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[Drama 2018] Mr. Sunshine, 미스터 션샤인 - Winner of Critics’ Choice Award for Drama category


Go Seung Ji

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2 minutes ago, bedifferent said:

Hey.  Are you watching?  It released 30 min after the episode finished airing on tvN.  Gorgeous drama.

I will be watching later, can't watch it now though :bawling::bawling:    I will comment on it after watching it.  THanks for the info on when it is released chingu. 

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I wiki'ed the background to the US Korean expedition Shinmiyangyo for comparison and to further understanding of the drama background.  Found it is fairly accurate in trying to grasp the event leading to the battles of Ganghwa fort.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_expedition_to_Korea

 

Some of the drama scenes are eerily similar to historical photographs.  Was curious to see the Korean perspective on the incident.  This drama is very close to the historical take of the West.  It depicts the chain of events leading to the conflict as a Joseon court flawed with limited knowledge of the US,  saddled with limited communication via language barrier (this drama pointed a finger to one translator, not sure if he is a historical figure or just a representation) lead a diplomatic objective to a deadly one.  

 

Quote

The isolationist nature of the Joseon dynasty government and the assertiveness of the Americans led to a misunderstanding between the two parties that changed a diplomatic expedition into an armed conflict.

Source: wiki

Spoiler

Ganghwa_3-edit.jpg

 

lossy-page1-1920px-Interior_of_Fort_McKe

600px-Sujagi.jpg

Source: wiki

 

 

 

In 1871, Choi Yu-jin (Eugene Choi) as a 9 year old boy talked his way (with the help of with potter master Hwang Eun San and an American businessman) onto one of the warships to America.  What I am confused is that the warships returned via the Atlantic route as the little boy spotted an unfinished Brooklyn bridge (started 1869).  That's a looong way home through many continents.  Interesting since the naval commander did mention that they would like to turn their attention to the Pacific expedition so I thought it would be the Pacific route?  So is this the first error by the scriptwriter, maybe someone can confirm or dispute this?

 

Man: For goodness sake. I got so scared that I spoke Joseon language! Why are you following me? 

CEJ: I have nowhere to go

Man: What?

CEJ: Please take me in, sir.

Man: Hey, boy. My friends are in America.  My hands are already full.You wanted to come to America.  This is America. I helped you.

CEJ: I'll beg of you sir.  I'll do whatever you ask.  I'll eat less and work harder. I only ask for a place to stay.

Man: Joseon people are scary. I give you an inch and now you want to take a mile?

CEJ: You said God is everywhere sir.  You said he hears everything.  Is he not here?

Man: Wow, you are really a smooth talker. Fine.  Story of my life...I'll help you once in a while. I can't keep taking care of you.

CEJ: Yes sir.

Man: You teach me Joseon language and I will go back to Joseon in 3 yrs.

CEJ: Yes sir.

Man: What's your name?

CEJ: Choi Yu-jin sir.

Man: Yu-jin. Eugeneus.

CEJ:  Sorry?

Man: You have a great name.  We have that name here too. Eugene.  The great and noble.

 

Credit: Netflix

===

 

This clip highlights the misunderstandings and betrayal at the start of the conflict between the US and Joseon, this one person.  After US has taken prisoners and the forts, Joseon and the naval fleet met.  The conversation was translated half heartedly, incorrectly more like it.  There was clear resentment by the translator from him being disrespected by the Joseon court member.  At the end, he shifted his allegiance like the wind to one most beneficial and seemed not to be loyal to his own country (not sure if the drama also wanted to shift the fault to the Joseon government in this case for their hubris and mistreatment of their people). Toward the end, he considered joining the Japan force which means we will get to see his face again.

 

From this one instance, a rebel is born as soldiers realize their government has abandoned and discounted their valiant effort. The Americans were more respected of their fight and abided by the code of battles.

 

 

 

After the English parts... I think the translator is Lee Wan Ik according to chart?

Man: You fool.  Why aren't you translating? What did the man just said?

LWI: We wanted to civilize the Joseon savages.  If they are not interested, leave it" is what he said.

Man:  You insolent fool.  How dare you speak such foul language! You are just a mere translator.

 

... 

 

Prisoner:  Hey.  What will happen to us? Have you heard from the Joseon court?

LWI: Why do you think we didn't?  Whether you live or die is up to the foreigners. Joseon has abandoned you.

Prisoner: That can't be. You're lying.  No country would turn against its people.  

LWI: What are you talking about?  You are so ignorant and that's why you risk your lives fighting.  What did your country do for you? Aren't I right?

