City Hall: Episode 9
by samsooki
(written by Samsooki, editing, layout, design and City Hall dreams by 0timelost, cleown, and mead33)
(This is what you get when you mix a little bit of Michelle Obama, Sailor Moon, an old rich Korean woman together with Mi Rae)
City Hall: Episode 9 – What It Means To Be A Civil Servant, What It Means To Be A Woman.
To neutralize Mi Rae as a wild card in the upcoming Mayoral election, Joo Hwa has just offered Mi Rae a job as a mascot / cheerleader for her Victory Party’s candidate. Mi Rae, incensed at constantly being treated like a fool by Joo Hwa, rejects the offer. Mi Rae declares that SHE will run for Mayor, and she will just have to become Wonder Woman to do so! Joo Hwa is in disbelief, but recovers more than a little of her classic sneer in deriding Mi Rae’s threatened action.
Joo Hwa: You think wearing star spangled panties is all it takes for anyone to become Wonder Woman? All those people with a dot on their nose, will they be like Jeon Ji Hyun? And what about Min So Hee? She’s totally crazy just like you.
(Note: This is actually pretty funny, as City Hall writers continue to poke gentle fun at other Korean dramas and actors/actresses. Joo Hwa is referencing both the lovely actress Jeon Ji Hyun’s now-removed tiny birthmark on her nose and the popular hit drama series, Temptation of Wife. In Temptation of Wife, the character of Min So Hee is a paranoid lunatic who also has a dot-sized birthmark on her nose. Btw, Temptation of Wife is one of those dramas that turns your brain into a sandglass with your brain cells leaking out as you watch. People might label it as a “mak-jang” drama but I think it is more appropriately named a “crack-jang” drama, due to its addictiveness and resulting brain damage.)
Unfazed by Joo Hwa’s derision, Mi Rae gives Joo Hwa a pat on the shoulder and leaves, noting that Joo Hwa’s fear is clearly showing. With her plans completely backfired, Joo Hwa can’t help but look worried.
Ah, but Mi Rae is a wily one. Back at the Mexico and Chicken Restaurant, Mi Rae admits she said all that just so as to piss off Joo Hwa and put a little scare into her. Who would vote for Mi Rae anyway?
Meanwhile, Jo Gook is playing a round of golf with Governor So, the provincial governor whose jurisdiction covers Inju City. Governor So introduces his man who he wants to be the next Mayor of Inju City. Jo Gook politely refuses to manage the campaign of the Governor’s man; he’s already got a candidate in mind to become Mayor, and this particular candidate doesn’t even know how many political parties there are in Korea. Governor So is outraged that Jo Gook would pull this kind of double-cross.
Even Soo In is confused by this maneuver. Jo Gook’s candidate wouldn’t be Shin Mi Rae, would it? How can that make any sense? Not happy to be asked about Mi Rae, Jo Gook responds: did it make any sense for Soo In to betray Jo Gook? (Uhh, what does one thing have to do with other?)
In any case, it looks like Jo Gook has gotten over Soo In’s backstabbing, as Jo Gook admits that if BB had asked him to do the same, Jo Gook would have done it too, but done it better. Right down to the stylish suits, the penchant for backstabbing, the hair parts on the same side of the head, and even the faint mustache and beard outlines, Jo Gook and Soo In are alike, and it seems that both like Mi Rae too.
Meanwhile, things are moving quickly in Inju City. Joo Hwa gets her dad to run as the Victory Party’s nominee for Mayor. And on the other side of town, Boo Mi tells Mi Rae about that certain job that she is trying to get for Mi Rae. Boo Mi took all the remaining money that she had, AND, all the money that Mi Rae gave to her (which was all the money that Mi Rae had), and used it to pay for the Mayoral election application fee! Mi Rae, obviously, freaks out. She cannot run for Mayor!
Later that night, Jo Gook meets with Boo Mi and gives her an envelope full of cash, to reimburse her and Mi Rae for the application fee. But Boo Mi refuses to take the reimbursement money. She asks Jo Gook: does the former Deputy Mayor think that Mi Rae can win? Jo Gook nods. Boo Mi responds, ruefully, that she doesn’t think Mi Rae can win. Boo Mi explains herself:
Boo Mi: Mi Rae is too simple-minded, too naïve. She goes around helping anyone and everyone, and she spends all of her time trying to take care of everyone – from taking part-time jobs to donating money to schools, making snacks for the children for their field trips, rice cakes for people having birthdays. And most of all, 365 days out of the year, Mi Rae is never fake; she is always sincere and real. I have never once seen a mayor like that in my whole life.
Jo Gook: And so?
Boo Mi: And so, that’s why I am putting all of my own money in. That’s why you should take this money back. And that’s why you must make Mi Rae the next Mayor.
(That rocks. Boo Mi is one fierce and loyal ahjumma. I said that I want to grow up to be like Jung Do, but I change my mind – I want to be like Boo Mi.)
With that, Boo Mi heads back to the porridge shop where she is working part-time. Mi Rae and Jung Do are waiting for her. They tried to get back the application fee from the city election office but to no avail. The money is now gone. Mi Rae screams at Boo Mi, wondering how she could just waste all their money like that!
Boo Mi doesn’t back down and yells back:
Boo Mi: It ISN’T wasted! If you get 15% of the vote, all of your money will be refunded. So you, you must get over 15% of the vote!
Mi Rae: 15% comes so easily off of your lips! Is 15% the name of your dog? Do you know how hard getting 15% is?!!
Boo Mi: So work HARD and I am telling you, you WILL get 15%! Work your hardest to get 15%, and then work even harder to win the election. Work your hardest to win the election, and then when you are Mayor… get me my job back.
Mi Rae: (speechless, in tears)
Boo Mi: I was a good civil servant, you know. For our country, I was loyal and did my best. For the citizens, I acted righteously and I worked hard for them. In my work, I was creative and conscientious. At my workplace, I acted respectfully and spoke credibly. And in my life, I act honestly and cleanly. I swore an oath to keep all those things, and I kept all of them. And so you have to get me my job back, do you understand?
