[Drama 2015] Answer Me 1988 응답하라 1988

[monsterlife]

13 minutes ago, ditditdutdut said:

Funny.

Why should other people's behaviour affect your feelings for Junghwan? If you don't like JH, let it be because the character doesn't resonate with you not because the fans don't tickle your fancy. 

The character never resonate with me but I like him in episode 18. I watched this show for Hyeri. I like her with Taek. And the character I relate the most is her. So when I read everywhere about how foolish the writer is for changing the script or how dukseon is so flighty, how taek is so plain & childish while putting JH in a pedestal, it makes me irrationally angry. You have to understand, in my point of view, JH is a coward, insensitive to Dukseon & frustrating but I came to like him in episode 18. It was a very satisfying end to his character. So when I come and read sites about Reply 1988 and read how JH could do so much better than Dukseon or Dukseon is soiled goods then all those things that I find irritable in JH character come back. You do that to Taek. You do that to Dukseon. The writer, the production. I know jh shippers are grieving but the more you grieve the more I forgot how wonderful JH had become.  

And it's laughable in how much you insist of script change because the main character got shortchange. JH is never the main character. It is glaringly obvious in the second half of the show. We know more about Baduk than see his appearance. But it is his story that resonates with most people. And most people looked for him so much that they ignore the overall story. And the overall story was never about him.  

[JulieSean]

Yes! JH was an a$$. But he chose friendship over love. He blew hot and cold. No one knew (aside from us viewers) what he did or felt for DH except himself. So DH never knew how much he did for her. And that's too bad. It's his choice and he realised later that it's his fault, it's not even about the timing. And when he FINALLY made a move, he realised that it was too late because her heart is already with Taek. My heart bleeds for JH but I love Taek because he didn't back away and took the chance. He might have given way to JH in the beginning but the stupid boy did nothing. So why should DS not move on. She definitely liked him too, but because he didn't make any move, she gave up. And in the end, she found Taek to be the better man, so even if JH confessed it didn't matter anymore cos he lost so many chances.

I love Taek too. And I really didn't mind she ended up with him. I'm mad that there was no closure with JH. We don't even know if he's alive, happy, married, etc. Instead we know JB has married MO and became a celebrity chef. After investing in his character for 3/4 of the series, to suddenly dropped him off is something that pisses me off.

[melleri]

Some fanss are being annoying and disrespectful.  Especially dragging Hyeri into and forcing their  opinion on her by suggesting she hated the end and it showed, or that she has no chemistry with Bogum (biggest WTF ever).   Or when they  aren't spending time hating on the drama, the cast, the writer or the PD, they are downvoting it so it only has 1 star ratings.  It's just pathetic.  These actors gave so much.  Go watch that damn BTS and tell me they deserve this richard simmons.  

 

 

 

[JulieSean]

3 minutes ago, melissala said:

I don't hate JH, but some of the fans are being annoying and disrespectful.  Especially dragging Hyeri into and forcing their  opinion on her by suggesting she hated the end and it showed, or that she has no chemistry with Bogum (biggest WTF ever).   Or when they  aren't spend time hating on the drama, the cast, the writer or the PD, they are downvoting to drama so it only has 1 star ratings.  It's just pathetic.  These actors gave so much for this drama.  Go watch that damn BTS and tell me they deserve this richard simmons.  

 

 

 

 

Really?? These fans are so immature. She definitely has chemistry with Bogum, in fact more. They were rather flirty with each other in bts. They are just confusing reel with real. It's ridiculous.

[moonkeeper]

5 minutes ago, melissala said:

I don't hate JH, but some of the fans are being annoying and disrespectful.  Especially dragging Hyeri into and forcing their  opinion on her by suggesting she hated the end and it showed, or that she has no chemistry with Bogum (biggest WTF ever).   Or when they  aren't spend time hating on the drama, the cast, the writer or the PD, they are downvoting to drama so it only has 1 star ratings.  It's just pathetic.  These actors gave so much for this drama.  Go watch that damn BTS and tell me they deserve this richard simmons.  

