[Drama 2018] My Mister, 나의 아저씨 - Best Drama at 2019 (55th) BaekSang Arts Awards

[akhenaten]

Why do I like Park Dong Hoon?  Because he's so unassuming and shy and humble that he doesn't seem to be aware of his own attractiveness and charm.  He finds it weird that a young woman like Ji An would be interested,  really interested,  in him. At the same time,  he finds it strange that the Board and the Chairman see his worth and Joon Young sees him as a threat. Makes me wonder if he married Kang Yoon Hee and decided to do his best to love her because he was so grateful that she wanted him at all. This man is like is not aware of his own worth and in a way, therein lies his charm. 

[widala]

6 hours ago, akhenaten said:

Why do I like Park Dong Hoon?  Because he's so unassuming and shy and humble that he doesn't seem to be aware of his own attractiveness and charm.  He finds it weird that a young woman like Ji An would be interested,  really interested,  in him. At the same time,  he finds it strange that the Board and the Chairman see his worth and Joon Young sees him as a threat. Makes me wonder if he married Kang Yoon Hee and decided to do his best to love her because he was so grateful that she wanted him at all. This man is like is not aware of his own worth and in a way, therein lies his charm. 

 

Makes me remember what Choi Yoo Ra said to Lee Ji An when they first met, that LJA is the type of person who is pretty but doesn't know it.

And LJA was stunned when DJY said that if PDH eats and drinks with someone, it means he likes them ("what kind of crazy man would like a woman like me?")

 

It's a part of their journey to find their own sense of self worth...

 

[oldschooler]

On 8/15/2018 at 1:14 AM, t123han said:

  Here is small exercise for you guys. Put your headphone and don’t watch the video just listen. The few words he speaks in the beginning... his voice.. oh god... when you don’t watch the video and just close ur eyes and listen to voice you realise the beauty of it. It’s so deep and kinda of touches deep in your heart. 

This guy should do voiceover to those guided meditation videos. I think I can go into trance just by listening to his voice.

It's just so good, @h2ogirl, I think I can do the whole drama just listening the to sound and not looking at the pictures

 

On 8/14/2018 at 5:33 AM, ann04 said:

Three months on and I still haven’t moved on   but Ive definitely slowly eased into other dramas now. It’s just that MA will always have that special place 

Thanks, I have not moved on too @ann04. I tried watching non-korean non-drama, like the movie Beirut. Even that reminded me of something familiar (1) despairing ahjusshi who drinks (2) spy who went rogue 

On 8/15/2018 at 6:59 PM, emmafaye said:

Since this fabulous show ended, i have been reading almost all the comments in this thread. Yes, the 290 pages!!!!!! 

But is has been a pleasure, so much, I feel like I know some of you guys from how your minds were changing or simply expressing yourself throughout the airing of My Ajusshi. From @sadiesmith  to @justamom, @tiger457_stv the Engineer, @africandramalover, @wotad, @noor1, @arctichare, @snowdragon, @akhenaten, @joseph lim, @mylovelystar, @timidjock0819, @chickfactor, @aisling, @ccl82, @philosophie, and some others i don´t remember right now. Shippers and non-shippers, or less shippers… Those in the Delulu Island... You guys rock! To all of you, Thank you! 

Hi @emmafaye, I felt like I went through the same journey reading through posts in this forum from the beginning, I was luckier because it ended around 260 pages at that time. All the angst, all the insights! All the delulu comments too! It made me feel the drama viewing was a more complete experience. And yes! they deserve each other so much.

 

@noklek Why do I like PDH? Because I'm a woman 

[ann04]

Hello everyone. Just saw some people on twitter linking back to the fansite. One called it a “gold mine” and that’s so true. Imagine just stumbling upon analysis after analysis about the drama and soo many more insights, I would have felt so overwhelmed and mind blowned. I feel so lucky for them, everything collated in one organised site to be devoured. Like an extension of the drama. So again, well done to everyone who helped/helping with the fansite and thanks for your work, it looks amazing  

22 hours ago, oldschooler said:

tried watching non-korean non-drama, like the movie Beirut. Even that reminded me of something familiar (1) despairing ahjusshi who drinks (2) spy who went rogue

Tell me about it there’s so many scenes I see from other dramas and when they come up, I automatically think of those ones in MA. What is this. 

