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

[cutestrobery]

Haven't got the chance to watch this but i love Oh Yeon Seo 

will catch up soon

[Ruique]

How much does SOG knows about those mystical items presented throughout the series?  His knowledge of them is relatively low compared to WH, maybe due to being locked up all those years. I think the writer is portraying JSM as this naive person, who don't really suspect anything or anyone until she's presented with the fact. Bet she's thinking the black bell's ringing is a sign that SOG's her one love, even when the magic shop grandson already gave such an adverse reaction when she asked if that black bell is a love bell.  I honestly hope that JSM acknowledges her feelings for SOG soon, so she won't have to feel sad for one moment, then happy for one moment,  then disappointed for one moment and then be conflicted by all these feelings.  

9 hours ago, haymochi said:

Lmao his character is indeed cringe

but since his character is from America i think he is a good cast.

i rather have someone who speaks English  fluently with accent in Korean rather than a handsome Korean actor acting like he is from America but speaks Konglish haha

 

i wonder if his character is just there for bait to make Oh Gong burning with jealousy or will he serve other purpose? 

Maybe his character will die or his haracter is eveil. I need to see some interesting aspect from him since Sunmi herself is already a very serious mature character on her own

 

 

I'm fine with his character speaking English. But I'll rather he speaks English all together rather than say one sentence in English, then do another in Korean, and keep going back and forth. Maybe that's supposed to be the comical aspect of his character but I found it awkward. It's like he's being his own translator.  

[agrinaika]

Hello Guys, just want to share if you love Lee Seung Gi & Oh Yeon Seo Couple, kindly join our forum:

Thankyou so much for your support! lovelove!

[Rin90]

The plot getting clear each eps...

In mermaid ep, the human trick the mermaid and he gt a lover. sog want Sam Jang made promise so Sam Jang will not betray him.

 

In ep 8, Sam Jang and SoG fate - one will die in another hand. 

 

I dont think sog will kill Sam jang. 

It must be sam jang who will betray and kill SOG. Like SOG said, only samjang can kill him. And the evil spirit curse...  'That woman will kill you' 

 

Im afraid ths is relate to samjang's view of future..  The world will damage, the world tht samjang love the most. If Samjang using Oh Gong to protect the world and it makes him died, i just cant..  Please dont break my Oh Gong heart 

 

Act, why i predict the worst to happen? Keke.  Cant wait ep 9. XD

[haymochi]

Samjang will never betray him. She loves him ...

maybe there will be some noble idiocy that  create understanding or they may decide to sacrifice themselves in order not to hurt each other

 

their love is gonna be painful with lots of tears for sure but somehow Heaven will be touched(?)

[larus]

3 Types Of Lines That Cha Seung Won Delivers To Show The Many Sides Of His “Hwayugi” Character

C. Hong January 24, 2018

 

 

Cha Seung Won knows how to deliver a line, whether it’s charismatic or comic, and the types of lines he delivers always shows the best side of his character Woo Ma Wang in “Hwayugi.”

 

Some of Woo Ma Wang’s best lines are heard when responding to Son Oh Gong’s (Lee Seung Gi) taunts and teasing, acting as a judge for his day job as an entertainment CEO, and when expressing his longing for his love Princess Iron Fan (Kim Ji Soo).

Dealing with the mischievous Son Oh Gong

Some of his best lines in this situation include:

• “You won’t be able to stop yourself from going. If you’re the person who could never leave her afraid, lonely, or suffering, then you won’t leave her sad either.” (Episode 4, when Son Oh Gong claimed that he wouldn’t go and rescue Sam Jang [Oh Yeon Seo])
• “Ta tong, yeo tong. If she hurts, you hurt too.” (Episode 4, when Son Oh Gong claimed Sam Jang’s tears didn’t hurt him)
• “You’re like a baby shaking a rattle.” (Episode 4, when Son Oh Gong tries to bring down Woo Ma Wang’s building after learning about his contract with Sam Jang)
• “If I don’t endure it, then the person you love will disappear. It makes you feel like you want to die, right?” (Episode 6, when Son Oh Gong asks scornfully if he can’t endure a little side effect)
• “It was like a brush of fate, and today is the proper reunion. Today’s drama’s script was mine, the direction was mine, the lead role Jin Sun Mi, and Jonathan, and YOU!” (Episode 7, telling Son Oh Gong that Sam Jang and Jonathan’s meeting was all part of his plan)

Judging survival programs as an entertainment CEO

Some of his performances in this role have bordered on the crazy, edging the line between a fake cult leader and a reality show judge.

