up arms with the Righteous Army; she is changing all of them.
• All the connections between the characters, including Lee Deok-mun, who is related to both Ae-shin and Hui-seung.
• The K Drama elements we see in this episode: food, umbrella scene, clothing, language.
• The amazing Korean hanboks: the pieces of the outfit, what they’re made of, the colors, etc.
• How we both finished watching Prison Playbook and absolutely loved the show

References:

• Modern hanbok brands
• See You Again by Baek Ji-young lyrics

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 11 of Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-shin, Yoo Yeon-Seok as Goo Dong-mae, Kim Min-jung as Kudo Hina, and Byun Yo-han as Kim Hee-sung. We discuss:

• How Ae-shin and Eugene meet in the snow. Ae-shin apologizes for her reaction to Eugene’s story, for being a spoiled girl who plays at saving Joseon but is a burden to her family.
• How this episode is all about Hina Kudo: she sets up Lee Se-hun’s mistress to get information on Lee Wan-ik’s house, she is the go-to person for intel by all parties, and though she’s impertinent to all sides, she never gets into trouble.
• How Lee Wan-ik has brought two dangerous people to Joseon: Dr. Matsuyama, who has the autopsy report on Hina Kudo’s husband’s death; and Yong-ju, the Joseon man and former member of the Righteous Army who betrayed Ae-shin’s parents. Yong-ju is summoned back from Manchuria to kill the Foreign Minister.
• How Hui-seung has decided to protect Ae-shin. He dresses up in a fashion similar to Ae-shin’s sniper outfit, and he offers to remain her fiance, to be her shadow, to be her protector when things get dangerous.
• How the King wants the Righteous Army to get a message to the missionaries, and to intercept the messages that Lee Wan-ik has been stealing from the interpreters. This request tells us that the Righteous Army is cooperating in some way with the King!
• The amazing fight scene at the end of the show between Ae-shin and Hina Kudo at Lee Wan-ik’s house.

References

• Days Without Tears by Kim Yuna, with English lyrics
• Kim Min-jung on Wikipedia

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episodes 9 and 10 of Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-shin, Yoo Yeon-Seok as Goo Dong-mae, Kim Min-jung as Kudo Hina, and Byun Yo-han as Kim Hee-sung. We’ll also talk about Byun ho-han, the actor who plays Kim Hui–seung. We talk about:

• How episode 9 is about Ae-shin and Eugene seeing more of each other, but in episode 10, they have decided to not see each other.
• Ae-shin’s moral dilemma: What is she really fighting for? Is there a place in Joseon for butcher’s sons? Is there a place for slaves?
• How Eugene has figured out a way to return the document to the King, while getting his revenge against Minister Lee Se-hun.
• The confusing language in these episodes. To whom was Eugene referring when he said, “There will only be 1 traitor tonight” after Lee Se-hun was killed? And what did Eugene mean when he referred to Ae-shin, saying “Where do I lie between her passion and her cruelty?”
• How the King of Joseon and the country are not in strong positions. The US, Japan, Russian and China all have their hooks on the country.
• How Dong-mae is bothered by the Righteous Army man who refuses to give up the names of his comrades, choosing to die rather than betray them. He wonders why he would do this?
• Lee Wan-ik’s lowly origins and his betrayal of Joseon. Also how the King got one on him by appointing him Minister of Farming and Trade.
• How Eugene, Dong-mae and Hui-seung are all trying to protect Ae-shin, even if they don’t all know the full story. They do all know that a person wearing a black, three-piece Western suit, with a limp, is a wanted individual.
• The themes in these shows: Class system, revenge, changing of heart, the importance of language
• The K Drama elements we see in these shows: food, clothing, flowers.
• The wonderful actor, Byun Yo-han, who plays Hui-seung.

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episodes 5 and 6 of Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix. We talk about:

• How Ae-shin has discovered what “love” is and she’s horrified. She wants to call off what she and Eugene have decided to do.
• How Eugene can’t read Korean, but Dong-mae can, as well as Do-mi, the messenger boy whom Eugene has just hired at the legation.
• How Eugene, Dong-mae and Hui-seung met outside the hotel and Hui-seung has just realized that all three of them are after Ae-shin’s heart.
• The amazing cinematography in Mr. Sunshine, including how the director artfully used laundry during the scene with the three men outside the hotel.
• The document that everyone is looking for, what it is, how valuable it is, and how Major Moore has convinced Eugene that the document properly belongs to Joseon.
• The theme of budding relationships and shifting loyalties among the main characters, especially Eugene’s change of heart about possibly helping Joseon after meeting with the King.
• The shocking revelation that Lee Wan-ik is Hina Kudo’s father.
• All the triangles and squares in this show, including Ae-shin who is surrounded by three men, and Dong-mae, who is surrounded by three women.
• How Ae-shin now knows that Dong-mae is in love with her, and while she can kill him, he can’t kill her.
• How Ae-shin has nerves of steel to be able to walk normally in front of Dong-mae, despite having been shot in the leg.
• Our favorite lines from the show, including “the beginning of revenge and end of jealousy.”
• The amazing Yoo Yeon Seok, who plays Dong-mae in Mr. Sunshine, and who is Ahn Jung-wan in Hospital Playlist.