Mi Rae despairs. Everything Boo Mi has said is right, but Boo Mi has just laid the responsibility of her unemployment squarely on Mi Rae. It is too much for Mi Rae, and she cries out that now all the people that Boo Mi got signatures from will be disappointed in Mi Rae, and questions how she can show her face to anyone. It is a heart-tugging scene, as Boo Mi’s hopes for (and demands on) Mi Rae have frightened Mi Rae beyond even her own strength and courage. Mi Rae cannot deal, and runs out of the porridge shop.
Jung Do has been silent the entire time, but now he questions Boo Mi.
Jung Do: You didn’t, by any chance, meet with the former Deputy Mayor, did you?
Boo Mi: Yes, I did. In the beginning, I did start this because of him, but as I went around getting signatures, I realized that this was the thing that I actually wanted for Mi Rae all along, and so…
Jung Do (interrupting): I know YOUR intent quite well, but did you even once stop and think at what the former Deputy Mayor’s objectives are? Don’t you know that he wants a Mayor that he thinks he can easily manipulate?
Boo Mi is speechless for once, as she starts to realize how big of an error she might have made. This is a really, really good point by Jung Do. (Note: Boo Mi and I both got so caught up in the moment, we BOTH totally forgot about Jo Gook’s penchant for doing things that benefit him first. Thank goodness for Jung Do to keep us all grounded!)
The following day at the market, Mi Rae is selling her fish and trying to calculate how many votes it will take to get to 15% – it is a whole lot. As Mi Rae starts to despair again, a familiar person is walking through the market, with his child and his mother to boot! Jo Gook is making his rounds, giving smiles and handshakes. Rang looks adorable in his capri khakis, but Jo Gook’s mom could not be less thrilled with being used as a political prop. Jo Gook sees Mi Rae, and he greets her rather awkwardly.
Jo Gook: It has been a long time.
Mi Rae: Yes.
Jo Gook: (says nothing)
Jo Rang: Who is that, daddy?
Mi Rae: (looks curiously at Rang, it is her first time seeing the child).
Jo Gook: Oh. This noona is… your dad’s… colleague. (Note: in this context, “noona,” or “older sister” is merely a polite way to talk about a stranger)
Mi Rae is rocked by Jo Gook’s portrayal of their relationship, but hides it behind a warm smile to Rang. Before Jo Gook can finish introducing his mother, Jo Gook’s mother snaps that she knows who Mi Rae is since she reads the newspapers. With that she storms off with Rang as the smell of baendaengis is too much for her nose – Mi Rae doesn’t even get to properly introduce herself.
(Being able to make a good first impression to a potential future mother-in-law might be important to any woman, but in Korean culture, it is vital because the wife is expected to join the husband’s family, leaving her own behind. Historically, this would mean that the wife would be directly under the supervision, care and control of the husband’s mother. So first meetings are doubly important for the wife-to-be. But Jo Gook introduces Mi Rae as a “colleague” and Jo Gook’s mom takes the cue and doesn’t wait around long enough to meet Mi Rae. And so Jo Gook has just obliterated any chance that Mi Rae might have had at making a good first impression. Mi Rae can only interpret that as Jo Gook saying to her that they have no chance to be together.)
Outside the market, Jo Gook and family start to drive away when Mi Rae dashes out to stop the car. Even if she has no chance at a relationship with him, even if she has been labeled by Jo Gook as being nobody special, Mi Rae still needs Jo Gook’s help.
Mi Rae and Jo Gook have their face to face, and Mi Rae asks Jo Gook if he believes that she can win, and if she cannot, whether she can at least get 15% of the vote, and if she cannot even get that amount, whether Jo Gook can give her the application fee. He responds that there is no way that Mi Rae will lose, and so she shouldn’t think like that.
Jo Gook then asks what Mi Rae would be willing to give him, if he helps her to win the election. Will Mi Rae agree to whatever Jo Gook wants? Mi Rae sighs and nods.
Jo Gook: You haven’t even asked me what it is that I will require from you.
Mi Rae: I already know.
Jo Gook: You know?
Mi Rae: Yes.
Mi Rae: As guys get closer to me, they all want the same thing.
Jo Gook: Really?
Mi Rae: Yes. They all say “Get lost!” or “You should find a good man, I am not deserving of you” or “Wouldn’t it be better if we were just like brother and sister?”
Jo Gook: Who are these jerks anyway? You should call them up so I can deal with them.
Mi Rae: Oh, but there is another guy too. He’s the worst of them all.
Jo Gook: Why are there so many of these jerks?
Mi Rae (staring straight at Jo Gook): Yeah, this guy says, “Oh, this noona, she’s your father’s colleague.”
Jo Gook is truly shaken by Mi Rae’s words which hit him squarely in the heart. He looks hurt and betrayed by her comments. But honestly, WHO is the one who has done the hurting and the betraying?
Mi Rae continues – she isn’t some 20-year old girl who will hang on every word of a guy who takes her on a camping trip. So he needn’t look so serious at her comments. But Jo Gook has a few stunning words in return.
Jo Gook: These days, I’ve been doing things that I’ve never done before. And in living this life of mine, I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before. Doing the things that I did with you took a lot of courage for someone like me. Don’t you see that?
Mi Rae (frozen by his words).
Jo Gook: I admit that I am not a good man, but I hope that you won’t see me like a person that you would despise.
That has got to be one of the best responses in the history of responses. Mi Rae feels, well, she feels about what she looks like. She has had her heart crushed and inflated, twisted and straightened, and forever altered by this man, who is just so hard to understand. When he speaks the truth, it hurts. When he lies, it hurts. There is no getting around pain when Mi Rae hears words that come from Jo Gook, but no matter what, if he starts speaking, Mi Rae’s heart opens up again.
