[Drama 2018] My Husband Oh Jak-doo 데릴남편 오작두

[ecs707a]

8 hours ago, Lmangla said:

is this a light drama? how is the first two episodes looking? am looking for something that is NOT dark and will make me laugh..... nothing that will require me using brain cells.

No brain cells needed so far   Also mostly light, although Seung Joo has a couple of traumatic events and some lingering effects from that.  I don't think it'll go much darker.

 

I finished the second ep last night and now I want to check up on the state of discrimination laws in Korea.  Hmph.  I don't understand how they knew and how it's possible that they would refuse to hire her over something like that.  Is that really legal in Korea?

[nateko]

4 hours ago, ecs707a said:

No brain cells needed so far   Also mostly light, although Seung Joo has a couple of traumatic events and some lingering effects from that.  I don't think it'll go much darker.

 

I finished the second ep last night and now I want to check up on the state of discrimination laws in Korea.  Hmph.  I don't understand how they knew and how it's possible that they would refuse to hire her over something like that.  Is that really legal in Korea?

Don't know about discrimination laws in Korea, but it's true that employers can check their candidates' medical records. Pretty crazy but that's exactly the reason why people are afraid to go to a psychiatrist. 

 

As for the drama as a whole, I regret watching both episodes today because I like it so so much, the wait till Saturday will be painful.  There's something about cohabitation and fake marriage plots that always works for me.  Didn't expect the drama to have dark elements as well but that's a pleasant surprise. Overall, the drama's fun to watch, it really fits my mood too. 

[Lmangla]

thanks @larus @dramaninja @ecs707a ~ checked it out and I really liked it. so nice to enjoy a drama after a long time. it has got a nice mix of romance, quirky easy going humour as well as mystery and a bit of melo sadness. liked that she was checking him out and finds his strength attractive. hahahah... more comments later. time to get some zzzz.

[shamrockmom]

8 hours ago, ecs707a said:

No brain cells needed so far   Also mostly light, although Seung Joo has a couple of traumatic events and some lingering effects from that.  I don't think it'll go much darker.

 

I finished the second ep last night and now I want to check up on the state of discrimination laws in Korea.  Hmph.  I don't understand how they knew and how it's possible that they would refuse to hire her over something like that.  Is that really legal in Korea?

The state of discrimination laws is basically whatever an employer can get away with. If that was not the case, there would not be dramas like "Awl", "Misaeng", or "Working Mom, Parenting Dad"--the first 3 I could think of off the top of my head that deal in large part with discrimination and employment law issues in Korea. @nateko is correct that employers can check the medical records of their employees which is why treatment for mental health issues or other physical problems is not always sought.

 

I think that our mountain man cleans up very well for those (fake) wedding pictures! Loved it when he tried to sit on the floor and not the couch! He's just the medicine Seung Joo needs to heal her mind. The wounds her friends and family inflicted on her are bad but in a different way from the PTSD.

[0ly40]

preview ep 2

 

[Lmangla]

what I am loving so far: if you are fan, turn your eyes! good to see UEE looking healthy. actually started to avoid her dramas because it made me uncomfortable how anorexic she looked. while she is not as healthy and pretty looking like her ojaygko brothers days, it does not look like the clothes just hang on her. hope she continues to be healthy. and it is lovely to see this actor get some time to shine. saw him all looking snazzy in that count of monte cristo drama and so it is fun to see a sharp turn as the mountain man. but hey, he is still rocking it with all those muscles! hahahahah...

 

what I didn't like: that corpse! do we need to keep seeing it over and over again? yea, i get it that she is having panic attacks but do we viewers also have to suffer the same? kind of creepy to watch the drama at night if we have to participate in her nightmares!

 

as for the story: @nateko ~ am really liking how the familiar well loved contract marriage trope is given a new life and twist. like @shamrockmom says, he is going to bring healing in her life and so I expect there to be lots of physical contact. like her request for him to sleep in the same room. it is both emotional and at the same time builds the road for romance. so it is rather sweet.

 

also really liked how the typical candy heroine is given a bit of twist. instead of her being all cheerful and being a saint, we are meeting her at her breaking point. like the doctor says, those who have a strong will tend to react stronger even though they try to take things lightly and this is resulting in a panic disorder. so she seems more human and relatable no?

