Live Your Own Life: Episode 3 (Drama Highlights)
by Unit
Editor’s Note: After a lot of Beanie interest in space to chat about KBS’s family weekender dramas, we are trying out a new thing: Drama Highlights. Each week we will post a thread for the new episodes, and mention a few plot points — be it high points, low points, or terribly mediocre points. Please join us in the comments! If interest remains high, we will continue through the drama’s 50-episode run.
The premiere week introduced us to the (many) — semi-normal, quirky, over-the-top, and scheming — characters in the story world, and their relationships to each other. Our heroine, Hyo-shim, and her love interest-to-be, Tae-ho, also crossed paths. And as @quirkycase put it, it looks like we’re getting an enemies-to-lovers trope with them.
Now that we’re done with the majority of character introductions, everyone is beginning to settle down in their respective roles. Tae-ho and Hyo-shim’s gym sessions start off on the wrong foot because he’s surprisingly sexist. But Hyo-shim is nothing if not professional and damn good at her job — a fact that Tae-oh’s older cousin, Tae-min, can attest to since she was his trainer before he went to prison. Tae-min even wants her back as his trainer — unfortunately, she’s stuck with the new VIP client (Tae-ho) at the gym. Unlike you’d expect between cousins whose parents were at odds with each other, there seems to be a mutual respect and brotherly love between Tae-ho and Tae-min. But now that Tae-min has returned to the company, his father has passed on the baton of the chaebol power struggle to him. The next leg of the power struggle relay: a potential arranged marriage to consolidate Tae-min’s position. It’s left to see how all of this will play out since Tae-min, from all indications, has a crush on Hyo-shim.
Potential love triangle between the cousins aside, Hyo-shim and her family unknowingly continue to be entangled with the Kang family. Her eldest brother, LEE HYO-SUNG (Nam Sung-jin), has been assigned to assist Tae-ho at work, and her younger brother, LEE HYO-DO (Kim Do-yeon), just ran into escapee halmeoni with his loan-purchased “banz.” By the way, halmeoni seems to be immune to the power of the white Truck of Doom. On her first encounter with one, she got a free ride. On her second encounter, she got hit by Hyo-do’s car instead. She’s not our average granny, that’s for sure.
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Tags: Drama Highlights, Ha Joon, Live Your Own Life, UEE
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1 jerrykuvira
September 25, 2023 at 9:54 AM
It’s left to see how all of this will play out since Tae-min, from all indications, has a crush on Hyo-shim and Hyo-shim obviously cares about him, non-romantically.
I'm loving the granny🤣🤣. That halmoni gives our villainess a run for her money.
And...is it a thing to see the entire family sacrifice thier comfort for one child writing final exams? Well, my parents made sacrifices for me when I took up something that took most of my time. As my dad said in his exact words :"If one of us is doing this, all of us are doing it too. How can we all participate in doing this task? By making it easy for him[me] to carry it out without feeling too much pressure." This sacrifice on the part of my family for me however uncomfortable didn't come with sighing.
It didn't involve making the sort of uncomfortable things the FLs eldest brother Hyo-sung is made to stomach by his wife whose name I'm deciding not to commit to memory. And for a saucy kid at that...it is annoying. I don't know what message they're trying to send to the mainstream viewers. I'm sighing cause I'm definitely sure I'm not doing that sort of nonsense. Reasonableness is key. Hyo-sung's wife is the optimal definition of unreasonableness in Live Your Own Life.
Condolences to the family of No Yeong-kuk.
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2 Seon-ha
September 25, 2023 at 10:04 AM
I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry, but…LOOK AT HIS ADORABLE FACE!!!
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Dorotka
September 25, 2023 at 10:16 AM
And he IS smitten but doesn't want to admit it... so he is extra annoying (to her only, because he is so cuuute with Grandma).
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🌸 Cera (@Seeker) 🌸
September 25, 2023 at 10:59 AM
Is Ha-joon that good of an actor... I just saw his face and thought "Eh ... that's not Jae-kyung".
Then I read the topic and went 😯
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Kathryn51
September 26, 2023 at 8:34 AM
Ha-joon is good at playing Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde type roles in that he easily switches back-and-forth between sweet/charming to angry/cold - but only the viewer sees the switch for many episodes.
In this drama, he's playing cold/aloof right now but in flashbacks we have already seen him as loving and caring about his parents and grandmother.
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🌸 Cera (@Seeker) 🌸
September 26, 2023 at 8:56 AM
Okay I'm impressed.
