Post by mikey on Aug 4, 2006 18:14:27 GMT -5
Seoul 1945 - Episode #2
June 27, 1950
The Korean war has just begun, and droves of people are evacuating Seoul. In the background, we hear Moon Suk-kyong’s voice over the radio, assuring everyone that the North Korean army is being routed . . . just as North Korean warplanes fly overhead and begin strafing the evacuees with machinegun fire.
Wounded civilians realize that the radio broadcasts are lies, and they go to storm the radio station. They burst into the studio, seize Suk-kyong, and drag her into the street, where she (and her servant) get stoned by the angry mob. The arrival of Army troops drive the crowd away, and they scoop up Suk-kyong, and hustle her away to safety in a military Jeep.
At the military prison outside Seoul, Kim Hae-kyong (“Kehee”) is being led to the execution grounds. The Jeep carrying Suk-kyong arrives at the prison compound just as the executions begin, and Suk-kyong is horrified to see the first two prisoners shot before her eyes. Suk-kyong then sees Hae-kyong tied to a pole, and she realizes that her former servant is next one in line to be shot. Suk-kyong looks upon Hae-kyong with a mix of anger and horror, while Hae-kyong looks back at her, expressionless.
Flash Back in time, to June, 1933
A huge crowd, including Kim Kehee and her parents, are waiting at a train station. Aboard the train are a very young Moon Suk-kyung (going by her Japanese name, “Yukei”) and her Korean/Japanese mother. They are greeted at the station by an enthusiastic woman speaking Japanese, and Suk-kyung autographs a record album for her.
Kehee is thrilled to see Suk-kyong again. Her mother wonders aloud why she’s so happy, noting that her mistress has never once said a kind word to her, but Kehee tells her mother that she’s proud to serve her, since she’s such a brilliant pianist. Her mother (who, like almost everyone in the Kim family, is also a servant to the Moons) seems a little irritated that her daughter is just as blindly devoted to the Moons as is her husband.
A heavyset young man is also waiting at the station, and he shyly asks for her autograph. She asks his name, and he responds “Kimura Akiraju,” adding a moment later that his Korean name is Park Chang-ju (recall that “Park Chang-ju” is the name of the military officer who was executing prisoners in episode #1).
The scene switches to a run-down, rural farm house, where we see a young Choi Oon-hyuk on his way to school. A huge banner hangs over the school entryway, reading “Congratulations Choi Oon-hyuk, for first place on the entrance exam to Pyong-yang High School” (recall that, in episode #1, Choi Oon-hyuk was the injured communist agent who was escaping to North Korea).
Kehee and her mother comment about the sign, and Kehee asks if she could take the entrance exam for a local girl’s school. She tells her mom that she might not win first place, but she was sure she could qualify. Her mother reminds her that she’s a servant of the Moons, and that once you are bound to a master, you can’t make decisions like this on your own. They’d have to get Baron Moon’s approval for this.
Kehee (whom we will know as “Hae-kyong” later in the series) then enters the classroom, and effortlessly translates some Japanese script into Korean. Though she’s a mere servant, she seems smart enough to pass any school’s entrance exam.
Switch now to Baron’s Moon’s elegant mansion, where Suk-kyong and her mother have just arrived. They’re greeted by Baron Moon’s little brother, Moon Dong-gi (whom we remember as the senior NK communist official, who greeted the fleeing Oon-hyuk at the border). Baron Moon admires the trophy that Suk-kyong had just won in a piano competition in Tokyo.
Switch now to the estate of Baron Moon’s friend - and business rival - Lord Yi. He’s becoming confident that Baron Moon may lose the rights to the Duksan copper mine - and he’s sure that he’s the logical person to take over Moon’s operation. After all, though Moon has been operating the mine for the past 20 years, Duksan was historically the property of the Yi clan. There seems to be some animosity on the part of the Yi's towards Baron Moon, noting that the Moons used to “pick up stones” on the Yi property, and that Baron Moon only went from rags-to-riches off the fortunes he earned by acquiring the Duksan copper mine franchise.
Lord Yi’s young son, Yi Dong-woo, and his son’s governess, a Ms. Cho, head off to Hamheung to congratulate the Moons on Suk-kyung’s prizewinning performance in Tokyo (note that Lord Yi’s wife died some years earlier, thus, his son Dong-woo has “Ms. Cho” looking after him. Ms. Cho, we discover, is also a distant relative of Choi Oon-hyuk).