 

On 8/18/2018 at 10:06 PM, sadiesmith said:

wish someone would do a character analysis on Do Joon Young.  He is a pathetic jerk, but that doesn't mean he is not funny.  He is amusingly pitiful and very entertaining.

Yes he is. And also everything that comes out of his mouth, esp. about women liking DH and about DH himself, sounds so matter of fact. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t like him and yet he says these things about DH’s way of showing he likes someone. He’d eat/drink with that person. We saw how many times he had refused the chairman. His confusion about why women likes DH and the way the women in his life acts in regards to him. He knows so much about DH despite not liking him. He’s like the third person in the drama, he’s removed from the attachment of everyone else so he sees it for what it is. Jian liking DH. This was one of the areas of ambiguity. We know she likes him as a person but does it mean she likes him as a man also? After a few meetings with Jian, JY would always stare at her in a knowing, suspicious way. There was one instance where he said Jian was getting talkative. He was staring at her with that knowledge in his head that this woman was there for something other than what they agreed on. 

 

 That makes his statements in that regard reliable. He hits him where it hurts Because he knows where DH will hurt: YH, his senior position despite DH’s seniority over him and ofcourse, through Jian. Throughout the drama, we’ve been given hints at how much JY and DH knew about each other. The writer/pd was so clever to put him not only as the bad one but also someone to fill in more gaps about who DH is. 

Edited August 21, 2018 by Jillia
Please do not post consecutively, edit you previous post instead. Thanks! :)

[oldschooler]

Thanks @sadiesmith for your open invitation to write on our favourite locations. Here is another attempt.

 

The countryside in My Mister

“In the mountains there you feel free” ~ T. S. Eliot, The Wasteland

 

@rellea translated a post in DC Inside, which pointed out that PDH’s bag symbolises the weight of life that he carries. I think one place where he consistently does not hold on to his bag is in the countryside.

 

The countryside in My Mister is a place to which our characters escape to find peace and rest, and the insights they glean during their excursions often constitute a turning point in the characters’ development. In contrast to the city wasteland, with its crammed alleys and the neutral tones of office cubicles and subway stations, the countryside is replete with life and lush colours and wide open spaces. These qualities allow our characters to see clearly the most important facts of their lives for the first time, and to gather strength to act on these insights.

 

Yumyeong Mountain (Gyeonggi-do Gapyeong)

 

 

Yumyeongsan first appears as one of Joon Young and Yoon Hee’s getaways. We later realise that this setting is the place where the irrevocable deaths of both Yoon Hee’s marriage and affair would happen. When DH found out that YH has cheated on him with JY at the campsite, he goes there to confront JY, perhaps for the first time, setting clear expectations on what JY must do to end the affair. His visit to the campsite is a death blow to his marriage, because he lands on the very spot where YH and JY could be making love, in the tent. 

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

He also confirmed with JY that YH has known all along the plan to sack him and yet did nothing. From then on, he will stay with YH, but only as the corpse she has made him. As karma, it is at this campsite also where YH confirms JY has been lying to her.

 

Jeongsusa Temple

 

Spoiler

 

PDH’s mother first visits the temple to calm her fears and heartbreak about her sons. PDH also runs to the temple for respite from too much pain from discovering that YH knows he knows about her affair with JY. Because this means their marriage façade will be too difficult to maintain. @africandramalover wrote beautifully about the significance of the song El Condor Pasa which accompanies him there.

Spoiler

Spoiler

He bumps into Sang Won stranded by the roadside from a flat tyre, and gladly throws his bag onto the truck before helping SW to change the tyre. Later, at the temple, SW tells DH off about sacrificing his own happiness for others when he would not allow his own son to do the same. DH needs to recognise his needs and be more shameless in fulfilling them (cf. @justamom). Finally, SW comforts DH with a “not a big deal” hug. As a result of this visit, DH feels sufficiently freed to punch JY for the affair, quarrel with JA about taking away his slippers, and break down completely in front of his wife.

