[Drama 2014] Secret Love Affair 밀회

[africandramalover]

@galpianist‌ @dualnon. ....... I am kind of in the middle about SLA fan fiction. I feel so unworthy to add even a fullstop to something so beautiful! But on the other hand I think we could expound on the pots and pans scene, especially when she gets out of jail! Imagine how steamy it will be in December 2015 when they return to SJ's place aka Home. the sexual tension of one and a half years coursing through their veins, they stumble up the stairs, kissing madly and groping hard, hands running through OHW's poorly cut hair, OHW's hands all over her caterpillar's tummy to confirm if he has been exercising..... will they even make it past that dark stairway? I think not! We can put in a scene where the bulb (that SJ replaced in the stairwell to help OHW) is switched on when they begin "eating each other" and it continues to burn brighter and brighter until the filament burns out. Afterwards they can drink beer while naked. Then we can really be clear about what happened! Without consulting twitter.

I watch programmes while immersed in the technical aspects and the story itself. Even before I decided to do this production thing, I always noticed the actors expressions, those small moments when someone goes out of character at the end of their dialogue while anticipating the director to say CUT (absolute no no), type of camera shots used, lighting, movement of actors on the set etc. I'm not detail oriented in other aspects of life but when it comes to TV I notice everything! Wae?? Ottoke Wae! ! Thankfully, I am still able to immerse myself in a story and cry or laugh as the scenes play out.

As for the similarities in the patriarchal societies of Africa and Asia, that's a whole dissertation by itself. With the exception of the anglophone countries of USA and the UK, and "western Europe", I think the patriarchal set up is pretty much alive everywhere else. The man is the head of the house and with occasional exceptions, the woman takes his name after marriage. However, there are one or two communities in West and central Africa with a matriarchal setup. The man is married by the woman, takes her name, the family name is passed down the mother's side, and the wealth is also passed down the mother's side.

@galpianist‌ Things Fall Apart is one of the most important books in African literature because it captures the struggle for our identity with the onslaught of colonisation and western ideology. How do we as Africans maintain our identity, religions, culture etc when the invading forces sell their identity and culture as the civilised identity? We can have that discussion on a Literature Soompi. :-)

However, unlike Korea, suicide is considered a shame here. People who committed suicide were buried in the dead of the night and their reason for death was mentioned in whispers. A person who commits suicide in Africa is looked at as destroying order in the community. In Korea and Asia, it seems that a person who commits suicide sees it as the only way to restore order to the community. Life for his community will be better without him. I get kinda disturbed when I hear someone in a drama say, "I want to die!!!". Death is not something we talk about casually here. Even when facing terminal illness or old age. In some communities, a great grandchild may not go near their great grandparent because it seems like it's calling death, by showing how old this person is.

Back to SLA...... the one thing I will agree about the last two episodes is that they could have added one more episode to finish everything "cleanly". Writernim wrapped it up to my satisfaction, but some scenes could have been fleshed out more in keeping with the previous episodes. Seeing the economic damage caused to SeoHan group of companies, Young Woo trying to be a good wife who "zero grazes" ( Kenyan slang for being faithful), Young Woo's dad being disgraced etc. But I'm still content.

[lisafransisca]

Omgggg look!!

Kim Hee-ae's life story in a drama

 

Actress Kim Hee-ae's life story is being 'dramatized'.

According to sources, the new SBS drama "Brilliant War" is about Kim Hee-ae's life story. What draws attention is that Kim Hee-ae is working with producer Ahn Pan-seok and writer Jeong Seong-joo from JTBC "Secret Love Affair" once again. They will be working on their third project together this time around.

The three people got together to discuss their next project after "Secret Love Affair". Producer Ahn is going to do what he does best by bringing out the problems in society as realistically as possible.

The drama is based around Kim Hee-ae's life story which entails a woman who is called brilliant all her life, but meets a wall at the most important peak of her life which will be compared to a social phenomenon.

The story will also take place in the past, present and future.

Kim Hee-ae is acting with another actor who is ten years younger than her.

