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

[dongans]

19 hours ago, YukawaCattle said:

The director gave us this shot after Park Dong-hoon saw that Yoon-hee and Jun-young had entered Minette one after another.
 

Park Dong-hoon was standing next to a wall that had exposed surfaces.

 

This type of "wall" is called Gabion. The structure is made of iron mesh and then filled with stones. Mostly is for aesthetic purposes (but can be used in road areas, for containment of dams/structures). When used for aesthetic purposes, it gives us a light/shadow effect provoked by the full/empty effect of the stones.

[dongans]

On 8/4/2022 at 7:29 PM, YukawaCattle said:

Thanks for the additional knowledge.
I was going to look up its name, but I didn't know where to start.
 

So it really is a decorative item.
I thought it was an unfinished wall.
(I almost typed that up. LOL.)
But after looking at it for a long time, it feels like it was meant to design like this.

(Thanks again.)

 

Hmm...
I always thought it was meaningful that's why it is put in this shot.
After all, the point of this scene is that Dong-hoon saw his wife and Jun-yeong enter the apartment simultaneously.
And the blocking is, Park Dong-hoon at the beginning was at the road, but after saw Yoon-hee drive the car, he hid behind this wall.
The last thing is that this shot is the last one of this scene.
So I think maybe it has something useful for the director that's why KWS put it in.

Not a problem! Lmao. I'm an architect, and I was studying about gabions yesterday, and I remembered your post here, so I came to make an additional comment!

But I do think that you have a point. A gabion is a type of a cheaper reinforced structure, flexible, and of great durability and resistance. Also is a very rustic style that an architect would choose if the client wants a rustic style to his project.

And by that I think we can make a link between DH and the rusticity of the moment (rustic materials represents rawness and refers to nature. Stones are not like woods (that gives us warmth), they're cold material and therefore, not cozy)?

Edited August 7, 2022 by dongans

[dongans]

On 8/5/2022 at 7:29 PM, YukawaCattle said:

Wow.
I think you talk about what I feel when I see gabion.

Because Dong-hoon always hid behind the wall to watch Yoon-hee and Jun-young's car drive into Minette, the plot at that time made me feel sad. And the extra gabion in the shot will make me feel that Dong-hoon's heart is bleeding.

Indeed it is, and gives a feeling that his heart is also in a heavy place.

I'm struggling with one thing, lmao.
For me, when we talk about civil reconstruction, is a tangible thing (you have to rebuild in the same place or something must have come first in order for you to reconstruct it).

On 8/3/2022 at 6:08 PM, YukawaCattle said:

 

 

Seems to me (please, correct me if I'm wrong) that they're talking about a construction. They're discussing about a building made by the architect Tadao Ando. When we have a large scale constuction, like buildings, we need to construct one level at time, so they make molds (in this case, with wood) where they fill in with reinforced concrete (steel rebar + concrete). They let it dry for then to take off the mold. They're explaining a construction.

 

On 8/3/2022 at 6:08 PM, YukawaCattle said:

 

So he said in this conversation, that the building that was constructed in the same year as he was born, it can't be reconstructed.

If we're going to think about this tv program as PDH's situation at the moment (a whole new Tadao Ando building being built), and that old building that can't be reconstructed as 'himself/his life" (a stagnant old building = stagnant old life), that means that he is being built (in ep16) from the scratch in another place.

What I mean is: the old building can't be fixed up, reinforced, you can't change the building facade, or demolished some walls. If he could be reconstructed, so his marriage would be.

By that I just don't think that it's a simple matter of be "reconstructed", I started to think that he is being constructed. He was built in the wrong place, so now he is being constructed in the right place.

I don't know if I'm making myself clear or if this is going to lead us somewhere, but anwyways lol.

 

On 8/5/2022 at 7:29 PM, YukawaCattle said:

By the way, @dongans, I don't know why I can't give you a "like."

 

 

The button disappears.
So I only could give you here.  

Lol thank you! (I didn't even know that I was without the like button).

Edited August 8, 2022 by ferily
Please don’t quote images. Thanks!

[partyon]

Quick Poll: Kimchi Slap - Your Weapon of Choice?

 

YOU are PLAYING the Female Lead (FL) in a makjang kdrama/cdrama/Thai lakorn.

You're about to PRETEND to slap the annoying and evil 2nd FL who is trying to steal the man (Male Lead) you've been eyeing. What will  you use to slap her with?

Kimchi? Seaweed? Spaghetti?

 

 

Please vote!

 

Your Event Organizers,

@partyon @Sleepy Owl @confusedheart @agenth

[dongans]

On 8/8/2022 at 1:12 AM, YukawaCattle said:

Now that I've heard your professional sharing, I realize it's probably just my headcanon.
Indeed, he is more like that he is being constructed.

 

From your word, there is a difference between the definition of "reconstruction" and "construction," right?
I want to confirm what I understood from your words.

 

Suppose today there is a piece of land called A.
And on top of A, there is a building called H.

 

There also is another piece of land called B.
B does not have any building on it yet.

 

According to your words, "reconstruction" means to knock down H on top of A and then build a new building H' on top of A, right?

 

That is, "reconstruction" means that the location cannot be changed. (You still have to build at A.) Only the building above the location has changed ( H -> H' ).

 

But "construction" means I'll build a new building directly on top of B now, right?

 

That is, I changed the place.
I didn't build at A anymore.
But now I am still building a new building, at a new location.

