[Drama 2010] Smile, Dong-hae / Smile Again 웃어라 동해야

[Guest aeka]

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/2866/sdhe25.jpg

Last row second picture: the screengrab of Do-Jin is hilarious. He either looks like 1) a toddler just about to throw a tantrum, or 2) someone who really REALLY has to go the bathroom.

[Guest rhesus]

Interesting episode yet left a number of questions:

I found it quite funny how Kim Joon just simply left his wife on the side of the road and it took a "Where's mom?" kind of comment for him to realize what he had done. Am I right to assume the papers in the envelope were in fact divorce papers or was that incident simply blown out of proportion (not the fact that Kim Joon is apparently neglecting his wife (be it with work or other social obligation) but simply the columniation of the last couple of weeks worth of "story")?

As for Kyle, what were the results of the DNA analysis? Is Kang Jae his father or was his mother simply mistaken?

Regarding Kyle and Bong Yi, at least with regards to the restaurant, why didn’t he tell her about her colleague throwing away her stuff? I mean we saw a flashback explaining the scene and then another scene where she discovers them (not sure what they’re called) missing.

Is there something to Doo Jin’s character at the sauna? He looks like he’s on the prowl for some kind of con or does his character just have that dredge of society thing going for him?

[Guest mflwrs66]

Interesting episode yet left a number of questions:

I found it quite funny how Kim Joon just simply left his wife on the side of the road and it took a "Where's mom?" kind of comment for him to realize what he had done. Am I right to assume the papers in the envelope were in fact divorce papers or was that incident simply blown out of proportion (not the fact that Kim Joon is apparently neglecting his wife (be it with work or other social obligation) but simply the columniation of the last couple of weeks worth of "story")?

As for Kyle, what were the results of the DNA analysis? Is Kang Jae his father or was his mother simply mistaken?

Regarding Kyle and Bong Yi, at least with regards to the restaurant, why didn’t he tell her about her colleague throwing away her stuff? I mean we saw a flashback explaining the scene and then another scene where she discovers them (not sure what they’re called) missing.

Is there something to Doo Jin’s character at the sauna? He looks like he’s on the prowl for some kind of con or does his character just have that dredge of society thing going for him?

I finished watching todays episode it was quite interesting. BY's father is not DH's father

Anna was mistaken ,KJoon is DH's father. In the last scene of todays episode KJoon goes into his study, He knocks over a picture frame, Inside the picture frame is a picture of him and another picture of him and Anna.

[Guest aeka]

Things are FINALLY moving along. Interesting enough for me to watch again and write out the summary. Even if people didn't fully understand the episodes up until now, one doesn't need to have too much backstory/history to following along.

Episode 25 Summary (A little too detailed, but that's because I don't have time to edit it)

After vowing never to forgive his father for throwing away him and his mother away, Dong-Hae tears the tarp protecting the cabbages. He receives a call from the medical testing center informing Dong-Hae that the results of the DNA test are in.

Do-Jin finds his mother in the rain. When they return home, Hye Sook demands Joon for a divorce. She tells him she didn’t think he would actually leave her behind. Even as 10 minutes turned to 1 hour, and 1 hour turned to 10, she still held out hope thinking he would come with her coat and bring her back. She heads to bed. Do-Jin demands that his father beg forgiveness and until he does, Do-Jin will not hear a word from his father.

Sun-Ok is worried that, without his coat, her son would be cold on a day like this. Then she remembers Sool Nyeo’s taunting – how Tae Hoon is now taken in as her son – and calls Sae-Young. Sool Nyeo picks up the phone, feigning ignorance on the identity of the caller which infuriates Sun-Ok. Sun-Ok asks that Sae-Young come over in person tomorrow but Sool Nyeo tells her no. Sun-Ok threatens that all hell would break loose if Sae-Young doesn’t come tomorrow and hangs up.

Tae-Hoon tells Sae-Young that his mom is calling her over to talk things over and to bring the two back. Sae-Young doesn’t want to leave the comforts of her house and doesn’t want to go. Sool Nyeo flames the fire by forbidding Sae-Young to go tomorrow. Frustrated, Sool Nyeo talks to Sae-Hwa. Whether pregnant or not, Sool Nyeo doesn’t like how Sun-Ok is ordering around her daughter-in-law. Sae-Hwa suggest they send the housekeepers instead as, invariably, Sun-Ok will throw out more of Sae-Young’s stuff and they may as well collect it.

