#Hwang Young-Hee

[passionforfiction]

Queen of Tears

This series is not perfect, but it is still good. It has a solid storyline, and great characters. Hong Hae In and Baek Hyun Woo have been married for 3 years and the love that had united them at the beginning seems to have disappeared in their distance and silence after a miscarriage that broke their hearts. When Baek Hyun Woo finally has the courage to present the divorce papers to Hong Hae In, she tells him she has a tumor and doesn't have much time left. His decision to stay with her gives them an unexpected chance at finding that love that had united them once. Family interactions between their very different families questions dynamics and help characters grow.

I like the fact that they didn't take the easy way out with our main antagonist. The story in itself is really good and I loved it, however, production was a bit careless with details that were too big to miss: Hae In's operation - how can a person with a brain tumor have a surgery with her hair intact. Or Hyun Woo's neck injury suddenly disappearing in a second, ext. These kind of details show some careless oversight. But we can forgive them - we laugh it off and keep watching to see what happens next.

I liked it and recommend it.

[korelist]

TODAY’S WEBTOON // KDRAMA DİZİ YORUMU

UYARI : Yazılar genel olarak spoiler içerebilir. İçermeyedebilir.

İmdb puanı :7,4 Benim puanım:  7

Drama: Today's Webtoon

Hangul: 오늘의 웹툰

Director: Jo Soo-Won, Kim Young-Hwan

Writer: Naoko Matsuda (manga), Jo Ye-Rang, Lee Jae-Eun

Date: 2022

Language: Korean

Country: South Korea

Cast: Kim Se-Jeong, Daniel Choi, Nam Yoon-Soo, Park Ho-San, Kim Kap-Soo, Lim Chul-Soo, Ko Chang-Seok, Hwang Young-Hee, Yoon Seo-A

Webtoon uyarlaması webtoon konulu bir dizi! İsmi ve konusu bile kulağa şahane geliyor. Beni gerçekten heyecanlandıran bir diziydi. Üstelik başrolünde Kim Se-Jeong’un oynaması da ekstra bonus oldu. Gel gelelim beklentimi tam karşıladığını söyleyemeyeceğim. Evet kötü değildi, keyifle izledim ama bir şeyler eksik bir diziydi.

Dizi; Judo milli takımından geçirdiği bir sakatlık nedeni ile ayrılan On Ma-Eum(Kim Se-Jeong)’un çeşitli işlerde dikiş tutturmaya çalışmasını anlatarak başlıyor. Kızımız çizgi roman/kafe işleten bir aileye sahip. Babası On Ki-Bong(Ko Chang-Seok), annesi Hwang Mi-Ok(Hwang Young-Hee) ve kız kardeşi On Nu-Ri(Yoon Seo-A) ile beraber yaşamaktadır. Yarı zamanlı çalıştığı bir lokantada paket servis yaparken bir webtoon yayın evinde iş başvurusunda bulunur. Aileden gelen webtoon aşkı iş bulmasının sevinci ile ikiyle çarpılmış oluyor.

Sözleşmeli çalışan olarak işe alınan iki kişiden biridir ve 1 yılın sonunda 1 kişi anlaşmalı olarak kadroya katılacaktır. Yani aslında bir nevi diğer yeni başlayan Goo Jun-Yeong(Nam Yoon-Soo) ile de rekabet içindedir. Ayrıca Jun-Yeong, Ma-Eum’un aksine webtoonlardan hiç anlamaz ve ilgisini de çekmemektedir ama okul birincilikleri ve notları onu bir adım öne çıkarmaya yetmiştir. Dizinin konusu; çizerler, teslim tarihleri ve şirketin maddi durumu arasında gidip gelen bir üçgenin içinde dönmektedir. Departman müdürü Jang Man-Cheol karakteri ile Park Ho-San’ı izlemek bence diziyi izlemeye yeterli bir sebep olabilir. Diziye şahane bir hava katmıştı.

