"Sunshine" is light and bright

Maria's answer to Shirley

I love all of Jo Hyun-Jae's dramas, especially "Sunshine" -- it is light and bright: "light" as the opposite of "heavy" and "bright" as the opposite of "dark". I know, I know, it has the standard fare of the sins of the fathers visited upon the children. But in spite of everything, the overall mood is joyous and "sunshiny", thanks in no small part to the JHJ character Jung Eun Sup.

Eun Sup is not perfect (apart from his looks.) He has many weaknesses (but lasciviousness is NOT one of them):
- he's immature -- In Paris he's involved in a relationship with an older woman who treats him like a spoilt child.
- he's impulsive -- He flies from Paris to Seoul to try to stop his girlfriend from marrying someone else.
- he's selfish -- At the beginning he only cares about himself and his own happiness.
- he's self-indulgent -- He does whatever pleases him, regardless of consequences for other people.

I do not believe Eun Sup means to take advantage of Yeon Woo (played by Song Hye Kyo.) There is no need to. If he makes a move, she will not resist. JHJ in a pastry chef uniform is so drop-dead gorgeous that no woman can resist him.

Yes, Eun Sup has just been jilted by his former girlfriend, and for Yeon Woo to catch him on the rebound is not unusual. And don't forget Yeon Woo is younger and prettier than the other woman. Eun Sup thinks he loves his former girlfriend, but it soon becomes obvious that the attraction is superficial and physical. So it's not as if he sees one, loves one, see another, loves another.

The most moving performance in the whole of "Sunshine" occurs in Episode 9, when Yeon Woo declares her love for Eun Sup to Min Ho (overheard by Eun Sup, as it is.) Min Ho says: "What do you know about love?" And Yeon Woo replies: "No? Then what do you call this heartache whenever I think about him? For the first time since I was born, in all my 26 years, I feel something stuffed in my heart. I feel I'm about to explode. I cannot breathe. However unhappy I am, just looking at his face makes me feel blessed. What do you call this? Is this not love?" and "Why can't I feel this way? Is it because I'm an orphan? Is it because I have no education, no money, no ability? I can feel. I know what heartache is."

I am thoroughly convinced Yeon Woo loves Eun Sup. The fact that she has only known him for a few weeks is beside the point. That's how love is! Yeon Woo has known Min Ho all her life and she does not love him the way she loves Eun Sup. What she feels for Min Ho is affection but not love. If she really loves Min Ho, there would be no way Eun Sup could squeeze himself in. Something that Han Yi Joon says in "Only You" applies here. Remember that scene when the four of them are having a night snack at his restaurant? Actually Han and Eun Jae are having an intimate soiree and Soo Yeon (#2 female) and Hyun Sung (#2 male) crash the party. Han says to Hyun Sung: "If you've known someone for 16 years and are still just friends, you're going to remain friends forever, that's all." Han is very arrogant but he is right. Eun Jae and Hyun Sung can never develop beyond the "good friends" stage. Same with Yeon Woo and Min Ho in "Sunshine". He may love her, but if she has not fallen in love with him in all these years, it is highly unlikely she will after she meets Eun Sup.

The sweetest part of "Sunshine" is when Eun Sup and Yeon Woo are in the first flush of love, when neither is sure it is love. The scene when he buys her the hair clip and when he puts it on for her, and a scene on a bus when Eun Sup wipes away some lipstick for Yeon Woo who has put on some make-up for him and he tells her she looks more beautiful without, and another scene on the bus home (after Yeon Woo's declaration of love), when the driver hits the brakes and they both (sitting at the back of the bus) jerk forward, Eun Sup protectively puts out his arm and halts Yeon Woo's forward motion -- would all these be regarded as "touchy-feely"? I do not see this as an "invasion of personal space" at all. After all, Eun Sup has lived in Europe for a number of years, so he probably doesn't pay much heed to protocol, unlike a traditional Korean male. Holding Yeon Woo's hand from behind to teach her how to whip cream is perfectly natural. He has to show her exactly how to use "force". Before that he teaches her how to wear her uniform and rolls up her sleeve. I do not sense any resentment in Yeon Woo at all.

Shirley, you really should finish the drama. If you had persisted, you would have come across (in Episode 9), Eun Sup telling Yeon Woo that he's not a good person, that he does not deserve her love, and that Min Ho is the right man for her. This is the scene when they are sitting back to back at the glass door of her room, with Yeon Woo saying "It's all right" every time Eun Sup makes a point and tears running down her face. Eun Sup is doing what he thinks is best for her. Before this Eun Sup has commented on the relationship between Yeon Woo and Min Ho. I do not understand why Shirley takes offense at this. All Eun Sup says is: "You two are like husband and wife. You scold one another when you are together, but you miss one another when you are apart." I think this is a very perceptive comment and certainly not offensive.

The second half of "Sunshine" falls into the standard pattern of Korean drama. Yeon Woo discovers Eun Sup's father is the one who "kills" her father. (As it turns out, he is not the real murderer.) Love goes out the window and ambivalent feelings set in. She cannot hate him because it is not really his fault, but she cannot love him anymore. But instead of telling him the reason, she suffers in silence and makes him suffer too. Then she goes flip-flopping. She wavers between Eun Sup and Min Ho, driving both crazy. I think her conduct here is unforgivable. I can accept that she can no longer accept Eun Sup, but to give Min Ho hope when she knows she can never love him is callous. There is nothing in love that says the one who comes first has priority. In "Sunshine", the problem lies with the previous generation -- the crimes of the father visited upon the children. So if the premise is reconciliation is impossible (at least that is Yeon Woo's attitude), then the second half is just running rings around the actors. I find the second half tedious.

The real weakness of "Sunshine" lies in the ending. All accounts point to JHJ's role is originally the supporting one (the other guy who plays Kim Min Ho is the lead.) But when the drama starts on TV, Korean viewers swamp the SBS website with praise of JHJ. Ever responsive to the audience, SBS expands JHJ's role. But I guess they cannot possibly relegate the #1 male Rye Seong Beom to a subsidiary role. (Rumour has it Rye's brother is a director, maybe even a friend of the director of "Sunshine".) Hence the director/scriptwriter in their unfathomable wisdom conceive of this perfect way to end the drama -- a threesome. They cannot let Eun Sup and Yeon Woo come together. They cannot very well make Yeon Woo and Min Ho a couple. So they devise this "everybody lives together happily ever after" ending which pleases no one, least of all JHJ fans.