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My Name Is Kim Sam Soon: Episode 2

Twice a week dramas, like the Wednesday-Thursday night My Name is Kim Sam Soon, tend to work in mini-arcs; the general rule of thumb is that “Wednesday” episode brings a short story arc to bear, and the “Thursday” drama is the second-half conclusion.  And script writers try to cram Thursday episodes with enough memorable moments and cliff-hanger endings to keep people stressing out until it is Wednesday night again.  This being the first week of the series, however, the MNIKSS script writers have had to work even harder, trying to create a mini-arc within the introduction of the characters and main story line.  From technical standpoint, few dramas have done “Episode 2” as well as MNIKSS.

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Episode 2 Recap – “Shall we try dating?”

Last episode, Sam Soon found her new job as Bon Appetit’s pâtissier and new life among her co-workers as Kim Hee Jin.  Sort of like going from high school to college, Sam Soon gets to start over and create a whole new persona for herself with none of the bad memories associated with her Sam Soon name.

It’s Sam Soon’s first day at Bon Appetit, and Baker’s Assistant Lee In Hye is giving Sam Soon a tour of the restaurant and the people. In Hye is from Yeo-soo, which is about as deep south as you can get in Korea and hence her cute southern dialect. They pass by Chef Lee and Manager Oh, and In Hye gives tidbits about each. Chef Lee is also a talented French-trained chef and Manager Oh seems to have some sort of personal history with Jin Heon. Chef Lee oversees all of the food preparation and Manager Oh oversees everything else.

And finally, there’s the self-proclaimed captain of the wait staff, Jang Captain, aka Jang Captain Unni, aka Jang Young Ja. Jang Captain doesn’t like her name much either but In Hye doesn’t know why, much to the chagrin of the older Sam Soon. (The infamous Jang Young Ja was Korea’s version of Bernie Madoff, back in the early 1980’s. Her scheme boiled down to promising desperate corporations a line of credit (which she didn’t have) and then taking the resulting corporate bonds and selling them, pocketing the cash. And like the Madoff ponzi scheme of today, the sheer size of the fraud was unprecedented).

Jang Captain is at the head of the pecking order for the single young women in Bon Appetit, due to her age and her rank as wait-staff captain.  That is, of course, until Sam Soon appears on the scene. When In Hye reveals that Jang Captain has the hot and heavies for President Jin Heon, Sam Soon is incredulous. THAT puffy wind-bag of arrogance? In Hye defends Jin Heon, mayhaps too quickly and Sam Soon wonders if In Hye likes him too. In Hye huffs away, saying that it isn’t just her, but all of the Bon Appetit women are in love with him.

Sam Soon wonders what kind of restaurant she has gotten herself into. Is this Jin Heon’s restaurant or his fanclub? Hehe!

Still, let me get in line to defend Jin Heon.

1. He’s good looking, dresses well.
2. He’s taller than most other Koreans at 6 feet.
3. He’s passionate, intelligent and well-spoken.
4. He’s a likely poly-glot.
5. He’s loves his mom (though he’s got his own unique way of showing it).
6. He’s good at sports.
7. Sometimes he gets this cute puppy dog kind of sad looking face when he starts reminiscing about the past…

Hehe, why am I repeating what In Hye is saying? 

Ahem! Back to the story.

Sam Soon begins her first day and apparently she has to create a very special dark chocolate mousse cake (Marquis au Chocolate) for a customer who wants to surprise his wife with a diamond ring. Sam Soon drops the ring into an 6 inch tower chocolate mousse cake, and the cake is soon being eaten by the woman.

Luckily, the woman finds the ring on one of her very first bites and is overjoyed at her husband’s thoughtfulness. I say luckily because had the ring been at the bottom of the cake, the husband would have had to force his wife to eat maybe 3,000 of calories worth of sugar, saturated fat and cholesterol by herself in order to find the ring.

Sam Soon watches wistfully until In Hye reveals that that husband had brought his girlfriend into the same restaurant the previous week.

This sets off Sam Soon and a horrified In Hye, and then Jang Captain, tries to restrain Sam Soon from giving a piece of her mind to another cheating husband. Ah, but to no avail, as Sam Soon gives both a history lesson on the origins of the Marquis au Chocolate and a not-so-subtle hint to stop freaking cheating on his wife.

Jin Heon drags Sam Soon off before she can completely spill the beans. Jin Heon is not impressed by Sam Soon’s principles however, and replies that the people that he detests the most are those who let their personal agendas overtake their duties. “Personal agendas”?? Is Jin Heon implying that he remembers Sam Soon from the Christmas Eve Night of a Thousand Horrors? Sam Soon can’t confirm what Jin Heon knows without giving it away. She gives in.

At the end of the day, there must be silliness. Koreans love getting together and forcing newbies to do silly things because silliness is a (1) great ice breaker, (2) momentary class and gender equalizer, and (3) it’s a fun way to express one’s individuality and unique qualities.

Korea is and has been a fairly homogenous place. This isn’t to lend credence to the phrase “All Asians look alike,” but on the other hand, it is true that certain things that make people different tend to be prized. These gatherings tend to create events for silliness, and enthusiastic participation is expected – because, how else are people able to be seen as special?

And so Sam Soon is called on to showcase who she is and she dreams of herself as a ravishing beauty, basically grinding on Jin Heon, to his amazement. (Methinks, to show him that she’s not the same hysterical woman from Christmas Eve).

But alas, dreams don’t always turn into reality and Sam Soon’s dance is, well, not good. Thankfully, Jin Heon ends the evening, before Sam Soon does anything else.

Back to the heretofore unidentified women who were on the airplane together. The window-seat woman has gotten on a bus from the airport, being seen off by the aisle-seat woman. The window-seat woman looks at her cell phone, and we see a picture of Jin Heon and her together! She asks outloud, you’re still not mad at me, are you? Mad about what?

At this stage of Sam Soon’s life, she’s got two focal points: career and marriage. Having secured her job, now all she needs is a hubby. Sam Soon lives at home with her mom, and they are chatting about her upcoming blind date. Sam Soon’s mom, wonderfully played by k-drama mom extraordinaire, Kim Ja Ok, cautions Sam Soon about not screwing it up. Sam Soon confirms with her mom that the blind date thinks her name is Kim Hee Jin, and not Kim Sam Soon, which should help matters.

