Answer Me 1988: Episode 13

by girlfriday

Today’s episode shows us a different side of the dads in this neighborhood, and the lengths they’ll go to for the ones they love. All the dads on this street are very different from one another—one is loud and never says what he means, another is always eager but rarely helpful, and the last only speaks when absolutely necessary. But we find out that there are some things that all dads have in common—namely, the way they want to be perceived by their families, no matter how far from the truth that image might be.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

The Barberettes – “아빠의 청춘” (Dad’s Youth) [ Download ]

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EPISODE 13: “Superman returns”

Deok-sun and Jung-hwan come out of the Lee Moon-se concert together, and Deok-sun is stopped by another boy who calls out her name eagerly and runs over. He’s a classmate from junior high, and he marvels at how pretty she’s become since they last saw each other.

The boy says he tried calling several times, and asks if he can call her now. Deok-sun looks over at Jung-hwan who’s standing idly by a few feet away, and nods to say that he can call. Jung-hwan is as cool as a cucumber, acting like he doesn’t care at all as Deok-sun tells him all about their junior high classmate who used to have a crush on her.

Jung-hwan leaves to go to the bathroom, where Crush Boy and his friend are standing at the urinals talking about Deok-sun and how she was his first love. The friend says she’s not THAT pretty, and Crush Boy says she’s the cute kind of pretty, and she’s still as pretty as ever.

Jung-hwan doesn’t like what either of them has to say, and oh-so-casually bumps into them on his way out, making them pee all over themselves. Pfft, doesn’t get much pettier than that.

Of course, in front of Deok-sun he’s back to being as prickly as ever, and complains when he comes back to find her pouting over a twisted ankle. He nags her for always finding some way to trip and fall, and then holds out his hand for her to hold. The way she smiles when he does that is so cute.

They hobble along to the bus stop arm-in-arm, and then when Jung-hwan leaves for a minute to call the parents, she gets up to throw something away, suddenly not hobbling at all. Heh.

On a morning in February 1989, Deok-sun’s family watches a TV quiz program while eating breakfast, and Dad says his wish is to see Deok-sun on a quiz show. She was eager to grant him any wish, but says that’s not one she thinks she can manage. Bora approves of her realistic assessment.

Bora tells her that the library is closed today and that she should study at Taek’s, but Deok-sun says he has an important match coming up and can’t be disturbed. Dad says that if Taek wins next week he’ll be a grand slam champion, and when he warns Deok-sun to leave Taek alone, she says she knows better than Dad. Yeah, isn’t she practically his manager by now?

Sun-woo seems a little perturbed when Mom sends him over to Taek’s with another side dish. Taek’s dad receives it happily and tells Sun-woo that he’ll come by and fix the water at their house, and again Sun-woo tries not to let it bother him.

Sun-woo is surprised to see Deok-sun studying in the living room, but she just says it’s the quietest house on the street. She already ate, but joins Taek’s dad for second breakfast. Dad hints for her to get Taek to eat because he’s been turning down every meal, and she says that she’s careful to tread lightly around Taek when he has a match coming up, because she feels like he might fall over the second you nudge him. Seriously. Can we talk about that?

She sees Dad’s silent pleading eyes and gets up to go try anyway, and on the way she has to chase Dong-ryong off like a guard dog, before he bombards Taek’s room with his latest toy.

She knocks carefully and Taek looks like he’s nursing a searing headache just as she walks in. He says no to food, but Deok-sun asks in her best mom voice whether he ate dinner or lunch yesterday, and what he thinks that means about eating breakfast today. He smiles and agrees that he should eat, and pats her on the head to thank her.

Jung-hwan’s dad gets caught trying to cheat at a friendly game of baduk with Deok-sun’s dad, who really does take his fraud investigation job at the bank very seriously any time they’re playing a game. Jung-hwan’s dad says excitedly that Jung-bong hasn’t moved from his desk today and might really be studying this time.

