Hello! I am here to once again harass this tag with my opinions.
I love this complicated character. I just want him to heal and live a happy life. I have so many feelings about him and because of him.
This post is another section of the essay (I have previously mentioned) where I lost all interest in being formal in the slightest. So, this doesn't read as a serious analysis of Dong Sik's character, more of a shit post. But nevertheless, it's written with good intentions and genuine interest. Again, this is an excerpt from a bigger piece, so it feels unfinished that will be the reason.
[Please note that Dong Sik and queer-coding are very intricate topics, I am not able to explore them fully with just this post. also: I use the word queer as an umbrella term when discussing the character's sexuality. It is not meant as an offensive term.]
~ Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, I hope you enjoy this absolute mess
Dong Sik on the other hand… There isn’t a big romantically coded scene for him, definitely not along the same lines as Joo Won's scene in the rain. We gain knowledge of Dong Sik’s thoughts and feelings for Joo Won through his facial expressions and actions.
We get to see it more often because - despite his tendency to mask his emotions behind the veil of other people's assumptions - he is a lot more forthcoming with his feelings. By nature, Dong Sik is an affectionate person with a lot of love to give. Within the show, he is the main character used as a vassal for the creators to explore the Ancient Greeks’ philosophy of the seven kinds of love. Here’s a quick breakdown of the love in Dong Sik’s life:
Eros: Han Joo Won
Philia: his friendship circle: Ji-Hwa, Jung-Je, Ji-Hoon, Jae-Yi, etc
Storge: his sister, his mother, Kang Min-Jung
Agape: music, food, nature
Ludus: Han Joo Won, Lee Sang-Yeob
Pragma: what his relationship with Han Joo Won was blossoming into
Philautia: he struggles with this one but we get glimpses of it throughout
Dong Sik is a bit of a tease, in the sense that he enjoys teasing people, and Joo Won is the perfect person for him to do that. I believe he was attracted to Joo Won from the moment he met him- no, from the moment he heard his voice.
That shot though, jfc. It is very common within visual media to use the suspenseful storytelling tactic of “look! The two main characters have met and this is important- pay attention to this”.
The story will stop in its tracks because the two main characters or the two love interests have met for the first time. Their interaction and the importance of this first meeting will be displayed by the characters either:
Stopping what they were doing
Becoming awestruck
The camera lingering on their reaction
Beyond Evil uses all three of these common visual storytelling tactics to tell the audience that this moment is important.
And… Okay… I know everyone stops what they are doing to pay attention to Joo Won’s arrival, as it’s a great way of other-ing him from the first episode… But if we look at it from the perspective of the character, Dong Sik is so affected when he sees Joo Won for the first time that he stops writing his police report. We had just seen how driven and motivated Dong Sik can be, he was going to write up that report and no one could stop him, not even the threat of physical violence could stop him.
The fact that Joo Won does cause him to stop could be interpreted as a (very) loose play on the trope of Distracted by Sexy or Love at First Sight. Either way, no one could stop him apart from Joo Won.
Through the visual language, this seems to be the creator's way of informing the audience of Joo Won’s immediate effect on Dong Sik’s life.
This sequence also plays on the (debatably) romantic trope of Stalker’s Meet Cute and Weaponized Meet Cute:
“When one party has arranged the "chance" encounter for the purpose of romance, it's a Stalker's Meet Cute. (This is very common.) When it's for dark nefarious purposes (i.e., not romance; usually a crime of some sort), it's Weaponized Meet Cute.” tvtropes.org, Meet Cute.
Joo Won has been "investigating" stalking Dong Sik for the purposes of his investigation. He takes photographs of Dong Sik at his workplace and when he is with his friends. Then purposely gets himself transferred to the same substation to get closer to him. Which signifies from the outset that the nature of their relationship is far from normal.
But it is how Dong Sik reacts to the new Inspector that is very interesting...
During my first watch-through of the show, I missed Dong Sik’s quick off-the-cuff remark of “he’s not my type” when speaking about seeing Joo Won for the first time. Which… okay, firstly, no one asked him. It is the first thing Dong Sik has to say about Joo Won. Also, this kind of language screams romantic undertones. To have a “type” is a phrase often used (in western parts of the world, at least) when describing a person you fancy, i.e find attractive.
It’s an odd thing to say and it could just be a funky translation. But Dong Sik decides to tell his best friends that the “handsome” (as other male characters had already noted), successful, fashionable and so painfully metropolitan new (boy toy) Inspector is not his type…
Which begs us to question: why did they use this kind of language? If the creators wanted us to know that Dong Sik and Joo Won weren’t going to get along because they were judging each other, another perfectly non-romantic way of telling us would be for Dong Sik to say: He’s just another Seoul detective.
This could then start a quick back-and-forth.
Someone could say: But you were a Seoul detective.
Causing Dong Sik to give us a reply along the lines: You know I was never like them.
(or something better than that)
If the conversation had been structure in this way, the creators would be conveying that there is a distinction between the city police and the police in this small town. Also, it would give us the insight that Dong Sik never felt like he fit in in Seoul and that he has a close connection to his hometown. [not confirmed as true]
Instead, we get “he’s not my type”. I believe this is the first time we see Dong Sik’s character being queer-coded.
“Queer coding is the subtextual coding of a character in media as queer. Though such a character's sexual identity may not be explicitly confirmed within their respective work, a character might be coded as queer through the use of traits and stereotypes recognisable to the audience.” Wikipedia.org, Queer Coding.
This framing, as well as other pieces of information about his character, supports the queer coding theory.
Firstly, let’s take the context into account: Dong Sik is a man in his early forties who has experienced deep trauma. He lives alone, is not married, is not divorced, has male and female platonic friendships and at no point in the show is the history of his love-life explicitly confirmed.
The only time in the show that Dong Sik himself talks about anything closely relating to his romantic life - or having a “type” - is when talking about Han Joo Won and talking to Lee Sang Yeob. Any other time Dong Sik’s sexuality or love life is brought up is by other characters, predominately by Joo Won.
Joo Won isn’t Dong Sik’s type. And perhaps not. Having worked (and lived) in Seoul for many years, Dong Sik has probably met many rich, good-looking, privileged, up-themselves Seoul boys. So, he would know.
So, if Joo Won isn’t Dong Sik’s type, who is? Do we get examples?
Yes but very subtly via the process of elimination. Throughout the show, Dong Sik only flirts with men. So that and other factors (which we will discuss later) rule out women as romantic love interests. He only flirts with men. Sometimes he does this because of genuine attraction or because he’s trying to unnerve them. He uses his ambiguous sexuality as a way to make other men uncomfortable when in a sparring match of intellect. The people he flirts with when trying to unnerve are:
Lee Chang Jin
Lim Gyu Seok
Kang Do Soo (very minorly: the good looks comment in episode 4)
Park Jung Je (very very minorly: although, they have a very complicated/ queer coded relationship)
These men often bristle or become uncomfortable when Dong Sik uses this tactic.
Do they have anything in common that could help us decipher if he has a type? Well, not really. They are of all different ages, stature, occupation, personality, looks, statuses, and financial backgrounds. They’re different. The only commonality they share is that at some point, they were getting in Dong Sik’s way. So, he used this proven tactic to deflect their gaze, so he can continue on undetected.
(what a whore)
There are two other people that Dong Sik flirts with aggressively, either because one) distracts them from the truth and two) because he seems to enjoy it:
Lee Sang Yeob
Han Joo Won
What is interesting about these two characters is that they don’t react the same way the other men do. So, how do they react?
Lee Sang Yeob shows quiet patience and (not unkind) indifference like he is used to it. In the situation they were in, he doesn’t let us know if he likes or dislikes it- there’s just silence. Which, within South Korean media, speaks volumes.
In South Korean media (like the majority of the world), when the male lead’s sexuality is questioned, it is common (and expected) for them to show disgust or make it into a joke, or both (Vincenzo has two very long scenes where Vincenzo has a paddy about having to pretend to date a man is a great example). Queerness is not treated seriously in the majority of the media. It is shown as something uncomfortable; to be mocked, or as a hurdle in the male lead’s journey. As a whole, it is not something that is explored with sensitivity or sincerity.
(there are obviously exceptions to this "rule". I'm speaking in more generalised tones.)
So, to have two male characters in a car together, and to have one ask the other if they are on a date and the reaction is silence, shows us how Beyond Evil approaches queerness in a very different way from the majority.
Dong Sik’s flirtations with Han Joo Won are a little more complicated. At first, Han Joo Won doesn’t seem to understand flirting, full stop. All signs of attraction and affection from anyone make him uncomfortable. But as time passes, he starts to accept it and then even starts to return the attention. Out of all of Dong Sik’s interactions with the people he flirts with, Joo Won is the only one to genuinely flirt back. Not only does he flirt back but he enjoys it, as does Dong Sik.
Other than this, do Lee Sang Yeob and Han Joo Won have anything else in common? Yes.
They are both (at one point in time) Dong Sik’s police partner.