Back to the furious pace of this episode! The election nominee deadline has passed, and the candidates are gathered at the city election office to give slogans and to announce their platforms. Without further ado, we proudly present the candidates for Inju’s mayoral by-election:
Clockwise, from the top left: Candidate #1 for the newly revamped Victory Party, Joo Hwa’s dad! Candidate #2 for the Purity Party, the man that Governor So wanted! Candidate #3 for the Sovereignty Party, Father Time himself! And Candidate #4 for the Citizens’ Progress Party, well, some guy:
And Candidate #5 is… not present. Where is Mi Rae on this important day? She has searched out Jung Do, to ask for his help. But Jung Do is not convinced that Mi Rae knows what she is doing, especially since her top priority seems to be getting her money back. Jung Do challenges Mi Rae about her lack of educational background and experience. Who would be willing to vote for her? Undaunted, Mi Rae challenges back:
Mi Rae: Was Mayor Go’s education poor? Was his work experience bad? Politics! What is that anyway? Isn’t it, “For people whose lives are poor, to help them get better lives, and for people whose lives are good, to ask them to help out.” Isn’t that what it is about? At the very least, I am confident that I can do a better job than Mayor Go in that regard!!
Well, I dare say that Mi Rae has got a little bit of Boo Mi fire in her eyes now! Jung Do agrees to help out with Mi Rae’s campaign…but of course, now we have two cooks in the same kitchen. Two savvy political guys, graduated from the academy in the same year, with completely different ideas on how to make Mi Rae into the next Mayor of Inju City.
First issue to resolve – what is going to be the overall photo concept for the campaign? What kind of image should Mi Rae portray? Progressive Jo Gook likes the Hillary Clinton and the Michelle Obama looks. Traditional Jung Do likes the “dignified and noble older Korean woman” kind of look and also the “Korean freedom fighter Yoo Gwan Sun” look. They start to dress Mi Rae like a doll. Hehe!
Fortunately, Mi Rae gets the final say and she scraps these contrived looks for something that actually means something to her. the final photo concept ends up being a picture of Mi Rae, taken by Boo Mi during one of the Miss Baendaengi contest event. And to convey the Wonder Woman concept, her friends photoshop in a tiara to the hat. The words read, “For the future, let’s pull for Mi Rae! Wonder Woman Shin Mi Rae! We ask this of you, Inju City!”
Right off the bat, Mi Rae receives some good news. Candidate #3’s (Father Time’s) check has bounced and he is out of the election! Mi Rae’s chances have just risen!
As Jo Gook is driving Mi Rae home after a long day, he receives a call on his cell As Mi Rae curiously looks on, Jo Gook’s side of the conversation ends like this: “Mmmhmm… I miss you too.” Mi Rae can only hear a few bits and pieces of the conversation, but she has a pretty good idea of exactly who Jo Gook is missing. Jo Gook suddenly stops the car and tells Mi Rae to get out, as he has a meeting to attend. Mi Rae can only watch as Jo Gook speeds off, away from her…
and towards …
During their walk through the park, Jo Gook tells his fiancée frankly that he is using her to ensure that BB will help him ascend the Blue House. Go Hae answers that it is okay if he uses her, but in return, she would like to be by his side when he enters the Blue House. This is the bargain they have made with each other.
Go Hae also offers to help finance Mi Rae’s election. She gently asks Jo Gook not to refuse her money, since if he does refuse, then she might get the wrong idea about the relationship between him and Mi Rae. It is a difficult choice for Jo Gook, as Go Hae seems to be the key to both his ambitions and Mi Rae’s ambitions. And what Go Hae asks in return will keep him and Mi Rae apart forever.
As a very troubled and sad Jo Gook is driving back to Inju City, his thoughts go back to a recent memory of the camping trip that he had with Mi Rae. And now we are able to see what happened on that overnight trip, between the two of them that night.
It looks like both of them are unable to sleep, especially Mi Rae, who has a man close enough to her that she can feel his breath. Jo Gook pretends to sleep though, perhaps to give Mi Rae some measure of comfort.
But Mi Rae, in a surprising move, rolls over and Jo Gook quickly closes his eyes.
Mi Rae tentatively reaches out, like a fish testing a baited hook, and then falling back quickly. Jo Gook does not awake, and so she reaches out and strokes his face.
Mi Rae can barely breathe. Almost on their own, her fingertips start tracing his eye brows, and then his cheek. As her fingers touch his lips, Jo Gook’s hand grabs Mi Rae’s!! CAUGHT!! Jo Gook, the clever fisherman, has caught his very first baendaengi!!
Jo Gook (sleepily): Keep that up, and you will get jumped…
Mi Rae rolls back over to her side of the tent like she is on fire. As it is, she should take comfort in the fact that any other human being would have actually burst into flames. Mercifully, Mi Rae is let off of the hook by Jo Gook who volunteers to sleep outside…and the scene shifts to the present again…but this memory is no longer Jo Gook’s alone, but Mi Rae’s as well! She too has been thinking of that night they spent together camping.
Mi Rae’s eyes falls on Jo Gook’s jacket, which is still hanging in her room. Mi Rae walks over to the jacket that told her more about Jo Gook than any of his words. Shouldn’t she return the jacket? Given the events of the day, it is clear to Mi Rae that the jacket, like the unspoken promise it held, would very likely remain empty.
The next day, it is campaign finance awareness day for Mi Rae. Both Jung Do and Jo Gook finally agree on this critical point: If Mi Rae wants to have any success at all in this mayoral election, she will need to borrow a lot of money, quickly – in the neighborhood of a quarter million dollars!