(It is fascinating to the see the similarities and differences between how Jin Heon and his mom interact, and how Sam Soon and her mom interact. Both moms lost their husbands early, and so the relationship between mother and child is that much more focused.)

Sam Soon heads to her blind date (though it’s not really blind since they each got pictures of each other before hand). Sam Soon is excited / impressed by the picture (Honestly, do blind dates really look that good? The guy in the picture looks like an actor that you would find in a k-drama romantic comedy. My immediate question would be, why is he single???), but she still wishes that the meeting would have been at a different hotel, and not this particular hotel.

Still, Sam Soon’s blind date shows up and he’s a looker for sure. Maybe he’s a few years older than his picture, but who’s counting. He’s definitely cute. With good manners. Who apparently rescued a cute puppy on the way over to the hotel. Or maybe it was a cat from a tree. Sam Soon, mesmerized by the Good Looking Blind Date Guy, would swallow anything her date says at this point.

As Fate would have it, and it must be fate, either that or really cruel script writers, Jin Heon is just a few tables down, also on a blind date. Jin Heon is in rare jack-ass form, giving back-handed compliments thinly-wrapped in insults to his date. That plastic surgeon of yours did a fine job on your… just nose and chin, is it (pfft)? Good thing you have tiny boobs, cuz I like that in women.

Tired of the chit-chat, Jin Heon excuses himself and espies Sam Soon on what has to be a blind date. Jin Heon pauses just long enough to get enough of the conversation to confirm his suspicion. And then he chuckles to himself, “Going on a blind date in the same hotel that she got brutally dumped in… that’s SO like the Sam Soon I know.”

Jin Heon gets this Binnie mischievous smirk on his face, and decides to punk Sam Soon. In front of the Good Looking Blind Date Guy, Jin Heon calls her “Sam Soon” and begs her not to dump him. This causes a scene as a horrified and embarrassed Sam Soon tries to shake off a clingy Jin Heon while still trying to be the demure Hee Jin.

But then Jin Heon’s real date shows up too with laser beams shooting out of her eyes. The date slaps Jin Heon. While Jin Heon’s plan to kill his date with one prank on Sam Soon has worked, he has really hurt that woman’s feelings.

Make that two women’s feelings. When Good Looking Blind Date Guy excuses himself and leaves, Sam Soon is devastated. Sam Soon also slaps Jin Heon hard, and then kicks him. Jin Heon falls to ground and looks up at a crying Sam Soon, who calls him a heartless bastard who has no idea what he has done. She tells him to prepare her severance and leaves. What a horrible place this hotel has been for Sam Soon, who may have just seen her last chance at love disappear because of Jin Heon’s prank.

Jin Heon chases after Sam Soon (but not his real date!). Sam Soon ignores him. With Nina Simone’s “He’s Too Good To Me” playing softly in the background, Jin Heon follows apace 15 feet behind Sam Soon as she walks around Seoul. This is a Korean thing, probably something Jin Heon learned from his mother at an early age. Basically, you shut your mouth and you follow your mom around until she forgives you. Is he doing this because he needs a pastry chef? Or maybe he’s truly sorry?

What I love about this scene is that the person that Nina Simone is crooning about is the perfect man who got away. Which would be the perfect man for Sam Soon? Is he the man who excused himself from the table or the man who is standing too close now?

Jin Heon offers a 10% raise and permanent employee status to win her back, but fails. Sam Soon just wants to get married and Jin Heon ruined it for her. Jin Heon though, asks an interesting question. “Why do you have to get married?” Sam Soon replies, “It is scary to cross an ocean by yourself, and two people can row much faster than a single person can row.”

A little oddly, Sam Soon spends the rest of the day doing random things like going to a video game parlor and doing karaoke at a noh-reh-bang – things that might be more fun if done with a partner rather than solo. All the while, Jin Heon stays within a few feet of her.

Maybe Sam Soon spends the day like this because she doesn’t want to go home and face her mom. Because then Sam Soon would have to spend the rest of the night answering questions. Or maybe more likely, Sam Soon is dragging out her day, forcing Jin Heon to follow, so that Jin Heon suffers at least some physical punishment for deep-sixing her blind date. By giving Jin Heon this punishment, and by Jin Heon accepting the punishment, I guess Sam Soon isn’t quitting Bon Appetit after all.

In any case, with Jin Heon still following her, Sam Soon wins a giant stuffed animal pig from the video game parlor and then goes out drinking at an outdoor bar. (I love outdoor bar scenes! Yay!) Towards the end of the night, Jin Heon offers to make things right by finding the perfect man for Sam Soon. What kind of man does she like?

Sam Soon starts general (a stable guy who brings home the bacon), but with prodding, narrows it down to… a good kisser. Sam Soon shyly laughs into her stuffed animal pig, but she goes on to explain what she really wants:

Sam Soon: Someone I can bring to my parents and my sisters, and proudly say, “This is my man.”

Sam Soon: Someone that would bring me to his parents and to his friends and say, proudly, “This is my woman.” That’s the kind of person I want.

Jin Heon nods but gives a snarky reply – easy! Sam Soon retorts that he has no idea how difficult a task that is. Remembering back to Min Woo, Sam Soon sadly notes how she was kept hidden from a previous boyfriend’s parents and friends. Jin Heon blurts out that her previous boyfriend’s face had “player” written all over it…. Ooopsie.

Sam Soon immediately realizes that Jin Heon does remember – and Sam Soon has just been a source of amusement for him. That realization ends the evening. Sam Soon realizes she needs more cash to pay, given that she’s eaten udon noodles, kimbap roll, an omelet, fried chicken legs, eel banchan, pork rib and FIVE bottles of soju. Damn.

Sam Soon goes to get money but given the amount of soju ingested, she tosses her cookies before passing out in the ATM lobby. Jin Heon ends up having to mop up the mess and then piggyback a hostile and smelly Sam Soon home.

