[Drama 2022] My Liberation Notes, 나의 해방일지

[jus-ash]

"It still looked like Gu was chasing CH out of anger though, LOL. Especially because he never told CH otherwise. But maybe that's a good thing; it made CH reflect on his actions!  "

 

 

@the_sweetroad:

 

Same ... but not so much out of Anger as to give CH a good shake and scare (hahahah and CH was - that yelp!) and make him gulp hahahah!   (PANT! pant... pant)

 

Afterall, Gu's been sitting throughout at their family dinners to hear all CH's venting .... prob heard CH complaints, and life rants during all those group drinking night-gatherings from his window ... plus Gu also badly needed to release all his conflicted pent-up emotions himself.

 

And witnessed all the parents' and MJ's frustrations with CH throughout his stay there at Sanpo. Then how CH behaves after getting loan of that car.

[deandraluv]

On 5/18/2022 at 10:48 AM, chickfactor said:

She further discusses the fact that Gu was a former "madam" at a "host bar..."

 

This is shocking. We knew he was probably a gangster, but a prostitute and a pimp? That's something else.

I am not so sure if he was a former "madam".  I always think he is some kind of the 'host-bar' manager or a confidant of Chairman Shin.  He was the one who managed people and club affairs.  The man in white suit who came to MJ's house said that Gu was at the top, everyone was beneath him.  I could see him as a manager, he had met many clients and mingled with them (men and women) and listened to their chatters and lousy singing.  

 

Well, perhaps as the drama progresses, it will reveal more of him.  

[Skysky]

@deandraluv I agree. I dont think he used to be host bar. Mr baek said 'I dont trust people who work in host bars' it doesnt mean that Gu was a host bar, its mean people who work there. Are the people who worked there all ex-host bar/host bar? Nah its impossible right? For example most of drug dealers dont use their own drug, they probably dont even know what it taste, but see the horrible effect of it and only sell it for money. For now I dont want to see it as fact (that he used to be a host bar), but so far we only know that he is working there and have a high rank position.

 

We only have 4 eps left, this drama isnt focusing only on Gu and MJ, we have CH and KJ too, I dont think it would revealed more about Gu past work. If there was a flasback, probably only to see short story of his ex GF, how it affect him. I am more curious about what happened after the break up and then why they arent together after 3 years (I hope no sad ending for them) 

[yonaomi123]

I think I may be sort of in the minority here, but I almost wish Mr Gu really was a former host, who was now one of the top dogs in a semi-legal organization.  If he really was a former National athlete, how wrong did his life have to go for him to end up working 15 or more years for Chairman Shin?  And where is his own family that he didn’t run to them?  That they never called him for a whole year after his girlfriend died?  
 

I feel like there’s this interesting possible parallel to be drawn between Hyunah, Gijeong, and Mr Gu.  Of the three, Gijeong had been longing to live in Seoul, to find love in Seoul, and etc but never managed to succeed in living there and is stuck at home with her family in Sanpo.  But she has found the beginnings of happiness anyway.  While Hyunah’s words to Mijeong about the danger of moving away from home and going to the city, actually seem apply to both her and Mr Gu.  Like the loss of that connection to home, rather like those dogs in the empty field in Sanpo, might have been the root of his trouble.  Just like how with Hyunah she’s able to return to Sanpo but we don’t see her family or where she used to live.  Rather, we see her life in the city and how she’s had that long string of subpar boyfriends that don’t love her enough, or in the way that she should be loved.

On 5/16/2022 at 5:44 PM, chickfactor said:

So the question is, was that intentional? Did Gu want the dogs to be caught? Maybe he wanted to clear them away before he left so the Yeom family could be safer.

