Although this story, written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, looks like a book for children due to the drawings and the style, in reality The little prince is classified as a philosophical tale. First, the author is criticizing through this story our modern society… don’t forget that it was written during World War Two therefore he wanted people to question themselves and their values. The main points are the following:
– the contrast between appearances and reality
– the incapacity of communicating between adults and children
– the importance of relationships among people and to take care of them
– the sense of responsibility towards others
– the loss of true values due to money and power (represented by different kind of adults: the king, the drunkard, the geographer as scientist, the businessman, the vain man and the streetlight igniter)
In The Little Prince, the adults are portrayed in a pejorative way: their lives consist of dependencies (alcohol, the need of admiration, the greed to possess etc.), of loneliness and lack of feelings. After reading this short description, you can observe that CSH’s world looks a lot like the world in this story. The two main protagonists in The Little Prince are the aviator and the Little Prince, yet they should be considered as representing the same person because the main point of this tale is to ask people to take care of their inner child. That’s why you can read in The little Prince
“All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.”
The little prince represents the child embodying all the positive aspects like innocence, creativity, imagination, purity and curiosity in opposite to the adults mentioned above, while the narrator and aviator is the adult. Meeting the prince in the desert means that the aviator is able to rediscover his inner child and rethink about his own life: True values like friendship and love become visible again hence the fox says that
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
At the end of the story, The Little Prince leaves the aviator behind (officially he goes back to his planet but since a snake bit him, we can wonder if he died), yet the narrator says that he is still looking for the little prince, even asking the readers if they saw him. Besides, when the aviator looks at the stars in the sky, he always thinks of him. As you can see, the aviator doesn’t forget his “inner child”. He is an grown-up after all, yet he shouldn’t forget his inner child.
In the beginning, the aviator explains an unforgettable event. When he was 6 years old, the adults couldn’t understand his drawing hence he gave up to become an artist. From that moment, the aviator started living like a grown-up… and here we can see a parallel with CSH. It was around this age, where she was forced to give up her innocence and carefree life and become an adult at an young age. Meeting KJH is like meeting the little prince. She discovers what she has long forgotten: love, joy, carefree life aso. This also justifies why KJH has this playfulness and cheerfulness as he is still very innocent. He might be a grown-up on the surface, yet his personality reminds us of a “child”. I can not forget how some viewers sometimes reacted to his huge smiles… they were somehow bothered by these smiles. But seeing these from this perspective, KJH is the little prince, the one who will awaken CSH’s inner child. Thanks to him, CSH is able to perceive life with her heart and no longer with her eyes. JWS was too realistic and too grown-up to bring happiness into her life. On the other hand, CSH represents the adulthood because in the philosophical tale, the little prince starts changing as well: he discovers what friendship and love mean which becomes painful for him. He loses little by little his innocence as well.
He left his planet because of the rose. The flower was so vain, contradictory but vulnerable, however she ended up hurting the little prince with her words. She loves him but she is well aware that she was the reason he misunderstood her. The rose symbolizes on the one hand femininity and on the other love. The little prince only realized how unique his rose was after meeting the fox:
“It’s the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important.”
We could say that KJH is resembling a lot to the little prince. He spent a lot of time with his rose, took great care of her but due to her words, he ended up leaving her behind. The rose could be perceived either as CSH (she broke up with him) or his mother (who hurt him by forcing CSH to break up with him). Moreover, moving closer to CSH who is the archetype of the adult means facing reality and the world of the grown-ups. He met the queen Chairman Kim, the greedy director Choi, the jealous CEO JWS… Each time, he got hurt but was able to overcome the suffering. He experienced a lot with CSH. He became little by little an adult. Yet his mother refused to see it. That’s why CSH and KJH are both saying the same at the end: they make the other a better person. CSH can become more cheerful and playful again, KJH has become a real man. He is her fence and her protector. They complete each other.
Striking is that CSH has a lot in common with the little prince as well. First, she possesses a painting representing The Little prince. We could interpret that the little prince embodies her inner child that she has long forgotten and is trapped in the painting.
Their situation is similar: both are lonely. He lived on his planet, she lived for her hotel. Secondly, both enjoy watching sunsets. The prince said he could watch 44 sunsets on his planet, when he felt sad. And we saw how the sunset in Cuba had such an impact on She could forget her sad life, this even marked the time of her awakening: trying to enjoy life differently. That’s why we have this.
episode 1
Yet after meeting the boyfriend’s mother and her rejection, Cha Soo Hyun is once again confronted with the reality, the world of adults. The beholder witnesses how affected she is.
episode 15
Notice how she is sitting next to the little prince. She has always been turning her back on him, in a sense we could say that she has been trying not to acknowledge her “inner child”, although we know that CSH had started changing. Nonetheless, the way this scene was taken underlines another aspect: we barely see the little prince, hence we come to the conclusion that his presence has been even reduced. Don’t forget that she is about to break up with JH. Moreover, the wall/door on the side which covers the face of the little prince could be interpreted as the pressure CSH is feeling right now. She is again fighting against her inner demons: the right to be happy. She feels that happiness can only be a dream. For her, unhappiness means reality. Reality is linked to being a grown-up. She associates reality and adulthood with unhappiness since no adult around her has ever been shown happy. See her ex-husband, her mother (never satisfied with her actual life), her father (regretting his bad choice), her ex-mother-in-law, her secretary Nam (he stopped being a journalist, never confessed to his loved one…), JMJ trying to chase the perfect husband … Moreover, I sense that she might even think that she, the princess, is cursed to be unhappy in her life therefore her curse might affect JH’s family. This is the real reason for the break-up.
The presence of this philosophical tale is only really revealed at the end of the episode 14, where CSH is reading the book next to KJH. However, it appeared much earlier with the painting in CSH’s bedroom.
This is the biggest painting on the right. What I didn’t know is the existence a sculpture of The Little Prince with the fox in South Korea. As I had mentioned it before, the fox is not really visible in the painting. The little boy is the main character which shows that CSH has always felt a certain closeness towards this extraordinary character. Another visible trace is the bouquet, it is protected just like the little prince protected his rose.
picture from the book episode 14
To conclude, the writer and director used different visuals to create a connection between the philosophical tale and this drama (bouquet, painting, the book). But it goes far beyond that.
The title of this drama has a lot in common with this French story. Encounter is what actually defines the work from François de Saint Exupéry. Because the aviator had a plane crash in the desert, he met casually the Little Prince. Then the little boy meets the fox as a coincidence as well. The appearance of his beloved rose is not something planned either. One day, she appeared on his planet and the little prince had no idea how it came to life. So far, he had been busy taking care of his planet (see the picture above):
– cleaning the volcanoes,
– taking out the roots of baobabs as they represent a thread to his planet
Therefore when he saw for the first time this flower, he was clueless what she was and where she came from. As you can see, due to encounters, The little prince changes little by little, is forced to make decisions which leads him to leave his planet, to explore other planets and to meet new people. He leaves his planet because the rose due to her vanity, carelessness and arrogance took him for granted and thought, he would remain by her side despite her behavior.
And this leads me to the third aspect, the brevity of the encounters. The Little Prince never stays very long on the different planets he visits. First, the adults he meets are very flawed hence not interesting. They are even more self-absorbed, which the main character realizes. Secondly, even after meeting the aviator and spending some time with him, The Little Prince decides to leave the desert and to go back to his planet. By announcing to the aviator (the narrator) his immanent departure, he forces his friend to leave the desert too. As you can see, even if their encounter was very meaningful because the Little prince became a meaningful person to the narrator, they don’t stay together in the end. Their separation is indeed painful. He knows that the aviator can leave the desert with his plane hence he forces the narrator to do it by announcing his own departure. And here we have the difference between The Little Prince and Encounter. KJH wants to remain by CSH’s side no matter what and he keeps telling her that in order to reassure her. CSH had a lot of encounters, but all of them were with the same person: KJH. For the Little Prince, it was different… he met different people which made him realize how adults were, what friendship and love was aso. On his journey, The Little Prince makes a lot of new experiences which changes him little by little… he becomes more mature and wise. At the end, he discovers in a painful way what love is. Here, I also perceive another similarity with CSH, our protagonist. Thanks to KJH, she discovers love, cart food, average dishes, sand game, the joy of the salsa dance, an open-air gallery aso… Thanks to KJH, her horizon is broadened and enriched. She can feel again, her heart can see things which she couldn’t before. And it is the same for The Little Prince. Since I had already compared KJH and CSH to the Little Prince, my main focus will be elsewhere here in order to avoid any repetition.
