[Drama 2015] Answer Me 1988 응답하라 1988

[unkyung]

I wouldn't worry if the actors are getting hate cause of people mad at the series. I'm sure it really doesn't bother them as they laugh their buts off the thenbank from CF deals lol 

[blue_angel_1004]

I believe that RJY was never told who was going to be the husband, but that he believed/wanted to be the husband. But I don't think that's proof that the writer changed the ending. 

In R1997, Jung Eunji was the only one told beforehand that YJ will be the husband. (Even Seo Inguk did not know with certainty that he was going to be the husband.)

In R1994, I was the one who translated the news article that Jung Woo and Go Ara suspected that Trash was going to be the husband because those two were pulled aside and Shin PD gave them special instructions on how to act their role at the beginning of the series. (However, the interview didn't actually say Shin PD told them directly that Trash was indeed the husband.)

Here in R1988, I'm checking daily for any new interviews from Shin PD. But I can believe that RJY, PBG, or even Hyeri were not told the identity of the husband. (If I may guess, between the three, I'd think Hyeri would be the one told. However, even assuming that Hyeri knew that TK is the husband, it's also possible that her own personal wish was for JH to be the husband. We do not know that definitely.)

[luluponyazn]

This is my first time posting on the AM88 thread, even though I was quite active back then in the AM94 thread. I decided to wait this one out due to the heartache that was Chilbong and waiting to see what the writer had up her sleeves this time. Perhaps due to the magic of her pen and the strength of her characters, I was sucked up in the Answer Me universe again, and I can say irrevocably that this is by far my favorite installment of the AM series, and one of my favorite K-dramas as well, and that is why I want to write this tribute to defend the drama and the writer. 

As a CB-shipper, I understand the pain of having your ship sunk intimately, so I won't comment much on the shipping aspect of the drama-watching experience, which I have carefully avoided this time around. But as a drama, AM88 stands fiercely on its own, and I applaud writer Lee for her penship, her originality, her sentimentality, and most of all, her bravery in breaking her own tropes and many of the K-drama conventions. I sincerely believe that AM88 will withstand the test of time and prove itself to be a work beyond its time. 

As evidenced by DS’s narration in ep 20, credit to Dramabeans,

“The reason I miss that time and the reason I miss that street isn’t just because I miss my younger self. It’s because my dad’s youth, my mom’s youth, my friends’ youth—the youth of everything that I loved was in that place. I regret not having bid a final farewell to the surroundings of my youth that can never be brought back together again. To the things that are already gone, to the time I can’t return to… I say a belated farewell. Goodbye, my youth. Goodbye, Ssangmun-dong.” 

One of the main theme of AM1988 was loss and how we deal with that loss. The series was devoted to the remembrance of a bygone era, a lost time when neighbors supported one another without reservation, when hard times are softened by the love of your family and friends, when meals are shared between families as part of the routine. 

Loss was also threaded throughout the series, most evidently in the storyline involving the parents. The loss of family and friends due to death. The loss of financial security due to the economy. The loss of parenthood due to careers. The loss of purpose due to retirement. The loss of womanhood due to aging. Each episode, we are given insight into how these families in Ssangmun-dong dealt with the losses in their lives and the pain that they brought, and yet grew stronger despite it all due to the love they shared for each other. 

 

No other character embodied that sense of loss more intimately and poignantly than Junghwan, and we as the viewers, felt every bit of pain in his loss as we walked with him each episode since the onset of his journey through his first love. Perhaps that’s why we as the audience are taking the ending so badly, because it is a reminder of the pain that loss brings, and even more so when we see the inevitability of that loss.

There is a lot of talk about potential script changes, but I want to say that there is incredible beauty in Junghwan’s character arc as the way it is written. If he and DS’s ended up together, AM1988 would have remained a sweetly rendered, but conventional K-drama. However, by declaring farewell and finding closure in his first love, his character closed with an incredibly resonant sense of growth and continuity despite suffering a huge loss and emotional setback, and his ending is my favorite among the three guys who didn’t end up with the girl in the AM series. He did not need a random girl to validate his character’s worth and potential, and like the Shaman woman had predicted,  “He will do fine on his own.” 

