[Hey, that's me] A K-drama medley » Dramabeans Korean drama recaps

14 September 19, 2019September 19, 2019

[Hey, that’s me] A K-drama medley

by Guest Beanie

That Psychometric Guy

If you were to ask me about my life so far, rather than a long coherent story, what I’d tell you would be a series of anecdotes – random incidents that remain in memory and made me who I am today. As a somewhat recent fan of K-dramas, this is also the manner in which I recall dramas and relate to the characters and scenes in them. Sometimes, it’s a personality trait, habit, or quirk of a character that resonates with me. Other times, it’s something that someone in dramaland is going through.

One of the scenes that made me exclaim, “Hey, that’s so me” was in Producers, when Seung-chan’s mother is impressed with Cindy after meeting her at the trash sorting area. During that conversation, I could totally see myself in Cindy. As someone who’s long been bothered by the amount of trash we produce in our daily lives and tries to minimize it, the trash sorting/recycling scenes in K-dramas have contributed quite a bit to my K-drama fascination. At one point, my top reason for wanting to visit South Korea was to be like a K-drama character who sorted things properly and put garbage in the right bins.

Producers

When Woo-shik tries to focus on writing a new song in Woohoo Waikiki 2 and gets distracted, he was me. I too have procrastinated by spending time cleaning and arranging things, looking up something and getting lost on the internet, and “sleeping for a few more minutes in order to feel refreshed and work with full concentration,” only to wake up much later than I wanted to, and feeling sleepier. In fact, I am procrastinating right now, but as I have finished most of the work I had to, I think I can afford to relax for just a bit more.

Sometimes, innocent casual remarks made by people can change your life or affect the way in which you perceive yourself. In Let’s Eat 2, when Soo-ji reveals how much she’s been scarred after overhearing Dae-young talking to his mother, I understood her pain. Back when I was in high school and still trying to get used to puberty and the changes that accompany it, a casual question that a friend asked me made me wonder if there was something seriously wrong with me. It changed the way I perceived my body and altered my dressing style. I felt unattractive. I wanted to cover myself up as much as I could, and it was years before I could feel better about my appearance and know that I was not as horrible as I thought I was.

When I started having crushes and realizing that I found boys attractive, I wanted to doll myself up and look good in front of them. More often than not, I ended up looking like Deok-sun in Answer Me 1988 when she tried to doll herself up with makeup.

Answer Me 1988

Having spent the major part of my formative years in the same neighbourhood, the world of Answer Me 1988 was one that felt somewhat familiar. Some of our neighbours moved out and others moved in. We kids hung out together until we were called to our homes at meal times, resuming our games and conversations afterwards. Adolescence brought with it new feelings and sudden awareness that the friends I had played with for all those years were also boys. Revisiting the place years later, I was filled with nostalgia when I found it changed beyond recognition. This must have been what Deok-sun felt, going back to Ssangmun-dong at the end of the series.

Bora’s relationship with her father at times mirrored mine. I used to be closer to my father while my brother was closer to our mother. But as I grew up, our relationship changed. I was no longer the little girl who went crying to her daddy when she got hurt or was scared. I also argued with him and shouted hurtful words at him. A few years ago, I met my boyfriend and we soon decided to get married. I initially told my parents about my boyfriend, trying my best to present my case calmly the way Bora did to show them how serious I was. My parents’ initial acceptance was followed by some drama, as my boyfriend is younger than me and we are from different cultures. But now, our families have accepted us and I’ll be having my wedding in a few months. As I re-watch the interactions between Bora and her father (played by Sung Dong-il), I feel lucky to have a father who cares about me and watches over me and supports me. Though we don’t have long conversations all the time, I know that I’ll always have his blessings and support. The wedding scene in Answer Me 1988 never fails to make me tear up, and I hope I’ll also be able to tell my father how much he means to me. That even if I’m married and have a family of my own, I’ll still be his daughter, the little girl he sang to and told stories to, the one he patiently listened to and watched over.

Go Back Spouses

Like Nora in Twenty again, my mother resumed her studies when I started college. And like her son, Min-soo, I found it awkward and initially tried to keep it from my friends that my mother was also attending classes in a university. It took me longer than a year to accept it, and even then I did not help her as much as I could have. The passing years have brought me closer to my mother and made me appreciate her. Much like how Jin-joo learned to appreciate and cherish her mother in Go Back Spouses.

Like Bo-young accidentally riding a barrow in You Who Forgot Poetry and So-young falling into a giant wine glass stage in Baby-faced Beauty, I am clumsy and accident-prone, and have fallen from bicycles and down the stairs while my mind was elsewhere.

I shudder when a shy or introverted character is forced to talk or meet with new people. I never got past the first episode of Introverted Boss mainly because of this.

When noonas try to figure out their age difference with dongsaengs in terms of what the dongsaeng was doing when the noona was a certain age, that’s me too.

There are lots more of moments, big and small, that remind me of myself and my experiences. I will continue watching and bingeing on K-dramas and will look forward to characters and scenes in future K-dramas that will make me exclaim, “Hey, that’s me!”

Her Private Life