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


Go Seung Ji

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On 10/30/2018 at 4:15 PM, oldschooler said:

Hi, hope it's not too late to answer this, since I'm an ahjussi fan I guess it is compulsory :)For me it was every time he did not take the opportunity to deny outright he did not like her.  Second are the times when he stared at his phone for a long time, for example (1) the first time she asked him for a meal, he stared at his phone from "bukchon" to ... their station (I forgot the name! Time flies...) (2) After her confession he sat on the bed and considered the phone for a long time.

Thanks @popai5for bringing up all the possibilities for a Japanese version. Sorry I'm not familiar with most of the Japanese names, will check them out! How about Satoshi Tsumabuki for ahjussi, is he too baby looking.

I'm so happy to see MA winning awards!!! @widala I guess it's ok for LSK and LJE to walk hand in hand right? After all he did that with KSH before, I guess it would be ok??? Though my personal preference is for LSK to walk hand in hand with his wife and to mention Jeon Hye Jin in his acceptance speech.

 

Sorry this is getting to be a very long post! I was writing something a while ago, needed to express my feelings... thanks for your patience with this long post:

 

Seeing through a glass, darkly

Glass is hard yet transparent. It blocks entry, but at the same time allows us to peer into the space it shelters. Looking through a glass window or door, we see without touching. We are able to watch and scan every object, action and expression, but we should not be fooled for there is still an invisible barrier that shuts us out. And sometimes, if we look carefully, we see our own reflection. My Mister is a drama about glass. The characters saw others and themselves through a medium—barroom, car and train windows, platform screen doors, mirrors in a restaurant or lift, a pair of shades. It was as though reality was too glaring to bear direct scrutiny, to be acknowledged in person. It was as though our characters, in their shy opacity, chose to see or be seen indirectly, to shield their vunerabilities from too much exposure, to be intimate without touching.

 

Park Dong Hoon was happy drunk when he caught sight of a girl wearing short socks in the winter. He was intrigued not only because she was underdressed for the weather, but also because she seemed familiar. He tried locate who it was by looking at the face reflected in the train window. This was his first real sight of Lee JiAn – dark and pitiful.

 

A few episodes later, through her reflection in a platform screen, he indirectly saw the same face looking at him intensely. He looked back at her in person, and acknowledged her uncomfortably. By then, he had found out that she was not only sharp tongued and guarded, but was also a kind girl who took care of her grandmother. Progressing from knowing her as an undefined shadow, he was now holding real conversations and dining with her.

 

 

DH had thus far looked at JA indirectly and hesitantly, but JA had no qualms about staring at DH directly in his face. When he received a bribe and when he said he had never beaten a woman before, she had stared directly at him through her shades. Just like when she wiretapped him, she was able to scan him thoroughly while remaining inscrutable herself.

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After JA had heard from JY that “if he dines and drinks with you, he likes you,” her reflections on their relationship were likewise modulated by the dark train windows. It was as though JA’s contemplations were unacceptable and had to emerge from an alternate, darker self. Likewise, DH’s reflection in the train window as he thought about the director’s ploy to bring JY down through him was equally dark.

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So much had happened when DH, JA and their colleagues ran for the last train to the tune of the OST, “A Reflection of My Heart”. Their colleagues were a step too late, and had waved vainly at them as the train departed from the station. Alone, DH asked JA why she had stayed back to work overtime, and she replied she had learned well from his admonition, to work well with the others, to be socially acceptable. Then, panning to her reflection in the window, Ji An’s dark self confessed, “I missed you so I waited for you.”

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She frankly described the nature of their relationship of mutual empathy and perhaps, love. He was dumb because he could not deny or agree with it on principle. It was then that JA saw the private investigator who secretly took their pictures. She walked away from DH, through door after door until she felt they had a safe enough distance between them. But DH would not have it. He pursued the PI, through the same layers of doors, until he reached JA again, and there he planted himself next to her. We see the train continuing its journey, DH and JA looking out of the glass door. But were they looking out? I later realised from the angle of their faces and eyes, that they were actually looking at each others’ reflection, JA shyly and DH, frazzled, confused, angrily. DH had come face to face with his own dark reflection next to hers.

