Fall 2023 SDLC111
Monthly Language Learning Journal #3
David Kim
30262888
david.kim123@richmond.edu
For November, my language partner and I watched episode four and five of the Korean drama show “Mask Girl” on Netflix. Episode four “Kim Chun-ae” starts with Kim Chun-ae telling her story to Kim Kyung-ja. During high school, Kim Chun-ae’s first love was Buyong, a K-pop idol trainee. Buyong kept borrowing money from Kim Chun-ae, but did not give back any of the money. After Buyong debuted, Kim Chun-ae secretly heard that Buyong thought of her as his personal ATM. Kim Chun-ae got mad of her and uploaded his high school pictures of smoking, drinking, and inappropriately hanging out with his friends. This scene reminded me of episode three, when Ju Oh-nam sent a threatening email to Kim Mo-mi because he couldn’t hold his anger. I think these connections captures another important dark side of South Korea’s internet culture, 악플(Ak-peul) hate or mean comments. Some immature people leave hate comments even though the news is not yet true or proved wrong. There are also some young people who killed themselves because of hate comments. After getting plastic surgery, Kim Chun-ae bumps into Buyong, who has no job and is living a meaningless life. To support him, Kim Chun-ae works at a bar at night and becomes the most popular worker dancing and singing. She meets Kim Mo-mi there and gets close with her just like sisters. They both lived a lonely life and wanted to get prettier. To protect her, Kim Chun-ae lies to Kim Kyung-ja that she will try to find Kim Mo-mi. Kim Chun-ae was living with Kim Mo-mi and tells her to leave far away immediately. Kim Chun-ae tries to get her stuff at her house without getting caught by Buyong, but Buyong finds out that she was the one who ruined his life. Kim Chun-ae and Kim Mo-mi kill Buyong by suffocation and get away in a car with his dead body in the trunk. Kim Mo-mi reveals that she is pregnant. Even though it is Ju Oh-nam’s baby, she is going to raise her with love, telling her she is beautiful. Kim Kyung-ja caught up with them and killed Kim Chun-ae with her gun. Kim Kyung-ja gets stoned by Kim Chun-ae. Kim Mo-mi put the bodies all together in the car and dumped the car into the river. Mask Girl turned herself in. Episode four captured the dark reality in South Korea about unfair love relationships, working at night, telling bad things about a different person, and hate. I was impressed that it also showed how you can still find someone who will be on your side no matter what just like Kim Chun-ae.
Episode five “Kim Mi-mo” is the story of Kim Mi-mo, the daughter of Kim Mo-mi and Ju Oh-nam. Mask Girl is sentenced to life imprisonment. Kim Mi-mo was raised by her grandmother, Kim Mo-mi’s mother. However, she realized that she was the daughter of Mask Girl. Wherever she moved, the rumor kept following her and she became antisocial and rebellious. She only had a good relationship with the old woman who sold tteokbokki. She finally made a friend at a new school. Her name was Ye-chun, but she lied to Kim Mi-mo to be close with her. She was raised in a peaceful family of parents and younger siblings, but told Kim Mi-mo that her father was alcoholic and was violent toward her mother and herself. The rumor about Mask Girl’s daughter also became a hot topic in Kim Mi-mo’s new school. Kim Mi-mo found out that Ye-chun was lying about her family. Episode five reminded me of episode one because of the rumors. Rumors influenced Kim Mi-mo in a bad way, even though she did nothing wrong. I think there is a connection between hate comments and rumors because internet rumors could affect a person’s life in a bad way through hate comments. I look forward to the next episodes about Kim Mi-mo and her relationships with her grandma, tteokbokki grandma, and her friend Ye-chun.
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