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Secret Garden writer not thrilled about rampant plot speculation

The popularity of SBS’s Secret Garden has the internet abuzz with speculations and spoilers about future episodes, such as the nature of the body-switch, the motives of Ra-im’s dead father, and the possibility of the dreaded Cancer making an appearance in the storyline.

And while speculation is to be expected with hit shows, it has writer Kim Eun-sook just a little exasperated. She wrote a light mock-threat on Twitter this week, “These days there’s a lot of talk about the ending. There are a lot of fake endings running rampant, when I haven’t even written it yet. If you keep this up, I’m just gonna break down. I’m having a case of the Monday mornings.” (Note: her “break down” comment is part of a pun and therefore half-joking.)

I’ve read a number of creative theories here about possible future developments — is Dad trying to keep Ra-im’s body safe, or does he want to make Joo-won really deserve her love? Or perhaps he’s trying to teach her an important life lesson — though it seems we haven’t gotten as outlandish as some of the Korean fans. For instance, Lovers In Paris is not far from the memories of some of the viewers [LIP SPOILER AHEAD], and there are some who wonder if, like in that drama, this whole series is just a dream in Ra-im’s mind. Or, perhaps she died (?!) in the first episode and this is all a product of Joo-won’s overactive imagination.

Okay, if that happened, not only will I swear off all Kim Eun-sook dramas FOREVER, I will personally have some words with a certain voodoo doll that I will have to learn how to make and then curse. (And curse at.)

Via Hankyung, Newsen

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OMG! Totally missed the part that LIP and SG has the SAME writer... holy S%$t!!!! For years I have been avoiding her dramas like a plague because of the dream ending in L I P.

I read Hyun Bin & Ha Ji Won as the main leads so of course I have to watch it. BUT, have I known it was Kim Eun Sook who is writing this drama, I would have waited till the drama was over --- waited for the ending first before investing time and emotion.

JB, go BEHIND the line... I think I'll be the first one to go AMOK, CRAZY, PISSED OFF, CAST EVIL SPELLS on writer if this drama becomes LIP the 2nd.

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well, maybe SG is really just a happy fantasy drama for a change, hehehe --- it's also a weekend drama for the family, so i'm chanting 'happy ending, happy ending!'

I forgave the writer for her killjoy ending in Lovers in Paris after watching City Hall.

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Kim Eun Sook not thrilled about rampant plot speculation?!
Really? This woman has no right to demand patience and understanding from her audience. I've seen LIP and Lovers. We have every reason to be suspicious.

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Remember kids -- Kim Eun Sook likes to split her dramas into 2 parts. The first half, it's all wit, star moments, and beautiful locales. The 2nd half, THAT'S when she pulls out the MEL-LO-DRUM-AH!!!

But don't worry -- The Great Oska will prevail!!!

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I know this comment is random, but I'm sad that none of the dramas on now have as much heart as Dr Champ, or are as pretty(to me anyway). Sad. =(

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This is why I've been avoiding this drama so far :P I have a feeling it's going to get reeeeally intense and I'm not sure I can cope ;) LOL

(AndIhatesadendings :P)

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Good post JB! Nothing like a little SG angst midweek to tide us over to the next episode.

Makes me think who should 'own' the drama-the writer or the fans? Or should it be a collaboration? Should the writer feed off the opinions of the fans to steer their storyline?

At the end of the day I think the ownership of a drama lies with the writer (and production staff and actors). If the drama tanks the fans don't blame their 'interference'...

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I never knew that's what happened to LIP. Really??? I think I need to re-watch it.

And, this drama CAN'T have a sad ending, it would kill it totally for me.

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Could it be that the switch bodies will change one of their fates...namely Ra-im's if Joo-won occupies her body?

Thought I agree...the main leads dying would create an up roar.

I love this drama.

The absence of my girlfriend is a gumiho left a void to be filled.

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if it's gonna end up a dream, i'm gonna rip my head off. i love this drama so much so she better give an epic ending.

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so far, ive been enjoying Secret Garden!
i love it and really find it entertaining!

as per the theories ofr the ending, i dont want to speculate too much coz i might be disappointed in the end.

i'll just cross the bridge when we get there!

for now, i just love hyun bin and ha ji won to the next level!