 

So if now we say "Dong-hoon is constructed," it gives me a feeling that Park Dong-hoon is really divorced.
There is a feeling that his past life has disappeared.
He is now in a new place to start over his life.

Like you said, 'himself/his life' will start again from another place.

 

Exactly what I was trying to say  happy that you could understand (I wasn't being that much didactic)!

 

On 8/8/2022 at 1:12 AM, YukawaCattle said:

I think what you said makes sense for two reasons.
 

The first one is this point aligns with the moral of the soccer game on TV.
The soccer game on TV appears in EP5 when it is the second half.
But by the time it appeared in EP16, it was a whole new game.

And then this new game is still the first half.

 

Related to the football games, it's very clear to me that they're different games because in ep5 Seoul x Suwon (in football the first team (left --> right) is the "home team" and the second one is always the guest), so in ep16 is Suwon x Seoul, so Suwon is the home team now and Seoul the guest.

I was going to send you a picture but I don't know how to send it here lmao, anyways, in 2018 Seoul and Suwon only played together 3 times, in 4/8/2018, 5/5/2018 and 8/15/2018. So KWS probably choose two 2017 games. He really wanted the score to be 1x1 and 0x0.

 

On 8/8/2022 at 1:12 AM, YukawaCattle said:

From PHY's point of view, she has written a line in My Liberation Notes that "To be liberated, I'll have to quit my job and get a divorce."

That is to say, PHY's values have always been that "changing places and starting over" is the only solution to the current unsustainable life.

 

So indeed, I think maybe "construction" is more in line with the writer's values than "reconstruction."

Oh, I really like this link between MM x MLN! We have here almost a PHY M.O lol for her then, sometimes the liberation that we need (PDH especially) is to end a marriage in an amicable divorce and to quit the job to start afresh somewhere else.

 

On 8/8/2022 at 1:12 AM, YukawaCattle said:

Isn't this the same for Yoon-hee?
She also went to a new place (America) and then started her life over. (Studying there. Maybe she will work there too?)
So I think Yoon-hee is also "be constructed" in the end.

I do think that is the same case for YH as well! 

Ps.: Reconstruction also has a meaning of renovate. When you want to change a facade, or when you want to say "reconstruction of Notre-Dame", for exemple, you will see reconstruction and reformation being implied as synonyms. PDH's building can't be renovated in that sense also. So there's only 2 ways: 1) bear trying to survive 2) be demolished (and never built again at the same place, because that place is wrong). So I see that as his marriage, it can't be improved, so he tries to survive (most part of the drama). But once is demolished (divorce), he (DH) needs to be build/constructed elsewhere, in the right place. I see that wrong piece of land as YH sometimes. What do you think?

[dongans]

On 8/11/2022 at 9:59 PM, YukawaCattle said:

There don't seem to be any 0:0 races...

 

I'm thinking maybe that 0:0 game was from 2018, like the following one

Ep5 game is without a doubt a 2017 game. Related to Ep16 game, I was thinking if I was going to put here or not and I decided later to not include my thoughts lol. So, I thought first that could have been a 2018 game, even if the game happened when the drama was on air. But then, I thought that could also have been a 2017 game,

 

 

On 8/11/2022 at 9:59 PM, YukawaCattle said:

 

specially the 12/08/2017 game, because Seoul only scored in the second half of this game, and in ep16 they showed us the first half (when the score was still 0x0), that means that KWS could have selected this match as well. For me, KWS's point is to show us the score at that time, not how it ended, you know? The end to me, doesn't matter much.

 

I only thought about that because to me, KWS chose the game in ep5 earlier on (maybe even before the drama aired), so he couldn't put his faith on a score that could have happened or not, for him to be able to repeat this in ep16. Maybe none of this 3 matches in 2018 would give him the score that he needed to put on DHs tv. But at the same time, he could just have had this insight when he was about to shoot ep16...

 

On 8/11/2022 at 9:59 PM, YukawaCattle said:

So I guess the races in MM should be 05/03/2017(<--EP5) and 08/04/2018(<--EP16), these two races.

 

So, I do agree with you, I don't think that he picked a 2017 game in Ep16. I was just making it harder, I guess. Most important of this debate related to games, is to think that KWS selected matching scores to represent DH and YHs marriage situation.
 

On 8/11/2022 at 9:59 PM, YukawaCattle said:

Why didn't the scriptwriter and director use other ball games?
Is it because Korean people are more popular in soccer?

Or is soccer an easier game for poor kids to play?

 

I think that PHY chose very deliberated which sport she would include in MM.
 

"Many South Korean football lovers gather early in the morning of a holiday to practice the sport. The number of people who joined grassroots football teams is around 600,000 across the country, forming regional football clubs. Baseball's popularity in the country is no less than that of football."

Maybe PHY wanted to evoke to the Park brothers a sense of being ordinary people?

 

On 8/11/2022 at 9:59 PM, YukawaCattle said:

I have wondered if it is because there is a "draw" in soccer.
After all, Yoon Sang-won once said, "There’s no winning or losing. We all just live our lives."
And I have looked up the rules of other sports, such as basketball, badminton or table tennis.

These games don't seem to have a draw.
They have to be won or lost.

 

A nice insight! At the end of a championship, one team has to be the winner and the other, the loser, but in the meantime, many matches can have a draw.

 

On 8/11/2022 at 9:59 PM, YukawaCattle said:

don't know if there is a philosophy in soccer, but it seems that baseball has a very inspirational philosophy because it is easy to make a comeback.

So it seems that baseball has a very inspirational philosophy of "You won't know the result until the end of the game."

