Jinx: Click 📸: Between Fleeting Illusions and Enduring Realities

Like the illustration is indicating it, the topic of this composition are the photographs in Jinx. To be more precise, I would like to divulge its different symbolisms. The trigger for this study was a sudden thought, which came to my mind this morning.

1. The ghost’s invisible photos

When Kim Dan left his home, he only took this picture. (chapter 19) However, in chapter 47, Mingwa revealed that in the past, Kim Dan had many pictures taken with his grandmother (chapter 47) . (chapter 47) (chapter 47) (chapter 47) One might argue about this interpretation, as these panels are presented as “memories”. However, the author left three important clues that these memories were pictures in reality. First, the perspective is not from the protagonist’s, but from an invisible third person’s. Then in the last image, in the background, you can observe a family posing for a picture in front of a person with a cellphone. This was the allusion that someone must have taken these pictures. The last evidence is the bouquet of flowers, the symbol for congratulations, but also affection!! After this realization, I couldn’t help myself wondering about the whereabouts of these photographs. Where are they?

And now, take a closer look at the doctor’s home: (chapter 17) (chapter 17) (chapter 17) They are nowhere to be seen!! I would even add that this place contains no traces of Kim Dan’s presence! (chapter 17) The pictures and the papers on the board are all connected to the grandmother. The images of the beach were revealing her wish to go back to the West coast, which was only revealed in the final chapter (chapter 53). And here, I feel the need to correct my past interpretation. Back then, I had assumed that this was the doctor’s repressed wish to go to the beach. It turns out that this was Shin Okja’s. Thus I deduce that the papers on the board are related to her health issues. Then in this image (chapter 17), the white shirt, the pink and dark green jackets are definitely belonging to the physical therapist’s relative. Finally, observe where his framed picture was placed: in a chest drawer! (chapter 19) The framed photograph isn’t visible on the chests or the shelves, when Joo Jaekyung confronts the loan shark and his minions (chapter 17). Then the next day, there is a box placed on the chest, while he is taking his belongings, while two drawers are open. (chapter 19) This exposes that this “souvenir” was not put on display in this house contrary to his stay in the expensive penthouse: (chapter 47) Thus I conclude through the absence of his pictures and belongings that nothing was exposing the presence of Kim Dan in this small flat. We could say that he had been living as a ghost child (the piggy bank) in his halmoni’s place. It implies the existence of an invisible wall between himself and his grandmother. This perception reinforces my previous interpretation. This place was like a “cursed place, where the “Sleeping beauty” was waiting for his “prince charming”. 😉 Therefore, when the doctor removed the framed picture from the drawer, it symbolizes his own “release”. It is no coincidence that one week later, he became “a man and as such an adult”. (chapter 19) He was slowly detaching himself from his halmoni’s shadow. The mirror is a reflection of a photograph. Here, he is facing reality: he has a long phallus and he can have a climax.

Furthermore, this new discovery (the absence of his commemoration pictures) helps us to grasp the origin of Kim Dan’s low self-esteem. He was not truly loved by his grandmother. Yes, the absence of his pictures represents a source of his suffering. IT was, as if the grandmother was not proud of her grandchild, because these photos were not exposed. The way these pictures were treated reveals the discrepancy between her words (chapter 7) and actions.

However, I haven’t answered the question yet: where are the other pictures? My assumption is that they were thrown away!! (chapter 46) I might shock my avid readers with this hypothesis, but the fact that Kim Dan could only remember his childhood’s pictures in chapter 47 shows that he had long forgotten these moments. If he had seen the pictures constantly, he would have been confronted with reality and as such grasped that he was not alone in this world. He had his halmeoni by his side this entire time. He was cherished. Finally, keep in mind that this story is written like a kaleidoscope, so such a scene must have occurred in the past. Thanks to my chingu @@Milliformemes24, I can even be more precise. Note that in the last panel, the photos were taken with a cellphone. (chapter 47) So I deduce that these pictures were never printed and remained in the cellphone. One might say that the woman didn’t have money to print these images. But this explanation falls too short. How so? It is because she could have sent a copy to her grandson, especially when he became a PT. He was old enough to have his own cellphone. These pictures were never shared to her grandson! They remained in her cellphone. If so, he wouldn’t just have looked at the framed picture. The other proof for this deduction is the absence of a grandmother’s picture in her grandson’s screen: (chapter 38)
To conclude, their vanishing is exposing that these pictures were not TREASURED!! It was, as if they had been erased. But the doctor can not be the one who erased them or kept them hidden, as he associates these important moments in his life with his grandmother as sign of love and support!! Yes, this recollection reveals how much the doctor valued these moments. In other words, he would have “treasured” these pictures. He has none of them. Besides, when he entered elementary school, he was definitely too young to have a cellphone. That’s why I believe that they were all taken by the grandmother’s cellular phone. From my point of view, they were taken, because it was the custom. This would also explain why these “pictures” had no value for the grandmother. And now, you comprehend why I linked their disappearance to Shin Okja. So why did she not treasure and share them with her grandson? Why did she “erase” them symbolically?