 

Ironically, the sage-like Sang Won could not find peace in this temple 20 years on after his abrupt flight from Hugye. He is stranded like his truck. He only inhabits this temple physically, because like every good Asian son and boyfriend, his soul is still tied to Hugye in a suffocating cycle of blame and guilt. His left-behind never-to-be bride, Jung Hee, likewise mourns for 20 years and hopes to guilt trip him back to her side. Finally, she follows after Omma and DH’s footsteps to meet SW at the temple. Seeing that she is here, SW delivers a lecture on widening our circle of love instead of holding on bitterly to something we cannot attain. It is a lecture not unlike that of Dag Hammarskjöld’s writings on his singlehood, characterised by “longing, like carnal desire, but directed toward earth, water, sky, and returned by the whispers of the trees, the fragrance of the soil, the caresses of the wind, the embrace of water and light.” But JH misses the message, thinking that baby mountain kids are worth more than she is. Perhaps SW is not very convincing, because he is as bound as JH is to each other. 

Spoiler

Rattled by her visit, he meditates in his cell for a few days, during which I believe he finally understands he cannot achieve peace unless he resolves what he has been leaving hanging on his conscience. So, instead of hiding in the monastery, he goes back to Jung Hee on a clear sunny day to find a resolution, bringing yellow flowers that symbolise friendship and happiness (https://www.rd.com/advice/relationships/6-rose-colors-and-their-meanings/) 

Spoiler

I wonder what allows Jung Hee to move on after the visit? I think it’s because she realises that he does love her enough to suffer from this much guilt.The fact that she is loved and does matter reverses Jung Hee’s suspicion that she is not worth much and therefore should not live properly. And her forgiveness frees our monk to finally find the peace that he has been seeking for the past 20 years. His visit symbolically closes the gap between the temple (sacred, solitary, free) and Hugye (down-to-earth, secular, strong kinship ties). Instead of obtaining peace by running away from real life and hiding in some monastery, he embodies the peace that he has been seeking, and may now become a real sage who brings peace to everyone wherever he goes.

Spoiler

 

Grandma’s nursing home (somewhere over the rainbow?)

Spoiler

The elderly living facility to which grandma shifts is also in the countryside. After they move in, grandma thanks DH for taking care of JA. Depending on your point of view (and as was pointed out by a fellow poster), this could also be seen as a symbolic gesture of passing the baton of taking care of JA to DH.

Spoiler

JA gains a few insights here. On an unknown road between the facility and the bus stop, DH tells JA that her past is not a big deal if she stops harping on it. In essence, he is telling her that she should let go of her guilt (my own words) and live up to her name, reaching comfort/peace (an/安/안).

Spoiler

Before her death, JA and DH visit grandma at the nursing home for the last time. With falling blossoms in the background, Grandma tells JA about the widening circle of love.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Her relationship with DH is undoubtedly very precious. So is every relationship she develops – with the brothers, the neighbourhood ajusshis, with Jung Hee and Yu Ra. So, please live in gratitude by living well.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

The failure to grasp that love can be widely shared in community, as much as it can be deeply felt towards a certain person, is something which causes Yoon Hee a lot of bitterness. But for DH and JA, they are able to live well because they have learned their lessons in the countryside well – (*edit) for DH to love himself more, and for JA, to let her original love ripple out to embrace the rest of the world.

Edited August 22, 2018 by oldschooler
Sorry, I thought this is a more faithful description of what they learnt in the countryside, rather than disinterested love, because JA and DH's loves were unselfish to begin with.

[widala]

Kim Young Min new drama :

 

Lee Ji Ah new drama :

Seems interesting, she'll be playing a mysterious lady...

 

Park Ho San new drama :

Remake of BBC tv series Luther (Idris Elba)

 

[chelleshawol]

Hello

How are you guys here? 

I'm flying to Korea next year and I am planning to visit the shooting sites of My Mister. Do you guys happen to know where they filmed? 

Thanks

[akhenaten]

I'm flying to Korea tomorrow but I'm not sure if they sell the OST in shops. Or the blu-ray DVD with englisj subtitles. 

[sadiesmith]

5 hours ago, chelleshawol said:

Hello

How are you guys here? 

I'm flying to Korea next year and I am planning to visit the shooting sites of My Mister. Do you guys happen to know where they filmed? 