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Many times we see DH and JA’s eating and drinking sessions alternately from within the restaurant itself and from the outside, through a glass window. When JA broke the news about going to Busan, for example, the separate frames in which JA and DH were captured foreshadowed their imminent separation.

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Their communion was a world so intimate it had to be protected from intruders. Ki Hoon could not figure out what his brother was doing with a girl wearing sunglasses at night. Gwang Il could not believe his eyes that JA was hobnobbing with a crumpled middle-aged man. Team 3 was not privy to the scandalous conversation that DH had with JA when he warned her about taking liberties with him. When DH found JA after she had run away, their charged reunion could only be observed by the dear janitor from a side window to his shed.

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This was true not only for DH and JA. We are obliged to see not only through the cameraman’s lenses and our tv screen, but with an additional layer of glass windows when DH told the Chairman the whole story about his wife’s infidelity, JY’s schemes, and how JA had saved him. The same privacy was given to Gwang Il when he heard JA’s words about his earlier kindness to her and his dilemma that she killed his father. Like Ki Hoon who would like to break into the TV, we want to be as near as we could get to the world that has stolen our hearts. But then we are reminded that our characters needed shielding and to maintain some face-saving distance, precisely because of the explosive nature of their pent up personalities. But I’d also like to think that this is a VIP world where the only special pass is love given and received. The random couples in Kojubang had licence of entry into the special restaurant where DH and JA met regularly. Unless we know love and are touched by it, we have no business transgressing into their world.

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Seeing through a glass darkly, we see each other imperfectly. Even if we were to understand each other closely, such as the level of knowing that DH and JA had of each other, we still have barriers that prevent complete expression and communion. My Mister is a story about making a moral choice between the rightful and the wrongful way to satisfy our needs, whether it be a transgression of forbidden boundaries that inevitably hurts others, or holding back just enough to be intimate without violating the sanctity of rightful relationships. Therefore, the barriers that shield an unprepared and vulnerable soul, or which separates a rightful from a wrongful relationship, should not be lamented but is to be treated with gentleness and respect. Ironically, because “good fences a good neighbour make”, the barriers that DH erected between himself and JA allowed for the further development of their relationship at the right time. I believe this drama is appealing to so many of us because it fleshes out our thwarted longing for full understanding, expression and communion in our relationships. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

 

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JA finds DH through an open café door

 

This was so beautifully written!!

On 10/30/2018 at 4:15 PM, oldschooler said:

Ironically, because “good fences a good neighbour make”, the barriers that DH erected between himself and JA allowed for the further development of their relationship at the right time

 

This was so subtly written but the meaning is there. This and that open door in the end, wow, everything in this drama was so carefully woven together. 

On 10/30/2018 at 4:15 PM, oldschooler said:

But I’d also like to think that this is a VIP world where the only special pass is love given and received. The random couples in Kojubang had licence of entry into the special restaurant where DH and JA met regularly.

 

I like to think this, plus all the ones I’ve quoted and probably missed in your analysis all leads to the conclusion of them actually being together in the end. It probably isn’t the only intention of what you’ve written but it certainly drove home that one point. The way you’ve managed to express yourself with this is amazing. Reading this with a neutral mind, anyone would be convinced that what they had certainly isn’t platonic. And you’ve done it seeming so effortlessly as well. 

 

I really missed reading long posts like this and your one is one more eye opener. When you thought there’s nothing more to notice, a post like this comes along. 

Edited by Jillia
Please do not quote pics! Thanks! :)
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On 11/4/2018 at 4:02 PM, dotonly said:

LJA was 19 (international age) when she first met PDH? Wah...so young.

 

I forgot that 21 was her Korean age.

 

She's very young, wasn't she?

Sometimes we forget because of her behavior and her view of the world...

But, I think she's more mature than most of 30something women out there (including me :sweatingbullets:).

Her age is something that PDH kept reminding himself of. He kept putting her as "a child", "a kid", while calling himself "old", "adult"...

No wonder he turned violent (still not okay though, not an excuse) when faced with the reality that he'd fell for this girl, this "kid" he was supposed to protect because he's an "adult". But he felt something for her what a man feels for a woman, complications included...

