[Drama 2017] Saimdang, Light's Diary 사임당, 빛의 일기

[gerrytan8063]

 

 

Episode 24

Shin Saimdang arrives to Geumgangsan's  Bi Ro Bong ( 비로봉, 毘盧峰, 毘卢峰) which stands at 1,638m

Spoiler

 Bi Ro Bong ( 비로봉, 毘盧峰, 毘卢峰) in autumn

 

Placido Domingo sings "Longing for Geumgangsan mountain" (그리운 금강산)

누구의 주제런가 맑고 고운산 그리운 만이천봉 말은 없어도

Whoever’s theme was it, The clear and beauteous mountain, Spite of speechlessness Of her twelve thousand hills?

이제야 자유만민 옷깃 여미며 그 이름 다시 부를 우리 금강산

Now at last people from free world Unweaving their sleeves, Hail awestruck her name again, Our Mount Geum Gang!

수수만년 아름다운 산 못 가본지 몇몇해 오늘에야 찾을 날 왔나 금강산은 부른다.

Beauteous mountain for tens of thousands years! How many years have we not seen her? Is it today that we go retake her? For Mount Geum Gang is calling us.

 

비로봉 그 봉우리 짓밟힌 자리 흰구름 솔바람도 무심히 가나

At Biro-Bong, the hill Which was the trampled site, Even white clouds and breeze Appear passing by carelessly.

발 아래 산해만리 보이지 마라 우리 다 맺힌 슬픔 풀릴 때까지.

Show not thousand miles sea Of mountains down below your feet, Until all our sorrows imbedded Deep down be eased.

수수만년 아름다운 산 못 가본지 몇몇해 오늘에야 찾을 날 왔나 금강산은 부른다.

Beauteous mountain for tens of thousands years! How many years have we not seen her? Is it today to go retake her? For Mount Geum Gang is calling us.

Episode 25

In this box, it is not bottles of energy drinks but stacks of Saimdang bank notes (W50,000)

[jadore1]

@gerrytan8063 This is so beautiful, thank you for providing this video .. i still want to hike lol 

[liddi]

@gerrytan8063 I never heard Domingo sing in Korean before... thank you so much for sharing it. The performance and lyrics evoke a lot of emotions. Initially based on the lyrics, I thought it describes the sorrow of the South Koreans who are separated from their loved ones in the North, but reading up about the song itself from another Youtube video, it seems I was mistaken, and it purely is a song of praise for the beauty of the landscape in Mt. Geumgang.

About the song:
The song was originally composed by Choe Yeong-seob in 1961 and was first introduced on a radio program broadcast by the Korea Broadcasting System as "a song of the week", with its lyrics taken from a poem of the same title written by Han Sang-eok (1919-1989). The song was written during the national campaign to promote the beauty of nature on the Korean Peninsula in the early 1960s. Born in Incheon in 1919, Han graduated from Incheon Public Commercial High School in 1935 and wrote poems about various themes with his other fellow poet Kim Cha-hyeong at "Poems and Prose". 

This song has been so popular among international musicians that world-famous tenor Placido Domingo, Bolshoi Chorus from Russia, cello maestro Mischa Maisky and many other musicians have sung or recorded the song in 16 albums to delight audiences around the world for decades. 

Choe was born in Incheon in 1929, graduated from Gyeongbok High School and Seoul National University's College of Music and taught at Ehwa Girls' High School and Hanyang University in Seoul. He later served as permanent conductor of Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra and president of the Korean Composers Association.

cr. Youtube

 

Incidentally, has there been any news whether Volume 2 of the book will still be released end of the month? I have not seen any mention of it so far, including Popular where I preordered Volume 1. Am a little concerned if the poor ratings would put a halt to the release of the 2nd book. Gah.

[gerrytan8063]

@liddi

"I never heard Domingo sing in Korean before... thank you so much for sharing it. The performance and lyrics evoke a lot of emotions. Initially based on the lyrics, I thought it describes the sorrow of the South Koreans who are separated from their loved ones in the North, but reading up about the song itself from another Youtube video, it seems I was mistaken, and it purely is a song of praise for the beauty of the landscape in Mt. Geumgang."

Paul Potts also sang the song in Korean too.

You can also describe it as sorrow as South Korean presently can't access Geumgangsan.