 

I wonder if it's because such an inspirational philosophy doesn't apply to MM, so MM doesn't adopt baseball as a symbol of Park Dong-hoon's life.

After all, one of the philosophies in MM is "You can still be happy even if you fail."

But the inspirational "make a comeback" philosophy of baseball seems to be telling you not to give up your hope of winning the race.

These two philosophies seem to be at odds with each other.

 

So I wonder if that's why MM doesn't adopt baseball.

 

But what philosophy does soccer have so that MM would adopt it?

I don't know anything about soccer, so I'd like to ask people who know about the sport here.

 

For me, football is all about timing, you have to be good while you're young, and the older you get, the harder it will be. Not every match is the same, your team can do very good in one, and lose very bad in the other. It's always a team reconstruction, if you see from a different lens (but this can be applied to every sportsman).

But I'll wait for a football expert appear here and help us out lol 

 

On 8/11/2022 at 9:59 PM, YukawaCattle said:

By the way, the following is the process of how to add pictures in Soompi. 

Thank you so much!   

 

On 8/11/2022 at 9:59 PM, YukawaCattle said:

I like this, too.
And in PHY's works, she basically doesn't let the characters stay in situations where they don't fit.
Her value always drives her to let the characters change partners or change the environment directly in the end. 

 

Yes!! The leads never get back together from privious relationships, AOHY (both main leads) and MLN (female lead) so MM needs to be de male lead to balance everything lol 

 

On 8/11/2022 at 9:59 PM, YukawaCattle said:

Oh, I was going to ask you, "What if it's a historical site?"
Because I guess the historical site only could do some fix or do something change of materials.

Of course, we all know that Park Dong-hoon can't be a historical site. LOL.

 

LMAO!!
(Historical sites must be reconstructed closest to the original, and they often uses modern ways to reconstruction to prevent the previous structure to collapse)

 

On 8/11/2022 at 9:59 PM, YukawaCattle said:

Maybe he said that because he thought, "I don't have the ability to (or I don't want to) change my current life, so I regard earth is the bad location."

 

Because he has concluded that he cannot change his current life, he believes that he cannot be reconstructed.

 

I mean, he had such an idea because he thought the environment of his life was unchangeable.

 

("If I continue to live in this environment, I am sure I cannot be reconstructed.")

 

It is mainly the environment that causes him to think this way, not the earth itself.

 

He might not have thought that way if he had been in a different environment.

 

Indeed looks like "earth is a bad location" lol but I think your logic is right, that was his way of seeing things while living a shitty life. I can't picture DH from ep16 having the same thoughts, I dare to say that he changed his point of view on things.

 

-

 

I'm intrigued by something. Why he says "Once it's past its time, it will disappear"?

 

Always seemed very odd to me, how a whole building would disappear? Seems like he is saying that when the building experies, it will disappear...

 

So I was thinking that if the building is an analogy to DH... How DH would disappear?

 

I can think of only 2 ways for this building to disappear: 1) Demolishing 2) The building itself can collapse.

One is by force, the other by "nature" (nature = by itself, assuming that the building has cracks and problems in its structure. It may take a while, but it will collapse sooner or later).

 

If demolishing represent the divorce, then I think that the building to collapse by itself, represent death.
If YH is the land that the building (he) is located, then I think that DH thinks that he will only be out of there after his death.

 

Of course that it's his previous thoughts due to his current situation.

 

(Am I going too deep into this?)

 

On 8/11/2022 at 9:59 PM, YukawaCattle said:

Therefore, in order to achieve the phrase "Park Dong-hoon was finally be constructed, and he still remained on Earth," the phrase "I picked a bad location, too. I shouldn't have been born on earth." must be reinterpreted.

Yes, definitely needs to be reinterpreted! 

Edited August 14, 2022 by ferily
Please don’t quote images. Thanks!

[actionscript]

On 7/19/2022 at 8:25 AM, sadiesmith said:

I don't remember if this has been shared here before. Here's a podcast on My Mister delivered by three women who are very enthusiastic in recommending the show. It's almost 1 hour 45 minutes long, but I think you will enjoy it.

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/cl/podcast/my-mister-my-ahjussi-an-instant-classic/id1556918754?i=1000542649316

 

Thanks for sharing! I finally got to finish the podcast. Though the hosts acknowledge that romantic feelings did develop not only in JA but also in DH, they don’t see any possibilities of DH and JA being together. The reasons they cited are the ambiguity in DH and YH’s marital status post time skip and the age gap between the two protagonists. And then one brought up a commonly used reason as well -- the line KH uttered in ep 1 which goes “When he is caught between desire and conscience, he always leans towards the latter.” KH follows it up with “I pity him the most.”

 

Protagonists in K dramas often go through a profound change, a character development arc, through the story that by the story’s conclusion, they have usually evolved into better versions of themselves. They traverse from a baseline state to an evolved state. The same is true for DH. While the character journey of JA seems more pronounced, I believe many have overlooked the character journey DH took, leaving them to assume DH’s character was static throughout the show. That line from KH is uttered in ep 1, which obviously makes it one of DH’s baseline states, a state he will be growing out from.

 

Spoiler

 

The show further articulates DH’s baseline states through the words of JA and Eomma. JA tells him “You’re living through your life sentence of earnestness.” “You are someone who looks the most bored and unhappiest here. It seemed like your life is as hellish as mine.” Eomma is also the most worried with DH: “I get so upset every time I think about DH. I raised my boys exactly the same way, but why am I always worried about DH? My heart aches every time I think about him. He never tells me what goes on inside his head. He’s never even asked me to buy him anything. Meanwhile, the other two always asked me for stuff.”