[lisafransisca]

africandramalover said: @galpianist‌ @dualnon. ....... I am kind of in the middle about SLA fan fiction. I feel so unworthy to add even a fullstop to something so beautiful! But on the other hand I think we could expound on the pots and pans scene, especially when she gets out of jail! Imagine how steamy it will be in December 2015 when they return to SJ's place aka Home. the sexual tension of one and a half years coursing through their veins, they stumble up the stairs, kissing madly and groping hard, hands running through OHW's poorly cut hair, OHW's hands all over her caterpillar's tummy to confirm if he has been exercising..... will they even make it past that dark stairway? I think not! We can put in a scene where the bulb (that SJ replaced in the stairwell to help OHW) is switched on when they begin "eating each other" and it continues to burn brighter and brighter until the filament burns out. Afterwards they can drink beer while naked. Then we can really be clear about what happened! Without consulting twitter.

[lisafransisca]

Oh well, apparently the media made up the story coz KHA agency said there's no such KHA "dramatized life story" drama, although it's true the three will work together again in the future >> SOURCE

[Guest dualnon]

Got this comment on the blog today.  I hope we get to welcome them here as well.  When I see comments like this one, new posts here from @africandramalover, and in the not too past from @galpianist and @gretac, I'm so glad we're keeping this thread and the blog alive.  I can't imagine if I had just discovered SLA and didn't have anywhere to go with my newly awakened passion.

Hajarah Mamman Nassir October 8, 2014 at 10:34 am

I found myself wanting more of SLA, surfing the net for whatever I could get. It’s the first drama I have rewatched a drama several times and it’s still like the first time. I thought I was getting obsessed but it’s good to know am not alone. Thank you so much for this blog where we can share our love for SLA.

[africandramalover]

@lisafransisca , you will make me cave in to my narcissism and write a fanfic!! LOL. I am reading the interview with the PDnim on pianoconversations to get a feel of where the story would have gone.

[Guest ailskdrama]

lisafransisca said: Oh well, apparently the media made up the story coz KHA agency said there's no such KHA "dramatized life story" drama, although it's true the three will work together again in the future >> SOURCE

[africandramalover]

@ailskdrama ........Man!! That EPIC episode 6 hug!! The hug that caused serious hormonal reactions everywhere!! I have mentioned that hug so many times on my facebook page, that my friends now want to watch SLA...... I would  also like to see how the writer wrote that scene. Did she include the panting and shacking? If she did, I think she has just moved to IDOL status. Pure Genius!!

[mdj101]

About Yoo Ah In's cameo appearance at the start of Episode 16 of Discovery of Romance drama, I thought it was cute.  But the SLA "top compliment" and his Love Seoul tee shirt appear so often now in dramas that I stopped commenting on them.  But What I thought was some kind of "hidden reference" was when he said this (paraphrasing): ... .."Do you remember me?  I was in here 2 months ago and bought a chest?"    I wondered if it was a little "inside" reference to the rice chest in which Crown Prince Sado was sentenced to die (in YAI's movie) ?  Guess I was really stretching it, maybe?  No comments made elsewhere that I have seen.
EDIT:.... In the cameo appearance, YAI is talking with the owner/furniture- maker of a shop where the woman handcrafts fine pieces of wooden furniture.

[Guest ailskdrama]

africandramalover said: @ailskdrama ........Man!! That EPIC episode 6 hug!! The hug that caused serious hormonal reactions everywhere!! I have mentioned that hug so many times on my facebook page, that my friends now want to watch SLA...... I would  also like to see how the writer wrote that scene. Did she include the panting and shacking? If she did, I think she has just moved to IDOL status. Pure Genius!!

[africandramalover]

@bustupchain‌ , I just saw your request (on page 537) for fans who want the SLA directors cut Dvd. Is the plan for the dvd still on? I am very interested especially if it will have English subtitles.