Ana çizer kadrosu ve oyuncu seçimi de bir o kadar güzel yapılmıştı. Lim Chul-Soo’u gördüğüme oldukça sevindim ve karakteri Na Gang-Nam ile inanılmaz eğlendim. Öte yandan dizinin sıkıcı kişisel gelişim kitaplarını andıran sürekli mesaj içeren dramatik bir yanının olması o kadarda tatlı değildi. Her olay bir mesaj içeriyordu, her sorun bir güzellikle bitiyordu. Sorunların çözülmesinde gidiş yolunun beklenmedik seçimleri bir tık ilginçleştirse de “hayat bize hep yeni kapılar açar” şeklinde bir kamu spotu izlemek bir süre sonra sıkıcı gelmeye başlıyor.

Ve romantizm. Yok ki 😊 beklentiye bile girmeyin. Romantik hiçbir şey yok dizide. Hiç yeltenmemişler. Yani benim diziyi izlerken “şimdi bir şey olacak” hissiyatım ve hayal kırıklığım 12.bölüme kadar devam etti. Sonra pes ettim. Böyle de izlemek yorucu valla, yapmayın. Bilin ki romantik bir şey yok. Yan rollerde dahi yok. Romantizm yerine arkadaşlıktır ne bileyim vefa borcudur, efendime söyleyeyim abiliktir, babalıktır gibi daha dostane duygulara yer verilmiş. Yani bu duygular güzel değil demiyorum. Bunlarda güzel tabi ki ama şimdi tatlı bir kalp çarpıntısı ekleselerdi daha da güzel olmaz mıydı? Bence çok da müsaitti. Dizide bolca sevgi vardı. Ofis ekibi dostluk arkadaşlık için dev örnekti. Ebeveynler sevginin kralını gösteriyordu. Kimse seni seviyorum demiyordu ama herkes birbirini çok seviyordu.

Yine de bu kadar hayat dersini bir araya toplamadan biraz daha hareketli bir dizi olsaydı güzel olurdu dedim. Ve diziyi doğru bir ruh hali ile izlemek gerektiğini düşünüyorum. Tam olmasa da “Slice of life” modunuz açıkken izlerseniz bence seversiniz.

OST:

O.When - We Know

Raven Melus

BAŞKA NELER VAR ?

FOTOĞRAFLAR

[emotreech]

Squid Game text posts because I love this show ( pt 1 )

[eggnogtoast]

no shortage of freaks in this show. i love it

[frontman-001]

Squid Game s2 cast X

[vxxcte]

Extremely long rant on 001 & 457:

3.3k words

—

Intro

Yesterday I finished season 2 of Squid Game. I have so much to say about In-ho’s and Gi-hun’s dynamics and writing.

Keep in mind this is my interpretation of these characters and their dynamics. I’m just yapping because I have a lot to say. Maybe this takes on a much more optimistic view than is actually the case, but I fear it makes sense to me.

I have seen two takes about 457 around pretty often:

“They’re in love.” or:

“In-ho feeds off of Gi-hun’s pain because he’s just an evil guy.”

These can both be true in a way, but when no one talks about the little details of the character writing and the relationship between these two guys, it feels like the incredible potential and writing that this duo has is being overlooked.

Note, I will be referring to this Youtube video throughout this post:

Now let’s start with what we know already. It’s pretty evident that In-ho is not totally emotionless like many people are trying to imply or interpret him as.

Here’s why.

—

Hwang In-Ho and The Traitor Archetype

There are two ways in which a character like 001 can be portrayed.

TYPE 1 : The undercover ‘friend’ who is working against the main character can be shown to the audience as the ordinary cast member, and then it will be a plot twist when the protagonist learns with the audience the truth of this character. Usually the demeanor of this undercover ‘ally’ is not shown too obviously because it might take away from the impact of the plot twist later.