Sam Soon awakes in the morning, finding herself half-naked in a strange bed, with only her stuffed pig (which she named Samsooki!) keeping her company. Sam Soon is horrified by her compromising circumstances, but soon finds that she may have done worse (much much worse) to Jin Heon. She threw up on Jin Heon then peed on him? Jin Heon called it chemical warfare but there’s no way she did that… right?

Before she can properly defend herself, however, this particular morning has brought Jin Heon’s mom, Chairwoman Na, and her assistant (Assistant Yoon), to visit. Jin Heon’s mom immediately starts beating on Jin Heon for nuclear bombing another blind date, but soon finds a half-naked Sam Soon bearing witness. HOW DARE YOU SCREW UP ANOTHER BLIND DATE HOLYMOTHEROFGODWHYISTHEREANAKEDWOMANSTARINGATME!

Since this kind of beating is properly done only in private, Jin Heon’s mom drags Jin Heon to the bathroom to finish the beating. Sam Soon is next to be grilled, and Jin Heon’s mom is surprised to find that this half-naked woman is the same one who was the cause of Jin Heon’s blind date blow-up. THIS is Sam Soon?

Sam Soon’s dry-cleaned clothes arrive and Sam Soon goes to the bathroom to change. Jin Heon’s mom is not happy with her son but she pulls out a surprising card – she orders Jin Heon to bring Sam Soon to be properly introduced over dinner in a week’s time. Jin Heon is quietly stunned, and amused, as a another fun plan develops into his head.

Jin Heon’s mom leaves and Jin Heon and Sam Soon head to a breakfast diner before going heading to work. Sam Soon digs into her bowl of hae-jang gook (oxtail soup – excellent for hangovers), made extra spicy and filled with rice, while Jin Heon looks on, aghast at her appetite after a night of binge drinking.

Still, Jin Heon takes a deep breath and then pulls the trigger and asks,

Jin Heon: Kim Hee Jin, shall we… try dating?

Hee. 🙂

Comments:

What a fun and endearing episode!

I think what makes this drama so special is how the details of the characters drive the stories that are developed over the course of the drama. Jin Heon detests going on blind dates for a reason, and he acts like a jerk in those blind dates for a reason. Jin Heon’s development, his maturity and growth, is one story to follow. Another story line is Sam Soon, who apparently is both quite wise and quite foolish at the same time. Foolish in that she lets down her guard for love, and wise in that she still keeps trying. And Sam Soon’s search for the proper balance between wisdom and foolishness is the heart of MNIKSS.

And here, after this first Wednesday-Thursday doublet, we have the semblance of our first major story-arc. Jin Heon, who has apparently eschewed women for years for some yet-to-be-revealed reason, has suddenly found himself a way out of the serial torture of continuous blind-dates that his mother has set him up upon. The question is, what could possibly make Sam Soon agree to such a proposal?

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love samsoon!!

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hate samsoon!!

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Keke, I, myself, have a love/hate relationship with MNIKSS. It was my 2nd kdrama and after a Christmas marathon I just didn't get the hype. From what I remember a large part of my dislike for the drama was that I found her self-consciousness about her weight and name too superficial, as well as too weak to be a real issue in not finding her perfect man. I mean, I thought Sam Soon was beyond awesome on so many levels if not for her over self-consciousness about her weight and name. I loved her for her wit and wisdom. She has one of my favourite kdrama quotes, that one about living like heaven on earth, oh yeah, that hit the spot. Another part of the drama I didn't like was the lop-sided love polygon. I couldn't stand one half of the love square most of the time, and then even the whole love square at other times.

That said though, I am enjoying this recap. Thank you samsooki!

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Yup, I feel that love/hate for MNIKSS, but I have to disagree on the tidbit about Sam-soon being obsessed with her weight. I've mentioned before that I loved Sam-soon not just because she is feisty, but because she's not the usual stick-figures who show up on kdramas all the time. And I love the fact that she's big and that she's realistic about it the way big women are: we want to lose weight. Heck, she's a real woman that way because what woman goes through life and never wish she looked a little bit prettier, or thinner, or had straighter or curlier hair? Yes it seems so superficial, only caring about your appearance, but I appreciate that a heroine for once actually faces something that is such an everyday-life-realistic worry (Heck, try being the big boned girl guys like picking fights with in elementary - as a test of strength - for a day or two and tell me you don't try to at least lose weight because at least THAT is fixable). As for the name change? I understand a bit about it since I had to live my whole life with the understanding that most people where you grew up (in the South Pacific) will never be able to pronounce the name your German Grandmother passed down to you. Not that I would change it. Besides, I love how her name is a part of Sam-soon's journey to accepting who she is.

*BTW: When I say big, I'm not saying Sam-soon is really big, but compared to say Hee-jin or her sister or other heroines we can say she's bigger than them. That's the big I'm talking about.

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you're right... if samsoon is in my country she won't be even considered big... heheheheheh!

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Me too! I liked her strong will but the weight thing was too much of an issue, when frankly, she wasn't overweight at all. And the second leads were just so inadequate - clingy and submissive Hee Jin and the good-looking nonentity that was Henry. I still think that the whole maturing arc was very nicely done, for both Sam Soon and her Sam Shik.

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hmm... i don't think the weight issue is too much... because as woman at that age would really worry about it. and plus she's not yet married. so i guess it's just realistic.. moreover, even skinnier and younger women still wants to lose weight (i guess some people aren't easily satisfied..). it just goes to show how appearance could add to confidence.. and in some point or another there's something about us that we really find it hard to accept. for others it may be petty but for us (the one experiencing it), it's a big thing... heheheheheh...

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That's the thing about this drama. The "weight" issue and the name issue in this drama are both keys to appreciating what THE modern day Korean culture is. If you don't appreciate this, then it is unlikely you'll appreciate this drama.

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The weight issue is a real issue, and not just in Korea. I totally loved a heroine who wasn't skinny.

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I really really really REALLY disagree with the idea that being obsessed over your weight is a 'superficial' concern. As someone who has had a very personal connection to an eating disorder, I NEVER consider a concern over weight or even the throwaway comments that all women make superficial. A concern over weight IS quite significant to a lot of women, not even women with EDs, just regular women, and it is not right to call it superficial just because you don't have personal experience with how significant it can be. Say Sam Soon has constantly been bullied over her weight- that causes some pretty messed up mind issues, how can that be called a weak issue? Plus I thought she was quite accepting over her body image and didn't obsess over it nearly as much as around 95% of the female population.