 

Or was the parasol Sanpo, where Gu could rest for a short while? But now he's trapped in a cage

 I honestly think it’s both.  Mr Gu is seemingly both very clever and tough but also very sensitive.  All along Mr Gu’s warned Mijeong that he’s a dangerous person, and from the way the gang treated him before Mr Baek died and then at the funeral, that seems to be true.  And knowing that he was dangerous to Mijeong he couldn’t tolerate the idea of Mijeong still being in his life if he was going to go back to the gang, so he cut her out.  However, even though the dogs were dangerous he had a soft spot for them, and he had been trying to take care of them.  So I think he wanted to give them what he himself had had for a short while—a place to rest out of the wind—before he removed the danger they presented to Sanpo (and by extension Mijeong).

 

 

On 5/17/2022 at 4:41 AM, the_sweetroad said:

But he let Mr Yeom tell him what to do and teach him. Guess it was refreshing for Gu to be in that setting.

Lol I think part of the allure of Mijeong for Mr Gu was this too.  He made no secret of the fact that he was a hardas*, but still she’s stood up to him and demanded much of him all along.  

[chickfactor]

13 hours ago, deandraluv said:

I am not so sure if he was a former "madam".  I always think he is some kind of the 'host-bar' manager or a confidant of Chairman Shin.  He was the one who managed people and club affairs.  The man in white suit who came to MJ's house said that Gu was at the top, everyone was beneath him.  I could see him as a manager, he had met many clients and mingled with them (men and women) and listened to their chatters and lousy singing.  

 

Well, perhaps as the drama progresses, it will reveal more of him.  

 

 

He specifically used the word "madam" when he was talking to his associate about Baek selling drugs.

 

I think that he had to leave Mi-jeong in part because he was afraid that she might get hurt, but also that he was deeply ashamed of the things he used to do.

 

I think the story of his liberation is that Mi-jeong finds out, and still accepts him.

 

 

Spoiler

That's the story of "My Mister" as well. One character feels that they committed a sin that is not worthy of forgiveness, and another who tells them that it's okay. That acceptance comes to mean everything to that person.

 

[Elchan]

MiJeong already admitted to Gu that she doesn't care about who or what he is. She has been leading a lonely life and Gu has given some hope of companionship. Both are compatiable in "ppl with few words grown to like & understand each other".  They will miss each other when separated, believe either Gu will bring her to his work place in the city of Seoul or he retires for good to urban farm life.

 

 

[backstreetboysfan]

 

Kim Ji Won, Lee Min Ki, And Lee El Face New Struggles Without Son Seok Gu In “My Liberation Notes”

 

The Yeom siblings will face new trials on the next episode of JTBC’s “My Liberation Notes”!

Helmed by “Law School” director Kim Seok Yoon and penned by “My Mister” and “Another Oh Hae Young” writer Park Hae Young, “My Liberation Notes” is a drama about three siblings who want to escape their stifling lives and the events that unfold when a mysterious outsider comes to their town. Kim Ji Won, Lee Min Ki, and Lee El star as the three frustrated siblings, while Son Seok Gu plays the alcoholic outsider that unexpectedly changes their lives.

 

Spoilers

Previously on “My Liberation Notes,” Mr. Gu (Son Seok Gu) and Yeom Mi Jung (Kim Ji Won) said their goodbyes as Mr. Gu left Sanpo to reclaim his rightful place in Seoul. Left on her own in Sanpo, Yeom Mi Jung couldn’t help breaking down into tears after they fell out of touch, but she still wished the best for Mr. Gu.

In newly released stills from the drama’s upcoming episodes, each of the three Yeom siblings deals with their own problems in the wake of Mr. Gu’s departure. According to the drama’s producers, the trio will have to deal with unexpected events that they could never have imagined.

 

 

Although romance has finally blossomed between Yeom Ki Jung (Lee El) and Jo Tae Hoon (Lee Ki Woo), Yeom Ki Jung faces a serious hurdle in the form of Jo Tae Hoon’s young daughter. Despite being in one place together, the distance between the two characters couldn’t be more obvious as Yeom Ki Jung gazes wistfully at Yu Rim, whom she desperately wants to get closer to.