TYPE 2 : or You can go down the route that Squid Game did go. We knew Frontman’s face, so it was no use trying to convince us he was a good guy. His personality was not exaggerated like some Type 1 characters can be. Characters like this are not particularly hidden from the audience’s suspicion/accusation because we already know. And in these cases, the writers do not often need to give these characters disguise-personalities. In Squid Game, we as an audience know where to look for the cracks in In-ho’s character, where the ways in which his real identity shows through.

There was that time he killed someone in front of Jung-bae. It would have been out of nowhere for a story where they hadn’t shown his identity before, but we knew exactly what was going on. So let’s look at the instances before it was shown directly to other characters.

Here are the instances where we know for sure that his real self is slipping through.

In-ho more than once asks people questions and engages with them in a manner that might not come across as too strange to them. But to the audience, those who know he is an outsider, and thus know to pay attention to the possible intent behind his every word, it stands out.

In-ho engages with the people who are truly inside the game as specimens to observe. That’s partly why he’s there, after all. For example, take the instance during the Mingle game where he questioned Geum-ja about her son’s character. He doesn’t need to hide his sort of objective, detached curiosity (which extends slightly outside Gi-hun), about these people and how they work, because no one is keeping an eye out for it.

Because of this, I believe he did not need to make any extra efforts to mask his natural personality, beyond the bare necessary minimum.

—

In-ho’s Humor

Another reason I think that him not faking his personality a good amount of the time is his humor. The jokes and the ideas for jokes that one comes up is very telling of their inner processes, their ability to make connections between things and then an insight as to what they themselves think others around them will find funny.

First the joke he made about Gi-hun’s last name, and then about Jun-hee’s child as a sixth member in the Mingle game, both display a sort of consistent sense of dad joke type of humor. It is hard to fake humor that you are not well-versed in, and even harder if you put yourself in an unfamiliar environment with little preparation, purely to observe people.

Considering the fact that In-ho is evidently still in the process of observing these people up close as people rather than players, it would have been difficult to first think of a joke that they would enjoy and then deliver it successfully.

He could have gone without. He characterized himself in the others’ eyes well enough to go without making these jokes. It’s not like he was putting on any false performance for us, the audience (as noted above), and he was only omitting certain information from the other characters. There should be nothing ulterior that motivates him to go further and come up with a new/different sense of humor.

This leads me (personally) to read these interactions as genuine. These were jokes he thought of and spoke aloud, not to fool Gi-hun and the others, but because they naturally came to his mind and he decided to share them.

And villain-type character as he is now, he is still a person.

—

In-ho and his Family

There are other moments we saw from him that were genuine.

There was the information we got from his mother and Jun-ho, how he gave his brother his kidney and how his wife died.

Then In-ho lost his composure when Thanos told him to lecture his own kid. This was not an act—It would have been entirely unnecessary if he wanted everyone to believe he was a nice guy capable of little harm. This was genuine from him, he lost control and it was reasonable and it was real.

So when he told Gi-hun about his wife and unborn child that he is supposedly now in the games for, the things we have seen so far also point to that scene being a genuine interaction from him. His expressions did not hide it either.

And if all of that is not enough, he did not kill his brother. He sent Captain Park to find Jun-ho. In-ho put his brother, who knew exactly who Frontman is now, who now has something to work with, over his whole operation—It wouldn’t be too large a reach to say this.

Hwang In-ho is Not Without Emotion

Now we’ve subverted the whole idea of In-ho being some emotionless monster that some people online want to say he is. He may lack morals but he does not lack personality/emotion.

I didn’t even get into the way he cheered in the 5-minigame rounds or the way the first thing he did when he found Gi-hun in the Games was knowingly shit-talk him to his face, but I already have this much. This is all my evidence for In-ho being very and incredibly human, my case for him having a defined personality, fake player aside.

This is almost all sourced from lines in the show, rather than just visual acting which can be interpreted multiple ways. Thus every bit of the things I talked about is likely intentional.