(looking at Seung -Gu) You son of a richard simmons.  I will kill you myself.  You just wait. 

Prisoner: You piece of richard simmons. Aren't you Korean?

LWI: If you want to be one so much, then be my guest.

 

... (dialogues in English) then switch to LWI

 

LWI: Righteous? What a load of crap.  So you killed over 300 people because you are righteous.  In this case, should I turn to Japan?


Credit: Netflix

 

 

 

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  • Go Seung Ji changed the title to [Current Drama 2018] Mr. Sunshine 미스터 션샤인 - Sat & Sun @ 21:00 KST
43 minutes ago, bedifferent said:

What I am confused is that the warships returned via the Atlantic route as the little boy spotted an unfinished Brooklyn bridge (started 1869).  That's a looong way home through many continents.  Interesting since the naval commander did mention that they would like to turn their attention to the Pacific expedition so I thought it would be the Pacific route?  So is this the first error by the scriptwriter, maybe someone can confirm or dispute this?

I was also a bit confused by this. My first thought was, 'Is that San Francisco?' because it seemed so unlikly that it would be New York City. That would be a seriously long way around the world. But the Brooklyn Bridge was being built so I guess it was New York City? 

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31 minutes ago, V said:

I was also a bit confused by this. My first thought was, 'Is that San Francisco?' because it seemed so unlikly that it would be New York City. That would be a seriously long way around the world. But the Brooklyn Bridge was being built so I guess it was New York City? 

 

Yes.  The battle was in 1871 and Brookyn Bridge 1869-1883.  The music box is frim NY Music Box Store. There were also shots of Manhattan island and the Ohiopyle Old Mill general store in the East Coast.

 

@jongski June 1871.

 

Edit:  Ok I answered my own question.  It was probably the Asiatic Squadron and Rear Admiral John Rodgers that were involved in the Gwangha straight battles - whom we see in the drama.  The 5 USS warships have ports in Boston or was just circling in China sea so it does make sense that the characters ended going to New York after a couple transfers from one warship  to another commercial vessel.  The businessman was trying to get pottery for the Rear Admiral.

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19 minutes ago, JG NM said:

Hey guys, just want to clarify,

 

On 54:22, did young Eugene actually said, "The right of becoming an american?"

 

I believe he said, "the way to become american". It's because he saw a man with african american race who became a soldier. He needs a way to protect himself as well as to lead a dignified life without being a lower-class person in society.

 

----

I watched the full show via Netflix, resumed my inactive account just to watch Mr. Sunshine. I'm a huge fan of Goblin and of Kim Eun-Sook the writer. 

Spoiler

Visually it was a beautiful, movie-like production. Storyline and plot is very substantial and 'full'. I was impressed by how they recreated USA during the era of the plot. 

 

Actors were excellent and well-casted, from the Joseon era to the English-speaking westerners. All were pretty good and not awkward. I was especially looking forward to Byun Yo-han, I watched Misaeng 2014 and he was unforgettable.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of Lee Byung-hun. I appreciate his excellent command of English. I think I'll enjoy his performance overall, while not being fangirly or charmed by him.

 

I hope there will be an element of unforgettable romance, but it seems to be more of a historical / gripping plot type of drama and not a Goblin-fantasy-let's-fall-in-love type drama. I read that there will be 24 eps, so there will be a lot to catch. And a lot of posting to be done here in this forum! 

 

Some parts of the war scenes also made me feel like the writer / project is trying to sell me Korean nationalism sentiment while portraying Japan as the 'enemy state'... while being neutral to USA (who also did attack Korea). 

 

I'm keen to see how the character of main lead LBH will change throughout the drama. 

 

All in all, I'm in it for the long haul! Seems like I'll say goodbye to a few bucks each month to Netflix just to watch this. 

 

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@122am I'm watching this from a neural standpoint but I do get what you are saying about how this drama is pretty neutral toward the Americans.  Not sure if this is the true opinions of the SK public, more or so the drama and scriptwriter's.  I guess naver feedbacks and ratings will tell us soon whether this viewpoint is favorable by the viewers.

 

The murky water of who is at fault for the General Sherman incident even before 1871 Gwangha incident is the main reason why young King Gongjo was influenced by his minister's view that the Americans were at fault for the burning of merchant vessel in 1866.  The US General Sherman's crew sailed up the Taedong River (which runs into Pyongyang)in attempt to establish trade with Joseon despite not getting welcomed.  The ship caught ashore and was set on fire, killing all aboard.  The US Asiatic Squadron was formed afterward, one of its missions is to resolve General Sherman's incident and once again, reach out and try to establish diplomacy/relationship with an isolated Joseon. It's a complex chain of events that eventually forces Joseon into opening its door.  