Another similarity between these two works are the characters. I have the impression that certain people from The Little Prince resemble a lot to the characters from Encounter, like for example Chairman Kim. She could be compared to the King. The latter lives alone on his planet but he needs to have subjects in order to act as a King. And here, the Chairman Kim acts and lives like a queen. For her, she is royalty and her subjects have to follow her orders. Once she no longer needs them, she can discard them. Yet, at the end she ends up alone because she had abused her position. She didn’t realize that for her position, she had to act reasonably in order to keep subjects around her. And The King in TLP (The Little Prince) is well aware of that. He knows that his demands have to be reasonable, yet he tends to abuse his power anyway. The contradiction is visible in both stories. Their sense of superiority can only exist as long as there is someone besides them but they are not aware of that. Then we have the businessman who could be also linked to the Chairman Kim who wants to possess more and more. Her thrust for money is endless that’s why at the end, she is caught for bribery. But the most important character from TLP resembling to a character from Encounter is the fox. You might wonder about his identity in Encounter…. In my opinion, teacher Lee acts a lot like the fox. The first connection is her title. She is a teacher and the fox is the one who teaches The Little Prince what friendship is and what love is. He listens to him and gives explanation without giving him real advice. He doesn’t just explain what friendship is, he teaches him through experience. He asks the prince to tame him and as such to create ties between them. The fox is the wise teacher, the one who is there for him and who declares that the colour of the wheat fields will always remind him of The Little Prince. And teacher Lee has a similar behavior in Encounter. She doesn’t interact much between CSH and KJH, she always listens to both and explains things without giving any advice. She never stopped CSH from breaking up with KJH. She felt sad and sorry but she said nothing. Then in the dark room, she is the one who reminded CSH to enjoy the present because death could occur anytime. She mentioned missing her husband after his death… Yet she never told CSH to visit KJH. She let CSH make her decision. And that’s exactly what the fox did too. He always let the little prince come to his own conclusion. He only helped him by giving him valuable information.
Furthermore another comparison is the place. KJH and CSH met in Cuba, a country where they were on their own. So for them, Cuba was like a desert as they only interacted with each other. For them, the others were like inexistant. Don’t forget that CSH and KJH didn’t pay attention to the dancers during the sunset, they were both focused on the beautiful scenery.
episode 1
CSH didn’t see the couple dancing. Then later, they walked barefoot without paying attention to others again. So they acted as if they were alone all this time. And to me, the desert from The Little Prince resembles a lot to Cuba. Although it is a desert, The Little Prince is able to meet the narrator, the fox, the other roses and the snake. It is not an empty place, it is a place where it is difficult to live. And the evening spent together in Cuba was exactly like that. CSH had trouble to walk to the top of the hill, she had lost her cellphone and purse therefore later they hadn’t much money, it was quite difficult to manage to eat and have a good evening. Her situation is really similar to the aviator’s situation: his plane needs to be repared and he has nothing. Yet despite everything, CSH was able to survive and to enjoy the evening: experience new things. And this is exactly what happened to the aviator and the little Prince. Despite the loneliness, the harshness of the environment, they were able to survive, to overcome the loneliness as both became close, just like CSH and KJH.
The picture above from The Little Prince represents the street lighter turning on and off the light. He lives on the smallest planet and the latter turns around one cycle per minute hence the worker has no time to rest. The street lighter is blindly following the instruction. He never questions the meaning of this instruction or tries to change it hence he is unhappy. As you can sense, the street lighter represents the workers’ social class in reality. But what does he have to do with our favorite drama Encounter?
First, let me remind you that the story written by François de Saint Exupéry contains a lot of drawings which makes you think that this book is for children. So the drawing above is the perfect illustration. And Encounter has the same approach: it uses drawings in each episode in order to illustrate the topic or the main event of the episode.
episode 14
Looking at such a drawing, you can’t help thinking about fairy tales and we all know that fairy tales are stories for children as well. As conclusion, both works give the appearance of being stories for a younger audience (one a fairy tale, the other for little children), while in reality the purpose of these stories is different. On the one hand, Encounter is actually using fairy tales elements in order to demystify the fairy tales, on the other hand the writer and director want us to reflect about life and happiness. And The Little Prince has the same purpose: the adults should question their own values and even not forget their inner child in order to be happy. The adults portrayed there were all very flawed as they had forgotten what was really important in life. In Encounter, CSH is in the end the perfect illustration of such an adult. She is trapped in her own world, too focused on others and forgetting herself in the end. This explains why The Little Prince is still so popular after so many years, its message is timeless. And this is what the writer and the director tried to do with Encounter: they used books, paintings, poems from different times so that a certain intemporality can be perceived. Besides, this drama made you think of an old film, a classic due to the music (intro) and the drawings. Sure, there is a difference with the story The Little Prince, like for example the use of the cellphone. Remember that I had pointed out how the cellphone helped KJH to get closer to CSH (first texts, then phone calls, thirdly pictures, then video calls, then song over the phone etc). In the book, there is no description of the plane f. ex…. and the planets explored by the prince seem to be too unreal making us think that this is a story for children. This difference can be easily explained: we are not reading a book but watching a drama so the story is embedded in its time
But now let’s go back to the street lighter. So far, The Little Prince had more sympathy with him than with the other adults (King, drunkard, the businessman or the conceited man) hence he wished to have become his friend. One of the reasons was that the worker was not selfish, due to his work he is not self-absorbed. He takes care of others in reality. Besides, his work shows a certain utility: in the prince’s eyes, turning on the light is as if a star would be born/shine. It looks beautiful and nice. However, the little boy doesn’t stay on that planet because it is too small. And who resembles to this character in Encounter? To me, the street lighter reminds me of KJH’s mother. First, the mother belongs to the same social class: the workers’ class. Then she is not someone who questions values and traditions, just like the street lighter who never questions the absurdity of the instruction. She sticks to her role as mother and wife: helping her sons and husband. That’s why she can be perceived as not selfish. She lives in her own world, too scared to disobey or even question anything. When The little Prince offered advice and help in order to improve the street lighter’s situation, the latter clearly refuses it. He was too scared to change anything. The refusal of any change, even the rejection reminds us KJH’s mother. She rejected CSH claiming that she belonged to another world, she said that she wanted to keep her family as it was. To conclude, she has a lot of similarities with the street lighter:
– the lack of judgement, the prejudice
– the refusal of any change even if it means discomfort. Both are prisoners of their past in the end. The street lighter had a nice life in the beginning, yet it changed as the planet turned around much quicker.
– the same social class
– the fear: The Little Prince even got aware that the worker would be looked down by the others (conceited man, king, businessman) due to his situation and KJH’s mother had this fear.
But if CSH’s father is not the street lighter, then who resembles him? I have the impression that CJH could be the geographer, the scientist. Both have a similar work: the geographer writes books, CJH was a journalist. Both love books as well. The flaw of the geographer is that he never explores himself the world, he keeps writing and reading books, yet he never experiences the beauty of the ocean. He never leaves his desk hence he doesn’t know his planet at all. He represents the uselessness of the science if someone is forgetting the real purpose of the science. He is actually a prisoner too, just like the street lighter… but not of the past but of the future. And a politician is often too focused on the future, forgetting the present. Yet the geographer is the one who encourages The Little Prince to explore the world and discover things. He is not different from CJH. The latter encourages his daughter to face the world, to experience new things… and at the end he realizes that he should change his life as well, not focussing too much on the future but enjoy the present.
As for the conceited man (“le vaniteux”), I see some parallels with our second lead, Jung Woo Suk. Both are focused on their appearance as they are seeking admiration. JWS pays a great deal to his clothes because he thinks that Cha Soo Hyun might be impressed by his appearance. Remember his unfortunate encounter with Cha Soo Hyun at the shop. However, the difference is that the conceited man lives alone hence he has definitely no admirer around him. Being alone means that he can never find any admirers. For JWS, this is different. He is used to be admired. Despite this contrast, they are both in the same situation. JWS is determined to win her love (which is a sort of admiration), just like the conceited man asks the little prince to be his admirer and clap his hand. Their selfishness and their lack of consideration to the other are visible in both cases. The Little Prince is tired of clapping his hands and he realizes that the vain man is blind and deaf. He is just too self-absorbed to have a normal conversation with the main protagonist. He just gives orders and he is not even aware that his whole existence is pointless as he lives alone on his planet. JWS is not really different from him. He might have many female admirers, however he is just as blind and deaf as the vain man. Moreover, he also gives orders to CSH (“meet me at the sky lounge”). He thinks, he is generous enough to tell her that she can take her time. He ignores her words that she won’t meet him. Finally, he is also alone in his own world. While the vain man lives on a planet, we could say that JWS lives in a coffin due to his liking for brown and black and for rectangles.