Justice for my queen In-ho he is a great character and I enjoy him and his writing a LOT.

—

457 Introduction

I like to call 457 toxic yaoi as much as the next guy, but it’s so more than just the visible tension/chemistry between them. It’s more than enmity, it’s more than friendship and it’s more than romance too. Why stick labels on it when it’s so much more complicated?

Although on that note, before I get into the deeper stuff I just want to point out that all this staring at each other’s lips and whatnot was probably not something the actors decided to throw in on their own, considering the ‘I don’t understand it but it’s not unpleasant’ comment about the ship from Lee Byung-hun. So was it scripted for them to be doing allat? Lord knows, we’ll find out in June (fitting).

I am not even getting into how In-ho spoke to Gi-hun without his mask on and let him hear his real voice when Gi-hun won his first set of Games. There is something that has the potential to be very intimate about that.

I am not even getting into the little storytelling bit of how Gi-hun’s stubbornness reminds In-ho of his dead wife, and then how Gi-hun that exact determination at the end.

—

Pre-Games 2024

Let’s start with the limo dialogues, when In-ho told Gi-hun he wished he would’ve led a happy life.

He has no reason to wish Gi-hun ill, especially after Gi-hun won the games and left. In-ho likely saw himself in Gi-hun even back when Gi-hun won, and genuinely did wish him the happy life that In-ho himself did not end up having.

And how many people like Gi-hun has In-ho seen? Ever?

What kind of person does Gi-hun have to be, how notable in In-ho’s eyes does he have to be, for the person that administrates the Games to show himself to the person who wants to end them?

Gi-hun survived the Games without directly causing anyone’s death. In this place that tries to bring out the worst in anyone, even when Gi-hun fucked up in the marble game, he regretted it and turned back. This already sets him apart from anyone else, and especially sets him apart from In-ho, who took the darker road and climbed up the system.

You could say, ‘But other people have regretted their actions in the Games.’ But how many people get 45.6 billion won over 455 people’s deaths, and then come back, not for money, but to prevent further death? And how many people come back and become the Front Man?

Gi-hun went back with all that money to find his mom dead, presumably in a similar way to how In-ho went back with all the money he won but his wife died anyway.

There is a system that crushes people under it, In-ho realizes somewhere down the line, and then there is a way to remove those people. Gi-hun sees it another way: change the system.

—

Friends

Both of these people came into the Games for the sake of their loved ones. One came out of the process corrupt, and one returned determined to root out the corruption.

This year, aside from In-ho, there are 454 other people in this year’s Games that he does not know or necessarily care about. And then there is Gi-hun.

He knows Gi-hun. In-ho is a previous winner, just like Gi-hun, he is returning to the game for Gi-hun just as Gi-hun returned for In-ho. In-ho sees Gi-hun as more worthy of his time than anyone else. And all of this comes dangerously close to seeing Gi-hun as an equal, someone he has attached his narrative to, more than anyone else around.

And I think this opens up the possibility that In-ho could have come to see Gi-hun as a friend in some moments. There were moments in the games where he was a little too enthusiastic about their own wins for someone who does not need to put on a fully fake persona. So surely there could have been moments where In-ho genuinely considered Gi-hun a friend, however short-lived the moments were, however foreign the concept of a friend has become to him.

This could be what In-ho’s ‘conflicted feelings’ about Gi-hun (from the video linked up top) are all about.

—

How In-ho Sees Gi-Hun

Gi-hun refuses to remain powerless. He acts for change, refuses to give himself over to the system like In-ho has. He doesn’t shut up and take the money he’s given. He keeps fighting to end the Games, for other people who are caught in it.

And this does not make sense to In-ho. We don’t know enough about him. Maybe he tried this exact same thing that Gi-hun is trying. Or maybe he never did, and became who he is without putting up a proper fight.

This is someone who, so far, has remained unbending in his goal for change. This is someone who, in a facility designed to make people prioritize their own survival, gave a man he barely knew for 3 days a magazine, while he himself was getting shot at, while ammo was short.