 

To get the timelines straight: this is so elementary so I apologize ahead of time for any mistake or offensive writing.

 

1866: General Sherman incident

1871: Gwangha incident (US vs Joseon), US retreated after the incident (where 9 year old Choi Yu-jin sneaked on board and came to NY)

1875: Japan's Un'yo ship (we see this mentioned in the drama) was dispatched leading to another Gwangha incident (Japan vs Joseon).  Japan forced the unfair 1876 Gwangha treaty, opened Joseon to Japan trade and imperialism.  Rebel forces formed in Joseon as the result (Kim Ji-won and Jin Goo  cameo as GAS's parents).  Go Ae Shin was born a few years after, prolly 1877, brought back to her grandfather after their deaths.

1894:  Joseon abolished slavery (Gabo reform), in this drama influenced by Japanese occupation.  In real life, it's debatable and could be more due the Peasant Revolution.  

 

From that timeline, Eugene Choi is 32 years old and Ae Shin is about 17 years old in 1894 when they meet.

 

BTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I really enjoyed the first episode and i'm looking forward to the rest! this is gonna feel like a 24 hour long movie, the acting was phenomenal (the kids were amazing) and the cinematography was beautiful! i have a feeling this will be very loved by international fans!

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@UnniSarah uhmmmm, did u watch? :D

 

 

Mr. Sunshine (Miseuteo Shunshain) Episode 1 Review

 

This Netflix Original series is sold as a melodrama/romance. Mr. Sunshine episode 1 is not impactful in a romantic sense, though, but instead conveys a narrative with depressing, sobering brutality to introduce the two entwined characters into the story.

 

It is probably useful to understand the general premise of the entire series, which is difficult to realise in the first episode. Mr. Sunshine tells the story of a young boy who was born into a house servant’s family and travels to the U.S during the 1871 Shinmiyangyo (U.S. expedition to Korea). He later returns to his homeland as a U.S Marine Officer and falls in love with an aristocrat’s daughter. That young boy is Choi Yoo-jin, who markets himself as Eugene to help work within the cogs of the U.S. Eugene clearly evolves as an “American” and I hope Mr. Sunshine shows that intriguing character arc as the series progresses.

 

The first episode opens up with a series of exposition to demonstrate the lead character’s ultimate journey. I was taken back slightly by the ruthlessness of the story that bore some resemblance to the movie Silence, with scenarios playing out in slave camps, with leaders giving zero mercy to those who oppose them. Mr. Sunshine is a show that clearly wants to give the viewer a sense of reality for these characters, in a world that is very much fragmented, with characters blindly doing what they think is right. The first episode of this Netflix Original spends much of its budget playing out battle scenes, during the Shinmiyangyo, with the people of Joseon standing firm against the U.S. Incursion. It was a damning sight to see many people fight against the U.S despite the narration articulating the hopelessness of it all. Mr. Sunshine clearly shows a government unwilling to negotiate a diplomatic resolution, leading to the death of many of their own loyal people.

 

As the episode progresses, with Eugene clearly evolving as a character, with many supporting storylines playing out a key moment in history, it has to be said that the pilot is an incredible piece of technical work. I was not expecting to be bowled over by such great landscape shots, whilst the characters unfold a despairing story. As the episode draws to an end you see glimpses of Eugene as a complete version of himself and the Aristocrat’s daughter living in a new Joseon. It is an easy assumption that Mr. Sunshine will offer a tale of love and politics, with Eugene discovering a plot by foreign forces to colonize Korea so it will be interesting how this pans out, and if it will ultimately jeopardise his newfound romance.

 

My only criticism of Mr. Sunshine episode 1 is its choppy exposition. The episode is over an hour long and it spends much of its time slicing many different stories together and ends on a jaded ending merging with the credits. However, with its technical brilliance and a hard-hitting storyline coupled with violence, romance and drama, we could be in for a ride.

 

Source:  Ready Steady Cut

 

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Gosh I feel so conflicted. I love her dramas and this seems good so far but why him??? He's the complete opposite of what her males leads are supposed to be. How do I get emotionally invested in a romance in which he is the lead and the female lead is 20 years younger? It just feels so wrong. I just hope she gives us a great story line with less focus on what would be (for me at least) a nauseating romance. It was great to see Kim Ji Won and Jin Goo. 