@hushhh wrote this as a joke for writer Lee's response to her criticisms, but I thought it was quite appropriate. “The script wasn't change. Consider this, Hamlet was almays meant to die, and despite it being his story he didn't get the girl, he didn't get the crown. But he did get his story told.” And so did Junghwan, and what a story it is. 

Tracing back to JH at the beginning. His family suffered intense poverty, both a consequence of their social standing and JB’s sickness. As the second son, he was never given the full attention of his parents, and thus he had to mature quickly, swallow his own pains, and carry his own burdens. I believe his taciturnity is a result of both his innate personality and his upbringing. 

However, JH is very blessed. He has a family that loves him deeply, and despite JB’s silliness at times, he has an incredibly soft-hearted and loving brother. And so while his personality was shaped to be emotionally withholding, he always had people around him that cared for him and desired to listen to his heart. At the beginning of the series, he was 17 years old, not yet fully matured into a grown man, and he experienced the same coming-of-age struggles as any boy. He was full of that adolescent awkwardness and emotional distance, willing to acquiesce to school bullies, and was overflowing with sarcasm. He was your typical high school boy. And yet, this boy had a heart of gold that was slowly uncovered as the episodes went on, when he decided to let his mom into his life, when he fought back to defend SW, but yet, he did not know how to love. 

JH’s crush on DS, which was probably the storyline that echoed most with the audience, was sweet and full of that youthful energy and those unnerving first touches of romantic intimacy. It was presented to us directly and dressed with emotional beats that are designed to hit us in the heart, so of course we fell for him and cheered for him to win the girl of his heart. 

However, just as you’d expect out of any 17-year-old boy, JH did not have the emotional maturity to carry a real relationship. While we swooned at every romantic gesture that JH presented, their intended recipient was DS, a dense girl who is emotionally insecure and desperate to be loved due to her middle child status. As grandly as they were given, these gestures were poorly received, as what DS needed the most was the unreserved validation of her worth and unabashed declaration that she is beyond a doubt, deeply loved and valued. JH’s hesitation and poor timing played a part in his fate, but if you take a more sweeping view of the story, it is rather clear that JH and DS are poor fits for each other. As much as JH loved her, it was not given in the form that DS needed it the most, and I can imagine that even if they dated, it would have been a difficult journey full of misunderstandings and miscommunication. 

And so while he suffered the loss of his first love, he gained the invaluable life lesson of learning how to give love, in the most effective of ways.

For me, the most poignant moments of JH’s story was not his love for DS, but rather, his love for his mom as he wrote the Korean transliteration in her passport, his love for Taek by caring for him despite contending emotions, his love for his brother as he continued to validate him while all others mocked him, and his ultimate gesture of surrendering his romantic feelings for DS to love her still as a friend. 

As the drama itself said in episode 12, “Loving someone isn’t just the room to give. It’s a desperate need to give because you have to.” 

And it is with love that his character arc ended, in his love for his mom in the way that she needed, and in his love for SW in his companionship. 

The best characters are not necessarily written for happy endings but written so fully that you know he will breathe and live in the imaginative universe a full life. As he lost his first love, he gained himself and learned to better express himself and his love. That is a lesson that many of us have yet to fully learn, including myself, and that is the best gift the writer can give him. For me, he will always live on as one of the most memorable and resonant characters in the AM series, and a part of me wish that Chilbong should have been written with the same richness. 

Perhaps the viewing experience was painful because it reminded us of the inevitability of loss as we age and as relationships drift apart. And I see the drama as both a mourning for that loss but also a tribute to the blessings that they bring. I will end with this song, which has personally supported me and carried me through many difficult times, as a reminder that brokenness is not without beauty, and suffering is not without hope.

 

 

[atalia19]

Woah woah, the more I read this thread, the more I think that Reply 1988 has very DEEP meaning and morals, deeper than I ever thought. I learned a lot, really. Thank you for your post guys.

The story of Kim's family which is based on true story too. KJH actually destined to die? Woah, I'm totally stunned while reading that. (It's not confirmed I know, but it make sense). It remind me with R94 when a building crashed (Chilbong - Najong deep hug) it's based on true story, rite?

