Hyeri talks about the husband search in Reply 1988

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

I omitted the beginning for relevancy.


Amidst the commotion over the ending, many viewers looked for clues in the drama that could explain the ending. In a recent interview with the press, Girl’s Day‘s Hyeri, who played the lead character of Duk Sun, offered some insight.

“I found out that the husband was ‘Choi Taek’ around the second half of the drama. Although I found out before the viewers, I, too, wondered why Duk Sun acted in a certain way when I studied the script,” divulged Hyeri.

Hyeri elaborated, “I asked the director, ‘Why can’t Hyeri sleep when her date with Taek falls through?’ He answered, ‘Because Taek is the husband.’”

“Because it was before the broadcast [of that scene], I worried over how I should act out episode 15 and 16. I tried to act in a way that would help the viewers understand,” revealed Hyeri.

To Hyeri, this is why Taek was the one who was supposed to be her husband from the beginning. “Taek’s start was different from Sun Woo’s and Jung Hwan’s. Duk Sun did not know Taek liked her. Still, Taek was on her mind. ‘Why isn’t he dressed properly for the cold weather?’ ‘Why can’t he sleep?’ She worried about him. I think they were feelings Duk Sun was not conscious off. She wanted to take care of him and he kept on appearing in her thoughts and bothering her. Because she had never experienced love, she didn’t know that she liked Taek,” explained Hyeri.

“Duk Sun begins to think when Dong Ryong (played by Lee Dong Hwi) asks her ‘who do you love?’ She starts to think, ‘I could be liking that person.’” Hyeri continued, “There is some regret that we couldn’t show that process a little bit more but it’s something one could understand if they think about their age. That’s why the beginning point is different for Sun Woo, Jung Hwan, and Taek.”

In the end, Hyeri showed her deep understanding of how the audience felt. “Honestly, because so many people loved the drama, there isn’t an ending that could have satisfied everyone. It would have been difficult problem whichever side Duk Sun chose.”



Source: Soompi, Naver, Gifs



Deoksun lassoing you into this post. I really like how Hyeri explained this all and I think it is a kind of good way of putting it, there were definitely actions taken that made the story less clear than it could've been. I'm sorry I really can't find the source for the translation of the second image, if anyone knows I'll add it to the post!

Comments

[izbetterthanu.livejournal.com]

I marathoned the show without the slightest idea of who the husband was or where the fandom leaned and I was surprised to see the outrage when I was finally done. I think people were paying attention to Junghwan's solo pining scenes and his POV in general -as it usually happens with male characters sorry to say- instead of paying attention to the feelings of the main heroine. Dukseon only ever liked SW and JH because her friends suggested they liked her first. She was in love with the feeling of being in love and someone finally prioritizing her. When her friends pointed her to JH, I was like yup, another one bites the dust. Her feelings for Taek came completely naturally, in an organic way that stemmed from their very close friendship. Everyone paid extra attention to Taek, but DS always went the extra mile for him. Also, she was always so genuinely happy around him, always happy to see him and spend time with him. She was disappointed when she thought JH wasn't reciprocating her feelings, but she seemed to get over it quickly af, which was not surprising since her feelings weren't deep in the first place. Hell, she had a more violent and lasting reaction with SW.

As for the screentime spent on the guys, JH did have the lion's share in the first episodes of the season, but that quickly changed. Taek gained ground, not only as an individual character, but also in sharing scenes with DS. Are people confusing the time we spent watching JH being miserable with the time he spent with DS? Idgi. Because I'm telling you, it's all very fresh in my mind as I marathoned the show very recently, and there's no issue of screentime and development. In fact, DS spends whole episodes with Taek.

Idk it feels like people always want the hero/heroine to end up with the person they would choose for themselves or the person they feel sorry for, rather than what makes sense for the main character and their story.