Jung-bong is, in fact, writing furiously at his desk and getting a hand cramp from his efforts… to write copies of the chain letter he received. Oh noes. He starts addressing them to all the other kids in the neighborhood, though he remembers Taek’s match and whites out his name, then whites out Bora’s name too. Yeah I’d be scared too.

Jung-hwan’s mom shares all the fishes she bought at the market with the other moms, and they wonder why if husbands are so quiet because they already started drinking. The dads are technically not drinking because they’re arguing about what to drink (Deok-sun’s dad refuses to open his precious bottle of ginseng liquor, which he’s saving for a special occasion), when a news report broadcasts a series of robberies.

Two seconds later, the moms are huddled together and shouting that there’s a thief, and everyone comes running out—dads with sticks and brooms, kids with necks craned. Everyone stands there swishing their weapons around, but the thief has already run off (if there even was one). They all check to see if there’s anyone missing, and Deok-sun says Taek’s inside his room.

They don’t see Taek’s dad though, and he comes out of Sun-woo’s house a moment later, saying that the water has been fixed. They tell him about the thief expecting some kind of response, but Taek’s dad says he heard and just continues on his way. He’s so unflappable that everyone gapes, and Jung-hwan’s mom wonders if he’s a bear, not a man.

With that, everyone dissipates. Jung-hwan stares longingly as Deok-sun goes back to Taek’s house, and Sun-woo and Bora make eye contact and sneak off for a date.

The other moms prod Sun-woo’s mom to marry Taek’s dad, but she balks at the assumption that there’s anything going on between them. The moms think Taek’s dad likes her, and they don’t see why they wouldn’t be happier together now that the kids are sufficiently grown.

Sun-woo’s mom swears that it’s not that kind of relationship, and besides, she can’t fathom hurting Sun-woo by remarrying anyone. Deok-sun’s mom sighs and relents, but after a moment, Jung-hwan’s mom says quietly, “What about your life?”

Jung-hwan’s mom knows it might be easy for her to say because she’s not in the same situation, and that kids are great, “But your life is just once too.” Damn, she always knows just the thing to say to make you cry. Both the other moms fight tears, and Jung-hwan’s mom sighs that Sun-woo’s mom is just too young is all, and it’s regrettable that someone so young should be pouring the rest of her life into her kids alone.

Taek’s dad picks the worst moment to come by to return a dish, and when he asks Sun-woo’s mom if she’s still coming to the hospital with him tomorrow, she gets really loud and over-explainy about how it’s his checkup after the surgery and someone should go with him, yunno, as a representative from the neighborhood. The other moms just try not to snicker too loud.

Bora asks if Sun-woo doesn’t like Taek’s dad, and he says that he likes ajusshi, but just doesn’t like that he’s close to Mom. Bora thinks it’s nice that they rely on each other, but can understand why he doesn’t like it, and says that’s his right.

He smiles at her and says she seems like an adult when she says stuff like that, and tries to sneak banmal in with her again. She tells him it’s never going to fly, so he pouts and calls her the overly formal “noonim” instead.

Deok-sun’s mom happens to be headed to the hospital tomorrow too, for a physical that Dad’s company is paying for. She admits that she’s worried about a lump under one of her breasts (ack!), but the others tell her not to worry unduly without knowing more. Jung-hwan’s mom offers to go with her if she’s scared, but she says that Dad took the day off to go with her.

Mom is so scared that she can’t sleep that night, and Dad has to nag her to stop worrying and get some rest. She makes him promise to tell her the truth if it’s a bad diagnosis, and he assures her that she’ll be fine. She’d better be!

The power goes out at Jung-hwan’s house, and Dad comes home to replace the fuse. He’s all proud of himself for saving the day, but Mom is unimpressed. She’s on edge because she’s worried about Deok-sun’s mom, but Dad reassures her that she’ll be fine.