In-ho lies to Gi-hun about his name, but he tells him about his wife. He bares an old part of his soul to him, the part of it that lingers from back when he was like Gi-hun. He has seen immeasurable death and has caused it, but there was a time he might have wanted to stop it too, and now there is someone like that again.

In-ho bared a part of himself to the person who came here to take him down because he saw his old self in him. And in turn that person did something In-ho never would’ve done at this point in time—Gi-hun extended this seemingly-pointless goodness to him too.

I like to think In-ho was so interested in Gi-hun because he wanted to see how he himself might've become, had he only taken a different view of life.

In-ho might deep down be expecting him to fail, yes, but he roots for him, roots for a version of himself that never made it. He’s curious. Lee Byung-hun has said In-ho is conflicted about his feelings towards Gi-hun, and secretly might even root for him (see the link at the bottom of this post).

In-ho stares at Gi-hun so intently to try and understand him as best he can. He wants to know what’s going on in Gi-hun’s head, the changes someone undergoes in short periods of time in enclosed death game facilities, a new experiment in the head of someone who is returning a second time. How will Gi-hun hold up? He wants to see his future.

—

The Breaking of Gi-hun’s Resolve (or the Changing)

Gi-hun loses the plot.

He couldn’t save everyone at first like he intended, he couldn’t get out fast because they got his tracker, and his resolve weakens, and he deems it necessary to sacrifice some people for the greater good.

When Gi-hun realizes he can’t save everyone, when he trades in an unnumbered amount of people for a shot to end the whole system, and he gives in.

Maybe In-ho sees himself in that weakening of Gi-hun’s resolve. It’s possible he doesn’t like it because he genuinely wanted Gi-hun to remain unwavering, as Lee Byung-hun said In-ho rooted for him. Or maybe In-ho does like it, because he’s satisfied for the confirmation that his view was right, that his path was inevitable all along.

This could be another point of conflict for In-ho’s feelings towards Gi-hun. Maybe that’s why he decided to fake the death of Young-il right then and put a stop to that operation: Of course, it’s partly because he’s Frontman and he can’t let the Games end. But on another hand, the coup was failing anyway, even without his betrayal and return as Frontman.

This then brings to light the possibility that he decided that, because Gi-hun gave in, In-ho decided he’s seen enough from by Gi-hun’s side. It confirmed something for him, confirmed that Gi-hun’s failure was inevitable because of human nature. And that was enough observing from up-close.

But then that confirmation, Gi-hun’s reluctant admission to the need of collateral, is thrown into question again, only a couple of hours later, when In-ho meets up with Gi-hun and Jung-bae. Gi-hun gives In-ho a magazine when ammo is short, and even when In-ho asks him, “Are you sure?” Gi-hun insists.

Sure, Gi-hun traded all those lives for this opportunity, but he is willing to risk lessening his own chance for survival for the sake of his friends, too.

—

“Are you sure?”

Then there is the question: Why did In-ho ask Gi-hun if he was sure about giving him the magazine?

Why would he provide the opportunity to think again on this? It wouldn’t benefit him at all if Gi-hun were to take the magazine back—Not that Gi-hun would. Gi-hun doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean, especially not in situations like this, and this even In-ho should know.

It could be a final test of Gi-hun’s character. Or it could be that this is one of those moments where In-ho genuinely saw Gi-hun as a friend.

Lee Byung-hun has said (from the video) that In-ho’s character was a very nuanced and detailed one that he had to be very careful portraying. That look on In-ho’s face when Gi-hun gave him that magazine was not any error on the actor’s end. It did mean something to In-ho, whatever it may have meant.

—

Jung-bae, Gi-hun, In-ho, and soju

I’m gonna get into the technicalities of exactly what In-ho’s motivations were in taking this specific bit of Gi-hun’s and Jung-bae’s conversation and using it with Gi-hun later.

