#hong dushik

[chayenzohoe]

So many people say that Hometown Cha Cha Cha is cliché and it is cliché, but it is so much more than that.

I will sit down and say, that i have never seen a kdrama male lead apologize the way Dushik does. The necklace sequence? The way Hyejin because of her past insecurities sells her necklace, because she doesnt want to ruin what they have and Dushik saying that she got it all wrong and he doesnt have enough money to get her a necklace so he made her a jewelery box, is far away from clichè. They accept eachother for who they are, and even in the moments where they start fumbling one of them always gains balance and reaches out to the other. I always wanted that kind of love.

Kdramas have leads who wait for eachother a thousand years and transcend lifetimes.

But Hyejin and Dushik, love eachother through the cracks the world gave them. Because the world was so harsh, they found solace in one another.

Things that have tormented them for years dont fade away as soon as they fall in love, Hyejin is still insecure and Dushik is still fighting his trauma. But together? They hold out well.

Even if they didnt meet lifetimes ago, they are here now. Thats beautiful.

[driverwhore]

dusik and only to Hyejin his selfless act

[ariays]

Okay so after watching episode 14, now we know that Hong Dushik and Hong Banjang (Chief Hong) are two completely different people. Chief Hong is a persona that he presented to others to hide the dark parts of himself. While Hong Dushik is the real him which he is desperately trying to hide with a mask.

According to Carl Jung, “the persona is obedience to expectations; it is the mask one wears to convince himself, and others, that he is not an altogether bad person. But one cannot go beyond the persona until he has incorporated into his character those darker character traits, this being the ‘shadow self’.”.

So when I rewatched the first episode and the ending scene where he introduces himself to Hyejin and he introduced himself not as Hong Dushik but as Chief Hong (his persona), it suddenly clicked on me that the scene has an even deeper meaning than just a simple introduction of his character. 

There’s definitely a significance as to why Hyejin is still not calling him by his real name. Because she still does not know the real him yet, with emotional scars and all. The real Hong Dushik is still hidden behind a facade he created because of guilt. The only time she said his real name was when they exchanged their ‘I love yous’ because that’s where we can actually see a glimpse of the real Hong Dushik with his vulnerability and sincerity.

P.S Someone should really do a Hong Dushik edit with The Truth Untold. 

[gongjinsaram]

dushik and his habit to talk informally to people regardless age and gender

he's been all alone in his life since he was young, and in fact, he hasn't had any guardians since middle school. not like other kids in gongjin who might only have one parent like juri or ijun, for dushik, there really wasn't any family left for him.

his mom, his dad, and even his one and only grandpa left when he's just a little boy. so he wouldn't know how to treat adults properly. he probably didn't know how to build relationships other than through theories.

and he may think that, if he wants to be treated like a family by the people around him, he should've talked informally, acted cute, helped their work, interfered with this and that; because that's just how others treat their family in common.

afterall, i think it's not really his defense mechanism at all; it's just the way he wants to be close to everyone, like how he wants a family by his side again.

in fact, hong dushik real personality is not as bubbly and as fussy as chief hong’s. but he, who is all alone in this world, might have thought that he had no choice but to try hard to get along and fit well with others too.

<3

[ohchilde]

absolutely loved that dushik recognised that hyejin’s dad obviously liked seonghyeon more at first but he didnt try to be anything different just to win him over. the way dushik took her dad’s indifference to him in stride and was like ‘eh, whatever, im comfortable as i am and he cant expect me to change for anyone else’, and just went on with his day. loved that dushik was honest and said things as they were because he felt like it had to be said even if it was to hyejin’s dad. just dushik in general .

[mostlykind]

with dushiks characterisation in mind, how difficult it is for him to open up and share his past plus, how long it’s taking him to tell hyejin, someone he described as being the love of his life, it actually makes sense for the writers to drag out his backstory so to speak. they keep building it up and distracting us with side characters because that’s exactly what dushik would do/is doing. remaining distracted, focusing on the present and ignoring his past.

after the previous episode I was a bit tentative and was losing patience with how long it was taking for them to address his backstory but I guess it’s a perfect reflection of how hyejin feels, plus it demonstrates how much time dushik needs to process it himself and tell it on his own terms, when he’s ready.