 

 

 

 

@melissala  Totally agree with you.. Another thing is either in Drama scenes or BTS, their chemistry is undeniably outstanding..

most of their BTS TK/DS are together.. I think Hyeri cried becoz of the line in script..It's heartbreaking line anyone can relate.. and that's it..not becoz JH is not the husband..

[bluesteyes]

Look at how those three dorks trying to distract Bogum and LDH when the two are seriously filming their part. Lol!

Hyeri sending heart, RHY silly dancing, and GKP is seriously...... hahaha. Omg I cant with them lol. They are all so close just like family 

[mishlee]

hello everyone.. do you have a link on where to watch this subbed?

[ditditdutdut]

I've got nothing against you disliking JH as a character, we all have different opinions. And I've definitely seen those mean comments directed in service of JH, but if you dislike JH on the basis of his (rude) fans, then you're similarly narrow minded. Just my two cents.

For the record, no I don't think JH deserved better. I think he was an epic idiot for a lot of stuff. I think T/DS is really cute and had a lot of chemistry together. I agree with girlfriday. Had they been fleshed out more, they would have had more emotional punch. 

I've been following Lee Woojung since 1N2D. The funny thing is that I used to laugh at the torture she inflicted on the 1N2D members. But now she's successfully inflicted her brand of sadistic writing on us all lol.

[kiklaminHo]

deleted cause I mixed the threads

 

[LEYUUH]

As someone who's related to the entertainment industry, I've understood why JH did not get the girl. The RJY is in his 30's. He gained popularity at a rather old age as compared to other actors. Of course he needs to get as much public sympathy/ reaction as possible (I remember writing this before IDK). It's teh typical role of a newcomer, if you noticed. Think Park Hae Jin in My Love from Another Star; Jung Yong Hwa in You're Beautiful; Jung Il Woo in The Moon Embraces the Sun and Choi Si Won in She Was Pretty (so that when he comes back from his military duties, people will wait for his comeback). 

From the start, I thought it was the plan already. PBG's famous but RJY has yet to gain fame. And now I can see that the production team did very very very well. 

[Yesin Lee]

Reposting here:

bogum’s thank you message (from 6:00)
I, too, am very thankful to all our viewers who watched reply 1988, and loved the character Taek during that time. I think that this production is one that I won’t be able to forget. Once again, I sincerely thank everyone who replied together. This has been Park Bogum who played the role of Choi Taek. Thank you, and I love you.

cr: http://prkbgm.tumblr.com/

[Minbongyi]

8 hours ago, luluponyazn said:

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.” 

I’ve read this somewhere (paraphrased) as writer Lee’s own response to the criticism she has received. “I did not change the script. Hamlet as the hero did not get the girl. He even lost his family and ultimately his life. 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.

 

 

I might be didn't see what PD-nim and SW-nim wanted me too see because I'm too concern at the clue, etc. Still, I'm still find it hard to swallow, the ending. The conclution is still blur for me. The best part is I'm move on. I let go off my anger, disappointment, and sadness. For me this is the best family drama.

I'll take a rest and re-watching it again. I might get hurt again, but I wanted to see what PD and SW-nim wanted me and viewers to see.

Its ended. Let's give appreciation, let's move on, let's love. /impersonate Junghwan's smile/

[jsamimi]

I am normally a lurker, but I just have to post these here. Cheer up, chingus! I can't imagine how crushed everybody must feel. Thank god I had SunBora to heal my heart. I was Team Junghwan too and I thought his character got screwed, but we can't really change the ending. Just remember the journey was amazing 

These two just need to date in real life! 

Oh no, looks like Junghwan wanted the other Sung sister the whole time.  Sunwoo will fight for his noona!

Massage time!

These cuties <3 Sismance FTW!

The whole gang!

 

 

[ditditdutdut]

@jsamimi zommgggggg the RyuRyuGo are so adorbbbssss. Thanks for posting those here. Bora was so acidic in the beginning that I was a bit taken aback at how sunny Ryu Hyeyoung herself really is. She's more Deoksun than Bora for sure!!! 

[Iris Tannie]

Shippings aside, I'm really sad to bid farewell to Reply 1988. The ride was fun and emotional while it lasted. Endings to dramas are often a little rushed, and I expected more so because of the last minute improvement shoots they did to the drama. For me, it seems like the crew deliberately left loose ends for us to fill in with our imagination, because an ending that is too complete will not be suitable for a drama that is so realistic. It's the fact that the drama draw so close to reality that got us all hooked from the start of end, and of course, the love lines just complimented the story entirely. 