It must be therapy for Shin Saimdang to go to Geumgangsan for hermitage for a peace of mind

The Song Dynasty envoy to Goryeo Xu Jing (徐競, 1091–1153) wrote about the beauty of Geumgangsan in his travel literature, even the famous Song Dynasty poet Su Dong Po (蘇東坡, 蘇軾, 1037-1101) had mentioned "If I were to die the day after seeing Goryeo Geumgangsan, I will have no regret"

[Mari95]

(News Focus) Arms wide open? Big stars cold-shouldered in recent TV comebacks

2017/04/23 09:00

By Chang Dong-woo

SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- With a sea of channels and a torrent of shows to watch, television networks are constantly formulating ways to grab even the slightest attention of viewers in an ever-competitive ratings race.

In the past, an easy-yet-costly way to achieve the goal was to spend a considerable amount of money to cast top-billed stars; conventional wisdom being that with big names you get big visibility -- especially if the star is making a comeback after a long time.

But this tried-and-true formula of "you get what you pay for" and bringing back legendary TV icons from the past no longer appears relevant, at least so far in 2017. On the contrary, recent dismal comebacks of past megastars are prompting TV executives to ask themselves "What went wrong?"

  

This composite file photo shows Lee Young-ae and Song Seung-heon in the SBS TV series "Saimdang, Memoir of Colors." (Yonhap)

One of the most-anticipated TV shows this year has been SBS TV's "Saimdang, Memoir of Colors," a high-budget time-slip fantasy that premiered in late January. The series brought mega "hallyu" star Lee Young-ae back to television for the first time in 13 years.

But Lee, star of the legendary hit Korean drama "Daejanggeum," and the SBS drama produced at a cost of 10 billion won (US$8.84 million), have been dogged by an underwhelming reception due to a slow and discombobulated time-slip plot. It has hovered around the 8-11 percent viewership range throughout its broadcast, outshone by KBS 2TV's "Good Manager" before and now by "Queen of Mystery."

   Weaker-than-expected ratings in the early parts of the show -- based on Shin Saimdang (1504-1551), Korea's maternal icon associated with raising the Korean Confucian scholar Yi Yulgok of the Joseon Dynasty -- prompted showrunners to re-edit the entirety of the 30-episode series. SBS TV said it has cut out two episodes.

In late February, about a month after the premiere of "Saimdang," Ko So-young, another Korean TV icon from the past, graced the late-night drama scene with "Ms. Perfect" on KBS 2TV. The show also marked a comeback for Ko, a former sexy icon and the wife of star actor Jang Dong-gun, after 10 years.

But "Ms. Perfect" premiered to a lackluster 3.9 percent nationwide viewership and has had virtually no chance at overcoming larger rivals "Defendant" and "Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People" to this day.

This composite photo captured from a highlight reel of "Ms. Perfect" shows lead star Ko So-young playing her character Shim Jae-bok. (Yonhap)

tvN's Friday-Saturday prime time show "Chicago Typewriter" is also languishing in the 2-percent range. The show stars the talismanic star actor Yoo Ah-in and actress Lim Soo-jung, who returns to TV for the first time in 13 years.

"Chicago Typewriter" is another time-slip series that in many ways is reminiscent of tvN's recent hit show "Guardian." Both have a story moving along two parallel timelines and fantasy/supernatural elements. But ratings-wise, "Chicago Typewriter" is nowhere near "Guardian," which rewrote cable TV ratings history. At least not yet.

Experts attribute this trend to the recent viewing trend of leaning more towards a drama's overall story rather than its star power, especially given the increasing viewing options becoming available.

"People nowadays tend to watch a serial TV show focusing on whether the story is well written or not. A legendary star's comeback may create buzz in the beginning but that can only go so far," said Ha Jae-keun, a Seoul-based cultural commentator.

This composite image shows the lead cast of tvN's "Chicago Typewriter" Yoo Ah-in, Lim Soo-jung and Ko Kyung-pyo. (from L to R) (Yonhap)

odissy@yna.co.kr

[anyeze]

On 2017. 04. 22. at 5:07 AM, gerrytan8063 said:

@liddi

"Yes the Dramafever subs for SBS Ep25 translated it as such when Eun Soo presented his mother with the bracelet...."

TSKS had translate Pae Raeng-i (패랭이) as 石竹花

The Indonesia subtitles that is in youtube had translate as per the English subtitles (Dramafever) as "bunga Dianthus"

"And Tagalog too, once GMA starts broadcasting it in the Philippines!"