Everything was so well made. o wonder they spent 2 years to make this done. And it paid off, in the end. You harvest what you plant, indeed.

[ditditdutdut]

I finally got around to watching the last episode. I honestly cried so much, especially during Bora/Dad scenes. It's amazing how little dialogues were exchanged but they could wring the most tears out of me. I was a sobbing mess by the end of the episode and started crying again when I read the DB recaps. 

JH stayed the most heartbreaking character till the end. All his life, everything he does he seems to do it for other people. Even to the little things like accompanying SW drinking in silence even when he should have been driving back. I was really mad that he waved off his feelings for DS jokingly when T came to see him in the base. Like WTF?? Are you kidding me? After all those moping and brooding and crying? Would it have hurt you to seriously admit to how you loved DS and gave them your blessings? 

T/DS were really really cute in the end. I wished they had had all those cute scenes way before. It's such a shame because I really could have gotten much more invested in this OTP had they shown more and earlier. The husband hunting took too much precendent in the writing and ended up undermining what could have been a really great couple.

I still contend that writers really messed up in terms of the endgame irrespective of whether they changed it halfway or not. On one hand we have endgame T/DS with unfortunately too little progression and on the other we have JH/DS with too much progression and no payoff. I thought the ending was true to life but deflating. I do think T/DS was realistic in the end because DS had 6 long years to cultivate her feelings especially after that first kiss, but we never got to see any of that. This is my biggest issue. I need progress and pain/payoff to be balanced.

SW/BR is admittedly my main OTP so I'm really happy to have gotten so much of them throughout the drama. I love how straightforward and pragmatic they both are. My favourite bit is the phone convo where SW was saying how BR shouldn't worry and just follow him. BR the ever independent woman just told him to mind his own business. Gotta love that girl. Also, Lee Jong HOT is future SW??? Holy smokesssssss!!!

And now my favourite aspect of all: the parents. Every single one of them. The dads probably have fewer narrative moments but always with the biggest emotional oomph. 

DR's mom made a late entry, but I thought her issue of not wanting to be called someone's mom all her life resonates a lot. The issue of losing your identity as a woman and relegated to being someone's mom or wife is rarely touched upon, particularly in such a partiarchal society like Korea where it feels like a given so I applaud R88 for taking a pinch of it.

I will miss the Ssangmundong Ahjumma Club SO MUCH. They breathed so much life into this drama. Their friendship is sweet, thoughtful, and often put me to tears. I will forever have a special place in my heart for Cheetah Miran, Oppa-loving Sunyoung, and Ilhwa the woman who has the biggest heart. 

For me, R88 has been the most painful, frustrating, and heartbreaking in the Reply series, but also undoubtedly my favourite.

[nicola_nikka]

i need the dvd asap ;___;

 

 

me to reply 1988

[artemis27]

Does anyone know the song that plays during the DS-TK-JH part during the preview of episode 19? Thanks!

 

 

 

[kasjady]

Can't remember where I read this but there was a rumour that JH was suppose to have passed away, but they edited it. Any confirmations? 

[melleri]

It was posted in this thread a page or so back.  It's not true. 

 

[MrsSoJiSub]

@luluponyazn you reminded me of why i not only fell so hard for junghwan and his failed love story but honestly why i loved the drama as a whole and truly did adore each and every squad child and their families. I was maybe 7 months in 1988 but man did they make me feel like I was there. They made me feel like I lived the life with them. Yeah my ship didn't work out, my boy didn't get his girl, but right before coming here, I came t the conclusion that, that was the best (a lit) okay a fitting end for him  and as hard as it was to watch unfold (man did it take me by surprise) I don't want (well that a lie) I don't need him to be or have been the husband because the story he was given has left a more lasting impression on my heart.