 

and it reminded me of the old movie speed where the character says something about how a stressful life and death situation can create a bond quickly and we can see that here. she is a person who won't even call too many people to celebrate because as she accurately puts it, folks tend to be jealous of your success and pity you when you are feeling low. so she builds a wall across herself to protect but his physically saving her life immediately makes her trust him. so the set up to her asking him to be her fake husband felt organic. it is also a different reason than most dramas and so makes me curious to see how it will turn out.

 

but the thing I didn't get -- maybe I was asleep -- is why did he agree to be her fake husband? she had already said that she won't pressure him and he can stay there as long as he wants?

 

the mystery: so do we have a stalker? a serial killer? did she hurt someone as a PD? since that jacket guy has a son makes me wonder if he blames her for something -- a divorce? a death? and why does the mom blame her for all their misery? did the dad leave because of something this girl said? or did he die accidentally because of her? and why is the mountain man hiding? why did the student blame him for the whatever happened to the grandfather? did the grandfather die? and why is mountain man hiding? is he seeking penance?

[joonminfan]

1 hour ago, Lmangla said:

but the thing I didn't get -- maybe I was asleep -- is why did he agree to be her fake husband? she had already said that she won't pressure him and he can stay there as long as he wants?

 

I think he is also hiding from someone. The Korean Classical Music guy called Eric Jo or something like that. At least that's what I understood from the recaps.

[Lmangla]

32 minutes ago, joonminfan said:

 

I think he is also hiding from someone. The Korean Classical Music guy called Eric Jo or something like that. At least that's what I understood from the recaps.

ah I see... am not sure why he feels the need to hide though but we will find out soon enough. the second lead eric cho just made me laugh and feel for him. he is like this hilarious vain peacock and yet you can't help feel for how insecure he is and how much he tries. he is someone who is never going to be that classical music guy but is the one who is willing to spend to promote those arts but people look down on him. but it is interesting to see this whole purist vs update dilemna in the classical arts. am hoping that he ends up with the second lead girl who is an artist because it will give him a sort of legitimacy in the arts that he is craving for.

 

actually thought eric was quite brilliant in wanting to update this classical music by mixing it with hip hop -- so, it may be a terrible idea musically hahahah and it is obvious he has no music sense when he could not understand that artist shouting at him, but his base idea to make it more accessible to the younger generation is valid. lots of traditional music and arts are dying out in this era and it is really sad. purists may think it is awful but it is also a fact that the new generation may not care for traditional music unless updated. so there has to be a balance no?

 

without government active support or folks like eric, traditional artisans do suffer. it is one thing to say that factory made instruments are bad but if artisan made work is super expensive, then it limits those who may be willing to study the instrument. this means only elite will study and the music will die out or become irrelevant for the majority. so how does one make traditional artisan work accessible?

 

on the other hand, there are traditional artisans work which is not appreciated and these artisans are poor. so you do need entrepreneurial, business minded people taking these traditional artisans and making it relevant and updated. in my place, there have been some entrepreneurial as well as government projects that have had success in making some of these traditional arts survive but it is not the case for all. there are designers who are consciously trying to do this -- so they take traditional fabrics and designs and update them while ensuring that traditional artisans get their due. this has resulted in fabrics/designs/embroidery that have become relevant again...

 

@dramaninja ~ am super happy that this is NOT like my first life and it is not on tvn. by the end of that drama, I felt tired and like it had become too something (maybe artsy, not really romantic and kind of depressing actually) and just dragged. just my personal take. so it feels a relief that this has a typical mbc vibe (they love their melos! and it is still light and does not require so much brain cells to watch)... most of the times,  I just like the big 3 stations more.

[meechuttso]

On 3/5/2018 at 6:33 AM, Lmangla said:

the mystery: so do we have a stalker? a serial killer?

I think so, but I hope it's not too creepy like in My Suspicious Partner. Just enough for KKW to kick the perp's a** , rescue Uee, help her heal, and drive the OTP closer together.

 

On 3/5/2018 at 6:33 AM, Lmangla said:

but the thing I didn't get -- maybe I was asleep -- is why did he agree to be her fake husband? she had already said that she won't pressure him and he can stay there as long as he wants?