As for Tagalog, you need to asked someone from the Philippines

As we took a random sample of the word Pae Raeng-i "패랭이" translated 

GTV Taiwan "草帽花"

Oh!K English sub as Fringed Pink

Oh!K Malay sub as bunga teluki...while the dubbed is bunga kumai

Hanmi Chinese sub as "普格尔"

HK-TVB Cantonese dub & sub is "石竹花"

Drama fever is Dianthus flower

Indonesia sub is Bunga Dianthus

KNTV Japanese sub is セキチク (石竹, Sekichiku)

@anyeze

What have you translate the Pae Raeng-i bracelet that Eun Soo gave Seo Ji Yun in Episode 25 as in Hungarian?

 

I've just been able to return here...

Oh, I didn't think that there were so many variations for the bracelet... To tell the truth I didn't put so much thought into the bracelet, so I just wrote something like "bracelet with Dianthus Chinensis" only using the Hungarian name of the flower, which is shorter (I could see the shape of the metal decoration, so I thought it should be acceptable). I couldn't read back the new posts yet, so don't know what would be the correct answer - but I'd like to... Sometimes I don't use the Korean term in the subtitles (there isn't enough place to explain everything), but I post it later in the topic (like ethnographical subjects). I'll try to find something... :-) Thank you for drawing my attention to it!

[plainenglish]

If you're wondering how Ji-yoon, Han Sang-hyun, and Hye-jung are able to get back the genuine "Mount Geumgang" painting (in Ep. 26), look at the picture below from the teaser of Ep. 25 SBS. In the lower right hand corner, you'll see Prof. Min's assistant (the one with glasses). Looks like he had a change of heart after delivering that 100 million won bribe to the president of the Antique Arts Association.

[gerrytan8063]

@anyeze

"so I just wrote something like "bracelet with Dianthus Chinensis" only using the Hungarian name of the flower, which is shorter..."

May I know what is called in Hungarian...just for general knowledge purposes

 

[anyeze]

7 minutes ago, gerrytan8063 said:

@anyeze

"so I just wrote something like "bracelet with Dianthus Chinensis" only using the Hungarian name of the flower, which is shorter..."

May I know what is called in Hungarian...just for general knowledge purposes

 

The flower itself is: kínai szegfű (kínai= Chinese; szegfű= Dianthus) :-) The full term which I used for the bracelet: "kínai szegfűs karkötő"

I searched a lot of pictures about Dianthus Chinensis, but I still don't know that wich subspecies was the flower falling from Ji Yoon's hand in the hospital (after returning from the past)...

Maybe this? (The color was something similar.)

So, after I looked up some terms from your earlier post, in other languages the used word was also the flower itself? And there was I thinking, that I missed something and it was a special kind of lucky bracelet's name...

[anyeze]

Dear @liddi, I'm so happy to be able to read your great posts about the missing scenes! Although I couldn't read everything, I saved a lot to watch them later.

"The scene where Eun Soo first sees the flower bracelet, and hears the explanation by his grandfather about the resilience of the flower, being able to grow at the mountainside or among the rocks, is removed, thus reducing the impact and meaning behind his gift to his mother later."

It's a very important scene about the bracelet, now I understand why was it a matter of discussion here. Thank you!

" Footage of Gyeom on a ship as SJY reads up on A Man in Korean Costume and how he came from a faraway land, which does away with the mystery of whom the subject is meant to represent. If it really were Gyeom, then I really hope they have a plausible explanation as to how Rubens could have known what he looked like and painted him 70+ years later in 1617. "

I think, the key is St. Francis Xavier. He could have met "Yi Gyeom" and some legend could have remained about their association (of course in the drama). If St. Francis Xavier was important enough for Rubens to paint him, he could have heard something about that association as well. I think Ruben's sitter was another Korean - if there was any - but in the picture he refers to "Lee Gyeom" (again in the drama). I can imagine that Rubens never met any Koreans but he saw his Hanbok. Just my explanation not too exciting I know! But who knows maybe something more is in the background - the legends can be more interesting!

[gerrytan8063]

@anyeze

"The flower itself is: kínai szegfű (kínai= Chinese; szegfű= Dianthus) :-) The full term which I used for the bracelet: "kínai szegfűs karkötő""

Thank you for your Hungarian translation for Dianthus chinensis. I suppose it is the best to use the flower's scientific or latin name which will be more accurate

The discussion of Pae Raeng-i was done in page 64-65 of this thread

"Footage of Gyeom on a ship as SJY reads up on A Man in Korean Costume and how he came from a faraway land, which does away with the mystery of whom the subject is meant to represent. If it really were Gyeom, then I really hope they have a plausible explanation as to how Rubens could have known what he looked like and painted him 70+ years later in 1617. "

I think, the key is St. Francis Xavier. He could have met "Yi Gyeom" and some legend could have remained about their association (of course in the drama). If St. Francis Xavier was important enough for Rubens to paint him, he could have heard something about that association as well. I think Ruben's sitter was another Korean - if there was any - but in the picture he refers to "Lee Gyeom" (again in the drama). I can imagine that Rubens never met any Koreans but he saw his Hanbok. Just my explanation  not too exciting I know! But who knows maybe something more is in the background - the legends can be more interesting!

