MovieChat Forums > Seoyang-goldong-yanggwajajeom Aentikeu (2008) Discussion > Question (with major spoilers!!)

Question (with major spoilers!!)

posted 12 years ago by skinsk-1
2 replies | jump to latest

Maybe someone who has seen another version (or who understands Korean better than I do-- I admit, I relied heavily on subtitles) can help with this. In a flashback, Jin-hyeok, recently home from kidnapping, locks away his memories (and "swallows the key" . . . there are nightmares suggesting molestation. . . demonic hands all over him. . . and certainly this would explain his problems socially (esp with women and his attraction/repulsion towards homosexuality). . . but the flashbacks of his kidnapping also seem to suggest a man who is grieving for a dead son and tried to kidnap a "son" to replace him. There's a compliant wife? in this, which would lead me to think that was more the case than a pedophile. . . and there's the scene where Jin-hyeok stabs his kidnapper-- and thinks he's killed him (there was a lot of blood and he was a child-- an easy leap to make) so maybe that is why he represses it. . . but then why his problems with women and his gay "issues"? Anyone familiar with the original anime who can shed some light on this? or anyone else offer an opinion?

Also, a non-spoiler question of an entirely different nature-- does anyone know the neighborhood where this was filmed? Did someone bother to capitalize on this and open a bakery there? I get to Seoul every now and again and am curious^^

[–] BinBons 12 years ago

The reason he couldn't keep a girlfriend was because of different reasons. Each woman he was with had her own reason for not wanting to be with him. One of the most prominent reactions was the woman who had hoped that his wealth and "happiness" would rub off on her, but it turned out that his "happiness" was just a front, and he had night terrors. The woman couldn't handle that type of personality because it reflected on herself, so she left him.

Its likely that the other women left him because of similar reasons. Because he didn't know anything about his kidnapping, it would interrupt his thoughts and intrude on his life. That's why, when he went out drinking (before he opened the bakery), he wondered if it was always going to be like that for the rest of his life.

As for the gay thing, I believe that's just a personal opinion of his. Homosexuality isn't really acceptable in Korea.

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[–] lunarsensitive 12 years ago

SPOILER WARNING!!!

The reason why Jin-hyeok has issues is because he ASSUMES that something horrible like molestation must have happened to him while he was kidnapped. He thinks the reason he blocked it out was because it was that horrible, and that's the conclusion he comes to. But of course, the real reason why he blocked it was because of the trauma he felt from stabbing his kidnapper who told him to 'forget.'

Also, you can't forget that when he remembered that his kidnapper was male, he had a hard time hugging his own father. One could argue that he has a fear of men the same way (but to a much lesser degree) that Sun Woo has a fear of women. The thought of a man touching him is not a pleasant one, and when Sun Woo confesses his love to him, those feelings of fear come up and are partly responsible for the awful homophobic things he says.

Of course, the other reason he said them is because he was in a bad mood because his girl friend had just broken up with him. Sun Woo was just a victim of bad timing mostly. :( ( In the manga this movie is based on, his girlfriend says this spiel about how if Jin-hyeok has a glasses fetish, then Sun Woo is prettier than her and a better candidate for a relationship with him. LOL! )