To that end, Jo Gook takes Mi Rae to a hotel room to meet with a VIP sponsor. Mi Rae is fearful and sickened, thinking that Jo Gook is trying to make her spend the night with some sleazy guy. Mi Rae is now not only hurt by Jo Gook, she is disgusted by him. But as Mi Rae stands up to go, the VIP sponsor enters the room:
Comments –
If Episode 6 is the episode that made City Hall the drama series that cannot be missed, then Episode 9 is the episode that makes City Hall the drama series that must be loved. I absolutely LOVED this episode. There are so many scenes that were so brilliant, with the OST songs and lyrics matching the scenes, the powerful acting by everyone, the wonderful pacing, and the balanced direction by the PD and staff.
While Mi Rae’s and Jo Gook’s feelings for each other are easy to see, the relationship itself keeps running into the reality of Jo Gook’s world. He needs Go Hae, not just for her money, but because she is the key to keeping BB on Jo Gook’s side (or, rather, the key to keeping BB from being Jo Gook’s enemy). The only thing that his fiancée wants in return is for her to be there by his side when he enters the Blue House. That’s the arrangement, and that’s what Jo Gook has agreed to do. But that means that Mi Rae will be left alone, only able to dance with an empty jacket.
And as we see, there are lines that Mi Rae simply will not cross. She will not sell her body or her principles for money or for power. And if Jo Gook goes down an unethical road for the sake of his own ambition, it is extremely unlikely that Mi Rae would sell out for his sake either. And this makes Mi Rae and Jo Gook potential enemies.
Sitting back a moment, and reflecting on Mi Rae, it is hard to imagine how Mi Rae’s heart can take so much. As a guy, perhaps, I try to parse and break things into manageable pieces, to organize and to compartmentalize. One thing has got nothing to do with another. But for Mi Rae, her heart mixes everything together, and her emotions are the result of the love she holds in her heart for everyone in her world. And her holding onto the promise of the jacket, despite everything that tells her otherwise, it is her expression of what it means to be a woman.
The one to watch for in this Episode: Boo Mi.
If everyone in government service had as much fire, passion, and integrity as Boo Mi, how much better of a world would we live in today?
While recapping this episode, I went back to the Boo Mi scenes with Jo Gook and with Mi Rae, and I feel like her words should be etched in stone and put in every government office, as the very essence what it means to be a civil servant.
I said this before, but Boo Mi is one fierce ahjumma. And while every girl should have a friend like Jo Gook, I think that every person should have a best friend like Boo Mi.
On To Episode 10!
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51 Samsooki
July 29, 2009 at 5:48 PM
@46, fishbud -
I think that if Jo Gook had said the magic words in front of Mama Jo, "Mom, this is the girl that my heart is set on, this is the girl that my hopes are built on, this is the girl that my watch is set to..." I think Mama Jo probably would have cared a tiny bit more than what she did when Jo Gook introduced her as "hey, this is a colleague of mine." That isn't to say that Mama Jo would have approved of Mi Rae (probably not), but at least then, at the very first meeting, Mi Rae wouldn't have looked like a "mere" fishmonger odd beauty queen who happens to be in the newspapers for one-woman protests. If Jo Gook had introduced her properly, Mi Rae would have had a measure of standing before Mama Jo. That is important because Mi Rae, if she meets with Mama Jo again, has no standing at all. She has no right to meet up with Mama Jo, because her relationship with Jo Gook is nothing.
Korean moms (perhaps all moms), when their sons are of age to get married, look at every woman who even goes within 2 meters of their son with calculating and discerning eyes. It's in their DNA. Mama Jo, based on Jo Gook's cues, dismissed Mi Rae without even giving her a shot to defend herself from whatever incorrect perspective Mama Jo probably has about Mi Rae. Even if Mi Rae saw her on the street the next day, she would have no shot at trying to correct that perspective.
Now, I get it. Jo Gook likely did not want to engage in a running firefight with his mom through the market if he set off the bomb that he is engaged to one woman and loves another. LOL! And he certainly didn't want to make Mi Rae feel bad by not revealing his feelings to his own mother when they all first meet. That's why I think it is Jo Gook meeting Mi Rae at the market was not planned at all. Jo Gook wasn't ready to make introductions, and certainly wasn't ready to start a war.
But once he saw Mi Rae, he needed to man up, and he failed. His excuse was that he's never done this before. But that's no excuse at all. Then don't bring Mi Rae camping and tell her things that make her heart go THUMP THUMP THUMP until you are ready to own up to your own feelings. It isn't fair, it isn't right, and Jo Gook should have known better.
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52 Mrs Samsooki
July 29, 2009 at 5:52 PM
Hello everyone, I usually just lurk and enjoy the chatter of the rest of you. I don't have much to add to the CH discussions going on, but thought I'd say hi.
@42 Ariel -
As I'm sure most who read the City Hall recaps will agree, Samsooki is very analytical and yet very emotionally in-tune (and yet very manly, yes it's true!). So, yes, it is very fun to have him as a Korean drama watching partner. For the dramas that really engage us, we do talk about the characters like they are people we know. But Samsooki probably wants to have a bigger (and longer) discussion about some dramas than I have the energy or attention span for, so I think it's great that through this recapping adventure, he's been able to hear back from more people than just me. Especially since most of the time, we agree on things. Once in a while, we'll be on opposing sides of a rousing debate, but usually I'm getting my own throughts repeated back to me, only articulated in a much better way. If it doesn't embarrass him too much for me to say in such a public forum, I do adore Samsooki's writing. We were acquaintances through common friends until somehow we started emailing each other everyday and that is how he won me over. (You can uncover your eyes now, honey, mushy stuff is over)
@7 Janie and @36 bspanda -
As for letting Samsooki spend so much time on recapping, yes sometimes I feel like a recap widow, but there are far worse hobbies he could have and he does it from the next room where I can keep an eye on him! One thing going neglected in all of this is the next set of Korean DVDs that's been sitting by our TV for weeks still in its shrink wrap. And wouldn't this summer be a great time to watch Korea dramas when there are only reruns on American TV? But I don't mind too terribly - it's giving me a little time to do my own thing while he's hunched at the computer.
