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

[nona88]

 hi 

 I am missed so much fun be away 

 but what to do work is work 

 

something catch my eyes, SONG OH  say all the time that when JS die it over he doesn't need to feel pain and he will free but he doesn't even realize that he already prove that it will never happen 

when JS was shot in the film she died there but SONG OH couldn't leave here he even burned all that world to bring her back 

MW know that he said it himself " that the world she was shot and died on, he burned it so that why he could get her out safe " 

but is the great saga even know that ?? that she was dead, already dead and that he still couldn't stop loving and caring for her ??? I think he still doesn't understand the meaning of what he did there 

 

the second fact that  some of my of you had already talked about and ut the fact that he really  ready to burn world for her  add to that it does not just cause he has to or forced to do by fake love but cause that his true heart, his true heart that can never let her die or leave him 

 

I think MW is the only one now who really know what the meaning of that event, he may joke around about it but he the most aware of SONG OH feeling and what he could do - and after all we know how much power and easy angry he can be .  but looking at it know  MW also care so much for SONG Oh maybe her really send the  little JS to save him back then , i love   this two MW and SONG OH know each other so well , they care for each other so much , even when they hide it like to kids act as they hate eacth other , but in the end the reason why SONG OH keep staying with MW even when he can get any house or anything also from his little brother is cause he care for MW and WORRY about him, something wrong happen in the past between MW and SONG OH and it will be related to MW wife and SONG OH feel bad for it , that the only reason he doesn't burn MW alife after all what he did when he can be crazy angry and he more powerful from him

 

what going to happen now we don't know , but the monkey has to face the fact that he in love with her for real and his love  has so much danger on it , the world ending that JS has to stop from coming I am wondering now if it all will happen cause that love, a love that doesn't care how much, or which world will be destroyed as much he keep her safe 

it scary that SONG OH keep saying it himself in normal words that he doesn't care if this world ending or what happens to all the people as long as his love say that he has to save her , he saying that thinking that it causes the fake love but what danger can come from it after we saw when he really burn a whole world for her , that not easy and normal act even for the crazy MONKEY 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2018 by nona88

[blairbex]

love to read posts from people who knows the backstory . and i agree . oh gong is too smart not to notice that his bracelet is frozen or not to find sunmi question so random . after all he figured out the things she likes includes him too when sunmi didn’t utter a word about it . and he tricked mawang in to drinking samjangs blood after she asked him not to like her . he didn’t ask for explanations and just knew that she is in pain as much he is . and let’s not forget when sunmi had a vision of future doom , she said i saw the world broken he sighed and nodded. he knows more than he is letting on . and there must be a reason why oh gong kept living with mawang even after betreyals,  nagging and how cool they are with petty revenge , like they have gone through bigger richard simmons together to care. same witn mawang if he really wanted oh gong gone for good he will try hard to get rid of him . although it’s obvious the great sage is way more powerfull than mawang 

[haymochi]

Hmmm interesting insights

That's why sometimes Oh Gong looks so serious and solemn...esp when Sunmi ask him to protect her cos she has a mission to save the world. He def knows something

 

Maybe it's true that Oh Gong has been looking after her for the past 25 years. If not what's the reason for him to suddenly look her up?

He must be in in pain not because of the bracelet that force him to fall in love.

He loves her long time ago but the doom of fate that sunmi might die someday makes  this love so painful for him...

 

 

[astrobooy]

Waiting for the subs is quite painful for me lol  . *Sigh btw i just want to thanks those subbers 

[YourHighness .]

OK question: OG knows SamJang has a job to save the world. She asked for his protection till then. He also knows, correct me if I am wrong, that she wants to become normal and there's a possibility that she will become normal as a reward for saving the world. Then why was he trying to get her killed by Mawang so bad? Does he not care about the world ending?