[imangos.livejournal.com]

Idk it feels like people always want the hero/heroine to end up with the person they would choose for themselves or the person they feel sorry for, rather than what makes sense for the main character and their story

I agree completely. Self-insertion is an intrinsic part of drama watching and even the consumption of media in general. I think a lot of folks wanted JH so they wanted DS to want JH as well. Scene after scene of him brooding and just generally pining after DS in his mind was made him sympathetic to some so in a way, the audience ends up in a "relationship" with JH while watching him brood over his nonexistent relationship with the heroine. I was rooting for Taek the entire time though. He was at least proactive in his affections. (That kiss at the Shanghai hotel? Get it boy~~) Anyways, I'm impressed with Hyeri's take on this role; she isn't brilliant but she's improving. I hope she'll get more, meatier roles (preferably from TVN dramas since they tend to produce solid dramas in general) that'll help her grow and perhaps help her transition into full time acting once the Girl's Day gig is up.

On a total side note, someone did my this girl dirty in the makeup dept. for that pic. What's good with that foundation shade???

[izbetterthanu.livejournal.com]

Ikr, they did her wrong with that shade. I noticed makeup problems with the show as well, in some scenes the actors' faces were a different shade from their neck. Koreans and their love for the bb cream gray cast lol. And I was telling a friend earlier that Hyeri could actually get an actual career in acting! I think she's found her thing. She's not perfect as you said, but she has excellent potential imo. I'm officially a fan!

Taek, as introverted as he was, was open and affectionate towards her. She was comfortable around him and always seeked to spend as much time with him as she could, because she was just having a good time. Simple as that. And you know, I've liked my fair share of tsunderes and I am a big fan of Yoonjae/Shiwon from Reply 1997, a couple that had a combative relationship, but it was used for comic relief, whereas with JH it stopped being comical very early on. I'm glad DS stopped responding to that attitude, because girls irl don't fucking like that kind of behaviour and I'm tired of watching it being presented as romantic in shows/movies/etc.

[imangos.livejournal.com]

Yes to your entire post! I'm done with dramas pushing the perverse af fantasy, which is why I am doubly pleased DS didn't end up with JH.

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

out of that particular set of photos that was the best one, just imagine that

there were other sets of photos for interviews and stuff but the problem was they had a weird ratio i was too lazy to fit into the post :$

[imangos.livejournal.com]

Well damn, that's just tragic. Hyeri, imo, is actually a very pretty girl and to make her look so unflattering that's a bloody talent right there. >_

[oonalala.livejournal.com]

So much time was spent showing JH's agony over liking DS and watching his awkwardness about his feelings made more viewers sympathize with him early on. Most people know exactly what that feels like to not know what to do with yourself around the person you like, so it's easy to empathize with JH.

Meanwhile, Taek didn't really show any of that. Taek didn't seem to have any conflicting emotions or embarrassment about his feelings for DS, he just flat out liked her and glowed when she was aound-- which is another reason why he was probably the better choice of husband, but it didn't give viewers much opportunity to really feel what he was feeling. I would say this changed in later episodes, but by then a lot of people were so fully on the DH bandwagon it was too late.

[izbetterthanu.livejournal.com]

it didn't give viewers much opportunity to really feel what he was feeling

That's an assumption though, no? I bet the people who preferred Taek to JH appreciated exactly the fact that he glowed around her and even how weirdly proud he was of himself for liking her. Personally speaking, my sympathy for JH coexisted with my fondness of Taek and the way he carried himself around DS. It was really disarming.

What I was getting at in my original comment though, was how it is all about him, instead of reading her, the character in the centre of the triangle, from who everything depends on. If people paid attention to the heroine, they would know it all leaned pretty heavily towards Taek, even if they were rooting for JH. You can do both. They call the show unpredictable, but I'd only call it that based on the initial episodes (where DS had the hots for SW anyways). The way DS was being developed, one could easily see how skin-deep her feelings for SW and JH were, how through the conversation she had with DR the show was acknowledging that she hadn't yet experienced real love and instead was only reacting to her friends' suggestions, how she started realizing her feelings for Taek after that very scene, how worried and caring she was like Hyeri mentions, how she singled out him as her soft spot, how much she wanted to spend her free time with him... I could go on. And that's without even mentioning hints like the husband smoking, parents liking the idea of them being married, DS joking about Taek growing up and marrying her, the difference in her expression in the similar photographs she took with the guys etc. What one wants to see and what's actually played out on screen are two different things.

[oonalala.livejournal.com]

I don't disagree with you and frankly, I love the fact that the guy who never hesitated in his affections won out in the end -- it's a welcome change from the typical romantic lead. But I do think JH got the more sympathetic edit early in the show.

