Little Bit on Emperor of the Sea

I watched Emperor of the Sea two years ago now, but thanks to a recent re-run, there has been renewed interest in my very first Korean Drama – the one I had so desperately wanted to discuss with someone, but no one shared my fever.

I like my endings happy and it certainly would have been more satisfying if that little pig Yang Kim would have been gotten cut to pieces, and Jang Bogo had grown old with his wife and children, and if Jung Hwa had finally opened her heart to a redeemed Yeom Moon and given his life the meaning he lacked. As a team, Yeom Moon and Jang Bogo would have done great things for the world.

I found that of the little I know about the history of Jang BoGo was that he got a little too involved in politics and Yeom Moon did kill him. So it would seem that the writers were trying to keep that part of the story real. This isn't Hollywood and this tale has all the markings of a Greek tragedy. The bad guys won. Well, sometimes they do. But can we find any positive message in the way our beloved characters died in the end?

I want to tackle this from a little different perspective. BoGo was stubborn to a fault – he expressed that to Yeom at one point. Was he doing the right thing? He wasn't going to compromise himself. It could be said that that unrelenting "morality" was going to bring war upon countless thousands of people. There was going to be blood and a lot of innocent people were going to die. I suppose that in the end, he recognized the risk, his people agreed with him and they were all willing to die rather than live in a world where corrupt nobles bought and sold them like chattel.

Yeom Moon wanted to spare everyone all the bloodshed. I don't think that's a less noble position. He walked into the lions den in order to change BoGo's mind. Just bend this little bit – we can save people – you and your family can still live. You can do more good things if you only live. Brilliant as well, Yeom discerned BoGo's reaction and was prepared for that. He warned BoGo, "If you don't climb off this wall, I'm going to have to kill you." Not particularly admirable to you and me and it tore him up because I think he so loved and admired BoGo. He thought he was doing the right thing though, and he did it.

Yeom did have one guiding principle in his life. His love for Jung-Hwa. He was unable to be with other women because of her, he defied Master Lee because of her and risked his life saving her life countless times. His love of her was the principle that he couldn't compromise. And I think he DID redeem himself in the end – he saved Jung-Hwa, but he also saved BoGo's child.

So maybe more the message is, even if you lose, you win. BoGo and all the inhabitants of Cheon-Hae were slain – but for a brief shining period of time, they lived as they wanted to live. Free and equal. They died for that ideal. Yeom Moon died for his ideal too. He died saving Jung-Hwa and was finally released from his life of pain. Beautiful, conflicted and tragic - he achieved his long sought peace in death. In the end, the good guy didn't win. He doesn't always win in real life either. But I'd like to think that the takeaway is - be the good guy, even if you have to die doing it. There's honor in that.

It's a testament to the writers and the actors of the series that we cared so much about these characters. We loved them and wanted them to win. We grieved when they were gone. The chemistry between Choi Soo-Jong and Song Il Guk was incredible. Song Il Guk is a superb actor – you could feel all the conflict without him saying a word. You pulled for Yeom Moon, you hated Jung Hwa for not loving him, and you wanted so much for Yeom and BoGo to be friends. I don't know how many actors could have pulled that off. Song Il Guk is the one that kept me coming back night after night. Very powerful.

I really hated the ending too – I wanted my Hollywood ending. But the story of these historical characters didn’t have a happy ending either. Since I didn't get my happily ever after, in order for me to make sense of the series I needed to at least come up with some reasons why it was redeeming in the end. I spent countless hours watching it – I had to justify it somehow.

KDrama Review: Emperor of the Sea

“Emperor of the Sea” is based on the Choi In-Ho novel of the same title. The drama focuses on the life of Jang BoGo (? – 846) who dominated the East Asian Sea and international trade during the Shilla Dynasty (676 A.D. – 935 A.D). The drama features Jang BoGo’s growth from slave to Ambassador of Cheong Hae-Jin.

