[Drama 2017-2018] A Korean Odyssey/Hwayugi 화유기

[briseis]

Spoiler

source: enews mbc

[carolinedl]

5 hours ago, bebebisous33 said:

By destroying the tree, the humans and especially professor Kang acted against reason and common sense. Professor Kang was more interested in money, wealth and power so that his decision points out his corrupt mind and his evilness. 

          

Yes, my take on the tree was that it showed the kind of excessiveness of Prof. Kang, the way he perceives himself as all powerful. Such an imposing tree, which symbolizes so much and that many people refuse to cut down, do not scare him at all. Because he views himself as a powerful human, one who can get his way with anything.

Lovely analysis of the magic sylbolims behind the tree.

 

It also makes me think of SJ's tree, the one she was always around as a kid. It was pointed out too that ASN and SJ had common points, one being a human. I am quite interested to see how that will be played out, the links (both similarities and above all differences) between the two.

 

So happy and relieved with the preview! Cannot wait for Saturday!!

[Jemara]

hwayugi Making film image!

 

 

belladonna2017

Choose your weapon hero.

[haymochi]

I def don't want samjang power. Why should i cut myself everytime and  get the risk of rabies  from those demons 

nope nope nope

 

Heaven is too cruel . If she is given the mission... shouldn't she get some power like ASN  as well? For example  throwing Lotus flower petal instead of roses 

 

Then we can see these two women fighting for monkey  in a fair way 

[estrellita1122]

21 minutes ago, haymochi said:

I def don't want samjang power. Why should i cut myself everytime and  get the risk of rabies  from those demons 

nope nope nope

 

Heaven is too cruel . If she is given the mission... shouldn't she get some power like ASN  as well? For example  throwing Lotus flower petal instead of roses 

 

Then we can see these two women fighting for monkey  in a fair way 

 

 I will choice PK powers since he can sing and dont hurt anyone. I don’t think i will have demons following me like samjang lol

I don’t want the CEO powers since i hate cleaning 

[Zelda]

There are so many good conversations and analyses going on here this week! Loved reading people's theories on the film world and @bebebisous33 and others' comparisons to Homer's works and other western concepts.

 

21 hours ago, stargazer187 said:

[...]
@Zelda suggest to play a Hwayugi mad lib game. And if she really will do it. I will join the game.. haha. 

 

And @Lmangla the poll and bet is also fun. I'm not that creative.. I'll follow what you guys play anyway. Thanks for coming out here... 

@Lmangla Hello, pleasure to meet you. If you have never played the game Mad Libs before, what you do is take a short piece of text, remove several words, and then ask someone to give you a list of words that match the parts of speech of the words you removed. By inserting these new words, you end up with an often hilariously nonsensical story. We were having fun the other day with trying to Google Translate one of Hwayugi's text previews, and ended up with a very Mad Lib like result. I thought it might be fun to make a little Hwayugi Mad Lib on purpose, using the translated text previews, song lyrics, or a short scene from the drama, and I asked if anyone would want to play it. I am not too clear on what all an "event" entails and maybe this little game is not large scale enough for it...? How about I will see if I can manage to come up with a good Mad Lib this weekend, and if I do, pm it to Lmangla. If Lmangla thinks it would make a good event, then we can do that. Otherwise, @stargazer187 -and anyone else who is interested- can just have fun with it in this thread. People can pm me their word list answers, and I will share the results in a spoiler tag here so that we don't clutter the thread. Does that sound okay?

 

I have a long post I wanted to finish and submit this evening, but alas, time was not on my side. So I will end here with: That video preview is so exciting, and I want to know what that statue is that Ma Wang touches at 17 seconds in! O.O At first, I thought it was a Qilin, but it has the wrong feet and isn't scaly looking, and it looks like that tail is maybe another head, based off of the leg and feet/paw positions... Now, I'm curious. \(O.O )/

Thanks for sharing neat thoughts, pics, vids, and camaraderie, everyone! 

[ForgottenSoulx]

I got a big feeling Son oh gong will die for Samjang or she will die for him , the heavens will reward either one by letting them be together.

[Lmangla]

@Zelda ~ that sounds great. am not familiar with mad libs. it might be a nice addition to events that we can do regularly in other threads. once you have figured it out, do PM me. will open up a thread where you can post the details. and yes, you can play the game itself here.