At the hospital, it doesn’t look like good news. Deok-sun’s mom looks terrified as the doctor explains that they have to do a biopsy to know for sure what it is, and Dad keeps a brave face as he tells her that it’s just an exam and it’ll confirm that she’s fine. Once Mom heads out with the nurse though, Dad asks if it could be cancer, and the doctor admits that it does worry him, but he won’t know until the test is done.

At school, Deok-sun and her friend Ja-ok mix their lunches together to make bibimbap, and sigh that the side dishes are paltry without Mi-ok around. They miss her, but Mi-ok warned them not to come visit her in the hospital because her dad is scary, and they speculate that her dad might be a gangster or something. Why else would she be so adamant that they stay away, and never talk about him?

In the hospital, Mi-ok’s dad’s gruff voice and gold watch seem to support that theory, but we don’t get to see his face. She tries to get him to leave and go open up shop instead of hovering, though it doesn’t seem to work.

Bora turns down her friends’ invitation to dinner, and they guess that she’s got a new boyfriend. They pepper her with questions, and Bora is taken aback when Sun-woo arrives on campus to pick her up for their date.

Her friends ask who the kid is, and she answers a little too quickly that he’s just a neighbor kid, before he can say anything. Ouuuuch. To rub it in even further, her friends pat Sun-woo on the head like he’s five and tell him to ask noona to buy him a nice dinner.

Taek’s dad coaxes Taek to eat just one bowl of porridge for dinner, and Taek weakly agrees. He asks about dad’s trip to the hospital, feeling bad about not having gone with him. He apologizes, and Dad laughs and tells him to focus on his own work, and not to worry about Dad.

Bora apologizes repeatedly to Sun-woo, who pops open his cola and drinks it like it’s beer. He’s too angry to be coaxed out of his funk, so she finally yells at him to look at her on the count of three… and then kisses him across the table. That does the trick and he smiles despite himself, and sneaks in a little more banmal while he’s at it.

At Deok-sun’s house, Mom and Dad have returned from the hospital, though we don’t know what the results of Mom’s test were (or if they even know yet). The kids arrive home all at once, and Deok-sun and No-eul demand food. When Mom brings them stew with cold rice, they complain and ask for ramyun instead, which irks Dad.

And then Bora complains about Mom not washing her shirt yet, and Dad blows up at all of them to make their own damned rice and ramyun, and wash their own clothes from now on. Phew, I’m glad someone said it.

Tears spring to Mom’s eyes and she escapes to the kitchen, and Dad yells at the kids for being such brats to Mom: “Do you think she’ll be by your side for ten thousand years? Don’t you feel bad?! Treat her well while you have her! And grow up!” Aw crap, it’s cancer, isnt’ it?

Deok-sun and No-eul just grumble and assume that Mom and Dad had another fight and are getting mad at them for no reason. But Bora seems to sense that something’s not right. Dad catches Bora alone outside, and asks to speak to her privately.

He tells her about Mom, and says that they still don’t know the results of the biopsy. He thought she should know since she’s the eldest, and tells her not to tell her siblings. Dad tries to ask about other things going on, but Bora just cuts the conversation short and goes back inside, so Dad goes to have a drink alone, where he runs into Jung-hwan’s dad.

The other moms assure Deok-sun’s mom that everything will be okay. They’ll know the results of the biopsy by Saturday, and Mom tries her best to smile and not worry. That night, Deok-sun’s parents and Jung-hwan’s parents all meet in the yard on their way home, and Deok-sun’s dad is happy to hear that Jung-hwan’s mom got his wife out of the house. He swears that he’s not worried in the least, though when Jung-hwan’s dad brings up last night, he quickly changes the subject.

Jung-hwan’s mom asks quietly if she’s really going to be okay, but Dad sees that Mom is still within earshot and very loudly says that there’s absolutely nothing to worry about and the doctor said that lots of people get biopsies for what turns out to be nothing. Mom knows he’s saying it all for her benefit but smiles anyway.