 

I really can't blame SM for not falling for and believing his words. In fact she may not believe it until the bracelet comes off of him. I also wonder how the writers are going to play this. They have made OG use the L word so many times that it has lost its meaning. Kinda like the female lead in Goblin who used I love you all the time without meaning it. How will they bring back its importance?

[RobinM]

Right? How is she ever going to believe him?! I feel like in the very beginning his “Love” was a mixture of magical influence, attraction and BSing her into taking the bracelet off. At this point it’s deeper: He really cares for her but doesn't like the feeling, wants his freedom from “prison” so his Love leads him to be cruel and cutting. 

 

SM is too well aware of all this so how will he convince her later he is completely genuine( as much a Monkey God can be) and accepting of this Love?

 

[briseis]

The Hong Sisters love to include some social commentary in their dramas but since all their previous shows were mainly rom-coms they didn’t have a real opportunity to delve deeper but Hwayugi, with its story about the struggle between good and evil allows them to go all out and, boy, they do.  One of the two main themes of the last two episodes was that there is a huge difference between what people call history and what is the truth because while history is entirely subjective entity which is usually written by winners who are so often men (and since Korea is such a masculine-based culture the story of the female warrior is even more relevent), the truth, on the other hand, is an absolute notion and even though people try to distort it, deny it or forget it there is always someone who knows. As mentioned before, the history is written by the winners and by those who have the power to write or rather distort it to their image. It’s really fitting and well-thought-out that the old female’s grandson and one of the main antagonists of the story is actualy A HISTORY PROFESSOR at Korea University (with Sungkyunkwan SK’s most influential and famous university and one of TOP100 universities in the world), so he is in fact literally creating and distorting history, his position and status giving him the credibility. He and his family have it all - power, status, money,… -  they are virtually untouchable and there is only one thing that can destroy them - THE TRUTH.

The story asks the question what is the truth behind all the lies and pretence? The real heroes live in the shadows, people don’t find their statues on town’s squares or their names in museums - REAL HEROES ARE FORGOTTEN.

“There are people hiding ugly secrets right in front of you.”

The second theme is that all gold does not glitter, that beauty is only skin deep and that things are not what they seem. There are so many examples of this - there is Kang Dae Sung who is handsome and admired but he is cold-blooded and most likely capable of anything to achieve his ambitions, including BJ’s death cover-up, on the other hand, there is Ma Wang, an actual demon, who is capable of compassion for humans and even zombies and who is able to restrain his very nature of a born predator because of his morals and the woman he loves. This dichotomy is apparent also on Alice, a beautiful woman but who only thinks about herself and considers everyone else beneath her and beneath her facade she is rotten to the bone and there is Bu Ja who is not even human and is actually rotting away but, like Ma Wang, she possesses the humanity both Alice and Dae Sung lack. It’s symbolic and relevant that in a world full of demons, it’s actually the humans who are the real devils.

[dubuqueen]

10 minutes ago, briseis said:

The Hong Sisters love to include some social commentary in their dramas but since all their previous shows were mainly rom-coms they didn’t have a real opportunity to delve deeper but Hwayugi, with its story about the struggle. 

Wow! I really enjoyed your analysis and am glad to have you here on this thread ^^ looking forward to your future insights.

 

If you let me add my two cents, there are other motifs/social commentaries I noticed as well : most of you guys thought that the dystopian future which JSM witnesses alludes to the North-Korea-South Korea-conflict. That's a valid point and fits well to our time frame, but I had a more simple POV : that humanity is responsible for its own destruction.

In the drama it was said that human's negative emotions create evil spirits and I think that is the point. So many evil spirits get introduced and almost all of them deliever a point. The glutton monstar reflected the lookism in South Korean Society, the apes criticize negligent driving, Akiko represents the 'truth that has to be concealed' and so on. In such a materalistic, egoistic, superficial and apathic society with double morales and concealed truths its hard to stabilize the status quo. It has to lead to its own destruction.