Oh lord reading your post made me miss all these kids again. I want to watch Taek not be able to lift his chop sticks and practice baduk all night. I want to watch Deok Sun try and fail to study. I want to see Dong Ryeong dance one more time. I want to see Sunwoo lift Jinjoo to play. I want to see my Junghwan bow without saying a word and then go buy his mom chestnuts as a form of apology. I want to see Bora asking Noeul if he wants to die. I want to see the three ahjummas drink and gossip and have my queen mama Kim complain about her lack of sex life. I want papa Kim to tell one more bad joke. I want my Bong to have one more hobby or obession I want papa Kim to scream about his dinner. I want mama Kim to tell him not to eat then. I want mama Sung to respectfully address the older ahjumma as madame one more time, and I want papa Choi to put one more beret in his hair and cut out paper dolls. 

*wails like a crying seal* how can she give me the hurt and the medicine. make me want them to go and stay. writer lee you brilliant richard simmons...how do i ever go on....

[melleri]

You said it.  I wish they would have added about 20 episodes. No joke.  I'd watch this show forever. 

Oh man, so sad how slow everything is.  Anyway  complete playlist  https://followingkpop.wordpress.com/2015/11/13/playlist-answer-me-1988/

If you ever wanted to know which song that was, there you go. 

[athie_aza]

Does anyone know link for RJY Vapp with sub ?? 

[mm_7888]

reply 1988 was done..

the feeling i felt today was somewhat heavy... i should be happy because taek is the husband... and i'm rooting for him to be.

but i somehow felt regretful... i felt so wrong to be happy  because JH deserves more than this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Raphelancia]

Everytime i watch, or remembering the last scene where Dukseon found the 4 boys are still in Taek's room, i can't help but there's this sudden pang in my heart, a sudden pang that almost makes me hard to breath. Always. That sudden pang seems like a realization of how emotionally invested i am with these characters. I can't help but remembering every of their youth scene from the earlier episodes where they act silly and thought "Ahh, what a good youth days back then..." as if it's my own youth days (even though i'm not even born yet on 1988 lol). 

It shows how good the writer and the PD craft this beautiful piece of drama. I feel like 1988 ending is the one that tugged in my heart the most, all the bittersweet feeling of enjoyment and goodbyes. Salute! 

[JulieSean]

I'm so pissed that I need to rant. Even RJY was upset that JH and DS didn't end up together. I really believe the writer was planning to have JH end up as the husband in the beginning. So why did he/she suddenly change his/her mind? Ratings? Pressure? Just to go against the tide since majority of the viewers felt the husband is JH?

Yes, I know I'm overreacting as it's just a drama. But still......The worst thing is that there is no closure to his heartfelt confession turned into a joke for whatever the reason and DS didn't even acknowledge it. Plus his ring got left behind. The biggest grouse is that we didn't get to see how JH is doing in 2016.

They should have focus the progress of Taek and DS relationship rather than having it in flashbacks. Instead, they spent so much time on Bora-Sunwoo but they are not even the main OTP!! Don't get me wrong, I adore Taek too. But the narration of the drama has been so focused on JH that I can't help being upset that he was given so little screen time in the finale. We don't even know what happened to him.

Previous series tied up all the loose ends but not in this one. We are left wondering what happened to JH and DR. And whether they still meet up, whether they have kids, etc........

http://netizenbuzz.blogspot.sg/2016/01/ryu-jun-yeol-chats-with-fans-on-v-app.html

Article: 'Junghwan' Ryu Jun Yeol hurt as much as the viewers... even tears

Source: OSEN via Naver

1. [+25,003, -439] He talks so eloquently and has a lot of tears as well. How could you not love this man. I love you, I really do.

2. [+16,606, -328] Fell for him for how eloquent of a speaker he is ♥♥

3. [+12,685, -294] He's even so nice to boot ㅠㅠ

4. [+12,201, -269] Every single thing he said was so pretty

5. [+3,563, -71] When he started crying after he said he read his comments on his Instagram... I couldn't imagine how upset he was. And yet he was still worried for his fans too.. such a person with deep thoughts.

6. [+2,940, -52] As a man with an upstanding head on his shoulders, I hope that he never changes. He speaks like an online class lecturer ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-

Article: Ryu Jun Yeol, "I was shocked that Taek was the husband... and upset"

Source: OSEN via Nate

1. [+2,615, -222] Viewers were shocked... and shocked once more watching the rerun... and the confession scene was even more, more, more, more shocking

2. [+2,218, -192] Everyone who supported Junghwan and Duksun as a couple were shocked and sad ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I guess even he was sad while acting it out

3. [+2,088, -195] We were just as sad as you...