Anyway, that's my rant on body image, a topic I am quite passionate about, as you can see. I LOVE the recaps samsooki and am super glad to see you back :)

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HAHHAHA!!!! Loved the last scene!
Thank you so much for the recap! Love to reminisce hehe~~

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Samsooki: May I ask you a question? What is your purpose of recapping an old drama?

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Serious question: Why the heck not?

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Agreed. WHY NOT.

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It doesn't seem that you know the real purpose, but just for the sake of replying saying "heck not?" LOL!!!!

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Actually, it's the perfect way to answer your question. You asked "why", well people are bound to ask "why not".

Why shouldn't samsooki recap a drama that was so popular back in the days? Why shouldn't samsooki give his perspective on each episode of his choosing? Shouldn't samsooki be allowed to recap any drama of his choosing if he is doing it on his own time?

You said that what should matter most is the NOW instead of the past, but you forget that the past defines who we are today. Some people (I think I can include jb and girlfriday in this if I can recall their podcast correctly) have commented that MNIKSS created a precedence unseen before in kdramaland. Specifically that it gave us a heroine that we've never seen before in a kdrama. So getting recaps of a drama that helped shape our views of kdramas and set a bar for kdramas is just a good way for those who don't have the time to watch the show to sit down for five minutes and get the inside details. Recaps, even for old dramas, are like the SparkNotes for dramas. X/

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Yes, as one of the long-watcher of Kdramas, MNIKSS is still one of my favorites because it started its own "spunky, overweight, different female" characters compared to the "old, I'm dying crying days" of the earlier 2000's. Kim Sun Ah owned this character. She makes us appreciate that no matter how you look like or act like, just be yourself. Both her and Samshik LOL grow up to become mature who truly loves each other despite what others say about them. And during those times, it's one of the first dramas where NO ONE dies of disease (stupid Leukemia).

But it did start the trend of
1) ex-gf leaving to go abroad for stupid reasons
2) come back and want to get back together with bf who
3) bf finds new type of woman interesting and turns to love
4) but new gf has to leave abroad for some time
5) comes back with a weird vague ending...

But the vague ending is not necessarily bad. It allows us to fill in the gap with out own imagination. I mean we all wish our leads would get married, have kids and live happily ever after.

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Because it's there. Like Mt. Everest (or Hallasan as the case may be).

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What's wrong with going back to the past? We're honored to have Samsooki doing this!

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What is the purpose of going back to the past or back to the future? It is the present or NOW which is the most important!!!

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Ooh, goin' back to the future, now THERE'S a thought. I will now only recap FUTURE dramas! Yup. Why be stuck in the present when we could be living in the soon-to-be?

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Oooh, future drama recaps?

*Bangs fork and knife on table*
City Hunter 2 recaps! CITY HUNTER 2 RECAPS!!!!!

Pleas recap future drama City Hunter 2, the Lee Min-HOT sensation that will sweep the nation! Please? Pleeeeeeease?

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I should specify, I want the City Hunter 2 drama written by the Dramabeans Sister, as alluded to in their magnificently drunken podcast.

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Should they write it while they're drunk? XD

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Javabeans,I'll be damned....When I ask you some serious questions you never answer,yet when someone asks you what's the purpose of going back to the future, you answer him WTF

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Loud LOL!

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Please recap future dramas and warm me if the ending sucks [pissed about I Need Romance but satisfied with 49 Days] so I can avoid wasting my time. -)

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Because it's nice to reminisce??!!

Personally, I go through recaps because I don't have the time to dedicate to watch every single drama ever (past or present) so having these recaps as a boiled-down version of each drama episode is nice since they satisfy my curiosity about a drama, which I just don't have the time for, and I still get entertained. Win-win!!

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Plus, the drama from another person's perspective is also an added bonus. Not being Korean, I miss some of the cultural stuff, which the bloggers here are so apt at pointing out. Also, since I am more of a passive viewer I don't analyze it too deeply, and reading the recapper's analysis/prediction helps me think a bit harder and makes me feel more involved with the drama. It's one of the bigger reasons why I'm so darn addicted to this site and kdramas.

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I wanted to reply to 3.2.1.2.1 but i guess that is the limit, no reply button.

I raise both hands and legs to agree to what you have said in 3.2.1.2.1. That is exactly what I feel.

MNIKSS is my very first Korean drama. by just reading these 2 episodes of recap makes me realise some of the underlying puns/jokes which i had missed previously.

and i made myself finish each epiosdes before reading any of the recaps, in order to avoid spoilers to enjoy the drama and to understand the puns/jokes/korean character that was not understood before.

many thanks to javabeans and gang for this great website!

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So agree with mud (3.2.1.2.1). I sometimes even pause the drama to check how the recapper understood the scene I just watched.

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I'll be a total nerd here and make a parallel to history: history repeats itself, so you could just as easily say that you could learn by revisiting an old drama.

MNIKSS was revolutionary in the kdrama industry and loved by many people (as evidenced in the recap for Episode 1), so it's certainly worth a revisit. Regardless of how popular the drama was though, the fact that someone wants to share a drama he loved with everyone - isn't that enough of a reason?

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Well, some people are new to kdramas so this wouldn't necessarily be a "drama from the past for them". I personally liked re-watching You're Beautiful and reading the old recaps.

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Exactly! I've only been watching Kdramas for right at a year, and only just watched Kim Sam Soon about 2 months ago. I was disappointed when I checked and didn't find recaps on Dramabeans! :) So even though I've seen the drama, I'm happy to have the recaps because 1) it brings back fond memories and 2) I'm learning cultural things I didn't know before. Seriously, I remember watching ep 2 and wondering why the heck was he following her around all over the city?!? Well, now I know!

I would like to put in my request for someone to go back and write recaps of My Girl, another "oldie" that I just watched about 2 weeks ago. I have a terrible time trying to remember actors' and actresses' names, so it was only a few days that I realized that the leads from Scent of a Woman was the lead actor from My Girl and the actress from KSS! Now that I know that, I'm definitely going to watch it!