 

 

Meanwhile, Yeom Chang Hee (Lee Min Ki) stands in his yard with only one sandal on, raising the question of what made him rush out in such a hurry that he barely seems to notice he’s partially barefoot.

 

Spoiler

Finally, Yeom Mi Jung sports multiple bruises and cuts on her face as she sits alone in Mr. Gu’s yard with an empty gaze, piquing curiosity as to what could have happened in her normally quiet and uneventful life.

 

Spoiler

The next episode of “My Liberation Notes” will air on May 21 at 10:30 p.m. KST.

 

Kim Ji Won, Lee Min Ki, And Lee El Face New Struggles Without Son Seok Gu In “My Liberation Notes” | Soompi

[backstreetboysfan]

The PREVIEW of MyLiberationNotesEp13

 

 

A new still for Episode 13 .

 

 

 

[deandraluv]

Another notes I picked up from ep 12.  They display the brilliant writing and editing:

 

-The continuous scenes:

  - When Gu's older friend asked him, he didn't answer, but on the next scene, MJ got off from the bus and went to him.  He got drunk and the first thing he said, "It's Kim Mi Jeong" as if he subtly answered, yes he had a girl and it was Mi Jeong.

 - When Chairman Shin asked Gu if he had someone and something to do in Sanpo, he didn't answer,  but the next scene, Gu said that he revered MJ.  It was as what he needed to do was to confess his feelings to MJ.  

-When Gu said in the funeral home that he was happy when someone died, the next scene is MJ's words about the rules of the liberation club: I will not pretend to be happy.  So it was the opposite of each other's.  

 

I am intrigued by MJ's words when she said that she was not angry but sad.  I think the fact that when we are sad when someone leaving us shows that we truly love him/her.  It is not about the decision that make someone leave prompts us to be angry but the presence of our dear ones that makes us sad.  Because as she said before, in a convo with Hyun-a and Gi Jeong that she would support her man even if the man left and became successful.  I think MJ's words when she said that she was sad were truly meaningful.  (As you can see, Gu's eyes became red upon hearing this as tears welled up his eyes!  Excellent acting!) 

 

On the J-spoiler video, when the cast watched the episode together, Min Ki mentioned about goguma stems and Seok Ku said that they would play an important role later. Gu loved this side dish, so MJ's mom always made this for him and asked MJ to bring it to Gu's house.  Now I kinda know how they would play the important role: On ep 13 preview, we see that the camera zoomed the goguma stems in and Gu was sadly looking at them.  I think it is going to be a turning point when he would realize that he is sad and terribly misses MJ and her family.  Will he then decide to visit Sanpo?  (In one of the still pics by JTBC, we see that Gu is on the train.  Will he come and visit? Or would he watch from afar?) 

 

Can't wait for the next episode! 

 

[meong meonk]

Hope anyone here can post live recap ep 13 airing tonight #finger cross. Can't wait for the sub the day after. 

[Paperx Atelier]

  Ep13; I have to take time to weep over the mum passing. She had been their anchor all these while, the reason all 3 travel to and from home. After her passing, the dam broke and all 3 decided its time to move from the nest. I almost can't believe the dad remarried in such short years, but he was a quiet man to begin with, nobody knows what he's thinking most of the time. This ep one of the colleagues and the manager angered me the most, causing misunderstanding and taking advantage of Mi Jung's silence and non confrontational methods as entitled. I would just pour hot coffee over them but lawsuits would be knocking on my door. Sigh. But I would still do it.

[Skysky]

Wow eps 14 is totally depressing and unexpected. .I wasnt expecting those events at all

 

Spoiler

- three siblings mom is dead

- CH out of his job

- Gu as host bar manager, dont eat anything only drinking the whole day

- MJ know his boss affair and will get trouble in the next eps 

- The show is showing sometime during 2022 and back to 2019, and our couple wont have reunion probably until 2022, they dont meet in today eps probably next eps still wont meet. .