I don’t entirely disagree when others call it jealousy, but it feels unfitting to arrive at that conclusion with no further thought. So here’s how I see it.

When Gi-hun and Jung-bae were talking about going out for soju, In-ho was eavesdropping. Then later, In-ho tells Gi-hun later to go out for soju together someday.

If In-ho really intended the unfulfilment of the shared plan between Gi-hun and himself to devastate, this was not an ideal or necessary move, and I’m sure he knows that. And I’ve covered earlier, to my interpretation he does not bother to act like someone he is not unnecessarily.

It would’ve been smarter if he had his own conversation about future plans with Gi-hun, instead of leeching off the soju date idea that Gi-hun already planned with Jung-bae.

In-ho probably did plan on killing Jung-bae at that point, be it eventually or through the later Games, because he does not really care about anyone besides Gi-hun enough to spare them. And maybe he intended to use Jung-bae’s, and Young-il, death as another test of Gi-hun’s character.

But In-ho/Young-il’s ‘death,’ objectively and inevitably, means less to Gi-hun than the death of his best friend. This is not to say that Gi-hun subconsciously measures the weights or grief values of these deaths, obviously. It is just to say that he has known In-ho for only a couple days and it is bound to impact him less, just like how Ali’s death did not hit him quite as hard as Sang-woo’s did.

(Admittedly, season 1 did have a lot less focus on character relationships than season 2 does, but it wasn’t so little that a lot would’ve changed in Gi-hun’s reactions either way).

This, combined with the order and intensity of events in the last episode, most likely means that Jung-bae’s death overshadows In-ho’s ‘death’ in Gi-Hun’s mind.

And this would be obvious. So what purpose does ‘You can treat me with a glass of soju when we get out’ even serve? It’s not going to affect Gi-hun in the long run as much as Jung-bae would.

Gi-hun had a much-needed conversation with his good friend and their plan to get soju was borne of reminiscence of their shared past and desire to make it out. But when In-ho brought it up, it was done in an offhand manner in a two-sentence exchange. This is impossible to happen anyway and In-ho knows it.

If he wanted Gi-hun’s full investment in a plan to go out together, maybe for the purpose of hurting/testing him with it, surely he would’ve done something more than this. He knew it wouldn’t stick as well. So then why did he say it? What purpose would this actually serve?

If, even after all this, In-ho he thought that this soju appointment would affect Gi-hun as much as Jung-bae’s might have, then I might say jealousy nurses delusion.

Or maybe it was something genuine. Maybe that moment, when Gi-hun thanked him for saving his life and In-ho said ‘You can get me a glass of soju when we get out,’ maybe that was another one of those short-lived moments in which In-ho did see Gi-hun as something like a friend.

—

Conclusion

Because of the fact that he is more genuine than one might originally guess (according to my interpretation), I would like to say that he did consider Gi-hun a friend sometimes.

And their dynamic is just so fascinating to me. Likely the first I’ve ever seen of this kind.

They’re in love, they hate each other, they’re friends, they’re opposites.

They’re the first person the other looks for upon separation, they’re trying to put a stop to the other’s plans, they’re good friends.

They’re representations of the roads the other didn’t take, they’re mirrors, they lean into each other more than necessary even when cuffed together, In-ho finds the pieces of humanity he lost in Gi-hun, they’re foils, they were friends.

I won’t be recovering for a while.

[kamitrendz]

LINKS👆 . Squid Game 2 holiday winter sticker gift ideas from the Squid Game Redbubble collection by @KamiTrendz on @redbubble approved by @Netflix. #squidgame #netflix #hwangdonghyuk #leejungjae #leebyunghun #frontman #seonggihun #christmasdecor #holiday #holidaydecor #holidayseason #fanart #merch #thriller #winterfashion #christmasgiftideas #mug #tshirt #sweatshirt #throwpillows #blanket #stickers #journal #notebook #kamitrendz #onsale

[ppeonppeonhan]

Korean GLs I'd Watch...