@21 langdon813 -
Ah, The List... the tricky thing in our household is, Hyun Bin would probably end up on both our lists and then, the fighting would really begin! ;-)
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53 Samsooki
July 29, 2009 at 5:56 PM
OMG, this is so odd. Do I even respond to my wife or just go upstairs and talk directly?
Binnie is off-limits! MY binnie. Not OUR Binnie.
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54 Mrs Samsooki
July 29, 2009 at 6:00 PM
@langdon813 -
See what I mean??
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55 Eeefu
July 29, 2009 at 6:19 PM
ha ha - welcome aboard, Samsooki pu yin nim! Thx for lenting us Samsooki's pass time. We are one lucky bunch.
@48 fishbud, I am satisfied with your "technical" answer. Could I have written it differently?
@49 epyc, I feel it's a girl's responsibility to check this. I totally kill the romance. I know.
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56 katwoman
July 29, 2009 at 7:25 PM
Thanks for the recap. JG and MR's relationship is just getting better and better. JG is the Man! My jaw dropped at what he said in the tent. I'm secretly hoping that he did!
Samsooki, would you consider recapping MNKSS? I would love to have you and my hubs meet and share your views of MNKSS, Samshik, Samsoon, and Binnie-love.
For the love of Binnie, I couldn't even bring myself to watch World Within, but hubs did. And he's definitely going to watch Binnie's Friends when he has the time. I guess I've let go of Samshik and moved on from Binnie, but he hasn't been able to :)
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57 ockoala
July 29, 2009 at 9:09 PM
@52 Mrs. Samsooki:
It's so refreshing to hear how you and the Mr. can watch k-dramas together, enjoy/discuss/dislike what you are watching, and find this an enjoyable and meaningful way to spend some downtime. My Mr. rarely if ever is engaged in drama-watching, but I think it's a genre and language barrier, as he reads like a beast, and I am of the opinion that readers/drama-watchers are more often than not the same creatures - people who enjoy storytelling, imagination, engaging our senses to be transported to a world away for a short period of time. Just to let you know that your widowhood and sacrifice is for a well-deserved and much appreciated cause - to spread City Hall love through the dramaverse!
_______________________________________________________
The JG-MR interaction at the marketplace and thereafter by the sea - I tend to cut JG A LOT of slack in this drama, even at the beginning when he's sometimes an ass, and during these episodes when he is exploring his emotional state at the same time he is advancing his own political agenda. It's because he is such a complicated character, so much is never stated or obvious, and it's clear that he is sorely lacking in any emotional udnerstanding or fulfillment in his life up until now. His parents were not there to nourish his childhood, and his fiancee is a block of marbled perfection (she radiates frost when she comes onscreen).
So all his foibles and emotional childishness (his jealous expressions are one clear indicator), it's because this is one guy who for all his political and educational advancements, has never advanced beyond seeking love and approval from BB. This starvation for love, affection and acknowledgment from BB makes our JG totally unable to react to MR properly at all times. He's confusing her because he's confused, and he's confused because he's never fallen in love before.
Because of that, I still think his introduction of MR was clumsy, unrehearshed, and without regard for the future with respect to his mom. He just isn't sure how to characterize her to his family at that time. But because MR is the emotional mature one in this journey, we viewers need her to continue to be direct with him and force him to think about his actions.
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58 bspanda
July 30, 2009 at 8:32 AM
Hi Mrs Samsooki!
(gee that sounds like I am in primary school addressing my teacher! Yikes am not saying you are old! What am I saying?!.... Please forgive if I offended! *headsmack!* I meant it as way to address you with the proper level of respect you deserve...)
Ok let me start again....
Hi Mrs Samsooki
*waves* *claps* *bows* :)
Your sacrifice of temporary 'recap widowhood', it is not in vain. We TOTALLY appreciate the hardwork yr hubby has put in to give us awesome recaps! (not to mention his clever comments on DB!)
If I could assist in removing Binnie from the clutches of Samsooki, as a small token of apprecation to you, so you can have Binnie on YOUR list I would try my hardest. But Mrs Samsooki of course you already know how hard if not impossible that task will be. Perhaps one day when he is very tired from all this awesome recapping......
To both Samsookis - Mr and Mrs - you are a totally awesome couple! *hugz* Just awesome like MR and JG!!
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59 omo
July 30, 2009 at 10:48 PM
Decided to re-watch this episode and to pay a closer attention to the exchange between MR and JG in the market scene. I'm really sensing a tongue-tied JG when he saw MR. He is no longer the Vice Mayor and he didn't have the capacity to carry out his PR tour as someone mentioned up-thread. (I think it was epyc). So why did pick the market where he knew MR would most likely be there instead of the posh supermarket we saw in Ep 8? Mama Jo would certainly have preferred that.
JG expected MR to be there alright. But what he didn't expect was Ah Rang to ask who is this Noona. JG may have rehearsed the best intro and yet any intro at that point would not have come out right. JG used the word "Tong-ji" which is more of a comrade than colleague. Comrade is used when you are in a battle and I think at the back of JG's mind, he was thinking of the political battle that they were about to embark on. I don't think JG was answering Ah Rang but more like hinting to MR that they will be in a political battle. Of course MR didn't know JG was the one instigating Boomi to nominate MR as a Mayor nominee.
Then when he turned around and introduced his mother to MR, he used "Chin-gu", ie. friend in Korean. Hmmm, wonder if he changed his mind and switched to chin-gu after MR was being just being so nice to Ah Rang.
This is late and I guess nobody is reading this thread but I just had to get it off my chest.
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60 thunderbolt
July 31, 2009 at 1:01 AM
Sorry to gatecrash the post. This is totally off-topic.
#12 Anonymous
A friend alerted me to your little exchange with Bolt. :) Just to confirm Bolt is not me, lol.