 

Sang Won, the monk friend, further tells DH: “SH and KH caused so many problems. But your mother never got upset because of them. She always says they’re hopeless and incorrigible. On the other hand, you seem to do fine, but she always gets upset about that. That’s because she knows that SH and KH will do just fine regardless of how much they fail in life.”

 

 

Eomma values happiness more than career success, that’s why she worries more for DH than for SH and KH. But sometimes, we are too busy wanting to make our folks proud, usually through material success and by keeping a façade of a normal & functional family life, that we forget that usually what all our parents want from us, more than anything else, is just to be happy.

 

All these paint a picture of DH that is repressed, traditional, a conformist, avoids conflict, a quintessential stoic, an enneagram 9, and passive to the things life has thrown at him and just goes with the flow. In varying degrees, there is a lot of truth to all these descriptions. And there is a consensus among the people closest to him that he is indeed the most pitiful.

 

All these pushes DH to feeling trapped, suffocated and perhaps, even suicidal. But at least he is aware he is living the wrong life, as he has spilled to Sang Won: “I’m doomed. This life is a mess. I don’t know how to live. I believed everything would be fine if I sacrificed myself.”

 

 

I do believe DH knew how to rectify his situation. He’s just not sure if certain choices he could make would mean violating his moral compass. It’s quite ironic that it was his monk friend that assured him living the “righteous” life is not all there is to living, and how appropriate and spot on that he framed his advice from Ji Seok’s perspective: “Go tell Ji Seok that you sacrificed your life for him. It’ll make him swear and feel like sh**.” “Who wants people to sacrifice? What kind of child or parent would want that?” “Why do you force yourself to live a kind of life that you’d never force on Ji Seok?”

 

That throws a wrench right into the view that a loveless marriage has to be preserved for the sake of the kids.

 

Sang Won continued, “You should make yourself happy first. And stop thinking you should sacrifice yourself. Just be brazen and think about yourself. You’re allowed to do that.”

 

And that goes straight into the issue of choosing between desire and conscience: in that sometimes, a balance has to be struck, and that sometimes, one is allowed to choose desire. DH needs to hear that, to eventually push himself to break free from his “life sentence of earnestness.”

 

 

That conversation with San Won in ep 11 is the turning point in DH’s character development. From the point on, we slowly see the changes in DH. He confronts DJY and punches him in the face. He chases after JA and confronts her as well, telling her to stay put, despite knowing full well that she, practically speaking, is in an unrequited love with him. And remember Eomma’s worry that “he’s never even asked me to buy him anything”? Well look at him now, going “Buy me another pair of slippers” to JA!

 

 

And how can DH’s character growth be fully realized in the context of our story?

 

DH’s career progression has nothing to do with his inner conflicts. His promotion and eventual move to start his own company pose no conflict whatsoever in his struggles with sacrifice and conscience. It all boils down to the two other plot points in the story: DH’s marriage with YH, and his budding feelings, his restraint, towards JA.

 

Though the conclusions are not shown explicitly, extrapolating from the themes painted by Sang Won’s words points to what choices DH would pursue.  He would eventually divorce YH, and yet rightfully remain in good graces with her as co-parents to Ji Seok. This seems to be the message in the new set of photos we see in DH’s new work desk, and the total absence of YH’s character post-time skip. 

 

 

And how about DH’s feelings for JA? It can be argued that DH pursuing his own happiness first does not automatically entail that this happiness can only be actualized through JA. He could stay single and party every weekend, or he could pursue another girl, like one of JA’s officemates he saw in the coffee shop. But these elements are not part of the story of My Mister. The last scene shows him reuniting excitedly with JA, making plans to meet for dinner, and in a voiceover, addresses her in some future time with a more personal “Ji An,” implying a leveled-up relationship.

 

To have freed himself from his life sentence of earnestness, to not only be bound by conscience but to have the right to pursue his heart’s desires, to make himself happy first, and to be brazen – DH, now a free man, would finally be able to follow his heart and pursue Ji An freely.  Not doing so would have stifled the full actualization of his character development arc.

 

 

 

 

 

[AR_ S34]

I just got finished with this show a few days back and it really blew me away with just how good it was. The performances in particular were nothing short of phenomenal.

 

I'm not looking to do a full personal review because I just had a question I wanted to ask and which was that generally speaking I found all of Dong-Hoon's family and friends to have been well written (and acted) but I felt storyline between Ki-Hoon and Yoo-ra missed the mark. It felt like the writer(s) thought they needed to have more detailed story for his siblings so introduced the character of Yoo-ra but for me her introduction and subsequent relationship with Ki-Hoon never completely felt genuine or authentic and I feel that her coming in as yet another character with some unpacked trauma was a step too far.

I feel like the relationships and storyline between the mother 3 siblings and Jung-hee were strong enough that they didn't need the additional character of Yoo-ra. Did anyone else feel the same? 

 

These are just my own thoughts on it of course, would like to hear anyone else's opinion on the matter. Like I said I loved the show but I really regret watching the last 4 episodes in one day and not saving them 

Edited August 19, 2022 by AR_ S34

[sweetroad]

Welcome @AR_ S34! And is that Jean Reno from "The Professional" in your profile pic? Loved that movie!