They are the same age and thirteen years younger than Dong Sik.
They went to KNPU and were in the same year.
They are attractive, successful, from wealthy families, ambitious, stubborn, intelligent, naive; metropolitan (working/living in Seoul), and both are passionate and impulsive: going headfirst into danger. They both act like a “prince” and are “burdens”.
Later, they both cause Dong Sik unbearable amounts of heartache.
The most important comparison is that Dong Sik cares about both of them deeply.
So, there are two characters Dong Sik flirts with for the sake of flirting. They have similarities that go beyond age, race and gender. Through the process of elimination, we can say with a level of certainty that Dong Sik (on a basic level) does have a “type”.
According to him, Joo Won isn’t it. Personally, I believe that Joo Won was Dong Sik’s “type” the entire time. But because Joo Won is (in the beginning) a stereotype, Dong Sik is put off by his prickish facade. Also, Han Joo Won reminds Dong Sik of Sang Yeob from the get-go, and he doesn’t want to go down that route because it’s a deep trauma for him that he’s not over.
So, when Dong Sik says something so romantically coded as “he’s not my type”, it shines as false in the most wonderful way.
[Dong Sik interacting with three younger men. credit: 1, 3]
Dong Sik is... so into Joo Won.
As Dong Sik gets to know Joo Won, he becomes interested in this difficult man. Within the context of the thriller-mystery narrative, he decides to use Han Joo Won so he can bring the serial killer to justice. But over time, he starts to genuinely care for him. Which wasn’t the original plan.
One could justify this by suggesting that it just proves that Dong Sik is a protector by nature; he cares for those younger than him, and he fears losing people so much that he’ll even care for the little annoying prick that is Han Joo Won.
This is true but the thing about Dong Sik is that if he doesn’t want someone in his life, he doesn’t include them, or he waits patiently until he can move on.
Joo Won is not one of those people, which is proven by how he displays his feelings throughout the first act. Dong Sik proceeds to provoke, get up in Joo Won’s personal space, tease, flirt with him, actively pull him into his life, actively try to get to know him, and actively care for him, whilst trying to save that boy (toy) from himself and anyone else who may hurt him… And it only intensifies in the second act. He seeks him out and always has a (literal) open door for Joo Won to walk through because, despite the fact that Joo Won can be difficult, Dong Sik enjoys him and wants him in his life.
The fact that Dong Sik enjoys Joo Won’s personality is shown throughout the first act. Contrary to the fact that Joo Won gives Dong Sik many different reasons for him to run away screaming “red flag”, he does the complete opposite.
A brief list of just a few examples of Dong Sik enjoying Joo Won:
Episode 1: when he offers Joo Won a handshake and is rejected, calls him a "prince" (or something similar)
Episode 1: smiling when Joo Won is talking about his views on friendship, then proceeds to tease Jo-Won.
Episode 2: when Joo Won has the same thought as him (going to the shop in the rain scene), Dong Sik watches Joo Won walk away and smiles after Joo Won gazes back at him.
Episode 2: getting in Joo Won’s personal space (and making eye contact) to ask why Joo Won is “so interested” in him.
Episode 2&3: the entire interrogation scenes: yes, he's annoyed by Joo Won but come on, he's also having so much fun.
Episode 3: After Jung-Je has told Dong Sik that Joo Won knows that he’s put the case files back, Dong Sik is very non-plus about it until Jung-Je tells him that Joo Won laughed “like a madman”. Jung-Je is disturbed by the whole thing, which is a very normal reaction. How does Dong Sik react? He becomes excited, smiles, and then laughs, agreeing to stay at work (despite being traumatised by recent events).
(this look screams: I've got you all figured out.... and in retrospect, I'm like: Oh honey, oh no no no no, JW's better and worse than you think)
And so on, and so on...
Dong Sik was attracted to Joo Won from the moment he met him and could see through his pretty rich boy bullshit super quickly. We get to see Dong Sik's good nature and attraction to Joo Won, even from the first episode. There are so many examples (here's one)
At the beginning of the series, Joo Won is purposely unlikeable. He doesn’t want to make friends because he’s never had a friend that wanted just him before; they’ve always wanted something else from him.
Joo Won doesn’t trust people and doesn’t pick up on the majority of social cues, especially ones of genuine kindness - his lack of experiences and insecurities make him believe that people are being conceited, and by extension trying to control him. Joo Won doesn’t seem to believe that anyone could love or like him for him just being himself. So, he isn’t himself as a way to stop getting hurt. (Dong Sik really doesn’t let him continue that charade)
Dong Sik’s first act of showing… let’s call it a kindness (if we’re being optimistic) to Joo Won on a personal level is in Episode 1. It is so subtle that it went over my head on my first casual viewing. Dong Sik singles Joo Won out (obviously, Joo Won is the newbie of the substation) and tries to show him that his insecurity of “people only want me because of who my dad is” is not true for Dong Sik; and by extension, Manyang.
He does this by not taking Joo Won’s shit, physically touching him, and by actively poking fun at Joo Won’s dad. By saying, “I don’t give a fuck who your dad is or where you come from” in the subtext, he’s trying to tell Joo Won that he’s different (Manyang is different).
He’s not going to suck up to him, he’s not going to ask for favours, he just doesn’t care for any of that because he’s not like that. Manyang isn’t like that. From the get-go, Dong Sik is telling Joo Won and the audience that if at any point Dong Sik is kind to Joo Won, it is because it is genuine. And not for any other conceited reason.
(That is not to say that Dong Sik is always kind… ooooh no, for a lot of the beginning, he isn’t.)
Joo Won found it amusing though…
Despite all of this, despite every reason there is for the two of them to not get on (for Dong Sik to absolutely despise Joo Won), they don't. Far from it. I like to describe their chemistry are magnets and like all magnets, they want to attract. So without rhyme or reason, without their control or common sense, they turn and yield, and allow themselves to attract.
[Before I beat the horse dead, here is a link to the rest of this thought process, including some sexy screenshots]
[ I am losing steam here and getting distracted. So, I'll include a brief summary before I go. ]
A brief overview of Dong Sik's interactions with five younger men + one male of the same age:
Lee Sang Yeob: flirts with him, finds him annoying (affectionately), cares a lot for him, gives him heart eyes, nearly (does kill?) kills someone because they murdered him- Touch: his stomach to try to save his life
Oh Ji Hoon: teases him, has a laugh with him, protects him and tries to be an older brother/mentor. He sees himself in the younger man- treats him like a much younger brother- Touch: doesn’t, idk... maybe a brief touch to the shoulder (?)
Club man: Is aggressive with him because of the fucked-up shit the guy is doing. But still has a ~certain~ energy with him. Touch: pins him against a wall.
Lim Gyu Seok: finds him very annoying, doesn’t like him much but does have odd energy around him- similar to the energy he has with Han Joo Won. Touch: gets in his personal space and puts his lanyard around him in a very ~certain~ way, holds onto his shoulder- the same he does with HJW.
Han Joo Won: flirts with him, bullies him, protects him- he’s in love with him, let’s not pretend. Touch: all the fucking time mate, loves it. Can only think of two times he stops Joo Won from touching him.
Bonus:
Park Jung Je: Jung Je grabs Dong Sik’s arm once and it makes Dong Sik super angry. He yanks his arm out of the other’s grip. An odd reaction considering they’re best friends.
Dong Sik treats Joo Won differently only because Joo Won encourages him. It's this battle of ego and wit. They're both trying to be right, (both being dramatic), trying to impress and wanting to impress, wanting to be seen They enjoy being around the other; not being able to stop themselves from caring, flirting, battling, repressing, restraining, fighting, protecting... attracting.
Han Joo Won is very annoying. But Dong Sik likes him so much, he's just his type.
---
Dong Sik's queer coding is not shown through grand gestures or grand romantically-coded scenes. He isn't overly flamboyant or "camp". He only flirts with men and does have a type.
There is so much more that could be said about Dong Sik's queer coding. For one, we could talk about the religious symbolism throughout the show and Dong Sik is his most "religious" when he's falling in love with Joo Won. Please remember that this is from a larger piece that focused on the first half of the show, which is why the second act isn't explored.
There is sooo much to say about him. I feel like this overly long post is only scratching the surface and is probably unnecessarily long-winded. But alas, it is how I have chosen to approach it.
Thanks for sticking around this long. Ta ta!
After watching beyond evil, I was drew into this universe created by the drama and refused to leave. I am crazily seeking for more content around the characters, rewatch to capture more details, curious to know more about the MLs… it is a very unique experience for me and seems I am not alone.
I am wondering what set this drama apart? Why does BE has this strong psychological pull on the audience? Is it because the strong emotions yet revealed in a such reserved way that makes people wanting more? Is it because of the plot? The design of the characters? Really like your detailed analysis. Hope to see your view on this topic.
Firstly, thank you for your ask! I love talking about this show, so this is super cool for me.
Secondly, I’ve taken a few days to think through my answer because you gave me such wonderful questions, I wanted to reply with something worth your while.