#38 Bolt
I wish I could be a couch potato. To lounge and watch kdramas all day, what a life. ^^
OK, scooting off before I chance on any spoilers. Keep up the awesome work, Samsooki. I'll catch up with your recaps when I get around to CH. BTW, how about a less-OTT screencap of KSA on the main page? Scares those still contemplating whether to watch this. *runs*
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61 samsooki
July 31, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Hi Thundie!
Thanks for the encouragment! :)
Wait! Don't go! What does OTT mean?!
Arrrgh.... it's like Rusty telling Linus in Ocean's 11, "and for God's sake, whatever you do, don't, under any circumstances......"
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62 ockoala
July 31, 2009 at 10:09 AM
@61 Samsooki
You need to go hunt down thunderbolt now!
You really don't know what the acronym OTT stands for? It means "Over the Top", which I have to second thunderbolt's comment on the picture of KSA you selected for this episode's opening screencap. It doesn't seem to tie in as tightly with the tone and plot development, episode 9 is not as chock full of comedic moments as the hilarious early episodes.
I'm just biased, I want gorgeous screencaps of either JG, MR, Inju, or better yet, JG with MR. =-) Can't wait for episode 10.
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63 fishbud
July 31, 2009 at 6:51 PM
@55 Eeefu - You don't have write it differently, you asked a legitimate pretty straight forward "technical" question. I guess I was being my usual "punny" self too much sometime. No hard feeling ok? I was truly sincere in my answer :)
@Sam Sooki - I don't think introducing MR as "colleague" would all of a sudden make Mama Jo thinks of her in a better light. Furthermore, I think Mama Jo's dismissal of the whole introduction wasn't meant to be personally against MR in any way. I think she did it for herself since she despised the pretentiousness and the hypocrysy that her son is doing. She simply doesn't want to be a part of JG's "circus".
I sense a little bit of sarcasm in the way Mama Jo dismissed the whole introduction thing by saying coldly "I know who she [MR] is". In passing, it may seem as though she claim to knew who MR is from all the publicity regarding the Baendengi Pageant or the Protest that brought down Mayor Go. But I think Mama Jo said that to mean she REALLY know who MR is in relation to her son.
After all these years of living with JG, I don't think it would be so hard for a mom like her to figure out pretty quick what is going on between JG and MR. By ending this awkward situation quickly herself, she kind of saved them all from the impending complication. It may come out as rather cold and mean way to treat all people that were involved in the situation, but that's just the way Mama Jo is...she says it the way she feels it (just like our MR would, but at least MR has more tact about doing it not to hurt other people's feeling too much). Mama Jo knows full well the reality that they're all in, particularly, the complication of the situation that JG will be in if they were to continue with this little civility when there's nothing good that will come out of it.
Overall in this episode, I guess JG did earn the right to be thrown under the bus by everyone here for his mistreatment of MR. But what can the poor man do when he's caught in the typhoon? :p
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64 shin mi rae
August 1, 2009 at 6:04 PM
mr. and mrs samsooki: thanks so much for the recaps. mrs. samsooki, thank you for your sacrifices for us to enjoy the wonderful recaps. by the way, you are one lucky girl to have a hubby to discuss kdramas with. im so envious.
to everyone: kudos to all of you. when reading the comments, i also want to respond to some of them but i dont have the energy to track comment numbers and their usernames. but i will try in episode 10.
this is my insight on the market scene. i know it hurts MR when JG called her "colleague". come on, they have been on an overnyt trip together, slept on the same tent, and how about that line he said the last time they met. how dare he refers to her as colleague!!! He is such a BOY (sorry guys)!!! - my reaction when i first watched it. but on second thought, what noun can JG use that will be ok? what should he call the "relationship" or "unrelationship" that they have? as a girl, i would still be mad if he call me his "friend". actually, when i first saw this, i want to hit JG on the head like in that earlier episode.
from JG's point of view, i think he wants to keep their "thing" just between the two of them. first because he has a fiancee (no matter how much mama jo hates GGH). second, even he already acknowledged that he is indeed falling in love with MR, we know from JG character that the girl he loves maybe different from the girl he will marry. he said this during the trip. i think JG is still undecided on what to do with MR. finally, assuming JG already decided to marry MR someday, should he introduce MR to mama jo right there and there in the market while MR is selling bendaengis. i think that is even more unfair with MR. as a girl, i want to be at my best when i first get introduced to a future mother in law as the wife to be. also, imagine mama jo's reaction if his son, future president of korea, introduced wife to be - a bendaengi vendor with no education. this by itself can already be a plot of a tearjerker, you-and-me-against-the-world korean drama. (in the philippines, this is a well used plot in many movies and tv series. girl is a market vendor and boy is a rich guy. boy's mother will interfere with their love)
back to city hall, i will also comment about MR dancing with JG's jacket. i think this has nothing to do with being a country girl. the woman is falling in love. when you are in love, you do crazy things, no matter where you live or grew up in. its a girl thing. (even if the girls will not admit this!) if that was me, i will not be dancing with the jacket. rather i will wear it so it will feel like JG is embracing me. i so get these scenes. because for MR, she is desperately falling in love yet she knows that she has no chance against GGH inspite of all the things JG already told her. she wanted to be with JG but since she cant, she settles with a surrigate JG - the jacket.
i do have a question. i dont understand why mama jo is acting high and mighty. seems to me that the writer is giving us clues about her past. she was no GGH from a rich family. she is also not an honorable MR. wasnt she a bargirl (sort of like a prostitute?????) when mexico was a bar??? oohhh, i dont want to give spoilers but in coming episodes, one of her former friends (colleagues) will visit JG (cementing our theory about mama jo's past). so why is she acting out in the market, that she doesnt like the smell of fish (duh!) and snubbing MR?
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65 omo
August 2, 2009 at 1:11 AM
Yesterday (Saturday for me), I did a little CH marathon from Ep 9 to Ep 14. It was sorta like a CH anniversary celebration for me. Gosh, has it been a month since the last episode aired already? I'm missing the good old CH days. *dropped tear*
I will have to do another marathon from Ep 15 to Ep 20 tonight.