Even the painting and the windows have the form of oblongs.
He is never seen outdoors (only when he is forced to meet KJH, his rival). And even in a room, he usually doesn’t look outside.
episode 5
His back is always facing the windows which reflects his personality: narrow-mindedness. And just like the vain man, JWS ends up alone in his realm. The Little Prince is bothered by the behavior of this adult, Cha Soo Hyun has never loved him and will never love him. Unlike the vain man, JWS gets aware that he will never be able to win CSH’s heart. He accepts his fate and turns his attention towards the other woman in his life, his mother. But since she is in jail, he lives alone in this lifeless and empty house.
episode 16
This last picture reflects perfectly JWS’s life: loneliness. He is a king without any real subject. He just has his loyal secretary and that’s it. He is still sitting with his back to the windows. His life has not changed, just like with the conceited man. MEeting the little prince doesn’t change the life of this adult. The only difference is that JWS is no longer seeking Cha Soo Hyun’s love.
Another similarity is the presence of the star.
episode 16
We have the poem “Enchanted” where the star is mentioned, then this illustration where the sun and moon are reunited which creates a shining star. Their love transcends time and space. And at the end of The Little Prince, the narrator asks the readers to think of The Little Prince if they are in Africa in the desert and a start shines… the little prince could appear anytime. The star as symbol is used in both works.
Finally, I would like to remind that each adult in the philosophical tale should be seen as a different part of ourselves. They just represent a certain flaw and the adult has to keep these aspects in check in order to enjoy life and be happy.
After meeting KJH’s mother, it becomes clear that CSH will choose to break up with him. She has many reasons for this decision. First, we have to imagine that she suffered a lot in her first marriage due to the mental abuse from her mother-in-law. So when she met YJ, the words from the latter clearly showed that she wouldn’t accept her as future daughter-in-law. So I doubt that anyone who suffered abuse from a mother-in-law would be ready to go through the same experience again. Secondly, KJH kept pressuring her to marry him. He had noticed her unhappiness, when she saw the couple in wedding clothes. He offered her the bouquet but she never gave an answer… he had to ask over and over again, until she accepted his proposal. Her hesitation is quite understandable. She associates marriage to unhappiness. When she saw the wedding dress, she was reminded of her unhappy marriage which left a huge scar in CSH’s heart. CSH was not only scarred by her mother-in-law but by her marriage as such. Don’t forget that until she finally met SA, she really thought that her husband had fallen in love with another woman and never really loved her.
So when we see this scene, CSH is looking at the painting created by Soo Ah. The painting is called the bride and strangely, the bride has no head. We only see the gown of the bride. Since the head is missing, it creates an anonymity. Due to the colors (yellow, beige and grey), a certain melancholy oozes from the painting too. Moreover, the bride dress is not really white, rather cream giving the impression that time had passed on. To conclude, this bride and marriage is not evoking happiness, rather lost time or dreams.
In this taking, CSH in the background is standing for a long time in front of that painting. To me, it looks like CSH is actually thinking about her next move, the break up. Yet, I also sense that by looking at the picture she is trying to find solace. She will break up with KJH, yet she is imagining herself getting married again. On the one hand, the painting helps her to escape from her oppressive situation, on the other hand to find closure. By imagining herself in that dress, she is able to give up on the marriage. That’s why there is no head. The beholder is asked to imagine herself in that gown.
Then in this taking, we have the fake mistress in the foreground. She is the author of that painting. In my opinion, she was inspired by her own situation. Back then, she had signed a contract with JWS asking her to eat with him and spend times with him in exchange for money. She had to act like the girlfriend and mistress. However, as time passed on, she fell in love with JWS and she started dreaming of marrying JWS. As you can see, she drew the painting with this wish in mind. She wished to be the bride and kept waiting and hoping that this would come true. That’s why the beholder perceives longing and melancholy in this drawing. However, she could never express her wish because she was bound with the contract therefore the bride has no head. She can not show it in the open. The painting helped her to hope and overcome her loneliness. However, when JWS broke up with her, she realized that this had just been a dream. JWS has always loved his wife. Giving the painting back to CSH means that SA gives up on her dream. She has come back to reality, she wished that CSH can get a new start (a happy marriage either with her boyfriend or with her ex-husband). Since she explains the whole situation to CSH later, from my point of view, she actually tries to help JWS in the end. They might get a new start, however this is too late. Moreover, JWS had hurt her with his action. Since she saw CSH with KJH at the gallery, she knows that her relationship with KJH is serious… that’s why I sense that SA’s gesture (offering the painting) illustrates her wish to redeem herself and to help CSH to find happiness and a new start in life.
because they mark the turning point in CSH’s life. This scene represents CSH’s awakening and the eyes are the evidence of CSH’s change. When someone sleeps, the persons closes his eyes. So the eyes reveal if the person is awakened or asleep. However, when someone is in a coma or vegetative state, the eyes can remain opened, yet they show neither emotions nor reaction to their surrounding. To sum up, the eyes represent an important signal for the physical state of a person. Since CSH explained to JWS (episode 7) that she had been in a coma for so long, we can conclude that her eyes had been opened all this time but they were emotionless and distant. So the eyes in the second taking above illustrates the change in CSH’s mind: her eyes are shining like stars, even smiling because she has been touched by the beauty of the sunset. All of her senses are fully awakened now. She is reacting to the sunset and to the wonderful music.
This explains why the famous Roman senator Cicero (1. Century BC) wrote once: “The face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are its interpreter”. From ancient times, people could notice the importance of the eyes. In French and in English, we have the saying too that eyes are the mirror of the soul. Why? First, we have no control over our eyes, unlike our mouth. With the latter, we can decide to remain mute or lie or say the truth, however it is not the same for the eyes hence the eyes give away a lot of information about our emotional state. The person can never really control his emotions. People can fake their smile but they often forget about their eyes. We could use as example for this CSH’s smile at the end of the episode 14. She fakes happiness, while her eyes reveal her sadness and pain. Hence the gaze is connected to sincerity and genuineness. Moreover, the eye is more complex compared to the lips, as it is composed of a pupil, the tears, an eyebrow, eyelid, the corner of the eye, of possible dark circle under the eye. Furthermore, we have two eyes and not just one which reinforce the expressed emotions.
But let us go back to the eyes of our heroine before the awakening (episode 7). They show neither reaction nor emotion. Her eyes are totally blank. This scene confirms her allegation, when she confronted Jung Woo Suk in the episode 9.
She really looks like a person in a vegetative state as she doesn’t even move her head or her body. Striking is that CSH’s eyes are looking down. And this gesture is really important. First, this reflects her actual situation. By lowering her eyes, she is in reality lowering herself in front of her mother-in-law. Her eyes outline her inferiority in front of Chairman Kim. Secondly her action shows that she is actually avoiding people’s gaze. While her mother-in-law is talking to her, she keeps staring at her dish. Why is she avoiding people’s gaze, if she is in a coma? We have to understand that the eyes have another function as well. They can reflect the other. The other’s gaze is a substitute for the mirror. If CSH looked into the chairman’s eyes, she would see a glimpse of herself, but it is a deformed reflection because the chairman Kim judges her at the same time. She only catches a small part of CSH. Through her mother-in-law, she would see herself in a coma. She would be reminded of her terrible situation which would increase her pain. But if you pay attention to the scene in the episode 7, you’ll notice that the chairman Kim is doing the same. She is also avoiding CSH’s eyes. Only when her son appeared, she turned her head towards him and looked at him. Later, we discover why JWS’s mother avoided CSH’s eyes.
Chairman Kim says: ” I always felt uncomfortable about the look in her eyes. That look in her eyes always bothers me. I hated her for that.”
Why did she dislike CSH’s eyes? A simple answer would be that CSH’s eyes were different. CSH never envied or admired her and her son. While all the others would worship them and try to get closer to them, CSH was never attracted by them. The mother-in-law couldn’t bear the thought that someone was looking at her differently, was not considering her as a queen. That’s why chairman Kim abused her and tried to control CSH. In this scene (episode 7), the mother-in-law gives the following orders:
“Get your hair done… wear the clothes they prepared (…) People would be waiting to see your face. You have to be tidier than situation like this. Smile more. But don’t smile too much.”