 

events right now are in two styles -- mini-events and competition style events. mini-events are community games that can be big or small and just to have fun and laughs and get to know each other. so we had a bet in "I am not a robot" thread. we also had a name drama tropes poll which was for all.. check them out.

 

competition style events are like the holiday hunt we had in dec/jan. so we are trying to create different stuff for people to enjoy. chingus, if you have ideas for events/games, feel free to PM me or you can post your ideas here...

 

 

 

 

[YourHighness .]

@bebebisous33 I loved your insight on the trees and the mythology connected to it. Thank you for the interesting information.

 

BTW, I don't think Secretary Ma and JSM chased the demon away. I am not even sure the tree was a demon. He was a protector, who was tasked with the job to not let ASN wake up. He was meant to stop that from happening in any way that he can. That's why he possessed anyone who tried to cut the tree/him the protector, so that ASN is not roused. Once he figured out that Kang is the one who keeps trying to cut the tree, he targeted him. JSM and Mawang misunderstood that and targeted him as a demon. The reason the protector left without a fight was because he failed in his duty when JSM's blood dropped on the ground and woke up ASN. It became dark and the ground shook because she had risen. That's why the protector said "No.. no..no." He had failed, she was awake. His job was done. He was not powerful enough to stop her after she had risen. He was just powerful enough to keep her sleeping. That's why he admonished and warned Ma and JSM before leaving.

 

"I've been a protector for over 1,000 years. You foolish humans! From now on it's your responsibility!"

 

This makes me think ASN is the big bad that will help open the doors of hell. She won't remain in JSR too long, she will enter into someone close to Kang. He has all the makings of a King, after all and she is a Kingmaker.

 

[bebebisous33]

Sorry if I am quoting myself but I wanted to finish the analysis of SJ/SM that I had started in this post above. First of all, our heroine has two names. She is called Jin Su Mi, it's her human name. Then later she is given the name Sam Jang, as she is someone with extraordinary powers. So this should be seen as a clue of JSM's fate: she might be called as deity SJ and no one will make the connection between JSM and SJ. 

Furthermore, I also noticed that she shares a lot of common denominators with Jesus Christ. Her two names contain the letters J and S. Then just like for Jesus Christ, her blood is used in a ritual. In the Lord's supper (Holy Communion /Eucharist), Jesus Christ gave bread and wine to his disciples and he said that the wine was his blood. Through the Eucharistic celebration, Christians remember Christ's sacrifice of himself on the cross. On the other hand, Sam Jang has to hurt herself in order to summon demons. The cut could be also interpreted as a sacrifice. Nevertheless, I believe that her real true sacrifice will happen much later. In other words, the blood in a ritual embodies the sacrifice of that person.

Her blood is powerful and has the scent of lotus. This flower symbolizes purity which underlines her connection with Jesus Christ. Her purity is also underlined with her gift. JSM is presented as a child who can see ghosts and demons. I believe that her gift points out her purity and innocence, because the humans, even children, can't see demons as they are not pure enough. The lack of innocence and purity in children was clearly illustrated, when they bullied JSM or when she wanted to play with them, she was outcast. Despite her harsh treatment, JSM was always willing to help others. She rescued Jonathan but even her job should be seen as if she was helping the humans. She gets rid of demons so that the flats and houses are no longer haunted. After she has cleaned the property, the value of the properties always increases.

Then if we compare SJ with ASN, her purity is again underlined, when it comes to SOG. ASN used the rose petals to seduce him, she even sat on his lap. All her gestures shows the sexual tension and the seduction. There is a sort of physical attraction. SJ is different with SOG. She tries to keep her distance from SOG. She doesn't want to get carried away. Notice that she was even married twice with SOG without having sex with him. Besides, her kisses are quite innocent as well. On the other hand, ASN is touching SOG's body and to me, it looks as if ASN wanted to have an intimate relationship with SOG even before the marriage.

@stroppyse @kaoriharang @evie7 @maddymappo @40somethingahjumma @RobinM  @stargazer187 @larus @YourHighness .

Quote

Despite the warning, SJ and MJY chased the demon away, unaware that they had released a real monster. To me, this scene could be seen as the expulsion from heaven. The evil has been woken up. She even called the evil priestess by giving her some blood.