- The saddest part is Gu only back to MJ house after 3 years, and found that MJ mom already died not long after he left 3 years ago, the dad has new wife, The three siblings are all move to seoul and the house is hella empty. . 

 

I need to take a breath and watching some comedy lol. This eps is really heavy and depressing

 

I wonder how the writer will wrap this all? Next week is finale, honestly there are so many thing unresolved. I guess since they do realistic approach drama, I think not all characters will get happy ending. . Prepare more tissues I guess

[meong meonk]

First of all, biggg thanks for update. Oh my,  the unexpected heavy scenes? Never imagine that tbh. Before, I still hoped that the house will serve a 'happy home' for all of them. Gosh. 

[Latte_Anyday]

Another ep. filled with fascinating revelations. I was heaving a sigh of relief over both mother & Chang Hee's outbursts. Guess they are human after all LoL. Honestly I find the family dynamics incredibly stifling. 

    Chang Hee may be an annoying doofus but he comes out with the most relatable gems. I get his frustration of not havin' a specific goal & that it hurts that their father treat a stranger better than their own kids. 

    Thank goodness Mi Jung didn't run 'cause that would exacerbate the situation with the dog. I felt for the matriarch Mrs. Yeom as well.. sadly it's S.K. where they're very conservative and set in their ways. I guess this is why I shun the idea of marriage, family, kids etc. 

    Mrs. Yeom was cute in tryin' to make her daughter's date go well. Gi Jung need to grow up though LoL. Gu looked hot in his element LoL. What a fine specimen of a man he is. He look miserable and missing his "goddess" Mi Jung. 

 

Gosh... poor Mrs. Yeom~ shocked that their father remarried or his delayed reaction over her death. I expected him to be more loyal at least.. Oh well men. The Yeom siblings finally moved to the city. 

 

That stare down between the kid & Gu at the club ahahah! I thought it was sad that Mrs. Yeom was only liberated in death.. The race with the arrogant city folks LoL. Mi Jung's boss is gettin' trashy as ep. go. When will he get his comeuppance?! What a lowlife p.o.s. Us humans can be quite a conundrum to ourselves LoL. We pick on those that're inferior & yet also pick on those exact same people out of envy. 

[jus-ash]

11 hours ago, Paperx Atelier said:

  Ep13; I have to take time to weep over the mum passing. She had been their anchor all these while, the reason all 3 travel to and from home. After her passing, the dam broke and all 3 decided its time to move from the nest. I almost can't believe the dad remarried in such short years, but he was a quiet man to begin with, nobody knows what he's thinking most of the time. This ep one of the colleagues and the manager angered me the most, causing misunderstanding and taking advantage of Mi Jung's silence and non confrontational methods as entitled. I would just pour hot coffee over them but lawsuits would be knocking on my door. Sigh. But I would still do it.

 

This writer is just WW, amazing. No wonder the actors are totally acting their hearts out. As viewers we just reel from one ordinary scene to extremely hilarious or extreme powerful angst.

 

Blindsided totally by the ordinary reactions just before that; ordinary reactions of selfless Moms who put their own lives on the back burner do:  from  the tsk tsk tsk cautiousness reaction to Dad's totally unexpected competitive adrenalin surge =  > the feelings she felt for her kids (vicariously feeling happy or sad when they are)  -  happiness euphoria over KJ, followed by the crying over MJ ...  

 

Then POW ....  this totally hit  straight centre, when it came out of nowhere. I bawled when the unexpected happened. Life is so unfair.

 

This taken-for-granted mom was the stabilizing glue of the family (even for Mr Gu, and her thoughtful observation that he enjoyed Potato Stems banchan); someone who expected so little, and also got so little.  (I notice no one ever says Thanks either, in the Yeom household).

A mom; who took her contentment and satisfaction from seeing her kids well and happy.

Someone who was seamlessly wearing so many hats (like most women - as a daughter, a mom, a wife, a worker, an unpaid housekeeper etc)

Ouch, this scene was so powerfully heavy to digest.  

