[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

43 minutes ago, meguna said:

our sub is exploring Taek and we are slowly seeing him unfold, slowly seeing the wonders hidden within him, just like how scientists are slowly finding out more and more about the ocean.

 

LOLOLOL GIRL LEMME HUG YOU. 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

4 hours ago, salz said:

but oh well no matter what the storm gonna hit our Taekkie next ep the boy have come so far from 0% out of everyone radar to actual strong submarine that can shake the huge ship from below so i have no regret being here..

 

This is so true. Choi Taek literally started out with 0%. Even now, he's still being dismissed as potential husband by some people because he started out with such small chances.

*cue Olympic theme song* *cue Rocky theme*

Please writer. Make it happen. Underdog story! Underdog story! Reversal! 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

7 hours ago, liteulkwin said:

Team TK or not, TRUST ME, I want to know JH, too.

As of late, outside of the angst for the triangle, we don't see JH's life unfold. Note that I'm not saying that we don't see JH grow. He's still showing his marshmallow side e.g. choosing dad over mom, seriously considering TK's friendship etc. But the writer holed him up in his room or the study room most of the time. If I were to see him do something as simple as taking a walk to the study room I'd feel like something was actually happening. But we don't, and that's the reason why Team JH was so upset this week. I feel for it. It's like the writer didn't know what to do with his character.

 

Jung Hwan's greatest strength is that he is truly an authentic teen boy. I can't dismiss him as a tsundere one-shot wonder because of this. The writer has set him up as such a normal teen, that despite how frustrated I can be with his actions, I still sympathize with him and understand where he is coming from. Everything from his "I do love you mom but there's no way I'll sit down and talk to the ajummas", to stripping down to his boxers as soon as he's alone in the house with dad & hyung, to secretly reading erotic novels are ode-vignettes to those adolescent years. Add to this scenes like him tucking Taek in, punching Sunwoo's bully, and declaring "hey! I like my hyung" and we've pretty much got an audience winner here. 

Out of the five Ssangmun-dong kids, Jung Hwan is probably the most transparent and accessible character. Almost everyone can find a piece of their teenage self in him. Whereas Sunwoo can be "too nice, too class president", Dongryung "too wise for someone so goofy", and Taek "too mysterious or complicated", JH (and DS to an extent before episode 14) is written to be a near audience-surrogate in terms of his total relatability. When viewers take that memory lane down the teen years (or when teens channel their teen feelings through the show), I'm going to guess that more often than not, they do it through the lens of JH or DS.  

Okay, and now here comes my critique:

The problem with making a character so universally accessible and relatable is that they lose their sense of agency, autonomy, and power. This is what I call 'curse of the hero', wherein everybody in a story ends up being more interesting than the main character because .. well ... unburdened to represent universal ideals/feelings, they are left alone by the author to fight for survival and carve our their own unique existence. We see this a bit in Harry Potter-- where fandom love for all the interesting side characters sometime overwhelmed that for Harry. Because, as sympathetic and relatable as Harry is, he isn't exactly free to make unconventional decisions and rebel against the story (lol imagine if he said "to hell with Voldie. Imma go to wall street, make money and do drugs). 

Watching 1988, I find so much of JH's characterization is relational in nature. We understand him in relation to his family, in relation to DS, in relation to friends, and in relation to us the audience. For instance, I see so much of myself in JH, but at the same time I also see so many other people I've known in JH. Not quirks though. More general emotions like being unable to admit you're crushing on someone in front of friends. Hiding my feelings with subterfuge. But see, these become my emotions and other people's emotions. Not JH's emotions. As a viewer I want to see JH's unique emotions. But so far the writer has been rather withholding. 

IF the writer is setting JH up as the future husband, I do wish we can see more of his character carving out his own path and his own existence.

7 hours ago, liteulkwin said:

They also shipped TK off to another competition to stall the triangle, but we still see his life unfold. He's mistakenly reported to have been in an accident. We see his and his father's dynamic that runs deeper than the little emotions they betray daily. He wins a competition and returns home with the trophy especially for his girl. He goes off to the baduk training center all day, but we see him come home bearing fruits and pizza for the whole neighborhood and fan letters to get under DS's skin. Something is happening here. Part of his reveal as an individual is in the movements of his life.

 

Don't forget Taek's "is it okay if I lose?"

Major growth right there. In that moment he was facing the beast head on. The earlier episodes set up this conflict so well: even though Taekie has a mild, gentle exterior, his tense & smoking side suggests he isn't someone to take a loss well. During his slump in episode 4(?), you get the sense that he's inconsolable in the face of defeat. In episode 6, when Dongryung kindly told him to just lose, come home, and eat pizza, notice all he did was smile dryly and push himself hard to win instead. That he can face the most important girl in his life, and plainly ask "is it okay if I lose?" takes some major, major strength. 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

I watched ep. 13 - 14 last night with subs, and most of what I want to say has already been brilliantly summed up by @mustardmaimai @minibunny and many others. I know people have been frustrated with the lack of love-triangle movement. But I wouldn't trade 23589789 kisses for the Sunwoo-dad scenes and the DS-class president scenes. Both hit me so hard in the guts ... omg. 