@ 64 Shin Mi Rae
I came back to this thread after my marathon yesterday and saw your post. I deliberated on your post and here are my conclusions.
The MR and JG's jacket scene. I think MR's dancing with JG's jacket transports MR back to the time when she was dancing the tango with JG. It probably brings back a lot of good memories of THAT event for her. She is reliving that moment. She knew JG took tango lessons to snare a rich and powerful, prospective girlfriend/wife, and here she is, neither rich nor powerful, the thought of her dancing with the jacket is more meaningful to her than wearing the jacket. At other times, she may have held the jacket or wore the jacket, but I think most of the time, she would be dancing with the jacket because that was MOST significant to her.
The market scene.
"i dont understand why mama jo is acting high and mighty. seems to me that the writer is giving us clues about her past. she was no GGH from a rich family. she is also not an honorable MR. wasnt she a bargirl (sort of like a prostitute?????) when mexico was a bar???"
Like you, when I initially saw how Mama Jo snubbed MR, I was upset too. Here's my theory.
Mama Jo read in the papers about MR in the Ms Bendaengi contest and about the one-woman protest, but we don't really know what she thought of MR. However, Mama Jo would have thought it odd for JG to bring the entire family to this market for a PR walk especially when JG is no longer the Vice Mayor. Mama Jo may dislike her son's political ambitions and choice of future wife, but JG, after all, is still her son. Could she have sensed that her son had a different agenda by going to the market? Just perhaps, was it her motherly instincts to give her son a private moment with MR without being obvious? And note Mama Jo dragged little Jo Rang with her when she could have left him there!
Of course you can disagree with me, but this makes my heart feels good because if I were Mama JO, I'd rather see a warmhearted MR as my daughter-in-law than that cryogenic GGH.
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66 mtoenlob
August 5, 2009 at 9:06 AM
@6 ockoala
"The JG-MR emotional journey is impossible to turn away from, no machinations, contrivances, third party lure – just a man and a woman finding a connection so unexpected yet so intoxicating."
True, this is one of the factors why this drama is so believable and impossible to let go. As viewers, one cannot help but immerse himself to the world the characters move in, so much so that one can feel as much as what these characters are undergoing at every scene.
The scene in Mi Rae's room, after she was dropped off by Jo Gook who was off to see his fiancee, GGH, is one of my favorite scenes. No spoken words. No voice over. Just Mi Rae longingly looking at Jo Gook's jacket hanging in one corner of the room. Yet, in her eyes, one could see the yearning, the realization, the sadness and the acceptance that Jo Gook is someone else's man. One of those scenes that speaks volumes in the silence.
Thanks for the explanation there, Samsooki. At first, I also didn't quite understand why Mi Rae seemed upset when Jo Gook introduced her as a colleague. Am really glad that I found this site and read your wonderful recaps.
@20 Beng
"Hi Samsooki, it’s nice to hear a guy tells how a guy thinks as well as how the mind of a woman works =)."
I totally agree. Samsooki not only makes wonderful recaps but his side comments will leave you in awe.
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67 yumii
November 18, 2009 at 9:42 PM
Your recaps a fun. I'm reading them AFTER i've seen the episodes. Why didn't you finish the series. Come on. Don't let real life interfere with fun.
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68 ena
December 10, 2009 at 12:09 PM
"I said that I want to grow up to be like Jung Do, but I change my mind – I want to be like Boo Mi."
i LOLed when i read that!!! thanks for the great recaps!!! :D
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69 bengal
March 1, 2010 at 1:58 AM
my first time commenting ever on a k-drama EVER! so i'm pretty nervous... i don't know why i should be but you all are expert City Hallers, and you saw this like decades ago, so i feel sooo insignificant... but nevertheless, i must muster enough courage to speak my piece of mind that's been waiting to explode about some things in this episode... first off, my background is dramafever, so the subtitles I'm reading are a little bit different than fansubs... which leads to the first jewel of the episode that I want to share with you... the part by the sea when Mirae points him out as the worst jerk is when these subtitles sound sooo much better for me:
Jo Gook: I haven't been myself lately. it's all so new to me.
i had to muster up the courage.
Can't you see that? (pause)
i admit that i'm a jerk
***but don't turn me into a coward***
Oh MYYY... how much more blessed I am to have first experienced this moment with this particular translation... not that I'm trying to compare or anything... because fansubs are d'AWESOME! but I just had to share what a fantastic line that was: "i admit that i'm a jerk, but don't turn me into a coward" ... the word coward here cut me sooo deep..
to me, it means that if she keeps on pressing him on this, he might lose what little grain of courage he has mustered up until now to do what he did with her... thus shutting him down... and it also means (and this is more alongside Samsooki's provided subtitle above) that he is asking Mirae for at least an ounce of credit here for doing what he did, which would be a step up from "coward", as a "jerk"... and so he pleads with her to not think of him as THAT bad, lower than a jerk... because it would hurt him so much to be despised by her at that level:
Jo Gook: I admit that I am not a good man, but I hope that you won’t see me like a person that you would despise.