Let's try to manifest a world where some of the biggest Korean actresses were cast in major full-length GL kdramas.

COP + CRIMINAL

Esom (Because This Is My First Life) and Lee Da-hee (Search: WWW) play partners and besties, who both fall for their respective suspects for a crime spree against the patriarchy. (Think: Evening the pay gap at a major company; exposing scandals of sexist politicians; and chemically castrating sex offenders). Esom's love interest is Park Eun-bin (Extraordinary Attorney Woo), and Da-hee's love interest is Seo Yea-ji (It's Okay to Not Be Okay). It's a romantic crime thriller.

FRIENDS to LOVERS

Seol In-ah (Business Proposal) plays a new-money rich girl who hires a former old-money rich girl, played by Yoo In-na (Touch Your Heart), to be her personal assistant out of pity, but pretends she doesn't know her backstory. And Yoo helps Seol navigate rich society. Their conflict is that Seol's family bankrupted Yoo's family, and is getting the life Yoo was supposed to have, including the fiancee, the job, and the house. It's a sweet romantic comedy.

BOSS + EMPLOYEE

Kim Ji-won (Fight My Way) starts a job at a family law firm and works hard to get one of the partners, played by Son Ye-jin (Crash Landing on You), to be her mentor, but only because she wants her job. She starts off as a frenemie before Ye-Jin's hard edges rub off, and Ji-won develops a crush. Their obstacles are that Ye-Jin is married and in the closet, and Ji-won might be too ambitious to let go of her goals. It's a slow-burn romantic legal drama.

COOL GIRL + DORK

Park Shin-hye (Heirs & Pinocchio) plays a cold fashion house designer who hires an unlikely candidate to be her muse, played by Moon Ga-young (True Beauty). And what starts off as a toxic relationship blooms into a supportive one. Park Bo-young (Strong Girl Bong-soon) plays her head of design, who befriends Ga-young's bestie-turned-manager, played by Kim Seul-gi (Oh My Ghostess). They're the softer side couple. It's a romantic workplace dramedy.

FRIENDS to ENEMIES to LOVERS

Seo Hyun-jin (Why Her?) and Gong Hyo-jin (When the Camellia Blooms) were friends in college, but they had a falling out after a misunderstanding about a guy. They have a tense reunion as adults when Hyo-jin is setting up her nuptials at the wedding hall Hyun-jin manages. It's a slowburn romantic drama.

ONE-SIDED OBSESSION

Shin Min-a (Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha) plays the wife of a very powerful and abusive man and Hwang Jung-eum (She Was Pretty) plays the maid who is secretly in love with her and helps her escape. They go to Jung-eum's hometown where everyone assumes she's bringing her girlfriend home for the first time, because she didn't have the heart to tell them she got dumped after running away to be with her. Min-a decides to pretend to be the woman to pay her back, and they fall in love. The conflict being when Jung-eum's ex, played by Park Min-young (What's Wrong with Secretary Kim), returns to get her back.

💜 Your move Kdrama world! 💜

[midnight--sadness]

how would ga-yeong react to becoming a big sister? 🥺 she has two younger siblings now! (considering gi-hun apologized and patched up with her. it took a while, but they're doing better than ever). also crazy how she has another step-dad now (inho).

grandma geum-ja already showing up uninvited to their house to make nourishing soups, help out in any way she can, and bond with the babies but it's all good 🥹 young-sik says he isn't ready for marriage or children so this is the closest she gets as for having her own grandbabies. also she brings with her three daughter figures too: hyeon-ju, young-mi, and jun-hee 🥹 they're very excited to see the babies as well. hyeon-ju recently took up knitting so she gives gi-hun the cutest & smallest pairs of socks and hats as gifts!

uncle jun-bae and big bro dae-ho in the room making everyone's day even better with their humor and jokes. like real slapstick comedy sometimes, they're such a sweet and funny duo.

subong a.k.a. thanos is outside the house but they won't let him in. no troublemakers allowed!

i think gayeong would love to be a big sister!