As you can see, she is taking control of CSH’s body. She treats her daughter-in-law like a doll which explains why her son criticized her in an earlier episode for treating CSH like a thing. But this is not just the hair and the clothes, but also the way she smiles and she moves. And now we have to remember this: we have no control over the eyes. How can the mother-in-law take control over the eyes, if the owner can not even control them. This is impossible. The mother-in-law was fighting against nature, a doomed battle. Now we have another explanation why the mother-in-law was upset. This was the only thing she could never control as CSH couldn’t even control her own eyes. This underlines the dictatorial tendency of JWS’s mother. A third explanation is that the chairman Kim also saw a glimpse of herself in CSH’s eyes which she didn’t like. As I said before, the eyes function as a mirror, although the reflection is deformed as the other judges you at the same time. Chairman Kim saw a part of herself, she didn’t want to see: the abusive, greedy and selfish person. CSH might have been in a vegetative state and never react to her mother-in-law’s cruel words, however CSH never stopped thinking and couldn’t stop herself from resenting JWS’s mother. This would infuriate the mother-in-law which would force her to abuse CSH even more and it became a vicious circle, until CSH and JWS’s mother avoided each other’s gaze as it had become too unbearable.
Since we talked about mirrors, I would like to explain why CSH was so obsessed with mirrors. She had one next to her desk and in her bedroom. Her mirrors were even huge. The mirrors outlined her loneliness, by having her own reflection next to her, she would feel less lonely. Moreover, by looking at herself, she would feel that she was still alive. The mirror would confirm her existence, would reassure her… Moreover, this would give her the opportunity to take control over her body. The mirror reflects the image she wishes to see but the problem with the mirror is that it doesn’t really help you to see your personality, only the appearance. On the other hand, the other’s gaze let see you a part of your personality… even if it’s a deformed and partial view. Only with the presence of another person, you can discover your true self. CSH tried to see herself in the mirror but she only saw her appearance not her personality. Only after meeting KJH and looking at his eyes, she started seeing herself and discovering herself. Remember that she said that she had many identities (CJH’s daughter f. ex.) but in reality, she was seeking for her own identity. Who is exactly CSH, the person behind this name? While the chairman’s gaze revealed to her an terrible reflection, with KJH she could perceive her good side. His eyes let her see how beautiful she was. But she never saw her own happiness. That’s why KJH’s words in the episode 16 are so important. “With these pictures, you will see a side of you that you never knew”.
Now, we have another aspect: the importance of the pictures. The pictures serve here as a mirror of her happiness, the side she never saw and knew. Neither the mirror nor the eyes were able to allow her to discover another glimpse of herself.
episode 16
As you can see, CSH was desperately searching for her own identity and personality all this time and had no idea how to find it. The pictures helped her to find herself and allowed her to choose happiness. And this also justifies why CSH is determined to take many pictures later. For her, the pictures have a meaningful purpose. Because they helped her, she realises the importance of pictures. However, when she sees herself in the pictures, she is not alone. Teacher Lee is by her side and tells her how she judges the pictures: “I really love your expressions. How pretty. You look happy”. Then she remembers Kim Jin Hyuk’s words:
As conclusion, Cha Soo Hyun can only discover herself thanks to the pictures and thanks to the eyes of her boyfriend and teacher Lee. Alone, she wouldn’t have been capable. Through the eyes of others, the human being is able to perceive himself, discover a part of his personality. This idea comes from the French philosopher Sartre who wrote the theater play “No exit” (Huis-clos) where the 3 dead main characters, reunited in a room, are forced to live together and see their own flaws in the eyes of the others as there is no mirror in the room. They realize what kind of persons they truly were in their past life. That’s why this famous phrase comes from this work: “Hell is other people”. Actually, Sartre is not saying that we should avoid social contact, it is just that the eyes of others might become unpleasant as we see a glimpse of ourselves in them. However, the real conclusion is to incite people to make the right decisions and to do good to others so that the gaze of others reflect a good image and judgement of ourselves. Here, the happiness of Cha Soo Hyun will shine and be reflected in Kim Jin Huyk’s eyes. It will make him happy and that’s what Cha Soo Hyun realized in the dark room.
Through the introduction with the drawings, especially in the first episode, we have the impression that we are about to watch a fairy tale. First, we see a flying horse, an imagined animal. Then the main character, Cha Soo Hyun, is presented as a princess living alone in a huge castle. She is wearing a crown, however she leaves her huge palace and has to go through a huge forest full of thorns in order to be able to see the sun and the sunlight. She arrives in Cuba.
From the start, we see the reference of Cinderella. Cha Soo Hyun loses one of her shoes which KJH has to pick up
episode one
, he even buys her new ones, sandals that are far more simple and comfortable. Just like the prince, Kim Jin Huyk has no idea about her identity. He is just fascinated and attracted by her. Even Cha Soo Hyun exclaims after her return from the ball (salsa show) that she has been Cinderella. Furthermore we have other allusions about Cinderella:
more than one ball (the second happens at the end of the episode 8),
episode 8 and 9
the mask representing a pumpkin,
episode 8
the fact that the color of the mask is grey, the same color than ashes because she is hiding herself behind her expressionless face. Don’t forget my interpretation in another essay where I compared our heroine to a fire that had been covered with ashes. Only her eyes are revealing her true feelings and thoughts (especially after Cuba).
The other reference is the Sleeping Beauty. This is visible through the drawing (the forest full of thorns).
episode 1
Then Cha Soo Hyun describes herself as a vegetable in front of her husband. During many years, she was like the Sleeping Beauty (in the fairy tale, she sleeps for one century). This explains why she was suffering from insomnia. How could she fall asleep, if she was already in a coma?
The common denominator of these two fairy tales is the existence of the prince. The prince is the one who awakes the Sleeping Beauty with his kiss and in the second one, the prince finds Cinderella thanks to her special shoes. In my opinion, since Cha Soo Hyuk is linked to the sea and Kim Jin Hyuk is associated to the sun in the drawings, we have to imagine that the sunset in Cuba represents the kiss of the prince, the sun kisses the sea which causes Cha Soo Hyun’s awakening. So on the surface, the prince seems to be Kim Jin Huyk. However his situation doesn’t fit the description of a prince. He comes from a lower social class. He has neither powerful parents nor wealth. However, we shouldn’t forget that first in different fairy tales like The story of a Youth who Went Forth to Learn what Fear was or The King of the golden mountain (both from Grimm), sons from a lower social class (merchant, craftsman) are able to marry a princess at the end and become kings. As you can see, the origin of our hero can’t be the main objection for not considering him as a prince. However, we have a real prince in the story: Jung Woo Suk. He is rich, handsome and powerful. He represents the archetype of prince charming. He is the prince since his mother, the chairman Kim, views herself as the queen as the leader of Taegyeong Group. Striking is that we have two princes in this “fairy tale” which is quite unusual but not extraordinary as some few fairy tales contain such elements. So the existence of two princes indicates that there will be a competition. Who can earn the princess’ love?
episode 11/12 the confrontation and duel: who will get Cha Soo Hyun?
Cha Soon Hyun can never love Jung Woo Suk as he has no idea what she really likes and who she is.
But are
Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty the two only fairy tales that are mentioned and
exploited here in Encounter? I see two other possible references: Snow-white
and Little Red Riding Hood, although there was no explicit allusion like with
the other stories.
First since
the stepmother is jealous of Snow-White, she abuses her and wants to get rid of
her. The beholder can observe the similarity. Moreover, since CSH’s nickname is
the Ice princess, it means that her “face” is white and cold like snow. And
Snow-white received the same name due to the color of her skin which reminded her
mother of snow. Then we saw that chairman Kim abused Cha Soo Hyun so that at
the end, she left the “palace” divorcing Jung Woo Suk. Snow-White is forced to
leave the palace. At some point, the queen wants to kill her, when she realizes
that she is still living with the dwarfs. Here, Chairman Kim wants to take away
Donghwa Hotel as CSH has been able to change the financial situation of that
company. The impact is almost the same. Since CSH put all her energy into that
hotel, taking it away from her would mean to kill her literally. The dwarfs are
the driver Nam and the PR-manager Kim Sun Joo among others.
The final reference is The Little Red Riding Hood. First, we see Cha Soo Hyun wearing a red dress in the first episode, the same color than the little girl in the fairy tale.
Then later, in the drawing of the episode 11, a wolf appears.
The wolf could embody Jung Woo Suk who has come back in order to claim his “ex-wife”, his first love. What people most don’t know is that in the original version, the French fairy tale written by Charles Perrault in the 17th Century, the story ends with the following moral:
Moral
Children,
especially attractive,
well bred
young ladies,
should
never talk to strangers,
for if they
should do so,
they may
well provide dinner for a wolf.
I say
“wolf,” but
there are
various kinds of wolves.
There are
also those who are charming,
quiet,
polite, unassuming,
complacent,
and sweet,
who pursue
young women
at home and
in the streets.