The discussion on Peter Paul Ruben's Korean Man & his painting of Miracles of St Francis Xavier was discussion on page 53 & 57.

You may refer to the back pages of this thread. If you have time to refer to the back pages of this thread that you may find knowledgable reading

@liddi & I had some comprehensive discussion on the on-goings of the drama

[hank marvin]

 I am mostly lurking here, because there is so much overwhelming information and news that will take a while for me to digest it all.
It opens many new ways  to explore in Korea's rich history.

A few things on my mind though:

"Big Stars don't guarantee success for a drama".
It makes me think of Moon Geun Young in "Yun Yi,Goddess of Fire"
"Painter of the Wind" was my first Kdrama ever in 2010, after having watched only Kmovies before that. 
It made me, who grew up with Western cinema,  decide to see Moon Geun Young as one of world's best actresses.
"Yun Yi, Goddess of Fire" as a drama lacked emotion, suspense etc, and Moon Geun Young was not really lucky with her drama's after that.
But "Yun Yi" as real person will stay in my mind forever, having learned a lot because of the drama.

"Saimdang's, Light's Diary" is different.

It is chaotic, and I really need the information here to understand what is real, in the past and in  present.
But the climaxes are sky-high, the music and scenery is beautiful and Lee Young Ae is worth all the effort,

Like Moon Geun Young, a true ambassador of Korea's culture

[liddi]

@anyeze Thank you very much for your kind words regarding my ramblings  I am just grateful that we have both versions to watch and compare, and derive the best from each.

@gerrytan8063 @anyeze I have no idea how they would explain Gyeom being the inspiration for Rubens' painting. However... look! A video of stills and BTSes posted in Nov 2015 which shows that Gyeom and Saimdang (or SJY) were together in Italy after all. Does it mean that when SJY and Saimdang had blackouts concurrently, SJY has a physical manifestation in the past and meets Gyeom there, but with Saimdang's spirit in her? My mind is too befuddled to think of anything plausible at the moment, but this just has me even more hyped up for what's to come. 

 

@Mari95 @hank marvin While big stars are no guarantee of the success of a drama (performance, script, direction, cinematography, soundtrack etc are all key), I personally am affronted by the underwhelming domestic ratings and disparaging reviews, all of which I feel to be undeserved. Case in point being the lowest ratings yet for Ep24, which for me, gave us probably one of the strongest episodes of the SBS version. Regardless of how they are received domestically, I know that at least for me, this is a drama that I love, which delivers on so many levels, not the least of which are the strong performances from the ensemble cast, the beautiful chemistry between LYA and SSH, as well as the storyline that continues to captivate me from week to week. Withdrawal symptoms are already kicking in with the realisation that we have so few episodes left (even fewer with the SBS cuts), but I am truly grateful for the journey and the amazing company I spent it with, and hope that it continues to deliver for me all the way to the finale.

[anyeze]

Dear @gerrytan8063, thank you! There are so many interesting things in this topic I just can't catch up on reading...

I didn't study the "Man in Korean costume" painting, just looked up some information about St. Francis Xavier and Rubens but after reading your explanations here and here I'm really amazed! Thank you again!

So it is a chance that Rubens hadn't a Korean sitter after all but just found a Korean costume :-) maybe Yi Gyeom's OK, I can't turn off my imagination...

About the quote, "Courage is fear that has say its prayers" I also did some search when I translated it and when I couldn't confirm who said that, I found this. I don't know if it's true but seems to be convincing.

 

May I have another question for you and @liddi? (I'd have a lot but I'll try to spare you!) In the ep 24. (SBS version) after the "Yeok Ril" reference Yi Gyeom asks the King: How could a king... want the life of a helpless woman? (Dramafever) Only the viki version uses the word "dragon" as refer the King. The translators tend to simplify the text not to complicate, so I thought the viki version might be the correct one. I tried to translate the Korean version, but obviously I couldn't :

어찌 용이! 연약한 여자의 목숨을 원했다는 말입니까?

