Love the positive vibes you send our way, Jig. Yes, let's create all those happily-ever-after that will be the prelude of our new adventures.

That was amazing @crysta. I really needed it.
" A happy-ever after is a new beginning"
I'll keep that in mind. Plus this has a lot of nostalgia, there are not these good shows airing anymore.

What a simple but true and poignant reflection @crysta Jig. Thanks!

It's true that when the characters are well fleshed out and their objectives are clear, we can pretty much take the story to many probable ends in our minds. We can even live with our beloved characters, knowing what they'll do and what they'll say to us.

LOL over Chae Young Shin's Appa giving Healer the death glare. All of evil Elder's minions won't be able to take down Healer, but one look from Appa will diminish him and bring on Bong Soo instead. 😆 Love your Healer epilogue!

I once heard an inspirational speaker talk on dealing with adversity. I don't remember much of what he said except (and I am obviously paraphrasing) almost all of the things that happen to us in life happen "in the middle." And in literature (and movies) all the bad stuff that happens is in the middle. It is simplistic, I know. And sometimes people's lives end without a happy resolution, but it has helped me deal with "stuff." If a friend betrays me. (And I've watched enough Korean dramas to know I'm not the only one this happens to) I realize that this is the middle! (I need to find out who are false friends and who I can trust before my happy ending.) If someone betrays my children, (and this is W.A.Y harder to deal with) it's still the middle. I need to be the good mom--not the nasty self absorbed mom--and be there for them.
This "I'm still in the middle" mantra has, for me, been a big help in dealing with everything I have gone through and am currently going through.
And it makes sense. Who would stop reading a book "in the middle" when everything was going wrong? We need to keep at it until the happy ending.
(Thanks for your Essay, Jig. It was spot on!)

what a heartwarming epilogue to Healer !!!
Thank you, Jig @crysta !
And, as a wonderful Beanie said to me once, may success kiss your feet as you journey through one life adventure to the next !
:-)

Chief Kim!!! ❤️ I really wanted an epilogue where he knocks on Seo Yul’s door and they head out to take down corruption together.

That pic from Secret Garden is a wonderful way of ending the Theme of the Month: write your own happy ever after. And keep writing. Thank you for the thoughtful post @jig!

Yes! Chief Kim was one of the MOST satisfying dramas with fleshed out characters that have the MOST satisfying endings! (Why are such dramas so rare? But then again, if those were common we won't be appreciating them as much as we do now, I guess!)
Romantic Doctor; Teacher Kim, Rebel: The Thief Who stole the People, and of course Weightlifting Fairy comes to mind as other examples for this.
Thanks for the beautiful article, Jig! :-)

You know all those evil parents and grandparents you see in k-dramas? Well 25-50 years ago they were those happily ever after couples...

And here're more sloppy kisses for you, @crysta ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n82w3gvLIs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1v9YjNe1rI

This was a very sweet and uplifting read! ☺️☺️

Yes, and it reminds me that those of us who think we are stuck are just dwelling on the wrong perspective, instead of all the potential new beginnings that each day brings. Something I need to remind as I struggle through another day at work ~

I really enjoyed reading your epilogue for Healer and Chief Kim @crysta, and your point that when writers create characters with complete personalities the looser endings are not just more palatable for viewers, but they are also much more realistic. Real life doesn't tie up in a tidy bow, but rattles along with various stops and starts. Good luck with your own life epilogues.

Thanks for your lovely essay, @crysta Jig. Life is truly a process, not an event. It has been said that the joy is in the journey. Little pauses along the way give us the opportunity to rest, reflect, and make a course correction. Sometimes it's all a matter of timing, and we cannot make a decision, or act on an intention, until we've gotten a piece of critical information, met a person who can help us, or simply lived long enough to gain maturity and perspective. I never know where or when I'll happen upon inspiration, but some of it comes from Kdramas and their memorably uplifting characters... and some of it comes from the thoughtful words of the DB Overlords and Minions, and fellow Beanies. Thanks to all of you for the food for thought you share here on DB. ;-)

Every possible “ending” only leads to a new adventure.
Beautifully written, such a charming post, @crysta. I'm at a point where I'm questioning my life now, should I stay or should I go outside for a change. This post helps in clearing that fog a bit, thanks. 😊

I imagine worlds for all my favorite characters and stories in kdramas. And you are so right, I lived my life in four year increments up until just a few years ago. Four years to graduate hs abd get to college and a new beginning, four years through college and getting accepted to Med school, four years to make it through hell, which did include a marriage in the 4th year, then 3 years of training and 4 years of military life and having two kids in the middle of it all which was an education in and of itself. Two years of fellowship and finally getting a job in my “forever” career. All this to show you that you may have many more “new beginnings” and “happily ever afters” than you envision now. But “Fighting” through it all! I really enjoyed you piece, thank you!

Very nice. I haven't seen Chief Kim but will put it up the list now. Thanks for writing this.

This is so true- and you are right that it is the show with well drawn characters where we can best see what can come next. And even in some cases a further happy ending for even some of the secondary characters- for instance, in Jeju Island Gatsby (AKA Warm and Cozy) we have two very well drawn characters in the Mayor Hwang Wook (played by Kim Sung-OH- more recently playing the Coach in "Fight My Way") and in the male lead's older half-sister Kee-Ra- who as the story ends has made it very clear that Hwang-wook is going to marry her and he has no way of getting out of it. Not only did he not get So-Ra (the female lead), he gets stuck with this clumsy lady who always needs him.

Don't be sorry for him, because this is a case of winning by losing. Because Hee-Ra may be clumsy but she is also smart, rich, very good in business and knows everybody worth knowing. She knows how to throw a good party and put on a good dinner. In a few years time Hwang Wook will go from being the mayor of his small town to being the Governor of Jeju Island. And that means that the four hundred thousand people of Jeju Isalnd will be winners too- because they will have the most dedicated and incorruptable Governor in the country- who will be working very hard for them for a long time to come.

This is what really well drawn characters can do- because we see them so well, we can actually see where they may be going.

Love your Healer epilogue as well as your perspective regarding epilogue, it was beautifully thought and written @crysta ! The last sentences really encourage me to get my own happy ending

@crysta
So glad we finally got to read your piece, Jig!
Thanks for sharing, my heart feels a bit fuller after reading it <3

Let's all strive for another happily ever after! Thanks for this entry Jig!