[mdj101]

Hello Everyone, 
I keep "losing" what I type today. So I will try to be even MORE brief than my other 2 attempts.
We recall how Hye Won worried about her "aging body" during her bubble bath. Seon Jae assured her he didn't care (cheeky little liar!).   But I continued to have visions of a Seon Jae in his 70's finding a first (or second love, as a widower?)!  What would the drama look like from that perspective?  Must everything that  old people do be seen as ludicrous or perverted?  Can there be no beauty at all in such a love affair between 2 healthy seniors?  But how to film aging bodies in a kindly manner?
Well, I found a film that covers the main parts of the love affair, a bare-bones SLA sort of story.  Park Jin Pyo is called a "genius" director by some critics. He works mostly in Tv on documentaries, but his first film venture was "Too Young to Die" (2002).  Other films I liked them all) include these:......"Voice of a Murderer"2007), "Closer to Heaven"(2009), "You Are My Sunshine"(2005), and "If You Were Me" (2003) , a series of 5 short films by famous directors about handicapped people in society.  That is where I found his name.
NOTE:.... EXPLICIT SEX SCENE IN "TOO YOUNG TO DIE"  (not porn in any way, however)
"Too Young to Die" won awards at overseas film festivals, but was banned in Korea and 7 minutes of the film were censored  due to nudity and explicit sexuality ( intercourse scene between a  married couple in their 70's).Upon further reading, I learned that the couple had met at a senior center, fell in love, and married.  How he got them to agree to the filming is beyond my imagination!  But I felt it compared beautifully to the spirit of "the bed scene" in SLA while still being filmed in a slightly different manner.    It was a serious and true love story. He taught her to read and write, she taught him to sing and play the traditional Korean drum.  They are simple and poor people, but express their love sweetly.  (See great review in NY Times :...www.nytimes.com/movie/movie/266065/Jukeodo-Joha-/overview   OR  just put Jukeodo Joha  into the "search for" box on the NY Times web site for a lovely color photo of the happy couple!)
I watched it by myself.  I did not want to hear any negative comments.   Actually, I am not sure if people in their 20's, 30's, 40's, or even 50's are able to suspend their prejudices well enough to see the beauty in the film. 
NOTE:.... Under the SPOILER there is just a long post about somethings I read a long time ago about growing old and how that population has been treated for a 1.000 years and still is for the most part!  You know how I type with 2 fingers, so I just couldn't erase it!  Feel really free to skip it, I rambled!
 The arrival of our newest commentator, @africandramalover, has stimulated thoughts and memories that weave together questions I have often considered as I choose as entertainment  to return almost exclusively to viewing Korean dramas and films via my computer, since my retirement in June of 2011.  My online sites have led me to samplings of Taiwanese ("It Started With A Kiss") and of Japanese ("Absolute Boyfriend aka Zettai Kareshi") dramas, and Googling for information led me to the one African drama that I enjoyed .  (Tried to find the title, but my written records are a mess.....I'll NEVER find it)
I decided that I would limit myself  mainly to Korean works because I want to explore one area in some depth.  "Side Trips" must be limited at this point in my life, only to sample and to "taste"  lightly as pleasant diversions.  
And SECRET LOVE AFFAIR, this Forum, and the Blog have become central reference points that where several recurring themes in my life are reflected or mirrored:......Love, Aging and Society, Sexuality, Feminism, Education, Social Classes, Freedom of Choice, and Change  (to mention only a few).  So many social issues were addressed in SLA by the Writer and the  Director, making the drama endlessly appealing to me.
My memory is atrocious!  But I can recall a book and an author from my early 20 something years:.... The Coming of Age  (1970) by Simone de Beauvoir. I expected something like Margaret Meade's studies of coming of age rituals in primitive cultures!Instead, it was a 600 page study looking back over a 1,000 years at how old people are really treated in society.  My most vivid memory was her "finding" through her research that people  retain a picture in their mind's eye of a "self"  almost always at approximately  35 years of age.  To me this explains the sensation of being surprised often by my reflection in a mirror:......"Is THAT me?   Of course I know what I look like when I look in the mirror each morning!  But those unexpected views  confirm for me the truth of her research.   
While Googling Simone de Beauvoir, I noted her 1949 classic in Feminist studies, "The Second Sex".  I found an interview  where she explained that she was 40 years old before she took note of the reality of the different way women were treated and seen in the world.  As an intellectual in the teaching profession she had been treated as an equal.  I want to go back to read  her books again  at this stage in my life.PS:.... Edited so many times that I "lost" the spoiler tag.  I give up!   :\">

[africandramalover]

@mdj101‌ "My most vivid memory was her "finding" through her research that people retain a picture in their mind's eye of a "self" almost always at approximately 35 years of age. "

What was the reason for it being 35 years? I am headed there..........