 

But an end can also mean a new beginning. In dystopian novels it is often said that the bad has to be destroyed to build up the good again and how there's a rainbow after the storm. I think that this might be what the Hong Sisters are going for.

[akoomy]

I love Lee Se young as zombie girl so much, I hope she is in it till the end

[briseis]

FETCH MY SMELLING SALTS! THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THESE TWO IS INSANE! The way he looks at her with so much gentleness and tender longing.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the Geum Gang Go doesn’t come with the impossible itch to make half-monkey demigod babies with Sam Jang. Soobori said that GGG’s magic was about blissful obedience, confinement and the need to protect SM, so physical desire is NOT part of the deal. And if someone still thinks it’s because of the “blissful obedience” than why does Son Oh Gong want to continue even when he doesn’t have to? Why is he so extremely pissed at the demon for interupting them? Why is he so disappointed when SM tells him they won’t continue? Actually in restrospect, Oh Gong has been providing a lot of premium and extra services to Seon Mi, waaaaaaay above his original assignment.

I almost pity everyone who ever dare to cockblock him.

 

While episodes 3 and 4 were in many way a prolonged set-up, these following episodes reap the fruits of that preparation because they really move the story foward in a big way, be it character and relationship development or the tension and higher stakes. Both episodes are filled with proofs that the powers of GGG are in fact limited and that Oh Gong’s emotions and feelings for SM are real VERY REAL.

[ForgottenSoulx]

SO i caught up and all i can say is im in love with this drama , im not really interested in the zombie plot but everything else is perfect.

 

The ending scene to the last episode gave me so many feels ;p

13 hours ago, YourHighness . said:

OK question: OG knows SamJang has a job to save the world. She asked for his protection till then. He also knows, correct me if I am wrong, that she wants to become normal and there's a possibility that she will become normal as a reward for saving the world. Then why was he trying to get her killed by Mawang so bad? Does he not care about the world ending?

 

I really can't blame SM for not falling for and believing his words. In fact she may not believe it until the bracelet comes off of him. I also wonder how the writers are going to play this. They have made OG use the L word so many times that it has lost its meaning. Kinda like the female lead in Goblin who used I love you all the time without meaning it. How will they bring back its importance?

 

i think she did believe him at the end of the latest episode.

12 hours ago, RobinM said:

Right? How is she ever going to believe him?! I feel like in the very beginning his “Love” was a mixture of magical influence, attraction and BSing her into taking the bracelet off. At this point it’s deeper: He really cares for her but doesn't like the feeling, wants his freedom from “prison” so his Love leads him to be cruel and cutting. 

 

SM is too well aware of all this so how will he convince her later he is completely genuine( as much a Monkey God can be) and accepting of this Love?

 

 

he is in love with her that was obvious even before the bracelet. 

[briseis]

Son Oh Gong’s seeming disregard and indifference towards human and their world is an ongoing theme in the story; however, he already might care about the human world more than he realizes. Actually, in those 20+ years he has spend there after being freed he grew attached to it -  the alcohol, the house with big bathtub, wide parking lot, his coats and furs, Versace shirts and now, cotton candy. If the world ends all those things will disappear. Yes, they are all materialic things and they are not a sufficient motivation for him to risk his life and save the world but still he does care more than he knows and admits. And it makes total sense because his M.O. has always been not to care, or rather, pretend not to care with the exception of SOJ. But he may soon find out that Seon Mi might be the one thing he can’t live without, the one thing he isn’t prepared to lose and the Great Sage never loses. Anything.

I really dig this dynamic where the OTP hurt each other with their words - SM because she wants to protect her heart and OG because he isn’t able to overcome his wounded pride and ego but also because he hasn’t made sense of his real feelings. It hurts but it hurts so good.