Meanwhile, Sae-Hwa tells her mother a bit more about the man she’s seeing and that their family is very well-to-do and refined. She tells her mother to be more careful about how she walks, talks, dressed, and act. Sool Nyeo thinks she’s already refined and cultured and doesn’t conceive that this man’s family is anymore higher in status than her. Nevertheless, Sae-Hwa will register her mother to attend a finishing course/academy to refine her behaviour and appearance. Sool Nyeo isn’t pleased but agrees to go along with Sae-Hwa.

Pil-Jae suspects Dong-Hae of ill intentions noting that he hadn’t come home last night. Kang-Jae notes that even if he’s not part of their family, Dong-Hae is living under the same roof with them and Pil-Jae’s accusations aren’t good. Pil-Jae keeps saying that Dong-Hae has no baggage and doesn’t return at night but doesn’t understand why he rented the room. Sun-Ok thinks about kicking him out especially if Sae-Young and Tae-Hoon come and reconcile with them.

Dong-Hae heads out to the center to receive the results and leaves Anna at the Jimjilbang. A creepy guy overhears some women talking about Anna, how she is looking for her son’s father and how her mental state is not quite there (they feel sorry for her and hope the father can be found).

Hye Sook presents divorce papers to Joon telling him that, for once, she is doing something he would like.

Sae-Hwa is concerned about Do-Jin’s mother, telling him that his worries are her worries, and she suggests they go and provide support.

Bong-Yi puts away the sea cucumbers that she will use for a recipe (cooking test). Dong-Hae calls and asks to meet with her. As she leaves, her friend takes the Tupperware.

Dong-Hae, approaching the hotel, sees someone throwing out the contents of the green Tupperware. He meets Bong-Yi telling her he is going to get the results of the DNA test, after which, he will bring Anna and reveal their identity to his father. Bong-Yi hopes for the best for him and also hopes that her special recipe will also turn out well. She gives him a cucumber cut-out of his face for good luck.

Bong-Yi returns to prepare her recipe but finds out her container is empty.

Kang-Jae returns to his truck only to see it vandalized. All the cabbages are frozen solid and no longer fresh.

Waiting for Sae-Young and Tae-Hoon, Sun-Ok finds that Sool Nyeos housekeepers have come in their place. She calls and yells at Sae-Young to come. Sool Nyeo, thinking this is too much, decides to tell it to Sun-Ok that she can’t keeping yanking Sae-Young’s chain.

At the house. Sun-Ok demands that Sae-Young kneels in front of her. Sool Nyeo is outraged at the act and tone, but Tae-Hoon is quick to comply. He apologizes to his mother. Sae-Young obediently repeats the apology. Sun-Ok asks what it is that she is apologizing for, asking Sae-young to tell her directly not Tae-Hoon. Sae-Young responds by saying that the housekeepers are more helpful and that her mother would pay for their keep which would make things easier. Sun-Ok counters by saying that the housekeepers should also carry the twins if they are that more useful. Insulted, Sool Nyeo retorts that she wasn’t the one who stole Tae-Hoon and Sae-Young from her – that she chased them out first. She’s angry that Sun-Ok is disciplining them for something she brought upon herself. Sun-Ok concedes and says that from now on they will live here. Sae-Young says no, stating that it’s uncomfortable living in this house because it’s small and there’s nothing to eat. Sun-Ok is fine with Sae-Young answer and calmly answers that she also doesn’t want a daughter-in-law who doesn’t want to learn or help out. Sun-Ok gives her an ultimatum: that she either lives with them learning all that she needs to know about running a household and family, or go out and live on their own. Sool Nyeo demands to know how Sun-Ok doesn’t consider the twins Sae-Young is carrying and asks what they are going to do about that. Sun-Ok tells Sool Nyeo that she can take them. That she won’t hold it against her if she does. Considering Sae-Young and Sool-Nyeo wants to raise the twins as “Yoon” and not “Lee”, Sun-Ok thinks this clean break would all be for the best. Sool Nyeo tells Tae-Hoon that he must now decide. She is going to take Sae-Young home with her, so Tae-Hoon must either decide to stay with his mother who clearly despises Sae-Young, or live with them. He chooses to stay.

As Dong-Hae finds out the results, Anna is cleaning up at the Jimjilbang. The creepy guy approaches her and says he know James, describing him as tall and handsome. Anna is happy to know that this man describes James well. The guy tells Anna James really wants to see her and has been looking for her.