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to a lot of people like me, who have been hoping for these honest-to-goodness summaries/recaps of my favorite kdrama MNIKSS, samsooki's efforts are heaven sent. as a non-korean, it is helping me put things in the right perspective, understand the culture and explain the meanings of some drama features that are so alien in my own social environment.

when i understand something that previously made me say "what? how's that again? or ask my "whys" i feel so great. how awesome could you feel when things are explained? i am that kind of audience. i don't want to just watch, follow the flow of the drama by relying on the awful english subs my dvd has. i want to understand.

and at last, samsooki delivers the goods! and you ask WHY?

oh and btw, when understanding dawns on you, doesn't that moment become your very own present? now that, my dear SpongeBob, makes that moment important!!!

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I love the recaps!! Even though Ive seen this a million time but the recaps gives a different feel to a drama I thought I know soo well!! Thanks for recapping this!!

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I'm a huge MNIKSS fan but I'm still finding these recaps enlightening and entertaining--the insights into K-culture are helpful as well as the often overlooked moments.

Thanks!!

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Same here . Thanks for this lovable recap !

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@SpongeBob,

Read some of the comments of appreciative readers of the recaps of this old drama and you just might find the answer to your question.

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Yes, I absolutely agree. @SpongeBob I'm a little confused why you felt the need to ask this in the first place besides trolling. People talk/write/recap/analyse old movies and television series and books all the time. We have degrees and majors devoted to it, I don't really see why talking about an 'old' drama is considered futile.

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@SpongeBob: I am Chinese, and I have the DVD set handy. The only problem is that I don't understand the cultural subtleties, e.g. why Jang Young Ja hates her name, etc., so I don't get the benefit of laughing at all the jokes. Samsooki is doing Lord's work explaining the subtleties, to appreciate this drama more fully.

@javabeans, @girlfriday, @samsooki: If you have more recaps of older dramas, bring them on! I love them all.

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I would also like to credit (or blame :-P) @samsooki for my initial re-addiction to k-drama. It all started when I read recaps on City Hall. Which leads to epidemic where now, other family members are also addicted to k-dramas. Thanks samsooki!

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Nooooooooooooooooooo.... I refuse to take responsibility for your family's addiction! Not my fault!

Please blame Javabeans for her awesomeness and all of the wonderful actors and actresses who populate k-dramas and then the writers, directors, stunt-huggers and stunt-kissers of those same dramas.

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Samsooki -

Stand up and take a bow!!

Your writings are witty, funny and very imaginative. I still keep a quote from your recaps of City Hall Episode 14 where you describe the K-Drama kiss.

We are honored to have you back.

I am so looking forward to this trip down memory lane to savour one of my very favorite K-Dramas ever. Thanks for this wonderful gift.

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@ SpongeBob, May I ask YOU a question? What's with the douchery???

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It is what he does best.
We usually just ignore him in hopes he goes away...sometimes it works.

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LOL Jomo!!

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i totally agree with you Jomo. i'm sure we've been had! now i know better, so kdrama humanity, beware of this name, SpongeBob! (it's not even very original, pffft!)

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Drama recaps are like book clubs for tv shows. The point isn't so much about what happened as it's about figuring out (together) WHY, and how it made us FEEL, and discussing whether or not the scriptwriter is SMOKING CRACK...

The fact that most of us have seen this already helps us skip over the fluff and dwell on the parts we truly love. Besides really good stories get better the more you retell them.

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'nuff said! Take a bow! :)

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Why not? And for the record, I am squeeing to see that this drama is finally recapped. I've searched and searched for the recap of this drama as I don't have fast internet connection to watch the dramas I wanted to. I'm truly grateful to Samsooki.

These recaps(old and new) are so much appreciated.

By the way, you ask for the purpose. I thought JB's introduction in epi 1 recap is valid enough for this drama to get some attention. I don't see your reason why you ask this question.

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Oh and my wish is(if it's possible) for jb, gf and other guest recappers to recap those older dramas which are totally deserving.

I believe this MNIKSS is deserving to have a recap.

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I second the motion! Would love to read marvelous recaps of older dramas and get interesting insights into K-drama and Korea in general.

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Really why not..Now am going to watch it again just for the "heck" of it...

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thank you so much samsooki for the wonderful recap of this wonderful old drama.. ♥ it!

@SpongeBob.. 300 comments on the first epi's reason enough.. (try to read the comments to know the answer to your impertinent question if your not aware of the so obvious answer..)

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ah, man i forgot how good this was. thanks for recapping samsooki!

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Thanks, looking forward to it. Haven't seen this one yet :)

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your recaps are great! Thanks for the hard work!

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You have just made me want to go watch it all over again. :D Thanks for the recap!

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agreed with this...

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"She was too good to me" - I think it's Chet Baker. Great recap. Thanks!

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I've never seen the romantic side of discovering a diamond ring in your food. Gross.

I love the song Sam Soon sings! "IT'S RAINING MEN!"

Oh what I wouldn't give to get a piggy back ride from Hyun Bin! <3

Gah, so happy that I can re-watch this drama with gusto! Seriously, I think I've seen this drama AT LEAST once every year since 2005. 6 x 16 = 96 hours of Kim Sam Soon.

And how awesome would it be to have a guy like Jin Heon to just barge in on a date? XD

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Samsooki, thanks for all of the side tidbits! They are my favorite part of your recaps!

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Thanks, Samsooki! I may have to watch this a third time; your recaps are making me nostalgic (and I miss Binnie).

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Love reading your recaps as it explains a lot of things, like the oxtail soup.

Thanks for clearing up all the mystifying questions I have had, which I now realize, for all these years.

Sam Soon, Fighting!!!

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Thanks for the recap! I really enjoy reading this and I learn some Korean culture also!

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Samsooki, I lurve your recaps!!! I forgot how funny this episode was! When I looked back on MNIKSS, I only remembered Daniel Henney so thanks for bringing me back to why I loved watching this drama: it's friggin' hilarious! Also, the culture references and dissections are much appreciated. I never really got some of the jokes and dialogue the first time I watched it.

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Well, I'm glad that I'm not the only one shallow around here. Daniel Henney was one of the reasons I watched MNIKSS, despite Henry's bland personality. But, oh that smile made up for everything he lacked!