Switch now to the Duksan copper mine and smelter, where Oon-hyuk’s pretty older sister Geum-hee is slaving away, doing very much a man’s job at the mine. Geum-hee is a wonderfully devoted older sister, working extra hard at the mine just to ensure that her intelligent little brother will have enough money for a good education and a great future.
Baron Moon is also there at the mine, angry that the furnace went cold. Moon tells his supervisor that the government is complaining about their lowered production. The Baron retreats to a scenic overlook, where he and his brother Dong-gi watch the workers slaving away. Baron Moon wants to push for increased production at the mine, but his brother cautions him that he can’t put that much burden on the workers. The Baron reminds Dong-ji that their father died in that very mine, and that the only thing that kept him going was the need to care for his little brother.
Back at the Moon estate, Kehee is attending to Suk-kyong in her bedroom, and they discuss preparations for their upcoming party (to celebrate her prize in Tokyo). Kehee asks her mistress if, as people have suggested, she’ll someday marry Yi Dong-woo (Lord Yi’s son). Suk-kyong says music is more important to her than marriage (note, however, that though he may be “Baron Moon,” he is still one of lowly birth. By marrying his daughter into the Yi clan, he’d not only insure his daughter’s future, but he’d also elevate his own status considerably).
Lord Yi and his son Dong-woo arrive in Hamheung . . . but rather than head for the Moon estate, they go instead to the very same overlook where Baron Moon and his brother had spoken just a few hours earlier. Lord Yi tells Dong-woo that the Yi clan lost the Duksan mine because they were too loyal to Chosun’s last king, and that if he failed to re-acquire Duksan, it would be Dong-woo’s job to do so (a telling comment, actually, for it was apparently the Yi family’s support of the old Chosun regime that cost them the Duksan franchise - while it was Baron Moon’s limitless devotion to the victorious Japanese conquerors that raised him from poverty to wealth).
As (apparently) a goodwill gesture, Suk-kyong and Dong-woo are asked to distribute candy to the town’s poor children. Asking first is Oon-hyuk’s little sister, who keeps asking for a few extras for her brother and sister. Suk-kyong insults the little girl and then throws the entire tray’s contents onto the dirt. Oon-hyuk (still just a child himself) tells off Suk-kyong for rudeness towards his little sister, and Suk-kyong storms off, leaving a shocked Dong-woo (who doesn’t understand why Suk-kyong is being so arrogant) there alone to hand out the rest of the candy.
Oon-hyuk then goes to Duksan, where he greets his father, who is just coming off his shift at the mine. His proud father brags to his coworkers about Oon-hyuk’s scholastic achievements. Oon-hyuk then enters the work area, where he gives all his candies to his older sister Geum-hee, who is working the night shift.
That heavyset kid we saw at the train station sneaks into the mine office, wanting to secretly play the record that piano virtuoso Suk-kyong had autographed for him. He gets caught in the act by Baron Moon’s brother, but he says it’s okay. The heavyset kid identifies himself as “Kimura Akiraju,” and Moon Dong-ji seems just slightly irritated, asking him instead for his Korean name. It is, of course, Park Chang-ju (interesting that, while Baron Moon is uber-Japanese in manner, his younger brother seems to be much more of a Korean nationalist).
It’s break time at the mine’s work area, and Oon-hyuk (who is just a student, and not a mine employee) is reading while his sister works in the mine. A 20-something mine worker offers Oon-hyuk a book (by Abraham Lincoln) to read. He promises the young student more books once he finishes that one. Oon-hyuk is grateful, and promises to someday become a great man like Baron Moon - a comment that irritates the mine worker, who scolds Oon-hyuk and tells him that he shouldn’t idolize a man who exploits people like his sister (this 20-something mine worker isn’t identified yet, but he clearly seems to be the young intellectual who introduces Oon-hyuk to Marxist/Leninist theory).
His sister had to work through break time, so Oon-hyuk offers to fill in for her, giving her a chance to get something to eat. But, as she’s eating, a huge bucket of molten copper breaks loose from its mounting, and the contents come crashing down upon the workers. Oon-hyuk’s sister runs to protect her little brother from the molten copper, but in doing so, she is severely injured herself.