Will you please recommended any dramas for this Dr. Jekyll /Mr. Hyde type role.
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3 Dorotka
September 25, 2023 at 10:29 AM
That hospital talk of Hyoshim and her oldest brother was heartbreaking, he wants to do more, but his means are limited and he is not able to fight his wife... and he also seems to be the only one thinking of Hyoshim, everyone else is taking her help for granted. I can't wait for Hyoshim to say Enough! and start living her own life!
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4 welh
September 25, 2023 at 11:00 AM
It seems Hyo-Sim is about to drown in her family’s continual quicksand. Her older brother is the only kind spot in her family tree but is pruned by his nagging wife. The two younger brothers, the arrogant student and the spendthrift grifter, are still unlikable. Again, it is a story grind for the main FL which is a chore and not really entertaining.
The only bright spot is the upcoming cousins gym set up with Hyo-Sim where I assume some Tae-Ho envy will surface. The Grandmother mystery tour is odd; for a woman with such a powerful past one would think after she escaped she would have some powerful connections to help her against her DIL.
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OldLawyer
September 25, 2023 at 9:55 PM
Maybe granny does have connections and simply has not yet connected with them- we know she collected something important at the end of episode three and had we seen episode four we might already have some answers- but for the moment she has to remain out of sight.
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Dorotka
September 26, 2023 at 4:52 AM
Plus I'm sure Evil Aunt was pruning out the people who would support Granny (some even suspiciously disappearing?).
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welh
September 26, 2023 at 10:01 AM
Recall, about half the board did not support the new chairman to the ire of Evil Auntie. Maybe this time Tae Min will not clear up her messes like he did going to jail.
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OldLawyer
September 26, 2023 at 10:57 AM
Given both his desire for our FL and the way that he has been treated he will certainly have his own agenda.
5 Dorotka
September 25, 2023 at 12:45 PM
I loved how Hyoshim seonsaengnimed Taeho. 🙂
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6 john
September 25, 2023 at 1:16 PM
Only one episode this week ?
The table flipping, screaming ahjumma, I was hoping she would throw or kick something and have it bounce back and knock her in the shin.
Someone should test the Truck of DOOM on her.
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Dorotka
September 25, 2023 at 1:32 PM
Where is ToD when you need it? 😄😄
Aunt was super evil this week, with her heel crushing the picture with Grandma! 😆
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welh
September 25, 2023 at 2:26 PM
Asia Games and soccer coverage on KBS.
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john
September 25, 2023 at 2:29 PM
Thanks.
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7 nerdy
September 25, 2023 at 1:40 PM
Out of curiosity, who enjoys such shows? Like I get that her family is extra terrible to make us root for her, but their screentime is 80% of the drama. At this point, it is just a rage-baiting. I watch with fast forward button because I like the leads (even at moments annoying main lead, because Ha Joon).
Hyo Shim is a very likable main character. With a patience of a saint. I would have moved to that godforsaken place from My Liberation Notes, just so I would not have to deal with that family. Also, the brother can't study not because someone is breathing too loudly, but because of stress, burnout and inability to see that the source of the problem is him.
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OldLawyer
September 25, 2023 at 9:57 PM
In this introductory phase we get a solid dose of this stuff- to me the big surprise has been the FL's oldest brother.
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8 tabong
September 25, 2023 at 2:22 PM
1. I like the girls.
I like how Hyo Shim made the ML shut up (finally), I like how the homeless girl is making the maknae's life impossible (and I'm 100% she's rich and when he finds out he's gonna regret rejecting her confession. That's gonna be HILARIOUS), and I like the girl that moved to the 2nd oppa dormitory. She seems like she's gonna fix his nasty personality (just like HS is gonna fix the ML's).
2. Halmoni!! Is she gonna have amnesia and live with the FL and her family? Or is she going to FAKE having some problem to stay hidden in their house?
She knows she doesn't have a place to go, so that would be her best option.
3. The married couple (big oppa)... I have no idea why that woman married him or why he married her. He doesn't have money, and she clearly gives two forks about him. So why??? And he doesn't seem to like her that much either. And she's super rude to his family. I thout the "even if I curse my family, other people can't curse my family" code was universal.
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OldLawyer
September 25, 2023 at 10:02 PM
Hyo-shim is not the only one who needs liberation- so does her older brother and her nephew.
Yep, new girl in the dorm is clearly destined to straighten middle brother out. We will hope that it is worth the effort.
Homeless girl is obviously the 2ML's missing sister. She is also obviously staying out of sight, and I hope we soon find out why.