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And now, I just remembered the conversations between Sam Soon and Henry (were they talking about Proust?) in broken English/Korean and I'm starting to giggle. Ah, that smile! He was my Lee Min Ho after Won Bin stopped doing dramas.

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That's actually one of my favourite scenes and one I've been wondering about how to use it in one of my English classes - great illustration of how you don't necessarily need to know all the words, even to have a rather literary conversation :)

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Love this episode! Great!

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My favorite part, in which samsooki waxes rhapsodic in an ode to Binnie:

"... good-looking... tall... loves his mother... gets this cute puppy dog kind of sad looking face when he starts reminiscing about the past…"

Oh, you got it bad, dude. :-D

This episode was so much fun, I laughed til I cried. When I first watched MNIKSS I was still relatively new to Kdramas, but I'd certainly never seen anything like our Sam Soon before. Loved her then, love her now.

So much fun revisiting this drama. Thanks, samsooki!

:-)

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Forgive me if this has already been asked and answered but what is wrong with the name Sam Soon? Why doesn't she like it? Does it mean something awkward or is is old-fashioned or something? Just wondering?

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I'll try to describe it as best I can; if someone else has a better explanation, do tell! I'm having trouble translating "chon seul uh wuh" to English, lol.

It's an uncreative name that could be described as tacky... "Sam" means "third" and "-soon" is a suffix for female names, so it translates loosely to "third girl," which is neither an old-fashioned name nor a pretty or fashionable one. I'm trying to think of a good English equivalent to such a name without offending anyone...maybe "Agnes"?

Hopefully someone can explain it better than I can. xD

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Well, personal preference is the main reason. Sam Soon hasn't really ever liked her name.

Names are curious things. They mean a lot to the parents (or grandparents) who act as name-givers. Sometimes, quite a bit of thought and research goes into giving a child a name. Usually, there is history and a story that goes along with the name that is quite meaningful to the family.

But none of that matters if you are six years old and other kids laugh at your name. If you want to make a rough equivalency to Western culture, it would be to name your daughter "Lambchop."

Maybe you really REALLY like lambchops, I mean, deep down LURRRVE lambchops. Maybe you were dying of hunger and a passing lambchop saved your life. So that's why you named your daughter, Lambchop. But that probably won't sit well with your daughter by the time she's like, 4 years old.

Still, if you don't mind waiting, I give a more detailed explanation in a later recap.

:)

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Yes please! I have always wondered about her name, and what a cultural equivalent might be. So the translation would be "third girl" - and I can see why she would hate it, because it gives her no uniqueness, her name is solely determined by her position in the family and the sex of her siblings, it has nothing really to do with her.
I can see now why it is so difficult to think of an English equivalent - maybe if you were named Jane Doe, which is a nobody?
Once upon a time someone said that "Hee Jin" was sortof like a Korean "Jennifer" - if that is so, then her choice of replacement name is ironic and amusing, because she would go from anonymous to commonplace, neither one really suitable for our Sam Soon.

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Thanks. I just wasn't just wondering if there was truly something weird about the name or if she herself just didn't like it. I thought maybe I was missing something but, knowing the level of detail you like to go into, I had a feeling you were saving it for a later post.

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I understood it as 1. It's in the old name system. 2. It's typically a boy's name. 3. It sounds old-fashioned.

Jin Hee has none of these issues.

But to understand that you need to go over the whole Korean naming system, which is long, complicated and Koreans obsess over it. For a good example of this watch Chun Hyang by the Hong Sisters. In it, one of the characters thinks for months over a name and debates it. Another one is Bad Family. The whole pregnancy, the whole fake family debates and has input over the name.

In my family, my mother's father got sooo pissed that my father named me before consulting him, that he fought over the shortened form of the hanja (Chinese characters) of my brother's name.

This is because a first child of the family can end up determining the name for rest of the generation. (Generational name) So all Paternal cousins will share the same generational name, meaning that it involves the entire paternal family fighting. But Being the MATERNAL grandfather, meant that my father thought as the eldest man in the family he had the final say. But my maternal grandfather was damned stubborn and won over a stroke count of 2 strokes over my father on the SHORTENED hanja form of the name. It wasn't arguing over what the name would be. (hangeul spelling), pronunciation... or even the agreed meaning. It was over those two strokes. (Personally, I think it was that petty over the "insult" of not being consulted in the first place. I could see my relatives being that prideful.)

To this day my father is still obsessed over it. He still remembers the battle down to which hanja and I get the impression they fought alllll through the pregnancy and long after my grandfather won. This shows how serious and passionate Koreans can be over a name. Shakespeare has nothin'. (The women of my family tended to be the more practical types... so the men would go around parading their pride while the women smacked some sense into them.)

In either case, my family seems to have a tradition of pouring all their hopes into a name. Yoonmi means "Bright Beauty" which to my father was a hope that I'd be like a bong hwang, I think, after my "birth dream".

My brother ended up being named after the Azure Dragon. (Another reference to it) ^_^ Pressure, right?

I think that probably demonstrates part of the weight of a name the best.

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The moment Sam Soon peed on Binnie, you knew this was no ordinary coupling. Great characters, great chemistry, some parts are a little dated, but all in all, lightning in a bottle. Thanks for recapping this!

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I don't think it was established that she peed on him. I assume he made that up. But it might just be my bias against such an awful thing actually happening.

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Jinx!
I love the fact that throwing up on him was ok, but not THAT!

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Allegedly peed on Binnie.
There was never any evidence to corroborate his story.

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Well, in Western jurisprudence, a non-frivolous allegation made in accord with the minimally required evidentiary standard then creates a rebuttable presumption.

i.e., you peed on me (allegation), i had to send out the clothes to the dry cleaners (evidence).

In samsooki's court of k-drama justice, that would put the onus on samsoon to disprove it now.

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I thought Sam Soon called the dry cleaners to corroborate his story. However, viewers never did find out if this was true or not.

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I think it is better that we don't know.

Sometimes, the toilet lid should stay closed when you flush, so you never see what was underneath.

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She called the dry cleaners to find out what was actually on the clothing. (evidence)
It could have just been throw up.