Ponder Angst – I was very frustrated with the amount of lonely staring that went on in this series. Maybe it was just because I had never been exposed to Korean Ponder Angst and it was a culture shock for me. Jang Bo Go looks out at the ocean. Jung Hwa looks out at the ocean. Yeom Moon looks out at the ocean. Master Lee looks out at the ocean. Madame Jami looks at a wall from her table of doom. Awful. 5 points.

Love “ – “ Angles – It’s a Quint. Jang BoGo loves Jung Hwa. Jung Hwa loves Bo Go. Other chick loves Bo Go. Yeom Moon loves Jung Hwa. Bo Go has baby with Other chick and feels a great deal of affection. 20 points.

Sizzle – Song Il Guk as Yeom Moon not only sizzled in this series, the man was on fire. He lit up the screen for me. I woke up in the middle of the night to watch the next installment of the series just so I could see what would happen to Yeom Moon next. Song Il Guk is solely responsible for my k-drama obsession. I have yet to find a character that entranced and captured me the way the tragic Yeom Moon did. 50 points. Yeah, that's right, I said 50. If you say anything, I’ll give it 10 more.

Physical Intimacy – Well, again, since my k-drama cherry was popped on EotS, the lack of physical intimacy made me nuts. I have since gotten used to this really endearing quality in my Korean dramas. This time though, I wanted something more than hands to touch, and I barely got that. Jang Bo Go’s and Jeong Nyeon's wives get pregnant, so we know that at least 2 couples consummated their relationship, so I give it 10 points.

Tragic Heartwrenching Disease and/or Character Death from Same – If I go into all the heart wrenching tragic death on this series, I’ll start to cry and spoil the whole thing for anyone who hasn’t seen it. This series devastated me even though I had read all the spoilers and I knew what was going to happen. 20 points

Going to the Beach – Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding! Bonus Round! The e-ville Madame Jami kills herself by walking into the ocean. Yessssss! 15 points!

Emperor of the Sea gets 120 points and for me, that was really on target. I watched this series out of boredom and on a whim. Figured I’d give it an episode. I fell in love with all the characters in the series; I rooted for them and I cried for them. The end devastated me.

I haven’t watched the series full through since though. It’s not the kind of drama where you get a warm fuzzy feeling; there is dread throughout now. What the show did do was to introduce me to a fascinating culture, it put me in touch with people I otherwise never would have met – I’ve made friends all over the world because of this series and it’s characters.

I think that’s what has made this series the most special for me.

Korean Drama

I like Asian TV.

Back in September, one of my favorite Asian serials had ended and I was unutterably sad. "Heroes in Black" or "Wo lai ye" (Here-I-Come). It was a dramadie, mostly silly, some good cliff hangers, it was all fun.

It was the story of Song Dou - a seemingly lazy bum during the day who is foster father to DouDou (which I think means Little Bean). At night, he is Wo lai ye, or Here-I-Come, a Robin Hood as it were, stealing from the corrupt rich and giving to the innocent poor. Enter Feng Pobu, disgraced imperial secretary, transferred to Dianchiang who eventually becomes the magistrate. Feng is intelligent, articulate, honest to a fault and fair in his decisions. I liked both characters very well.

I gotta tell you though, it ended unsatisfactorily. Without boring you with the gory detail, Lu Feiyan (the strong-willed shrewish restauranteur) didn't pick her true love and five years later, our two protagonists were still vying for her affection. Hey, Song Dou! You're hot! Find someone else! Whatever.

But now I'm hooked on another one.

And boy is it good. One of the highest rated television shows in Korea during 2004 - 2005. Men would rush home after work just to watch it.

Based on true people. See guy with the sword on the far far right? He is a slave who rises up in the ranks, loves girl-on-the-end, girl-on-the-end loves him, but they are star-crossed. Really hot pensive looking guy standing next to the smirking bitch is a friend from his youth - who has saved slave boy several times from the gaping maw of certain death loves the same girl-on-the-end, is so intense and absolutely ruthless (but that's why you LIKE him), they recognize that their destinies are entwined as mortal enemies, but you ache because you know that the two guys have a deep bond and if they'd only be on the same side...oh, its very very good.