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17 hours ago, dotonly said:

@widala you're 30something lady?

I always imagine you as a 20s girl like LJA.

 

So...Baeksang will be the last chance for MA?

 

Opposite to LJA who has an old soul, my soul refuses to grow up :D

 

Seems like Baeksang is the last award for drama... Or, maybe there's other awards I don't know about?

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Thanks for the encouragement @ann04! I've never said this before in my life, "long live shippers!" :D

 

On 11/4/2018 at 4:28 PM, widala said:

Lee Ji An has her birthday today (4 Nov 1998).

Anyone knows Park Dong Hoon's birthday?

All we know is the year 1974...

 

@widala thanks for posting on LJA's birthday! As for PDH, could it be this? June 18, 1974.

PDH_Birthdate_zps4altiez1.png

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12 hours ago, oldschooler said:

As for PDH, could it be this? June 18, 1974.

 

Thanks so much @oldschooler!

May I post this in my Instagram? I will credit your post as the source... Thanks again :blush:

 

Anyway, as of today I'm disappointed of this drama. MA was supposed to depict the real life as it is, no exaggeration like other dramas but... who in the real life have an ID card photo as good as Park Dong Hoon's?! Pure fantasy!

Mine looks like a mess, a 4 yo could've drawn it better...

 

Kdrama fantasy level

Level 1 : a rich chaebol falls in love with you

Level 10 : Park Dong Hoon's ID card photo

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On 11/7/2018 at 7:17 AM, widala said:

May I post this in my Instagram? I will credit your post as the source... Thanks again :blush:

 

Anyway, as of today I'm disappointed of this drama. MA was supposed to depict the real life as it is, no exaggeration like other dramas but... who in the real life have an ID card photo as good as Park Dong Hoon's?! Pure fantasy!

Mine looks like a mess, a 4 yo could've drawn it better...

 

Kdrama fantasy level

Level 1 : a rich chaebol falls in love with you

Level 10 : Park Dong Hoon's ID card photo

Hahaha, that's funny, you are right, ID photos are an embarrassment. We had to keep our 12-year-old ID photo (when we first got it) until 17 years old. Not sure if this practice has changed.

 

It would be great to share the post, thanks! 

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OMG! Sang Hoon is looking sooooo DADDY here! If he had done his hair like this in the drama, I would have loved him the most!! HE FIIIINNNEEEEE!!!

 

45760237_10156415291290412_7912386016244

 

Have y'all been able to rewatch this drama? I can't bring myself to watch it again.... I think I'll be more destroyed than the first time.... I just hope it wins more awards. The award above made me sooooo happy!

 

 

 

 

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On 11/3/2018 at 6:49 PM, ann04 said:

I like to think this, plus all the ones I’ve quoted and probably missed in your analysis all leads to the conclusion of them actually being together in the end. It probably isn’t the only intention of what you’ve written but it certainly drove home that one point. The way you’ve managed to express yourself with this is amazing. Reading this with a neutral mind, anyone would be convinced that what they had certainly isn’t platonic. And you’ve done it seeming so effortlessly as well. 

 

 

23 hours ago, dotonly said:

In the end, what left is bittersweet.

 

On 11/8/2018 at 10:00 PM, africandramalover said:

Have y'all been able to rewatch this drama? I can't bring myself to watch it again.... I think I'll be more destroyed than the first time.... I just hope it wins more awards. The award above made me sooooo happy!

 

 

Hellooo!  How is everyone doing lately? @africandramalover, I haven't had time for a rewatch myself, but yes, I think I'd feel the same as you.  I came across some reviews of this show on Amazon praising it to the moon and back, except for the ambiguous ending.  I think it's hard for viewers who know nothing about the initial controversies to understand why the story had to end that way.  Here are excerpts from two separate reviews:

 

"The restraint in emotional interaction between the two principals, particularly Dong Hoon, although called for because of his extreme sense of morality, is at times superhuman. His failure to comfort Ji An when she views her grandmother's corpse by hugging her is very disappointing. There are other examples. And I must agree with several reviewers that the ending was pretty disappointing. It was one of the things I wondered about thoughout the series. I suppose it could be argued that there was an implied resumption of the relationship between Ji an and Dong Hoon, but it's too tenuous to accept, especially in light of Dong Hoon's restraint and inhibitions."