I have just one thing more to add:

Right now, after subs, I'm leaning towards a 60- 80% chance that Taek's the husband (LOL major improvement from the 10-20% of bygone days).

I say this not because of clues (though they are fun!), but because of the narrative:

• A good story sets its foundations before it drapes its finishing touches; writers will generally throw out paving stones to prepare a narrative course. With the story and information given to us so far, it seems to me that the writer is mostly concerned with portraying JH as he is in the present. His scenes have such a strong "here and now" quality because they've been so consistent: almost every episode, we see JH struggling to express himself well (to his mother in ep. 1, to Sunwoo in ep. 2, to his father in ep.3, to Bong hyung in ep. 8, to DS in episodes 11-14), but in the eleventh hour (i.e. literally close to the episode's end), there is a reversal and we find out he is a total gooey marshmallow nice guy. This setup is essentially a theme and variations that's been repeated so often that viewers know JH really well as a person and have come to love him. But from a novelistic perspective, this is also JH's greatest weakness: he is so grounded in the present that few paving stones have been thrown for his journey into the future. Outside of DS and Ssangmun-dong, who is he as a person? Aside from teen preoccupations with exploring his sexuality and studying and playing soccer, what makes him tick? Who does he want to become? What are his private dreams? What is his relationship with teachers and students and people outside of Ssangmun-dong? If JH is my choice for end game, I'd be very nervous right now ... because DS is developing into her own person outside of the love triangle, but 90% of JH's scenes is love triangle angst. 
• Right now, Taek is a like a loaded gun with several bullets stocked. So! Full! of! Kinetic! Energy! His "you know nothing about me" line to DS sent chills down my spine. SERIOUSLY TAEKIE? The girl thinks she's got you in the palm of her hands, and you're telling her she know nothing? NOTHING? Holy crap? Are you working for the CIA? Leading a double life? Doesn't it seem like a direct challenge to DS, the narrative, and to drama viewers? Aside from the challenge, there's also a promise: we are given hints of exciting developments to come. In this sense, the writer is concerned with portraying Taek as he will be, in the future. Also, look at his scenes: like DS, his screentime isn't limited to love triangle developments; out of all the Ssangmun-dong characters, he is the character who consistently ventures out beyond the fish bowl. 

BUT THIS COULD ALL CHANGE! The Reply writer has a history of taking turns backing male leads into terrible corners, all to keep the husband game alive until the last freakin' episode. So the next two episodes could feature major developments for JH, while keeping TK stagnant. Who knows... but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

15 minutes ago, mustardmaimai said:

@Meliere Your posts get me every time. This one I think puts to words what all of us have been feeling but struggling to express. Beautifully done. With an awareness of the world inside the show as well as the larger dramaverse.

Your post also brings me down to reality, the reality of kdramas, where a character like Teakie's brings fleeting respite to the tried and tested and stale and uninspiring brand of male leads. And if he is so unconventional, then is being endgame a necessity? I honestly don't know anymore. The drama could write itself out to make Taek's journey and his love deeper than that of the "OTP" and yet still not see to its rosy resolution. I think when we got on board this ship, many of us knew that this was likely going to happen, and are ready to face the ensuing heartbreak. I'm just grateful at this point that the show gave me a character whom I could get behind a 100%. So effortlessly compelling.

 

Yes.

While I wish Taek could live a long & healthy life with the girl he loves, I'm emotionally prepared if he isn't 'end game'. If the writer commits to the trajectory she has lovingly mapped out for our taekie (and I think she will, unless she wants to commit the authorly version of seppuku), I'm okay if his journey ends up being one separate from the DS-JH "omg OTP". 

I will be shamelessly cheesy and quote another poem:

I ended up with forty acres;
I ended up with a broken fiddle--
And a broken laugh, and a thousand memories,
And not a single regret.

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

19 hours ago, gerimisore said:

So, I was reading this article http://kkuljaem.blogspot.co.id/2015/12/husband-confirmation-scenes-in-reply.html

And after reached the comment section, I suddenly thought that, "Is it just us who see Taek not as a "baby"?" Another comment pointed out that we're getting crazier and I could just say 'meh', but I was particularly taken aback by this one:

"is it just me that wants him to be heart broken? cause I want him to grow as a person. I know his gone through his mom's death, but that did not expose him to the world. It made him emotionally aware and sensitive, but it also caused people to shield him or baby him. his dad babies him due to the fear that he is not doing enough for him. I want him to be angry, and mad and figure out how to resolve that. Also have time away from his friends because HES SO CUTE BUT I WANT HIM TO GROW AND DO THINGS ON HIS OWN."