Okay… WHERE TO START?!
Beyond Evil (Monster/괴물) is a show that ensnares its audiences and gives them a disease that is angrily, desperately, and affectionately named Beyond Evil Brainrot. Many of us on this website are victims of this disease. It is long-term and tends to affect the everyday lives of its victims.
[Grab a snack, make a drink, get comfortable and forgive my grammar mistakes.]
I can’t really talk about this show in an essay format today (my brain is fried), so I will give bullet points and explanations of why I think this show has such a “psychological pull” (as you brilliantly put it) on its audience.
The visuals!!
Beyond Evil’s cinemaphotographer, Jang Jong Kyung, and director Shim Na Yeon are a real dream team when creating a suspenseful and intimate atmosphere. Beyond Evil’s three signature visual motifs are:
Visually appealing cinematics
Unconventional blocking (i.e, actors' faces won't fully be in the frame, actors' backs to the camera, etc.)
Extreme closeups
Not only do these visual languages convey the tone of a thriller crime drama wonderfully, as it leaves the audience feeling on edge, but its main focus is to convey the emotions of our main two characters. Especially, the closeup shots.
These shots encourage the audience to feel the intimacy of the scene; its gravity, intensity, and its importance. The actor’s face will take up the entire screen, so, all we are left to digest is the character’s words and emotions.
It’s a powerful move that not all crime dramas use (it is usually reserved for Han Joo Won and Lee Dong Sik). The common motifs for the crime genre that I have seen in dramas (from Western and Eastern media) are darker lighting exposure, darker colour palette, night-time scenes, uncomfortable or liminal location settings, and grand or dramatic moments.
Beyond Evil does utilise all of these visuals as well. However, what I find to be so appealing about Beyond Evil (in comparison) is how ordinary everything is. The main focus is Manyang and its small-town simplicities. The creators really pulled this off. Manyang feels tiny, it doesn’t look or feel like a financially well-off area and its people seem just like… normal human beings. They achieved this with brilliant location scouting, clever shot choices, and a colour palette (of the sets, clothes, and the post-edit).
The small town/village "vibe" is created through these choices and it produces a town that feels very South Korean but also international. I know this town, I know these people. It goes beyond culture, whilst still honouring their culture.
Beyond Evil’s strength is its visual simplicity. It isn’t grand or luxurious; it’s beautifully mundane and intimate.
Visually, the show replicates how everyday people experience their lives so beautifully: not everything is pretty, most things are boring and mundane, and every now and then, everything can become so intense that the rest of the world falls away.
2. Complexities
Okay, now let's get to the juicy part of the show: its storytelling and characters.
[This is quite a complex section that has a lot of moving parts, so I’ll try to be as concise as possible. I won’t go into as much detail as I possibly could as I’m trying to be conscious of how much I am rambling.]
A very simple summary of this show is it is complex. I’m not talking about the murder mystery, as (personally) I found that to be very obvious (I figured out who did the murders in episode 2) but it is the characters themselves and their relationships/lives that are complex.
[I'm going to break this up into little mini sections and then go into more detail about our two main sweet baby boys.]
Beyond Evil's scriptwriter, Kim Soo Jin and director, Sim Na Yeon, provide its audience with an array of characters that are multi-faceted, complex, flawed and so real. (Also due to the fact that they are both cis women, they tell the story through the female gaze.)
Let's focus mainly on Han Joo Won and Lee Dong Sik, as they are the main characters and they are the most fully explored characters.
But I must first say, the secondary characters in this show are bloody fantastic! They are human, they have their own shit going on, their own flaws, traumas, and quirks. The secondary characters are a joy and all of them really add something either to the plot or to the world-building. (hello?? Ji Hwa?? I love her. Ji Hoon? He scares me but I also want to be his friend. Jae Yi?? She can slap me any day. Jung Je? Let me hug him. Hyuk? Let me dissect him and love him forever. Gwang Young?? That man is smarter than he lets on and I want to gossip with him. Sang Bae? He loves Dong Sik like a son and I love that for him. Gil Goo? Well... hm, he needs a talking to but he was very nice to Jae Yi... and so on.)
Anyway... Beyond Evil is a show that can be seen in two parts (I go into a bit more detail about this here): first viewing it is a murder mystery and on a second viewing, it is a love story. The creators don't just focus on romantic love but all the different kinds of love someone can have in their lives.
The way they do this is by focussing on these elements:
false perspectives, broken families and found family, morality, acceptance, trauma, and human connection.
We are shown these elements through Dong Sik and Joo Won getting to know and accept one another. These two men are so wonderfully complex and flawed. Their choices feel organic and represent the thought processes of two emotionally damaged people. They have both been through a lot, either because of people's actions or because of their own.
They aren't always kind. They both have a temper but both are actually extremely good, gentle people, that are so in need of love. They both want love but struggle because of the trauma they experienced early on in their lives. Their story is so beautiful.
They are two flawed people forced into a terrible situation and through their own mistakes (a lot of Joo Won's mistakes, let's be honest...), they face even more trauma. But instead of it pushing them apart, it brings them closer together.
Lee Dong Sik has a community around him but he doesn't fully trust them, and he doesn't want to hurt them. He is a man that is on the edge of being suicidal. He clearly has some deep-seated mental health issues and is in need of extensive therapy. His life is in a rut, and he's just going through the motions- he's not really experiencing life to its fullest. Then Joo Won comes SMASHING through like a fucking thunderstorm and drenches Dong Sik's entire life with his being.
Han Joo Won has two people in his life: his emotionally (maybe physically???) abusive and negligent father and his father's former employee and Joo Won's former tutor (but also his best friend) Kwon Hyuk. Joo Won doesn't have a community, he's emotionally stunted and literally doesn't recognise kindness or love when it's presented to him. (the emotional abuse he must have continuously faced growing up to make him this way... fuck. side note: I fully believe Joo Won has ASD also.) Joo Won is a purposely unkind person, who - despite appearances - doesn't have any of his shit together. Then Dong Sik brings Joo Won into his community (kicking and screaming and crying) and tells him that it's okay. He shows Joo Won that he doesn't have to be perfect, he doesn't have to have his shit together, he just has to be good and kind (which Joo Won is) and everyone will accept him.
They both started the story unable to fully trust people. Both were afraid to let other people in. They purposely caused trouble for themselves and were as unlikable as possible for display, whilst keeping secrets and enduring dangerous situations by themselves.
Until they grew to know one another, and then, by the end, they have no secrets (from each other) and trust one another completely.
But they're far from perfect and actually need time apart to get over their relationship/shared history. But still, they have a bond that they don't have with anyone else. (Isn't that the purest and sweetest form of love? Acceptance and unity.)
That is the beauty of this show. It allows its characters to be as human as possible. They aren't always pretty, they make mistakes and can be outright awful sometimes. But it gives them the time to grow and forgives them. Not everyone is 100% good or 100% bad. Life would be so much easier if that were the case but it isn't.
Even the villains in this show are multi-layered...
3. Victim focussed
I'm going to be a bit quicker with this one. The show's focus is on the victims, their families, and their communities. It highlights how murder affects not just the victim but everyone who knew them. It doesn't shy away from the darker side of women being murdered (the smear campaign against Min Jeong) without focussing on sexual assault (unlike all those male writers that love writing about women being sexually assaulted. ew). The show REFUSES to slut shame sex workers and instead, gives us wonderful feminist ideology through Dong Sik.
The murderers and their accomplices are not glorified or glamorised. The why, what, and how is not the main importance of this story. And personally, I don't give a flying fuck why Jin Mook did what he did- I'd rather find out what the victims did in their lives beforehand.
The villains are the weakest characters, AS THEY SHOULD BE. It's not about them, as it shouldn't be. They get forgotten. I remember the names of more victims than Jung Je's mum's name. As. it. should. be.
4. Acting
Again, going to be short with this one. This show has some of the best acting I have ever seen! Everyone fucking kills their respective roles. But let's give a huge "shout out" to Shin Ha Kyun (Lee Dong Sik) and Yeo Jin Goo (Han Joo Won). They are outstanding and so brilliantly matched in their talents.
They understand their characters and their dynamic so well...
Really, this show has the best casting. I can't imagine any other actor playing these characters.
5. Chemistry
Shin Ha Kyun and Yeo Jin Goo have the best chemistry. Seriously, I have seen them both in other projects and they never disappoint, they're wonderful opposite their respective co-stars... but their on-screen chemistry is special. It is tangible, it's magnetic, it's outstanding and so natural. Who does unresolved sexual-angry-undying-love tension quite like them??
(^ a better summary than I could ever give)
6. Queer subtext/ Queer audience
I hate to break it to anyone who missed it or doesn't want to see it (or disagrees, which is fine but... confusing) but this show is queer. Han Joo Won and Lee Dong Sik are into each other. Obviously, their story is far more complex than that, nor it is always healthy. But they do have some sort of feelings for one another.
