Claireroubou

Yet again, very true. Do San's actions are sometimes discordant with his words or at least the portrayal of his action is, but I think his intentions are good.

Yup, learned a lot. Thank you for this fruitful debate (?). Your opinions are very, as Ling Ling would say, interesting!:D

«hearing that from your child makes you feel guilty» and sometimes they should because they make their own child's life / childhood so much harder.
I don't think Do San blamed his parents for how he ended up, but rather how he is been feeling all these years. If he told them how he felt sooner, he would certainly grow up with a different mind set.

It doesn't have to come from the poor/middle class for them to realize they could do much better than using their fortune for their own good (which is, again, their right). If we can educate the young «chaebol» from the early age, they might grow up to better citizens.
And yup, even celebrities and the rich have their own struggles, but because of the amount of difficulties the poor have to face every single day seems to be a cornucopia, the rich's complains pale in comparison. And even though, the rich are not happy, they have the luxury, the time to face and overcome their problems precisely because they don't have, for example, financial issues.

Haha yes for the «Ji Pyong's blessing»:')

True, love is not an excuse to be used for misbehavior, but then again we have to define the word itself and some definition differs form others.

I think, in that situation, I would try to keep up with the lies too. Loving the dream so much that one wouldn't want to come back to reality. See, Ji Pyong uses the same lie to Dal Mi. His action is still immoral, if we consider lying as immoral, but we tend to defend him saying it wasn't for his sake but for Dal Mi's / it was an selfless act. But he was lying, lying because his own insecurity of not being capable of telling Dal Mi he likes her. Ji Pyong himself also suggests keeping the lies as they are to not hurt Dal Mi, but so does Do San (along with wanting to stay by Dal Mi's, which is rather selfish).

(I think we will keep replying to each other until one decides to raise their white flag haha:')

I do see the quote "never good enough for you" in a different light. As an immigrant child, my parents have high expectations of me, some that I cannot meet and some that I am not interested in. Of course, their sole purpose by doing so is to guide me to a better future, but their perspective might not be the same as mine and that's okay. Once we talked about how I felt like I couldn't breathe under so much pressure and expectations, we felt a lot better. Just like I don't expect them to pay my tuition fees, they don't force me to pursue things that I don't like. But we love each other and respect our own decisions as equal human beings.

Yup, buying golden plates is a waste, but it is their right and there is nothing we can do about it, as it should be. Of course, we could educate them or make them be aware of their action, but it is still within their rights to do otherwise. To force them to stop doing it would be a dictatorship.

Some might need more help and encouragement than others precisely because of insecurities, but yes, when facing characters like Ji Pyong and Dal Mi, Do San's fortitude pales in comparison.

Yup, agreed!

Very true. Insecurities should be overcome and should push one to thrive further in life, but not as tool nor as excuses to harm others.

But I do think we should pity the libertine man though. Pity him for his smallness, his incapacity of recognizing his wrong doing. Even welcome him with open arms, with love to help, to guide him to become a better person.

What kind of misdeeds? Can you name a few examples?

I don't think Do San blamed Ji Pyong for his insecurity. He had inferiority complex, yes, but he was well aware that he wasn't anywhere near Ji Pyong's level. By having small / childish fight with Ji Pyong (at Dal Mi's house or at Sand Box, on their first day), Do San showed that he was still learning and yearning to be a man like Ji Pyong, someone he thought Dal Mi liked. Was he jealous of Ji Pyong? Yes, but he mostly blamed himself for it and did not have any true animosity towards Ji Pyong as one of the last episode showed how Do San cared about Ji Pyong, asking his mom if the latter can take the Kongjaban side dish home.

@Kimsamsoom

1. I don't think Do San is ungrateful to his parents. He only shows his love in his own way? Just as how Asian parents rarely say «I love you», but still look out for their child to the smallest detail, Do San takes care of his dad (like the scene where he pulls up the blanket) and takes his side (in the park and at Demo day) when the folk needs him the most.

2. Again, I don't think he truly blames his parents for his reluctance. He blames himself first and for most since the cheating incident. He feels ashamed when his dad shows his awards when deep down inside he knew he didn't deserve it. Therefore, he dealt with that guilt in his own way.

You don't give money to every single homeless person you encounter on your way home or don't give 1 or 2$ to Wikipedia even though you may or may not use it everyday and that's okay, we are living in a capitalist and free society, you do you. If we keep blaming the rich of not donating their fortune to charities, we should be asking ourselves why we are not living in a communist society.

3. Yes, it is psychological. We can see that by the end of the drama, Do San is less shy / awkward than in the beginning, but it took awhile for him to get there. He needed help from his San-San bros, Dal Mi and his parents. He had to lift some weights of his heart, to overcome certain obstacles like telling his parents the truth about the math competition or struggling with his lies (that heart breaking scene at the restaurant :O), to be as confident as he is now.

4. Totally agree with you. His complex regarding Ji Pyong fluctuates from episode to episode and sometimes doesn't make sense. His super confidence with the Sam San Tech squad translates weirdly to his lack of confident when facing Ji Pyong. It is true that Nam Joo Hyuk along with the writer have a long way to go with the portrayal of that specific side of his character.

Love Do San for every little insecurity he has. I can relate to that a lot..

Kim Jee Soo’s acting...I really can’t get used to it. It’s so..bland

Interesting point of view. I did not see the drama like that. Though I agree with your “wishful fantasy”, “copy-paste job” and “typical Korean romance” criticism, I find myself enjoying the first two episodes very much, precisely because of its unrealistic, but very light and beautiful storyline. I guess some of us like myself just love a good old platitudinous drama.

Btw you have a beautiful writing style:).

Agreed! I thought I was alone in thinking this drama is so..banal

Agreed. This was poorly written and weirdly executed. Sadly, one of Kim Eun Sook's few poor works.:/

That is exactly why he is so attractive

All main casts are A-listers? Woohhh!