At the precint, Dong-Hae’s stuff (from Anna’s lost bag) is turned over. Pil-Jae recognizes the passport and thinks that Dong-Hae is duping their family by posing as a Korean (when in fact his passport says he’s a foreigner…yeah right )

At home, Kang-Jae shows how the cabbages have frozen and that he suspects someone of deliberately releasing the tarps that protected the cabbages from the cold. As Pil-Jae comes in, Sun-Ok asks him if he can find the person who vandalized their truck ruining all of the cabbages that were harvested from their plot. Pil-Jae, suspecting Dong-Hae, goes out and catches him in the street. Dong-Hae returns and admits to ruining the tarp.

Do-Jin and Sae-Hwa arrives at his home where he overhears his mother admitting to clinging onto a man who never really loved her. She conceded that she deserves all this harsh treatment because in the end she brought is upon herself. Do-Jin barges in and angrily defends his mother, saying that it was his father’s fault for everything. Do-Jin explains that he overheard even when he was a child that his father wanted to leave for America to be with the woman he loved. Do-Jin as a child, to prevent him from going, hid his father’s shoes as he was afraid Joon would leave him and his mother behind for a new woman. He vows he will never be with someone who doesn’t truly love him.

He goes to see Sae-Hwa and demands whether she had loved someone previously. He wants her to come clean now so that he can still think of her fondly rather than in anger and spite later on. Sae-Hwa tells him there was no one else, that Do-Jin is her first love. Do-Jin thanks Sae-Hwa because he couldn’t bear to be with someone with not only didn’t truly love him, but gave part of her love to someone else…

Back at the Lee household, Dong-Hae admits to vandalizing their car, claiming he came to Korea to search for his father and thought Kang-Jae was his father…when in fact we now have confirmation that he isn’t, because as Kim Joon removes the hidden picture of him and Anna from the old picture frame, the message left by Anna states that she loves him and awaits his return from Korea…

My thoughts: huh, so the writers are playing that card with Kim Joon, eh? I almost wondered whether they would, though the way Joon was handling the picture, I actually thought that was nice. No wonder he was really supportive of the elderly couple who keeps searching for their long lost daughter. He is harboring similar feelings.

[Guest flydolesqueue]

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[Guest crzyblue4]

I'm still curious though. What was in that girl's notebook that got Tae Hoon and Sae Young kicked out?

[Guest ASandKara]

LEE JOOYEON UNNIE I LOVE YOU!

She is SO funny in this drama. I wonder when she'll finally have her twins! It'd be so cute to watch her take care of the kids!

Jooyeon fighting!

[Guest aeka]

Okay given the little revelation it still doesn't really explain why he's treating his wife like a second-class citizen. If he had no intention of loving her (as you've kind of set it up as if Kim Joon and Hye Sook had something of a one night stand that landed them into well the mess it did (Do Jin) he should have never got involved with her and/or allowed things between himself and Hye Sook to get as far as they did.

They haven't yet revealed whether Kim Joon was involved with Anna first, came back to Korea and married/had Do-Jin, or whether he was already married to Hye Sook first, had Do-Jin, went to America and was with Anna. All we are told is that Joon wanted to end things back when Do-Jin was still a child. I took it as implication that Hye Sook held onto to him to make sure he couldn't leave. Having guilted her husband to stay in a loveless marriage, I understand why Joon would be bitter. He's also weak, too. I mean, he's stayed with Hye Sook this long and despite his feelings for her, he's too cowardly to end things. But I can understand how annoyed he would be every time his wife would insert herself into his affairs or manipulate things to get close to him. He may have chosen to stay (probably for Do-Jin's sake) but let's face it, that doesn't mean he has to be all lovey-dovey like Hye Sook seems to want. After all, she seemed to be fine or accepted the previous terms of their marriage. I understand her wanting more from her husband as the years went on, but come on, if the guy hasn't been any nicer to you after 20 years of marriage, trying to manipulate the situation to get close to him obviously would annoy him. I'm glad she stopped playing games and finally put her foot down. She was being treated like dirt for the last 25 episodes.

What I find kind of funny is how Sae Wa's "dream" (security, resourcefulness, etc.) seems to be crumbling now that she's dumped Dong-hae and started seeing Do Jin (some witty remark about "what goes around comes around" would suffice).

It's certainly set up that way. With Do-Jin's complex of not being with someone with emotional baggage (since Do-Jin perceived that his father's own baggage was the reason why Joon never loved Hye Sook or *him*...kids and their realities), he's going to go nuts that 1) Sae-Hwa had loved and was involved with someone else for 6 years, and 2) his bastard brother was that very person. That and the fact that Do-Jin is probably set to lose a whole lot after everything is revealed about Dong-Hae, Joon, and Anna's parents. He has that confrontational/aggressive streak in him, no doubt cause by his "daddy issues".