@YourHighness . When I wrote the real monster, I never meant the demon guarding the tree, but ASN. She is the real evil. So we don't disagree. Sorry if I didn't explain it better. But like I said, once the guardian disappeared, the tree could be removed so easily, hence the demon was the one who gave the energy to the divine tree. 

[larus]

Lee Se Young Attempts To Seduce Lee Seung Gi In “Hwayugi”

A. Kim February 8, 2018

In the latest previews for “Hwayugi,” Lee Se Young is pictured seducing Lee Seung Gi hinting at new and exciting developments in the story.

 

The ending of the previous episode showed Son Oh Gong (Lee Seung Gi) and Jin Sun Mi (Oh Yeon Seo) confirming their feelings for each other. However, the ending also marked the appearance of Ah Sa Nyeo (Lee Se Young) as she attempts to seduce Son Oh Gong and disrupt the love between him and Jin Sun Mi. Ah Sa Nyeo decides she wants to meet a man who will protect her until the end, and consequently makes plans to seduce Son Oh Gong and make him her own. Once she is alone with Son Oh Gong, Ah Sa Nyeo does her best to seduce him, and Son Oh Gong appears to be possessed as a result.

More https://www.soompi.com/2018/02/08/lee-se-young-attempts-seduce-lee-seung-gi-hwayugi/

[40somethingahjumma]

Speaking of malevolent female spirits seducing OG, I don't think there's much doubt in my mind that OG is completely devoted to SM/SJ as they're navigating the complex bumpy road that is their relationship. The fact that the word "death" keeps popping up to keep them from feeling complacent or too cozy maintains a certain undercurrent of push and pull. It's becoming clear that the real threats to their relationship aren't from external sources but from fears and uncertainties that linger between them. 

 

In one instance of Journey to the West, after Tripitaka and PIggy both fall hilariously pregnant after drinking water from a river in a land populated entirely by women (Xi Liang), word gets to the Queen of country that Tripitaka is not only handsome but resembles their ancestor. The belief is that Tripitaka is the reincarnation of their ancestor Emperor from a bygone era when the country still had men. The temptation on that occasion was for Tripitaka to abandon his celibate state and mission of journeying to the west opting to settle down, marry and even become ruler of Xi Liang. Pressure was brought to bear when the permission to grant certain travel documents were on the line. Of course, Monkey agrees to the marriage, convincing his master to go through the motions as that it was the best course of action to mitigate potential loss of lives and get the necessary documents. Later of course, Tripitaka is kidnapped by the Scorpion Demon who of course would like to have babies. She tricks him into following her into her lair by shape shifting into the young Queen.  These occasions are when Tripitaka is most needy and relies greatly on Monkey. However, they clash most when Tripitaka believes that SWK has killed humans. 

 

I don't imagine femme fatale spirits have much of a chance with OG in the way they did with Tripitaka in JttW because the monkey king usually sees right through them with his magic eyes so their purpose in the narrative, I imagine, is not to sway him from his rightful path of devotion to SJ but to create problems for the OG-SJ-Bull Demon King triumvirate. Theirs is an uneasy collaboration of a mixture of self-interest, hidden agendas, trickery and a ton of emotional baggage. So when a female spirit threatens their tenuous unity, it only proves that they have a long way to go where genuine trust can be forged.

 

Meanwhile I take prophetic utterances in Hwayugi with a very large pinch of salt only because references to them are oblique. What does it mean when they say that one will be the death of the other? It's deliberately vague and calculated to keep OG on his toes so that in spite of wanting to "activate" with SM, there's all this complicated end of the world, end of life scenarios between them. Whether either one of them will die literally... or metaphorically... is certainly up for grabs. But I doubt that OG will take it lying down, waiting for the moment where he or SM dies in the other's hands. 

[marinated_lemon]

6 hours ago, haymochi said:

I def don't want samjang power. Why should i cut myself everytime and  get the risk of rabies  from those demons 

nope nope nope

 

Heaven is too cruel . If she is given the mission... shouldn't she get some power like ASN  as well? For example  throwing Lotus flower petal instead of roses 

 

Then we can see these two women fighting for monkey  in a fair way 

 

Even Sunmi doesnt want that power initially. Samjang power makes her a meaty bait to lure evil out (where it can then be whacked by SOG, I guess) and it aint pretty. It goes like that because Sunmi is good.

