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

[TJ Starcandy]

6 hours ago, popai5 said:

Yes, he will still walk and take the train and let his employees drive him around but...

When he does drive, he is driving with JA as his passenger. He is showing that not only is he taking responsibility for his own life and future, he is also deciding to take responsibility for JA.

 

Great point. The only time we saw DH drive was when Jian visited her grandma the last time. Jian's circle (Sage, Ommoni, and Ki Bum) treats DH as someone responsible for her.  It was something automatic for them and yet understated. I agree that somehow DH was depressed and suicidal during the earlier episodes until he found someone worth living for.. The multiple lines about  "she makes me breathe" really strikes a cord about his state of mind and how close he is falling into the edge. It was discussed in the back pages that it was Jian's fire and determination to fight even when life gave her a hard bargain that attracted DH from the beginning. She brought so much fire into him that the poor guy was so lost when she left during episode 16.

 

Another not so popular opinion:  DH was so unhappy despite having a good family, wife, stable job, and a son. In reality, none of these things matter if a person does not live for himself and sacrificed individuality and happiness throughout his life.  Sooner or later, it will take a toll. 

 

4 hours ago, justamom said:

must admit, I didn't see this coming. Yoon Hee's reaction is very subtle. But when Dong Hoon comes home after running after Ji An all night, you can see it in her face when she asks. "Where have you been? With who?" Dong Hoon's relationship with Ji An is a part of him she can never access. That she tried for 20 years to access, but failed.

 

Before that, in the car after meeting DJY. She calls Ji An. "Do you really like Dong Hoon?" "Yeah." She breaks down and cries. How could this girl have seen the same thing I saw, but ended up falling in love, while I betrayed him

 

I mentioned somewhere earlier that on this rewatch I began to realise Yoon Hee really loved Dong Hoon. But his inability to love her back in a way that she understood, made her feel rejected. Her love became a sort of hate. Vindictive enough to take him down. 

 

Realising how much she failed Dong Hoon, she realised that in the least, she would prove her loyalty as a wife. And that includes "befriending" Ji An. I can help you, she says. I will help you. It's her attempt to redeem herself.

 

Yes the YH subtle jealousy was all over that scene. The look on her face was priceless. DH was always possessive about his relationship with Jian. Their world together was impenetrable.  He does not share anything about her except in desperate situations like when he couldn't find her (allowing YH to talk in the cellphone) or desperately avoiding temptation & breaking his marital vows by letting Jung Hee take Jian for she needs a safe place away from him. I guess once you found something or someone so precious then the sense of protectiveness towards that person is understandable. It was also not one sided. Jian being that petite small frame violently threatened everyone not to mess and stay the effing away from DH. They are just both fools for each other. 

[sadiesmith]

sorry, messed up

[sadiesmith]

On 6/19/2018 at 11:06 PM, africandramalover said:

I've been on a healing mission of my own, trying to get over this drama, seeing how heavily it weighed on my spirit. I'm glad to report... I have been successful! A rewatch of Woman of Dignity (another brilliant and hilarious drama) has set me right.

 

This drama is like a well written thesis, with each idea leading to the next, and the next. It's like a mathematical puzzle that I should deconstruct because every scene, from every character, adds up to the whole equation. It is as simple and as complex as E=MC2.

 

The episode is around 1h18min, but I think I took two hours watching it because it has so many other little things I noticed second time round. I'll write more after I finish my job application....

 

 

@africandramalover, I find it fascinating that only after you felt to have been healed from this drama's crushing weight on your spirit that you could write and share your insights again.  Is this correct?  Best of luck on your job search, and I am waiting eagerly to read your other findings should you choose to share them after you finish.

 

On 6/19/2018 at 11:57 PM, justamom said:

I've been doing some work on characterisation and it just shocks me how each and every one of My Ahjussi's characters is so real and complete. As I read through this book, I kept thinking of Park Dong Hoon. Park Hae Young really has nailed characterisation down to a T. So, here it is, for fun, and for all the budding writers out there.