I saw a lot of comments from different sites before this that underestimating Taek. Saying that he's just a kid who knows nothing but baduk and can't even do daily routine like eating and simple tasks properly. But, here, we all know that there is so much more of him than what appears on screen. We spent pages and pages containing heavy analysis on how layered his character is. How calculative and actually how so much more meaningful his gestures are. And suddenly I have this thought, "Are we the one who are too delusional?" Or too over-analyzing things because apparently we see what other people don't see.

I, for once, do not believe that forgetting simple things or struggling eating steak correlates to whether you're a grown up or not. I can't believe some people actually measure the maturity based on that. A lot of adults often forget to eat when they're too preoccupied with works but that doesn't mean they're not mature. The difference between these adults and Taek is, they don't have the whole neighborhood worrying about them. And to think again, it's not entirely Taek's fault either that other people choose to baby him. Some said that what Taek needs right now is a mother or a maid but not a girlfriend, and idk why I feel so uncomfortable reading that. Some shippers argue that they don't want DS to end up as Taek's babysitter for her whole life because DS deserves better. BUT, REALLY, PEOPLE?? They make it look like Taek can't really do a thing by himself. He's struggling, YES, but it doesn't mean he's totally incapable of doing simple things.

 

@gerimisore

Nahh .. don't mind some of those comments. It's the internet, and we're in the midst of a husband tug-of-war. Studies in psychology have shown that debates (especially debates where there are only two opposing views) tend to strengthen people's original convictions/beliefs, rather than diversify or change them.

The thing is, as long as people are respectful of each other's views, it is okay to argue "I don't believe Taek should marry Deoksun" or "Jung Hwan is not the best long-term partner". Everyone is entitled to their opinion. This is why we have separate shipper threads; so opinions can be stated without offending others.

BUT HAVING SAID THIS, I do think it's a shame that the show is pitching the husband game so strongly that shippers are beginning to divide into two clear camps (LOL .. the great schism... TK & JH, who is the 'pope' and who is the 'anti-pope'?). The problem with being so attached to a belief is that it shatters your sense of objectivity. It makes you myopic. 

I for one am guilty-- I'm so attached to Taek and the Taektanic that it has definitely hindered my enjoyment of JH and the JH-DS loveline. The "gut reaction" consequence of this attachment is that I tend to over-simplify JH's characterization and speak in hyperboles without acknowledging nuances. Team JH lurkers, I am sorry! Along the way I'm reminding myself to be objective and give credit to Jung Hwan where it is due. 

On the flip side though, JH supporters (as evidenced by the comments quoted by @gerimisore) are guilty of the same. While some members of team JH have expressed their love for Taek, in the eyes of others he becomes:

• a baby-- the neighborhood baby. the baby to DS's "mom" and JH's "dad". 
• a cockblock. No seriously. I've seen comments along the lines of "Q#$&*#!! Why is he so slow? Hurry up and confess, get rejected, so DS & JH can get together without you mucking up things."
• a geek/nerd who only cares about baduk, and therefore is a terrible potential boyfriend/lover/husband. Why is everyone cooing at all the things DS does for him? What has he ever done for DS? I want a kdrama hero who does things for the heroine!
• slow, oblivious, "weird", weak

 

I tend to not take these types of comments too seriously. Because I know it comes from that deep love viewers have for their 'chosen husband', and the emotional need to bulwark their faith in their 'chosen husband' against any possibility that 'chosen husband' is in fact .... well, *not* the 'chosen husband'. In this sense these comments are more reactionary than insightful-- more emotional "defense mechanism" than objective analysis. And when it comes to defense mechanisms ... well there's not much you can argue against it, except recognize it / respect it / leave it to be. 

Rather than argue that Taek is not a baby etc etc (lol, here at the Taektanic we all know this like the back of our hand), I thought I'd go into why his character sits so well with some people, but elicits unfavorable responses from others:

While many of us here on the Taektanic love Taek precisely because he is so unconventional and unpredictable and contradictory, these same qualities can be a serious turn off for other viewers. 

Watching TV shows -- like listening to music or reading a book -- offers different levels of enjoyment. I want to stress that all levels of enjoyment are perfectly valid and important. Some may weep over the beauty of Shakespeare. That's cool. Some may weep over the beauty of Edward Cullen. That's cool too. As human beings we have different needs at different times. Some days I need a challenge and will want to read Melville. Other days I really *need* to relax and escape with a "trashy" romance novel. 