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ROLF All this talk of voodoo dolls reminded me of my favorite manga character Kyoko from Skip-Beat. I loved her dark side creating voodoo Ren dolls. I can just see all of the mini "Grudge Javabeans" swarming out of the unlocked box now. Look out, writer. There is one on your shoulder now. J/K

I love the aggressive dialogue this writer sets up and the crackling tension between them when they argue. I have never really felt the fighting-and-wanting-to-rip-off-your-clothes scenarios more palpably than here. The scene in the changing room was amazing.

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Skipbeat is my favourite anime of al time LOL. They should totally make a drama out of it, although I can't imagine who could play kyoko. Maybe jung so min...

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The writer should be happy instead of complaining about the speculations because that means her drama has made lots of viewers thinking.......and viewers thinking is good because they are interested in the drama....and interest means higher ratings and being popular.

BUT I swear if the writer will kill one of the lead characters or some bizarre ending, I will not give her another chance. No more dramas from her I will watch. That is how much I love Secret Garden now....that if all those times I laugh and enjoy the show and it will just leave me with so much frustrations at the end...I will really go berserk, especially there is no future kdrama out there yet that piqued my interest. (Hope the dramagods will have Songki, Ah In or Su Min announce their future projects soon...)

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seriously...if its a dream...i am boycotting all her dramas. yeah. damn...that would hurt. to watch a whole series and then find out in the end she dreamed it up. i really would not hold back from punching the next thing that moves. if it happened. ;)

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dude if this is the ending ,, god i aint watching !
i'm honestly kina expecting a happy/sad ending but PLEASE non of them should die *hoping* :S

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Ladymoonstone143 i totally agree with you i don't want any of them dying god i'd love to see a happy ending !!

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As of episode 8 and the switch she has to expect a lot of speculation about its purpose given that neither character really learned anything.

She should clarify this point as soon as possible so not to cause rampant speculation on the plot, the ending, etc. of the series.

I myself am curious to see what she comes up with, and it had better be a clear and valid explanation or the whole show has been for naught. We get the romance/comedy aspect thus far and the eventual (as things go) romantic ending between the four leads (Oskar & Seul, Jo Won & Ra Im) but things have been a little to wishy-washy and it's not too much to ask for some clarification on a vast number of plot points.

Depending on how they handle the whole movie aspect (Blood something or another) of the plot and Ra Im's overall body condition (scars, bumps, bruises, etc. - seen in previous episodes) the idea of her dying isn't really out of the question, though I believe it would be pathetic if the writer simply killed her off.

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Wow..!!! Since I have not seen this writer's earlier work,I just wanted to have some fun adding some of my own gory speculations too... I think it might be like the Moon Geun Young movie-the tale of two sisters...where the main character imagined everything up...same here for Ji-won and the whole body-swapping thing coz he is unbalanced in his mind and keeps going to the psychiatrist and everyone is afraid to mention the accident to him and when he mentioned stress in a recent episode,Oska asked him if he remembered something... the dad said that gil ra-im is sick and that is her fate but maybe in a twisted version, Ji won is thinking about what is being told to him about his sickness by the others...and Gil ra-im and her dad passed away in the fire that unhinged Ji-won's state of mind!!!Phew..Ji-won sure has an amazing imagination to dream up all the other characters then! Hahaha..wow,this was so much fun n I apologize for my meandering mind and also desperately hope that none of this is true-oh God please!!! ;)) This drama gives me more of a fun vibe so i don't think the writer would go towards a nutjob ending..we might get the melo but given its popularity,the writer should end it well..n if she doesn't....hmm..voodoo dolls n texas sized effigies..err..I do hope that she is reading dramabeans too to know what's coming her way then!!! ;))

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oooh I ve been thinking along the same lines!!

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I think I'm getting too much emotional this drama ! It's bad for me.. really bad coz I seriously will be depressed if something bad happens in the end..

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To be fair to the writer, even though she hasn't "written the ending" yet, she could have sketched it, or outlined it, or planned it.

JK Rowling always knew where she was going even though she didn't write it [down] until the end.

If you are reading this, Kim Eun-sook, I promise I will not shatter your legs if you kill one of the pair, but I will think evil thoughts about you and send them over the ocean to you with my Jedi mind powers.