It’s finally Saturday, and Taek packs to leave for his big match in Tokyo, and Dad sets the table. The other kids are on break from school, but Jung-hwan’s mom wants to iron Jung-hwna’s uniform anyway and calls Dad in when the iron is broken. She doesn’t trust him to fix it, but he insists that he can do it.

Dad asks Taek for the number to the hotel he’s staying at, so Taek unlocks a drawer to go get his notebook and Dad writes down the hotel and phone number. It’s curious that Taek keeps the drawer padlocked, but I guess his house is like the town hall.

Even Taek’s dad and his baduk teacher seem more on edge for this competition (Jung-hwan mentioned to his mom that he’s never won this one, and come in second place twice. Plus there’s the whole grand slam thing). He’s about to leave for the airport when he spots Deok-sun down the street, and happily stops to go say goodbye to her.

She zips up his jacket for him because it’s cold and tells him to bring back a present, and when he asks her what she wants, she says she was kidding and he should bring back any free souvenir they give him, like a keychain. He pats her on the head and heads off, and then turns back to ask, “Deok-sun-ah, is it okay if I lose?” She nods and smiles, and that reassures him so that he can leave with a smile on his face.

Deok-sun’s dad has to coax Mom to eat something, because she hasn’t eaten a thing all day and is just waiting for the hospital to call with the results. She looks frail and frightened, and Dad insists that he could tell from the doctor’s mannerisms that they have nothing to worry about.

Deok-sun and No-eul have no idea what’s going on, and spend the afternoon playing a Monopoly knock-off board game with Jung-bong and Dong-ryong. Mostly they spend the day getting mad that No-eul keeps winning, despite not knowing how to play the game. He’s so lucky that he keeps drawing the best chance cards too, like one that grants him a space trip to anywhere in the world.

Bora and Sun-woo walk home holding hands, and she disengages before they reach their street. She heads home early with the excuse that she has to study, and when Mom gets up to start dinner, Bora says she feels like jajangmyun and suggests ordering out. Aw. She mimes to Dad to ask if the hospital called, but he says not yet and smiles at her gratefully.

Jung-hwan’s mom comes in to check on her husband’s progress with the iron, and finds that he’s cut the electrical cord so many times it’s basically a stub. She yells at him for ruining it when they could’ve just taken it in to get repaired. Clearly he’s not quite as handy as he thinks he is.

Jung-bong asks Deok-sun what a good present would be for her friend Mi-ok, and Deok-sun says her family’s rich so she has everything she’d want. The only thing Mi-ok really wants is to be outside and not trapped in a hospital room, but even her friends can’t manage that because her dad is so scary.

Taek’s dad fixes the VCR over at Sun-woo’s house, and when he gets up to go home, Jin-ju hugs his legs and stands on his feet, like the most adorable daddy-daughter pair. Mom invites him to stay for dinner so that Jin-ju doesn’t cry.

Sun-woo is a little taken aback to come home to the domestic scene, especially when Taek’s dad and his mom are holding a package of seaweed together and break apart awkwardly, as if they were caught holding hands.

This time Taek’s dad does the over-explainy thing, about how he was over here fixing the VCR so that Jin-ju could watch her cartoons. Jin-ju remains in his lap the whole time and Taek’s dad feeds her, and Sun-woo asks if she likes ajusshi that much. She says yes. Well of course she does.

After dinner, No-eul and Deok-sun run back out, and things gets tense as Mom and Dad wait for the phone to ring. Upstairs, Jung-hwan’s mom blows up at her husband, and then finally explains that it’s not because of the iron, but because she’s worried about Deok-sun’s mom.

Downstairs, the phone finally rings and Mom answers it. Bora and Dad look terrified as they await her reaction, but then after a moment she sighs in relief and confirms that it’s nothing. Dad says “I told you so” about a million times, swearing how he was never once the slightest bit worried.

Jung-hwan’s parents come down to check on the results too, and are relieved to hear that she’s fine. They suggest a celebratory drink and Jung-hwan’s dad nudges Deok-sun’s dad to open the precious ginseng liquor again. Mom says he’ll never agree to that, but Jung-hwan’s dad hints at spilling a secret, and Deok-sun’s dad immediately caves.