 

15 hours ago, AR_ S34 said:

I'm not looking to do a full personal review because I just had a question I wanted to ask and which was that generally speaking I found all of Dong-Hoon's family and friends to have been well written (and acted) but I felt storyline between Ki-Hoon and Yoo-ra missed the mark. It felt like the writer(s) thought they needed to have more detailed story for his siblings so introduced the character of Yoo-ra but for me her introduction and subsequent relationship with Ki-Hoon never completely felt genuine or authentic and I feel that her coming in as yet another character with some unpacked trauma was a step too far.

I feel like the relationships and storyline between the mother 3 siblings and Jung-hee were strong enough that they didn't need the additional character of Yoo-ra. Did anyone else feel the same? 

 

On my first watch of MM, I was annoyed with Yu Ra and found her grating and needy for the first few episodes. I think I felt like you, that her character was "filler" and unnecessary.

 

However, when she came into Jung Hee's bar and said "All of you are failures, but you're happy. That gives me comfort," (paraphrase) I started paying more attention to her. And now after multiple re-watches, I can see how her character is a great observer and commentator on the Hugye neighborhood. She's an outsider, seemingly accustomed to fancy things and a more fancy crowd, but she loves the fact that these men have failed in life (like she did 10 years ago) but have picked themselves back up. She's sharper, and has more depth, than she looks. I ended up really appreciating what she saw and named in the Hugye community during the show.

 

Also, I think her coming back into Ki Hoon's life was critical to help him move on from his past failure. He definitely didn't want her around at first, but finally being able to come clean to her about what happened 10 years ago, and receiving her anger and forgiveness was good for him.

 

The show could have still done this without having them fall in love, of course, but after watching the show again I noticed that one more aspect of Yu Ra's character was that she ended up giving words to Ji An and Ji An's situation multiple times during the story. Ji An is such a private, quiet character compared to Yu Ra, and the show seemed to use Yu Ra to give voice to Ji An. I wrote about it here and included some thoughts from @actionscriptas well: https://givemeslippers.wordpress.com/2021/12/13/yu-ra-spokesperson-for-ji-an/

 

You may or may not agree with the blog post, but take a look and see what you think!

 

Do you have Netflix or Viki? MM is on both of those. On Viki I'm pretty sure you can watch it even with a free account. Viki is one of the best for accurate subtitles, too; for example at the end of the show when Dong Hoon actually calls Yoon Hee, "my kid's mom" instead of "my wife."

 

Again, welcome!

 

P.S. @dongans and @AR_ S34 Soompi recently changed their policies and now New Members can't give or receive reactions (likes, etc). They had had some people joining and then trolling people with "confused" or "off-topic" reactions, so they made the change. I guess @dongans you can still give reactions but we're not able to Like your posts just yet; you must have been grandfathered in one way but not the other.

 

Not being able to give or receive reactions is not a big deal AT ALL, of course, but just in case there was any confusion as to why, this is what I've heard around the Forum.

[AR_ S34]

On 8/20/2022 at 1:14 PM, the_sweetroad said:

Welcome @AR_ S34! And is that Jean Reno from "The Professional" in your profile pic? Loved that movie!

 

 

On my first watch of MM, I was annoyed with Yu Ra and found her grating and needy for the first few episodes. I think I felt like you, that her character was "filler" and unnecessary.

 

However, when she came into Jung Hee's bar and said "All of you are failures, but you're happy. That gives me comfort," (paraphrase) I started paying more attention to her. And now after multiple re-watches, I can see how her character is a great observer and commentator on the Hugye neighborhood. She's an outsider, seemingly accustomed to fancy things and a more fancy crowd, but she loves the fact that these men have failed in life (like she did 10 years ago) but have picked themselves back up. She's sharper, and has more depth, than she looks. I ended up really appreciating what she saw and named in the Hugye community during the show.

 

Also, I think her coming back into Ki Hoon's life was critical to help him move on from his past failure. He definitely didn't want her around at first, but finally being able to come clean to her about what happened 10 years ago, and receiving her anger and forgiveness was good for him.

 

The show could have still done this without having them fall in love, of course, but after watching the show again I noticed that one more aspect of Yu Ra's character was that she ended up giving words to Ji An and Ji An's situation multiple times during the story. Ji An is such a private, quiet character compared to Yu Ra, and the show seemed to use Yu Ra to give voice to Ji An. I wrote about it here and included some thoughts from @actionscriptas well: https://givemeslippers.wordpress.com/2021/12/13/yu-ra-spokesperson-for-ji-an/

 

You may or may not agree with the blog post, but take a look and see what you think!

 

Do you have Netflix or Viki? MM is on both of those. On Viki I'm pretty sure you can watch it even with a free account. Viki is one of the best for accurate subtitles, too; for example at the end of the show when Dong Hoon actually calls Yoon Hee, "my kid's mom" instead of "my wife."

 

Again, welcome!

 

P.S. @dongans and @AR_ S34 Soompi recently changed their policies and now New Members can't give or receive reactions (likes, etc). They had had some people joining and then trolling people with "confused" or "off-topic" reactions, so they made the change. I guess @dongans you can still give reactions but we're not able to Like your posts just yet; you must have been grandfathered in one way but not the other.

 

Not being able to give or receive reactions is not a big deal AT ALL, of course, but just in case there was any confusion as to why, this is what I've heard around the Forum.

 

Firstly thanks for the welcome! 