2. Okja’s vanishing

My answer to these questions is the following. Halmeoni couldn’t stand the photographs, because she could see herself aging. From this (chapter 47) to this (chapter 47) And you all know that according to me, this elderly woman is suffering from Peter Pan Syndrom. Thus I feel like at some point, the halmeoni must have “thrown away” the pictures. Besides, I am quite certain that for the woman, these images had a different signification than for the doctor. She connected them to her suffering. She had to raise her grandchild on her own: these pictures represent her suffering from poverty and struggling mentally and emotionally. They mean hardship and aging for her. This explicates why she didn’t value these “souvenirs”. However, observe that all these pictures are related to Kim Dan’s school career path! (chapter 47) (chapter 47) The absence of these pictures signifies denial! It was, as if Kim Dan had never visited school and even never become a physical therapist. Under this new light, it becomes comprehensible why Kim Dan had no pride “as PT” and was willing to take odd jobs like “courier” (chapter 42) or “waiter”. As my avid readers can detect, there is a strong link between “pictures” and “pride and love”. Their absence is the expression of neglect from the grandmother, who was definitely too focused on herself and her own suffering. At the same time, it lets also transpire the low self-esteem from the grandmother. In her humble dwell, there is no picture of her as well. (chapter 17) Thus I come to the following deduction: the grandmother dislikes pictures in general and was not living herself as well. Since she couldn’t love herself, she was not capable to love her grandson either. How so? For that, it is necessary to quote Erich Fromm from the Art of Loving (1956):

Loving someone means loving loving oneself first. In addition, where is the halmeoni running to? To the West coast, where she knows no one and desires to watch the sunset alone. (chapter 53) This image exposes not only her rejection of reality, but also her isolation. This decision stands in opposition to the quote above. She can not love Kim Dan, for she is rejecting the world and humans. This quote made me realize why Kim Dan felt so insecure the whole time, it is because he has never heard such a love confession from his grandmother. As you can see, the trigger with the photos gave me a lot of insight about the grandmother and the main lead.

In addition, one might wonder why the framed image was not put on display. (chapter 19) Why was this photo not treasured by Shin Okja? In my eyes, the picture was taken, when both were happy. There was a garden, and the boy’s happiness was genuine. However, I believe that this photo is linked to loss and this mysterious phone call. (chapter 19) She was wearing the same shirt, when Kim Dan was speaking on the phone. In other words, the photo was also bringing painful memories to the grandmother. My theory is that the grandson’s parents vanished after that day. But this was not the same for the boy. He remembers the warmth from his relative. He is not making the link between this moment and his abandonment. In addition, this picture represents a frozen moment in time. It was, as if the woman desired to turn back time or hoped to stay in that moment forever. This explains why she kept the picture and continued treating her grandson as a child. For her, he was still the little boy from that time. However, at the end of season 1, it is no longer possible for her to treat Kim Dan as a child, because she needs him to move to the West coast. (chapter 53) It requires money, sacrifice and energy, but she is no longer paying attention to these aspects. Her time is now limited, thus she doesn’t feel responsible for any future debt. Striking is that she is not recognizing him as a man, but as a puppy dog. (chapter 47) Why? By acknowledging him as an adult man, she would give him a choice. He could refuse to do her a favor. As a puppy, he can not live on his own. Besides, by turning him into a dog and as such animal, she is denying him his right as a human being. She is appealing to his instinctive nature, his loyalty. And the moment I thought of a dog and death, I couldn’t help myself thinking of the famous dog Hachiko who kept waiting for his owner’s return at the train station, unaware that the latter had died a long time ago. As you can see, doc Dan’s pictures are strongly intertwined with reality and confrontation. Therefore the pictures with her grandson were not shown or treasured. The grandmother has been avoiding mirror and even pictures. As a person suffering from “Peter Pan Syndrome”, she is trying to do anything to escape “death and responsibility”. How ironic is that she just needed a picture to express her wish to move to the West Coast! (chapter 53) Yes, the image from the brochure is creating the illusion that the woman on the wheelchair is her. She is smiling and “looking healthy”. It looks like she will have a better life there, less painful than at the hospital. In other words, this photo represents the exact opposite: illusion and fakeness. This (chapter 53) is the reality. The grandmother is not looking at Kim Dan contrary to the woman on the prospect. He is reduced to his role as caretaker. He has become her “servant”. In addition, the PT is not smiling like the nurse in the photo. In verity, he doesn’t want to do it. Deep down, he wished to stay at the penthouse. (chapter 53) The words “I should go” displays that he is doing it out of obligation. To conclude, photographs in Jinx are also embodying dream and illusion. (chapter 53). They only symbolize truth and reality, when the doctor is present.

