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Post by puppy on Jan 25, 2008 11:46:25 GMT -5
Is it just me or is Dongji really getting to be a pain? We're about in the middle of L or N here and so far, all the woman does is beat up on her son and brother and kowtow to the inlaws. She warns Mansu not to say anything nice about her to his mom seems to look down on Sonya because she's "foreign", never ever speaks her mind to friends (Jaebok, Seonjae's mother) What's with her? She played such a complex character in Chill Sisters but here, I don't know. I just can't seem to get a handle on what she's about.
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Post by door60 on Jan 25, 2008 12:08:31 GMT -5
I agree, puppy.A few people on the board alluded to the fact that this is "old school" behavior. I just can't imagine walking into a household as a wife, and be treated all the time like hired help. I mean I do understand being respectful to elders, but then why isn't Sua respectful to Dongji? That part really is irritating.
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Post by puppy on Jan 25, 2008 14:53:44 GMT -5
Hello door60! Yes, I read about Living With the In-Laws and understand that it's considered MIL's house and Dongji has to button her lip. But she never seems to loosen up, unless she's angry even in front of her husband whom she calls, "A little boy." And she's actually afraid of Sua, I think. Did you see the scene where she tells Jaebok, as her MIL ordered, to keep out of her business. She couldn't even get that straight. It always amazes me that people never say what's on their minds in these K-dramas yet there is so much going on to keep us watching.
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Post by soapygrams on Jan 26, 2008 0:27:03 GMT -5
Poor Dongji - If you understand Korean culture, you will better understand that Dongji is doing EXACTLY what she has been taught by her mother and other female relatives. Perhaps that is not the case in today's modern Korea, but you are talking about a woman in her 40s-50s and she is from an era much much different from yours. We (USA) never had the culture of the son bringing his wife to his parents home to live unless it was because the son & wife needed to do that due to finances and not because it was the custom/tradition. She stays quiet and by asking Mansu not to praise her too much to his mother and not to speak up for her, she is trying to get mil to care about her because MIL will finally understand that Dongji is a good DIL and will be happy that her son married her. I don't think she's been mean to either her brother or her son since they have both settled down - she wanted her brother to be a smarter man so he would not lose his money to a con man - that's what he had done more than once before - she was trying to get her son to grow up and be responsible - now he has shown that he IS responsible and she has not been mean to him. She has been good to all of the people in the family. I doubt that she is AFRAID of Sua - she pities her because Sua did not grow up with a mother's love and attention. She was spoiled by both her father, when he had time to even pay attention to her, and her grandmother who obviously adores her. Sua has some real hard life lessons ahead of her. In time she might just realize how kind and patient Dongji is - be patient. That's what Dongji is .. ;D
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Post by brooklyn on Jan 26, 2008 0:31:47 GMT -5
Dongji is a big time kiss up. Respect is due like you've said but you can stand up for yourself and still be honourable. She's a doormat around mil and fritterface, might as well go lie down in front of the door and let them wipe their feet on her too.
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sheila
Senior Addict
Posts: 297
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Post by sheila on Jan 26, 2008 5:36:49 GMT -5
Puppy, I love this thread! And I agree with it.
Soapy, it was not her brother who lost his money to a con man. that was Baekho. Her brother only said he maide a risky decision that didn't pay off. He thought he could get the money back by going along with Mi-ae's suggestion to sell the house and use the money. Instead Mi-ae took all the money and left him and Chan (yet she appears like she is penniless when she turned up at her sibling's doorsteps). I can't reconcile kicking Baeho out of the house with "being good to all the people in the family". As someone pointed out earlier, she didn't even let him take a change of clothes when he begged her to. When he came back the next door to change his clothes, she smacked him around and chased him out of the house again. Sheesh, this is really "typical Korean culture" right?!
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Post by puppy on Jan 26, 2008 11:39:59 GMT -5
I do understand the points you make about the culture, soapygrams but I've seen other dramas where the subserviant DILs didn't push my buttons quite so much. I think the writers want us to like Dongji but, as of now, she's not a sympathetic character to me. And I agree with sheila that it's hard to understand her sort of "goodness". It seems self-serving and situational. But maybe you can clear up another confusion that may also be cultural: Seonjae and Danpung's parents. The wife NEVER NEVER says anything remotely nice to or about her husband. Last nite, they were on the couch and he asked if there was anything to eat. She said, among other off to the bedroom, didn't he just go into the kitchen himself???
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Post by puppy on Jan 26, 2008 11:45:09 GMT -5
OOPS! That last part should read...she said among other things, You're fat, you ate dinner already, you're a hypocrite. He stalks off to the bedroom angry and I want to know why he didn't just go to the kitchen and help himself.
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Post by door60 on Jan 26, 2008 12:05:16 GMT -5
Good point, Puppy. I just take their relationship as being old and tired. They're married because they've been married for so long, not because there is this great steamy romance between them. Maybe once there was, but that's been long gone.......
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Post by PippiBella on Jan 26, 2008 13:34:30 GMT -5
isn't mom in law being a little bit less mean to dongii? she still is mean but her tone has wore off a bit.
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Post by puppy on Jan 26, 2008 15:42:04 GMT -5
I noticed that too, Pippibella. There seems to be slight warmup but not so's Dongji can relax. Last nite, MIL told Dongji to take her credit card and buy a new dress then when Dongji said Mansu had given her a card of her own, MIL got all prune-y. MIL also didn't want Baekho and his uncle to go to the parents' dinner. It's obvious she's still ashamed of her in-laws. I read in another post that Dongji will either loose it altogether and send everybody to blazes or stay sooo saintly, MIL and Sua will eventually accept her. It's interesting to contemplate. I might check the spoilers on that one. (or maybe not)
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Post by brooklyn on Jan 27, 2008 0:10:43 GMT -5
Dongji should've just taken the credit card and kept quiet then tell Mansu what happened and tell him not to mention to the mother that he gave her one but no, she had to make things more difficult.
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Post by kathleen34 on Jan 27, 2008 0:57:49 GMT -5
I do understand the points you make about the culture, soapygrams but I've seen other dramas where the subserviant DILs didn't push my buttons quite so much. I think the writers want us to like Dongji but, as of now, she's not a sympathetic character to me. And I agree with sheila that it's hard to understand her sort of "goodness". It seems self-serving and situational. But maybe you can clear up another confusion that may also be cultural: Seonjae and Danpung's parents. The wife NEVER NEVER says anything remotely nice to or about her husband. Last nite, they were on the couch and he asked if there was anything to eat. She said, among other off to the bedroom, didn't he just go into the kitchen himself??? The big difference here is that Dongji is not a kid bride. Her culture is deeply ingrained. And her maturity and discipline surpasses the basic kid bride. So her MIL is the recipient of a mature and respectful DIL. I don't find her a sympathetic character at all. But I really respect her.
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kfan
Junior Addict
Posts: 85
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Post by kfan on Jan 27, 2008 6:45:59 GMT -5
Dongji should've just taken the credit card and kept quiet then tell Mansu what happened and tell him not to mention to the mother that he gave her one but no, she had to make things more difficult. Agree. Mansu said they should keep it between themselves. Or was it Dongji who said that. Well, I remember, one of them said so!
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Post by Lucy on Jan 28, 2008 12:52:50 GMT -5
I noticed that too, Pippibella. There seems to be slight warmup but not so's Dongji can relax. Last nite, MIL told Dongji to take her credit card and buy a new dress See, again, I don't remember this happening. When is the parents' dinner?? As far as I know, there has been no formal talk of this.
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