Halmoni is fun. And I bet any amnesia will be carefully faked.
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Kathryn51
September 26, 2023 at 8:48 AM
Haha, I've been thinking the amnesia will be real because that would stretch out the tension, but perhaps it's because I read somewhere that there will be a new person living in the top (?) floor of Uicheon Villa.
It should be fun either way as it adds to the mixing between the two main families.
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Dorotka
September 25, 2023 at 11:19 PM
Ooooh, I like your idea about faking the amnesia!!
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9 OldLawyer
September 25, 2023 at 10:37 PM
So, some thoughts after three episodes:
Before the show started, I thought that the three dislikeable characters would be the three brothers. Surprisingly, the FL's Oppa is not- he is simply an object of pity. The other two are still but more from misplaced ambition- and youngest brother is about to have his business blow up in his face- he has been conned by his "associates" while the girl was pursuing has stiff armed him. I am looking forward to the moment when Street Girl is cleaned up- those 'makeover' moments are very special in a weekender.
Grandma on the run is a great initial story line.
We have three villainesses who can be arranged in order of wickedness: ML's nasty Evil Aunt, the FL's sister-in-law and the FL's mom. Yes, the mom is really wicked, twisted by her obsession with the husband who abandoned them to the point that she is harming her children- not just the FL either. In fact, the younger brother's scheming may be directly modelled on his mom's irrational behavior.
Older brother may have married his ridiculous wife because her obsessive personality mirrored his mother's. Indirectly even middle brother may be stalled in his studies because he does not have a model for moving forward with things- which is why he obsesses over his environment. Here's hoping that Dorm Girl can shift him out of his rut.
As for our FL's nasty niece: Given her mom and her grandma what would you expect?
2ML is being set up with the daughter of another Conglomerate- and he does not like it because he is enamored of our FL. While we have only seen her briefly it is my guess that said daughter may become the 2FL.
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Asha13
September 26, 2023 at 1:34 PM
Its a little off-putting that all the evil people are women
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OldLawyer
September 27, 2023 at 7:26 AM
But not all of them and the men are not saints either- nor that strong.
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Asha13
September 27, 2023 at 8:07 AM
That’s true
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Kathryn51
September 26, 2023 at 10:25 PM
While we have only seen her briefly it is my guess that said daughter may become the 2FL.
This is one of those potential pairings that could be fun - or miserable (e.g. TRHC Se-jin obsessing over TK).
I dislike the youngest "couple" and yet they seemed destined to soak up far more screen time than their talent or story deserves.
Love Runaway Grandmother. I hope we get to know her full life story - husband wasn't exactly a jewel based upon my reading.
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10 Asha13
September 26, 2023 at 1:31 PM
Would love to see the FL push back on people making so many demands on her. I imagine it will happen soon. Until then, enjoying the ride
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Asha13
September 26, 2023 at 1:33 PM
I hope this one episode a week thing doesnt become a trend
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OldLawyer
September 27, 2023 at 7:34 AM
It won't, it was pre-emption by the Asia Games this time. But we shall see if the need to replace the late No Yeong-kuk (the actor playing the Chairman and ML's uncle) might require some rationing of episodes already in the can.
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Asha13
September 27, 2023 at 8:05 AM
Ah ok. Whew
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11 Kathryn51
September 26, 2023 at 10:20 PM
Since there was only 1 episode this weekend and we are still in an introductory phase, curiosity got the best of me and first stop was: “Daegwallyeong Pass” (the location of the accident 3 years ago where Tae-ho’s parents died).
It’s located about 2.5 hours outside of Seoul and connects to the northeastern coast of South Korea. However, it is a high mountain pass and not the most expedient route to the coast which is the Yeongdong Expressway (Expressway No. 50). Wikipedia page: Daegwallyeong - Wikipedia
So. . . . . why were Tae-ho’s parents taking the remote, winding road Daegwallyeong Pass instead of the Yeongdong Expressway??? Hmmmm.
Photos at the top of the Pass are beautiful, with the Daegwallyeong Sky Ranch (tourist location) near the top. Crossing my fingers there may be some location filming nearby if Tae-ho decides to investigate the accident site. Maybe some product placement for the ranch and it’s primary product (yogurt).
If I ever get to South Korea (on my bucket list), Daegwallyeong Pass will be on my list of places I hope to visit.
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Asha13
September 27, 2023 at 8:10 AM
Wow, that sounds amazing
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OldLawyer
September 27, 2023 at 11:13 PM
Another item to add to my list.
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