 

So saw it on Netflix I was looking for a new Korean show to start a few weeks back and I've got number of shows on my 'to watch' list like All Of Us Are Dead, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Signal and a few others but I wanted something I was ready to start straight away. At first I started "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" but I gave up after one episode, don't get me wrong it seemed like an ok bit of TV but it just seemed overly light and fluffy and I didn't know how I was going to sit through 16 episodes of it. I later started searching again for something else but I was constantly coming across the same kind of stuff...the overly light and fluffy rom-com stuff which again I just wasn't interested in but I eventually came across My Mister which from the image alone just appeared to be a more serious bit of drama than the other options, I checked the IMDB rating (9.1 I think it was either way it was very high) I also read something about it winning some award and I knew then this was likely to be something I'd be interested in.

 

I had a viki membership a while back, like I paid for the full year and I saw 0 shows , I just couldn't get around to watching anything and to be honest although I've been into Korean movies for years it took Squid Game to finally get me into Korean TV.

 

I had some more thoughts on the show itself but I'll save those for another post after I've checked out your blog.

 

 

[sweetroad]

1 hour ago, AR_ S34 said:

I had some more thoughts on the show itself but I'll save those for another post after I've checked out your blog.

Perfect, look forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

 The blog is actually a dedicated My Mister fansite that was started 4 years ago after the show ended. It’s a great collection of analyses and articles (a lot of it taken from the discussions here on Soompi), and I was so happy to find it after I watched the show last year. I read all the articles, then watched the show again to see everything I had missed upon first watch. Enjoy! 
 

And it sounds like you were in the right mood to watch MM now. It is such a masterpiece. 

[AR_ S34]

12 minutes ago, the_sweetroad said:

Perfect, look forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

 The blog is actually a dedicated My Mister fansite that was started 4 years ago after the show ended. It’s a great collection of analyses and articles (a lot of it taken from the discussions here on Soompi), and I was so happy to find it after I watched the show last year. I read all the articles, then watched the show again to see everything I had missed upon first watch. Enjoy! 
 

And it sounds like you were in the right mood to watch MM now. It is such a masterpiece. 

 

The performances for me were really outstanding, not just 1 or 2 but there were a number of great performances. I've instantly become a fan Lee Ji-Eun and I've added Hotel del Luna to my watchlist even though the plot kind of seems a little weird.

[sweetroad]

On 8/19/2022 at 11:27 PM, AR_ S34 said:

Like I said I loved the show but I really regret watching the last 4 episodes in one day and not saving them 

And I think I misunderstood you… were you saying you wish you’d spread out the last  episodes? Originally I thought you didn’t have a way to watch them again. 
 

I just watched Hotel del Luna as well! It was better than I thought it would be, and Lee Ji Eun is so expressive in it. She does an amazing job as a strong, outspoken, commanding woman. Very different from her turn as Lee Ji An. Some of the ghosts freaked me out, but overall it wasn’t as creepy as I feared.

[AR_ S34]

10 minutes ago, the_sweetroad said:

And I think I misunderstood you… were you saying you wish you’d spread out the last  episodes? Originally I thought you didn’t have a way to watch them again. 
 

I just watched Hotel del Luna as well! It was better than I thought it would be, and Lee Ji Eun is so expressive in it. She does an amazing job as a strong, outspoken, commanding woman. Very different from her turn as Lee Ji An. Some of the ghosts freaked me out, but overall it wasn’t as creepy as I feared.

 

Ha no, what happened was I was watching 1 episode a day (even missing the odd day out) then I got to about episode 9 and watched two (9 and 10) then next day (11 and 12) then I thought I'd wait a couple of days and spread the last 4 episodes out but once I finished episode 13 there was not stopping and I completed 13/14/15/16 in one night, something I regret now. 

[AR_ S34]

On 8/21/2022 at 10:23 PM, the_sweetroad said:

Perfect, look forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

 The blog is actually a dedicated My Mister fansite that was started 4 years ago after the show ended. It’s a great collection of analyses and articles (a lot of it taken from the discussions here on Soompi), and I was so happy to find it after I watched the show last year. I read all the articles, then watched the show again to see everything I had missed upon first watch. Enjoy! 
 

And it sounds like you were in the right mood to watch MM now. It is such a masterpiece. 

 

Ok so I just had a read through that blog post. It's interesting for sure, I had never considered Yoo Ra as being a kind of mirror of Ji An especially earlier on in the show. I guess having only seen the show once there's probably quite a few bits I didn't pick up on.

 

Overall I still think the dynamic between Yoo Ra and Ki Hoon is nowhere near as natural feeling or polished as the one between Ji An and Dong Hoon. I think the storyline (though it's less detailed) between Gyumduk and Jeonghee felt much better within the context of the show as it was something different....an exploration of a different kind of trauma.

Edited August 23, 2022 by AR_ S34

[sweetroad]

On 8/23/2022 at 11:51 PM, AR_ S34 said:

Overall I still think the dynamic between Yoo Ra and Ki Hoon is nowhere near as natural feeling or polished as the one between Ji An and Dong Hoon. I think the storyline (though it's less detailed) between Gyumduk and Jeonghee felt much better within the context of the show as it was something different....an exploration of a different kind of trauma.

 

It's interesting to compare the three couples for sure. Your post helps me appreciate Monk and Jung Hee's storyline more...I so don't relate to JH pining for someone for 20 years so I'm always telling her (in my mind) to just move on already. Kind of like the advice that Dong Hoon's mom tells her. But you're right - their story is something different. It ends in a healthier place but they both had to struggle for a long time before they got there.