So kdramas. I tend to equate kdramas with comfort food. For instance, we all like cake because it is cake. We love it because it consistently delivers certain expectations: that it will be sweet, that it will be soft and spongey, etc. While there are unconventional and edgy kdramas out there, it can be said that most corners of the kdrama universe is a happy one. It is a universe supported by recognizable rules and conventions, and one largely favorable to a female perspective.  Things "meant to be" really wrap up in a nice happy ending, and the kdrama world is one in which women are consistently rewarded for their emotional sincerity-- and consistently delivered their desires/fantasies/dream-scenarios. 

This is the virtue of genre. It delivers expectations. Period. You know if you pick up a dystopian YA novel you will get thrills and danger and rebellion and adventure. You know if you pick up a romance you'll get the romance. In the real world where most of our expectations and hopes are merely echoes in the void, the massive comfort of having all your expectations met is the reason why genre-centric works of fiction are so popular and well-beloved. 

Finally, back to Taek. The 'problem' with Taek is that as a character he tends to fall short many genre expectations. The two 'bones' the writer threw out to hook viewers are these: 1. rich 2. genius. We all know the rich genius is a genre thing in romance & kdramas. But if we look at all the geniuses in dramaland ("I remember you", "Naeil's Cantabile", "Liar Game", "Yong Pal"), they tend to be slick Byronic heros with all the trappings of a sexy dark masculine alpha male-- mysterious wounded past, angsty, looks hot & styled to perfection, totally cool and not awkward. 

In a kdrama universe populated by kdrama heroes so perfect they are basically inhuman, the very human and very flawed Taek stands out like an ugly duckling. Having gone to school with people similar to Taek in mental ability (lol I've got a buddy who can solve a rubik's cube one handed & blind folded after memorizing its initial pattern; another dude in my dorm won gold in the international math olympiad), I can say that PBG's performance as Taek is 80% true to life (usual kdrama geniuses = 1% true to life). He is written with so much depth and 3-dimensionality that his whole character feels like a love letter to the burdens and joys of genius. But as a kdrama hero, he is problematic in that he is sending out confusing genre signals. Should viewers root for him as male lead when he is not necessarily giving out normal signals of a male lead? He is not giving out normal signals of a second lead, either .. so herein lies some viewers' frustration. Like "who the f&ck is Choi Taek?" Kdrama tropes sometime rely on function more than deep characterization. Hence, there is real anxiety when shippers can't figure out what exactly is Taek's *function* in the 1988 narrative. 

While I pinky promise I'm not dismissing JH as a character or calling him flat, you have to admit he triggers more conventional viewer responses. Even his hair signals "classic kdrama hero"; it is easily the most sexy hair out of the entire cast. The cold exterior and 'noble idiocy' self sacrifice is also easier to understand and sympathize with than Taek's handling of his feelings (straightforward admission to the boys, but doesn't confess to DS right away... some people find this confusing).

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

14 minutes ago, nicola_nikka said:

wait hold up? the dolls are in 3 houses? sunwoon too?

 

YEAH. 

Pardon my delulu mind ... 

But lately, with Taek so *in* on the BR-SW romance (lol @ his sass when he catches them smooching a second time), and with SW-TK sharing so many scenes ga-ga-ing over the Sung sisters, doesn't it make sense that the dolls would be in TK, SW, and the the sisters' rooms?

 

Guys-- a question: have the dolls ever showed up in Jung Hwan's room? Like ever? 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

Sooo ... I find it interesting that we're consistently given on-screen closeups of the name Choi Taek in hanja. 

I mean, it makes sense given that he's a baduk player, and baduk itself is steeped in tradition. But a lot of korean names like "Bora" or "Haneul" don't even have a hanja equivalent, so it's not an exact given either that our boy would be born with a more traditional name. 

I still think that "Taek" is unique enough a name that we should pay some attention to it. Everyone knows that it means "marsh" or "lily pad". To confirm our green theory, I did a google search of "沢”. LOL GUESS WHAT EVERY SINGLE IMAGE RESULT IS richard simmons GREEN.

Also, according to wikitionary, "Taek" has a second definition of "grace, brilliance". UM.. this can't be a coincidence. Given how closely "Deok Sun" (virtuous and kind) matches our girl, I'm sure "Taek" was chosen to match our baduk genius boy. Meanwhile, the writer is surely aware of the name's close association with water and the color green, RIGHT?!?!?! AMIRITE GUYS?

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

2 hours ago, chocolatepie said:

i must be the oldest in this thread...took me so long to enter 'Taek's Room'...hahaha..i'm old enough to be a young mother of PBG(aka Taek)...hehehe..

Maybe i should ask my 'son' to get all of us another bigger room with his prize monies from the countless competitions he won..

 

As @liteulkwinkindly pointed out, Choi Taek is 44 this year... SO YOU'RE SAFE LOL. HE'S PROBABLY YOUR OPPA. 

2 hours ago, Lee Dinh Phung said:

Hi guys! Could I come in this room? I'm a newbie and seeing all of you amazing made me couldn't keep silence any more! 