 

How to create a compelling character

1. The character needs or wants something

Dong Hoon needs to learn to set his heart free. To be gentle to himself. Contradiction: he wants his stable home and family, but that's what at the start of the show is trapping his heart.

2. The character is having difficulty getting what he needs/wants, and comes up with a plan to overcome that

Dong Hoon discovers Yoon Hee's affair. His plan is to force Do Joon Yeon to break up with her and never ever let Yoon Hee know that he knew, so that they can continue with their marriage.

3. He exhibits a contradiction

Despite his quite, reserved, restrained exterior, Dong Hoon has hidden violent tendencies. He is not quite who we think he is, or who his brothers think he is.

4. Something unexpected happens that renders him vulnerable

He meets Ji An, who seems to see right through him, forcing him to reflect on his pathetic life. She also upends his life through the bribery attempt and the kiss.

Ji An reveals that Dong Hoon knows about the affair to Yoon Hee, exposing his attempts to cover up everything, exposing the truth of their marriage.

5. The unexpected suggests there is more to him than meets the eye: a secret.

While his marriage and family unravels, Dong Hoon falls deeply and irrevocably in love with Ji An

 

I just thought it was amazing how the show hit the mark for almost each and every character -- and managed to resolve almost each and everyone of their contradictions and conflicts. 

 

What else can I say except this show is amazing.

 

 

@justamom, I love this sooo much.  You should post this on the fan site and wouldn't it be fun to challenge readers there (and here) to do a similar analysis on a different character?  Another thing I notice is that lately discussions, analyses, deconstructions have mostly focused on Park Dong Hoon and not so much on LJA.  This can't be because we are mostly female here.  Do we think his character is a lot more complex and layered?

 

17 hours ago, akhenaten said:

But honestly, the rewatching that we're doing right now really allows us to rediscover this drama and find all the hidden gems that the writer and director put in it. Perhaps there are even things that they aren't aware of,  some things they may have unconsciously placed or may not have been there when they initially wrote it but came out because of the way the actors decided to play their characters and the scenes.   And we get to discover them. 

 

Yes, rewatching is so rewarding now because we know to look for traffic signs, toilet signs, parallel scenes, shy smiles, etc. and understand that nothing is there by random chance.  I daresay recently shared insights have gone even deeper than everyone's thoughts after the initial airing of episodes.  And you are totally right that certain scenes have come out better than the writer/PD envisioned because of the way the actors portrayed them.  Didn't Kim Won Seuk praise IU saying that her interpretation of the character completely surpassed his own?

 

On 6/13/2018 at 10:14 AM, justamom said:

- After the climax. Dong Hoon. Quick, shallow breaths. The weight of what he has done. His energy spent. He buckles to the ground. In the background, Christmas lights. Ji An's face as she hears him breathing is softer than we've seen the whole show-->>this is the effect Dong Hoon's actions have had on her

 

- The denouement starts: Jeong Hee is back! This is  the first time we meet Jeong Hee. When we heard of Thailand, how many of us thought of shady things? Maybe she was involved with ..? (later we hear about her and Gyeon Deok, and understand the connection). Some of us even thought then that perhaps she was a love rival.

 

- Dong Hoon smiles as he enters -- one of the first times we've seen him smile so widely. But when he sits down, alone, the smile fades. We realise the smile is only for his brothers. He goes to see Jeong Hee - they share an intimacy which he hasn't shown with anyone else yet, something even closer than with his wife. They are initimate --- but she isn't the one who has his heart.

 

- The one who has his heart, as he later reveals while talking to Ki Hoon, is "the one who knows me."

 

 

I thought they were traffic lights. They changed from red to green.  I started to wonder if the traffic lights represent DH's emotions.  Red is when he feels choked, weighted, heavy breathing, about to die.  Green is the opposite.  He feels better after the hammer confrontation, thus the change from red to green.

