The meaning of the moon in Encounter

From the start, the writer and drawer make sure that viewers can associate our heroine CSH to the moon. First, let us focus on the first drawing. Here, the princess appears in a dark and gloomy environment. It is not just night, the moon doesn’t seem to shine like it should.

Notice that it is not even full moon and the moon crescent is even hidden by the huge castle. All these points (moon crescent, hidden by the castle and lack of brilliance) underlines that CSH is not herself in the end. Since the castle embodies Y. Group and the pavilion Donghwa Hotel, we can better understand why CSH is still perceived as the ex-daughter in law of the chairman Kim. Now you might wonder why CSH is connected to the moon? First, it is quite simple. In the poetry, woman is often associated with the moon. This is no coincidence because the menstrual cycle lasts around 28 days which corresponds to the lunar cycle: 28 days. Another point is that in Europe, in many languages the moon is a feminine noun: la lune (French), la luna (Spanish, Italian) aso because they all have the same origin: luna from latin which was also a feminine noun because in the Roman mythology, Luna was a goddess. But now let us go back to our heroine. In the first episode, we witness her awakening which happens with the sunset. It was as if the sun would kiss the sea (another element embodying CSH) which would awaken our heroine. However, the beholder shouldn’t forget that the sunset announces the rise of the moon. And now you understand better why CSH acts so differently in Cuba. During this night, the moon shines just like CSH. During this fateful night, CSH reveals herself in front of KJH. She is far away from the castle and the gloomy environment. Striking is that many important events also happen during the night:

• CSH visits KJH’s playground after work. Here she shows more her true personality as she is curious about this place.

• In the episode 3, she plays happily, she can forget her worries and everything else. 

• The scene where KJH is drunk
• in the episode 5, she cries after leaving KJH because she thinks, she has to cut ties with him. She can not bear the thought therefore she visits the place where there is this huge painting that she likes

• What caught my attention is this taking. This is shown, just before KJH meets her in front of the painting. KJH feels happy first, until he looks at these pictures. Look at the photo on the left. The moon is about to be hidden, the moon crescent is barely visible. As you can observe, this picture kind of sends a warning: CSH is about to hide herself again. 

• In the episode 11: she sits on the swing underlining that she is accepting KJH’s world. She feels comfortable. She is not hiding as she is also wearing a red coat. 

• And in the last episode, she meets KJH at his playground again. This scene mirrors the scene from the episode 2, however the role are here reversed. While KJH was the one who caught there, CSH is the one who surprises her loved one. And during this night, it not only snowed but also they kissed in that playground. It was as if the kiss sealed their relationship. The beholder can notice that as time passed on, KJH and CSH got closer each time, when they were at the playground. In the former picture, KJH was not equal to CSH. He is on his knees and barely touches her knee. Now, both are standing but KJH embraces without restraint. 

All these mentioned scenes had something in common: CSH was herself, she never contained her true feelings. She couldn’t even hide her thoughts and even her happiness. That’s why CSH is like Cinderella. Cinderella is forced to only appear during the night due to the balls. Here, Cinderella shines. Yet, the writer changed one thing. In Cinderella, the protagonist hides her true identity behind her beautiful gown therefore no one can recognize her. In Encounter, it is different. CSH does the opposite: she reveals her true personality. Actually, the situation is reversed. She is not a princess, but a single woman longing for love and warmth. She becomes a normal woman, she drops her princess status. By associating CSH to the moon, we understand better why CSH was suffering from insomnia. The moon is only visible during the night… so CSH could only “live” during the night, as she was living like a corpse during the day. But even during the night, her actions were limited as she was monitored by the media and her ex-mother in law. Her insomnia was a symptom that CSH couldn’t live freely.

But the moon can not live without the sun as the moon revolves around the sun. In another analysis I had pointed out that the sun symbolizes KJH. Without the sun, the moon can not shine at all and this applies to our heroine. That’s why at the end of this drama, the drawing put these two together. KJH as the sun helps CSH to shine, as she can smile and be happy.