 

@Lee Dinh Phung

YES. CHANGE YOUR LOCATION TO TAEK'S ROOM (lol, only if you want; no pressure ).

JOIN US. PLENTY OF COUCH SPACE HERE

3 hours ago, hafunohane said:

Hmm.. I wonder if CJEN excluded Taek because Taek has appeared in so much more well- known hits before compared to the rest of the cast??

(Warning: sloppy photoshop job and old pop hits references ahead)

 

Exhibit A. Every Breath You Taek- 1983

 

@hafunohane

bless you ... BLESS YOU. 

 

4 hours ago, mustardmaimai said:

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Taekieeeeeeee you are soooooooooooo beautiful, I can't taek it anymore.

Have I reached a new fuhnatic level of fandom? I feel like my insides will explode if I stare at that face for one more moment. Is this what Shi Won felt when she saw her Tony Oppa?

I can't eatbreathesleep and late at night as I scrunch my eyes hoping to fall asleep, all I can hear is the persistent banging of my heart. Dugundugundugundugundugun.

Seriously Bogummie, what have you done to me? Otteokke? Otteokke?!

 

@mustardmaimai

BWAHAHAH ... busted. I knew when you joined us, claiming to be kinda sorta "neutral", it was all a DISGUISE. 

#EXPOSED

20 minutes ago, tanjam said:

3. Why would JH make a fuss about the chocolate issue. He knows for the years!

 

@tanjam

I keep on thinking about the chocolate thing too. I mean, JH knew the entire time that she had a crush on SW, and was all angsty during that time BECAUSE he already knew she was interested in SW. Why would he be miffed and in need of a cigarette due to the chocolate thing? If husband is Taek, that response would be more understandable, because it amounts to "you've been my first love always, but man oh man how many other dudes did you chase before loving me back?"

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

1 hour ago, mustardmaimai said:

[And Noeul-ah, my newly revamped profile picture is dedicated to you. ]

 

BONG HYUNG YOU'RE SO PRETTY!!! 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

41 minutes ago, lady65432 said:

PS: Taek, pls bring some pizza for us soon, we're just here waiting in your room.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

2 minutes ago, liteulkwin said:

@Meliere LMAO LMAO YES HIGH FIVE. EYYYYYY SHOUT OUT TO HQ AMIRITE.

CAN YOU GUYS PLEASE

 

YES

THIS THREAD MAKES ME SO DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

We should all change our locations to Taek's room. It can become our unofficial ship clubhouse. 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

@liteulkwin

HIGH FIVE

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

39 minutes ago, libra83 said:

I just wonder why Teak can't remember to cal DS as Soo Yoen?

Or he wants DS to fall the university exam then stay at home like him?

 

'Soo Yeon', while pretty and much more fashionable (and yes, you can become an actress with a name like 'soo yeon'), is not Deok Sun. 

The name will not stick (sorry, JH/Ds shippers who want her to become an actress); in 2015, Bora unni calls Lee Mi Yeon "Deok Sun".

The writer chose Deok Sun to highlight our girl's character. The name may be old fashioned and drab, but it is what it is: Deok Sun's hanja characters (德善) means 'virtuous and kind'. And that's who she is: she may wear a lifetime's worth of old hand-me-downs, but no one can deny that she has a kind and wonderful heart.

I have a feeling Taek adores her name in itself, and that's why his attempts at calling her "Soo Yeon" is a total fail. 

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

44 minutes ago, mustardmaimai said:

 

I also thought at one point that it looked like a begging bowl for a particularly hungry monk...

Oh well, must rest with the fact that the baduk trophy is the shrek of trophies.

 

YO don't go poo poo over the hungry monk bowl. 'Alms bowls' have a lot of religious/symbolic/ritual significance in Buddhist cultures. LOL now that you mentioned it, baduk pots totally look identical to alms bowls. I wonder if the resemblance is intentional.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

1 hour ago, mustardmaimai said:

 

Uri Noeul!!!! (I have graciously accepted your invitation to bromance you as Jungbong.  )

LOL. Your post cracked me up! And lol at how all the other real life players are all loopy and grinning. I think the only thing that makes Taek break into his grinormous smile is when he sees Dukseon.

And for some reason, this thought makes me feel very happy and incredibly sad at once. Twisted emotions courtesy the taektanic.

Reporting to duty, BONG HYUNG!  

I agree. While I'm so proud of Taek and his devotion to baduk, it does worry me how emotionally ambivalent he is towards it, and how it doesn't seem to draw out positive physical and psychological responses from him. I hope, even if JH-DS is end game, that the show will address this aspect of his relationship with baduk.