His old buddy who almost turned him in at the flea market told him to go underground since he only refrained from snitching on him this once for the sake of their master teacher / gayageum maker, and doesn't feel like he can keep from blowing his cover the next time.

 

On 3/5/2018 at 6:33 AM, Lmangla said:

also really liked how the typical candy heroine is given a bit of twist. instead of her being all cheerful and being a saint, we are meeting her at her breaking point. like the doctor says, those who have a strong will tend to react stronger even though they try to take things lightly and this is resulting in a panic disorder. so she seems more human and relatable no?

I have to say Uee's always been best at roles where she is the underdog.

 

@larus THANK YOU for this thread! You are very busy creating lots of great threads, aren't you?

 

And hello to everyone here. I am here officially as a refugee from the My (not at all) Golden Life thread where I've been deprived for 6 months. I don't even know how I stumbled upon ths drama but 2 hours later, here I am, unable to contain my enthusiasm for the first time in a long time.

 

I agree with all the comments here, and there's so much to like here in this story. I think 16 eps would be just fine, and not sure if 24 might make it worse (after 50+ in MGL, shorter is better), but just glad I can look forward to the next week instead of dreading it. I've always liked KKW, but had wished to see him in a real 'good guy' role, so I am very happy to see that in OJD (Oh Jak Doo).

 

One thing that makes his character, Hyuk, more interesting which may not be obvious to the viewers relying on subs is that he has a strong Kyung-Sang province (southern) accent when he acts like the country bumpkin in the woods. Turns out when he was fighting in the back alley with his old buddy who almost snitched, his accent goes away, so he doesn't actually talk like that to people who may know him from past. He sure acts as though he's never been to Seoul or any big city, so it waits to be seen when and under what circumstances he decided to go into hiding (sounds like after the death of his master, when he decided to devote his life to the instrument making and one fine one a year at that). But in his wood shop working alone on his instruments, we can tell he is not at all the simple country bumpkin that Uee presumes that he is at the moment, rather a serious artisan and a lover of music and wood - the thoroughly masculine mountain man that has probably gone extinct on the Korean peninsula long ago and is all the more attractive to us modern humans.

 

On 3/5/2018 at 8:01 AM, Lmangla said:

purists may think it is awful but it is also a fact that the new generation may not care for traditional music unless updated. so there has to be a balance no?

 

Very good point, @Lmangla, and I hope the 24eps develops this point and presents a balanced approach with both sides of the perspectives presented well.

 

Most of all, for me, this drama is such a breath of fresh air because of the simple scene of the two in his cabin where Hyuk is every bit the chivalrous, decent, respectful, unassuming, humble, man, absolutely not full of himself, the absolute antidote to the clueless ChaeBol buffoon I've been scarred by for the las 6 months.

 

I offer you, the scene from Ep 2 near the end at the street crossing where he proposes:

Quote

구했소?    Found one?

대릴남편?   (Yor) Stand-in huzzbaund?

못구했으면 내가합시다 그거   If you ain't found one, let me, that (husband thang)

내가할라요   I woants to doo it.

 

(For English speakers imagine his whole dialog dripping with a heavy southern accent, kind of like Forest Gump without the dimwit, Billy Bob Thornton without the sleaziness, bit of Ryan Gosling and Dennis Quaid maybe )

 

He had me on 'I woants to doo it'.

 

[hyall]

I like UEE although people do have a problem with her but she has improved by leaps and bounds in her acting.

 

I liked Hogu's Love and especially thought her acting in Marriage Contract was fantastic. I will check this out as soon as I am free to do so.

[Lmangla]

1 hour ago, meechuttso said:

On 3/5/2018 at 1:31 PM, Lmangla said:

purists may think it is awful but it is also a fact that the new generation may not care for traditional music unless updated. so there has to be a balance no?

 

Very good point, @Lmangla, and I hope the 24eps develops this point and presents a balanced approach with both sides of the perspectives presented well.

hope so @meechuttso that there will be a balanced approach because I really enjoyed the wackiness of eric. hahahahha... and didn't see him as a fool at all, just eccentric a bit. already having a soft corner for him. so will be kind of sad if they make it look like his points aren't valid when they totally are..

