Most audible gasp of 2004

[galacticchick]

I just have to mention this: Did everybody realize how loud Hye-ran's dad's gasp was?

It's like he was literally scared out of his skin when he saw Kum-ja.

I could have strangled that guy when he said, "Don't you think she's being too harsh?" NO! How can he even dare think that way after she's wasted away having to work like a mule all these years paying off his debts.

And I don't quite understand Hye-sung. Okay, I understand that it's his dad and that he missed him. I also understand that filial obligation is a big thing for them. But come on! What about the filial obligation for your mom? Is it because he himself has just recently left his bum/slob/lazy status?

[Soju]

It seems the traditional Confucian attittude is "Father is blood; mother just married into the family."

In 'So This Is Love', Mr. Cha asks Young-ah her family name. She tells him "Oh", and he asks, "which 'Oh' clan?"

She responds that it doesn't matter, since most Korean women don't know their family history back more than two generations. This answer didn't sit well with the tradition-bound Mr. Cha.

It'll be interesting to see if this contiues to be an issue in K-dramas in, say, fifteen or twenty years, when that old generation has mostly died off, and most Koreans won't have any memory of the war or the dictatorship that lasted until the 80's. Assuming things with the North don't heat up, that is. Of course, that'd be intersting too, but NOT something I want to see . . .

[SirOwnzAlot]

What's this confucian crap? They're family. That's enough said.

And we all know WWIII will start when North Korea nukes Japan and California.

"I don't know with what weapons WWIII will be fought with, but WWIV will be fought with sticks and stones" - Einstein

[galacticchick]

SirOwnzAlot said:

What's this confucian crap? They're family. That's enough said.

Just because a certain way of thinking isn't common among us doesn't make it crap.

Does family backstab each other? Leave the other one to pick up the mess he/she made? It's just totally unbelievable to me the nerve the dad has. Especially when he was getting all worked up and said that he was going to stay in Korea just to spite Kumja.

But it will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out.

[Soju]

Sir -

I brought up this "crap", as you put it, because Confucian thought is the traditional basis for Korean society, and I think it is beneficial to think of these dramas in that context, rather than force-fit them into an American mind-set.