 

Also, moments after he sits down after the big smile to his brothers, like you said, the smile fades.  He looks very sad, starts to walk toward the back of the bar, but sees Jung Hee and decides to go to her.  I think he intends to go to the washroom, and now we know that is the place he goes to cry/talk himself out crying.  

[Kimchi Sweet Potato]

On 6/20/2018 at 2:15 AM, sadiesmith said:

Is anyone here interested in helping us build the My Ahjussi fan site? It's coming along nicely, but we could use one or two more hands.  https://givemeslippers.wordpress.com/

Wow! That is fandom at a different level. The site looks great btw.

 

 

[mylovelystar]

 

Jang Ki-yong (Kwang-il in My Mister) put on the spot...

 

 

[justamom]

6 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

 

@justamom, I love this sooo much.  You should post this on the fan site and wouldn't it be fun to challenge readers there (and here) to do a similar analysis on a different character?  Another thing I notice is that lately discussions, analyses, deconstructions have mostly focused on Park Dong Hoon and not so much on LJA.  This can't be because we are mostly female here.  Do we think his character is a lot more complex and layered?

 

 

I think it's because he says so little, everything has to be inferred. He's one of the most taciturn, indirect characters I can remember in K drama history.

 

Ji An is a lot more direct. She is refreshingly honest with him.

 

Thanks for all your interesting responses to my driving question!

 

I was curious because to be honest, most Korean dramas have the male lead at the wheel of the car. So I think it was a very conscious decision to have Dong Hoon not drive. My view is similar to @popai5, that not having him drive was the writer's way of showing he isn't in control. 

 

Sitting in the back seat...that's an interesting one. I think it was a sign of the distance that Dong Hoon wanted to keep between them. 

 

@akhenaten waiting to hear back from your rewatch!

 

@mylovelystar thanks for always sharing all these lovely tidbits! I have a secret crush on Jang Ki Yong. And Jin Ki Joo is just gorgeous. I want to watch Come Hug Me just to see these two on screen!

[sadiesmith]

5 hours ago, Kimchi Sweet Potato said:

Wow! That is fandom at a different level. The site looks great btw.

 

 

@Kimchi Sweet Potato, nice to see you drop by.  I've been thinking about how to feature your many FMVs on the fan page.  Any good idea other than to list them all chronologically?  Feel free to share via PM.

[h2ogirl]

20 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

On 6/20/2018 at 6:57 PM, riazni said:

I noted that the scene of her looking at his ‘driving profile’, is actually given a reciprocated scene with DH looking at ‘running profile of JA’, when she’s running ahead of him to the bus after the funeral, with that song ‘reflection of my heart’ as the bgm, that scene is just beautifuulll *love* and further strengthened with DH looking at JA in the bus with lots of feelingggs (excuse my shippy heart, haha..).

 

@h2ogirlcan I submit a gif request of the two scenes juxtaposed against each other as described by the bolded words above?

 

Here you go, Ma'am. 

 

- You seem different sexy when you drive.

- Yeah. I am different sexy.

 

It's okay if I stare at you behind everyone's back.

 

Uh oh. Got caught by Ki Hoon-ah.

 

---

Why haven't we shared @Kimchi Sweet Potato's MV's on the fan site already?! I'm your fan too, seonsaeng-nim. ❤

 

@noor1 Missed you and your amusing pessimism on the forum! 

[akhenaten]

You guys!!!!  I just checked out the fansite and it's so well-made!  Chock-full of snapshots and snippets and every little thing that our admins can possibly find about this beautiful drama.  I hope the director,  writer,  the whole cast get to see this site. I'm sure they would be happy to know that their hard work has paid off brilliantly.  

 

Now,  about that running scene after her grandmother's funeral... I have a couple of thoughts about that but I'll put them all together first in my head. Hahaha. 