Next week, we will recap and analyze episodes 9 and 10 or Mr. Sunshine and talk about Byun ho-han, who plays Kim Hui–seung.

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episodes 5 and 6 of Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix, starring Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-shin, Yoo Yeon-Seok as Goo Dong-mae, Kim Min-jung as Kudo Hina, and Byun Yo-han as Kim Hee-sung. We’ll also talk about Byun ho-han, the actor who plays Kim Hui–seung. We talk about:

• How Ae-shin invited Eugene to “do love” even though she didn’t really know what it meant and how Eugene has finally accepted Ae-shin’s offer. We don’t think Eugene has the best intentions for accepting Ae-shin’s offer to “do love.”
• The three relationships that look like they can never be:
  • Ae-shin and Eugene
  • Ae-shin and Dong-mae
  • Ae-shin and Hui-seung
• The document that everyone seems to be looking for. We finally know what it is and who had it.
• The key themes of identity and belonging and how we have five characters who seem to be part of multiple communities/cultures but don’t really belong anywhere.
• Eugene’s journey to find out what happened to his parents’ bodies after they were killed.
• The brewing bromance between Eugene, Dong-mae and Hui-seung.
• The K Drama elements we see in this episode: food, flowers, clothing, quirky friends.
• The amazing and hunky Lee Byung-hun

References:

• Cairns and Korean burial mounds
• Memorial ceremonies in rural Korea
• KEPSO tracing Korea’s electricity history
• Wikipedia page on Lee Byung-hun
• Marriage and family in Korean Society
• Korean Speech and Honorifics

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episodes 3 and 4 of Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix. Ae-shin and Eugene are trying to figure out if they are comrades, allies or enemies. They keep running into each other: at the riverbank on the way to see Potter Eun-san, at the tailor, and at the train station.

When an American rifle is stolen, Ae-shin is suspected, but turns out it was Gunner Jang who stole the gun. Eugene suspects her, but says he will protect her. We also learn the origin story of Goo Dong-mae. He was the son of butchers, the lowest of the commoners and reviled. His mother forced him to run away from home, to avoid the life of a butcher’s son. When his parents are beaten, Ae-shin saves Yu-jin. We also meet Ae-shin’s fiance, Kim Hui-seung, who has finally come home from Japan. He’s a gambling, good for nothing and Ae-shin does not seem happy to see him. 

We talk about how both Eugene and Dong-mae were victims of abuse, left Joseon and are now back in Joseon, but with loyalties to another country. We also talk about how the mothers of Ae-shin, Yu-ji and Dong-mae all sacrificed themselves to save their child. We also talk about the complicated relationship between Ae-shin and Eugene.

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episodes 1 and 2 of Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-shin, Yoo Yeon-Seok as Goo Dong-mae, Kim Min-jung as Kudo Hina, and Byun Yo-han as Kim Hee-sung. 

We learn the story of Eugene Choi, a slave from Joseon who stows away to the United States. Even though he is no longer a slave, he has a hard life in New York, getting beat up by bullies and having his money taken away. He decides to join the US military, and becomes a Captain in the US Marines. After the Spanish-American War, he is sent to Joseon with Major Kyle Moore, to work at the US legation and deal with a former US diplomat who is selling secrets to the Japanese.

We spend time talking about the historical context for Mr. Sunshine, including the story of how Korea has struggled for independence as a small country caught between multiple superpowers and the establishment of the Korean Empire. We also talk about how deeply hierarchical Korean society is at the time. 

The first two episodes introduce us to so many characters, so we spend time introducing the primary and secondary characters. We spend time talking about Yu-jin’s journey to becoming an American and what he left behind in Joseon.

We explore the K Drama elements that we saw in the first two episodes. We also decide not to discuss our favorite outfits since the costumes are not about fashion. We will, however, talk about the dresses and outfits: what they were, what they signify, how they change over time.

References:

• Exhibit about the Emperor of Korea’s yellow robe
• Introduction to the Spanish-American War
• Cast of Mr. Sunshine