• “Now only my choice can save you. You, are you desperate?” (Episode 1 during the audition program)
• “You!! You!! You!! Yes, I will save you, chance! You all pa~~ssed!” (Episode 2 during the audition program)
• “Hm, there were so many contestants who’ve passed through my life, I don’t remember you.” (Episode 2, to Sam Jang who asks him for help while he’s recording the audition program)

Loving Princess Iron Fan

• “In this life, where and how are you living?” (Episode 3, looking at a picture of Princess Iron Fan)
• “I have to become a shin sun [being of great power]. If I can only do that, I can participate in the life-and-death cycle and destinies of humans. If I can only do that… I can rescue her.” (Episode 4)
• “Everyone calls her Princess Iron Fan, but she is really a shin sun named Ja Eun.” (Episode 5)

The production staff stated, “Cha Seung Won’s charisma and his ability to turn the situation comic in an instant makes audiences laugh and cry and get goosebumps. He’s an unpredictable actor. Please look forward to what kind of colors Woo Ma Wang, Son Oh Gong, and Sam Jang will bring out with their acting in the future.”

 

https://www.soompi.com/2018/01/24/3-types-lines-cha-seung-won-delivers-show-many-sides-hwayugi-character/

[TAoJC]

A THREAD FOR MY LOVELY COUPLE !!!! THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU 

[peaceful52]

I just love Lee Seung Gi in this drama. He rocks his role. Of coure all actors play their roles great. But SOG wouldn't be SOG when LSG wouldn't play him. 

 

So typical from the Hong Sisters to play the part of killed or being killed. Almost like My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, where MiHo had to die or Dae Woong. 

 

So GGG is there SOG thinks he is in Love because of the braclet. I don't think SM kills SOG. I thought because all demons come to her lotus flower scent he has to kill her so all demons gather to one point. I think SM will use GGG so SOG will kill her. If he just would love her on his own, he would destroy the whole world for her and would have a choice. But with the GGG he has no choice and does the things which SM wants and loves. 

Mannnn this drama is sooo goooddd... I just loveee it. 

There is so much behind everything they say and do. I want to know why SOG was punished. That is one of the most intresting stories. Was he betrayed by a human? What happend to that human? 

And where are SM parents? Are their maybe deitys? 

[ladysaotome]

17 hours ago, RobinM said:

I think Son Yook is a tiny demon in disguise working for the sage. If that’s so it’s creepy to think he watching her undress and walk around in a towel .

 

I don't think it's a tiny demon but similar to the little boy that led her to him back when she first saw him at the crosswalk. I know the drama differs from the book and lore but according to wiki: "Each of his hairs possess magical properties, capable of being transformed into clones of the Monkey King himself, and/or into various weapons, animals, and other objects." I suspect it's something along those lines? 

21 hours ago, stargazer187 said:

For next episodes, I see that the preview seems to mislead us by thinking there'll be a new GGG owner. The woman claimed she's the new owner of GGG while OG insists it couldn't be her since only SM who can call him. Hm.. this is confusing. Guess what this mean? Any theories for this? Let's have some fun insights with this until next Saturday comes. 

 

My theory is that it's an editing thing and what she really means by claiming to be the owner is that she is going to try to force OG to do whatever she orders by threatening SM who is most likely captured. My sister & I suspect she is trapping children (and SM) in books (and we wonder if that kid Jonathan helped is involved?)

[briseis]

His face says it all - he knows he has just messed up in an epic way. And it’s obvious from the moment he appears in front of SM, from the look of doom and inevitability in Oh Gong’s eyes, that he is aware that everything is going to go down the drain and that it’s all his fault. It’s kind of fitting that everytime Oh Gong starts plotting something against Seon Mi, he is always the one who gets hurt the most in the process and ends up regretting it all - because that’s what happens when you fight your own heart. Maybe it’s only apt then that all his grand plots fail because his heart isn’t really in them. When I say that he gets hurt the most, it’d be more precise to say that he gets hurt as much as Seon Mi does because here she standing before the man she loves who has just admitted to her he planned her murder only days after he had told her he wants her to disappear. That’s the kind of angst I dig and Lee Seung Gi and Oh Yeon Seon really know how to sell it with minimal dialogue; and I think that’s also one of the reasons why I obsess about their pairing so much - they can communicate and express so much with their eyes - the sadness, the hurt, the sorrows, the love they fight so hard against,…. - it’s all there.