June 27, 1950
The Korean war has just begun, and droves of people are evacuating Seoul. In the background, we hear Moon Suk-kyong’s voice over the radio, assuring everyone that the North Korean army is being routed . . . just as North Korean warplanes fly overhead and begin strafing the evacuees with machinegun fire.
Wounded civilians realize that the radio broadcasts are lies, and they go to storm the radio station. They burst into the studio, seize Suk-kyong, and drag her into the street, where she (and her servant) get stoned by the angry mob. The arrival of Army troops drive the crowd away, and they scoop up Suk-kyong, and hustle her away to safety in a military Jeep.
At the military prison outside Seoul, Kim Hae-kyong (“Kehee”) is being led to the execution grounds. The Jeep carrying Suk-kyong arrives at the prison compound just as the executions begin, and Suk-kyong is horrified to see the first two prisoners shot before her eyes. Suk-kyong then sees Hae-kyong tied to a pole, and she realizes that her former servant is next one in line to be shot. Suk-kyong looks upon Hae-kyong with a mix of anger and horror, while Hae-kyong looks back at her, expressionless.
Flash Back in time, to June, 1933
A huge crowd, including Kim Kehee and her parents, are waiting at a train station. Aboard the train are a very young Moon Suk-kyung (going by her Japanese name, “Yukei”) and her Korean/Japanese mother. They are greeted at the station by an enthusiastic woman speaking Japanese, and Suk-kyung autographs a record album for her.
Kehee is thrilled to see Suk-kyong again. Her mother wonders aloud why she’s so happy, noting that her mistress has never once said a kind word to her, but Kehee tells her mother that she’s proud to serve her, since she’s such a brilliant pianist. Her mother (who, like almost everyone in the Kim family, is also a servant to the Moons) seems a little irritated that her daughter is just as blindly devoted to the Moons as is her husband.
A heavyset young man is also waiting at the station, and he shyly asks for her autograph. She asks his name, and he responds “Kimura Akiraju,” adding a moment later that his Korean name is Park Chang-ju (recall that “Park Chang-ju” is the name of the military officer who was executing prisoners in episode #1).
The scene switches to a run-down, rural farm house, where we see a young Choi Oon-hyuk on his way to school. A huge banner hangs over the school entryway, reading “Congratulations Choi Oon-hyuk, for first place on the entrance exam to Pyong-yang High School” (recall that, in episode #1, Choi Oon-hyuk was the injured communist agent who was escaping to North Korea).
Kehee and her mother comment about the sign, and Kehee asks if she could take the entrance exam for a local girl’s school. She tells her mom that she might not win first place, but she was sure she could qualify. Her mother reminds her that she’s a servant of the Moons, and that once you are bound to a master, you can’t make decisions like this on your own. They’d have to get Baron Moon’s approval for this.
Kehee (whom we will know as “Hae-kyong” later in the series) then enters the classroom, and effortlessly translates some Japanese script into Korean. Though she’s a mere servant, she seems smart enough to pass any school’s entrance exam.
Switch now to Baron’s Moon’s elegant mansion, where Suk-kyong and her mother have just arrived. They’re greeted by Baron Moon’s little brother, Moon Dong-gi (whom we remember as the senior NK communist official, who greeted the fleeing Oon-hyuk at the border). Baron Moon admires the trophy that Suk-kyong had just won in a piano competition in Tokyo.
Switch now to the estate of Baron Moon’s friend - and business rival - Lord Yi. He’s becoming confident that Baron Moon may lose the rights to the Duksan copper mine - and he’s sure that he’s the logical person to take over Moon’s operation. After all, though Moon has been operating the mine for the past 20 years, Duksan was historically the property of the Yi clan. There seems to be some animosity on the part of the Yi's towards Baron Moon, noting that the Moons used to “pick up stones” on the Yi property, and that Baron Moon only went from rags-to-riches off the fortunes he earned by acquiring the Duksan copper mine franchise.
Lord Yi’s young son, Yi Dong-woo, and his son’s governess, a Ms. Cho, head off to Hamheung to congratulate the Moons on Suk-kyung’s prizewinning performance in Tokyo (note that Lord Yi’s wife died some years earlier, thus, his son Dong-woo has “Ms. Cho” looking after him. Ms. Cho, we discover, is also a distant relative of Choi Oon-hyuk).