3. The pictures in Joo Jaekyung’s world

What caught my attention are the similarities between Kim Dan and the champion. Both have no photo on their cellphone screen: (chapter 38) Clouds are a reference to heaven and dream, while the green display displays loneliness and emptiness. They have no one by their side. Furthermore, just like Kim Dan, Joo Jaekyung has no family pictures in his house, (chapter 19) which could be seen as a clue that he is an orphan. Or in the best case, they live, but there is a huge wall and gap between them and the fighter. I would even add that no one could even identify the owner of the penthouse. He is a famous MMA fighter, yet there exist no picture of himself in this flat! Not even this one: (chapter 1) That’s why I had compared the penthouse to a hotel room in a previous essay. So we could say that he also lived like a ghost. However, since he is a celebrity, he should be rather compared to a god. He has no home and privacy. Thus the penthouse contained no memories, until the doctor started living with the champion.

Another important aspect is that the fighter doesn’t even have any picture of his manager or his children (chapter 43), a sign that their relationship has always been more businesslike, thought the boss somehow considered him as his “older brother”, as he keeps calling “hyung”. (chapter 5) The first personal video and message from his manager only appeared in chapter 43. This shows that the owner of Team Black had no family at all and not even friends. This observation brings me to my next remark. What about the gym Team Black? (chapter 1) (chapter 5) There are only pictures of the champion and of no one else. Not even from Park Namwook or the ex-professional fighter Jeong Yosep. Everything is revolving around the celebrity. The absence of pictures from others is indicating neglect. The gym was not advertised as a great place to have fun! It is all about fame, wealth and glory! Therefore it is not astonishing why the rats left the sinking ship. (chapter 52) The champion’s image is tarnished, he will get less admiration and sponsoring. The decoration of the gym exposed the mentality of the owner, Park Namwook. The gym is about the celebrity, money, fame and sponsoring! Under this new light, it becomes comprehensible why the other members were neglected and why the athlete disliked it so much to be taken in pictures. (chapter 30) It is because the photographs are a synonym for “money, glory and fame”. Choi Heesung was using him to get attention. His name (chapter 46), his face and body are like “merchandises”. (chapter 43) That’s why he disliked the idea that Seonho would advertise that he was his sparring partner. The pictures in the god’s world have nothing to do with memories or love, but with work! It is about making business and getting sponsors and making his fans happy. That’s why the author included the magazines in the same chapter with the actor. (chapter 30) Naturally, Heesung’s picture is not only related to business, they have a frenemy relationship. The photos with Joo Jaekyung stand in opposition to Kim Dan’s values: glorification, illusion, superficiality and futility. Under this new light, it becomes comprehensible why Joo Jaekyung would never put any framed picture of himself or others in his flat. His gym and the photographs are related to work. Who would like to be “reminded” of work and money in his own home? No one…

Under this new light, I came to understand why the celebrity reacted so violently about the presents and Kim Dan’s. (chapter 45) (chapter 45) Imagine that the doctor had to work to exhaustion to give him an expensive gift! Yes, his gift was strongly intertwined with money, business and work! However, birthday is a symbol for home, pleasure, joy, simplicity and genuine gratitude. This has nothing to do with work and “replacement”. Yet, contrary to the other presents, the champion did open the hamster’s gift, for the latter had brought it personally. (chapter 45) Yes, his birthday was turned into a business event, a merchandise where he even had to pay for his own birthday party. (chapter 43) His popularity among the staff was based on his spending: (chapter 35) Such a success and glorification could only drive an edge between himself and others. In addition, the images could never boost the fighter’s low self-esteem. Yes, the absence of his own picture in his home is another important clue for his unhappiness and self-loathing. Because the doctor brought “work” home, Joo Jaekyung started avoiding the physical therapist: (chapter 47) It was not just because the athlete had been encouraged by his mentor to trust no one, to see relationship as a business. (chapter 46) This remark leads me to the following conclusion. Since the manager started sowing distrust in the champion’s heart, we can see it as another proof that this man has never truly loved “his boy”:

He just considers him as a toy and possession. (chapter 40) Thus he can mistreat him, if he is not pleased.