 

(Maybe some of my crying was for the fact too that we have only one weekend left of this captivating Drama. I really could watch an entire year of this unraveling of layers of Onion Skins (as each character has their past demons  and baggage),  power script and the director / actors putting their all, in together. Rom-Coms while fun entertaining, but very forgettable even with great acting and glitz-packaging once the next one rolls along).

 

1) I totally hear you about how fast Dad ended up with another companion - but the fact that he had land to sell, plus the factory might have been very attractive to the bzbody ladies in the marketplace. Also men tend compartmentalize more easily. A drawer opens, and shuts.

For many Women ,.. those drawers are linked.

 

2) And at the rate Mr Gu drinks hardcore liquor like water (on an empty stomach too - he just downs it all, without eating - to be able to cope with what actions he metes out) .... it's really  to think how long he's going to last realistically  -  long term damage to liver and body is already done.

 

 

 

@deandraluv

"I am intrigued by MJ's words when she said that she was not angry but sad.  I think the fact that when we are sad when someone leaving us shows that we truly love him/her.  It is not about the decision that make someone leave prompts us to be angry but the presence of our dear ones that makes sad.  Because as she said before, in a convo with Hyun-a and Gi Jeong that she would support her man even if the man left and became successful.  I think MJ's words when she said that she was sad were truly meaningful.  (As you can see, Gu's eyes became red upon hearing this as tears welled up his eyes!  Excellent acting!)  "

 

 

Sadness and Dissapointment are often more quietly powerful, and stab more at a person's conscience than anger.

"Anger" as a reaction ties in with Ego (self-centred, selfish caring about Self) .... Sadness and Dissapointment is something else ... it's quiet but makes the other person feel worse. Which is why Gu whenever he's about to deliver something awful - is always defiant, challenging almost - twice, he used the same kind of delivery to MJ.

1) when he wanted to distance himself from her and came up with how much of an arsehole he is and his Ex's story 2) the actual moving to Seoul scene - where he also not just with challenging defiant masking something else body language but  also with words to ask MJ verbally to hit him.

 

The quiet reaction of MJ is actually more painful to witness and digest for Gu - it hits much harder. Anger is lashing out, and it takes some of the energy-sadness out, when it is unleashed.  Gu totally understands the pain of reining in himself - these 2, are like 2 peas in a pod.

 

Gu's ruthless recklessness in the store, yelling with no care or consideration  = MJ's own not caring wild recklessness aka bravery confronting the dogs too.

 

 

@Latte_Anyday

"Chang Hee may be an annoying doofus but he comes out with the most relatable gems. I get his frustration of not havin' a specific goal & that it hurts their father treat a stranger better than their own kids."

 

I am now seeing parallels in some ways between Dad, and Chang Hee.

Dad = quietly living out his life in Sanpo, though not particularly happy - the plodder cautious approach living out the rest of his life, after getting seriously burned trusting a friend.

 

But in that crazy van racing -  we see that reticent Dad is very reined in too. That there's a crazy side of him that can be competitive-foolhardy driven, as CH can be .... in that crazy van vs car competition. And after the neighbours competitively flaunted their bigger potatoes

 

And Senior Yeom's quiet dissappointment that CH turned out to be an UNDER achiever? (CH won the school race as the prize runner. and Dad had witnessed it with pride). We still don't know that much of Dad's past except for his misplaced trust in a friend but he seems to be just 'existing' too -  none of the plan/goal he keeps asking CH about.

 

Hierachy/Competition

-MJ and Dog

-The entire Host club Hierachy - the hosts, their managers, Gu the top honcho .... and his bigger bosses.  One chatroom (like Seungri's) can unleash so much including out unseen anonymous involved VIPs and sponsors

- The neighbouring sweet potato patch ... their car vs the Sanpo truck

 

 

 

[americanchai]

I'm so thankful for this show and this forum. When I started watching the first five eps, my own mom passed away (week after Easter, right before her birthday and Mother's Day here in the States), so thank you for the warning as to what's coming in this weeks eps. I still haven't finished last week's because even though I find this show extremely soothing, it's also pretty heavy so I appreciate being spoiled. I'm only halfway through ep 11 and I still can't stand GJ. She is a real turn-off.