And for all his clever plans and plots, Son Oh Gong is always is the one who thwarts them; he creates all these dangerous situations which endanger Seon Mi but he is always there to pacify them. He protects her from Ma Wang whom he himself set against her and he literally uses his body as a shield to save her from being stabbed (interestingly, it seems that while a stab to the heart can’t kill a powerful demon it can cause him a momentary pain).

I keep mentioning that Hwayugi is an atypical Hong Sisters drama and one of the aspects that really differ is that usually the angst in their shows starts in the final 3-4 episodes; however, in Hwayugi it is ever-present in almost every OTP interaction - there is a hint of bittersweetness, potential tragedy and heartbreak from the very beginning.

[briseis]

OST Part 5 featuring AOA will be released on January 27 (it should be the song which played during the episode 7 kiss)

New BTS stills featuring actors with their scripts

source: naver

[packmule3]

Delurking... 

 

I remember in their hit romcom, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, the Hong sisters did an excellent re-interpretation of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid” so I’m not surprised that they did the same thing here with Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are.”

 

 

I read this book to my sons when they were young and I’ve kept the book for my future grandchildren. Last night, I found myself searching for the old book in the bookshelves and rereading it to refresh my memory.

 

Spoiler

 

There IS a marked similarity between Max, the wild boy in the story book, and OhGong, the uncontrollable and powerful demigod in Hwayugi.

 

In the beginning of the story, Max wore “his wolf suit” and got into mischief the entire day, similar to OhGong who wore his furry coat and did pretty much as he pleased, expecting to be “promoted” to deity status in his own fashion. He was feared by everyone but answerable to no one. He was cocky. Thus, when he was denied his heavenly promotion, he declared war with the gods. He announced that he’d eat SamJang and become powerful on his own. To hell with the heavenly rules! He made his own emancipation act.

 

That is what Max did in the story book. When his mother called him “Wild Thing!” for misbehaving the whole day, he retorted angrily, “I’ll eat you up!” For this insolence, he was sent to his room without dinner. It was a well-deserved punishment. “A time-out” is how I would call it with my sons.

 

In his room, Max was given free rein to create rumpus and to indulge in any folly that he wanted. Parents would recognize his childish behavior in a heartbeat. Max was having a major meltdown, a full-blown temper tantrum. In his mind, his mother was so mean that he was going to “punish” her and to make her miss him by running away to a place where he was the anointed "King of the Wild Things." In this imaginary world, the other wild things would appreciate him, look up to him, and cater to his every whim -- unlike his mother.

 

Well...it was fun playing in this world for a while but in good time, Max felt lonely and wanted to go back “to be where someone loved him best of all.”

 

Do you see the similarity to OhGong? This too happened with OhGong.

 

He encountered SunMi who was waiting for him for years to reappear because he had once promised to protect her. However, instead of making good on his promise, he told her (without any remorse or guilt) that he intended to eat her up so he could gain power. lol.

 

True to his wild nature, he only thought of himself. Like Max, he wanted his way and assumed that saying “I’ll eat you up!” was a brilliant idea. It didn’t help at all that he was surrounded by his posse of demon friends who catered to his whims. Nobody would dare say to him, “Go to your room right now, young monkey, and stay here until you behave!”

 

Sure, Mawang scolded him but Mawang knew that when push came to shove, he was no contest to the great OhGong. He couldn’t send him on timeout like Max’s mother did.

 

It was SunMi who stopped him and confronted him about his wild streak. But it was obvious that OhGong didn’t share nor understand her point of view. He was taken aback by SunMi’s accusatory words that 1) she had been waiting for him desperately and 2) he behaved badly for disappearing on her. For one, desperation was a novel concept to him because he never needed anyone desperately before. With the exception of drinking alcohol, he could do whatever he wanted.

 

For another, he had openly confessed to SunMi that he was a “bad guy,” so, in his mind, his admission absolved him of the burden of protecting her. He was only being true to himself.

 

Thus, when he told her that he would eat her up, he felt neither guilt nor remorse that he reneged on his promise to protect her from demons, and that he was, in fact, the fiercest and most dangerous demon whom she needed protection from.

 

Thankfully, there was the Geumganggo. The only way SunMi could stop him was by using the Geumganggo, the love bracelet.

 

Like Max in the story book, the moment OhGong realized that he needed to stop being a “wild thing” was the moment he realized that he needed “to be where someone loved him best of all.”

 

In the children’s book, Max raged in his room and created this fantastic other-world inhabited by grotesque monsters because he was both angry with his mom and fearful that she’d desert him. Subconsciously, he thought that his mom’s love for him had a limit and that she wouldn’t forgive him for his naughtiness and his “wild” side so he “sailed away” to where all the wild things were.

