#moraeshigye

[anemoiawithatouchofobsession]

Just like nothing is perfect, Moraeshigye isn't perfect either. For all it's greats it has two big flaws : Hair/Makeup/Outfit department and music. The Zhuravli song did most of the heavy lifting with its iconic melody, but none or the other songs are ear-catching. In fact, it seems like a leftover of Choi Kyung Shik's other works, and this man made majority of the 90s drama OST albums, including my favourite one, "Walking To Heaven".

So, here are some songs that could have been in Moraeshigye :

Oh this one. This one is the bad boy fantasy drenched in rose coloured glasses and could have been what describes Hyerin's attraction to Taesoo. Her love of adventure and danger was a way of rebellion against her father, who unbeknownst to her was her financial net. Once he was gone, she realized that she can't lice this life anymore because she had to keep her head above the water. For her, the gangsta boo life was just the aesthetic, while Taesoo was deep into the gangster life because that was his life. So this song gives me similar vibes, loves the gangster and bad men but wraps in it an aesthetic.

This should be self-explanatory. I think this even came out in the same year as Moraeshigye. The realization that your lifestyle is ruining me and knowing there's something wrong in your "paradise" but being a cog in the machine since your young years made you powerless to quitting the life parallels Taesoo's story "I'm 23 now but will I live to see 24? The way things are going I don't know". And in the end, his life hurt him just like the line in the song.

This is a very serene folk ballad song from the 70s and it sounds almost like a prayer for better times "I shall share this long and dark journey's road in this wide and lonely world with you". This could have been Taesoo and Wooseok's friendship theme, they could have sung this sitting at a campfire (as was popular then). It is a bittersweet song, and definitely could have been a tearjerker if used right.

Now this could have also been Hyerins song, and just like described above, romanticized the hell out of her situation. From a non-drama perspective, it's a crazy relationship : a petty thug dating this rich casino owners daughter! Driving her around on his bike and allat! And yet somehow we are SO sold on these two that we can't even see her with Wooseok, Like, the moment these two are on screen Wooseok feels like nothing but an afterthought.

In conclusion, long live Moraeshigye, the pinnacle of pre-Hallyu dramas

[anemoiawithatouchofobsession]

Moraeshigye 2 - Act 1, script idea

(the story picks up after the last episode)

Tell me how it is!

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After the loss of Tae Soo, Hye Rin navigates the trauma of the loss of Tae Soo and Jae Hee (달동네의 비가 / Elegy of the Shantytowns). She suspects that she has a baby, and gets confirmation of such at the doctor's.

She contemplates having an abortion, afraid of not being able to raise her son, but Woo Seok and Sun Young promise to help her out to raise the kid. She gives birth to a boy, whom she names Eui Yong (의용 義龍). She is scared of all the implications the boy's birth can come with it - not only is she a widow, but she has a baby out of wedlock with a executed, infamous gangster (달빛의 그림자 - "Moonlight Shadow" by Mike Oldfield). She decides to keep the father's identity a secret only known to Woo Seok and Sun Young.

Meanwhile, the Park Sang Beom gangster group has renamed itself to "Park Tae Soo gang" after Tae Soo, and continue their gangster activities. They become more refined, and commit robberies and black market trading. Slowly, they become the most feared gang in Seoul. A new gang member suggests to the gang to rob Hye Rin's casino, but the new leader of the gang, Tae Soo's old friend, recognizes the name and its connection to Tae Soo and Tae Soo's former lover Hye Rin, and out of respect, tells the members to avoid it at all costs. He doesn't know that Eui Yong has been born (의리 지켜야 해 - we need to keep loyalty).

Hye Rin is determined to give Eui Yong a better life than his father's, and takes on the CEO position fully. She has to oversee the casino business and faces problems for being a woman in this field, but she braves it and slowly grows the empire. Earning more money, she sends him to a posh school, where she monitors him closely (학생가 - song of the students).