 

That blatant show of his “chained” wrist is a gesture that has been a slap in Seon Mi’s face for making him what Oh Gong considers to be her personal slave. He does it everytime he says “I love you” to her and the wrist gesture is the unspoken “but I hate it” follow-up. But at the same time, it has become Oh Gong’s defence mechanism against having to face his real feelings; it’s his shield, his armour which has been cracking, well, it hasn’t been that strong to begin with.

[enigmatic_zephy]

18 hours ago, haymochi said:

Hmmm interesting insights

That's why sometimes Oh Gong looks so serious and solemn...esp when Sunmi ask him to protect her cos she has a mission to save the world. He def knows something

 

Maybe it's true that Oh Gong has been looking after her for the past 25 years. If not what's the reason for him to suddenly look her up?

He must be in in pain not because of the bracelet that force him to fall in love.

He loves her long time ago but the doom of fate that sunmi might die someday makes  this love so painful for him...

 

 

i think we can deduce that JSM is not the first samjang.. and these monsters have been around for ages. When the white clothed deity told Mawang that JSM has been given samjang's fate as a punishment.. his expressions were very serious..

 

I guess everytime a samjang is born/brought into human realm... it is because something really tragic is about to happen that cannot be controlled by anyone else.. and these beasts know that.. therefore when they knew JSM is the chosen one.. they knew.. she is going to face major ordeals.. and MAYBE.. samjang are always meant to sacrifice themselves and thus end their need in the world by closing the doors of hell... so they also know she is eventually meant to die

 

 

My point is..e ven if Oh gong doesn't know what vision SM saw or what is going to happen.. he knows that as Samjang she will have a bigger mission and he has been appointed to guard her till she fulfills her destiny.. 

 

**********************

@blairblex  So, MW's wife was cursed after an encounter with Monkey where he tricked her to get her fan. I think mawang sent JSM genuinely to get the fan only (so that he could put out the fire burning since 3 days and earn points) .. infact he lost points because monkey was released.. he wanted to trap monkey in photo again to earn points.. MW is very goal oriented and has nothing to do with monkey... BUT these beasts cannot forget that monkey is already a deity and super powerful so you can't outrightly reject his presence or cross lines with him.. 

 

Monkey on the other hand.. i thinl still gives credit to mawang for being one reson he is free..plus who wants to be alone.. monkey is also living in human world..so best stay close to people who are below you, powerful in human realm, and not as beastly as other beasts are.. and do know him and put him in honory position of a deity

 

 

*********************

 

@nona88 it is a chicken and egg story..

 

he wants her to die to be free.. but until the moment she actually dies (all organs gone) he will move heaven and earth to save her.. so those last few seconds of death are so torcherous that monkey won't be able to control himself.. so love or not.. this is a crazy situation

 

I also wonder if monkey has been looking after JSM all through 25 years.. because that yellow umbrella is quite useless.. no?

14 hours ago, YourHighness . said:

OK question: OG knows SamJang has a job to save the world. She asked for his protection till then. He also knows, correct me if I am wrong, that she wants to become normal and there's a possibility that she will become normal as a reward for saving the world. Then why was he trying to get her killed by Mawang so bad? Does he not care about the world ending?

No  haven't you figured out he doesn't

PLUS this is more of heavenly deity's and god's problem.. they banned him from heavens.. he will be only too happy to let them find a cure.. plus if anyone can be made samjang at any point .. then they would just give that fate to someone else

14 hours ago, YourHighness . said:

 

I really can't blame SM for not falling for and believing his words. In fact she may not believe it until the bracelet comes off of him. I also wonder how the writers are going to play this. They have made OG use the L word so many times that it has lost its meaning. Kinda like the female lead in Goblin who used I love you all the time without meaning it. How will they bring back its importance?

 

[inner]

I avoided watching this series in the beginning and only started to watch yesterday , drawn by zany ChaJuma. Now I'm hooked.

 

Love the twist to the classic story, love the dialogue banter between SOG and SJ, love MW, doggy sidekick, Hongyi, SOG bro - servant, Zombie girl... Korean production like this , with great production value from plot to CG effects , cinematography and great casting, beats wannabe fantasy productions from China any day, any minute.  

