Even im not sure if that counts as sexual harassment or not. All along, it genuinely seemed like mirae was interested…
He specifically told her to bring him coffee every day. I think your perspective is biased towards him here, which leads to us seeing very different things when we view the same thing. If you view it from Mi-Rae's perspective, (which I think is the least you would expect when she is the central character) you could take it that he is settlng her up to be outcast, from the get-go. And, the apology on his knees, comes off as COMPLETELY disingenuous when he bad mouths his victim the next day, and claim that she was seducing him! Remember Mi-Rae got dragged into HR first, for being a seductress, and then tried to defend herself!
It's a weird place to be for me; to feel so personally challenged by a drama! I have so much respect for the writer…
It's definitely not your typical heroic journey.. Mi Rae is flawed in ways that are rarely explored in dramas, but are wholly realistic and commonplace across humanity.. The sexual harassment story is so very true to life. The gaslighting victims face, is all too real and ongoing. But they were not the parts of this ep., that really challenged me,. Becoming a whistle-blower when you work in a Public/Civil Service Organisation, as Mi-Rae does, is a whole other level of risky. I have so much respect for whistle-blowers. Australia (where I live) is disgracefully lacking in protections. (David McBride, Richard Boyle, Bernard Collaery... just a few names to research) It takes a mountain of courage to make these kinds of ethical choices - to choose to risk your life and freedoms for the good of 'the people'. But I found this ep very difficult to watch and found myself deeply frustrated by Mi-Rae's passivity. It made me realise how much of an empathy gap I have for people like Mi Rae, who witness wrongs, evils, injustice, and choose to do nothing. She is giving away her agency by doing nothing, and victimising herself in the process. ACk my bile is rising just writing that! I can work towards some compassion for her because of her exhaustion and sense of hopelessness, and for the fact that she has been victimised and suffered so much in the past. But for me, doing something, even when it's a lost cause, is the only way to create hope - be it for yourself alone, or for the good of others. And after all of that built frustration, the point at which she loses it at So Young for her misplaced guilt, is so much more satisfying! I just hope we get to witness in the coming episodes, Mi-Rae showing her sister and herself, the same compassion!
It's a weird place to be for me; to feel so personally challenged by a drama! I have so much respect for the writer in creating a character like Mi-Rae, and allowing me to confront my own judgements and lack of empathy for people in these situations. And the story arc and character development, make the end of ep 9 so much more satisfying. So worth the view!
Out of curiosity, does anyone know why Korean actors are relatively higher paid? Do they have stronger labour…
Labour laws are actually not at all good in SK for Entertainers (Actors, Kpop, Writers etc) They're considered contractors rather than regular employees, so have very little protection...one of the reasons why public 'scandals' are so catastrophic for people in these industries. Also one of the reasons why few publicly complain or call out poor conditions. The Jeju workers are in a different situation, whereby it's a small location (and Jeju is an Independent Protectorate/Self-governing) with fewer workers, so they somewhat have more power to go public compared with workers in Seoul.
I would argue Japan actually has labour laws that offer more protections, for entertainment workers, than does South Korea
Can you stop bringing that here? That is Yuehua actress and it's just leeching from Xiao Zhan. She can't act to…
The previous commenter was at least respectful, succinct and lacked personal attack in their request about the OP. It's fine to disagree, but your comment infers a slur towards me and is just unnecessary.
Can you stop bringing that here? That is Yuehua actress and it's just leeching from Xiao Zhan. She can't act to…
I disagree...This is the drama page for "Spying". I'm keen to know what other actors are being considered or are confirmed, so I appreciate people posting discussion links. You can go to Xiao Zhan's profile page to focus solely on him.
The comedy to me, seems like a deliberate attempt to create empathy and hopefully compassion, for the characters,…
Honestly I jtst hope it turns out that I'm right, and they aren't just diminishing the mother, as you've said...I have high expectations but it remains to be seen...
In some ways I think the comedy is diminishing the serious aspects? Take Dad for example, him loosing the family…
The comedy to me, seems like a deliberate attempt to create empathy and hopefully compassion, for the characters, who IRL would be AWFUL! AND so that the audience doesn't write them off immediately, but instead, starts to use that empathetic connection with the characters, to question their own habits and choices... Clearly I'm REALLY hoping this Kdrama is clever, and not just try-hard anti-trope.
I feel like kdramas that tackle such taboo topics are hit or miss. I can see your concerns though with the mom…
The single mum is also the child of an alcoholic parent. I think they're already representing a consequence of that, in the characters of the two alcoholic daughters. But I agree, I am hoping for more too!
1 
And, the apology on his knees, comes off as COMPLETELY disingenuous when he bad mouths his victim the next day, and claim that she was seducing him! Remember Mi-Rae got dragged into HR first, for being a seductress, and then tried to defend herself!
The sexual harassment story is so very true to life. The gaslighting victims face, is all too real and ongoing. But they were not the parts of this ep., that really challenged me,.
Becoming a whistle-blower when you work in a Public/Civil Service Organisation, as Mi-Rae does, is a whole other level of risky. I have so much respect for whistle-blowers. Australia (where I live) is disgracefully lacking in protections. (David McBride, Richard Boyle, Bernard Collaery... just a few names to research) It takes a mountain of courage to make these kinds of ethical choices - to choose to risk your life and freedoms for the good of 'the people'.
But I found this ep very difficult to watch and found myself deeply frustrated by Mi-Rae's passivity. It made me realise how much of an empathy gap I have for people like Mi Rae, who witness wrongs, evils, injustice, and choose to do nothing. She is giving away her agency by doing nothing, and victimising herself in the process. ACk my bile is rising just writing that! I can work towards some compassion for her because of her exhaustion and sense of hopelessness, and for the fact that she has been victimised and suffered so much in the past. But for me, doing something, even when it's a lost cause, is the only way to create hope - be it for yourself alone, or for the good of others. And after all of that built frustration, the point at which she loses it at So Young for her misplaced guilt, is so much more satisfying!
I just hope we get to witness in the coming episodes, Mi-Rae showing her sister and herself, the same compassion!
The Jeju workers are in a different situation, whereby it's a small location (and Jeju is an Independent Protectorate/Self-governing) with fewer workers, so they somewhat have more power to go public compared with workers in Seoul.
I would argue Japan actually has labour laws that offer more protections, for entertainment workers, than does South Korea
You can go to Xiao Zhan's profile page to focus solely on him.
AND so that the audience doesn't write them off immediately, but instead, starts to use that empathetic connection with the characters, to question their own habits and choices...
Clearly I'm REALLY hoping this Kdrama is clever, and not just try-hard anti-trope.