Evelyn Stephens

Pang

Korean 3011

15 April 2021

Reaction Paper 3

이태원에 관한 드라마여서 너무 설레었어요. 이태원은 내가 한국에 있을 때 갔던 지역 중 하나였고 정말 좋은 곳이었어. 그것은 특히 밤에, 매일 많은 관광객들을 끌어 모읍니다. 낮에는 매우 이상하고 조용하지만 해가 지면 사람들로 가득하고 재미있습니다. 

In these past three episodes the story has developed very fast, and I am already hooked. The main characters are all very diverse. The humble lead, Park Saeroyi, who has a strong do-good attitude and even his version of  “복수” was simply to gain success, not to hurt someone (even though we did observe his moment of lack of anger management skills when he beat up Geun Won) we come to learn that he has a good sense of morals, pride and righteousness. The other main character we first met was Oh Sooah, and her character development is what is really pushing me to continue this show. She grew up in an orphanage and was very close with Saeroyi’s father and also had humble beginnings. In the third episode we got a glimpse of her changes after working for the Jang company and being a close cohort of Chairman Jang who has shown to have cruel and selfish thoughts and actions. The main thing I have noticed about Chairman Jang so far is that he would put money before people and Sooah seems to be following that path. It is arguable that this is the only way to be a successful businessperson. We just met Yi-seo and Guen-soo, and I think they are both cool and contrasting characters, Yi-seo being the outspoken and rebellious one and Geun-soo being a quiet and thoughtful person. Their possible love story will add an interesting and possibly funny bit to the drama.

My hopes for the rest of the drama is for Saeroyi to be successful. It was his dad’s dream to own a restaurant so maybe it will not be Saeroyi’s dream but I am interested to see the outcome. I am also excited to meet the last big character who is in the intro, the black guy. Seeing a man of color in a Korean drama as a big character is so cool!

Evelyn Stephens

Pang

Korean 3011

11 March 2021

Reaction Paper 2

불시착를 정말 재미있게 봤어요. 나는 북한에 대해 많은 것을 배웠다. 냉면이 원래 평양산인지 몰랐다. 멋지다! 냉면은 내가 가장 좋아하는 한국 음식이에요.대도시 평양은 리정혁이 살고 있는 마을과 매우 다르다.

I have always loved learning about different cultures which I think is why this drama appeals to me so much. In America (almost) no one cares to learn about North Korea probably due to the rocky relationship between the United States and North Korea. Even in the drama the US is called “the greatest enemy” when the characters briefly speak in English. A few years ago when I was still ignorant I did not know the difference between North and South Korea, then I learned they had been one that split into two. Still I assumed they were very similar. It wasn’t until very recently I learned they were very different. 

This drama does an excellent job of showcasing North Korea as a different but still beautiful country. I loved watching them cook 조개불고기 and laughed when they opened the refrigerator only to find it full of books and clothes. Watching how close a small town is, preparing kimchi together, going to the head of the village’s birthday party and all the kids marching to school together was really interesting to me. The kids using cobwebs to catch dragonflies and the way to take a hot bath was genius to me. Nowadays we are so hooked on technology I wonder if I could have come up with those ideas on my own. I also appreciate that they show Seri somewhat adapting to North Korean life even though it is so different from her regular South Korean lifestyle. 

I also think its funny have 세리 has a ‘South Korean’ accent but I can not hear the difference at all. My Korean skills are still not good enough to recognize an accent. I hope to rewatch this drama later in my life and actually notice the difference. I have enjoyed this drama so much I decided to finish watching it and I am already on episode 11! I am very curious to see how this story will end since there are a lot of factors that say they won’t end up together, but I am very hopeful they will be together in the end.

Evelyn Stephens

Pang 

Korean 3011

11 February 2021

Reaction Paper 1

나는 낭만닥터 김사부 드라마를 재미있게 봤지만, 가끔 캐릭터들과 개인적인 의견차이가 있었다.  

The part where 강동주 was pressured into taking a VIP patient even though he already had his schedule filled for the day was a huge disagreement point for. First of all, the whole situation should have been put to rest instantly by 동주 because the sole reason he decided to become a doctor was to be fair, and treat the patients based on fairness and not status. I am aware this scene had to happen for the show to continue, however I was very disappointed in this decision of his. He put his ego before his morals. 저는 매우 실망했다. His colleague or his competition was the director’s son, even if the surgery had gone successfully, 동주 would most likely still be in the shadow of the other guy. That is just how the world works sometimes.

Becoming a doctor is no small task, the schooling is rigorous and lengthy and once someone becomes a doctor they are faced with difficult decisions every day. This goes back to when we learned 김사부 ideology as a doctor was “살린다, 무조건 살린다”, emotionally I agreed with him but logically one must always follow rules, especially in health professions. I would say because he works at a smaller hospital with less eyes on him, he is able to get away with code breaking (for example, operating while NOT in a designated sanitized operating room) and making on-the-spot decisions without guardian permission. In this way I think 강동주, in a way, represents the ‘옳은 (right)’ way by following rules, and 김사부 represents what anyone would ‘want’ to do, save people no matter what it takes.

In conclusion, I do eventually want to finish this drama to see how 강동주 changes, to see if he will still uphold his moral in taking care of people based on need and not based on status, and also to see if he remains at the small countryside hospital and helps it. I am hoping he will bring in some more patients and income for them so they can get newer machines and technology. 나도 윤서정 더 건강해졌으면 좋겠다.