 

It will be different if the one who has Samjang's power is evil

 

Evil creatures would definitely want Samjang power, because it can raise other likeminded, evil, nasty creatures from hell. The only logic I have now is that by bringing demons and evil spirits to human realm (and practically opening the gate of hell), they can have more power to rule the world and take down the heavens.

 

Nasty, nasty.

 

But I guess Sunmi really needs that power in order to eradicate evil. If she only has power to make lotus petal rain, or make rainbows and ponies everywhere, evil will still be there, undead, undaunted.

 

Difficult role to bear, not to mention scary.

 

I am glad she has SOG to boot, and that immense courage and kindness to stand tall in front of so many scary things. I stil remember how she sat down with one spirit who wanted to be a singer. Nobody could see the spirit, and even if they can, nobody would do that but her. With this, I am sure Sunmi is a fabulous choice to save the world. She is very, very cool. I just hope she realize that too.

 

I mean, even a monkey realize this. He hates it, but I think deep inside, he, too, admires her for it, and hence, support her and submit to ggg power to let himself love her more instead of insisting that his heart is that of stone.

 

 

 

[haymochi]

1 minute ago, marinated_lemon said:

 

Even Sunmi doesnt want that power initially. Samjang power makes her a meaty bait to lure evil out (where it can then be whacked by SOG, I guess) and it aint pretty. It goes like that because Sunmi is good.

 

It will be different if the one who has Samjang's power is evil

 

Evil creatures would definitely want Samjang power, because it can raise other likeminded, evil, nasty creatures from hell. The only logic I have now is that by bringing demons and evil spirits to human realm (and practically opening the gate of hell), they can have more power to rule the world and take down the heavens.

 

Nasty, nasty.

 

But I guess Sunmi really needs that power in order to eradicate evil. If she only has power to make lotus petal rain, or make rainbows and ponies everywhere, evil will still be there, undead, undaunted.

 

Difficult role to bear, not to mention scary.

 

I am glad she has SOG to boot, and that immense courage and kindness to stand tall in front of so many scary things. I stil remember how she sat down with one spirit who wanted to be a singer. Nobody could see the spirit, and even if they can, nobody would do that but her. With this, I am sure Sunmi is a fabulous choice to save the world. She is very, very cool. I just hope she realize that too.

 

I mean, even a monkey realize this. He hates it, but I think deep inside, he, too, admires her for it, and hence, support her and submit to ggg power to let himself love her more instead of insisting that his heart is that of stone.

 

 

 

Nice insights, very well said 

i guess she is just good natured  and very kind hearted

A selfless human like her is needed to guide these selfish demons

 

but if i were her, i would have been so happy when my power is taken away and can live normally

 

[marinated_lemon]

15 minutes ago, haymochi said:

Nice insights, very well said 

i guess she is just good natured  and very kind hearted

A selfless human like her is needed to guide these selfish demons

 

but if i were her, i would have been so happy when my power is taken away and can live normally

 

 

Sunmi accept the power, but just like you, she wasnt happy about it too. She even thought she would be delighted to have her power taken from her.

 

But I guess this is why the heavens have that sexy, confident, handsome, smart and powerful monkey to tag along with her. Hahaha. Look, he wont just split table for her, he would even give up drinking liquor so that she can meet her nana, and burn the whole world that killed her. Ok i should really stop here before I start drooling. Haha.

[40somethingahjumma]

3 hours ago, bebebisous33 said:

Sorry if I am quoting myself but I wanted to finish the analysis of SJ/SM that I had started in this post above. First of all, our heroine has two names. She is called Jin Su Mi, it's her human name. Then later she is given the name Sam Jang, as she is someone with extraordinary powers.

 

I don't know if anyone has already mention this previously but I'll post it here just in case it hasn't been.

You may also be interested to know that Samjang comes from the Chinese San Zang 三藏 (at least those are the characters used by the C subbers use to translate Samjang into Chinese) which is translated Tripitaka, in the Sanskrit. Tripitaka, the name of the monk also refers to the collection of three Buddhist scriptures... Jing Zang (Sutrapitaka), Lu Zang (Vinayapitaka) and Lun Zang (Abhidharmapitaka).

三 refers to 3 and 藏 can mean repository or scripture.

