Hwang Da Seul and the fragility of relationships
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about why Hwang Daseul's work manages to hit the right spot for me, and the best I could come up with is that her stance on maintaining relationships really resonates with me—there is nothing that tethers you to another person; be it family (filial piety can be found lying in a ditch somewhere), friends, or romantic partners. It's all about the choices you make—love is a verb and not a noun. I always come back to this quote from To My Star 2:
In this world, there is no perfect man nor the perfect form of love. It's just a matter of understanding, and adapting to each other through love. It's about learning to speak one's mind rather than put one's pride ahead.
JiWoo was referring to romantic love here, but I think it applies to all the relationships she decides to portray in her stories.
It's also because of how she allows her characters to be human, and forgiveness is always on the table for people who are willing to change. It's never too late to change course in life and reach out to other people. You don't have to be anything extraordinary to be deserving of love. How radical!!
My geniune feelings towards her body of work:
I'm truly grateful to have come across her work and look forward to whatever new ways she'll concoct to break my heart into a million pieces only to put it back together lovingly with care.