These two are queer coded to high heaven (or hell, if you're being cute) and it's not just the audience projecting their feelings onto the characters, but the actors themselves saw that Joo Won and Dong Sik were in a "secret relationship" (as Jin Goo put it).
Queer-coded shows and characters resonated deeply with queer communities/audiences. I think because their relationship was never fully 100% confirmed either with a "yes, we are a couple" or an on-screen kiss, or something, it is instead shown through hints and clues, it causes queer people to fall in love with it. This is partly due to everything I have previously mentioned but also because of the lack of representation, especially in the crime/mystery genre.
I could go on forever about this but... I won't because that would be tedious.
[Side note: this show has a very interesting relationship with religion. It is explored through Dong Sik who grew up in a religious family but actively didn't partake in the activities/belief. Then he goes on to lose his family and the community. Then has Joo Won come into his life and promises to go to hell for him, and then have scenes where Dong Sik looks up to the skies and whispers his name like it's a prayer... and then the arrest scenes... It's just. a. lot. That mixed with the queer subtext, it is very delicious.]
(^ Joo Won making himself into the sacrificial lamb to protect Dong Sik, either with the end goal of dying or "going to hell" in his sted.)
7. Wonderfully attractive people
They're good to look at. It helps.
8. The Ending
Episode 16 is a bitch.
I believe it is the reason that a lot of people are left wanting more of this show. Obviously because of the previous 15 episodes but also, because, about 40-50 minutes of that episode is just trauma. It is so beautiful and heartbreaking. Then BAM! The last few scenes are so light (visually and subject matter) in comparison that it is a breath of fresh air... but it doesn't last very long. We barely get any happiness after so much heavy shit.
The ending is treated as an epilogue but it ('it' being the whole show) is actually the prologue to these characters' lives. We know that the last scene isn't the end of Dong Sik and Joo Won's story. The last shot is Joo Won walking away but we know he's coming back. Because Joo Won always comes back to Dong Sik. Now that he has him, he's never going to let go again.
(I don't want a season two, I NEED a season two. But we're probably never going to get one and that is a good and sad thing)
This show is so beautiful and it grows on its audiences. I, personally, didn't like it as much the first time I watched it as I do now. I found the music to be really off-putting and some of the choices to be slightly lacklustre. However, after rewatching it and digesting it, I just can't... I love it so very much. It's my favourite TV show.
I adore the message of togetherness, love, perseverance, and the importance of found family. I love the way they included queer-coded characters with affection and sensitivity. I love that they included actors who took (the story and the underlining love storyline) seriously and wanted to explore it further.
There's so much more I go talk about but I'm not going to. It is complex and multi-layered, and different parts of it speak to different people in different ways.
Also, to be really honest, I'm not entirely sure why this show sticks with people the way it does. It's just one of those things that I don't think humans can fully explain. Sometimes, a piece of media just captures you and speaks to you on a level that you can't fully comprehend and THAT'S OKAY. We don't always need to understand.
I really could just go on and on and on. But I have already taken up far too much of your time. So, please forgive my ramblings, I hope you feel like I answered your questions. If you have any more, please feel free to send them my way.
Finally, if anyone else wants to add to this, or disagrees with me, please feel free to give your opinions. Or maybe share why this show resonates with you! I'll love to read that, and I'm sure anon would love that, too!
Hello! Guess who's back on their shit again... Me!
When I first finished watching Beyond Evil/ 괴물 on 5/02/22 (yes, I know, it surprised me too during the last episode), I immediately started writing an essay about the show's queer subtext/queer coding. The essay is an analysis of episodes 1-8... and it's ridiculously long and unfinished (and probably never will be finished).
This post includes the opening parts. I like them, so I have decided to share them. These opening thoughts surround the rain scene in episode two and how it is romantic in tone.
[I do have another bit analysing Dong Sik's queer coding, which I might post one day.]
So, yeah, this is a part of a larger piece. So, that's why it feels a bit incomplete.
A disclaimer:
~ I use the word ‘queer’, a lot. But this is not meant as a derogatory/offensive term. But instead, is used by its reclaimed meaning: a generalised term to refer to someone who isn’t heterosexual.Also, all spellings of characters’ names are taken from AsianWiki.
(my very gloomy-looking screenshots)
Enjoy!
“Why are you doing this to me? Why?” Han Joo Won talking to Lee Dong Sik (episode 5).
Have you ever asked someone a question that they refuse to answer? Instead of giving you the information you want, they dance around it, jump to conclusions, and add the right amount of distraction; until you can’t even remember what you asked in the first place. This is a recurrence of Beyond Evil’s main characters Lee Dong Sik and Han Joo Won. Their conversations and arguments often spark one of them to ask a question that the other does not answer.
This happens numerous times throughout the first half of the series. Typically, these questions are of the following nature:
“Just what about me interests you so much?” Lee Dong Sik, episode 2
“It’s a dangerous thing to become attached to someone. Don’t you think?” Lee Dong Sik, episode 4
“Why can’t you leave me alone?” Lee Dong Sik, episode 5
(English translations taken from Netflix)
Oftentimes these questions are more for the audience to ponder on, rather than for the characters to outright answer. This is why they aren’t answered with verbal confirmation but instead, with the character’s actions.
In the thriller, crime, and mystery genres, it is usual to have a protagonist investigate and chase our anti-hero/sympathetic villain. Beyond Evil (otherwise known as Monster/ 괴물) uses this narrative trope as the basis of its storytelling: one hotshot young guy comes from the big city to investigate an older seemingly unhinged man of a crime he may or may not have committed. But over time, as the protagonist learns more, we get to see the shades of ambiguity that are bursting at the seams. Furthermore, both characters will be forever changed because of their relationship and the events that follow.
One element that makes Beyond Evil stand out from others within the same genre is that this story isn’t really about a small hometown murder. It uses the murders within this rural area as a canvas in which to tell the real story: love. One way this is proven is that the story focuses on the victims and their friends and families, and the overall community, instead of the killer(s).
Beyond Evil explores and showcases the Ancient Greeks’ philosophy of the seven kinds of love:
Eros: romantic love; passionate, lustful, the want for sexual intimacy
Philia: friendship; affectionate, platonic, sweet and equal
Storge: familial; strong bonds, kin-ship, unconditional
Agape: altruism; empathy, selflessness, love for worldly experiences
Ludus: new love; non-committal, flirtatious, playful
Pragma: committed love; long-term relationships, companionship, maturity
Philautia: self-love; self-esteem, self-worth, a necessity
It is a story highlighting the importance of love: all the different kinds of love we encounter in our lives; how we are affected by them; what it looks like to live without love; including, when it's time to accept love and when it's time to let it go. But most importantly, sometimes, you can find love in the most unexpected place.
[But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s sprinkle some background information and analyse the first half (the first act, if you will) of Beyond Evil (episodes 1-8) and look at how Joo Won ended up broken-hearted in Dong Sik’s front garden.] Redacted for this post.
ii
On the first watch-through of this show, the audience is told the story predominantly through Joo Won’s gaze; which is biassed and trifled with unreliable narration. Through his perspective, we are toyed with and encouraged to constantly doubt the other characters. The show expertly uses Alfred Hitchcock’s film theory Pure Cinematics for instilling doubt, harnessing the power of the editing process to define the visual narrative. In other words, the show creators displayed a key understanding of how the narrative changes with context.
The best example of this is the butcher shop sequence on the night of Kang Min Jeong's disappearance. We are first introduced to the sequence from Joo Won’s perspective: all of Dong Sik’s actions are awkward and suspicious, and we over-analyse his movements and actions/inactions to come to the conclusion that he’s done something. Then later on in the show, we revisit this sequence from Dong Sik’s perspective and yes, he has done something but not what we were led to believe. All of his awkward and suspicious behaviour becomes a painful and morally grey experience, where the audience feels great sympathy for him.
The context defines the narrative. Without the full context, we do not get the full story.
And only with the full context, can we look past the structure of the piece and unveil the answers to the questions that are asked... we reveal the truth.
Whilst rewatching the show, the viewing experience is completely different. All the pieces are already fitted into place, so I spent less time trying to decipher and instead, leisurely trying to digest. The experience is nowhere near as suspenseful but far more gut-wrenching. This is because the viewer already has the full story - the full context - everyone’s actions and inactions are accounted for: we know why x was acting sketchy in episode y because of what they did 20 years ago, and so on.
When everyone’s actions are accounted for it is a lot easier to follow the story from Dong Sik’s perspective. We see the injustices that innocent people go through more harshly, we also see the cruelty of the guilty from the get-go. We are able to focus on the smaller details of people’s relationships, instead of thinking about the big picture. We are also able to take the time to truly understand the visual language the creators are showing us and how that shapes the narrative.