I accidentally saw a spoiler around the second episode, so I knew that Taek was going to be the husband and paid special attention to all their interactions. She obviously cared deeply for him, but I think she saw him as asexual early on and therefore not even on the list of potential suitors, and that I think some viewers took that to heart and wrote him off completely. It's telling that he literally has to tell DS that he is a man, he watches racy movies, he likes girls and that whole idea was a bit of a shock to her.

[love-allure.livejournal.com]

I think people were paying attention to Junghwan's solo pining scenes and his POV in general -as it usually happens with male characters sorry to say- instead of paying attention to the feelings of the main heroine. Dukseon only ever liked SW and JH because her friends suggested they liked her first. She was in love with the feeling of being in love and someone finally prioritizing her. When her friends pointed her to JH, I was like yup, another one bites the dust. Her feelings for Taek came completely naturally, in an organic way that stemmed from their very close friendship.

ita. i mean, yeah jung hwan was pining for duk sun and that's boohoo sad (idc bro), but how can you hate on two characters that seemed to really cherish each other and fell in love with each other organically? cause let me tell ya i thought their relationship was a breath of fucking fresh air compared to other shows.

almost every character in the series had decent airtime. the parents of the kids don't get enough credit either. i thought their acting and rapport with each other was heartwarming. (￣ー￣)ｂ i didn't and still don't get why everyone was so hung up on jung hwan.

[ariellm13.livejournal.com]

I've come to think that a big problem is that people don't want to see them go through struggle and not be rewarded with the prize that they see the heroine as or some other female character made just so somebody doesn't end up alone. JH "loved" Deoksun so much and besides being friends with the other people, there wasn't actually much depth to his character(which should have been a sign that he wasn't gonna really get anywhere). The dude was never more than an extended look at the 2nd lead and their "struggles" of the heart. Taek was a far more rounded character but he wasn't constantly in a corner pining over Deoksun so he didn't "love" her like JH, making him the inferior choice.

[shocko-o.livejournal.com]

there wasn't actually much depth to his character

What about putting more effort into communicating/showing more affection for his father? Learning to read the signs of how his mother felt lonely? He's smart and perceptive about others, but lacks a little sense about girls.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

I do wonder what my reaction to the show would have been if I hadn't read recaps and comments while watching. I liked Taek but as early as episode 2 most viewers decided JH must be the husband and they were very adamant. I figured that many people couldn't be wrong so I expected Taek to be heart broken.

[yuzuruhanyu.livejournal.com]

imo taek seemed like the obvious option w/ the story they gave us but it doesn't mean it was well executed or written...i mean who wanted so much development w/ sunwoo/bora's relationship??? that was the real injustice

it was hilarious to see people's anger over it tho acting as if this was a makjang disaster when it was even that inconceivable, especially if u didn't focus on junghwan that much

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

apparently polls in korea rated sunwoo x bora as the most romantic and idk if thats due to the sheer amount of screentime they got or actually bc people thought they were most romantic

[yuzuruhanyu.livejournal.com]

i feel like that had to do w/ all the taek/deoksun backlash n the development bc i rmbr people being annoyed w/ sunwoo and their r/s

ugh i hated sunwoo's ass by the end of the drama i was so bitter that he got so much screentime n time to build his r/s w/ bora while taek/deoksun had like five seconds

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

i'm w you 100% on all this that's the only thing that made the drama like a 9/10 for me

[oonalala.livejournal.com]

I had no idea SW/Bora was so popular in Korea. I guess that explains a lot about the last episode, but I will be forever bitter that I didn't get to see Taek/DS tell their friends and family about their relationship and get to spend some real time with them as boyfriend/girlfriend instead of that montage.

[ariellm13.livejournal.com]

The only poll where they topped that I've seen was one where they excluded Deoksun from the poll. I've heard that they are the most realistic couple though.

[izbetterthanu.livejournal.com]

SW/Bora is the most popular '88 couple in Korea :/

[miamaimi.livejournal.com]

oops I loved S/B (although I completly understand why people hate Sunwoo character tbh). Personally it really comes down that Bora is my favourite character and I tended to zone out with Deoksun's love line.