It makes sense though to say dragon instead of King... but I can't be sure. Could anybody help me with it, please?

[liddi]

@anyeze Thank you for pointing out that the original quote "Courage is fear that has said its prayers" should be credited to American poet Mrs. Karle Wilson Baker, not Dorothy Bernard! We learn something new again  

I do not read Korean but Hanmi C-subs also translate that line as 龙又怎么会想要一介软弱女子的性命 "How could a dragon wish to take the life of a frail woman?", which is the perfect metaphor, since the symbol of the king is the dragon, and in saying this, Gyeom is emphasising the disparity and incongruity of it all - the almighty dragon demanding the life of a woman who is clearly of no threat to him.

[YongZura⁷]

14 hours ago, liddi said:

A video of stills and BTSes posted in Nov 2015 which shows that Gyeom and Saimdang (or SJY) were together in Italy after all. Does it mean that when SJY and Saimdang had blackouts concurrently, SJY has a physical manifestation in the past and meets Gyeom there, but with Saimdang's spirit in her? My mind is too befuddled to think of anything plausible at the moment, but this just has me even more hyped up for what's to come. 

 

Wow, I can't help but look too.  A physical manifestation? Wow!  Maybe this will answer your question about the modern poem in her diary too?  

In the preview we are able to see that Prof. Min's assistant will betray him and help SJY and her team.  There is a possibility that in relation of this progress that she will be harmed again.  Just like before.. when she had the accident .... she was able to see herself as Saimdang.  Maybe it will happen again when both their "souls" meet as in preview.... Thus this allow her for a moment to be there later with Gyeom.  This could end as my personal fanfic ..  I can't wait what's going to happen..

[lusciousgy]

I'm still confused...ep 25 is mainly the summarised episode from ep 22-24 right? 

[liddi]

@Yongzura Me too! I am excited yet nervous to see this latest development, and I hope that it is one that is seamlessly woven into the story. I do think that SJY was in the past some time, and she was the originator of the hidden John Donne poem. As to how she got her hands on the Soojinbang Diary in the past, and had the opportunity to hide the poem within is still up for debate, but certainly I can't wait to see how it plays out  

@lusciousgy Hi and welcome! Are you referring to Ep25 of the SBS version? If so, it is the condensed version of the modern timeline from Eps22 to 25 in the international version. Basically the SBS version has pretty much caught up wiith the international in terms of the modern timeline, and slightly ahead in terms of the historical.

[Farah Ayuni]

39 minutes ago, Yongzura said:

 

Wow, I can't help but look too.  A physical manifestation? Wow!  Maybe this will answer your question about the modern poem in her diary too?  

In the preview we are able to see that Prof. Min's assistant will betray him and help SJY and her team.  There is a possibility that in relation of this progress that she will be harmed again.  Just like before.. when she had the accident .... she was able to see herself as Saimdang.  Maybe it will happen again when both their "souls" meet as in preview.... Thus this allow her for a moment to be there later with Gyeom.  This could end as my personal fanfic ..  I can't wait what's going to happen..

 

Hey, I was thinking of the same thing. Saimdang in SJY's body or something in Italy. There are scenes of them in Italy. Although it is going to be weird but let's see how that played out. I see their scenes strolling in the market in Italy, hand holding running in the mansion's hallway. And also one scene where Gyeom holds out his hand and Saimdang takes it (that look pretty much Italy too). 

I was also thinking, could it be that Gyeom has been reborn again for the 2nd time, and this version is the one that actually meets Ruben. I am still thinking of the time gap. How does Gyeom meets Ruben after 70-80 years. And oh, does anyone know what is the year in Joseon now as the story takes place now? We know Saimdang dies in 1551 (the year Gyeom frantically painting the portrait in Siesta di Luna).

This time warp is keeping my head busy. 

[lusciousgy]

27 minutes ago, liddi said:

 

@lusciousgy Hi and welcome! Are you referring to the Ep25 of the SBS version? If so, it is the condensed version of the modern timeline from Eps22 to 25 in the international version. Basically the SBS version has pretty much caught up wiith the international in terms of the modern timeline, and slightly ahead in terms of the historical.        

Hi @liddi! Thanks for the explanation.. yes.. I got confused with their episodes .. I watch the show both on oh!k and online and my brain just got mixed up! I love the drama. .. glad that I persevered till ep 19.. and stayed on till now. I totally love  the undying love from Lord Lee towards Saimdang.