There is one sequence that comes to mind that is told purely from Joo Won’s perspective. There is no dialogue during this particular sequence of shots, so the audience is completely reliant on the visual language to understand what is being conveyed. This scene is greatly important for the show as a whole, as it gives us an uncensored look into Joo Won’s thoughts. Without it, the narrative of the story would be different, as it adds context to Joo Won’s actions later on in the series. That scene is from episode two.
iii
Joo Won and Dong Sik are on patrol, still getting used to each other as partners. One) because their personalities clash and two) because Joo Won is actively investigating Dong Sik for murder, which is just hanging there between them. They stop their patrol to help a disabled young adult who is lost in the rain. Dong Sik takes charge of the situation because he is better equipped at interacting with disabled people and the people of Manyang (and the wider Munju area) as a whole. This scene is one of the most important as it is an untainted humanisation of Dong Sik’s character, giving the audience (and Joo Won) a first glimpse into who Dong Sik really is.
Up until this point, Joo Won has only seen Dong Sik as a character: the killer; “the suspect” as Dong Sik later describes it. He vehemently dislikes him but still has a misguided interest in Dong Sik’s life. But this suddenly is challenged. Standing there in the rain, with no shoes on, smiling at the young man who is dancing, we get to see what Joo Won sees for the first time: kindness, humility, and beauty.
It’s a glitch in the system.
This scene is slightly baffling. It poses the question of what the creators are truly trying to tell its audience. Is it that these two characters work best when they are unified and Joo Won’s assumptions of Dong Sik are wrong?... Well, yes ... but also, of course, hiding in plain sight is the subtext that Joo Won is gay/queer.
Which point takes paramount importance? It would seem that in this scene it’s the subtext. We see why this is so through the sequence of shots:
After the situation has been assessed by the pair and they have come to an agreement. Joo Won goes to the shop to get supplies to help with the young man and when he returns, we, the audience, are faced with a sequence of ever-closing in close-up shots.
With each cut, the camera is showing us what Joo Won is choosing to focus on; where his eyes are gravitating. What is odd about the sequence is the information that is chosen to be shared: Dong Sik's feet, the umbrella, the smile: kindness, humility, beauty.
Joo Won returns to the pair and falters, he seems shocked into stillness. Which almost seems frivolous, as Joo Won is already privy to two-thirds of the information being presented.
Joo Won already knew that Dong Sik had given his shoes to the young man.
He knew about the umbrella because he is the one who gave it to Dong Sik to use.
Then… they cut to a slow-motion close-up of Dong Sik’s smiling face, rain behind him and sunshine kissing his face. This last shot is the only piece of information we didn’t have before Joo Won went to the shop because it’s Joo Won’s thoughts at that moment. It’s no longer information that can be detailed in a police report but a deeply human moment. He has digested the information in front of him and this is his conclusion: beauty.
This screams romantic undertones- especially with the knowledge that rain is often used as a romantic trope in visual media.
“Rain seems to go along with pivotal moments in characters' lives. It's implied that if you can ignore bad weather and brave the elements, then your big moment is even more real and intense and genuine. If you want to be deserving of your love, you won't care if it's raining, you will rush out into the rain to be with her or him-” tvtopes.org, Romantic Rain.
This trope is used often within Korean media, especially within the romance genres. So, it is a visual language that is common knowledge with Korean audiences. It is less likely to be seen within the crime and mystery genres, so it speaks volumes that the creators decided to include it.
Here are three examples of Korean dramas that use the Romantic Rain trope to show the protagonists have romantic feelings for one another:
Legend of the Blue Sea: offering an umbrella as protection/taking someone into your care
Flower of Evil: Hee Sung allows himself to become soaked because of his feelings
Goblin: slow motion shot of the characters passing one another in the rain
How Beyond Evil uses the same visuals within this scene:
Protection: Joo Won gives Dong Sik an umbrella and forensic shoe covers
Soaked: Joo Won stops mid-run to stare at Dong Sik in the rain, seemingly awestruck/concerned
Slow-motion: Joo Won’s perspective in the following sequence of close-ups is in slow motion
This scene is not the moment that Joo Won realises the extent of his feelings for Dong Sik. It is used as supporting evidence for the later conversations Joo Won has with Park Jung Je and Nam Sang Bae. In which he is asked by both of them why he cares so much about the cold case (in which Dong Sik is his suspect). To which, Joo Won replies the first time he’s asked:
“This is Lee Dong Sik’s–”
He shouts this and has to stop himself, calming down to answer that he’s determined to solve the cold case because one of the victims is Lee Dong Sik’s sister. The key person in that answer is Lee Dong Sik. He is the reason Han Joo Won cares so deeply [and because of his own personal involvement] about a case that no police officer would try to solve:
“-there isn’t a single cop in the country that would prioritise such a case.” [Park Jung-Je.]
Han Joo Won is a determined person. When he sets his mind to something, he will achieve it, even if it upsets other people or hurts himself. He’s a person who cares deeply about things and can become easily fixated. If the creators wanted us to see Joo Won’s actions deriving from a place of spite or a self-righteous need for the truth, they would never have used the Romantic Rain trope.
Following the scene in the rain, Joo Won chooses to not act upon what he felt then and instead, suppresses his feelings. It makes sense. He’s experiencing attraction (eros) for his murder suspect; the man that he has been obsessing over; the man who only now is more than just a character to him. He is becoming a human and a very attractive one, at that.
Joo Won doesn’t know what to do with that newfound knowledge. So… he starts to lose his cool. This is obviously aided by other factors…
Without this scene, and those particular shots, Joo Won’s intense interest in Dong Sik and his mental decline over the next two episodes wouldn’t make as much sense.
When we take the queer subtext into consideration, it makes the puzzle pieces fit all that bit more snuggly. It gives us the knowledge that Joo Won has humanised Dong Sik in his mind, he likes what he sees and he doesn’t know how that fits around his rigid moral compass… and what Joo Won knows about himself because really this scene is more about Joo Won discovering himself than it is about Joo Won discovering Dong Sik.
---
Look how devastated he is. This man has literally stalked the very handsome man he's staring at, has taken pictures of him, has said pictures on his tablet/printed out, spends his days staring at these pictures whilst biting his lip- then gets all bent out of shape because he realises he's attracted to him?? Baffling.
That is it for that scene's analysis, I remember writing more but I must have deleted it at some point. Anyway, hope that was entertaining and easy to read (I have the tendency to ramble on/make grammatical errors haha).
Han Joo Won: the 'I don't like touching people' boy and his manhandling victim.
Hi! I am here once again to give you a Beyond Evil analysis/meta-commentary. This time we are discussing Joo Won's whole touch deal... (and briefly discussing Dong Sik's, as well).
This show has a very big thing about hands and touching (women's fingertips are literally cut off) and they decided to have one of its main characters are issues with touch and chooses to avoid it. Who then proceeds to... well... we all know.
This is an excerpt from the essay I mentioned in this post. So, if it reads as being a bit little unfinished that's because it is meant to be a part of a larger piece.
I will also prefix that this post doesn't really delve into Joo Won's mental health or family history. It's just a commentary on how he treats Dong Sik differently from other people.
[I advise not taking shots every time you read the word "touch"... you'll end up in hospital]
[29/06/22 Note: This post has been edited and improved.]
[A continuation from a separate paragraph.]
As physical touch is something that can be taken away, for a character like Joo Won who struggles with giving and receiving it, it is important that there are only two characters that Joo Won will actively choose to touch throughout the show; as in, he chooses to touch them more than once.
Those two characters are Kwon Hyuk and Lee Dong Sik.
Joo Won touches Dong Sik (in the beginning) due to surges of uncontrollable anger, feelings of upset, or frustration. Other people have the capacity to upset, frustrate, and anger Joo Won but he doesn’t get physical with them in the same way. Almost like he doesn’t want to be in their personal space.
This is deemed as an unusual characteristic, considering Joo Won's preference for avoidance. The show's creators highlight that this is not a signifier of Joo Won being a hypocrite or a liar, but instead, it portrays that Joo Won either cannot control his emotions and/or actions around Dong Sik, or he doesn't want to.
Joo Won treats Dong Sik (physically) from everyone else in his life. We are given a direct comparison to show us the difference in which Joo Won treats Dong Sik. That is shown through Joo Won's relationship with Kwon Hyuk. Dong Sik and Hyuk are the only people (that I remember) receiving physical contact from Joo Won that was affectionate.
However, the intensity with which he touches them is the main difference. For Hyuk, Joo Won would pat his shoulder quickly to show his thanks and appreciation. It is friendly, platonic, emotionally stunted and a little sterile but affectionate, nonetheless.
(It took me so long to find that gif)
Compared to Dong Sik, well… In the most simplistic terms, Joo Won manhandles Dong Sik.
Within South Korean media, it is not uncommon for male characters to display their frustration by manhandling another male.
Stranger
Vincenzo
Welcome 2 Life
Are some examples. However, the frequency in which Joo Won does this is what makes him stand out.