 

Well done on strategising the plot , making SOG wearing the GGO and how SJ got to remember his name thereon. 

And the refreshing bit about SOG being so focused on SJ giving up her present life so that he can eat her. Bet you won't see this storyline in other drama series anytime soon. 

 

(just watching ep 5 now) Since SJ wants SOG to protect her until the last, I wonder if and when SJ will release SOG from GGO . I wanna see that happen and SOG to realise its all real , his feelings for SJ. I thought SJ will take off SOG GGO when she realised her mission, to spare SOG from suffering but that didn't happen.  

 

Anyway, this is a great show with outstanding writers!

[suzy0604]

aaah how I love all the deep and well thought of analysis in this thread! they really help in filling the gap each week waiting for new episodes.

 

one thing for sure, the love lines in this drama are doomed. SOG and SJ, PK and BJ, MW and the fairy, their love are somewhat forbidden and not meant to be. but, I believe their sincerity will moved the heavens to somehow make their love specialy SOG and SJ's work. but before that, they and we (the audience) will have to face a lot of pain and tears. I just hope we will get some treats of cotton candy sweetness every now and then.

[ck1Oz]

To be honest.... will there be a true romance in this story? Thinking about the original story you see.

[haymochi]

Well judging from the character relationship charts and it's Hong Sisters drama so i can say there will def a true romance

 

not sure if they gonna have a happy ending though 

 

 

[larus]

Lee Seung Gi Can’t Keep His Eyes Off Oh Yeon Seo During Their Quiet Library Date In “Hwayugi”

J. Lim January 18, 2018

 

Lee Seung Gi plays reckless troublemaker Son Oh Gong while Oh Yeon Seo plays Jin Sun Mi, whose blood attracts demons as it is a source of great power and energy for them. The two did not start off on the best of terms but their constant bickering has been building up a romantic connection between the two.

The new stills show Lee Seung Gi and Oh Yeon Seo at a university library together, which they are visiting after hearing rumors that a ghost has been seen wandering throughout the building. While Oh Yeon So is busy scoping the area and staying on high alert, Son Oh Gong rests his head on a pile of books and stares at Oh Yeon Seo the whole time. The two are set to showcase a different ‘couple chemistry’ as they communicate through expressions and gestures in the silence of the quiet library.

more https://www.soompi.com/2018/01/18/lee-seung-gi-cant-keep-eyes-off-oh-yeon-seo-quiet-library-date-hwayugi/

[larus]

Lee Seung Gi Can’t Keep His Eyes Off Oh Yeon Seo During Their Quiet Library Date In “Hwayugi”

J. Lim January 18, 2018

 

Lee Seung Gi plays reckless troublemaker Son Oh Gong while Oh Yeon Seo plays Jin Sun Mi, whose blood attracts demons as it is a source of great power and energy for them. The two did not start off on the best of terms but their constant bickering has been building up a romantic connection between the two.

The new stills show Lee Seung Gi and Oh Yeon Seo at a university library together, which they are visiting after hearing rumors that a ghost has been seen wandering throughout the building. While Oh Yeon So is busy scoping the area and staying on high alert, Son Oh Gong rests his head on a pile of books and stares at Oh Yeon Seo the whole time. The two are set to showcase a different ‘couple chemistry’ as they communicate through expressions and gestures in the silence of the quiet library.

more https://www.soompi.com/2018/01/18/lee-seung-gi-cant-keep-eyes-off-oh-yeon-seo-quiet-library-date-hwayugi/

[haymochi]

Finally tomorrow is Saturday...

the week felt so long everytime because of   this drama 

 

can i get more cute samjang+monkey moments please 

Stop torturing poor Sunmi feelings. I hope she will be loved by everyone sincerely.  

Esp that first love guy,  I'm loving him already...jealous and petty monkey is the best