As someone who casually plays both baduk and chess, I can sort of understand the pressures of his career. Chess never freaks me out as much as baduk does ... which is ironic, considering chess rules are more nuanced (baduk rules are so fundamentally intuitive, a 1st grader can sit at a board and play away). Whereas chess feels like an exercise of the mind (I think it helps that the pieces move flexibly, and the board only gets lighter with play-- rather than baduk's version of 'gradual escalation'), playing baduk always gives me a "life and death", militaristic feeling. Whenever I play my dad, and lose, I always come out feeling drained. I think this is because baduk resembles a literal battle seen from the bird's eye perspective. Your stones are your "people". The goal is to stay alive, out-flank and outmaneuver your opponent, acquire and maintain territory, and avoid getting swallowed by the enemy (i.e. certain death). To win you have to be constantly going through possible patterns and algorithms in your head, in an effort to stay ahead and predict game outcomes. This is why I laugh then people say Taek has a bad memory ... dude definitely has a memory close to eidetic. Solving a rubik's cube is the same deal: solving it isn't hard, but to do it at lightening speed, you have to remember outcomes and algorithms & be able to access it quickly.

1 hour ago, mustardmaimai said:

I cannot help but wonder if Taek’s character and the Taeksun relationship has been crafted in such a way that it requires a very sharp eye and intense observation and analysis to discover its depth.

 

YES to this! I might be delulu ... but the TK/DS arc is unfolding in a way that feels very smart, nuanced, and "author-ly" to me. How can the writer look at the script and NOT recognize that she's done something sublime here?

1 hour ago, mustardmaimai said:

 

@salz, I agree with you completely about how focusing on the husband hunt only takes away from the sheer joy of immersing ourselves completely in the present context of the story, the characters and their lives. There’s a lot going on in the drama without us having to worry about who’ll end up as the husband and having another set of actors playing the older version of these characters has somehow not worked for me. I’d have been happy if they’d done away with the 2015 scenes altogether. Mostly because for me, each 88 character has been portrayed so well, they capture in all earnestness what the characters have come to mean to us and why we love them. So when they make the jump to 2015, it feels abrupt and jarring. Most people talk about how the chances of Taek being the husband are small because the future husband resembles JH more, but what about DS? I feel like I can’t see too much of DS in LMY either because of how Hyeri owns her completely. I think the effort of trying to make the 40 something year old DS similar to the 18 year old one by continuing with her silliness and her antics is misleading because DS is that way most because she is an 18 year old. Same goes for the husband as well, whose personality wouldn’t be a carbon copy of their 88 personality. I don’t know how the show intends to end in the finale? Are they going to give more screen time to the 2015 versions? Because I’m not invested in them at all. For me the story is all about the people of 88 represented by the actors of 88 and I want to see THEIR arcs wrapped up (all of them and not just the main leads or OTP-trio or whatever they are being called). Well, let’s see what happens…

 

Ugh, agreeing with everyone about the husband game. The shipping wars are my least favorite aspect of this franchise, and it detracts so much from everyone's enjoyment of the show and of the characters. IF the husband game outcome was not a concern to anyone, who'd ever dare say JH or TK deserves to "be killed off" or "JH is a flat character" or "TK is needy and annoying"?

As for the future husband... I don't care if it's JH or TK, but I do dearly hope that the writer will not clone a 1988 character into the 2015 version. Human beings are fluid entities. It's silly to think anyone can remain unchanged all these years. 

(And yes, as much as I admire Lee Mi Yeon, I'm not exactly feeling her portrayal of Deok Sun...)

1 hour ago, mustardmaimai said:

But when Taekie mentions that he likes someone and may confess, this must have destabilised this comfort, because in it is the possibility that things may not remain the same, that if another girl enters the picture, even if she loves him platonically, she will no longer have that space or liberty to mother him and smother him with her love, care and attention. She will no longer be able to come in and out of his room, or ask him for gifts, or worse, be there for him in the pro way that she does. Even without the romance angle, I have a feeling that there could be cause for uncertainty, maybe even some jealousy. Do you think the upcoming episodes will explore that? If DS does begin to think about these things, then it may help her to realise that she has been taking this relationship for granted and that what she feels for him is not a sisterly affection but something that goes deeper. *fingers crossed*

 

I would be forever grateful to the writer if this happened, because from a narrative perspective the tension and payoffs are so dynamic it's practically begging itself to be written. I love your use of "destabilization". Amen amen amen. It's a conflict I can get behind 100%. It Taek has another girl in his life, Deok Sun's potential jealousy is only the tip of the iceberg.

Actually, in my opinion, having Taek date other girls will deliver more emotional punch than JH dating other girls. By this point, JH acting hot and cold, as well as his struggle with open communication has already be thoroughly explored. Him dating other girls would be further sticks to throw into the fire. But if TAEK dated other girls, it would be emotional napalm for DS-- something that's a mix of betrayal, de-familiarization, and loss.

1 hour ago, mustardmaimai said:

Emotionally too, this mysterious boy who has kept his baduk anxieties to himself (and his pills) all along has slowly begun to show his vulnerabilities to her. 