Thanks

 

Hi @chelleshawol!  And @akhenaten, too, even though you didn't ask .  We have just the info you need here:

https://givemeslippers.wordpress.com/2018/08/06/my-mister-filming-locations/

 

Bookmark and check again later as we will update with Ji An's house and a few more locations.  How exciting for you to visit these places.  Would love to read your thoughts on them later.

[sadiesmith]

Someone from DC Inside shared these BTS pictures of LSK.  Could it be a crew member?

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

Edited August 29, 2018 by Jillia
Please put more than 3 pics/IGs in spoiler tags, thanks!

[widala]

1 hour ago, sadiesmith said:

Someone from DC Inside shared these BTS pictures of LSK.  Could it be a crew member?

 

Thanks for sharing!

Aww, he's so cute 

 

Seems like there's a lot of treasure in DC inside...

[t123han]

And just when I am trying to crawl my way out of MA rabbit hole, this comes up and I die !!!

 

let me just dive right back in and never see the light of day !! 

 

LSK looks so cute here !! Time to go read some adult MA fanfic !!!

 

I found more more gems from DC

http://m.dcinside.com/view.php?id=leesk&no=120598&page=1

 

 

 

 

 

[sadiesmith]

I know this is old news, but it was never posted here before.  Just something to remind us to lower our expectations of the show ever winning any awards.  

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

YOO BYUNG-JAE APOLOGIZES FOR COMPLIMENTING TVN’S DRAMA ‘MY MISTER’

http://kpoplove.koreadaily.com/yoo-byung-jae-apologizes-for-complimenting-tvns-drama-my-mister/

2018-04-11

1074  

 

On April 10, entertainer Yoo Byung-jae complimented tvN’s drama ‘My Mister’ on the official Yoo Byung-jae fan page. After many comments criticizing him for praising such a controversial drama, Yoo Byung-jae posted an apology.

 

On April 10, Yoo Byung-jae titled his post “Who is watching tvN’s ‘My Mister?'” and wrote his positive thoughts regarding the screenplay of the drama. In the post, he said, “how can someone make this good of a drama? I wish I could write a screenplay and lines like this. I’m excited for Wednesdays and Thursdays now.”

 

However, this post soon raised a huge argument among users of the website. Some mentioned the apparent violence and gender inequality in the drama and asked if Yoo Byung-jae was, in anyway, “trying to justify the problems in the drama.”

 

Yoo Byung-jae only made things worse when he said, “if I’m not allowed to say as little as this post, content creators will be restricted and lonely.”

On April 11, Yoo Byung-jae posted an apology regarding his previous post.

This was rather a surprising move on him, since he seemed like he wasn’t backing out the night before. In the official apology, he said, “I did not realize my simple taste in literature was a dangerous reality for some of you. I got to think about gender equality through this mistake and whether I’ve been unconsciously taking advantage of the power I didn’t know I had as a man. And maybe it allowed me to perceive the world with more ease than others.” He continued, “I thought I was doing well with trying to learn more things, but I realized I still lack so much. I won’t let you down again.”

Meanwhile, tvN’s ‘My Mister’ ran into a controversy when it aired an episode of Lee Ji-an (IU) getting physically abused by her loan shark, Gwang-il (Jang Ki-yong). This outraged many audience, who argued that this violence scene was unnecessary and aired without appropriate filtering.

 

Original Article
Translated by Dasol Kim

 

 

[ann04]

I just wanted to pop back in and say My Mister osts album is available on itunes!! I got so excited, all 33 songs/music are there

[Joseph Lim]

 

[h2ogirl]

Haaalp. I can't help but be reminded of MA in my everyday life. Was reading a TED article on "Lust vs Love", and all three examples reminded me of Park Dong Hoon:

 

Quote

The fourth sign is influence. When two people are in love, what one person does — or wants to do — influences the other person in meaningful and strong ways. For example, if you’re thinking about moving to another state because of your job, you’d go to the other person before you made a decision. Likewise, if something upsetting happens to you — a medical diagnosis, job loss, the death of a family member — you’d go to this person for support and assistance. Or, if something good happens to you — you got a promotion, you receive a surprise inheritance — you’d go to this person because you’d want them to share your good news and celebrate with you.