[sadiesmith]

27 minutes ago, h2ogirl said:

 

Here you go, Ma'am. 

 

@noor1 Missed you and your amusing pessimism on the forum! 

 

@h2ogirl, thank you for the gifs.  Ahjussi certainly looks dashing running in that black funeral suit of his.  You should collect all the Ahjussi running gifts and create a set just for that.  Let's see, other than the one where he made a mad dash to catch a taxi, there is the one where he runs to catch the bus after putting grandma in her new place, 

the one where he and the gang run to catch the last subway, and some from the soccer games.

 

So I am not the only one missing @noor1. 

 

14 minutes ago, akhenaten said:

You guys!!!!  I just checked out the fansite and it's so well-made!  Chock-full of snapshots and snippets and every little thing that our admins can possibly find about this beautiful drama.  I hope the director,  writer,  the whole cast get to see this site. I'm sure they would be happy to know that their hard work has paid off brilliantly.  

 

Now,  about that running scene after her grandmother's funeral... I have a couple of thoughts about that but I'll put them all together first in my head. Hahaha. 

 

Thank you.  And the site is not even close to finish.  There are so many good things yet to post.

[arctichare]

Hey guys! I'm doing a very sporadic and very random re-watch on my own (cause real life is killing me, I've found myself saying "Fighting!" to keep myself motivated).

 

But I had to share these screenshots with you guys.

 

Spoiler

Our boy Park Dong Hoon looked so cute in this scene! And yes all of these screenshots from the same scene are extremely necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bonus! (This is from episode 4)

 

 

.

 

[Joseph Lim]

 

[h2ogirl]

On 5/10/2018 at 2:21 AM, ccl82 said:

Oh also! Notice how DH has turned on his own words, at least twice in this episode?

 

"Whatever I hear about you, I'll pretend I didn't hear it."

 

But he didn't pretend - in fact he wanted to go up to Yoon when he picked on her in front of everyone. And at the interview too, he addressed the 'issue'. 

 

I'm doing my homework for the fan site, haha... and came across this gem. This is regarding ep 13.

 

Makes me wonder... When does DH pretend not to hear something (ignore), and when does he go against this (confront)?
(YH's affair versus Sang Hoon's humiliation and Ji An's... everything)

 

Also, can someone analyze this: When exactly is it no big deal for Dong Hoon?

---

@arctichare Was Ahjussi always that handsome? ♡_♡

[sadiesmith]

20 hours ago, arctichare said:

Hey guys! I'm doing a very sporadic and very random re-watch on my own (cause real life is killing me, I've found myself saying "Fighting!" to keep myself motivated).

 

But I had to share these screenshots with you guys.  

(deleted before the mods come after me)

 

Buahahahaha... @arctichare!!!!  Here, let me help you out with some context, dear.  And fighting on your real life!!

 

Courtesy of parkdonghoons at tumblr: http://parkdonghoons.tumblr.com/post/175048936232/parkdonghoons-his-gf-his-gf-lee-ji-an-he

 

Spoiler

 

And who is better at interpreting this highly meaningful smile if not @Alex Dooley, the tumblr blogger, herself:

"HIS GF. HIS GF LEE JI AN. HE CANNOT CONTROL HIMSELF THE BIG F***ING IDIOT"

Edited June 22, 2018 by Jillia
Please put more than 3 pics/IGs in spoiler tags, thanks!

[ninaanin]

Hi!

 

A few days ago my computer logged me out from here. I thought: Good, if I can't logged myself out, the gods of work did that for me lol. 

 

But, after lurking through My Ahjussi Fan Site, I can't help but come here to congratulate everyone who helped to make this amazing site. Thank you!

 

Now, I will log out for sure. But will still follow you here and at the Fan Site. Bye

 

P.S.: Two things about DH and car - I think that at episode 3 or 4 DH said that he didn't have a car (when he answered a ["fake"] phone call from KB). I think that this add to the insights that you are making here about this issue.