Now, moving on to the victory pot. Taekie’s gift of the victory pot to DS is quite symbolic of the way in which his two deep loves - baduk and DS - are getting entwined in a rather harmonious sort of way. Since the game is such a big part of him, the fact that he has slowly been letting her into this aspect of his life means…it means serious business guys! And while she says that it’s okay for him to lose, he actually wins the game, but is willing to surrender his victory to her. So I guess this is his way of telling her that what he’s lost is not the game but his heart. Lol. I have to interrupt myself right now because I feel like I sound super cheesy. Oh well, what the hell!

 

I was touched when Taek saved a banana for her, and she automatically offered him half, but he told her to eat it all. But during this exchange it was also revealed that he's taking less medications at her request. Such a small detail but SO important!!! 

In the beginning, DS was more like one of the crew where his baduk career is concerned. She admires his victories from afar, and like JH & DR (though not SW, it seems!) can only marvel at the mystery that is his genius. But as the show progresses, she's beginning to understand his relationship with baduk, his fears, his anxieties, his vulnerabilities, and his needs. It's telling when Taek's baduk center colleague remarks that DS is even better than Taekie appa (at caring for him). This is saying A LOT, considering the deep unspoken bond between father and son is the sort that moves mountains. And notice that despite the mounting tension in the days leading up to the Japanese tournament, Taek's dad welcomes DS into their household, and TK is perfectly comfortable having her there. 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

5 minutes ago, mellinadear said:

Yikes! That vase is damn ugly. Who's idea was it to make/give it as a trophy for players?lol 

 

hahaha .. I don't actually think it's categorically ugly though. I think they designed it to resemble a elongated version of the baduk pot (the container that holds the stones). Also, it's totally a Japanese aesthetic thing to make ceramics look as if they've been tossed and turned and worn out by happenstance (they call this kind of this formal nonchalance ranzeheu, or “things made at haphazard.”) I personally think the pot's patinated surface / texture is pretty cool.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

4 hours ago, liteulkwin said:

Can we talk about TK's gift from episode 13 for a second? I want to commend the writer for not only creating such a wonderful character but staying so true to his character at every turn in the story. With the written preview for episode 13 saying that he would be getting DS a gift, I thought of all of the cute, "couple-y" things he'd go off to find in the gift shops without remembering that that's not TK's character at all. In fact, DS knew that TK wouldn't get her anything she'd "want," so she told him to just get her a souvenir from the competition. Cut to TK's gift: a vase. Wtf? *laughs at TK's adorable idiocy* Only for us to realize that he gave her the best freaking thing from the competition: his trophy. I just want to take a delulu moment and imagine this in their 2015 home.

4 hours ago, hafunohane said:

1. the trophy vase scene. i love how this scene serves as a comedic one but has so much more meaning to it than that. in this scene we could see that DS didn't realize the significance of TK's gift. in her mind she expected TK to bring a little souvenir from his competition, and to me this means what most of us here have probably agreed on: DS, as of episode 14 is still too focused on 'romance' and the crystal clear proclamation of love from someone, to notice this simple gesture is pretty much as romantic as it gets coming from a baduk player. she looks puzzled when she saw the newspaper's photo, but i don't think that revelation changes the way she thinks of TK. she is still pretty-ing herself up for JH the month after and still thinks that TK is too focused on baduk to even like anyone.

which brings me to my next point:
2. when i first saw DS' wide- eyed expression when she was holding the vase/trophy, i had this hunch that was further strengthened by TK's confession to SW during the sleepover. remember how this vase came from a competition that TK hadn't been able to win before? he's only been the runner up before. but seeing DS before his departure and how she easily nodded when TK asked if he could lose- only for him to win in the end- screams so much significance to me. To TK, baduk is his world. giving DS the trophy means that to TK, DS is as important as that world to him, if not more. this is also why i highlighted moonkeeper's sentence above, because i second your highlighted statement. giving DS the trophy says this, "you're an important part of me, so i'm giving you another important part of me to symbolize that." the vase is a proof of him ultimately winning this tough competition because DS tells him he could lose. this mirrors what happen in episode 12 when TK won the second match after he dropped his head on DS' shoulder the night before and DS told him, "you've worked hard.". giving DS his trophy is beyond sweet in my book. to me it means that TK's feelings for DS are beyond a simple childhood crush/ first love

 

 

Guys guys guys. The "ugly" vase is sooo a big deal. 

It's the trophy of the International Go Federation Fujitsu Cup, the oldest go / baduk international competition in the world. 

Here are pics of famous go players holding the 'infamous' trophy:

See how HAPPY these genius dudes are with their treasure? LOL it cracks me up how nonplussed Choi Taek looks in his "official" winner's photo. What a BAMF. The Japanese Go federation must be having a psychological melt down at the thought that their famous vase-trophy almost became a kimchi pot. 