And
unfortunately,
it is these
gentle wolves
who are the
most dangerous ones of all.
As you can see, the author warns the young women not to listen to seducers. I see here some parallels as CSH was also convinced by her parents to marry Jung Woo Suk. She was polite, complacent and sweet (just like in the moral) and at the end, her life was ruined. Sure, the message has been modernized and transformed. However, the message is that people should think really hard and not allow themselves to be influenced. Naivety and ignorance were the reasons why the women were easily seduced; in CSH’s case, I would say that she had been trained to listen to her parents.
Striking is that many fairy tales end with a marriage with the saying: they lived happily ever after. Since our heroine has been married once and is now divorced, this characteristic represents a contradiction to the fairy tales. In reality, the characteristics of the prince have been perverted. Due to his power, wealth and social status, CSH suffocated and suffered so much that she became a vegetable. Moreover, her husband was not even able to protect her from his jealous mother hence CSH judged him as weak and poor in the end. On paper, JWS was the perfect husband candidate, in reality he was the opposite. The elements from fairy tales happen after her divorce indicating that divorce is not the end of the world. This is also a chance to get a new start. In my opinion, the writer is in fact trying to demystify the fairy tales. Kim Jin Hyuk is just an average man and as such he is as brave and strong as any other man. A real good husband is the one who pays attention to his partner, observes her carefully and takes care of her. Money and power are not a synonym for happiness. To conclude, this drama sends the right messages for women by using elements from fairy tales:
Fairy tales (marrying prince charming) are just an illusion
be independent,
a normal person might be the right partner for you,
be happy with simple things and enjoy the ordinary days of your life.
At the end of the episode 3, KJH moves his foot closer to CSH’s shoes… but just a little, while he confesses that he went to Sokcho because he wanted to see her, he missed her. After hearing that KJH feels something for her, she moves her foot away from his. Here their feet are under the table indicating that they are now in the same world.
With this camera position, the director wanted to use the foot as symbol for the attempt of KJH to change their relationship. He doesn’t want to keep this boss-employee relationship any longer, he definitely wants more and since he knows from the radio that CSH considers him as friend, he thought, he could try to be acknowledged as friend. Notice the connection between the small distance he moved his foot and his attempt to ask her to become an official friend. In the same episode, just before they went eating, Kim Jin Hyuk stood at her hotel door and the director used two takings in order to point out that they were still in two different worlds. But at the restaurant, the situation has changed, KJH has decided to step up and be more active in his pursuit of our heroine.
episode 3
We know that he loves her because from the first episode, he was interested to know if she had a boyfriend. Yet here he only asks merely for a friendship as he knows that he can not ask for more right now. But as you can see, CSH rejects his offer and tries to maintain that relationship as boss-employee.
A lot of people understood the symbolism behind this scene, however what I, like many viewers, failed to see is that the director and writer had been already using the feet and the hands as symbols since the first episode. Someone might even wonder as joke if the director is not a foot and hand fetish.
Just in the first episode, we have 8 takings with the feet and 9 with the hands which is quite a lot. The first taking is this:
episode 1
JH brings her shoe back and puts it next to her foot. Here, her high heels embody the chaebol world which is a uncomfortable and painful world. That’s why her foot has a wound. She might look good in high heels but with such shoes, it is impossible to walk for long and properly. JH with his hand offers assistance. Striking is the meaning behind the hand, JH has to lower himself but he doesn’t mind it at all. The hand reflects two aspects: modesty and kindness. This simple taking has such a deep significance but it marks the start.
From that moment, the director pays a lot attention to the hands, arms and feet of our protagonists. But let’s go back to that scene where KJH puts CSH’s shoe in front of her. That’s when he notices that her foot has a wound hence he proposes to walk barefoot. After convincing her, he offers his arm to help her to come down from the wall
Notice that here KJH is keeping a certain distance from her, as he just offers his arm and not his hand. With some reluctance, CSH accepts his assistance one for time.
But why does the director spend so much time on focusing on the hand and foot in this scene? In my opinion, first he would like to underline CSH’s shyness, she is not used to physical contact. Secondly, he also outlines how quickly their relationship evolves. First, his hand was close to her foot which revealed a huge gap. Now, he is bold enough to offer his arm. The gap has diminished. Then we see her walking barefoot and at some point, JH looks at her feet
and notice that they don’t look good. CSH is not used to that way of life… being totally destitute that’s why he proposes her to buy shoes. Since they drank beer together and walked together barefoot for a while, JH feels naturally closer to her that’s why he grabs her arm gently without thinking as he proposes to buy sandals.
It’s a natural gesture but it outshines how comfortable JH already feels with her. For him, there is no longer any gap between them, they don’t really belong to different worlds. However, CSH’s reaction (she pushes his hand away) makes him realize that she is not feeling the same. She is definitely not used to be so physically close to anyone. Why buy shoes? He wants her to treat her like a princess but with his own means. He chooses “funny” shoes for her. She is hesitant to put on the sandals as this is totally new to her. However, the moment she puts on the shoes, she notices that they are comfortable.
Since she looks at them, the viewer can feel her emotions. She is agreeably surprised that’s why she accepts the sandals and walks later happily with him. But before that, the director focuses one more time on the feet.
JH is still barefoot unlike CSH. So this taking illustrates that JH already gives priority to CSH.
This zoom has another meaning. They are now in the same world… they are equal but not poor. They are not totally deprived. By experiencing walking barefoot, JH realized that CSH did belong to another world but he had no idea that she belonged to the chaebol world. As they walk together, CSH puts her hand on her stomach. She is signalizing that she is hungry.
The hand is used here as a way to express oneself that’s why we have sign language. The hand is a tool for communication. I had already pointed out that CSH had never been allowed to express herself. She had to remain silent and obedient, however she developed two strategies where she could express herself freely and show her emotions: the paintings and the hands. In other episodes, like in the episode 2 we see her caressing the watch she wore in Cuba.
This tender and intimate gesture illustrates that she treasures this time spent with KJH. She is remembering all the emotions she felt that time. In this scene, she does it, when she is alone, no one can see her being so tender. But let’s go back to the scene, where JH notices that she is hungry. This is really important because it shows that JH is a good observant. He already pays attention to her body language, which JWS doesn’t and has never done. For him, she was always sour-faced as he only looked at her face. He never looked elsewhere. What caught my attention is when they are at the restaurant, the director has two similar takings.
Unlike in the other camera positions, the hands are not the focus but they are both in the center of the zoom. Both serve the same purpose. JH’s hand indicates his hesitation if he should pay for the salsa show, CSH uses her hand to hide her laugh and smile. Both are expressing a certain shyness. She doesn’t dare to laugh in front of him, he is thinking if this is worth. He is still unaware if she is attracted to him or not. He had already told her that he found her cute. This “shyness and awkwardness” will be even more visible later, when they are about to part from each other.
They already like each other but they don’t know how to approach the other without looking like a flirt/playboy. But between the restaurant and the departure, they went to the salsa show… here, JH is able to take CSH’s hands which is really important.
She allows him to touch her and become close to her. It took JH the entire evening and night spent with her to be able to touch her, however this was for him a signal that he had some chances. That’s why he wants to meet her the next morning. He wants to know if she is as interested in him as he is in her. What KJH didn’t see is this. When she is in the taxi, she looks at her shoes and has a huge smile.
CSH not only likes the shoes but she already perceives them as meaningful. She is happy and has already a good memory of the time spent with KJH. She doesn’t feel that she belongs to a different world from KJH.
This is the reason why the director pays so much attention to KJH and CSH’s hands and feet. The evolution of their relationship is not only visible with the feet but also with the hands… CSH’s shyness was the reason whyKJH was very cautious around her and knew that he had to take little steps so that CSH would put down her walls and become physically intimate with him. Moreover, CSH shows a lot of emotions (anger, fear, …) with her hands, as she has learnt to hide her thoughts and emotions. This is unnoticed by many, especially JWS, but not by KJH.
So only in the episode 5, KJH was able to take CSH’s hand again, when he proposed to have a some-relationship. It took him some time in order to come closer again… the gap between the two worlds was just so huge, however KJH was determined and persistent in his goal. Little by little, his hands got closer to hers again but it took some time:
episode 3: he repeats the same gesture, when she had to jump from the wall. Here he helps her to enter the truck.episode 4 notice that his hands don’t touch hers yet
First, he had thought that he had succeeded after having spent the afternoon with her, nonetheless when he saw this :
episode 5
he got anxious that he might have failed. As you can observe, the picture on the right shows two hands joined together… and KJH had not been able to take her hand after his return from Cuba. That’s why he got worried… he knew that if he had touched her hand again, she wouldn’t be able to cut ties with him.