 

1. He was mad when she didn't consult him before deciding to move to Gangnam or Busan.

2. She is the only person he has a heart-to-heart with after he found about his wife's unfaithfulness.

3. He couldn't stop thinking about her before/during/after his promotion.

 

But sure yeah whatever, people-who-call-Ji-An-his-best-friend.

---

 

Btw where have our fanfic writers disappearred to? 

[widala]

8 hours ago, h2ogirl said:

Haaalp. I can't help but be reminded of MA in my everyday life. Was reading a TED article on "Lust vs Love", and all three examples reminded me of Park Dong Hoon:

 

 

1. He was mad when she didn't consult him before deciding to move to Gangnam or Busan.

2. She is the only person he has a heart-to-heart with after he found about his wife's unfaithfulness.

3. He couldn't stop thinking about her before/during/after his promotion.

 

But sure yeah whatever, people-who-call-Ji-An-his-best-friend.

---

 

Btw where have our fanfic writers disappearred to? 

 

Totally agree with you!

Especially point 3, Park Dong Hoon really knows how to get his priorities straight 

 

I think one of the reason Jung Hee exists in this drama, besides to tell her tragic love story, is to be somewhat a comparison.

Park Dong Hoon did have a female best friend, a comrade, someone he shared a painful history with (losing a precious person, the monk), someone he sometimes talk heart to heart to, someone he's close to since they're in their twenties...

But there was never longing looks across the bar... And the most telling, in my opinion, is PDH never shied away from JH physically (in an appropriate boundary, of course). Because being near JH physically doesn't affect him. Different from LJA.

You can argue that he's only being a gentleman, only trying to set the appropriate boundary and so on...

Yes, PDH was, is and always will be a gentleman. But, come on, who would blame him if he's accidentally brushed against LJA in a crowded train, it's not like he groped her or anything...

But, we all saw how he tried with all his might not to make contact with LJA in that famous train scene. And that was from earlier episode where they hardly form any kind of bond. Maybe subconsciously, PDH had felt that this young woman would destroy and deconstruct his perfect pretend world...

 

Sorry, babbling 

What I was trying to say is, PDH loves and cares about JH (platonically) but it was different kind of love and care that he feels for LJA (romantically, beyond their differences, soulmate etc etc)... 

Well, that's my take... 

[t123han]

9 hours ago, widala said:

 

Totally agree with you!

Especially point 3, Park Dong Hoon really knows how to get his priorities straight 

 

I think one of the reason Jung Hee exists in this drama, besides to tell her tragic love story, is to be somewhat a comparison.

Park Dong Hoon did have a female best friend, a comrade, someone he shared a painful history with (losing a precious person, the monk), someone he sometimes talk heart to heart to, someone he's close to since they're in their twenties...

 

 I too feel the same.  He is not afraid to even casually touch Jung Hee during those initial meeting when she was completely wasted. It shows that PDH is not allergic to female company !! He considers her his family hence is not uncomfortable around her like he gets around yoora. 

Coming to jian , that’s a totally different case. She is not just collegeue and not a family member going by the heart wrenching looks he gives her everytime he looks at her.

 

between is this yours ??

https://widala09.wordpress.com/

 

i stumbled  upon it today

[akhenaten]

Boo-hoo!  It's my last night in Korea and I haven't even spotted a place where I can possibly buy the OST. 

[sadiesmith]

5 hours ago, t123han said:

 I too feel the same.  He is not afraid to even casually touch Jung Hee during those initial meeting when she was completely wasted. It shows that PDH is not allergic to female company !! He considers her his family hence is not uncomfortable around her like he gets around yoora. 

Coming to jian , that’s a totally different case. She is not just collegeue and not a family member going by the heart wrenching looks he gives her everytime he looks at her.

 

between is this yours ??

https://widala09.wordpress.com/

 

i stumbled  upon it today

 

Actually, in the first two episodes he does not seem to be afraid to touch her.  First it is at the office when he is being dragged away and second when he is trying to get her to step out of the subway so they could talk.  At this time she is just a temp worker whom he suspects has stolen his bribe money.  It wasn't until after he first thanks her that he begins to put a distance between them.