 

Yoo Ra and Ki Hoon are messy - they both express everything out loud, with little filter, and they have their past working relationship as well as their current friendship/ relationship to navigate.

 

Dong Hoon and Ji An are both quieter people who hold their thoughts more closely to the chest, and their actions speak way louder than their words most of the time (except when JA tells DH outright and repeatedly that she likes him). Like you, I think their relationship develops beautifully in the show...

 

On 8/23/2022 at 6:20 AM, YukawaCattle said:

When Lee Ji-an asked Do Jun-yeong for money in EP4, there was a guide's voice in the background.

 

Because she spoke Chinese, I could probably understand what she was saying.

 

Thanks for writing out the Chinese - very interesting to get that dialogue.

 

---

 

For those who haven't checked MM fanfic in a while, there have been some new additions to the fandom. Fun to see more stories still popping up!

 

https://archiveofourown.org/tags/나의 아저씨 | My Mister (TV)/works

 

[sweetroad]

Some news . Would be fun to see Park Bo Gum and IU in a drama together, directed by KWS, if it happens.

 

Update: IU In Talks For New Drama By “My Mister” Director

Source: https://www.soompi.com/article/1542370wpp/iu-in-talks-for-new-drama-by-my-mister-director

 

Aug 26, 2022

by E. Cha

 

Updated August 26 KST:

While IU has been confirmed to be in talks for the upcoming drama, Park Bo Gum’s agency has clarified that he has not yet received any sort of casting offer for the project.

 

“Nothing has happened in regards to his next project,” stated the agency. “He has not yet received a script or even any sort of contact [about the drama].”

 

Read more about the upcoming drama potentially starring IU below!

Source (1)

 

Original Article:

IU may be reuniting with the director of “My Mister” for a brand-new drama!

 

On August 26, IU was reported to be starring in a new drama helmed by “My Mister” director Kim Won Seok and penned by Im Sang Choon, the writer of “Fight My Way” and “When the Camellia Blooms.”

 

Later that day, IU’s agency EDAM Entertainment responded to the report by clarifying that while she had been offered a role in the upcoming drama, nothing was yet in stone. The agency stated, “She has receiving a casting offer for the drama and is currently in talks to appear.”

 

Park Bo Gum has also been reported to be starring in the upcoming drama, though his agency has not released an official response.

 

Are you excited to potentially see IU and Park Bo Gum in this new drama? Stay tuned for further updates!

[dongans]

I was on vacation, so I took some time off, sorry for the delay!
 

On 8/10/2022 at 10:29 PM, YukawaCattle said:

The other time is when Park Dong-hoon said, "Someone told me there's a crack in the wall."

 

Interesting point! (sorry I was going to reply this one and I forgot lmao). This scene where he goes to JA's place and his friend is there, and he says "someone told me there's a crack in the wall" I just thought like he was making things up just to justify his presence there to his friend lmao

But indeed he stopped talking about cracks - I never realised that much, and when you said I thought that it was because "it's not his job anymore" -, but thinking about it a little bit more, can mean that his life is more steady than it was before, I mean, he hasn't reached the rock bottom yet there but you know what I mean. I think you're right about this parallel "his life was about to ruin -> cracks in the wall were giving him a warning".

 

By the way I just remembered when SH said "my life is in ruins so what's the point of crying", but he did cry a few times (with YH on the phone and thinking about his mother), DH was the one who never cried though. DH cried only when his life was literally ruined (Ep16).

 

On 8/14/2022 at 3:25 AM, YukawaCattle said:

I think if KWS sees that the game has the score he wants, maybe he'll make the substitution right away.

 

You know, some people are inclined to seek perfection even when others are not seeing it. The type of perfection that if a person is hanging a picture on the wall and he uses two different nails (that no one can see it because the frame is hiding it but he knows that it's different), he will still be bothered by the lack of symmetry. I think of KSW is like that, so I can't imagine him choosing a game just by a simple score in an exact time (yes, I'm contradicting myself) it must be the same ending score as you said.

 

On 8/14/2022 at 3:25 AM, YukawaCattle said:

"Men experience puberty twice. Once when their energy increases and once when their energy decreases.

Don’t try so hard when your energy decreases. You will look pathetic. You will only be annoyed.

Just let it play out. Don’t think about playing soccer like you used to. Just keep moving. That’s how it is."

 

Oh this is very nice and makes so much sense!! Thank you

 

On 8/14/2022 at 3:25 AM, YukawaCattle said:

But reconciliation is just a reconciliation. The wounds can not be erased.

 

They are reconciled, but in the end, it is just a reconciliation. There is no way to return to the original lover's identity.

 

Yes!! I agree with you, and also in AOHY when she knows the truth about why her ex-bf broke up with her, she forgives but she doesn't want anything from him anymore.

 

On 8/14/2022 at 3:25 AM, YukawaCattle said:

I think if people have watched these three of Park Hae-young's works(AOHY, MM, MLN), they should be very clear from the value of the scriptwriter that Park Dong-hoon and Kang Yoon-hee can't keep their couple identity in the end.

 

This is the "PHY's trace" -> how she sees the end of every relationship in real life. Very discreet and respectful, but without any hopes. And sadly I don't think many people can trace and catch those connected points even if they've watched AOHY, MM and MLN.

 

On 8/14/2022 at 3:25 AM, YukawaCattle said:

After all, the restorer will need to understand the building structure that the original author designed.

 

This feels similar to us that we need to restore the idea of KWS and PHY so that we can understand MM's plot.