Didn't she hang up before they answered her question?
She should have waited, then we would know!

That is why the claim was not proven to me.

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It's sort of proven..because she asked her sister if peed on a person when they are drunk is heritary.

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Yay! Samsoon! Good idea, great execution. Thank you samsooki!

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Omg i love this drama!!!! It makes me miss Binnie and watch all his dramas!!!

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I love My Name is Kim Sam Soon..thank you so much, i will look forward to your recaps.. i fell in love with Hyun Bin because of this drama..i fell in love with him once more in Secret Garden.. :)

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@samsooki,

Ahhhh, the origin of your name is finally revealed!
Thanks for another terrific recap. I am enjoying MNIKSS so much more this second time around because of you recaps!

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Thanks for this recap Samsooki! I am particularly enjoying your cultural commentary - I enjoy the Kdramas but don't speak the language or understand the nuances of some behaviour. So I really value your commentary here - might even watch the series again! - as I do when the other dramabeans recappers alert us to dialogue in banmal and so forth, which gives a lot more depth to the drama for a bunny like me.

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hey everyone,

in the drama, sam soon sing a song 'it's raining man'' in korean... do you guy if they really have a korean version and who sing that

thank to let me know

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Excellent recaps! Makes me giggle at all of the hijinks that went on with this series. Good ole days!!!

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Thanks so much for the recap - I now remember why I was so hooked to this drama, albeit being skeptical to kdrama back then. Samsoon being the heroine who is not afraid of expressing her feelings immediately and directly is perhaps what attracts me a lot when I watched this drama. And while some of Samsoon's actions may seem silly to the audience, KSA makes them so believable that you just laugh at her silliness and root for her at the same time.

LOL-ed at your list re Jin Heon (and with the pic of Hyun Bin at the side? priceless)

And now I know where the name samsooki came from (I originally thought it's the combination of samsoon and samshiki, haha!)

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Today, I had lunch w/ my mummy and I asked her if she had seen this show, a shocker, she HASN'T. She recommends shows to me, and her I am replacing her gazillion purpose in life. We finished Oh My Lady the day before, and she likes Siwon a lot, so I let her watch SuJu's Super Show 2 Concert today, and she was mesmerized by it. LOL!

Anyways, I now need to find my stash of DVDs, pull out this show, and let my mums watch it. Plus, she's now hooked on SOAW.

Today, samsooki meets samsooki (the stuffed pig). Oh... does one wish to switch places sometimes?

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My ABSOLUTE favorite part of this drama is when Samsoon is watching the happy couple enjoy her cake, and she asks In Hye (I totally didn't memorizes this, but....)
"What kind of luck do you have to posses to have an adoring rich husband?"

In Hye: Jealous?
Samsoom *Nods*
In Hye: He brought his girlfriend here last week, still Jealous?

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haha. Yes, the origin of your name, I loved that you pointed that out!

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Can someone explain the following around your mom when she's mad thing? Oh and great recap! Thank you for doing this series, ive been meaning to watch MNIKSS for a while and never got around to it!

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I don't imagine that exclusively Korean. When my parents were mad at me I tried to keep out of sight (hoping out of mind). And if I had to be around them, say we were traveling somewhere, I stayed close to them but silent and as much out of sight as I could be without aggravating them (by having them think I was lost) until they got over their anger.

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It varies a little, but my understanding (having seen it done) is that the wrong-doer (usually, a child) basically just keeps his or her mouth shut, and follows the aggrieved party (usually, the mom or dad) around as the aggrieved party goes about his or her errands or whatever.

The aggrieved party usually starts up with the 잔소리 (nagging / nitpicking), sometimes directly to the wrong-doer, sometimes rhetorically ("Oh Lord, what did I ever do in my life to deserve such a troublesome son who never listens to me!"). This could go on for a long time.

A parent scolding a child directly might take like 2-5 minutes, and then the child is free. But a child who is forced to follow a parent who is groans rhetorically for 2 hours about how his or her child is a trouble-maker is FAR more effective as a punishment.

And the parent doesn't even have to do that much. The mere fact that the child has to follow the parent and not say a word is punishment enough, because the WHOLE TIME the child is probably thinking, "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaa this sucks, get me out of here.... this is sooooo unfair....."

Finally, walking behind the aggrieved party teaches the wrong-doer to walk in the aggrieved party's shoes for a while. This is effective for older children, who can learn a thing or two simply by keeping his or her mouth shut.

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Thank you!

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the recap got me giggling all over again. ahhh the good MNIKSS times! thanks again, samsooki!

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MNIKSS is one of my all time fave kdramas.
I enjoy reading the recaps! Keep it up!

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OH MAN. THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN ASKING JAVABEANS FOR A WHILE NOW! I WANTED RECAPS OF SAM SOON BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE "JUST WATCHING" IT WON'T BE ENOUGH. Other dramas had the chance to be criticized, praised and laughed at here, and since the site wasn't here yet when it was airing, it never got the chance to be glorified or be criticized here. Thanks, much!

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Now I remember why I kind of dislike this drama. I think it was around the time when the guy kind of fell in love with the Sam-soon, but then the ex showed up and he was wish-washy around them. Sam-soon just seemed like such a pushover around him that drove me crazy.

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thank you so much samsooki!!!!! your recap made me understand the subtle nuances and tiny details that escaped me when i watched it with english subtitles years ago....and somehow i always had that nagging feeling 'that's not what she really meant' or 'are you sure that's translated correctly?'
there was no dramabeans at that time to complete the k-drama experience, thank you for taking the time to do it now!!! i thank you from the bottom of my heart on behalf of all non-korean speakers!

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cannot love this drama more~~~~~~

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YAY for Samsooki and Samsooki (the stuffed pig toy)!

Before the pig-rabbit (YAB) and the sausage (MGIAG), there was the pig! For some reason, I totally loved the pig in this drama... I grumbled about getting one from my partner when I first started watching MNIKSS and I've only just got the pig as a present last year (after he became my husband)!

Thanks for the recaps! Looking forward to the next episode!

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Reminiscing the good ol' days! Love MNIKSS forever and ever!! Thanks for the recap!!

