esopide 1

[humble]

can anyone tell me what happen in the first esopide of yellow handerchief. I have been watching only since about the 50. I try to bring it up on soombi but it does not come up.

[JadeEyes]

I watched the ep. on soompi and read a recap. I never saw it on TV. I started watching in late May, right around the time you started watching. I know soompi can be buggy.

The important things I remember are:

Min-joo's father has died and she and her family are burying him at the cemetary in the first ep. Sang-min a young executive in the firm is in attendance. He's very supportive and comforting to Min-joo and she begins to rely on him heavily. Later, there is vote on their board as to who will take over the company and Sang-min supports Min-joo, who assumes the presidency of Sierra Park Resorts.

Ja-young is engaged to Sang-min, whom she has been seeing for 10 years. She keeps having trouble reaching him and getting together w/ him in the first ep., as he is spending so much time w/ MJ, providing comfort and support in her grief and anxious time, steadily gaining her loyalty and confidence.

Tae-young is on his motorcylce, delivering a package for the messenger company when Sun-joo in her fancy car is distracted and hits him, spilling him onto the street. He is only mildly injured, w/ some scrapes and scratches, but his motorcycle is totaled. TY is furious w/ the young woman who has ruined his source of livelihood, but being at fault, she insists on buying him a new motorcycle, which she talks him into accepting. This begins their acquaintanceship, which slowly deepens into friendship, then love.

Sang-min is going to Japan on a business trip for Sierra Park Resorts. He will be gone a few days. He's in the airport, soon to get on his plane when Min-joo runs through the airport to find him. When she sees him, she goes up to him, looks at him a second, then plants a great big juicy kiss right on his old smacker in full public view, which is extremely forward and risque in Korean society.

There were some other things that happened, but those were mainly to introduce characters and set up their story lines. These were the most important things that happened in the first ep.

Jade

[Soju]

One additional detail: at the funeral, it was made clear that Sun-joo was quite rebellious towards her family.

[jenny]

Excellent recap, Jade Eyes! I actually saw the first episode and couldn't have summarized it as well! One important fact: Sang Min was Min Joo's assistant. He didn't become an excutive until after he married Min Joo. Which has left me wondering, did he ever really love her.....

[JadeEyes]

Thanks for the compliment, Jenny, and for supplying that detail. I read the summary of that ep. several months ago, shortly after I first began watching. I can't remember now if I knew that SM was her assistant or not. I probably forgot it. And that business trip to Japan...was that a trip MJ sent him on as her assistant, or had she already promoted him by then to Director of Planning and it was his first official assignment?

When I think of how SM treated JY from the time he wanted to get her out of the way, it's hard to believe he's a man capable of really loving another person. His behavior toward her and the pregnancy was just so cold-blooded, I can't believe he could do that and have the kind of heart it takes to fall really, truly, deeply in love w/ a woman...the way YJ is w/ JY.

In the case of Min-joo, I believe SM has a physical attraction to her, which helps (in terms of marrying her w/o real love) and he's extremely excited by what she offers him...money, power, prestige. I think these elements have combined to simulate something approaching a kind of love in Sang-min's mind. For a man like him, that's probably "as good as it gets" where marital bliss exists. All in all, Min-joo is not too likeable a person. Beyond a physical attraction and the many perks life w/ her has to offer, I can't see how anyone could really be in love w/ her.

I think an even more puzzling question is how could JY, being who she is, be involved w/ this guy for 10 years and fancy herself in love w/ him, and also not see who he really was under the surface? But then, you always hear about people getting out of really long bad marriages or relationships and saying "Why did it take me __ years to figure out what a jerk he/she is?" I guesss it's pretty easy--and common--for people to delude themselves about all kinds of things.

Jade

[Avalon]

I don't see the physical attraction angle between SM and MJ at all. It appears to me that it is wholly and completely about supply and demand. He is available...not too shabby looking....hard working. She on the other hand had the need for male support following her father's demise. He needed a better background to move up in the world and she owns a company to meet his need.