Dong Sik also manhandles male characters when he has lost his temper (Club man, Han Joo Won, the guy he may have killed). For a character as multi-faceted as Dong Sik, it would have been easy for the show to make Dong Sik a touchy-feely man, as it would have fitted within his archetype: bouncy, loud, maybe the village gay, vibrant... tactile. But they didn't; Dong Sik isn't very physical at all. There are three occasions (or reasons) in which Dong Sik is tactile:
Moments of extreme anger: always toward men and always because the male is acting in an unacceptable way (The club man, punching Joo Won in the face, maybe killing that other guy)
Moment of extreme stress: trying to save Sang Yeob's life
Moments of affection: offering comfort to his mother and Joo Won.
Unlike, the two times he reacted negatively to Joo Won touching him (the first time Joo Won touched him and when Joo Won handcuffed them together), Dong Sik tends to not have that much of a reaction to being touched. Having said that, there is one time I can think of when Dong Sik is touched by another male and he has an immediate negative reaction. In episode 3, Jung Je pulls on Dong Sik's arm to stop him from walking and Dong Sik (notably angry) yanks his arm away.
So, despite the fact that Dong Sik's characterisation could have easily made him a tactile person, they chose not to do that. I believe they did this to show that despite how (initially) antagonistic Joo Won was, Dong Sik never had that much of an issue with the younger man touching him. If he did, he would do more about it, as proven by the scene with Jung Je.
[Side note: Dong Sik was beaten up by the police when he was twenty. So, I do think there is something to say about how he reacts to Joo Won being aggressive with him. Dong Sik has a side of him that can be aggressive and when pushed, he can become physically violent (beating up the man he might have killed and choking Lee Chang Jin are two examples), which suggests that Dong Sik is not a passive man. However, those instances were when he was the aggressor. When he is on the receiving end of aggression, especially if it is Joo Won as the aggressor, he becomes placid and almost like a rag-doll. Due to his history, it would suggest that this is a trauma response, his way of trying to keep Joo Won from actually hitting him. BUT, but, but, but that doesn't explain this-
The amounts of times Dong Sik does shit like this ^
Despite his history of being assaulted and Joo Won's continual aggressive behaviour, Dong Sik sure doesn't have a problem being in Joo Won's personal space. He might not actively choose to touch Joo Won but he does get in his personal space. I think it's partially because he wants to intimidate and aggravate him with his ambiguous sexuality and because he enjoys it. His way of dealing with Joo Won's aggression is kind of like: what?? are you going to punch me or kiss me? make your mind up, I'm waiting... He's an interesting, complicated, slutty man... ]
But like many other characters within South Korean media, especially in the crime genre, Dong Sik's acts of physically touching other characters are sporadical. He'll do it once (perhaps twice to a certain character) and that’ll be it. [from my personal knowledge] Han Joo Won is not like other mainstream male characters in South Korean media (within the crime genre), he’s (despite his mysophobia/mental health) a very tactile person and will go out of his way to be physical with Dong Sik.
Joo Won is the (one of two) main character in a show that is within the crime/murder/mystery genres. He is not a love interest in an obvious romance show. He is not showing his anger for reasons of jealousy, protection, or peacocking and yet, he still finds a way to physically touch Dong Sik. The older man is not his rival in his romantic life or at work, he is his suspect turned ally. He is a man Joo Won (at one point in time) seems to loathe... and yet, from the beginning, he finds any excuse to be in his personal space. Joo Won doesn't do this with any other character.
What is telling about Joo Won’s interest in only touching Dong Sik, is that as their relationship develops, his touches diversify:
Grabbing Dong Sik’s clothes: to prevent him from moving (episode 3-16)
Grabbing Dong Sik’s clothes: to pull him closer/emphasise his point or his feelings (episode 3-16)
Holding onto Dong Sik even when Dong Sik is doing something else (checking his phone: episode 6)
4 specific examples that stand out to me:
Cradling Dong Sik’s crying body whilst holding hands with him (episode 10)
Angrily holding onto Dong Sik’s clothes, pulling him closer and looking at his lips (episode 14??)
A soft (absent-minded) brush of his hand (episode 15)
Clutching Dong Sik’s hands and crying into them (episode 16)
(This show has a lot of hands in it and that’s so beautiful)
Here's a quick visual example/summary of the progression:
The first time Joo Won touches Dong Sik [Disclaimer: I'm discounting the ep1 hand pat because ep3 was the first time he is the initiatator]
The last
Joo Won's tactile nature with Hyuk displays his philia/storge* love for him. Whereas, the way Joo Won touches Dong Sik shows his eros/ludus "love"/interest/repressed feelings for the older man. It is passionate, angry, confused, uncontrollable, desperate, and lustful. But then it becomes: repressed, affectionate, desperate, passionate, lustful, caring, absent-minded, and natural.
One display is relaxed, not easily given and platonic (Hyuk). The other is intense and is not platonic in the slightest (Dong Sik). Further proving how differently Joo Won views and treats Dong Sik.
*the seven kinds of love defined by the Ancient Greeks.
Joo Won is… hilarious and so obvious.
In the beginning, he thinks that Dong Sik is either a serial killer or at least complicit in multiple women’s brutal murders and yet, he’s popping around his house, whispering in his ear, getting in his personal space- he doesn’t fear Dong Sik.
Dong Sik’s person doesn’t set off his mysophobia, he does, however, cause Joo Won to have anxiety responses to their interactions. (This is also triggered because of other things going on with Joo Won’s mental health/ the stressful nature of the situation.)
A quick summary of the different ways Joo Won's able to touch others:
Moments of stress or extreme anger: always toward men and always because the male is acting in an unacceptable way (Dong Sik, the group he beats up in ep5//kind of, Kang Jin Mook)
Moment of extreme stress: trying to save Nam Sang Bae's life
Moments of affection: Dong Sik (I don't need to elaborate).
For work: Joo Won is capable of touching people for work. As shown by his interactions with those who are mentally unwell: Bang Ho Cheol, the boy from episode 2, Jung Je.
If it's for work, he can do it. But does he want to? No. This further proves that there are only two people he actually wants to touch: Hyuk and Dong Sik.
Notably, he never touches any of the female characters, either.
What I’m trying to say is: that Dong Sik from the get-go is a special case in Joo Won’s life and I think that further supports Joo Won’s queer coding.
(^ what they said)
So, as we have established how Joo Won treats Dong Sik differently, we now must ask: why?
-
Anyway, thank you for reading this short excerpt from that essay I mentioned. I had a whole bit analysing Joo Won's mysophobia and his potential OCD/ASD and how that affects his actions. But I've decided not to include it because it lacks direction and doesn't do his character justice. Not to say that this entry does, but it has something to say, even if it the obvious and only small.
I hope this was entertaining to read. It's a mess but... yeah... I'm not going to do anything about that.
Once again, if you want to add to the conversation/share your own thoughts in any way, please feel free to do so. I love talking about this show and its layers, and would be more than happy to do so with you lovely lot!
Let's talk about Han Joo Won, his jealousy and his weird attempts at creating love triangles.
[Excuse this post and all its flaws: it was written during a stupid, stupid English heatwave... otherwise known as satan's asscrack. No, this tiny cold island shouldn't be 33C at 9am. ]
Also, I must add that I barely got my English GCSE at school. So, to all those English majors or people with a higher qualification in English Literature (etc), I have no horse in this race. I am not pretending to know what I am talking about... Just indulge me, please.
We all know that Han Joo Won is a silly, silly man. He is pompous and proud, blunt and rude, emotional and caring; he picks fights, gets dissed, and then needs 5-10 business days to think of a comeback.
He also doesn't like close emotional relationships. He believes relationships should be on a transactional (give and take) basis; no emotions, no complication, just favours and debts that get paid off.
Han Joo Won has also canonically never had a romantic relationship.
Joo Won clearly has some emotional issues that stem from childhood trauma. He struggles with making genuine, long-lasting connections (mainly because he doesn't want them) and doesn't seem to understand the value of creating bonds. He's a very lonely person, who doesn't know that they're lonely.
He reminds me quite a lot of Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Both share some character traits and act as "misunderstood antagonists" in their own stories, only to become one of the protagonist's greatest allies (and romantic interest). [they're both totally autistic/have asd but whatevs]
[This is written about Mr Darcy. But if someone told me it was a summary of Joo Won, I would totally believe it]
Obviously, the basic plots of Pride and Prejudice and Beyond Evil do differ: one is about the sociopolitical inequalities of regency England's marriage system and how that conflicts with love, and the other is about the importance of found family and love in a corrupt society, overcoming trauma and that no one is above the law. However, they do share similar themes:
Reputation
Class
Family
Preconceived assumptions
Love
Integrity
Han Joo Won and Mr Darcy are (at first) both hard to get along with. Their arrogance and snobby attitudes rub people up the wrong way, and they are often excused for their behaviour because of the family's class and financial status.
Where these two characters differ the most is the lens through which they are explored. By this, I mean that Mr Darcy is explored through Elizabeth's pov, and only when her perspective of him changes so does the audience's. Whereas Joo Won has his own pov, he is one of the main narrators of his story. Our perspective of him only chances once he is willing to show his other facets (because Dong Sik forces him to).