 

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13 hours ago, bedifferent said:

I wiki'ed the background to the US Korean expedition Shinmiyangyo for comparison and to further understanding of the drama background.  Found it is fairly accurate in trying to grasp the event leading to the battles of Ganghwa fort.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_expedition_to_Korea

 

Some of the drama scenes are eerily similar to historical photographs.  Was curious to see the Korean perspective on the incident.  This drama is very close to the historical take of the West.  It depicts the chain of events leading to the conflict as a Joseon court flawed with limited knowledge of the US,  saddled with limited communication via language barrier (this drama pointed a finger to one translator, not sure if he is a historical figure or just a representation) lead a diplomatic objective to a deadly one. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Ganghwa_3-edit.jpg

 

lossy-page1-1920px-Interior_of_Fort_McKe

600px-Sujagi.jpg

Source: wiki

 

well you shouldn't read wiki as a source for history, especially Korean or Asian history

 

the idea the massacre being the unfortunate result of " a Joseon court flawed with limited knowledge" of the US" is like supposing Native Americans were *unfortunately genocided" because of "limited knowledge" of American property rights and American need for more land.

 

the Koreans were defending their natural sovereignty according to a long understood policy of not permitting foreign ships (particularly warships) from violating their waterways (which in today's context would be a dire national security crisis corresponding to losing control of a combination of national roads, energy pipelines and internet infrastructure to an intruding foreign power), which the Americans would have anticipated as they had Chinese fortune hunters onboard as well as natives who understood what the Korean reaction to this deep violation would be.

 

they just ignored native sovereignty, with the readiness to "defend themselves" while they were engaging in deeply provocative actions, as a pretext to forcing conflict and then concessions.  This is what the British did in China to force the Opium Wars and Unequal Treaties and the US was following suit.  not only in Korea but Japan, Philippines, Central America etc

 

history from this period was deeply revisionistic in the US.  I mean until probably 20 years ago, the US refused to acknowledge even the real nature of American "settling of the West" at the cost of millions of Indian lives and hundreds of thousands of Chinese coolie lives laying railroads and dying in mines.  just the fact that this incident was chalked up to "misunderstanding" shows how little justification that the American military themselves felt they had for their actions.  in the Spanish American war for example and many manufactured conflicts of this period US historians and politicians roundly blamed other countries for conflict that we precipitated.. for example Hearst basically started one war to sell newspapers.  if there was even a sliver of any kind of complicity the Koreans had... other than just defending themselves in an impossible situation where you were damned if you did or damned if you didn't, the narrative would have fixated on that.

 

for context, the US at this period was finishing up the Taming of the West in the mid 1800s especially with the laying of the transcontinental railroad (previously we had to take a months long journey around the tip of South America from the American East Coast to get to San Francisco.  American Manifest Destiny was looking towards East Asia, as it was seen as more profitable than the poor Latin Americans the Americans had traditionally had their eyes on.

 

the Europeans were deeply in the middle of Scramble For Africa, which the US was too small and late to participate and the Victorian British Empire was at its zenith, controlling vast wealth from India and East Asia was seen as the only real frontier for profit

 

as it turns out, the Koreans did not have gold, as the Chinese mercenaries had promised, and Korea was too poor and too far to exploit (even poorer than the Central American states much nearer to us)  so shortly after Shinmiyangyo the US focused its attentions entirely back on Japan and forgot about the Koreans.  this is similar to after the Korean War when the US bombed 98% of the country into the stone age and then left and forgot about Korea while kids were walking around Seoul in the 60s barefoot and the 80% of the Korean population had worms and went hungry.

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Just watched Mr. Sunshine Episode on netflix, had no idea it was going to be subbed and on air this fast :)- I'm used to waiting a week+ on Netflix. 

 

The cinematography is amazing. Episode 1 was pretty much the origin stories of the main cast members, there was this one time where I was thinking ... ''Wait is this Eugene's younger version or is this someone else?''. Also maybe because I'm spoilt from listening to Korean OSTs, I was actually waiting to hear a Korean track throughout the drama - so it wasn't until the end that I was able to hear an amazing song. I find that whenever there's an exclusive Netflix deal, there's less Korean ost. Or maybe there's less ost these days in Korean dramas? 

 

Usually I cringe when there's English lines by Korean actors, but cheers to Lee byung Hun for not just speaking it fluently but naturally as well. This time I cringed for the western actors because they were so wooden :S Aside from all that nitpicking, it was a good watch. My only concern is whether I will feel chemistry towards the main characters, because I somewhat feel sad for Byun Yo Han's character already with his flowers :(

 

 

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