 

Second, the Family's Honor Drama has is a similar situation where the girl (regularly) sits back while the guy drives. This couple (my favourite) has a age gap and the guy is in a divorce process. They share something with DH-JA couple, in the sense that the girl falls first and acknowledge this easily; the guy thinks he is in a friendship relationship and doens't want to be/know he is in love (the development is different though). But, the fact is that she sits back and then, I thought it was because he was still married/ fresh divorced and she was younger; so it was to avoid people gossip and to keep a respectful distance. Nonetheless, their conversation during those drives where the moment when they talked and shared ideas and feelings. In other words: they were occasions for fall in love with each other. ;) 

 

 

[mylovelystar]

 

[gikwangluv]

I watched My Mister religiously while it was airing.. and even though it's been over a month since the last episode  I think about it everytime i see the actors/actresses in other places.  

 

That being said.. I'm happy I found this thread filled with so much content to a drama I enjoyed watching!!  Thanks to everyone that made, and are continuing to make, this a fantastic thread!!  TY!

[berny]

Hi,

 

Regarding this GIF... i can't seem to remember from which episode?? and why was JiAn so angry at him here??

 

 

[t123han]

5 hours ago, berny said:

Hi,

 

Regarding this GIF... i can't seem to remember from which episode?? and why was JiAn so angry at him here??

 

 

Because he came to know that jian stole the money and had not spoken to her the whole episode . Initially he had intention of ignoring her like he did whole day , but I think he changed his mind last minute when she passed by him. DH is fool like that .. his heart cannot not ignore jian when she is near him

Edited June 22, 2018 by Jillia
Please do not quote pics! Thanks! :)

[justamom]

On 5/18/2018 at 2:48 AM, rellea said:

 

I felt like she didn't call because she was afraid that if she heard his voice, she would miss him too much to go on and wouldn't be able to stop herself from running over to him. For all she knew, he was still living happily with his wife and didn't have room in his finally peaceful life for her to return with all her unrequited feelings. She moved so far away partly to get over him, after all. That she hadn't called him is just proof that she wasn't able to do that yet.

 

In the last scene,  Donghoon was insanely happy to see her again and to see that she was doing well, but he looked a little sad too. Maybe he was a little lonely because he wasn't the only thing in her big, round eyes anymore. The girl who said she only began to live after she met him has a life and friends outside of him now.

 

On the other hand, Jian seemed a little overwhelmed that the man she loved and that she had missed for so long suddenly appeared before her again. She looked happy to see him but really nervous too. Like she wasn't sure where she stood with him anymore. When they stood there and gazed at each other for a while and then DH asked to shake her hand, I think she got the courage to ask for more. And DH smiled so hard. He was so happy. Oh, my heart.

 

I loved that Donghoon didn't tell her to go join her coworkers. He was always saying "가" ("Go.") or "간다" ("I'm going.") and that was how they always parted ways. I was expecting him to tell her to go in this scene too, but instead, to keep her with him longer, he asks for a handshake, and hangs on for dear life until she promises to call him. Look how hard he was holding onto her poor, tiny fingers!

 

I've never seen DH as honest about his feelings as in this one scene. They both met each other again, this time as happy, well-adjusted people. Maybe this is finally the right time for them to work. What a fantastic way to end the series.

 

I thought I would have my life back once the drama was over, but I'm still as hung up on it as ever. Time to rewatch the whole thing over and re-experience the feels and sads! Fingers crossed for a bunch of behind the scenes and Q&A footage!!

 

I am wondering how on earth did I even miss this even after watching this scene countless times.

 

This is why I need the Blu Ray!!!

 

I was wondering why the skin tone on her hand was so uneven, if the make up artist did a bad job....and then, oh my god!!!!!  

 

-sorry for being so clueless-

Edited June 22, 2018 by Jillia
Please do not quote pics! Thanks! :)