[HJW and MD are both misunderstood, socially inept rain-soaked kitty cats, who do use/would use the word ardently when describing their feelings]
[Quick note: Dong Sik is so Elizabeth Bennet. Crazy pretty, comes from a family of "lower" economic class, is from a loving family, charismatic with a sharp tongue, witty, sarcastic, has a love of the ridiculous, stubborn, and has a bit of a temper. Come on, this quote said by Elizabeth could easily have been said by Dong Sik:
“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” Pride and Prejudice, chapter 31]
Another similarity between Han Joo Won and Mr Darcy is that at one point or another, they find themselves in a short-lived love triangle. The biggest difference is that Mr Darcy did not choose to be in a love triangle, Han Joo Won did.
[Joo Won has his own hand flex scene]
When Han Joo Won arrives in Manyang, he is there with a purpose and that purpose is to catch his murder suspect: Lee Dong Sik. There is some stalking history but that's another point for another time. Han Joo Won seems to be taken aback by how much Dong Sik's community love him: he has a large friendship circle and is respected and supported.
From very early on, Joo Won seems to be interested in the idea that Dong Sik has a girlfriend. Which could speak on Joo Won's societal beliefs. Perhaps, he's been brought up to believe that a man in his forties should or at the very least, would, have a girlfriend or wife. Perhaps, he believes that Dong Sik would have a wife- maybe it helps Joo Won add more detail to his murder suspect's MO. Or perhaps, it's because Joo Won needs Dong Sik to be interested and involved with women because if he wasn't then... maybe he's interested in men, maybe he'll be interested in Joo Won, maybe he'll find Joo Won attractive, what if Joo Won reciprocated those feelings, what if-
It's easier for Joo Won if Dong Sik is straight.
Beyond Evil uses the rule of three when exploring Joo Won's jealousy.
[Definition: "The rule (or power) of three is an age-old writing technique that implies that things that come in threes are inherently more satisfying and effective to readers." - www.andbeyond.com]
So, who's the first person Joo Won believes Dong Sik is interested in? Kang Min Jeong.
I'm not even sure if this suspicion lasts for an entire episode. But Joo Won is so bitchy about it, so princess, that Ji Hoon had to sit him down and say you're being really obvious, calm down, damnnnn she's like his daughter.
So, once that "potential love interest/rival" is ruled out, Joo Won moves quickly on. The second rule of the three, the next suspect: Oh Ji Hwa
Now, this is where Joo Won's jealously really shines through. It's text, it's obvious, it's right there for everyone to see. Episode 5 is where this jealously is most prevalent for the audience to see.
[quick context filler]
At the beginning of the episode, Joo Won wanted to know who Dong Sik is protecting. They have a big UST row over it and Joo Won left with all this information and not context (cause he's too silly to connect the dots). At the police station, the Mayang police gang protect Joo Won against the harassment of the reporter... and he... well...
He asks: “Why do you care about me? You barely know anything about me." That's some of the sad shit right there. It just highlights Joo Won's complete lack of understanding of how feelings (like attraction, affection, love) work. He doesn’t understand that they aren’t something earnt, they aren’t given with permission, you cannot control how someone feels about you. It ALSO shows Joo Won's panic of "oh, now I owe these people".
The conversation that follows is (I think) one of the most important in the show because it outlines one of the fundamental factors of Dong Sik's and Joo Won’s dynamic. Dong Sik tells Joo Won that “we'' protect our own here, even if we are mad at each other. The people of Manjang band together to eliminate any external threats. And WHAT HAPPENS THROUGHOUT THE STORY??
DS & JW band together to protect a disabled boy against the weather
When bringing Kang Jin Mook to justice
They (reluctantly at first) unite to find out who kills KJM
They start their own task force to investigate who killed the Chief
They band together to find out who killed Lee Yu Yeon
They band together to arrest Joo Won’s father
Whenever there is an outside threat to their community, their safety, their happiness, and their relationship, these two always band together to protect and fight off the threat. No matter the sacrifice, they will protect each other and anyone else who deserves it. That is so beautiful. They are at their best when they are a unit.
But anyway, within the context of the scene, Dong Sik is really saying: “I’m still mad at you for the shit you’ve been pulling recently. But don't you see that we are all just normal people? I'm not who you think I am. So, just stop the charade and be a part of our community."
But at this point in the story, episode 5, Joo Won doesn't trust Dong Sik but he is interested in him. What he also doesn't realise is that after the whole "don't be mean to HJW. He's an idiot but he's our idiot" scene, Dong Sik alongside everyone else. He has just protected Joo Won, adding him to the list he recited at the beginning of the episode.
Then... plot happens and they go beat people up together because they're bonding... it's also because Joo Won cares for Dong Sik AND it's because Dong Sik protected him, and Joo Won has paid back the debt.
[from the moment I saw this bit, I thought it was an erection joke and I've got smh at myself sometimes]
But what happens afterwards is what is most telling.
Whilst the officers are processing the charges, Lee Chang Jin makes everyone aware that he and Ji Hwa used to be married.
In a thinly-veiled attempt to make others feel sorry that he’s no longer with “his love”, Dong Sik gets angry on her behalf. Ji Hwa is one of Dong Sik’s closest friends, they have always had a platonic relationship, and they love each other dearly. Dong Sik doesn’t like his friend’s shitty ex-husband spurting lies.
So, he kicks the desk.
Joo Won’s reaction? A small amount of confusion mixed with surprise and a sad sigh as he looks away.
What does this look like to Joo Won? He thinks Dong Sik is jealous. He thinks the guy he likes is jealous of (if this were a normal het drama, Dong Sik and Ji Hwa would have been a couple and Joo Won and Jae Yi would have ended up together) Lee Chang Jin’s history with Ji Hwa. Perhaps, his feelings got hurt so he wants to push the “straight” man he likes away, in order to protect himself. Concealing. Concealing. Concealing.
So, what does he actually do?
Gets jealous and pisses Dong Sik off by being a jealous brat.
As we enter the following scene with jwds, the shot we see is of Joo Won sitting up straight with his arms crossed in front of himself. He seems to be annoyed and deep in thought. This could be because of a video of him beating people up is online, it could be because he knows his father knows, it could be because he’s worried he’ll get into trouble. But what is the first thing out of his mouth?
Are you jealous?
What a wonderful example of projecting.
Dong Sik isn’t the jealous one. We know he isn’t because there hasn’t been a point in the show (for the 5 episodes, which are roughly an hour long each) that a romantic relationship (past or present) between Dong Sik and Ji Hwa has been mentioned. Instead, we have seen their friendship. The concept of jealousy comes directly from Joo Won and you can see how hurt/tired Dong Sik is once Joo Won accuses him of being jealous of his friend… his female friend’s ex-husband.
We’re at the halfway point of the episode, up until this point Dong Sik has been trying to pull Joo Won in by protecting him and just being nice. He finally thinks they’ve gotten somewhere and the brat says this?
All of this "Dong Sik having feelings for Ji Hwa" nonsense is best summed up Ji Hwa's reaction:
This is probably meant to be a funny line to help diffuse the tension for the audience. A “we know it's getting pretty gay in here but don’t worry, we’ve acknowledged it, it’s not like that, pls don't run away conservative audiences…”
But in reality: She directs these two lines to Joo Won. Not her best friend, who is older and should know better than to let little upsets get between himself and his partner. No, she directs it to Joo Won. Almost as if she can see through him, all the way down to his silly jealousy.
His reaction is so interesting to me because he immediately gets up and tries to leave; which could be seen as heterosexual disgust (the suggestion that he might “fall” for a man) but it's already been established that he’s the one who is jealous. So, is it disgust or is it concealment?
[Also, I know when he gets up, in the world of television, he has to stay facing the camera, so we can see his face as he leaves. But the character of Joo Won always chooses to leave the interrogation room by squeezing behind Dong Sik (getting in his personal space again), instead of just walking to his right. That is rather amusing to me]
In episode 6, Joo Won brings up Ji Hwa one last time to determine Dong Sik's feelings. The reaction he gets is a sigh. By this point, Joo Won has finally gotten his head around the fact that Ji Hwa and Dong Sik aren't romantically interested in one another.
Joo Won had ruled Ji Hwa out as a romantic interest/rival. This leads him to his next suspect: Park Jung Je. The last part of the rule of three.
-
I'm going to leave this there for now. I will write a part II at some point but don't expect it any time soon. This feels a little disorganised but we all know what I'm getting at.
Thanks for reading.
Here is a masterpost of all the Beyond Evil work I have posted. I have done quite a few at this point and they weren't organised anywhere, so here I am, being all neat and tidy.
Disclaimer:
I have excluded any original creative work from this list, as those aren't an "academic" (a very optimistic word choice) critique of the show.
Think pieces
Always check the notes for further discussions on the topics at hand
Han Joo Won, the copycat
Beyond Evil: The Romantic Rain trope
Han Joo Won: the 'I don't like touching people' boy and his manhandling victim.