 

and a question -- does this type of traditional music have a bit of elitist tag because of historical reasons? my observation in my place is that folksy music traditions are more willing to be updated and be relevant (or used in unorthodox ways like in OSTs with some modified background) and end up keeping their authenticity at its heart even though they do change a bit....

 

3 hours ago, meechuttso said:

One thing that makes his character, Hyuk, more interesting which may not be obvious to the viewers relying on subs is that he has a strong Kyung-Sang province (southern) accent when he acts like the country bumpkin in the woods. Turns out when he was fighting in the back alley with his old buddy who almost snitched, his accent goes away, so he doesn't actually talk like that to people who may know him from past. He sure acts as though he's never been to Seoul or any big city, so it waits to be seen when and under what circumstances he decided to go into hiding (sounds like after the death of his master, when he decided to devote his life to the instrument making and one fine one a year at that). But in his wood shop working alone on his instruments, we can tell he is not at all the simple country bumpkin that Uee presumes that he is at the moment, rather a serious artisan and a lover of music and wood - the thoroughly masculine mountain man that has probably gone extinct on the Korean peninsula long ago and is all the more attractive to us modern humans.

thats interesting. have watched enough kdramas to recognize he was speaking with a country accent but didn't realize he dropped it with his old buddy. hmm, wonder what means. and yea, he does look very suave when he is working alone with the instruments. almost like a wine master or something sophisticated.... so are both sides part of him? perhaps, a part of his arc will be to find a balance between the country bumpkin and the sophisticated artisan?

[wangnyeo]

Uee is back and this drama seems to good one , I have to check it out as I love her acting ! 

[meechuttso]

5 hours ago, Lmangla said:

does this type of traditional music have a bit of elitist tag because of historical reasons?

Yes for sure. And to tell the truth, I don't think the master craftsmanship matters as much for the sound quality of this particular instrument (gayageum), as compared to the violins or cellos with a sound chamber. Frankly I never thought about it but will do some reading to find out if there's something real there. Important point is that whether in astronomy or music, Koreans are very proud of their unique traditions and long standing history in these fields and will thoroughly exploit every little tidbit from their historical elements to make really good just-so sounding stories to the average soompiers and fans the world over. For that I am grateful.

 

[meechuttso]

Actually Hyuk's accent isn't clear enough to tell where he's from. He has a rather kind and slow disposition and seems like he  can't hurt a rodent, so he could be from Choong-Cheong province, but so far it seems like a mixture of different accents, possibly hinting at his faking of it.

[122am]

I was entertained for the first 2 eps of this drama, looking forward to the next. A man living in the forest is a great twist from the normal chaebol, successful male lead. 

[hyall]

Just out of curiosity no offense taken I hope but @Lmangla don't you have a caps button?

[Lmangla]

1 hour ago, hyall said:

Just out of curiosity no offense taken I hope but @Lmangla don't you have a caps button?

kekeke.... used to write in proper english hyall and people thought I was a halmoni here in soompi! so I figured that I would just write with the flow and leave caps. kekeke...

[meechuttso]

11 hours ago, Lmangla said:

people thought I was a halmoni here in soompi!

or an e.e. cummings fan

[dramaninja]

Yeah this is really good to me love the actors.

 

They are already  good together.

[bebebisous33]

I have the impression that the killer is blaming Han Seung Joo for the death of his wife, while in reality Hong In Pyo could be more responsible for the loss (anyway the man is wrong thinking so). Notice that he was standing next to HSJ and the deceased woman. 

I hope, the brother gets caught and is sent to jail for stealing and forging papers. Now, he might support his sister for choosing the man she loves but once he discovers the deal, he will dare to ask for some compensation. I hope, Oh Jak Doo puts an end to the abuse from HST and his mother. The latter really disgusts me. She doesn't even care one bit for her daughter.

As for Ban Yong Min, I really hope that OJD will be able to shut him up because he is not so different from his sister: he is quite arrogant and selfish. Sure, he loves his wife, yet he takes care of her because he wants her to do what he wants. He wants to be admired and envied by people... I am sure that at some point he will criticize SM for not being able to give him any children.