[sweetroad]

WOW. I can't believe the episode ended this way. I keep thinking it's a dream or continuing on with the fantasy but it's not and we have to accept that things will never be the same as they were the first 12 episodes .

 

Omma was so happy to meet GJ's man, then so sad thinking about Mi Jung crying over a loss that she wouldn't tell her mom about. And she was so weary of following around her husband and cooking for him 365 days a year.

 

Guess when she said she wanted to go back to church again, little did she know she would actually be going to her eternal rest shortly afterward.

 

The timeline is a bit screwy for me. Do we think that Gu and Mi Jung really didn't have contact for 3 years? The way the reverse-seasons montage happened (the snow turning into autumn leaves falling up) when Gu finally decided to go take the train, it seemed like it was just a year.

 

Are we to think that Mi Jung's dad gave Gu her phone number (as he did earlier in the show ) at the end of this episode?

 

And what was happening with Manager Choi's computer when Mi Jung saw the texts addressed to her? Was that a fantasy or was that someone writing Choi thinking it was her workstation?

 

And also! What is happening with Mi Jung's debt on behalf of her ex-boyfriend? I thought that issue wasn't resolved for her...but she doesn't seem to be stressing over it at all anymore.

 

And! If the time skip is really three years, and if Gu's club is something Hyeon Ah goes to at times - and Mi Jung is now living in Seoul - wouldn't it make sense that Mi Jung and Hyeon Ah would go there sometime and she might run into Gu?

 

Lots of questions...but the biggest thing tonight is just how sad it is that omma is gone. Total shock.

 

23 minutes ago, americanchai said:

When I started watching the first five eps, my own mom passed away (week after Easter, right before her birthday and Mother's Day here in the States)

 

So sorry for your loss @americanchai. It wasn't that long ago that you lost her. Take care of yourself.

[chickfactor]

1 hour ago, the_sweetroad said:

And what was happening with Manager Choi's computer when Mi Jung saw the texts addressed to her? Was that a fantasy or was that someone writing Choi thinking it was her workstation?

 

 

Manager Choi is cheating on his wife. He is cheating with... YEOM MI-JEONG.

 

YEOM MI-JEONG is the name of Gu's assistant at the club. His name used to be Sam-sik, and he kept saying he changed his name, but Gu apparently wouldn't say it. Gu finally calls him by his changed name, and it's YEOM MI-JEONG.

 

So Manager Choi is cheating on his wife with a man, who happens to be Gu's assistant.

 

(I think that's what's happening. I don't even know for sure. I'm so discombobulated and sad by the passing of Yeom Mother. )

 

 

  

2 hours ago, americanchai said:

I'm so thankful for this show and this forum. When I started watching the first five eps, my own mom passed away (week after Easter, right before her birthday and Mother's Day here in the States), so thank you for the warning as to what's coming in this weeks eps. I still haven't finished last week's because even though I find this show extremely soothing, it's also pretty heavy so I appreciate being spoiled. I'm only halfway through ep 11 and I still can't stand GJ. She is a real turn-off.

 

My condolences. I'm so sorry. I wish you peace and strength.

[backstreetboysfan]

Today's episode was so depressing and sad at the same time .

[deandraluv]

2 hours ago, chickfactor said:

 

So Manager Choi is cheating on his wife with a man, who happens to be Gu's assistant

I am so sure about this.  From what we can gather, MJ's friend mentioned that the Manager had an affair with someone in the same office.  I think either there is another woman with the same name, or he deliberately made MJ as the space goat to camouflage the girl's identity.

 

Let's see then!