And the break up is also reflected in the hands: In the episode 15 KJH tries to hold her hand but he fails as he can only grab two fingers.
episode 15
In a similar scene, he tries again to hold her back but this time he only grabs her wrist. He doesn’t even dare to touch her hand. He still respects her, although it is painful for him.
And this visible distance between their hands culminates to the point that his own hands are about to cut his ties with her and her world. With his hands, he wants to write the resignation letter. With his own hands, he is about to leave her world as he has the impression that his hands and love were not strong enough to keep her by his side, since she feels guilty. she could destroy his happy family.
But then he remembers his good memories with his girlfriend and his own advice: to endure pain and hard times with good memories hence he changes his mind. He won’t give up on her… his strong will and determination are back, he won’t let her influence him.
Morro Cabana is the place CSH went in order to watch the wonderful sunset at Malecon Beach. The man working at the Havana Hotel recommended her this place by telling her that this was the place to fall in love. However, CSH went there alone and on her own. After JH’s rescue, she woke up and realized that she had put her head on JH’s shoulder. Nonetheless, after some awkward moment, she saw the beautiful sunset and was mesmerized by it. However, JH told her that in order to be more moved by this beautiful sunset, she should listen to a certain song. The moment she listens to the music, you can see how the song and the scenery affect her.
Suddenly tears appear showing a sadness and even a heartbreak. In that moment, the image becomes white and black…
It was as if CSH gets aware of the unhappiness and tragedy in her life. She remembers sad moments in her life, where she has to fake smile and happiness, like f. ex. this one
or her marriage.
In the picture above, she doesn’t even smile which indicates how terrible for her the wedding was. She never wanted to get married. All these events, showed in black and white, are sad and painful memories of her life. Actually, we could say that her life was lifeless, since it was colorless. The negative emotions are clearly visible and palpable in these memories. Then the director contrasts her memories with the couple dancing in the sunset.
The couple is moving, there are a lot of bright colors (red, gold, yellow) indicating that in this place and in this moment, there is life and joy. People are enjoying the moment and their life, living to the fullest. But instead of getting too emotional and even depressed, she closes her eyes and takes a long breath.
It was as if she decided to come out of the coma, not to let her “vegetative state” continue. She breathes for real and get rid of these terrible memories that have marked her life until now. Then the camera position changes and we see couples dancing to the music, while CSH just sits there.
So the contrast reinforces the idea that CSH’s deep breath before was an awakening. She might no longer be in a coma but she doesn’t move. She doesn’t know what to do, she just enjoys the moment: the beautiful scenery and music. For the first time, she smiles genuinely.
Since the camera is always focusing on her head and face and not her body/heart, the director intends to underline two aspects:
– CSH has made up her mind… her reason is behind it, not an emotional decision.
– her disposition has changed. She has made up her mind: she wants to enjoy life and not continue living a lifeless and depressing life. To conlude, her mindset has changed: she wants to live differently.
This explains why for the first time, she asks someone for help. She even expresses her desire: to drink some beer. So some might say that CSH’s awakening was CSH’s own decision and JH had nothing to do with it and JWS was right to wait. However, this is not correct because JH was the one who offered her to listen to the music… without the music, CSH wouldn’t have been that moved. All her senses have been touched due to the combination of music and the wonderful sunset. For CSH, it was a magical moment. JH sensed something, when he saw her mesmerized by the beauty of the view. Because of his own experience, he wanted her to share the same feelings and experience. What he didn’t realize was the extent of this gesture. His gesture would move her “brain” so that we witness CSH’s awakening…
JWS could have waited for a lifetime… nothing would have happened. Sure, another element played in JH’s favour: his sincerity and his simplicity. Since JWS is playing games with her (deal at the birthday party: I’ll deal with my mother, you treat me nicely / begging for a divorce as he fell in love with a woman… but he is still not married), JH is the exact opposite. He is always honest and humble. CSH had many opportunities to see that: the camera, dancing in the street, the offered shoulder, the music, barefoot walking, helping her with the shoes… but more importantly,
these words:
What JH tells her clashes with her ex-husband’s behavior during their marriage: remaining quiet and the next day bombarding her with expensive gifts. JWS’s behaviour contributed to her emptiness and loneliness. Here, JH is not acting as her boyfriend but these words outline his maturity. Moreover, they are quite similar to the other advice he will give her in the episode 7: enduring it together with our good memories. He gives her the support she needs so that she becomes brave and can reveal herself to others. He is her source of strength, the sun that can makes the moon shine.
A lot of viewers perceived the parallels between the scene in the episode 16, where Cha Soo Hyun returns to her boyfriend’s side and the scene in the episode 2. The playground symbolizes the place, where their love began and was completed. In the episode 2, our heroine went to that place after reading Kim Jin Hyuk’s letter of motivation. In his letter, he described how meaningful this place was to him. While watching the view, the viewer listens to the song CSH listened to, when she watched the sunset in Cuba. The music serves as a tool to show that our heroine is remembering the wonderful moments she lived with KJH in Cuba. However the difference between the two scenes is that their position is reversed. KJH caught her at the playground which surprised him and made him happy. In the episode 16. KJH is sitting there looking at the falling snow when Cha Soo Hyun appears behind and joins him.
(episode 2)
Each time, KJH is surprised as he didn’t expect her there. The other similarity is, the two situations are always encounters. The right timing played a huge part in their love in order to start and to be completed.
(episode 16)
Striking is that Cha Soo Hyun sits on the left swing, while our protagonist is seen sitting on the right swing. It was as if the left swing would always belong to his girlfriend. He doesn’t dare to sit there. This playground with the swing is so sacred for both of them. Nonetheless, this scene from the episode 16 is not just as a reminder of the saying: this love began and was completed there. There is another scene which shares a lot of similarities with the scene at the playground: the fateful encounter at Morro Cabana and the beautiful sunset. At first, you might wonder. Let us go back to the scene in Cuba. First, CSH has a problem with the taxi as the latter is broken.
(episode 1)
She is forced to leave the taxi, take the ferry and walk to the top of the hill with her high heels.
(episode 1)
And now, if you go back to the takings before Cha Soo Hyun meets her loved one in the episode 16, she is also forced to leave her car as there is some construction work on the road.
(episode 16)
Then we see her walking to the top, determined to reach that place: the playground. The takings are quite similar to these from the episode 1.
(episode 16)
Both scenes illustrate her determination. On the one hand, she wants to watch the beautiful sunset and the other hand, she wishes so much to be at the playground, the place she remembered her experiences with KJH in Cuba, the place where he approached her knowing now her identity and later acted as if he was her knight touching tenderly her knee.
Sure, there are huge differences between these scenes (day versus night; moon versus sun; coldness versus warmth) that’s why the beholders might not catch the resemblance between these two events. Yet both have something in common: the presence of water (sea and falling snow). In another analysis (forum soompi), I had written that Cha Soo Hyun’s element is water. The snowflakes look a lot like stars due to their form. It was as if the stars would celebrate their reconciliation and the finalization of their love. Moreover, Kim Jin Hyuk is also attracted to go outside, when he sees the snow falling. He looks at the window
episode 16
and his feet are the ones leading him to that place.
Nature is leading him there. And just like in the episode 1 where Cha Soo Hyun arrived on the top before Kim Jin Hyuk and sit on the wall waiting for the sunset, in the episode 16 our hero is waiting for the snow. CSH is about to rescue him from his melancholy, just like Cha Soo Hyun was saved by him from falling down the wall. While the sunset in Cuba touched her heart and led to her awakening, the scene in the episode 16 symbolizes a different aspect: Cha Soo Hyun’s change of heart.
In Cuba, she woke up literally and decided to change her life (enjoy life and abandon her sadness), the viewers witness the change of her mindset. However, only her mind has changed, not her heart, as she keeps controlling her heart. In the episode 16, the change of heart happened in the dark room.
Here the red color reminds us of the sunset in Cuba. That’s why the scene in the red room was added, while we see her walking to the top in order to reach that playground. This was her third and last huge revelation: her own happiness was dependent of her boyfriend. Without him, she is not able to be happy. If she had given up on him, then she would have been miserable all her life. The difference between the time (day versus night) can be easily explained. Cha Soo Hyun’s world is the night as she is associated to the moon which means that KJH has been able to enter her world completely, just like she entered his world as well: the playground. In both events, we see natural phenomenons: snow and sunset. Nature is omnipresent and is a driving force for them, although our OTP is surrounded by houses and buildings.