Switch now to the Duksan copper mine and smelter, where Oon-hyuk’s pretty older sister Geum-hee is slaving away, doing very much a man’s job at the mine. Geum-hee is a wonderfully devoted older sister, working extra hard at the mine just to ensure that her intelligent little brother will have enough money for a good education and a great future.
Baron Moon is also there at the mine, angry that the furnace went cold. Moon tells his supervisor that the government is complaining about their lowered production. The Baron retreats to a scenic overlook, where he and his brother Dong-gi watch the workers slaving away. Baron Moon wants to push for increased production at the mine, but his brother cautions him that he can’t put that much burden on the workers. The Baron reminds Dong-ji that their father died in that very mine, and that the only thing that kept him going was the need to care for his little brother.
Back at the Moon estate, Kehee is attending to Suk-kyong in her bedroom, and they discuss preparations for their upcoming party (to celebrate her prize in Tokyo). Kehee asks her mistress if, as people have suggested, she’ll someday marry Yi Dong-woo (Lord Yi’s son). Suk-kyong says music is more important to her than marriage (note, however, that though he may be “Baron Moon,” he is still one of lowly birth. By marrying his daughter into the Yi clan, he’d not only insure his daughter’s future, but he’d also elevate his own status considerably).
Lord Yi and his son Dong-woo arrive in Hamheung . . . but rather than head for the Moon estate, they go instead to the very same overlook where Baron Moon and his brother had spoken just a few hours earlier. Lord Yi tells Dong-woo that the Yi clan lost the Duksan mine because they were too loyal to Chosun’s last king, and that if he failed to re-acquire Duksan, it would be Dong-woo’s job to do so (a telling comment, actually, for it was apparently the Yi family’s support of the old Chosun regime that cost them the Duksan franchise - while it was Baron Moon’s limitless devotion to the victorious Japanese conquerors that raised him from poverty to wealth).
As (apparently) a goodwill gesture, Suk-kyong and Dong-woo are asked to distribute candy to the town’s poor children. Asking first is Oon-hyuk’s little sister, who keeps asking for a few extras for her brother and sister. Suk-kyong insults the little girl and then throws the entire tray’s contents onto the dirt. Oon-hyuk (still just a child himself) tells off Suk-kyong for rudeness towards his little sister, and Suk-kyong storms off, leaving a shocked Dong-woo (who doesn’t understand why Suk-kyong is being so arrogant) there alone to hand out the rest of the candy.
Oon-hyuk then goes to Duksan, where he greets his father, who is just coming off his shift at the mine. His proud father brags to his coworkers about Oon-hyuk’s scholastic achievements. Oon-hyuk then enters the work area, where he gives all his candies to his older sister Geum-hee, who is working the night shift.
That heavyset kid we saw at the train station sneaks into the mine office, wanting to secretly play the record that piano virtuoso Suk-kyong had autographed for him. He gets caught in the act by Baron Moon’s brother, but he says it’s okay. The heavyset kid identifies himself as “Kimura Akiraju,” and Moon Dong-ji seems just slightly irritated, asking him instead for his Korean name. It is, of course, Park Chang-ju (interesting that, while Baron Moon is uber-Japanese in manner, his younger brother seems to be much more of a Korean nationalist).
It’s break time at the mine’s work area, and Oon-hyuk (who is just a student, and not a mine employee) is reading while his sister works in the mine. A 20-something mine worker offers Oon-hyuk a book (by Abraham Lincoln) to read. He promises the young student more books once he finishes that one. Oon-hyuk is grateful, and promises to someday become a great man like Baron Moon - a comment that irritates the mine worker, who scolds Oon-hyuk and tells him that he shouldn’t idolize a man who exploits people like his sister (this 20-something mine worker isn’t identified yet, but he clearly seems to be the young intellectual who introduces Oon-hyuk to Marxist/Leninist theory).
His sister had to work through break time, so Oon-hyuk offers to fill in for her, giving her a chance to get something to eat. But, as she’s eating, a huge bucket of molten copper breaks loose from its mounting, and the contents come crashing down upon the workers. Oon-hyuk’s sister runs to protect her little brother from the molten copper, but in doing so, she is severely injured herself.