 

OhGong, too, tried to push SunMi’s buttons to see if she would release him from the love bracelet. He fumed over the entrapment and the forced love. He alternated between cajoling her and threatening her to let him go. He was even testing her limits by saying mean things to her.

 

Spoiler

 

But SunMi loves him despite his wild side and his mean streak.

 

Like Max’s mom who leaves hot food for him, SunMi gives him a chance every. single. time to redeem himself. Verbally, she sets her limits (“up to here and no more”) and convinces herself not to fall for his tricks. But silently, she lives in hope that he’ll fall in love with her on his own free will.

 

By Episode 8, we see that OhGong is finally realizing that despite the immense power he has as a “wild” thing and the Great Sage, his happiness is now linked to, literally, SunMi. He’s beginning to understand what desperation means when SunMi distances herself from him.

 

So what do I think is the Hong sisters’ message about “eating up” a lover?

 

Again, this isn’t the first time the Hong sisters used this theme of cannibalism. In Gumiho, Miho scared Lee Seunggi’s character to do her bidding because she was known to eat liver of men. In Warm and Cozy, the hero teased the female lead by calling her a vampire carp wanting to eat him up.

Spoiler

 

gif credit: pandalover1

 

 

Well, I don’t really think the sisters have a food fetish nor do I think they’re talking about sexual things. I’ve seen the raunchy comments on some site and I had to roll my eyes. 

 

To me, what the Hong sisters meant here is very simple: Love is all-consuming. It devours both the lover and the beloved body and soul. It’s a deep hunger for the other person. The couple in love starve for each other’s presence. 

 

In the story book, the imaginary monsters begged Max to stay with them, and (strangely enough) repeated Max’s angry words to his mom. “Oh please don’t go – we’ll eat you up – we love you so!” These wild things were expressing a love so DESPERATE in the only way they knew how. Let’s not forget for a second that they were monsters so of course, they’d eat him up. Eating him up was the only way they could keep him with them (literally, inside of them, lol) wherever they went.

 

Now, let’s see how soon OhGong and SunMi will realize what desperate, all-consuming love means for both of them. Personally, I’d think it would be cool if OhGong were to eat SunMi ala-Hannibal Lecter in the “Silence of the Lambs.”

 

That is, with some fava beans and glass of nice Chianti.

 

Instead of kimchi. 

 

I’ve also written about the significance of the fur coat. There's a considerable number of pictures so it’s tiresome to post it here. If you want to read it, you'll just have to go to my blog and read it over there. It's bitchesoverdramas.com.

 

I've also typed out “Where the Wild Things Are”  for those of you who don’t have access to the book. It's under the spoiler. The illustrations are gorgeous and worth the trip to the library or bookstore. 

 

Spoiler

 

Where the Wild Thing Are

 

The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind
and another
his mother called him “WILD THING!”
and Max said “I’LL EAT YOU UP!”
so he was sent to bed without eating anything.
That very night in Max’s room a forest grew
and grew-
and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around
and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max and he sailed off through night and day
and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are.
And when he came to the place where the wild things are they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claw
till Max said “BE STILL!” and tamed them with the magic trick
of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all
and made him king of all wild things.
“And now,” cried Max, “let the wild rumpus start!”
…
“Now stop!” Max said and sent the wild things off to bed without any supper. And Max the king of all wild thing was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all.
Then all around from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat so he gave up being king of where the wild things are.
But the wild things cired, “Oh please don’t go- we’ll eat you up- we love you so!” And Max said, “No!”
Then the wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye
and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day
and into the night of his very own room where he found while his supper waiting for him
and it was still hot.

 

 

Tagging @nearsea @phikyl (hey, this is another Hong sisters' production), @CamelKnight, @lavender2love (are you feeling better?) @romanov @daloula

[haymochi]

I need that super sad song by Ben released asap....

it got me so many feels 

[briseis]

Sometimes I wonder whether the reason why Son Oh Gong fights his affection for Seon Mi tooth and nail isn’t because he is protecting himself the way Seon Mi is. She is afraid that Oh Gong’s will disappear with the bracelet but his fears come from a different source - that humans are transient. One way or another, Seon Mi will eventually die and he would be left behind for eternity because that’s the curse of his immortality - to be left behind forever. It won’t be his feelings that will disappear - it will be her.

At this point, Oh Gong’s feelings for SM are so strong that he wants to be with her constantly, every day, and he lives for the moment when she calls him. In the the supermarket lot, during a moment of complete and brutal honesty, he tells her, hell, he begs her not to leave him behind. Later he adds the fact of her leaving with a different man, but his plea’s originally much more general. He’s afraid to be left alone once more and after spending almost 1000 years in solitary confinement it makes a lot of sense where his fears come from. 