Sun-woo’s mom says that someone she knows got robbed and stabbed during an assault, and both she and Sun-woo are amazed when Taek’s dad has no reaction. He insists in his flat, deadpan way that it’s a scary story, and just keeps eating chips.

But then suddenly, the news reports a plane crash on its way to Tokyo, and the anchor says that the full list of passengers who were aboard is still being compiled, but sources are quite sure that Choi Taek was on that flight. OHMYGOD. Nononononononono.

It takes a moment for the news to sink in, and Sun-woo and his mom leap to their feet in terror. Dad is frozen still for a second, and betrays no reaction as they ask if he has the number to Taek’s hotel. He remembers writing it down, and gets up to go to his house.

But when he gets to the table where he left the scrap of paper, he finds the ink all blurred out from spilled water. Sun-woo and Mom think to call the baduk training center for the number, but Dad remembers that Taek put the card back in his notebook before leaving.

Over at Jung-hwan’s house, his parents are squinting and crossing their eyes every which way to try and see the ginseng in the ginseng liquor, and Deok-sun’s dad has to point out the tiny sprig floating around in the giant jug. But then they see the news broadcast about the plane crash too, and as soon as they hear Taek’s name the whole neighborhood is running outside (only Jung-hwan and Deok-sun are conspicuously absent).

Dong-ryong’s dad is ahead of them, and turns them all back at Taek’s door. He says that Taek is fine after arriving on an earlier flight, and all is well, and Taek’s dad is speaking to him over the phone right now. Oh phew. You have to stop DOING THAT to me!

Everyone starts breathing again, and they ask if Taek’s dad is okay. Dong-ryong’s dad says he’s never seen anyone with a heart of steel like that before. Sun-woo and his mom stand by as Taek’s dad has a very calm, mundane conversation with Taek about the weather there and remembering to eat and carry an umbrella. The others return to their homes, and the dads marvel at how Taek’s dad didn’t even freak out a little, deciding that he really must be a bear.

Taek hangs up after talking with Dad, and is surprised when his baduk teacher shows him the news report about him probably being dead. Teacher says it’s a madhouse downstairs with reporters all asking if he’s dead or alive, and that an updated story should come out soon.

Taek confirms that he spoke to Dad, but says that Dad didn’t say anything about it—he sounded totally fine. He explains that his father isn’t the type to get all riled up about things. Teacher just gapes and asks if he’s joking, and says that he’s never seen Taek’s dad so riled up as he was today, and he thought he would go deaf.

Taek is still stunned when the phone rings again. This time it’s Sun-woo, who says he just needed to hear his voice to rest easy. Sun-woo asks what the hell he was doing not answering the phone earlier, and Taek asks when he called. Sun-woo says he’s been calling repeatedly, and that he’s never seen Taek’s dad this upset before, and that he was crying and everything was a mess. Sun-woo: “I thought your dad was Superman. Where did that superhuman strength come from?” Taek asks him repeatedly to explain, so he does and we see it in flashback from Sun-woo’s perspective.

After finding the unreadable paper on the table, Dad ran into Taek’s room looking for the notebook and found the drawer padlocked. He was so panicked and desperate that he just started yanking on the lock to pull it open with his bare hands, and was turning red and shaking all over. He used sheer brute force to break the lock off, cutting up his hand and bleeding in the process. But all he could think of was to find that notebook, and when he found it, his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn’t even flip through it.

Sun-woo took over and found the number and made the call because Dad was shaking so much he couldn’t do anything. Sun-woo called and called repeatedly, but Taek was in the shower and didn’t hear the phone ringing. Oof, the pain in Dad’s eyes. Sun-woo said no one was picking up, and Dad’s panic and frustration completely erupted, and he screamed and wailed, just making these incoherent noises as he slammed his hands on the table repeatedly.

