Chibi

Star-Up, and I must thank Kimsamsoon & OneAhjussi for relentlessly contributing both sides of the pitch! <3

Plis. zealots are fun (to ignore)

How could you ignore the Disney side of it? A NK spy heads to his secret lair, and there are hundreds of paper-planes strewn magically across the forest floor. The slo-mo fake snow, as the leads gaze into each others' eyes while exchanging necklaces and being seconds away from being caught by the patrolling nsp folks. It has zero logic, okay? xD
Hanna's character assassination was the worst and I'm pissed ever since, esp cuz homegirl lowkey resembles Jung Yumi with that hairdo!
I think it's fair warning she is going to be fridged 3/4th way in for the sake of Kang Moo's character arc! xD

I agree though, I'm having trouble settling between the Disney side of it, and the cold-war side of it. It's jarring, to say the least! xD
Boon-Ok, seriously? I hope she gets thwacked on her head though! :P

I think the answer is already there in Youth of May. The ML's dad was politically connected, the SFL's dad was super rich. But during times of public unrest, money can only get you so far. We see SFL's groveling to the ML's dad there, eh?
Seol-hee's family is probably richer, but Yeong-Ro's family has more power and influence...! :')

Yeah, the way I see it, it's like one of those 'saeguks' where the leads are nice, their parents are old, evil, scheming baddies. And the setting is palace politicking, except instead of Joseon Palaces and Hanboks, you have the 1980's Korea with people dressed in lovely vintage fashion.
And of course, the leads belong to two rival clans, and there is a LOT backstabbing going around. We know the present 'King' is based off a historical figure, is corrupt, and is soon going to lose his power at the end of it. The 'evil investigation' team will also face music as per history. There is going to be a HIGH body-count. The leads, both or even one, may or may not make it out alive....

Gwangju and June Movement are related though. Both were public uprisings against the dictatorial regime. In many ways, June Event is considered a successor uprising to Gwangju. Both had students involved who fought for democracy, and were branded as commies, as anywhere else in the world, when people rise against authoritarian regimes and are labelled so.

Noh, I didn't mean the controversial stuff made the plot stronger. Any event in history with a high-body count makes for a tragic premise, and ups the stakes.... even more so if the figures are not historically documented, then the character fates can go either way. [It's the same reason WW-II movies or Titanic, for first time watchers at least, achieves the purpose it's meant to achieve!]

Even after ep 4, I have NO idea where the story is going. And it's a different kind of thrill that no fictitious era or set-up could have given. And no, it's not even the kind of thrill as a viewer of having the show being axed! xD

The Romeo-Juliet ref is not lost on me. I mean he even FREAKING climbs into her 'room' from a window, okay? xD xD xD
Dr. Kang is a doctor, maybe she can do some wise poison-play, and ship the two over the border to some foreign country and they can leave happily ever after? :P :P

Err, thanks for the poetry.... I guess? :P

Yep, I also reckon a high body-count. Dads are definitely on the list to die. RIP dads. Neither of you are very lovable at this point though... hehe!
Captain Ri's dad was adorable, and I would have thrown hands if they touched him! xD

Switzerland is a neutral country? Dunno back in cold-war era tho!
I still do no smell any defection coming from JHI's character, and to settle permanently ANYWHERE on the planet other than NK, is considered defection from their supreme leader... T_T

Wow, after the dad-reveals, I can't help but think every time the reps from North & South meet in Beijing, it's a meeting between future father-in-laws. Hahah.
Romeo & Juliet much? How trope-tastic! xD

I'm shocked JE didn't go to court! But then again, if the court's verdict was to save JE from the chopping block, that would have been perceived as anti-national? Cuz of the whole 'hanboks are actually hanfus' debate (iykwim). JE really stood no chance.

Ms. Pi: 'Don't you know they can easily make YOU guys spies? Forget that, they can make the entire dorm full of girls become NK spies.'
Just because ansp is one of the main players here, does not mean they are 'good'. I do not think the writers are trying to re-align their moral compass in any way, glorify them, or romanticize them in any manner. And hey, SMLs can also work for evil people!

The writers have cleverly woven in little nuggets of info & commentary if viewers choose to carefully look for them. The bad guys haven't been painted good. The corrupt are still corrupt, irrespective of nationalities & allegiances. No wonder jtbc & the writers had nothing to fear. Now I hope they do not sabotage their own show, try to spin a completely false narrative by ep 15, and go: 'sike, b*tches' -_-

Even bad publicity is SOME publicity... :')
It's sad that the stars cannot promote it on their page though!

Wait, what? Joseon Exorcist team be crying in moon-cakes now! xD

Oh wow, thanks for the new take on this! Seems like they really put a lot of thought to it! <3

I see the problematic premise, alright. Could they have made the real history around it vague enough not to hurt sentiments... sure! Would it have been as compelling & thrilling, given the stakes involved rn? Probably not...

That said, I'm oddly enjoying Snowdrop (up to ep 3), as a non-fan and as an intl viewer. The episodes are excruciatingly long so I'm 2x'ing it. Despite the script short-comings, & character weaknesses, the acting doesn't look bad even when sped up, & our biggest concern, idol-turned-actor Jisoo is quite okay too. I loved the meta commentary from Soo-Ho: 'You should be an actor, but definitely not a singer' xD
I'm also hoping the writers pull a rabbit-out-of-a-hat, and completely do a 180, so public isn't as enraged. Though I don't see that happening, because they have confirmed a few things already?
My theories: Dr. Kang is 100% a NK spy, and Ms Pi is an early-protestor herself, falsely accused.

Also, has releasing advance episodes doused the fire a bit? Curious to know! :')

Doesn't Ms Pi also have a secret key in her locker? :O She's definitely one of the early-protestors!