[mentality34.livejournal.com]

Yeah, to put it simply, people cared too much about how Junghwan felt and didn't care enough about how Dukseon felt. Personally I really loved how it turned out. I mean, it broke my heart and it still makes me really emotional and upset to think of it, but I loved that bittersweetness of it all. I loved that for Junghwan, it was a story of letting go of your first love (something that doesn't happen enough in kdramaland where everything is too damn rosy). I can understand people's frustrations with the execution, but I found Junghwan's confession scene to be so well-done and so heartbreaking that I can't even get mad at the writer (I was still upset but not *at* her). Junghwan said it himself, he himself was his own downfall. It's sad, but it's what it is, and he accepted it. Like Hyeri said, 1994 Dukseon had no reason to still be conflicted over Junghwan. She clearly already moved on at that point. Even if Taek wasn't in the picture, it still wouldn't have been Junghwan. The fact that he had that stupid fiancee ring for her and still didn't give it after his graduation.. smh. If anything though, I appreciated that he was so graceful about letting go of his feelings and giving Taek/Dukseon his full blessing.

[oonalala.livejournal.com]

Junghwan's monologue about how fate/timing is really just the outcome of the actions you take and that he hesitated too much was probably my favorite thing in the whole show. I get so frustrated by all these kdramas that completely rely on romantic destiny that it was really refreshing to have a character recognize that you make your own destiny.

[peppermintty.livejournal.com]

Junghwan's monologue actually let me know that Junghwan isn't going to be the husband. I gave up on my boy at that point. :(

[ah0000.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched the last two eps, mostly bc I lost interest like 75% of the way through and reading the recaps was enough for me.

Like watching it I admittedly was focused on Junghwan but tbh maybe I didn't want Taek to be the husband simply because he was so fucking useless. In my mind wanting to take care of someone the way that DS took care of Taek was more motherly than romantic but that's just me.

Also lol that ppl mentioning that watchers were only paying attention to JH but not about how DS felt. I'll tell ya, Hyeri isn't awful but she wasn't good enough to portray DS falling in love with Taek before they actually became a couple. Like in hindsight yes of course it could have always been Taek with the clues, but I could just never tell how DS was feeling bc Hyeri underacts. Her subtlety was too subtle for me to catch on. Or I mean I could just be extremely slow, who knows

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

I mean ia with Hyeri underacting at a few parts but I dont think that plays much into the confusion with Taek? Like you said it came off as motherly bc it was super innocent, and up until like ep 18 tbh did we really get confirmation of anything but. Coupling that with the fact that Deoksun was TRYING to just be the friend, and fhpov there was no confirmation until like ep 16 or so it's not hard to see why some people dont get it as the alternative to DSxJH imo. All that is to say I think it's more of a scripwriting/poor planning thing, I don't think there's any way for them to have presented the story the way they did and not have at least some people be like ?_? I... who from like...ep 10 onwards pretty much picked it up and still don't think it's as convincing as it should/could've been.

Like if you compare to every other couple in the show, we get those moments that explain why they love each other. With DSxCT it's just..."bc they always have!!!"

[yuzuruhanyu.livejournal.com]

idk if i'd blame on hyeri's acting, but moreso on how little we got to see of their relationship transition from friends to lovers. the writers really cheated their r/s from development imo

[hebk.livejournal.com]

i didn't watch the last 2 eps either and lost interest
i don't think it was hyeri but the crap writing which didn't develop her

[ariellm13.livejournal.com]

JH as a character reminded me of the Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character from 500 days of Summer and the way people reacted to it. The character was obsessive and selfish. Even though it made perfect sense why the he didn't end up with Summer, why she didn't want to be with him, the audience identified and sided with him but mostly because they thought they were supposed to. Honestly, what real reasons would make you think JH and Deoksun were end game in terms of actual communications between them? Like, what really ever happened between them that was any different from the average highschool crush? A lot of the "heart fluttering" stuff he did was probably stuff he still would have done for Deoksun if she was just his closest girl friend.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

I sympathized with JH at first but when he kept saying mean things to her, didn't confess, didn't explain the pink shirt, and started pushing her away I saw no reason for DS to continue liking him.