Sun-woo called again, and finally Baduk Teacher had come into the room to drop off a blanket and answered the phone. He confirmed that Taek was in the shower, and that’s when Dad yanked the phone out of Sun-woo’s hands and screeeeeamed at the top of his lungs like a madman, “WHERE IS TAEKIE?! Where is Taekie right now?! Is T-t-taekie in the hotel room?? Is he in the hotel room?! YOU ARE SURE HE IS IN THE HOTEL ROOM?!”

Teacher didn’t know what was going on, but said he saw Taek go in and he’s definitely in there, and only then did Dad slump over in relief. That’s when they finally heard about the plane crash at the hotel, and Teacher ran out to deal with the press. Taek came out of the shower a minute later none the wiser, and had a pleasant conversation with Dad about the weather.

This time we see the conversation from Dad’s side, and Sun-woo and his mom are equally touched and amused at the stuff he ends up saying to Taek, after what madness just happened. Dad just adorably straightens his hair and belatedly tries to look cool.

Sun-woo tells Taek, “Be good to your dad. It really seemed like you are everything to your father. Sleep well! Oh, and it’s okay if you lose!” Taek’s eyes well up with tears as he sits in his hotel room thinking about Dad.

As Dad closes up shop, Deok-sun’s dad and Jung-hwan’s dad come invite him out for a drink. They’re amazed that he handled the crisis so calmly, and Taek’s dad totally acts like he remained perfectly calm the whole time. Jung-hwan’s dad calls him a real man and tattles on Deok-sun’s dad crying the other night.

Jung-hwan’s dad says they’re human too and dads should be able to cry, but Deok-sun’s dad is embarrassed to be outed for crying. It was the night after he told Bora about Mom’s cancer scare, and he’d burst into tears over how his wife had to meet a poor schlub like him and now face illness too.

Dad wails, “I can’t live without her! I can’t!” Aw. He then proceeds to try and convince himself that she’ll be fine then cry all over again, back and forth like a crazy person with two warring personalities. It’s only funny now, of course, since we know she’s fine.

Deok-sun’s dad scoffs at Jung-hwan’s dad for not being man enough to fix a little iron, and says that the only real man around here is Taek’s dad. They ask if Taek’s dad was always that calm as a young man, and he shares an adage from General Lee Soon-shin, about how a man ought to move and act only deliberately, and with weight. A second later, a woman at the next table over screams that there’s a mouse, and when we pan back over to the dads, Taek’s dad is standing on his chair, hee.

He swears up and down that he’s not afraid of the mouse, see, it’s just that he has this childhood trauma from being bitten once, by a rat the size of a dog. The dads crack up and tease him, and from the next tent over, Sun-woo and Bora peek in and laugh too.

Bora narrates, “When we were young, Superman lived at our house. He was a MacGyver who could fix anything. He was Jjanga who would appear anywhere he was needed and solve all problems. He was a hero among heroes, who never showed a sign of weakness. But it’s not until after childhood that I came to know, that it was just never discovered—that Superman was human too.”

We see Taek’s dad hammering in a new padlock as Jin-ju and her mom cheer him on, Jung-hwan’s dad offering to fix a blowdryer, and Deok-sun’s dad remaining stoic as his whole family cries in front of the TV. But then when he’s alone, Taek’s dad drops the hammer and clutches his hand in pain, Jung-hwan’s dad doesn’t know what in the hell to do to with a blowdryer, and Deok-sun’s dad wails like a baby while reading a novel alone in the kitchen.

Bora (voiceover): “We don’t know how many dirty, petty, sad, scary, or difficult worlds have passed Dad by. And I only now begin to realize—no matter how dirty, petty, sad, scary, or difficult, the reason he endured was because he had people to protect. He had a family. He had me. Because he had to live the world by the name Dad, and not another.”

A few mornings later, the big story on the front page is Taek’s big grand slam win. No-eul grabs the paper and asks Deok-sun what that new vase is next to the TV, and she says that she told Taek to bring her back anything, and he brought her back this ugly vase.