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ahhhh! such fond memories :) i've got the dvd set from years back & its a rare kdrama to get me watching it again and again after an interval of a few years, only 2 other kdramas have that honor.
looking back after watching secret garden & now scent of a woman & having seen the 2 leads mature as actors i really have respect for them & the survivors of the korean entertainment scene. oddly their characters in those 2 dramas have a significant resemblance to their character in MNIKSS but they've managed to morph themselves enough to still come across as fresh & new to the audience.
great to have KSA back on the screens. HB baby come back soon!!!

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omg. this is totally awesome. its like i'm rewatching it all over again. thanks for the recaps.

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WOW... I was just thinking about this show and wanting to watch it again. Not sure what number it is this time but I was really thinking about it all day and here on your page I see this. At fist I thought OH MY GOD they are doing a remake and I didn't know about it. Then I scroll down and see that its not.... THANK GOD... because I don't think they could make a better one.

This is my all time favorite K-drama that I can watch again and again... there aren't that many that I can draw that kind of devotions.

Thanks for bring it back, and always I love how you write about the shows...

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...And during those times, it’s one of the first dramas where NO ONE dies of disease (stupid Leukemia).

But it did start the trend of
1) ex-gf leaving to go abroad for stupid reasons
2) come back and want to get back together with bf who
3) bf finds new type of woman interesting and turns to love
4) but new gf has to leave abroad for some time
5) comes back with a weird vague ending…

OH I love this one. I laugh so hard ...and its so fracking true

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This was the first K-drama I fell in love with.

I moved from Los Angeles to a small town in the mid-west for school and was so 'homesick' for want of a better word I had my friend in LA tape and mail me the drama each week.

Then I did something I had never done before. I bought the series on ebay and spent my time amongst my unpacked boxes watching the series over and over and it soothe me as I got acclimated to my new city.

The episode at the Cheju Island hotel was one of my favorite.

The most ludicrous fight scene ever--and what with the guys squatting together at the end?

But the "be my pillow" and crying moment worked for me. Watched that over and over. The flashback needed to be trimmed in my opinion.

Good times.

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Thank you.There were so many things I missed because I was ignorant of the whole Korean social references and all the KD cliches.

So thank you.It makes so much more sense now why viewers like it.I am going to look for my MNIKSS DVDs now.I know; even a new KD viewer back then and I knew to buy the set :-)

Love your reviews.This is my new Wed/Thur KD now besides Heartstrings.

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Dear samsooki,I just finished ep 2.Wow your recaps made a huge difference.

I think the drama is actually funnier now.What a wonder.
It actually makes a difference when I can understand some Korean.Plus your insight and the fact I am more familiar with K dramas.

The chemistry is cute.No wonder everyone started following this series.I've watched it several times but always skipped the first few episodes until today.Now I getting impatient for ep 3.Like I am really following a current drama :-) However next Wed.I will watch it next week after your next recap.

How come he didn't lock the bathroom door.Then I keep comparing it to the huge modern bathroom for Secret Garden.Oh dear.

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Jin Heon follows apace 15 feet behind Sam Soon as she walks around Seoul. This is a Korean thing, probably something Jin Heon learned from his mother at an early age. Basically, you shut your mouth and you follow your mom around until she forgives you.

Oooooooohhhhhwaaaaaa. Thank you for explaining this.

This is when I fell in love with HB -- at the "following."
While I knew if was too early for the characters to have actual feelings towards each other, the chemistry between the actors was palpable.

My memory of my impression of JH was that he was soooooo young, selfish and insensitive. HATED his wardrobe - still do. HATED his hair. I looked forward to the eventual sparks between them, but really didn't see how they could cross the divide at that point.

I loved how KSS grew a pair after being dumped by Jerkface, and decided she wasn't going to get pushed around anymore, and practiced her new found resolve on Jin Heon.

(Also love KSS mom. She is my fav Kdrama mom for reasons we will discuss later.)

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Love his costumes. I'd never seen men wear so much pastels.

I left the drama thinking "oppa rock the pastels."

Kim Ja-ok is one of my favorite Korean character actors

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Yes, thanks for explaining that! So many things are becoming clearer with these recaps.

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I never understood Jin-Heon breaking up Sam-Soon's match date. It seems mean-spirited and showed a willingness to carelessly play with someone's life. Years later is still seems something necessary for the plot than an interaction that make sense to me. Jin-Heon never struck me as someone who went out of his way to be involved in anyone's life for the negative or positive result.

I also really liked Sam-Soon's match date who was handsome and charming and seems a great option for Sam-Soon, except that Jin-Heon kept messing things up.

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Yeah, it seems like that at first, but I think it's indicative of how interesting Ji Heon finds Sam Soon. Like Samsooki said, I think fate (with a capital F and bright lights and doves flying all around) has something to do with it, because he first saw her at her worst (being dumped) and at her best (standing up for herself to her stupid ex) and now is fascinated by her - because she's smart and silly and passionate and just puts herself out there - even though he doesn't want to admit it.

I also think his meanness is a sign of his youth. The events of his past have made him grow up really quickly, and he feels he has to prove himself to his mother and so he's pretty mature on most fronts, but Sam Soon brings the little boy out in him. I don't like that he's mean, though, and I wish that he weren't but considering this drama is 6 years old...not much I can do. It is rather realistic though: he's rich and privileged, and that's a recipe for unkindness.

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Looking forward to the many other recaps. I just watched this a few months ago (yeah, six years late) and it totally nailed me. I love Samsoon and her guts. I love Jin Heon's fashion here (very colorful and vibrant which is kinda opposite personality) and Daniel Henney's efforts to speak and understand korean (especially in the cheju hotel?)!!
Thank you fo providing episode recaps! Truly appreciated! :)

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I'm so happy that someone is re-capping this drama! I watched it for the first time a little while back and really really enjoyed it. I find it so much more helpful and insightful to read how others interpret a drama, plus it's a nice little walk down memory lane. Thaaaaaaank Yoooooooou~

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It's only in reading these recaps that I'm starting to realize just how much of a jerk Ji Heon is. He's really mean.

Good thing he's completely in luuurrrve by the end of the show.

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I ♥ that Pig!!!

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Me too!

I want the pig and a pigrabbit

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