4. [+163, -11] Even the actor himself is admitting that he struggled to understand the new emotions of his character, imagine how the viewers must feel watching that. If the drama was going to go with Taek, at least make it believable instead of spamming all these kiss scenes ㅡㅡ;;

5. [+116, -8] It wasn't just you who was upset...

-

Article: 'V App' Ryu Jun Yeol, "I wished that Park Bogum's confession scene never happened"

Source: Star News via Nate

1. [+890, -63] Seems even Ryu Jun Yeol wanted Junghwan to end up with Duksan ㅜㅜ So sad that we had to say goodbye to the character of Junghwan without even getting to see him confess his true feelings.

2. [+761, -71] Jun Yeol has the same thoughts as us

3. [+742, -107] The only thing the scriptwriter cared about at the end was proving all of the spoilers wrong. She ruined the drama because of it.

4. [+65, -7] I watched his stream live and you could tell how much he wanted Jungpal to end up with Duksun. He said that during the confession scene, Hyeri cried and he cried too because... and that during the wall scene, he even wanted to confess right there ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

[theobrominebeagle]

New video from TVN. Their "last gift" T_T

 

 

 

[yumeaki]

Actually Ryu Jun Yeol did say he never thought of being the husband at the start during v app broadcast. It seems like as the drama goes on, with peoples’ wishes and him melting into his character, he starts to want to be the husband. So naturally it was sad for him. I thought it was rather harsh to tell him he’s not just 4 hours before filming the confession scene. Ouch.

 

While I accept that the writer has her ending planned right from start and that JH story is written to showcase the loss of first love and how hesitation can lead to mis-timing, I still think it was a bad move to show the present scene in interview format. By interviewing DS and Taek, they should focus on DS and Taek inner thoughts. Instead, we were brought into the insights of JH’s emotion and in the chase for the mysterious husband game, they closed off DS thoughts from us. I would have preferred if the present scenes were shown like in Reply 1997 style and we can jump from character to character to show their respective stories.

Also, if JH story is to show viewers his bittersweet first love and how he has learnt a lesson and moved on (and how we should learn from his story to take action in future), then they should give him, and us the viewers, a final closure in the last episode. While I see ep 18 a closure for him and him behaving normally from ep 19 as a confirmation to viewers that he has really moved on, it just isn’t enough. He was a huge focus in the majority part of the drama that I see two love themes running together in the drama. One is DS finding his true love and one is JH’s first love. The writer should balance their closures well. By closing JH’s story 2 episodes earlier, there just isn’t the emotional payoff at the last episode because his supporters will keep thinking if there is a twist at the last 2 episodes. I don’t need to see him paired off with a random girl but putting him as a side character in last episode just doesn’t make sense to me.

 

So this is what they did with the one week break to 'finalise' the story? Hm....

 

Anyway,  

@luluponyazn Love your post and your description on JH character!

@blue_angel_1004 Now I just going to imagine JH having a future like your uncle!

[romanov]

ehm, i wanna ask something.

if the production team are about to release the DVD version, is there english subtitle in it?

[Yesin Lee]

Gotta watch RUNNING MAN (IM SI-WAN is the guest from MISAENG a baduk player also ) and INFINITY CHALLENGE episodes r up for this week at KSHOWONLINE come join me guys!. Sorry if out of topic, but I hope that this will somehow help me forget about REPLY 1988 just for a moment. Although my ship sailed #TeamTaek here this withdrawal is killing me and how they ended the drama certainly made it worst for me. Gotta go! Keep posting! I love reading ur thoughts! 

[ditditdutdut]

1 hour ago, monsterlife said:

The bitterness I am reading in here, nbuzz, kkuljaem is making me hate JH . Lol...change the script...the scriptwriter hates him...there is no chemistry with hyeri and bogum...there is nothing in the kissing scene...DS is a flighty girl that crushes on her three friends...DS still cannot choose without anyone t