[mdj101]

@africandramalover,                                                                                                                    (by mdj101)
So sorry!  I have not the slightest clue how I was able to type under your profile!

[lisafransisca]

YAI just had a fanmeeting last week. I read the reviews on DC. They said SLA got a big portion in his "10 years journey" slideshow and "best drama scenes" video clip. YAI also "re-enacted" Hongdae date scene with his fan There were some Q&A segments. One question was about his upcoming drama in 2015. He said he didn't feel like working on a drama this time around. After SLA he feared that he couldn't find another drama project that could be as best as SLA. He said he met the best work environment and the best PD in SLA!

[lisafransisca]

Oh no a glitch again! This thread looks messed up!

[africandramalover]

Lol....let's rescue it.

@mdj101, I would like to watch that movie......though I may have to watch the sex scene with one eye closed. The fact that it's a real actual couple makes it too personal. I'm the biggest sucker for love but I don't want to intrude on their space. X_X How awesome for they who were able to find love even at that age!! I feel a tear coming on!! :-bd

You also asked, "Can there be no beauty at all in such a love affair between 2 healthy seniors? " I will say that from my perspective, Korea is miles ahead on this, regularly featuring the love stories of the over 35ers, and showing the realistic situations that they'd go through in this phase of their lives eg empty nest syndrome, affairs and their effects on the couple, finding or rekindling love as they get older, etc. This is one of the main reasons that I love dramas . I'll be watching for a long time because I will continue to relate with the life situations.

Of course we may not see too much skinship between older couples and especially those over 60. I guess the general assumption is that they are not sexual beings after menopause, the perception that old people "don't do that", but this would provide good material for a drama. In our assumption that older people don't experience sex and sexuality, we may miss the beautiful relationships of the older couples in our midst. They remain hidden in plain sight. So I'll definitely want to watch this movie out of curiosity.

I was also drawn to the scene with OHW in the bath tub, "inspecting" and "interrogating" her 40yr old body. This is because we assume if you are past a certain age, the options of love and sex are off the table. But our hormones don't care how old we are and what society thinks. Oestrogen must continue to be produced and a woman must experience "the other time of the month" ie, ovulation and the elevated sexualness at that time, even as society says, " forget about it. If you didn't marry/fall in love/ have sex before 35, that door is closed on you". Love has no expiry date, and if a man showed me (at 40) the concern that SJ showed OHW, I would fall in love with utmost haste!!

I will copy the post containing my other question... "My most vivid memory was her "finding" through her research that people retain a picture in their mind's eye of a "self" almost always at approximately 35 years of age. "

What was the reason for it being 35 years? I am headed there..........

@lisafransisca‌ , I'm totally envious of those fans who met YAI. that boy has some beautiful lips!!! In Kenya we women have a certain sound that we make when irritated. It doesn't have an actual word but if written it is "mschewww!" You pucker your lips and make the sound by sucking in air sharply through your "clenched" teeth. (Are teeth clenched?) I bet YAI's lips would make it look so sexy!!

[mdj101]

@africandramalover,                                                                                                               (posted by mdj101)
I am quite certain that I am the person who "messed up" the Forum site!  I had hoped it was only on MY PC and that it would disappear by today!........   WRONG!........  HELP!  Please, Soompi?        
And why the age of 35 years old?   I can not remember exactly, but I think that the  author  generalised the age as it was reported in the writings she studies from the past.  I picked the number (35) myself, the author noted that the mental image in the mind's eye was always one of a fully mature adult in the full bloom of health and intellectual ability.  I really should go to the library and read her books again!  Simone de Beauvoir was an intellectual and a philosopher, a companion of Sartre.  I am neither of those things and did not know how great  her reputation was.  I was busy with 4 children and liked the book.  My college education came much later in life and , like Hye Won, I was striving to make money and move up the class/social ladder. No time to "be an intellectual".


