#but mae also suffered in ways that shin didn't and could never know

[iguessitsjustme]

Genuinely almost cried when Mae walked away after shooting Thana at the end and that is damn impressive

[bealect]

Gun, Glory, and Sad Ending

If you are a kdrama addict, you would know in what kdrama the title is all about or maybe, it's a familiar phrase you heard to someone. The title itself basically the summarize of the entire concept of a hit South Korean Drama of 2018 - Mr. Sunshine.

I am writing this article after finishing the series, the feeling of pain, and how I cried a bucket of tears - emotions rushes throughout my body. I'll tell you that Mr. Sunshine is most heartwrenching and a satisfying ending for me out of all kdramas I've watched. This is a kdrama that you shouldn't miss.

This is not the first time I cried watching kdramas but this is the first time I felt that it needs to be broadcasted (posted here) - kdramas may be fictional, but you can't deny the fact that it influence you mentally. How you viewed things may differ from one another but it teaches you to understand them in any way you can.

So before it goes south in what I am supposed to talk about (lol), let me introduce to you the main casts, what I love about them, their characters and how it makes me realize many things. I'll try my best not to make a slight mistake. ( NO SPOILER)

• Eugene Choi's character in the story is commendable, serious, and courageous man. He is the epitome of a great and noble man who was born in Joseon, leave in Joseon with a broken heart, then returned to his homeland to fight for what it supposedly for Joseon. He is a man with a heart, action, and dedication to save his homeland that was once abandoned him. This man made me realize that at the end of the day, we go through different routes but one thing remains, the affection we feel towards someone or something. It's just there, always there, it may not be so bloom, and bright right now, but it will, someday.

• Go Ae Shin's character is impactful that it made me think the situation of women during the war of every nations. To wield a sword is a hard task, and a woman. However, she debunk that culture in the story. Who would've thought that a noble woman can kill an enemy, can change the future of Joseon? She protects the people of Joseon especially those people who can't voice their opinions, as she thought that no one in her homeland can protect them against Japanese and Americans but only their fellow citizens. Her character and her story is a reminder for us that women can also lead, women can also be the future of something a country should be proud, women can also do what men can do. Women can be dangerous too, always remember that.

• Gu Dong Mae is a powerful, skillful, and fearless one. He don't want anyone to go on his way. He doesn't hesitate to kill - either a Joseon man, or a Japanese man, a soldier or a highborn man as long as they did something wrong. I didn't know that I will fall in love with Gu Dong Mae's charisma. A coldhearted beast yet a protective man to people he loves. He don't usually shows his emotions, but once you'll see it, it will strike you directly to your heart - happiness, distress, and sufferings. He made realize that no matter how evil a person is, there was once a 'good' heart there. It is just buried deep through time, and it takes also time to burst it out in the chest.

• Hina Kudo's character is an independent woman and a remarkable one, she suffered a lot but she stand without the help of anyone and that's what makes her great. She was born in Japan, but both of her parents are Joseon people. She used her amazing skills in calculating, deducting clues, and even one of the people who are the most trusted by the king. At first sight, she seems coldhearted but never judge her just because of that - in the back of that name, fancy clothes and accessories, there's 'her' that can be a huge help for a great cause. She made me realize that don't allow everyone to spit you in the ground, stand, know your track, and get back on them if the opportunity allows you.

• Kim Hui Seong's character development in the story is a really good one. From a man who always have a flowers in his hand, to a pen, turned into a gun. From a noble family and yet he choose to live independently far from his parents. He suffers from what happened in the past and yet he also show his killer smile to everyone. He's a happy-go-lucky man but he knows where and when to be serious. What I realized from his character is that you may have everything physically but there's always that emptiness mentally. Do what makes you happy and influence others to be filled with happiness also.

Mr. Sunshine has a lot of characters from American Legation, Japanese Legation, the people of Joseon, the Righteous Armys, and their families. Each one of the characters aren't there just to give exposure to the main characters, they are designed to achieve a greater cause in the future of Joseon. Each characters has a story to tell and it makes Mr. Sunshine exquisite and a classic kdrama you should not miss.

~

~ my favorite quotations ~

"The steps we took resembled who we are. The one wrote an article instead of a will. Opium that burned through one's broken body in the amount of the life he had left. The korean flag that was given to a man who was a forever a foreigner. Will our final destination be somewhere between glory and a sad ending?"

- Righteous Army (Joseon)

"It's not that only glorious days become history. We know we'll lose and that we won't last long with these weapons, but we must fight. We'll fight and show them that we were here. And that we were afraid, but we fought to the end."

- Choi Eugene, Go Dong Mae, and Kim Hui Seong

~

Gun, Glory, and Sad Ending is not just a word, not just a phrase, not just about a kdrama. This whole thing is all about the freedom they want to achieve on their homeland. These three are the weapon, the fulfillment, and mostly the ending of every nations that were colonized. (Joseon in Mr. Sunshine)

Gun as weapons to fight for what is yours. A great fight for the future. A weapons that could be the death of your enemy or your death.

Glory as a sense of fulfillment. The fact that you are fighting for your country's liberation means you are a hero. Fulfillment is not about you indulge yourself for something, alone. It's all about the great camaraderie you have with people.

Sad Ending as an ending we ought to be in that kind of story. In a war, there's always the one who wins, and the one who lose. The sad part is hundredths or thousandths of lives are at stake everytime. Either you will die fighting for your own people or you will die in the hands of your enemy without even using the GUN as a weapon and the sense of GLORY you'd bring in the future for your country.