(i had to check the wikia rlly quick to see her age and during the s2 games she is 13 (14 in korean age))

she and gihun would need to have a serious conversation tho. i feel like he'd explain certain things, like how he was desperate for money to pay for his mother's treatment and had to do some things to earn it but he couldn't forgive himself for what he did or saw so he decided to pull away from everyone. they would also need to talk abt gihun's mother bc she obviously loved gayeong and gayeong probably loved her in return.

gayeong would understand in a way, bc she seems like a very mature young girl and she is empathetic like gihun, but she wouldnt immediately trust him again. they'd have to build that up again and the truth is that gihun's relationship with inho does bring some stability into their lives, strangely enough.

but yes! she has a new stepdad and a step uncle and a step grandmother even and she really really likes them, but she really loves her younger siblings 💖 those babies are so precious to her and they helped rebuild her relationship with gihun. also, i can see inho kinda looking at gayeong as the baby he lost with his wife (i have a hc that they were having a girl, which adds another parallel to inho and gihun as foils).

everyone from their team in the games would love the babies so much, i agree with everything u said!🥰 and when junhee's baby is born then its like they have triplets since they are so close in age, and you know that daeho, hyunju and geumja would fist fight to hold the babies but thankfully there is one baby for each of them!

and for some angst - i definitely think gihun thought about sangwoo, saebyeok and ali, of how happy he'd be if they were there with him to meet his babies and his new family 🥲

[stuff-diary]

Squid Game (Season 2)

TV Shows/Dramas watched in 2024

Squid Game (Season 2, 2024, South Korea)

Director & Writer: Hwang Dong Hyuk

Mini-review:

I didn't quite see the need for more Squid Game; despite the somewhat open ending, the first season was a thoroughly satisfying watch. And now, after seeing the new one, my opinion hasn't really changed. The first half is basically a rehash of the concept and themes, with a slowed-down pace to drag the story out into two seasons. On top of that, more than a few of the new characters are ridiculously annoying (and it doesn't help that half of the cast is made up of awful people). That being said, the games remain thrilling and entertaining, easily the best part of this installment. I'm still curious to see how the story ends, and most of my favorite characters managed to survive, so I will be tuning into the final season next year.

[prbni]

"Shipped the actors but not the characters"

I actually shipped the characters in this case as well

[passionforfiction]

Today's Webtoon

For someone that likes to read webtoons, this series was so nice to watch. It gives us a window to how webtoon creation and publication works. I like the characters: artists and the PDs. Their stories ranged from sweet to sad, but it was great to see the all reached their own happiness. Even though this series is not a romantic drama, it did have its romantic touches that made it sweeter. It leaves this subplot in the opening as they accomplish their dream as a team and move on to the next collective dream. I wonder what will happen with Oh Ma Eum's relationship with Seok Ji Hyung and Jun Yeong. But even though it leaves that question open, it doesn't leave me disappointed or wanting to know what happens. I think that it just reminds us that life continues even after one chapter of our lives ends and things will happen at their own sweet time, there is no need to force things.

Work drama that will keep you smiling and cheering for the characters. Really loved it.

Poster from SBS Contents Hub - https://programs.sbs.co.kr/special/sbscontentshub/about/74579

[mangodelorean]

Favourite shots: Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 [2023]

[naksushadows]

 "It's a story about fighting. But it's about romance too."

[hyperfixation-goes-brrr]

Who's your least favorite season 2 character(s)??

There's way too many characters for me to put in a Tumblr poll, cause then I'm gonna have to make like three of 'em, so I just made a Google Forms instead

The poll'll close exactly 9 days from now, on 9PM GMT, on Thursday 15/1, and results'll be announced 12 hours later, at 9AM GMT, on Friday 16/1

MasterList

[fewwordsmanyriddles]