Mom asks her for it so she can put kimchi in it, but then suddenly No-eul screams at them to stop. He shoves the paper in Deok-sun’s face, and there’s Taek pictured with his winning trophy—that vase. Ha.

Jung-bong gets all dressed up and bravely goes to the hospital to give Mi-ok a letter, but he’s so frightened that he can’t manage to go inside. He spends the whole entire day just circling the hallway, and finally the nurse pities him so much that she offers to sneak the letter to Mi-ok.

Mi-ok beams when she hears that Jung-bong was outside all day, and she opens the letter to find a chance card from that Monopoly-ish game that he was playing. It’s a ticket for a space trip, so that she can go anywhere she wants to. That is so cute. She pretty much dies of happiness, even with four broken limbs.

 
COMMENTS

Well that was a doozy. Actually, I’d be madder about the show putting Taek in danger the exact same way that they did to Chilbongie in 1994, if it weren’t told in the story order that it was (with flashbacks and quick announcements that nobody was dead or dying). What saves a lot of this episode’s events from being just a bunch of scare tactics is that everything is told in a way to highlight the dads’ reactions to the events, and because they’re told via flashbacks, we can find out that people are okay and then focus on the emotional aspect from Dad’s perspective. Otherwise Taek’s scare would’ve honestly made me angry, when I’m already on edge all the time because of his headaches and his terrible health. This show is pretty nerve-racking, actually, and for a heartwarming drama about family, I find myself watching it like I’m expecting anyone to drop dead at any moment as if there were a killer on the loose. It’s just no good for anyone’s blood pressure.

But I do love the focus on the dads, because the moms are really the stars of this season, and we’ve seen less of the dads as individuals. It was worth the near-heart attack of almost losing Taek to see a different side of his father, who was already the most endearing of the dads and the one with the sweetest father-son relationship. There’s a new layer peeled back every time with him, like seeing his softer side (pink mittens and hair-ties), his dependable side (as oppa-ya), and now the fierce, scary Papa Bear side that would smash his way through steel. He’s so singularly devoted to his son that sometimes I fear he’ll break if Taek breaks (okay, I’d break if Taek breaks), but the way that love came through in his fear today was really moving. It seemed really important for Sun-woo to witness that too, because he’s grown up enough to think that he doesn’t need a father and feels very protective of his own family, but it’s increasingly difficult not to love Taek’s dad the more you get to know him. I hope it’s another step towards them becoming one big family.

What’s interesting about the dads’ story is that the focus is really on how fathers are vastly different in front of their loved ones, always choosing to appear strong and invincible in the face of anything no matter how unrealistic or unreasonable that is. It may be a frustrating way to live, but I’ve also never known a Korean dad to be any different—they may be nice or mean or funny or strict or cool or whatever, but they are the same in this one regard. I’d guess that the same is true for all dads, because there’s just an inherent expectation of strength and dependability that comes along with being a father, and that’s universal. It’s always nice to be reminded that they’re human though, and that they’re just as scared and worried about the future and clueless about fixing things as anyone, because no one is born with the knowledge and skill to fix a blowdryer, and your tear ducts don’t dry up just because you get married and have children.

Deok-sun’s dad and Jung-hwan’s dad (and Dong-ryong’s dad) were mostly played for comedy in this episode, but I still found it super cute when they ran out to the street with sticks to chase the burglar away, or when Deok-sun’s dad cried like a blubbering fool because he can’t fathom living without his wife. I like the experience of learning something new about our characters each time, and slowly forming a whole impression of them as people, not just as a parent or a child, but in all the ways we can see their relationships to other people. The dads are as different as people could be, but the poignancy is in how the name Dad is universal—it means something to these men to act a certain way in front of the their children or their wives, to be perceived as the person who is unchanging, brave, and resourceful. No one person can be all of those things all the time, but the beauty is that they try, no matter how often they might be foiled by their emotions, modern technology, or mice.

 
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