One day, a newspaper report runs a story about Hye Rin and her ties to her father's death. Photos of her at Tae Soo's court hearing are published, and the rumour spreads about their involvement with each other Hye Rin is conflicted as to whether she can afford to claim Tae Soo as her baby daddy, with the casino's reputation and her income and money at stake. (화재가 된 사연 - Wildfire) Before she can say anything else, the rumours spread in the papers, and the stakeholders suggest a press conference. At a stakeholder's question who the baby's father really is, Hye Rin answers in a fluke "Jae Hee". Satisfied at the answer, she realizes that she can now successfully hide Tae Soo's identity (날 뒤에 숨겨라 - hide behind me)

Sun Young doesn't approve, saying it would be betraying Tae Soo, but Woo Seok supports Hye Rin, seeing any association with the gangsters as a problem for all of them.She enters the press conference, and its filled to the brim with reporters. Many scandalous questions are asked, and Hye Rin starts to lose hope as she keeps on lying to the reporters on her ties to Tae Soo as they question her on her involvement in his case. (명예훼손 - Accusation of Slander)

Reporter Shin, who appears late, comes just in time to realize what is happening, and saves Hye Rin by asking her neutral questions about the business, and taking up so much time that Hye Rin declares the conference for done. Reporter Shin walks up to her and they exchange their condolences regarding Tae Soo, and Hye Rin confides in Shin that Tae Soo in the father of her baby. Shin promises to keep it a secret and to help her restore her image. (달동네의 비가 - 신기자 버전 / Elegy of the Shantytowns, Reporter Shin version)

Meanwhile she gets busier and stakeholders pitch to open the casino overseas. Hye Rin is worrying for Eui Yong, but Sun Young agrees to take care of the boy.

With the help of Reporter Shin, Hye Rin manages to craft a sophisticated and mysterious image, and using Shin's influence, gets all the photos removed from the newspapers, and earns the image of a succesful businesswoman.

The years go by without any major problem in life, and the Eui Yong becomes a high schooler. Woo Seok is like his father figure, and he thinks his father is named "Park Jae Hee", his mother's bodyguard. He also starts dreaming of being a detective like Woo Seok and catch the Park Tae Soo gang - he does not know that the infamous Park Tae Soo is his father.

Seeing that, Hye Rin is conflicted, since one day she will have to break the news to him. In the midst of all this, her and Woo Seok get to spend more time together talking about thr boys education, and she catches feelings for Woo Seok again, knowing that she shouldn't. It feels like he starts warming up to her as a person again, and her and Sun Young start sharing more secrets and more time together. She gets caught in a sort of love triangle because her and Sun Young share a very close relationship too, and she owes it to Sun Young for raising the boy when she wasn't there. Sun Young also starts feeling more affection towards Hye Rin after misunderstanding her for a long time (운명이란 - the thing called destiny)

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How was the story until now?

Was nice!

meh, kinda boring

Voting ended onNov 10, 2024

[anemoiawithatouchofobsession]

So it just came to my mind that Song Ji Na jakkanim had planned Moraeshigye 2 with Hye rin raising Tae Soo's baby (because he ✨️stayed the night ✨️ in Ep 23, remember) and to kinda bring the intergenerational trauma ("Tae Soo didn't have a father because he was a ppalgaengi, Tae Soo's baby won't have a father because Tae Soo is a criminal gangster") but seems like fans wrote SBS to leave the drama that way and they stalled the project. Also tbh, it wouldn't have worked the magic without Tae Soo, yknow. His impact was just way too big.

Still, it's a nice idea. I wish I had the creativity to write a Moraeshigye spinoff script because I'd have loved to see that. Rather than a drama, I would live this to be adapted as a theatre play or even a musical.

[anemoiawithatouchofobsession]

Also, Sandglass/Moraeshigye is the perfect example of the fact a female writer doesn't always mean good female representation on screen. There were THREE (3) female characters on Sandglass with one having almost no purpose except being there(Reporter Shin / Lee Seung Yeon), one being relegated to the traditional loyal, chaste/pure and obedient wife role (Sun Young/Jo Min Soo), and only one female character (Yoon Hye Rin / Go Hyun Jung) that has a character with substance, nuance and a story.

And you even might have noticed : Hye Rin is the only female character with a full name. We don't know Sun Young's full name, and we don't even know Reporter Shin's given name in the drama. Which means only one goddamn woman on the show can connect with the viewers properly.

And I could go on about how both Reporter Shin and Sun Young were portrayed with only one personality trait, making Hyerin the only one with a personality. They were also only mentioned or seen in relation to Wooseok or Taesoo (and Wooseok). Hyerin was the only woman on the show with 1) Lines 2) a multifaceted personality

URRRGH SONG JINA JAKKANIM WE DID NOT PASS THE BECHDEL TEST WITH THIS ONE