 

I think the obvious implication by the writers is that Seon Mi is the reincarnation or at least the modern manifestation of the legendary Tang dynasty monk who travelled to the west to take the Buddhist sutras back to the central plains. It was a widely held belief in JttW by demons of all shapes and sizes that eating Tripitaka (or having sexual relations -- implied) with him would grant them immortality or extraordinary powers because he was himself a reincarnated being.  

What I found especially striking about your analysis is the way you have linked Samjang's blood to the Christian eucharistic traditions which of course varies greatly amongst Roman Catholics and Protestants. Some Christian traditions take a more literal view of the elements ie. the bread and the wine as literally Christ's body and blood while others see them as mere symbols reminding them of Christ's crucifixion of his body and his blood. And while we're thinking along those lines we can see the overlap in the importance of "three" universally especially in Christianity with the Trinity, for example.

Noting that SK is a country of many traditions, it would not surprise me one whit if there is some attempt to draw on and integrate the mythos of various cultural and religious traditions in Hwayugi especially with regards to the book seller's mission to use fairy tales of differing traditions to "free" children from their dysfunctional family life. Not incidentally JttW is also largely considered a children's fairy tale... in the Taoist, Buddhist tradition. It's a morality tale, adventure story in the context of a long pilgrimage.

 

As someone who loves books, it is pleasing that the show affirms the power of stories, the collecting of stories in codices and the power of storytelling to affect change in the lives of people.

[Benocciola]

9 hours ago, haymochi said:

I def don't want samjang power. Why should i cut myself everytime and  get the risk of rabies  from those demons 

nope nope nope

 

Heaven is too cruel . If she is given the mission... shouldn't she get some power like ASN  as well? For example  throwing Lotus flower petal instead of roses 

 

Then we can see these two women fighting for monkey  in a fair way 

 

 

Wait,Sam Jung's blood does have the powers to bring back the dead though.Not very powerful in everyday life but If you went into war couldn't she use her blood to build an undead army?

Could her blood have other hidden properties we haven't seen yet or am I too far ahead of myself....

[enigmatic_zephy]

2 hours ago, Benocciola said:

 

 

Wait,Sam Jung's blood does have the powers to bring back the dead though.Not very powerful in everyday life but If you went into war couldn't she use her blood to build an undead army?

Could her blood have other hidden properties we haven't seen yet or am I too far ahead of myself....

who with time will turn into man eating zombies?

lol.. with decaying brain you don't want to take that chance of hitting a goal in your own goalpost

[iamsherry]

I repeatedly watched ep 12,  I also agree with the viewers observation,  perhaps they’re observations is correct. Here’s my reason why I agree (1) though OG tell MaWang to do not back stab him, he disguise himself as secretary Ma,  from there he learned their conversations (MaWang and the priestess), secretary Ma always compliment MaWang in everything he does, but that time the secretary smirked. Unlike before the end of the episode, the car scene between MW and secretary Ma, the loyal dog complimented MW because he told her his plan to find the stone coffin later, to sit and wait. (2) BJ/ASN visited SunMi, then OG suddenly came, before leaving he told SunMi that he have something to do with the bad bull bastard. 

I just noticed that ASN envy SunMi because OG love her, I guess when she was still alive, she was stood and betrayed on her wedding day. 

[carolinedl]

5 hours ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

I don't imagine femme fatale spirits have much of a chance with OG in the way they did with Tripitaka in JttW because the monkey king usually sees right through them with his magic eyes so their purpose in the narrative, I imagine, is not to sway him from his rightful path of devotion to SJ but to create problems for the OG-SJ-Bull Demon King triumvirate. Theirs is an uneasy collaboration of a mixture of self-interest, hidden agendas, trickery and a ton of emotional baggage. So when a female spirit threatens their tenuous unity, it only proves that they have a long way to go where genuine trust can be forged.

 

 

Agree with you. But I also think it actually has the power to make OG and MW bond stronger because they seem to have a pretty strong connection: loving someone so much as to risk many things for that person. I could see MW feel some sort of benevolent feeling toward OG because of his love for SJ: he could understand him. MW will see how committed OG is to SJ and I think that will play a pretty big role at the end.

 

Also, @bebebisous33 and @40somethingahjumma - loved reading all your thoughts on the names and the duality SJ/JSM. IT's so interesting to see the interactions between different cultures and how, in the end, all myths have common elements.

 

Just a side note: What I found particularly interesting is that OG uses JSM more often than SJ, unlike all the other (demon) characters. Ah loooovvveee he he