 

I so agree with you on this, I think we need to know more about these two, but I also think that looking for their previous works can be a bit handy. Just like we did, to catch the modus operandi to understand their minds.

 

On 8/14/2022 at 3:25 AM, YukawaCattle said:

This seems to be a kind of psychological projection.

 

Indeed it is! poor donghoon-ie

 

On 8/14/2022 at 3:25 AM, YukawaCattle said:

"I picked a bad location, too. (I don't really like my life now. So I think ) I shouldn't have been born on earth."

 

I think this is the closest to what maybe he have thought at that time that he indeed hided. He is not THAT close to the 3-team after all. And yes, the same way JA changed her mind about being reborn, he must change about being born.

Edited September 3, 2022 by dongans

[AR_ S34]

On 9/1/2022 at 7:50 AM, the_sweetroad said:

Some news . Would be fun to see Park Bo Gum and IU in a drama together, directed by KWS, if it happens.

 

 

Update: IU In Talks For New Drama By “My Mister” Director

Source: https://www.soompi.com/article/1542370wpp/iu-in-talks-for-new-drama-by-my-mister-director

 

Aug 26, 2022

by E. Cha

 

Updated August 26 KST:

While IU has been confirmed to be in talks for the upcoming drama, Park Bo Gum’s agency has clarified that he has not yet received any sort of casting offer for the project.

 

“Nothing has happened in regards to his next project,” stated the agency. “He has not yet received a script or even any sort of contact [about the drama].”

 

Read more about the upcoming drama potentially starring IU below!

Source (1)

 

Original Article:

IU may be reuniting with the director of “My Mister” for a brand-new drama!

 

On August 26, IU was reported to be starring in a new drama helmed by “My Mister” director Kim Won Seok and penned by Im Sang Choon, the writer of “Fight My Way” and “When the Camellia Blooms.”

 

Later that day, IU’s agency EDAM Entertainment responded to the report by clarifying that while she had been offered a role in the upcoming drama, nothing was yet in stone. The agency stated, “She has receiving a casting offer for the drama and is currently in talks to appear.”

 

Park Bo Gum has also been reported to be starring in the upcoming drama, though his agency has not released an official response.

 

Are you excited to potentially see IU and Park Bo Gum in this new drama? Stay tuned for further updates!

 

I'm looking forward to this (from the director of My Mister I feel like it'll be a hit) I hope the role is something different maybe to what she's done before in her previous TV shows.  

 

I mentioned it in another thread but I think It's important to remember (not like anyone forgot ) that she's first and foremost a singer so that side of her career will always take priority but now with the release of Broker she'll get the credit she's due for just how good an actress she is and I think the number of TV drama's she does will likely lessen over time as more likely than not she'll be getting more and more movie offers probably even internationally.

Edited September 6, 2022 by ferily
Please don’t quote images. Thanks!

[sweetroad]

11 hours ago, dongans said:

By the way I just remembered when SH said "my life is in ruins so what's the point of crying", but he did cry a few times (with YH on the phone and thinking about his mother), DH was the one who never cried though. DH cried only when his life was literally ruined (Ep16).

 

Sang Hoon definitely cries all the time, as Ki Hoon says. SH especially moved me in the restaurant scene in Ep 13 when he started crying after DH said, "Appa used to always say, 'It's not a big deal.'"

 

I think DH also cried when he was kneeling on the floor talking to YH about the affair (after he punched in the door), and he cried at the restaurant thinking about his dad. We also saw him shed a few tears here and there, mostly when it came to JA and her situation. But other than that, you're right, he always held it in, and finally shed cathartic tears in Ep 16.

 

11 hours ago, dongans said:

You know, some people are inclined to seek perfection even when others are not seeing it. The type of perfection that if a person is hanging a picture on the wall and he uses two different nails (that no one can see it because the frame is hiding it but he knows that it's different), he will still be bothered by the lack of symmetry. I think of KSW is like that, so I can't imagine him choosing a game just by a simple score in an exact time (yes, I'm contradicting myself) it must be the same ending score as you said.

 

I agree with you to a point. I think KWS intentionally put in certain details that he wanted to lend consistency and symbolism to the overall story. However, once I realized that some of the dates that they showed onscreen didn't line up (especially in the month of February), I gradually stopped reading into the minute details of the show so much. I figured that since they shot it on a deadline, they probably couldn't - or didn't even think to - be as perfectionistic and minute as we sometimes attribute them as being.

 

That mindset has helped me enjoy rewatching the show a lot more, as I just take in the (more-obvious) details that are presented, and I've stopped hunting for things like calendar dates (my previous nemesis)! So I'm not as sure about the soccer games; maybe there's something there, but they flash across our screen so quickly that...maybe not? What I would love would be to interview KWS and PHY to hear the details and symbols that were actually on their minds as they went about crafting the story.

 

By the way I've enjoyed reading your perspective as an architect!

 

3 hours ago, AR_ S34 said:

I mentioned it in another thread but I think It's important to remember (not like anyone forgot ) that she's first and foremost a singer so that side of her career will always take priority but now with the release of Broker she'll get the credit she's due for just how good an actress she is and I think the number of TV drama's she does will likely lessen over time as more likely than not she'll be getting more and more movie offers probably even internationally.

 

She is so amazing, how multi-talented she is. You're probably right that she'll be getting more movie offers internationally. Sometimes that crossover can be difficult but hopefully it goes well for her. After watching Hotel del Luna recently, I've been even more impressed by what she did with her role as Lee Ji An.