KJH and CSH have something in common: their favorite color is red. KJH chose the red diary for HI and even used a red box for the camera case. However, you will notice that CSH is actually very reluctant to admit that she loves red. During this drama, we see how CSH is fighting to find herself and to reveal her true personality to others and the presence of red is used to see the progression, her journey of self-discovery.
This is implied from the first episode on that red is her favorite color. First our heroine got upset, as soon as her ex-mother-in-law sent her a dark blue jacket with a blue skirt. The viewer saw, how CSH disliked the clothes. Blue contrasts so much with red but this is not enough to realize that she likes this color.
episode 1
The real evidence is when she is in Cuba. There, she is wearing a red dress. In South Korea, she is dressed in a conservative way: white, black and grey. Why did she just wear red in Cuba? CSH only wore such a bright color in Cuba because she is just a nobody there. She could choose such a dress because she knew that people wouldn’t pay attention to her. Hence we can come to the conclusion that she only wears red, when she is not observed. Her experience in Cuba transformed her hence after her return, we see her wearing a red necktie with a light pink shirt.
(episode 2)
This marks the first step. We can say that the moment KJH entered her life, she started changing therefore the viewer notice little changes in CSH’s clothes as well. Then in the episode 6, she is wearing a light pink coat
and we shouldn’t forget that she is about to go to a press conference where many pictures will be taken. The more time passes on, the more daring CSH becomes. In the episode 8, she meets JWS in a red dress too.
Yet, her dress won’t be noticed because as soon as she leaves her office, her coat will cover the dress. And here is the best evidence. In the episode 11, she goes on a date with KJH. She is about to receive the couple ring.
So we see that CSH is still trying to hide this so that the beholder come to the conclusion that she is still hiding herself. Yet, this is no longer grey, white or black. She becomes more courageous. The progression is even more and more visible because in the same episode, she is finally wearing a bright red coat. Yet, she is only showing it to KJH. She is on a date with him and this is not revealed to the public.
But this is different, when she is about to break up with KJH.
(episode 14)
She has planned to organize the perfect date in order to leave him with good memories. This time, she is also wearing a red coat, but the difference is that here she wants to attract people’s attention. Pictures of her with KJH are later uploaded on social network. She decided to reveal herself to the media (her favorite color) in order to announce her break up with KJH in private. That way, she is able to get the media’s attention and no one will notice what is happening to KJH. Yet, her plan didn’t go like she had planned. She had to postpone the painful news to KJH.
But CSH was so scared to reveal herself and reveal her liking that even in her flat, in the beginning her paintings contained a lot of blue. However, in the episode 10, we see changes in her flat too.
(episode 10)
We have more paintings with red than blue. Above her own bed, there is this huge picture with a lot of red.
In this taking, we see her using a red sweat shirt and this kind of clothes is rather personal. To conclude, the more episodes we saw, the more red CSH started wearing or bringing into her flat.
However, after the break up, there is a regression. She is seen again with the light pink coat (see the image below) and then with white clothes again. So the color of her clothes reflects her emotional state. She is again suppressing her feelings (episode 15).
(episode 15)
But the real highlight is this: the dark room.
(episode 16)
This is the place where CSH feels at home hence CSH is able to gather her courage and change her mind. She makes huge decisions in her life and the dark room filled with red was the reason why she could change her mind. She was forced to admit that she missed KJH so much (episode 9) and why she couldn’t smile without KJH (episode 16). And this is not a coincidence that each time when CSH returned to KJH’s side, she had gone before to teacher Lee and her dark room. Immersed in the red light, she can no longer hide her true color and feelings.
But there is a reason why CSH likes red so much: her mother. The latter showed up once in red and we could sense that this was her favourite color too. She only dressed in brown or dark blue, when she met chairman Kim as she knew that the queen would never accept such a color.
The writer’s choice for Cha Soo Hyun’s favorite color is not random. Although she was described by the media as the ice princess, she was in fact the opposite: a passionate person. She could be compared to a fire covered with ashes and Kim Jin Huyk as the sun was the only one who could lit the fire and remove the ashes. Hence everyone mistook the ashes for her true personality. Don’t forget that the fairy tale Cinderella is often hinted in this drama (the balls, the loss of shoes, the hidden identity). Now we can see clearly another connection between the fairy tale and Cha Soo Hyun, as Cinderella used to live close to the ashes.
I have already written an essay called Time, however the mentioned analysis was focused on the episode 14, where time was the main topic of the episode which was illustrated in the drawing in the form of the huge hourglass. Nonetheless, this occurred to me that time plays a huge part in Encounter and is not limited to one episode. We could even say that time is what helps KJH and CSH to get together, although in the episode 14 we have the opposite impression. Time appears as the main hindrance. However, this is just a temporary state. The whole drama outlines the power of time.
First, the title is linked to time. Encounter means a casual meeting, hence timing is important. In order to meet each other, the paths of our main leads had to cross. Without the right timing, they would have missed each other and never met.
Notice that at the end of the episode 5, it is clearly shown that their paths crossed, yet they didn’t notice each other. This was not the right time. Strangely is that CSH complained to JMJ in her car (episode 5) that the timing wasn’t right therefore she couldn’t be with KJH. She was divorced, had a difficult and complicated relationship with her ex-mother-in-law and was the CEO of Donghwa Hotel. She wished, she had met him before. Yet only the viewers know that in reality she met him before but neither he nor she caught the attention of the other. I guess, CSH’s sad but beautiful face was the reason why she caught his attention in Cuba. This can not be just the red dress. Even later when he looks at her picture, the photo is in black and white and he is so fascinated by her. CSH became a “vegetable” due to her life with JWS’s family and only through this experience, she became like that. Since KJH is a very happy and humble person, her sadness contrasts so much to his own life. Yet, after spending some time with her, he discovered a cute woman who could smile, laugh and even joke. He realized that with him, she was like transformed.
However, the way CSH saw KJH for the first time looked like an unfortunate event: they met due to a car accident. So on the surface, it really seemed like a bad time because KJH’s camera was damaged. Yet his reaction was the reason why Cha Soo Hyun noticed him first. Later she caught him dancing and she realized the reason why he kept refusing the money, but accepted reluctantly the card of the secretary. Later, our hero saved her life because she could have fallen down from the wall and died in Morro Cabana. So time was on our hero’s side from the first episode on. However, CSH thought the opposite, especially if you consider the “unfortunate” car accident.
As you can see, CSH was wrong with her statement that this was a bad timing. In fact, it was the opposite. Without her past, nothing like that would have ever happened. Fact is that CSH needed KJH which the latter realized. He made her smile and was happy with it. On the other hand, we have an encounter contrasting so much with the different encounters CSH and KJH had together. In the episode 6, JWS arrives at the store for a new suit as he wants to impress a picky lady, unaware that CSH is already there. She gets the impression that he is still womanizing. This is a bad encounter for JWS underlining how time and nature were working together against JWS. The latter was never meant to be her first and only love. He was just the first husband. But even the other title “Boyfriend” could be perceived as something linked to time as well because a boyfriend is not a permanent state. Either there is a break up or it ends with a marriage. That’s why the viewers can not see their wedding in the end as the focus was on Boyfriend.
Then appointments, although totally different from encounters, are also linked to time. Striking is that although CSH and KJH had planned to meet the next day, they missed each other. This is interesting because it underlines that time can not be controlled by human beings. Nature and time worked against KJH and CSH first, but they helped them later. On the other hand, JWS has to call in order to meet CSH (episode 3, episode 9, episode 11). And CSH is always bothered by these appointments. This outlines that no matter what CSH could never feel comfortable around JWS and could never fall in love with him.
Then the presence of time is often used with visual tricks through watches,
(episode 1)
(episode 2)
cellphones, calendar
and clocks.
The last picture comes from the episode 14, Cha Soo Hyun is looking at the time of Havanna remembering good memories, she is doing the same when she is caressing her watch so delicately. These visuals have two purposes: on the other hand, we see how time has passed on and we see a scene from the past (like the first photo with the watch) or we can see the person remembering good memories from the past without using any flashback. Yet, we have two time jumps in this story. Here is just one example. Concerning the calendar that Kim Jin Hyuk uses (here episode 5), it gives to time another dimension: the length is much longer. First it is not limited to the day (24 hours like the watch and clock), the year marks the beginning and the end of the time hence it already implies that our hero wants to remain by Cha Soo Hyun for a long time. However, he has not declared it yet. It happens much later.