But you know me. You know I read "spoilers". You know that I know how this ends. And it isn't good. And it isn't happy.

And I can't tear myself away.

Emo: Abbreviated form of the word emotional, emote, emotion. A state of being characterized by depressive behavior tending toward the dramatic. Associated primarily with teenagers. Experiencers don’t wash, they wear hooded sweatshirts – primarily black, and brush their hair into their face to prohibit socialization. May also be used to express a temporary abnormal state of mind - types of which vary.

The fruits of obsession are emo.

In my last missive, I mentioned that I started watching “Emperor of the Sea” or “Haeshin” on the AZN channel. It’s almost over. I’m down to the last 5 episodes. I still know how its going to end and it still isn’t good and I still can’t tear myself away. Those in touch with my day-to-day life know that not only can I not tear myself away, but that it has become an obsession.

I used to be all things Bee Gees. For a while, I had a whole Colin-Firth-Pride-and-Prejudice-Bridget-Jones thing going on. This lead to a Jane Austen thing for a bit. My Lord of the Rings stint had me reading the trilogy and listening to “The Silmarillion” on tape. The less said about my X-Philia the better. I tend toward obsessive behavior. I know this. Those closest to me know this. And because I am now manifesting publicly, people within my periphery are starting to know this.

In my desperation, I attempted to lure others into watching “Haeshin” with me. Poor Meghann was a prisoner - though I did not force her to watch. Local family expressed disinterest. Colleagues in the office just stared. Well, except for Chinh. Chinh keeps promising me he’s going to sit down at his computer during the Christmas break and watch all the episodes on YouTube. I appreciate his attempts at zeal, but the show is almost over – I needed real time collaboration over the course of the last month and a half. I vowed to watch alone.

But I couldn’t keep the cracks from showing. I’ve been faced with a variety of reactions: Kathryn – amused tolerance, Anne – derision, scorn. Adrienne – feigned enthusiasm – no doubt greedily eyeing a permanent Administrative Support position in my department. Poor Colleen attempted to enter the fray, with an unfortunate mixing of an actor’s name with the Seinfeld Soup Nazi Episode by emailing me rather forcefully, “NO MORE SUK FOR YOU!” OK, Colleen? His name’s not Suk. It’s Il Guk. Mr. Song if you’re nasty.

Lacie. Dear Lacie, fellow X-Phile and LOTR officianado, appreciated my passion; she understood. “You going to learn how to speak Korean?” The total acceptance and understanding I craved.

Yeom Jang, mortal enemy of Jang BoGo and desperately in love with Jung Hwa,. Yeom Jang was beautiful, complex, passionate, and ultimately tragic. Jang BoGo – slave elevated to Ambassador of the Emperor – rags to riches, good to the core, wise and compassionate, willing to risk his life to bring peace to the Shilla people and to the conflicted Yeom Jang. Jung Hwa – in love with Jang BoGo, sacrifices that love on the altar of karma so that BoGo can accomplish his mission, pities Yeom Jang, scorns his love – ultimately causing the fall into the twisted depths of his hell. B*tch. Had she thrown Yeom Jang a bone, just one stinking bone, he might have been able to redeem himself. I hope you die cold, alone and barren Jung Hwa. Cow.

I am now familiar with South Korea, its’ population, exports and weather patterns. I’ve educated myself on Jang Bogo – a real character in Korean history – as was Yeom Jang. (Thank God Jung Hwa isn’t a real character. I’d have to rescind my prayer that she die barren.) I keep up to date on Song Il Guk – a phenomenal actor, a former runway model, currently playing the lead in another historical drama, “Jumong” and by all accounts incredibly shy.

Such is my mania. As I said, the fruits of obsession are emo. I’m facing the loss of these characters. I may grieve. Emo. Fragmented. I could be emo for a while, maybe forever. I guess my point is, after I have completed my journey into madness, when I am sitting in an asylum doped up on psychotropics muttering "anneyong haseyo" "kamsahamnida", "ca! ca ca ca!" and "anyo" please remember me when I was whole.