I'm still curious though. What was in that girl's notebook that got Tae Hoon and Sae Young kicked out?

In her diary, Song-Yi wrote that she found out Tae-Hoon never took the exams and that it was because of Sae-Young and her mother. She also wrote that Sae-Young bought her ice-cream if should would promise not to tell anybody. Technically, she didn't...

[Guest flydolesqueue]

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[Guest aeka]

Does Do Jin explain why he wants a "pure" woman in his life?

Yes. He doesn't want to complete with a memory of a past love. He wants to be the first and only love of his partner's life. Having seen his mother's love not reciprocated by a man who loved another, this is the reason for his complex. 'Course, I have a feeling he (and we) don't know the entire story.

I mean given how old both of these people are (real or not) it seems unlikely that neither of them (or in fact anyone beyond the age of seven) hasn't felt the pang of love/hatred. I can't really remember if this little diatribe was before or after the incident with his mother but it would silly now to reveal his wants/needs after his pursuit of Sae Wa has netted him what he wanted (the idea of setting demands after the fact is simply crude and unwarranted especially since he supposedly loves/cherishes Sae Wa this in fact would make him no better than his father).

Also, in the beginning where he was borderline stalking Sae-Hwa (although, so was Dong-Hae), he kept inserting himself into Sae-Hwa's business. Kind of like his mother...trying to force himself into her affections. He even acknowledged to Sae-Hwa at one point (in the episode when she agreed to be his girlfriend) that he had worried their relationship was just in his mind, that it was one-sided. I think he has the worst of both parent's attributes. His demands weren't that bad considering he went as far as to tell Sae-Hwa that if she didn't meet his "criteria", it would be okay, and that he would still want to be her friend. But he did want to know "now" so that he would be justified to hold a grudge (or perhaps treat her badly...) if it turned out she was dishonest. At least, that's the implication.

Do-Jin's idea of love, it seems to me, is simply a shopping list of all the qualities that are opposite his father's.

[Guest aeka]

Two things:

1. I was right - Hye Sook held onto Joon by taking sleeping pills in an attempt to commit suicide. That was what she had been guilty about all this time, her reason for always being weak and compliant/taking all those years of crap from her husband.

2. Joon did go back to New York to be with Anna, but couldn't find her. Looks like he married Hey Sook afterward and Do-Jin was born. His guilty conscience wouldn't let Anna go so he had hired a detective to find her for all these years.

...so, he really is quite the cad. Though, I suppose it makes Anna seem less crazy for believing that James was looking for her.

Interesting that they are bringing up human trafficking issues in South Korea (Anna is being sold away on a boat). They are among the Tier 1 countries that fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The added dramatic value does nothing for me in the show, but the issue is worthwhile noting.

[Guest flydolesqueue]

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[Guest aeka]

They've had to resort to tactics to bring Dong-Hae and Bong-Yi together in the first place, why stop there? (someone really should have told them to stop)

Pil Jae is being self-serving in his wish to find Anna, having fallen head over heels for her in earlier episodes. He even accidentally let slip that the reason why he's suddenly gungho about Dong-Hae's mother is because he needed to return the handkerchief. You can just smell the love triangle between Anna, Pil Jae and Sool Nyeo about to brew...

Having recognized Anna in the passport picture and realizing she was Dong-Hae's mom, he became "nicer". So contrived.

I still don't feel sorry for anyone in this show. The only character I'm rooting for is Sae-Hwa. With her cold-hearted and calculated ambitions, she's destined to fail, but this is the only thing setup in this show that I find worthwhile to watch.

Other than that, I'm hanging onto the show to see how close my predictions will come. So far, all of them are rolling along on track...yes, even that last one.

[Guest rhesus]

Seeing Pil Jae going after someone else is a lot better than seeing Sae Young's mother constantly on the prowl for his attention regardless of what she believes [a present from her deceased husband].

With regards to the trafficing issue I guess you're right about having/forcing the two families together, but correct me if I'm wrong but they Dong-hae & Bong-Yi were doing fine on their own [a little over the top or forced at times] but there was something somewhat innocent about how the two kept coming together for no particular reason [well uintil Dong-hae went a little nuts].

If you knew/know that Sae Hwa is destined to fail are you simply interested in seeing how far she sinks before she drags everyone down with her [including her mother and sister] or do you simply enjoy seeing her suffer/wallow in misery?