I mentioned before, that the crew spoke about make the husband hunt clearer for Reply 1988, but many viewers still went on to analyse every nook and cranny of the drama. I guess playing CID made everything more interesting, but the fact that the 'clues' (if they were even meant to be clues) could be analyzed in so many different ways, and that led us into a wild goose chase. If we had watched the drama just as it was presented to us, maybe we would have realized at a earlier point of time that DS's heart kept inching towards Taek's. The shadows of the tricks played on us for the past 2 Reply series lingered on, and many thought that another twist towards JH will happen. That's probably why some felt so disappointed. 

Now that Reply 1988 has ended, my heart feels empty. I wish we can keep living in the lives of the 5 characters and their families, but reality hit me hard when the final episode came to an end. This drama was perfectly produced, with such a suitable cast whose acting really brought me into the story with them, so much that I actually missed Sangmun-dong already. 

[Aylar Zargons]

If you don't like a character fine but don't ever drag ones character cause you dont like them, whether its Jh or Tk, I'm team JH but i've never said anything bad to TK, as a part of a sunk ship of course I can't accept it at first but learn to accept it now. Be open for everyone's opinion and some understanding instead of saying bad about a character.  people are too focused on the HUNT that results to people not even understands the flow of the story and just care about the ship  thing

Every character in this series is perfectly written sink in into my mind from mains to supporting I cant hate any character here 

just my opinion 

[Amanda Soo]

Anyone has the link to the subbed version of the behind the scenes special episode?

Would appreciate it ^^

[Vivagirl]

wow the comments on JH lol... i was early watcher for reply 1997 and skipped the reply 1994 and watched reply 1988 lol i'm a bogum fan so i was thrilled that Taek ended up with DS. anyway when i first watched ep 1 or something, there was a scene where DS patted Taek's bum and said our baby taekie is all grown up and drinking milk... i knew it then that Taek will be husband 

i like JH chemistry with DS but he had many chances to confess to her, especially the manito scene, instead of confessing he asked DS to think about why he was so good to her. then when she realise his feelings, he moved away from her (i know he did it cos of Taek) but still it was clear cut DS liked JH and he knows! if he had confessed, 100% she would have accepted him.

But i really liked the friendship between Taek & JH, to give up love for the other. If Taek had not kissed DS during his sleeping pill session, DS might have been heartbroken forever as JH will never confess. so it was a good thing Taek took action. 

I guess this is the end of the reply series.. off to watch reply 1994 which i had missed 

[kasjady]

JH fans have every right to be angry it could take hours, days and weeks to recover You can't expect all fans to be all calm - give it a while and it'll subdue down. The hardest thing for JH shippers is not knowing if he is even alive in the current time it's seriously heart breaking. Hearing news that the script writer originally wanted to kill off JH is o_O

For the mean time just enjoy the DS-TK happy romantic moments, music videos and news on their next venture - I know I did when it was NJ X Trash haha!

 

[Guest wizengamot]

30 minutes ago, kasjady said:

JH fans have every right to be angry it could take hours, days and weeks to recover You can't expect all fans to be all calm - give it a while and it'll subdue down. The hardest thing for JH shippers is not knowing if he is even alive in the current time it's seriously heart breaking. Hearing news that the script writer originally wanted to kill off JH is o_O

For the mean time just enjoy the DS-TK happy romantic moments, music videos and news on their next venture - I know I did when it was NJ X Trash haha!

 

 

thanks for the concern, anyway, I'm a DS-JH shipper and I'm actually coping up. Been able to rewatch the series yesterday too. Most of my fellow shippers had already recovered after watching RJY's V-App yesterday, and the things we found out about him, hyeri, what they thought about the series and their characters so we're actually okay.

 

I just really hope that people would stop infiltrating our thread. I mean, when the series is on-going, some people drop by to troll, and now that the husband was revealed, I still don't get why some still come to our thread when clearly they're not very much happy of our JH-DS ship, so why come.