Romance is in the air, as Episode 4 has plenty of it throughout. From Yoon-jae and his brother Tae-woong’s scenes along with Shi-won. The episode flashes back to Tae-woongs crush from back in 1991, a girl he used to tutor. One thing that stands out is how aggressive this girl is for Ta-woongs attention, she takes off his shirt off in one scene and says “Marry to me.” She gets into Pusan college, and it seems an ideal opportunity for her to plant a kiss onto Tae-woong, who accepts and doesn’t resist. This memory is vivid in his mind as he walks past a street vendor selling paintings, and he gives him cigarettes and a lighter. Later on we find that he purchased a picture from a street vendor for the girl who had a crush on him. One can feel his extreme sadness at recalling the memory when taken to the last scene of the episode
In the middle of this episode is the main event, where all the characters come together to watch the Korean-Japan world cup soccer. A comment that stands out when Shi-wons father meets new student Hak-chan, the Dad leans in and says “It’s more fun to watch a game together when it’s against Japan.” This brings up the rivalry between Korea and Japan and how Shi-wons father is clearly not a fan of Japan. Yoon-jae and Hak-chan both get attention from their crushes while watching the game. Yoo-jung is putting her arms around Hak-chan, and Yoo-jung gets wrapped up by Yoon-Jae what a moment! Not to be left out, Shi-won connected with a man in an online chat room from Seoul earlier. She gave her phone number too him and he said he would call her after the game. When he calls Yoon-jae ends up picking up the phone, and talks about chicken that was delivered earlier not being theirs. Fooling the man into thinking it was the wrong number, it shows how far a man will go when competing with another for a girl’s attention.
Some questions that came up for me are as follows-for the guys out there do you sympathize with Yoon-jae? What would you do if you were that age and you found out you had competition over your crush? How do you feel about Korean girls being portrayed as aggressive over a tutor crush? Is Japans rivalry with Korea something modern day Koreans are passionate about?
Edited by Alex
Hi Alex, I think your summary is good except that you did not include that the girl (Seong Song-Ju: Seong Si-Won’s older sister) who liked Yun Tae-Ung died in the bus accident shown on the news later in the episode. Which is the reason why recalling the memory with her for Yun Tae-Ung is expressed in a sad way. Also, we can see that it was not a one-sided love but rather both sides liked each other through what Yun Tae-Ung wrote on their portrait.
As for Japan and Korea, we have to look at the history of the relationship between the two countries. Korea and Japan did not have good relationships historically and escalated since Japan colonized Korea in 1910. Furthermore, there are still strong disputes between the two countries about Dok-do island dispute, Comfort Woman Dispute and etc.
According to the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p0ZkMvZpSw , BBC Survey showed 79% of South Koreans have negative views on Japan. However, in my opinion I think the survey result is largely due to the ageing population. I think the younger generation do not hold such negative views on Japan like the older generations do as they were not directly affected by the Japanese colonization. Furthermore, it is important to note that both countries are very dependent on each other economically, hence, growing conflicts are not good for both countries. However, Japan-South Korea rivalry in sports and other areas do exist and losing to Japan in South Korea is considered to be less understandable than losing to a different country like the United States. Also, people that have Chinilpa /친일파 (Korean people that were friendly to Japan during the Colonial rule) roots are still a topic of criticism in South Korea.
An interesting video about Japan-South Korea relationship is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-BbduMYFLk
A video on Comfort Woman from CNN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m3a7VnWwXc
A video on Dok-do from CNN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt4hxMWh6lE
An interesting paper describing Chinilpa/친일파 is
Chung, Youn-tae. “Refracted Modernity and the Issue of Pro-Japanese Collaborators in Korea.” Korea Journal 42, no.3 (2002): 18-59. http://www.ekoreajournal.net/issue/view_pop.htm?Idx=3215
In the flashback to 1992, we see Seong Song-Ju receiving private tutoring from Yun Tae-Ung primarily to get into university. Although private tutoring and hagwons (after school academies) are common in contemporary South Korea, the government had once opposed of any education that occurred outside the public school system to meet the ideal of equal opportunities of education (1). From 1980 to 1996 the government went as far as banning private tutoring. As a means to equalize educational opportunities, programs like Ebs, an educational broadcast program, was established in 1980 to provide low cost means of supplementary tutoring programs as an alternative to private coaching. Despite all the attempts to equalize the educational opportunities, the number of after school education has since been increasing due to the high competitiveness of the suneung (college scholastic ability test). Even now, there is a restriction on the maximum salary a private tutor can be paid to enforce the equal education ideology. What do you guys think of the after school education system in the ROK? Do you think the government should have the right to restrict an individual’s education to strive for equal opportunities of education for all students?
It’s not just high school students preparing for this exam that are getting after school schooling, there are hagwons for all kinds of weird things now targeting kids who have not yet entered elementary school. Have you heard of any interesting hagwons? Do you think this after school education system is becoming a culture of its own?
(1) Dawson, Walter. “Private tutoring and mass schooling in East Asia: reflections of inequality in Japan, South Korea, and Cambodia.” Asia Pacific Education Review 11, no. 1 (2010): 14-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-009-9058-4.
Hey Alex, thanks for your summary. While this episode seemed like a rollercoaster with all the angst that was built within the circle of friends, I also want to bring to attention how smooth the transition to romance Reply 1997 brought to the audience following up from the ending of last week’s discussion. In a sense, it felt like the show’s cheerful high school atmosphere is slowly maturing ans we as the audience have the pleasure to witness it.
To answer your point about Korean girls being portrayed as romantically aggressive, I feel like the show uses the example of Tae-woong as to drive the narrative that justifies his actions later on in the show. Much like the point that Edward brought up, I felt that the show uses this incident to foreshadow complications in relationships which is ultimately the essence of the show itself.