Oh Gong might be an all-powerful, virtually invicible deity, which makes you wonder what the limit of his powers is, but then you realize that he has already revealed it himself several times - IT’S DEATH. He often mentions that he hates losing and what is death if not the ultimate loss. It’s something even he is powerless to fight. And Seon Mi’s death, in one way or another, is inevitable and that’s a thought he can’t bear because as seen in Ma Wang’s case when demons fall in love with a woman, they love her for eternity.

[haymochi]

7 hours ago, peaceful52 said:

I just love Lee Seung Gi in this drama. He rocks his role. Of coure all actors play their roles great. But SOG wouldn't be SOG when LSG wouldn't play him. 

 

So typical from the Hong Sisters to play the part of killed or being killed. Almost like My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, where MiHo had to die or Dae Woong. 

 

So GGG is there SOG thinks he is in Love because of the braclet. I don't think SM kills SOG. I thought because all demons come to her lotus flower scent he has to kill her so all demons gather to one point. I think SM will use GGG so SOG will kill her. If he just would love her on his own, he would destroy the whole world for her and would have a choice. But with the GGG he has no choice and does the things which SM wants and loves. 

Mannnn this drama is sooo goooddd... I just loveee it. 

There is so much behind everything they say and do. I want to know why SOG was punished. That is one of the most intresting stories. Was he betrayed by a human? What happend to that human? 

And where are SM parents? Are their maybe deitys? 

I think Sunmi parents died not long after she was born/when she was very young?

Hence her relatives think she is some bad luck who even took her own parents live now even her own grandmother.

 

They don't want anything that's been touched by her as it will bring bad luck. Remember how Sunmi took some money from the bank for his uncle by not touching it at all? Poor girl....i just want her to be happy.

 

i always feel like this samjang fate is just too cruel for her even worse, the love of her life  is Sun Oh Gong who she may have fate of death with.

can't she have those demons treat her with sincerity at least? Mawang and Oh Gong has been using her as pawn to richard simmons off each other. She is also used as bait for the demons...

[briseis]

The sight of Son Oh Gong standing surrounded by the love lock is really symbolic on many different levels because the idea of those locks is that you throw away the key so your love would last forever. Such a human thing to do.  Futhermore most of those locks were put out there because it’s a cool thing to do, because it’s what others do and it’s trendy and most of these “loves” didn’t last a year; the difference between them and Oh Gong is that when he falls in love it really is literally forever. 

Although he isn’t a human, now Oh Gong has his own lock there - a lock, an another way, that binds him, a demon, with Seon Mi, a human. What strikes you most in this moment is that he has known all along that she placed it there, and when he defeated the hair-cutter he was aware that SM was there to remove it, to unlock their connection because he hurt her once again. He never tells her and she doesn’t know but the truth remains.

Oh Gong is already connected to her with their contract and the GGG but while his initial reaction with those two was to remove them but he couldn’t, here is a measly human love lock, which SM placed there without his consent and which he can remove with a mere flicker of his hand. Yet he does not. In the past he had on qualms pressuring or tricking SM into terminating the contract and removing the bracelet (the GGG’s power couldn’t make him actually like him wearing the bracelet which was original made to bring pain), yet here he is unwilling to break this little love lock that binds her to him. He is bound to Seon Mi for all eternity not because he must but because he chooses to be.

[leeseunggi5ever]

Hello guys!~ does anyone of you know where I could find the Hwayugi Monkey Doll in Korea?? Where exactly in Seoul?? Name of store or street? My family is there right now and I would like to ask it as a gift :-) Thank you!

[astrobooy]

I just remember something from the original novel abt SOG erasing his name in a book (life and death) will he do it here again ? Or Will he do it for JSM ? 

[dvrels]

49 minutes ago, leeseunggi5ever said:

Hello guys!~ does anyone of you know where I could find the Hwayugi Monkey Doll in Korea?? Where exactly in Seoul?? Name of store or street? My family is there right now and I would like to ask it as a gift :-) Thank you!

As i remember when I search it on naver, I saw one of the picture was post in Miniso store, so maybe in Miniso Seoul

[leeseunggi5ever]

21 minutes ago, dvrels said:

As i remember when I search it on naver, I saw one of the picture was post in Miniso store, so maybe in Miniso Seoul

OMO THANK YOU SO SO SO SO MUCH!!!!!! <333 Will tell them to check out Miniso Stores in Seoul!!! <3