On a related topic--

SPOILER for Hong Gil Dong coming: (not written by her, I know)
I cried for about a week at the end of that freaking show. The only way I could handle it was to pretend I didn't watch it. Then I watched You're Beautiful again to give JGS a happy ending.............. It still upsets me.

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I like On air and City call .
Sorry , I cannot take it, if SG has a sad ending, I will join force to boycott Kim Eun Sook's future project, also to throw eggs at her.

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My guess is that Kim Eun Sook already has her ending scenario basically figured out. She/her staff are also doing the Song Seung Heon/Kim Tae Hee vehicle (Choi Wan Kyu-style franchise?), so it's not like she can mess around.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind a sad ending, but that's not Kim Eun Sook. The Lovers in Paris ending makes sense, if you realize that at the time, Kim Eun Sook was essentially doing a homage to the fairy tale Cinderella drama. She wanted to stuff as many plot cliches into one story and to bookend that with the ending she chose.

Or put another way, Kim Seun Sook is not Kim Ki Ho.

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I don't think we need to worry about Ra-Im's bruises being some strange illness.

It is probably more due to her throwing herself into a car window a hundred times.

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it's all Jong-soo's imagination. the masochistic, hot stuntman Jong-soo. :-P why? just because.

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"Noooooooooooo!!!"

What I screamed at my screen when I saw this part of your post, JB

"there are some who wonder if, like in that drama, this whole series is just a dream in Ra-im’s mind. Or, perhaps she died (?!) in the first episode and this is all a product of Joo-won’s overactive imagination."

*I* would die too if that happens.

Very much on the boat with everyone to throw whatever we can hurl across cyberspace to her if she doesn't take this chance and feedback to do something good to the ending of this great story... and writer, be warned, do NOT hurt/kill my Kim Joo Won and Gim Ra Im!

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i have never understood how or why people even speculate about story endings. it's just not my thing, i guess. i never bothered to think "hmmm wonder hhow it could end"...not with harry potter, not with this. i did dread a tragic ending and was feeling horrible (that drama made me cry) over my girlfriend is a gumiho and its possible little mermaid style ending, but that's about it.

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I may be in the minority here, but I don't care about the ending as long as they keep the comedy so good until the end.

The comedy has been great, I haven't been laughing so hard at a tv show in a while.

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HAHAHA I so agree with you javabeans!!! If the writer introduces Cancer or Death, I won't watch her dramas anymore!!!

But I don't know why she is so upset with people speculating about the ending??? I mean, it wasn't as if we were actually revealing the end of the drama (I want to say that I'm not one of those who talk about the ending :D)...

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If the writer introduces Cancer or Death, I won't watch her dramas anymore!!!

But I don't know why she is so upset with people speculating about the ending??? I mean, it wasn't as if we were actually revealing the end of the drama (I want to say that I'm not one of those who talk about the ending :D)...

I understand that she hasn't written the ending yet though we're already almost halfway. But I really wonder how she'll end it. Oddly enough, I don't remember Lovers in Paris's ending (truly speaking, I don't even remember a single thing of that drama), but you guys seem to have hated it :(... I'm getting worried there...

But think about it: Hello! Miss and City Hall both ended in a happy ending, and are written by Kim Eun Sook ^^". I'm trying convince myself here...

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No, Hello, Miss! was not written by Kim Eun Suk. Wiki got the wrong data, I guess. Please check again the Hello Miss website, you'll find no Kim Eun Suk as its writer.

She is only penned six kdrama so far,Lovers in Paris, Lovers in Prague, Lovers, On Air, City Hall and Secret Garden.

Probably she was just acting as script-editor or else for Hello, Miss!, the way she does with the upcoming romcom, The Princess.

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Woops I thought my comment hadn't been posted (there was an error message). Could you delete message 78 please jb ^^? Thank you!

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I'll be so depressed if Ra Im or Joo Won gets sick in this drama. I just don't have the stamina for a melodrama right now.

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Let's hope the writer heeds all our pleadings and give us an ending like the one of City Hall.

just like what belleza said:

"The first half, it’s all wit, star moments, and beautiful locales. The 2nd half, THAT’S when she pulls out the MEL-LO-DRUM-AH!!!"