AWWWW... JG couldn't have expressed this line any better with those brilliant pauses and eye-talk... I am so in love with City Hall that I haven't even mustered up enough courage to watch the whole thing through and through... and that's because of episode 7... it left me breathless, gills-a-gaping, gasping for air... and from that moment on I dreaded the ever-so-near-ending episode 20... I did not want the magical ride to end period. and so i had to restrain myself from touching that remote or typing in the url... i was so scared... scared to see the day come when I know this amazing love story would come to an end... albeit a happy ending, i was still scared... until samsooki's recaps came and saved me from despair... before the discovery of recaps, it was SO hard to keep myself from MR-JG gluttony... i was either going to over-indulge myself and end up looking like that skeleton on Mirae's poster or i was going to have to suffer, dreadfully and deadfully... your recaps kept me on life support, with the intravenous feed of City Hall's life-nourishing nutrients... it made the self-imposed sacrifice that much more liveable... yes, in observing lent, i chose to "slow down" City Hall because i was supposed to TRY and give up the thing I loved to do most... i'm so ashamed that i couldn't even give it up for goodness sake... I admit that I'm not a good woman, (pause) but don't turn me into a coward... i am trying very hard not to feed this sensual inner desire to "jump" on the very next episode even though it's ever so accessible, right online, right in my tent... and so Samsooki has been a savior... stalling time for me in between episodes... it takes me so much time in reading the recap and then sorting through all the individual comments that by the time I'm done I'm usually exhausted and ready to sleep... but City Hall is always at the back of my mind... so that even as I close my eyes, I'm dreaming of touching the face of City Hall... i just hope that it doesn't suddenly wake up and grab me by the arm... then i would not be able to make it through lent season in wholeliness...
ok enough with the addict-talk... right into the next gem of this episode which i didn't see anyone mention yet:
JG: you have to consult with me before you say anything ok?
MR: i'm hungry, i'm sleepy, and i have to pee
(mischievously) things like that, too?
JG: of course
MR: (harshly) dummy! idiot!! mutt!!! jerk!!!!
(chirpingly) i love you...
(casually) things like that too?
JG: ...yes
this part was so cleverly crafted that inside JG's guts must have been slapping themselves in the head when they heard Mirae say "i love you" in that context... because if it means anything to him to hear those first words in its utmost sincerity at the right time and the right place, then he has lost that chance forever, and Mirae must have been so proud of herself for having thought of such a clever way to say "i love you" but not to "say" i love you... one point for Sailormoon and none for Tuxedo Mask... but ironically, it alludes to the oppression that MR is under, being instructed by JG to be consulted even when she wants to express her feelings for him... tsk tsk... this is going to offend our feminists even more after someone criticized the jacket-dancing scene as being unfair to MR... but i have no problem with it as long as MR is giving that nasty look to JG as she says dummy! idiot!! mutt!!! jerk!!!! it's like our heroine all of a sudden got to do that brain-sloshing head smack AGAIN!
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70 samsooki
March 1, 2010 at 7:46 AM
@69 bengal -
Thank you for your comment!
Taking a quick look at the video for Ep 9, I think the DF translation of "비겁한놈" (bi-geop han nom) as "coward" is probably closer to the literal than my original translation, although both work here. I say probably closer because just a few seconds earlier, JG mentions the fact that the things he did recently required courage. So, he probably is following through with the courage vs. cowardice word play. but "bi-geop han nom" is a pretty harsh thing to say, not really something you say in polite company or in every day speech (especially not by a person like JG) - and so, I'm going to stick with my translation.
Translating is not an exact thing, and JG words have both the literal meaning and the overall meaning. Ultimately, I think what JG means is what I had in my translation, but I have to give props where due: DF's subs (for that one bit) might be closer to the actual meaning.
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71 bengal
March 6, 2010 at 3:34 PM
I tried to go back and review the part where someone commented that JG was looking in the car's rearview mirror to see if MR would come out but I can't see it... he was looking at his mom doing the makeup... is there any other clue to this that would prove JG was looking for someone else other than his mom???
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72 cikrib
December 19, 2010 at 11:07 PM
"If I were single, which I am not, but if I were (but I am not), and Shin Mi Rae traced my face in a tent in the middle of the night (which would never happen because I am not single and I am not a crazy person living in a fantasy world), then I also would not have just volunteered to sleep outdoors, Jo Gook be damned (but I am married and so I am not even contemplating what I have typed)."
ROFL LOL LMAO ♥ this.
Thank
u @samsooki for the recap. It really help me to understand the whole story especially because the dvd subtittle is a messed up.
My cousin told me months ago about CH, I bought the dvd, but I only watch first episode and get bored (nobody ever warned me about this, until I read ur recap *hiks*).
Recently I watch CH played in some tv station, episode 6 or 7 (not sure), and I'm stunned...why I stop watching this months ago? And darn, I remember, I gave my dvd to one of my friend, I called her, asking the dvd back. Lol.
But I screw up... I watch the last episode... Arrrgh, I should have be more patient, I know, I regret it, sincerely. I'm truly sorry...(At least, for my self, I feel like a traitor of city hallers).
As the punishment, I can't live the drama... I regret this, forever.
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73 So3
March 2, 2011 at 7:19 PM
Have been reading the recaps and now i couldn't hold myself anymore and have to post my comment.
First off, hats off to samsooki for the brilliant recaps! got addicted to it almost as much as to CH itself!!
Am pretty much addicted to CH since i first saw it in spring 2010 (unfortunately not earlier in 2009) - got so addicted that i read through all the chinese forums about the drama and felt that i haven't got enough. and now i found this gem - recaps from samsooki!! so well-written.
And i concur with numerous fellow CHallers that I totally thought that Mr. Samsooki was indeed a girl LOL.
Just want to share that (hopefully someone reads this), that there is a great batch of Taiwanese that loves CH so much that (btw, some Taiwanese channels keep rerunning CH becoz of its popularity and they are running the 9th time already - something like that) they are calling for fans to submit postcards to the TV station and the staff will collect all of them and redirect the postcards to Ms Kim the writer of CH - requesting a CH2 (or basically, another drama with the same cast and production team).
Love to CH from all over the globe! yay!!
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74 lovecityhall
November 4, 2011 at 10:03 AM
I really hope that there will be a CH2. This whole production is in a class of its own. Wonderful drama, excellent leads and supporting actors and actresses. I love CH!!!!!
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75 Dan Strickland
October 23, 2012 at 10:54 AM
Yes, thank you @69 bengal! I would've mentioned the car talk scene if you hadn't. Jo Gook's expressions here are priceless. "uhhh, what did she just say? what the heck does she mean?"
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