TO CONTINUE:.......A reflection on ideas and issues prompted by the  RE-WATCH of SLA . 
I was very nervous about posting regarding that first movie by Director Park Jin Pyo.  Definitely check out the Archives section of the nytimes.com site for ...... JUKEODO JOHA..... and you will be taken to the review with color photo of the sweet, happy couple.He was a confectionary sales person and she was a folk singer.  They had been widowed for many years.  Twelve years later, I do not know if they are still alive, since the review said that she became ill shortly after their private wedding  ceremony and he cared for her.  (I double-checked finding the article  today and it worked for me).  NOTE:  ... IT WAS CALLED A DOCUMENTARY-FILM.  Also, I have seen many of his films and I think he is really on a level with our Pd. Ahn. Both care deeply about  examining social issues.
When I was young, the movie REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE CAME OUT, starring James Dean.  I could Identify with the young teens vs the foolish, old-fashion parents  who just did not understand the changing times!   Many, many years later I happened to see the movie again.I was so very surprised to see things from the parents' viewpoint!  Even seeing how they were portrayed wrongly as being stupid and  uncaring!   Time and age changes have affected  my understanding of other films/stories, too.  It happens randomly and  every so often.
In SLA, Hye Won's concern about her age and the physical impact on her body versus a 20 year old's body was dealt with only in a superficial way.......to advance the story.   The reality of effects of aging were not really important to the drama. I understand that well and have no complaint on that point with SLA. But this illustrates for me how much more can be found in this excellent piece of work!   That line about "You can never step foot in the same river twice" surely  applies to our favorite drama, SLA.
Just as Simone de Beauvoir was 40 years old before she came face-to-face with the reality of the effects of prejudices against women/females, I have come very late to recognise the depth of effects "becoming old", retired, etc. have on the population over 65 years of age.  And the "Baby Boomers"  have made changes that affect a small segment of "seniors" with sufficient resources to live comfortably, While chasing a fantasy of "ever youthful" appearance and activity.  Not the answer that the issue really needs, I think.  
Now I can see that "Old people"  are like the submerged portion of a giant iceberg.  What does any one actually know about them.  I have been unaware  of the degree my own prejudices have influenced my views about the over -65 yrs. group.   Society's view of the "senior citizen"  is so deeply below my own conscious awareness that I have accepted them as truth!  I am surprised at myself!  How easily I have accepted as reality the unspoken beliefs and attitudes applied to the majority of elders around the world.  
In an interview about her book, "The Coming of Age", Simone de Beauvoir was asked if she thought her book would bring about changes in the perception and treatment of old people. Her honest answer was "No!". And she was right!  Here in the States, that large group of "elderly" are being studied closely, but in ways that apply mostly to the kind of jobs that caring for them will create. This is my belief as a retired nurse seeing the articles and research on this topic.  GERONTOLOGY  is a big wave of the future in Health Care, a great source of future jobs.
PS:......If SLA were to be projected into the future, the older person (Hye Won) might be the first to die.  Refer to the real life love story of Ivo Pogorelich and his beloved Aliza.  She passed away in 1996. After a period of deep mourning, he has begun to play piano once more.  There is no mention of another woman in his life right now.  He is only 56 years old now.  I wonder how two such passionate and single-minded men as Pogorelich and Seon Jae might act if they found another woman they loved when they are in their seventies?  What would that drama be like? ......... Hmmmm?........neither one of them likes to be laughed at...... When they love, they wish to be taken seriously!  I can not write a fan-fiction of their second love affair, but I now am able to imagine that it would be very beautiful! 

[Guest dualnon]

I think the problem is using the spoiler tag in quotes.  It screwed things up awhile back.  It should clear up when we get to the next page. Or if anyone knows they put a spoiler tag in a quote, they can try to remove it.

[africandramalover]

In totally unrelated happenings, maybe it's been brought up before...... .I'm marathoning It's OK, that's love and episode 7 was basically a walking advert for YAI'S line of shirts. The female lead was wearing the Paris one. I was smiling the whole time because it totally distracted me :-)

Back to SLA and 40 yr old women's bodies. .....