That's CH, I stuck to it during the angsty episodes and and was rewarded.

I was tempted to stay away until the SG has finished, then I'd know from reactions if it ended beautifully. But I missed Hyun Bin so was drawn to the drama and liked the first minute of it, with the awesome shots. Also noted similarities of characters to my fav Pride & Prejudice (rewatched P&P recently)s o just have to keep going.

Keeping my fingers crossed that the ending will be epic!

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I wouldnt mind if the ending is like MGIGumiho's ending...but NO LIP ending..PLEASE!!! lol

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i swear, it really bothers me so much when the writer and the characters totally connect with the viewers and then BAM! some tragic thing happens and then they're in heaven. like SERIOUSLy, WHAT THE HECK?!?!?! it's like..i spent every minute i had to watch this amazing drama and now the main is dead?!?!?

so.. if raim or joowon die...i will pretty much be ready to shoot someone.

i said before. I SACRIFICE SEUL FOR THE DEATH IF THERE HAS TO BE ONE IN THIS DRAMA!!!!

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Looking forward to a happy ending!

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Honestly I'm very very very much curious about what's going to happen in the future episodes and in the ending.

I'd like to think that everything ends smoothly for the lead couple (we all do don't we?) but something about the drama's genre, fantasy-romance-action-melo-comedy, bothers me. The romance and comedy, I get it. The fantasy, that means the switcheroo hoodoo. Action = stunts. And melodrama? This makes me expect that the ending's not going to be easy for Joowon and Raim.

And since we're only at the eighth episode I think it's safe to assume, and likely, that the switch will still occur again later on. Isn't that the whole premise of the show?

There's also A LOT OF THINGS that I find unsettling from the very first few seconds of the first episode. Indian summer, the weathergirl talking to Joowon, Ah Young's dream, the Dad-dead-not and Raim-sickness issue. I think everything's foreshadowing some crucial future scenes.

And can somebody please explain to me how the little mermaid story is relevant to Joowon/Raim/Oska?

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totally.

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Im sure shes just a bit pissed becoz the plot shes been building is totally anticipated. She cant Blame the viewers seriously. base on her previous work.of course viewers will be pessimistic most of us hate SAD ENDING. If she want to do something new or make the viewers caught offguard she could pull of some twilight crap like vampires sparkles and shit..i might tolerate that.

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about the "If I had known I was raising you, I should have paid more tax" thing... such a sweet thing for Joo-Wonda to say, but aren't they of the same age? Wasn't Joo-Won still growing up (and not earning his own income, btw) while Ra-Im was struggling as a young girl? Ergo he has no contribution to the tax money back then yet? Hmm...
Or was he one of them young billionaires/teenage prodigies?

just a thought. not a big deal about the plot, anyway.

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i wonder why they start airing the drama when tshe hasn’t written the ending yet O_o

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writers can sell concepts and initial scripts.

or the production company has concepts and commissions writers to put it into writing.

sometimes stories are left open-ended. oftentimes, they are constantly revised. which are done in response to:

- how scenes turn out after they are acted out
- how the story sells, i.e. ratings & fan feedback
- how the TV execs feel about the drama (oh yes, they do dip their hands into the pond so often)

that's why production teams usually aim for 16 or 20 episodes in the case of mini-series. if the show sells, and the actors are up for it, the story gets re-written and more episodes are added.

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i wonder why they started airing the drama when tshe hasn’t written the ending yet O_o

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they usually do that in korea

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haha though it would be funny if its all Joo won's psychotic drug induced fantasy xDD

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I'm sick of writers trying to be "different" by ruining their own shows. I'm still mad about High Kick Through the Roof. If they want to be be daring, go do a movie.

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I'LL KILL THE WRITER IF SHE EVEN GOES NEAR THE POSSIBLE ENDING OF IT BEING ALL FICTIONAL AND IMAGINARY.
i hated how lovers in paris ended, there was NO point and i wanted to stanb myself when i saw it.
that will completely ruin the whole drama.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let it be a real ending. shoot, i'll settle with a sad ending rather than a "it was all an imaginary story of WHAT-IF in joo won's head".

but it does worry me since we still don't know what those pills are for joo won:/ i dont want him to be crazy or anything.

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