This review may contain spoilers
My Comparative analysis: My Dearest and Gone with the Wind
For me, Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable are one of the most legendary couples in the history of world cinema. Therefore, the Korean series, which reinterprets the story in its own way and according to its cultural codes, could convince me to forget the first version and immerse myself in its story. The answer is yes: this series can be classified in the category of a major work of so-called “minor art” (popular art), because although there are differences, there are also similarities. Hence, I took the time to make a comparative analysis of two major works.
My Dearest, a 17th-century Korean sageuk, and Gone with the Wind, the emblematic novel and film of the American Civil War, both tell stories where passion and destiny intertwine at the heart of turmoil.
Historical Context: a reversed mirror of society
In My Dearest, the Joseon kingdom is shaken by the Manchu invasion. Confucian social structures collapse, and women become targets of violence and abuse imposed brutally by war. Every choice becomes a matter of survival. Love appears as a fragile luxury, threatened by chaos and social conventions.
In contrast, Gone with the Wind depicts the American South in the 19th century, during the Civil War. Southern aristocrats see their plantations and power crumble. Famine, violence, and human losses disrupt a world once structured and reassuring. Here, there is a glorifying view of the slavery system, which I personally consider the film's major flaw. Scarlett O’Hara, like Gil‑chae, must learn to survive and make decisions that define her, often against society’s expected morality.
This war shows the strength of heroines—women like Gil‑chae, who suddenly grows up, much like Scarlett shedding her carelessness. It also shows how men perceive war and what patriotism means: one fights for the king and ideology, the other only for the suffering people, otherwise abstaining.
Male Heroes: Jang‑hyun and Rhett Butler
Jang‑hyun and Rhett Butler share the archetype of the charismatic, wounded, and elusive man. Classic anti-heroes: charismatic, mysterious, often distant. Jang‑hyun hides his heart behind a mask of indifference and sarcasm. His loyalty and depth appear in times of crisis, revealing a love that only those who can understand him truly perceive. Rhett Butler, cynical and brilliant, feigns indifference to survive but burns internally with an intense passion for Scarlett.
Both fall in love not with appearances or social conformity, but with the heroine’s strength and lively spirit. They are deeply feminist, disregard the opinions of others, and possess a rare, admirable sense of loyalty in love.
Cinematically, both are filmed splendidly with wide shots but also isolated ones to capture the actors’ full range of emotions. Scenes in the fields are magnificent and poetic.
Heroines: Gil‑chae and Scarlett O’Hara
Both women embody the survivor archetype. Gil‑chae, at first coquettish, carefree, and social, quickly reveals herself as strategic, courageous, and resilient. Scarlett O’Hara, though often criticized for her selfishness, shares the same ability to adapt and survive despite loss and humiliation. Their love for the hero is paradoxical: it is both a refuge and a catalyst for their evolution.
Gil‑chae’s love for Nam Yeon‑Jun is more literary and imagined, a nostalgia for her carefree youth. Yet unconsciously, both women always loved the main hero because they share the same moral codes and values. Gil‑chae’s relationship with Jang‑hyun often relies on dialogue without space for sincere emotional exchange, as both egos clash; no one wants to yield or open their heart.
Psychological Evolution: The Arc of Redemption
Gil‑chae transforms her vulnerability into strength and her fear into conscious choice.
Scarlett, through her pain and failed romances, learns to distinguish material survival from emotional fulfillment, maintaining positivity despite life’s obstacles.
These arcs of redemption are not only individual: they concern how each learns to love and stand upright in a broken world.
My Dearest, a 17th-century Korean sageuk, and Gone with the Wind, the emblematic novel and film of the American Civil War, both tell stories where passion and destiny intertwine at the heart of turmoil.
Historical Context: a reversed mirror of society
In My Dearest, the Joseon kingdom is shaken by the Manchu invasion. Confucian social structures collapse, and women become targets of violence and abuse imposed brutally by war. Every choice becomes a matter of survival. Love appears as a fragile luxury, threatened by chaos and social conventions.
In contrast, Gone with the Wind depicts the American South in the 19th century, during the Civil War. Southern aristocrats see their plantations and power crumble. Famine, violence, and human losses disrupt a world once structured and reassuring. Here, there is a glorifying view of the slavery system, which I personally consider the film's major flaw. Scarlett O’Hara, like Gil‑chae, must learn to survive and make decisions that define her, often against society’s expected morality.
This war shows the strength of heroines—women like Gil‑chae, who suddenly grows up, much like Scarlett shedding her carelessness. It also shows how men perceive war and what patriotism means: one fights for the king and ideology, the other only for the suffering people, otherwise abstaining.
Male Heroes: Jang‑hyun and Rhett Butler
Jang‑hyun and Rhett Butler share the archetype of the charismatic, wounded, and elusive man. Classic anti-heroes: charismatic, mysterious, often distant. Jang‑hyun hides his heart behind a mask of indifference and sarcasm. His loyalty and depth appear in times of crisis, revealing a love that only those who can understand him truly perceive. Rhett Butler, cynical and brilliant, feigns indifference to survive but burns internally with an intense passion for Scarlett.
Both fall in love not with appearances or social conformity, but with the heroine’s strength and lively spirit. They are deeply feminist, disregard the opinions of others, and possess a rare, admirable sense of loyalty in love.
Cinematically, both are filmed splendidly with wide shots but also isolated ones to capture the actors’ full range of emotions. Scenes in the fields are magnificent and poetic.
Heroines: Gil‑chae and Scarlett O’Hara
Both women embody the survivor archetype. Gil‑chae, at first coquettish, carefree, and social, quickly reveals herself as strategic, courageous, and resilient. Scarlett O’Hara, though often criticized for her selfishness, shares the same ability to adapt and survive despite loss and humiliation. Their love for the hero is paradoxical: it is both a refuge and a catalyst for their evolution.
Gil‑chae’s love for Nam Yeon‑Jun is more literary and imagined, a nostalgia for her carefree youth. Yet unconsciously, both women always loved the main hero because they share the same moral codes and values. Gil‑chae’s relationship with Jang‑hyun often relies on dialogue without space for sincere emotional exchange, as both egos clash; no one wants to yield or open their heart.
Psychological Evolution: The Arc of Redemption
Gil‑chae transforms her vulnerability into strength and her fear into conscious choice.
Scarlett, through her pain and failed romances, learns to distinguish material survival from emotional fulfillment, maintaining positivity despite life’s obstacles.
These arcs of redemption are not only individual: they concern how each learns to love and stand upright in a broken world.
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