It's as @gerimisorewrote a few posts back: the love between DS and TK is ordinary and yet extraordinary, all at the same time. The "ugly vase" (lmao lmao) is such a good representation of this juxtaposition between surface vs depth, banality vs the divine. 

Also, it pretty much kills me that she asked for a keychain and got THIS instead. I find TK-DS so poignant in that they never ask too much of each other, and yet at the end of the day, they both give each other SO MUCH MORE without even thinking about it (it's like a natural impulse!). 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

7 minutes ago, onlysb1 said:

Our ship turns out to be  submarine lol

 

LOL being on this ship really requires an all-weather package, for above and under water needs.

My views have changed so much from episode to episode:

Ep. 1: hahahaha, I love SW, but it's so obvi JH is the husband. They're not trying to be confusing this round are they?

EP. 2 OMG TAEKIE I love Taek, but JH is 100% husband

Ep. 3 - 5 JH = husband, no joke. If writer develops him into more than tsundere wonderland, I will support him.

Ep. 6 - NO not Taekie the puppy!!! NO NO NO. why did the writer have to drag him into this? My heart won't be able to taek it

Ep. 7-8 DS/TK is cute, but JH is 100% husband

Ep. 9 OMG. TAEK. You are not a puppy. STAHP. Don't drag me under water with you. 

Ep. 10 firmly onboard the Taektanic, yet still believe JH is 80% the husband. After ep. 9-10, 20% of me is hopeful TK *could* be the end game

Ep. 11 Dark days. JH back to 100% husband. 

Ep. 12 Wait .. Taektanic back above water again ... 15% chance for Taek?

Ep. 13-14 LOL I don't even know anymore. 50 -50%? Taek got 3 episodes worth of development, but JH has been mostly stationary. DS's feelings are suddenly unclear.

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

20 minutes ago, mellinadear said:

@MeliereLOL girl,your gif is life. That reminds me,I need to catch up on the mid season finale of TWD. *sigh*. 

Did any one see the date on that photo that JH saw? Was there a stamp?

 

It seems to be annotated "year 1989 january something something" 

BUT doesn't it look like a handwritten annotation? Rather than a standard time stamp? 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

@jiyoos YASSSS YASSS another lovely person on board. Welcome!!! 

It's unreal how intelligent, talented, warm, personable, and funny (sorry for the avalanche of adjectives) everyone is here. Thank you, girls. Thank you. 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

@mustardmaimai omg girl, I'm like the Noeul to your Jung Bong (or vice versa, whoever you like more LOL).

Can't agree with you more.

I seriously don't understand the need for confessions. In my opinion, relationships are always stronger than "courtships", and genuine bonds stronger than ritualistic procedures. We as drama watchers (and manga readers lol) have been primed and conditioned over the years to over-value the romantic idea of a "first confession."

But I'd like to argue that true love obviates the need for a "confession." I've always understood "confession" as a prelude thing: you have a crush on someone, but you don't want to act on it unless the object of your obsession likes you back ... so you can avoid making a fool of yourself. Yet isn't it more moving when your love is stronger than the need to protect yourself? 

It's my opinion that the strongest relationships are those that grow organically, without the need of confessions. That they love each other is the certainty. Not the confession part. 

It's my dearest wish, *IF* Taek is the husband, for DS to realize she loves him, EVEN THOUGH she can't even be sure he loves her back.

As for Taek, even without a direct confession, I'm already moved by the way love embeds into his gestures and words towards her. 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

whewwww ... just finished reading the live recaps on the main thread. I'm glad I made it out of there alive; it really is a state of emergency over there.

Having felt similar worries when Taek was barely in episode 11, I do empathize with JH/DS shippers who are bleeding right now. But man oh man, that ship has so many assumptions and presumptions built into it, it's hard to see how they can flex their way through colder waters. When someone shared that JH/DS shippers were so sure a hot kiss will happen in ep 13, and that DS would become an actress under the stage name Soo Yeon and that JH would become a doctor and attend to her when she faints on set ... I was amused at the level of fanfic-ing going on, but knew it could not be helped when you pack a bunch of fervent shippers in the same boat.

But it is admittedly rude of them to call BR-SW boring or "stupid" when there are so many BR-SW shippers in the main thread. And then came the accusation that the writer favors PBG over RJY. And then all this presumptuous "MAIN OTP OMG MAIN OTP" when referring to JH/DS.

Excuse me, but I'd like to argue that this show doesn't even HAVE an "otp". Depending on your age, background, or preferences, your OTP could be SW-BR, Taekie Appa - SW Omma, the parents' marriages, JB-Man Ok, TK-DR, TK-SW, etc etc etc. For me, this is the charm of AM 1988. 

Because it is generous in its portrayal of the human heart.

Because it captures different forms of love.

Because it shows life in all its variables.  

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]