Thanks for the post Alex!
It’s interesting to see how Korean sentiments towards Japan are translated into sports. Of course, a competitive sport such as football would entail a competitive spirit as demonstrated by our beloved cast during this episode. Even the most uninterested or athletic becomes a fan of the South Korean team by the end of the match. The family is unified by a strong sense of nationalism; to support and celebrate the achievements of their home country.
Symbolic competition between Japan and Korea does not exist strictly in the realm of football, but extends to other sports as well. For example, tension arose when Mao Asada from Japan and Kim Yu-na faced off during the 2010 Winter Olympics (in Vancouver!!!). The two are well-celebrated and prized athletes representing Japan and South Korea, respectively, and prior to the prize-winning moment the two were constantly compared and long-time rivals. Kim winning gold was an affirmation of the Korean national identity. However, Asada’s loss wasn’t taken lightly by some Japanese fans, as it was seen as a damage to their national pride. Simultaneously, nationalism triggered some to target Kim Yu-na’s win and leaving negative/anti-Korea comments on forums, prompting Korean fans to hack sites which can also be understood as a demonstration of nationalism (1).
As Edward pointed out earlier, a lot of the sentiments derive from many issues during the colonial period and the aftermath of it. However, the geographical proximity and similar sporting cultures of Japan and South Korea intensifies the relationship.
(1)Oh, Young-jin. ” Japanese Site Hacked over Yu-na Attacks.” The Korea Times, March 1, 2010. Accessed October 7, 2017.
Hi Alex, thanks for your post, my most memorable scene in this episode was definitely that bittersweet relationship between Tae-woong and Shi-Won’s sister. There’s just something about sad endings that I just can’t handle. :/
Going on to your question about the rivalry with Japan, I agree with what the previous people have posted. Korea has a strong national identity and not a very positive view of Japan. These feelings transcend time and space, spilling over into society and sports centuries later. Representatives of the country competing against one another definitely creates feelings of nationalism and pride.
Though I also agree that the colonial period has been a HUGE HUGE reason as to why relations between the countries and its citizens have not always been great, another cause has to have been the Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598. While one may question whether an event that happened 400 years ago has any sort of relevance, I would merely have to point to the amount of reverence of Yi Sun-sin receives even today, as well as depictions in the media such as The Admiral: Roaring Currents, a 2014 movie that became the highest grossing domestic film of all time in Korea (1). Moreover, though I can’t say anything about Korean education today, when I went to school in Korea for a brief period (four months) in sixth grade, the narrative of Japanese aggressors was taught with such ferocity that even I was swept away in emotion in that short period of time. All in all, I’d say that the intensity felt by both sides exhibited through sports is not something that can be just seen as something felt by sport fanatics, but is something with deep, deep historical roots.
(1) Busch, Anita. “‘The Admiral: Roaring Currents’ Becomes Top Grossing Korean Film In U.S.” Deadline. September 22, 2014. http://deadline.com/2014/09/the-admiral-roaring-currents-becomes-top-grossing-korean-film-in-u-s-838888/.
Alex, thank you for the summary. It was a refreshing read. To answer Dohee’s question about cram school/private tutoring, I think that the policies/rules implemented by the government have no effect. From first hand experience, I know of tutors who charge up to $250/hr for high school students. As for cram schools, a new law in 2013 mandated that Hagwons shut down by 10pm- it was heavily enforced to the point that several hagwons had to shut down due to police crackdown. However, did it shorten students’ time in these hagwons? No. Hagwons decided to, of course, open earlier and have students come in before they went to school. I believe that the question is not so much about whether the government should interfere with individuals’ learning experience. Rather, it is about how the government can instil attitudes and values that emphasize creativity, critical thinking, and students’ well being into the educational system. Although the current generation might see endless studying as the key to success, the government can start incorporating such values the younger generation.
The link below is a documentary that examines the effects academic pressure has on Korean students. One of the most notable quotes, I believe, is from a 19-year-old Jae-woo: “There’s no me… I can’t do things I like. When I’m prepping for exams, who I am just gets lost”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXswlCa7dug
This episode introduces Shi-Won’s sister and her relationship with Tae-woong. It’s interesting to see how the main female characters are portrayed in this drama. Shi- won’s sister is shown as to do various things to grab Tae-woong’s attention such as taking off his shirt, getting into college, kissing him which he doesn’t put up much resistance to, acting a little spoiled, etc. Shi-won is portrayed as an extremely outgoing person who treats others (her friends, dad) in a very rough manner. Even Yoo-jung is a complete opposite of submissive and extremely shy. We can see this through her relationship with Hak-chan. Are most of the Korean girts behave in an aggressive manner or is it just a regional difference? I watched Korean dramas which contained female characters from different regions such as Seoul. Those characters had diverse personalities in comparison to the girls from this drama.
Nice overview, Alex.
Great correctives and explanation of the Korea/Japan issue, 규훈.
도희’s points on hagwon and tutoring are interesting– but I assure you, as someone who once had the rule “I will never leave the house for less than 50,000 per hour” (and that was in the early 2000s), those caps cannot be enforced.
I feel like Raymond’s entry is a bit… light.
-of to get photocopies and my office, will continue later-
Kelly, great post.
예찬, great job bringing in the Hideyoshi Invasion (Imjin Waeran).
연실, your points are depressing (but oh-so-true).
Navneet, I think you mean Siwon’s friend in the relationship with Hakchan, right? In this drama we have two main couples– one where the man knows what he thinks (Yunje) and one where he doesn’t (Hakchan). I think it’s set up that way to provide parallelism in the story, as that is something audiences respond well to.