[gogetyourbeans]

one of the fastest things that humans have seen or encountered:

[grandmaelf]

yup pretty much

[murkly]

people talking shit about hye-jin because she thinks money and high status is the only way to success in this society LMAO have you met a child of an asian parent??? PLS we are ALL like that 

[chayenzohoe]

Miss Gamri talked about how she met good people, ate good food, was on tv, sang on the stage and saw good scenery. It felt like i watched the entire show pass through my own eyes. The sea of gongjin, the trinkle of the bell that Dushik got for gamri halmonie, the hustle in her house when ji pd filmed the show their, her satisfaction with getting her tooth treated, her watching everyone eating her homemade food-people she wasn't related by blood but they came in when her own left her, I could feel the heartbreak when her son asked her not to get treated and when her granddaughter said she wouldnt come to Gongjin, and also the time she laughed at hyejin for cutting the legs of the squid and made her laugh for the first time in Gongjin, I could see her feeding a young child with no family left, how she put the hat ji pd got for her on her head and smiled at the mirror, the wonderful scenery of gongjin, the smell of the neverending sea, her youth, her love for everyone in that village. I could feel it. I could feel it all. Thank you. Thank you for making me feel that.

[driverwhore]

*Hong I like her as friend Dusik*

[misskatesharma]

"sorry, sorry, bang, bang"

[ariays]

When Hyejin said 멀어져, she did not mean that Dushik was drifting away from her literally. It's more that she felt that she can't reach him, emotionally. He kept his emotions and vulnerabilities too far away for her to reach, understand and comfort him. That can be frustrating for someone who puts their all into a relationship.

When 2 people are in a relationship, a 'bridge' is established. While Hyejin's side of the bridge is fully open and welcoming for anyone she trusts to come and go, Dushik's side of the bridge is heavily guarded that not even Hyejin is able to penetrate in (for now). So I can completely understand Hyejin's initial thoughts. Although, I am glad to see that despite her own perspective & impatient personality, she realized how unfair it would be to push Dushik who is clearly having a hard time and not ready to share his past and so she was able to meet him halfway on the bridge and wait. I like that development.

I think some people fail to see that when you're in a relationship, it's natural for you to want to know everything about your other half. Especially for someone like Hyejin who has her own emotional baggage but was able to have an emotional pillar of support in the form of Dushik. She wanted to do the same for him too but was unable to and so she was disappointed that he wouldn't let her. As viewers, we know the depth of Dushik's trauma and we could fully understand his reluctance to share whereas for Hyejin, she's completely in the dark. She does not know how dark and deep his past was and so her act of wanting to know about his past made some of us, the viewers, feel like she's being pushy and inconsiderate when it's actually just us being protective of Dushik because we know how deeply hurt he was.

In some kdramas, there would definitely be emotional bribery and an ultimatum would've been given (to tell or to break up). But I'm glad that this show is being realistic and mature with how they are handling this arc. It is also very realistic how Dushik's trauma and mental health is being portrayed. Some people might think that they are dragging Dushik's trauma. But trauma doesn't just go away when you're in love. & you just don't easily share your traumas just because you're in love either.

[gongjinsaram]

"i don't know who you (Chief Hong) are anymore." -yoon hyejin, ep. 13

"but hyejin still calls him Chief Hong and not by his name." -pyo miseon, ep. 14

i realized this all makes sense now... the way hyejin said that she didn't even know the Chief Hong that she once knew anymore; is because actually–all this time–the Chief Hong that she knew was originally the Hong Dushik who wore a mask with that name and tried to hide himself behind it.

and every of gongjin people wondered why hyejin couldn't just call dushik by his real name instead of Chief Hong; is because actually–all this time–she hadn't seen the real Hong Dushik yet.

[shuadi99]

Ok, so this scene now hits different

Because yes, Dushkie feels calm and happy with her next to him, because he was scared of his dream BUT ALSO he feels relieved because the person he loves hasn't been hurt because of him

[ruoxin]

Hometown Cha Cha Cha Shikhye matching icons! 🥰💕