They haven't resolved the trafficing issue yet, right? If not I have to wonder how far they're going to take it. Pil Jae as you say is dead set on doing the right thing [okay, really the handkerchief is just silly] but at the same time we have Kim Joon somewhat involved now [more or less] so I would assume that when Dong-hae barged in on Hye Sook [whether she knows it or not] things will get back to him [news or simply some video footage/picture] and things will progressively get worse between the couple [not like they aren't already bad].

[Guest aeka]

If you knew/know that Sae Hwa is destined to fail are you simply interested in seeing how far she sinks before she drags everyone down with her [including her mother and sister] or do you simply enjoy seeing her suffer/wallow in misery?

I actually want to see how she is going to deal with various family revelations, such as 1) her future-mother-in-law realizing the woman who has been causing all sorts of trouble (and whom she looks down on) is Sae-Hwa's mother, 2) realizing Joon is Dong-Hae's father and how she screwed herself by screwing him over, 3) Anna is Joon's true love and, again, how she screwed herself by treating her badly, and 4) realizing that Do-Jin is not the saviour she hold him out to be. Will she stay beside him through all this, will she waver back to Dong-Hae, or will she learn something else? KDrama convention dictates the latter. Either way, there are lots of interesting possibilities for Sae-Hwa...not so much with the other characters in my opinion.

[Guest crzyblue4]

I actually want to see how she is going to deal with various family revelations, such as 1) her future-mother-in-law realizing the woman who has been causing all sorts of trouble (and whom she looks down on) is Sae-Hwa's mother, 2) realizing Joon is Dong-Hae's father and how she screwed herself by screwing him over, 3) Anna is Joon's true love and, again, how she screwed herself by treating her badly, and 4) realizing that Do-Jin is not the saviour she hold him out to be. Will she stay beside him through all this, will she waver back to Dong-Hae, or will she learn something else? KDrama convention dictates the latter. Either way, there are lots of interesting possibilities for Sae-Hwa...not so much with the other characters in my opinion.

Funny, I can already predict what's going to happen with all those and how it's going to end also. Makes me sad because, even though Sae wa is the evil one here, I hope she finds what she needs and succeeds!

[tiki_sg]

. . . . the first episode will air on KBSW (Asia) on 16 November 2010, and since DevilSlob records off from KBSAmerica, my guess is the torrents will only start to surface either end of Nov or early Dec.

KBS World (Asia) .... broadcasting it with both English & Chinese Subs ....

Just a reminder for anyone who want to catch the Subbed episodes on KBS World (Asia & Europe)

First Ep on 16 November,

First Run @ 4:10am KST

Repeat @ 8:20pm KST

[c_gunawan541]

The drama is a bit draggy, i just want to roll my eyes at Do Jin who is angry/hating on Donghae for no reason.

Or did i missed out anything that can make him hate Donghae so much? It's confusing..

I just want to skip Sae Wa parts and just go to Bong YixDong Hae.. i need more progress between this two.

Sae Wa is just overreacting, it's not like Donghae or Bongyi will reveal any of her secrets to Dojin..

Dojin and Saewa really makes a good couple, the overreacting couple =.=

[Guest flydolesqueue]

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[c_gunawan541]

I can understand why Hye Sook remembers Dong Hae's name though because of the past incident he had with the hotel when her mom fell sick (and DH's mom is kind of mentally disabled, it's sure a memorable incident for HS) and he saved her from the angry guy who got fired. It's not too far of a stretch for me.

But what i found over the top is Do Jin's hatred and SaeWa's sensitivity (granted, she may be insecure because of her guilt) but Do Jin is just not making any sense. I just think that the writer is adding these elements just for the sake of it. Usually i'm quite lenient to writers that don't make sense at times as long as it don't bother me much. But whenever i see Dojin's angry face at Donghae and his misuse of authority, it just freaking pisses me off. Can he just have a little bit of professionalism? He's the manager, he should treat customers better (when DH haven't work in the hotel) and should be fair in treating his employees even though he had some beef with him. His hatred is just so uncalled for, it's SO much until he even delete the scene from CCTV in purpose and asked DH to kneel down for nothing? Did DH killed his loved ones in the past that he hated DH so much? DH even saved his mom. It just don't make sense and i think i hate his character more than Sae Wa.

Well, at least on the good side, there's something emotional about this drama for me and it's Do Jin, his character development is turning worse. At first he was just a fool in love with SW, now he's ridiculous.

I agree for more intimacy and more heart-to-heart things, they're acting more like friends during this phase and i can only see the attraction from Bong Yi's side only. They need to cook things up for more chemistry but i do find this pair cute enough for me to anticipate more from them.

Hmm, i didn't catch the gift part, maybe it's because i kinda skimmed over the scenes of older generation.