 

"You have to question how Dong Hoon could never have any romantic feelings for his wife, Ji An, or anyone else in the show. It's unclear whether this was a flaw in the story or if it was purposefully ended that way to leave room for the possibility of a second season. Though a second season seems unlikely, there are many things that could arguably lead to a sequel."

 

Here's some smexy-looking LSK for you:

 

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Shouldn’t I be over him by now ???

he is getting more adorable by the day !!

 

anyway I don’t plan to rewatch anytime soon until MA becomes a distant memory. 

I want to enjoy it as a new drama all over again and want to experience all those feelings again. For this to happen unfortunately I have to let go of this drama for some time so that the next time I watch it more or less with a clean slate. 

 

Thats one one of the reason I am eagerly waiting for Chinese remake which might/ might not happen. But still there is some hope.

 

YhDosKh.jpg

 

gE9WeTh.jpg

 

 

0EXQkdi.jpg

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Luckily PDH was a serious(?) person. If he acted like @t123han first pic above with such drama ending...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

 

Cuteness overload they say. He is not an ajusshi, he is an adorable 40something baby...

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On 11/10/2018 at 4:07 PM, sadiesmith said:

 

Hellooo!  How is everyone doing lately? @africandramalover, I haven't had time for a rewatch myself, but yes, I think I'd feel the same as you.  I came across some reviews of this show on Amazon praising it to the moon and back, except for the ambiguous ending.  I think it's hard for viewers who know nothing about the initial controversies to understand why the story had to end that way.  Here are excerpts from two separate reviews:

 

"The restraint in emotional interaction between the two principals, particularly Dong Hoon, although called for because of his extreme sense of morality, is at times superhuman. His failure to comfort Ji An when she views her grandmother's corpse by hugging her is very disappointing. There are other examples. And I must agree with several reviewers that the ending was pretty disappointing. It was one of the things I wondered about thoughout the series. I suppose it could be argued that there was an implied resumption of the relationship between Ji an and Dong Hoon, but it's too tenuous to accept, especially in light of Dong Hoon's restraint and inhibitions."

 

"You have to question how Dong Hoon could never have any romantic feelings for his wife, Ji An, or anyone else in the show. It's unclear whether this was a flaw in the story or if it was purposefully ended that way to leave room for the possibility of a second season. Though a second season seems unlikely, there are many things that could arguably lead to a sequel."

 

Here's some smexy-looking LSK for you:

 

Interesting reviews... Thanks for sharing, @sadiesmith...

Although I'm glad they loved MA, it's true that they don't seem to know about the controversy. And maybe not too keen on subtlety? 

 

"You have to question how Dong Hoon could never have any romantic feelings for his wife, Ji An, or anyone else in the show.

 

I can only compare to my own experience watching the drama, but I think it's pretty obvious that PDH felt so much for the people around him. Maybe he didn't show it through words, but through his actions. 

As for Kang Yoon Hee, we only saw the last year of their marriage where everything was (already) falling apart, so I wouldn't say that he never felt anything romantic towards KYH. But, it's just no longer there.

And of course he couldn't say or do anything about his feelings for Lee Ji An. That would go against everything that he is. Once again, his actions speak louder than his words.

 

=====

This video was already posted but I found the translation of what Song Kang Ho said to LSK

 

Edited by Jillia
Please do not quote IGs! Thanks! :)
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Omo omo omo :wub::wub:

 

just when I was trying to put him into dorky, adorable , cute character .. he decided to come out looking like that. 

 

How do I  get over this hotness ?? He is oozing sexiness in that suit !!!

 

sorry my real world hubby , you know I still love you right ?? 

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So what exactly is this award that he received? Most Stylish Actor award?  Because that would be a stretch, hahaha...  On second thought, they did style him very well in My Ajusshi, so many thanks to MA for getting him more recognition these days. :D

 

 

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