Then in the dialogues, time is often mentioned. For example, KJH keeps saying that he will stay by CSH’s side for a very long time or CSH and KJH’s mother need time. With the break up, KJH will have a hard time. You observe that people describe time. Since KJH speaks about death in the episode 11, the beholders are reminded that CSH and KJH’s time together is limited. Death will separate them. However, the drawings and the use of fairy tales and of The Little Prince underline the aspect of timelessness. The stars, the moon, the sun in the drawings, just like the trees alley in the episode 11 and the garden where the love began and was completed indicate that although their time together is limited, their love is not. Their love will survive time hence at the end, we see the birth of a star: the symbol of their eternal love. Time becomes here an eternity.
The bouquet with the note shown at the end of the episode 16 is another allusion for time as well.
This taking is important as both objects mark the beginning and the ending of their love story. Besides, they represent good memories. Since they are protected by a glass, it illustrates that CSH wants to keep them for a long time. They should be preserved and even survive time. Like KJH said, love is ageless as death can not kill a love.
If we pay attention to the time of narration, it doesn’t correspond to our own time. First, it starts with the past (scenes of CSH in black and white), then the story begins around September/October, while the first episode was aired in November. Then we have one time jump (episode 2). So when CSH and KJH meet at the hotel (episode 2), where CSH is greeting the new employees, the time is now the same as the time the viewers were watching (November). The time is sometimes slower and sometimes quicker than our real time outlining that this is a story. In fact, we have two time jumps, yet no one complained about the time jumps. CSH and KJH’s mother needed time to get used to each other. KJH made a mistake in my opinion, when he proposed to her for the first time with the flower. Imagine, it was around February and they had started dating in December!! Within two months, he proposed which is quite rushed, especially for a woman who has been through a divorce and had a difficult relationship with her mother-in-law. The story ends in 2020, ahead of our own timeline. We see here the future… As you can see, the story had elements from the past, from the present and from the future. So time was represented in his whole entity. And in my opinion, this is another reason why this story is indeed intemporel. Except the use of cellphones which definitely marks our modern society, everything seems not to be bound to age and time limit. Actually, I doubt that cellphones and Internet will disappear from our life. The cellphone might change its form but not its function and purpose, just like the Internet. Notice that our OTP walked in the nature (on the streets, in a field, in a beautiful alley) and never visited any amusement park.
To conclude, time played a vital role in the love of CSH and KJH. CSH never realized that she had got it all wrong: wrong timing aso… in the end, it was the perfect time for her to change her life as she was about to meet KJH while watching the beautiful sunset in Cuba.
Will dir den Frühling zeigen, der hundert Wunder hat. Der Frühling ist waldeigen und kommt nicht in die Stadt.
Nur die weit aus den kalten Gassen zu zweien gehn und sich bei den Händen halten – dürfen ihn einmal sehn.
– Rainer Maria Rilke 1875-1926 –
Want to show you spring
Want to show you spring,
that has hundred miracles. The spring lives in the woods and doesn’t come to town.
Only the ones who far from cold alleys walk in pairs and hold hands – may see it once.
Okay, this is my own translation. The problem I had is that first “waldeigen” is a word created by Rainer Maria Rilke and secondly I tried to keep the structure of this poem. Waldeigen means belong to the woods/forest. You might not know but German is a very creative language, you can create your own words because it is possible to put two words together. Yet people will understand what you mean.
What caught my attention is the following. Spring is connected to nature (“woods/waldeigen”), contrasts with modern life and civilization (town). And this fits our OTP. KJH represents nature due to different associations (sun, green grape, wind). Hence for the poet love is a natural phenomenon, however he doesn’t just outline that only people in love are feeling and seeing the spring, the two persons have to be active. If you pay attention to the title (want to show you spring), it is an invitation to fall in love. One is active in his courting. You have to leave the room and walk in the streets with your loved one to experience it. And that’s why we see our OTP walking in the cold streets (episode 6, 14 and 16). They actually do what Rilker described. They don’t feel the coldness of the winter as their love warms them up.
Moreover, the verse 3 and 4 clearly shows that love is to be found in the nature… hence leaving the town and going to the woods can lead you to find love. It looks like that for Rilke, love is not a state but a process… And KJH acts exactly like the person in this poem (want to show you spring). He keeps asking for CSH’s acceptance to love him and to fall in love with him. Besides, we clearly saw that KJH was proactive in his pursuit. He used his hands and his cellphone to get closer to her.
Interesting is that the subject in the title is missing: either it is “I”/”ich” or he/she “Er/sie”. I chose the first person because it becomes more personal and direct. Yet, it could be “Wants to show you spring”. I pointed it out because I wanted you to understand why I chose it this way. Besides, my own translation is not perfect, quite far from it and someone could claim that it is different.
Another observation is the contrast between hundred miracles and once. In my opinion, the poet could be referring to the uniqueness of love. Real true love can only be found once, but we have many people who can experience the same “spring” hence we have hundred miracles. And CSH was the one who kept mentioning her love as a miracle. Spring indicates that there will be changes in the persons who are in love, because spring announces the appearance of new leaves, new flowers aso. Something new and beautiful will surface, like a rebirth which can be connected to CSH’s awakening.
As you have already guessed, the queen is the chairman Kim. Now, you might be wondering why I chose such a taking. In the foreground, the beholder notices the chessboard, while she is in the background. Chairman Kim has just heard the news that the assemblyman went to the prosecution office in order to reveal the bribes he received from Taegyeong Group.
The chessboard embodies perfectly the life of this terrible woman. She is just like the queen in this game. She is the most powerful pawn in chess, can move in every direction and at any distance. She has even more power than the king. Since she has always considered herself as a queen, entitled to everything, she believed that her power was endless. However, she made a huge mistake. Just like in chess, the game is over when the king is caught: checkmate. If life is a game for the chairman, this means that all the other pieces are just pawns that can be used and thrown away, the moment they become useless or a thread to her. As time passed on, we saw how she lost her trusted minion and then the director Choi. She always thought that losing a pawn is not terrible as they mean nothing to her. However, she never realized that she was losing little by little all her pawns so that at the end, she became dependent of one pawn: Cha Soo Hyun’s mother. In the picture below, we see Jin Mi Ok kneeling in front of the queen. She is humiliating herself in exchange for her support. However, chairman Kim abuses her power. She lets the woman kneel and rejects Cha Soo Hyun’s mother. Notice that the door frame corresponds to the form of the chessboard indicating that her world and life are in reality limited. This scene also illustrates the delusion of the queen. She really thinks that her realm is endless but this is quite the opposite.
At the end, since she saw how Jin Mi Ok humiliated herself, she has the impression that the former will never betray her and testify against her. But the opposite happens. She testifies against the queen who ends up in jail. Striking is that her realm (door frame) has the same form than the chessboard which can be explained by her liking for squares and oblongs. Ironically, she ends up in jail which usually has such a form. Her realm has been reduced to a prison cell. If she was the queen in the chessboard, who was the king? I think, it is her son Jung Woo Suk. She acted as a overprotective mother isolating him from others, even harassing his wife. Now, we can understand why the chairman Kim never liked Cha Soo Hyun. Sure, the gaze was a reason. However, just like in a chessboard, there is only one queen. There is no room for a princess. This explains why Jung Woo Suk is not able to see his mother at the end, as the latter refuses his visits. She has realized that she ruined her life and her son’s life as well. Life was a game for her, she saw others as “dust” or “dog” or “race horse” forgetting that in order to be a queen, you need subjects. By losing all her pawns, she lost all her subjects, Jin Mi Ok is the perfect example. If the queen doesn’t act reasonably and shows no loyalty, then why should a mistreated subject have any loyalty towards the queen? This justifies the chairman Kim’s action: she throws the chessboard enraged that she had been betrayed. Her gesture underlines that she has realized that life is not a game and pawns are not just useful and disposable items. Once lost, they are lost forever. She got aware too late that her power was limited by the number of pawns and the size of the chessboard. She can not control the entire media and the prosecution office all the time, especially when the politician Cha Joon Hyun had already mobilized the journalists and alerted the authorities.
Encounter/Boyfriend is the K-drama that incited me to create this blog.
It was a magical encounter, just like the character Cha Soo Hyun experienced by watching the beautiful sunset in Cuba. After that, her life was changed forever. She saw life in a new perspective.
After reading my essays and analyses about Encounter and other k-dramas, you will discover that literature and television are actually compatible and can enrich your knowledge. Since my interest for korean culture has been increasing, I am even now thinking about analyzing certain manhwas.
So feel free to recommend me any k-drama or manhwas and to give me any feedback.
contents:
The Queen in Encounter
Cha Soo Hyun’s eyes
The influence of The Little Prince in Encounter
The importance of Time in Encounter
The significance of hands and feet in Encounter (part 1)
Bebebisous33s' analyses in K-Dramaland and Manhwas 