Han Joo Won and the multiculturalism rant
Han Joo Won loves a love triangle, Part I
Lee Dong Sik does have a type
Quick Observations
Han Joo Won Returns: he is a softie
Han Joo Won wants a partner and suspect. (They're the same person)
Dong Sik and Yu Yeon sad hour
Han Joo Won and Lee Dong Sik: 27
Park Jung Je, you're on thin ice!
Beyond Evil & Hot Fuzz
Why is Lee Geum Hwa in the reed field?
Episode 6: Dong Sik is a good man
Who's the daddy?
A jwds song (of many)
Episode 7: Han Joo Won is emotionally constipated
Episode 4 observations
Episode 1 romantic comedy rundown (don't take it seriously)
Dong Sik teasing Joo Won at the dinner table
Silly Jokes
Let's pray for Lee Dong Sik's hair
The "wtf i'm not straight" look
But daddy, I love him
Han Joo Won's karaoke song
Love Language
Han Joo Won is a snob
Manyang's finest
tiffanylamps tried to be funny (with memes)
What can I say? SHK is attractive
Joo Won's wandering eyes
Han Joo Won is a weirdo (affectionate)
Episode 9: Han Joo Won fucks now
Replies Answered
Why Beyond Evil is so appealing
Han Joo Won post-canon woes
The one where tiffanylamps acted like they were drunk and left a very silly reply
Beyond Evil fans have been blessed with the quality of the writing, directing, and acting
A follow-up to the previous ask: we got so lucky with the casting
Songs from my Beyond Evil playlist
Joo Won and Hyuk's tutorship timeline
Han Joo Won wears makeup. pass it on.
Dong Sik and Joo Won... what's up with that?
Han Joo Won: self-harm, mental health, and the author's interpretation.
Dong Sik and Joo Won are better together: Why can't detectives get their feelings involved? [it's not as queer as the title suggests, sorry]
Happier Than Ever is a fan song about HJW and HKH, didn't you know??
Episode 3: Han Joo Won talking about Lee Geum Hwa
Beyond Evil and Greek Mythology
tiffanylamps' favourite Beyond Evil fanvids
Beyond Evil FMV playlist and recommendations
Beyond Evil, Hallelujah, and religious motifs. (Please read the original tags)
Beyond Evil fic rec list: General and Teen
Headcanons
Han Joo Won: sad, friendship, sex, romance
Oh Ji Hwa & Han Joo Won: family and musical
Han Joo Won: sad, angry, sex
Han Joo Won: sleep and driving
Fan-made content
tiffanylamps' favourite Beyond Evil fanvids
Beyond Evil FMV playlist and recommendations
Beyond Evil, Hallelujah, and religious motifs. (Please read the original tags)
Beyond Evil fic rec list: General and Teen
tiffanylamps' more artsy work
Han Joo Won's love in episode 16
Lee Dong Sik and love
Lee Dong Sik: love and grief
Han Joo Won and Lee Dong Sik: catch me if you can
Han Joo Won and his parents: A journey of healing
Seoul vs Manyang: Han Joo Won’s families
A Study of Hands in Beyond Evil: touch has a memory
A tribute to Lee Yu Yeon on her death anniversary
Episode 13: Han Joo Won's love
Han Joo Won and Lee Dong Sik: the moment was enough
tiffanylamps' beyond evil cinematography collection
tiffanylamps' lyric experimentations
hi hello sorry this is so random but my beyond evil brain rot has been increasing because of the rain and i just need someone else to talk to about the intense gazes that dong sik and joo won give each other through the whole show. like…..why are you looking at each other like that?? you don’t need to be that close to someone to talk to them and can we also talk about the amount of times joo won actively initiates touch between them— it’s a ridiculous amount. like sir keep your hands to yourself you don’t like touching people remember??? i just… i can’t with the both of them but it’s literally all i can think about so here i am… bothering you about it. 🤷🏼♀️
hey hey hey!!
Never apologise for talking to me about Beyond Evil!!! I will forever be happy about discussing this show and jwds (who are otherwise known as the BIGGEST lovesick losers)
I was looking at other people's posts about them today and actually got so emotional because their relationship means so much to me. I may have shed tears (life's great. everything is fine.. there's no reason to worry about me lol)... You're so right, what the hell is up with all of that???
I know it's a thriller! I know they want it to be suspenseful! I know it's meant to be dramatic! BUT WHY are Han Joo Won and Lee Dong Sik this bloody intense? Why do they treat each other differently from other people? Why are they always up in each other's faces?? Can they even see each other or is their vision blurry???? Seriously!! I just-
I have met people I don't trust or like. I have been in heated arguments before. But personally, I have never met someone I dislike that much and still want to be all up in their face. I just haven't! I think it's very common with the majority of people that if you don't like someone, you don't spend time with them.
You don't think about them 24/7
You don't take pictures of them or print said pictures out and bite your lip as you gaze at them
Nor do you flirt with them and tease them
Or turn up at their house uninvited
You most certainly don't whisper seductively in their ear
YOU DON'T USE SEXUAL INNUENDOS ELUDING TO "RAMMING" THEM WITH YOUR "HORNS OF JUSTICE" AND "BITING" THEM
You don't forgive them after they accuse you of murder and insult your friends and family. multiple. times.
YOU don't PINE after them and want them to be healthy, happy, and safe! making sure that they're eating and looking after themselves
You don't stand up for them and abandoned your family to save them from further pain
You don't go on dates! You don't promise your life to them! You don't enter a house with the knowledge that you could die because you want to keep them safe
you don't eye-fuck on national TV!!!! (bringing some interesting kinks to the workplace) (in front of their dad!!!)
You don't make promises and you don't keep them. You don't use those promises as a way to prove your sincerity, love and devotion.
You just don't!
Unless.... you don't dislike them at all... not even a little bit... not in the slightest
In regards to Han Joo Won... I wish I could sit him down and get some answers. Cause, OH BOY, is he odd. He doesn't like touching people and doesn't feel comfortable around others. Fine. He chooses not to have friendships and only wants his life to be a give-and-take, easy transaction-kind-of-dealio. Less fine. Joo Won clearly has a lot of emotional issues and scars. He probably has some sort of mental health disorder (that I'm not going to diagnose right now). But that boy struggles with relationships! He wants to be guarded and cold... and then... Lee Dong Sik comes along and ruins everything.
I think Joo Won was so surprised that after spending 9 months obsessively investigating this random guy, he meets him and is thrown off because he's not what he expected. He didn't really expect to be impressed by him (Dong Sik quoting the criminal code off by heart) and in my opinion, I don't think he expected to just like Dong Sik as a whole. I think it takes him a very long time to work through those emotions and even longer to accept them. But when he does, oh BOY, he's all-in!!
Dong Sik, however... I want to hug him and watch him live a happy life. We all know how badly and for how long Dong Sik has been hurting. I think he's in a major emotional rut (I like to think of Manyang as purgatory), stuck between phases of his life. Joo Won is harsh and brash and at times, unkind. But I think he's the perfect person to unstick Dong Sik; to push him into the next phase of his life... to help him MOVE on! Dong Sik likes Joo Won so much! He cares so much! I'm actually so happy for Dong Sik that Joo Won came into his life.
"Han Joo Won, my saviour, who came to ruin my life." HELLLOOOOO SCRIPT!!!!!! IMAGINE IF THIS LINE HAD BEEN IN THE SHOW!!
They mean so much to each other. Their story is one of acceptance, growth, family, loyalty, kindness, justice. It's about treating someone with a passionate, ruthless but gentle and beautiful devotion. It involves growing past your pride and your prejudices. It means putting them first because their happiness means the world to you!! It's about knowing when you're wrong and making up for your mistakes AND BEING FORGIVEN!! and forgiving yourself!! It's about knowing someone so well and on such an intimate level that you walk miles in the rain to be with them at 1am, you give them the gun, you arrest your father, you uphold your promise.
Even if it hurts. Even if it hurts them in the short term. You put their needs before your own because they matter so much to you.
It's about being partners.
It's about love. Beyond Evil is about love.
(and it's also sharing clothes, teasing and loving spending time together, getting up to some interesting things in that basement, conversing without words, planning and scheming together, TRUSTING EACH OTHER)
IIIIIIII just can't! I can't with these two. They're so much. I adore them!!
I know you don't need this but I am going to shamelessly self-plug for anyone who might want to read more about the topics discussed:
Beyond Evil: The Romantic Rain trope
Han Joo Won: the 'I don't like touching people' boy and his manhandling victim.
Lee Dong Sik does have a type
Han Joo Won and Lee Dong Sik: 27
Episode 6: Dong Sik is a good man
Han Joo Won wants a partner and suspect.
Han Joo Won Returns: he is a softie
Thank you for sending your thoughts my way. You encouraged me to think about these losers and I can't thank you enough <3 I wish I could write something more meaningful or eye-opening but we all know... we know what's up