But there’s another evidence that the pictures with the fighter are strongly linked to idolization, illusion and deception. 8chapter 35) When this article was released, the author selected a photograph exposing the champion in good health! He was raising his arm and as such using his “injured shoulder”. The content of the article contradicts so much the image which can only raise doubts among the readers. By using such a picture, they created the illusion that the athlete was hiding something. And this remark brings me to the last articles about the fallen legend: (chapter 52) His beaten face is exposed to destroy his “good image”: he appears not only as weak, but also as a bully. This shows how the medias are trying to manipulate the public with pictures. His face and body are damaged, therefore he has less value. This deceptive trick becomes more visible, when you include Baek Junmin. (chapter 52) The article utilized a picture of the fake fighter taken right after the match. He is smiling and barely injured… yet, the reality is that he got so wounded by the champion that he needs a long time to recover. As you could observe, all these photographs symbolizes money, business, work, superficiality and publicity. Thus they are strongly intertwined with temporality, fake love and emptiness. No meaningful moment…

It is important, because the moment the athlete started interacting with the physical therapist, a new kind of photograph started appearing: (chapter 46) The ones in this panel ooze privacy, selflessness and intimacy. The champion is seen carrying bottles and opening the door for the doctor, a sign of Joo Jaekyung’s respect for the doctor. Yes, these images expose the truth about the athlete: he really treasures his physical therapist. He is also seen listening to the doctor. This observation corroborates my previous interpretation. The pictures with the physical therapist symbolizes verity and reality. The problem is that Joo Jaekyung never got to see them, hence he didn’t realize his affection for the doctor. However, Choi Gilseok could notice it. In fact, the celebrity was delivered a different kind of truth: (chapter 48) Kim Dan’s meeting with director Choi Gilseok! However, note that these photographs were also a deception, for they never expose the outcome of the meeting. These pictures display the negative notions of privacy and intimacy, it is about plotting, betrayal and as such about “business”. How so? It is because they met at a café. As a conclusion, the photographs have a total different meaning in the athlete’s world. They represent coldness, superficiality, temporality, deception and work. This new interpretation reinforces my hypothesis that the main lead’s car must have been followed by a paparazzi during that night: (chapter 33) A black car was following him. But they couldn’t take any picture, for the windows of his car were tainted.

Interesting is that at the end of season 1, Kim Dan had a recollection of this scene (chapter 53) which left him deeply impressed. Joo Jaekyung was turning around his head and looking at him! This shows that the star was paying attention to him. And what had happened in that moment? What is the light next to the protagonist? Yes, these were the flashes from the cameras! (chapter 40) It is no coincidence. Though he had no memory of the previous night, he felt this moment as magical. He had saved him and claimed him as a part of Team Black. Then he had look at him back, though he was facing journalists. However, the journalists didn’t take a picture of such a moment, for this was not relevant to them. It shows not only the true value of “memories”, but also that both were now truly living! During that night and day, both created wonderful memories. (chapter 41) Kim Dan experienced that he was not alone, he was part of “Team Black”, while the other heard a love confession for the first time. This memory displays (chapter 53) not only admiration, but also intimacy and TRUST!

Because the MMA fighter has been constantly surrounded by fake people in his world, it is not surprising that he doesn’t value “money” or glory. These didn’t make him truly happy. But there is more to it. Due to photographs, the fighter learned the wrong lessons. He judged people on prejudices and impressions!! Yes, this explains why Joo Jaekyung imagined to see Kim Dan selling his body., while he was about ti get raped. (chapter 17) He is relying too much on his eyes. He paid no attention to details and their words. Hence their words are not visible. In addition, the author created such a panel. (chapter 17) in that scene.. But why is he trusting too much his eyes? It is because he adopted this poor habit from his mentor and hyung, Park Namwook. who judges people based on prejudices and impressions. When the manager faces a problem or some criticism (chapter 17), he prefers blaming his “boy” or delegating responsibilities to others: (chapter 36) Furthermore the man with the red tee-shirt has always been by his side for a long time. The time spent together is a proof of his “loyalty”, yet if the athlete had paid more attention to his words, he should have noticed his hypocrisy, lack of empathy and disrespect: (chapter 49) (chapter 52) The slap is the expression of lack of faith and disrespect. Besides, he kept badmouthing him in front of the other members, creating a huge gap between the celebrity and the other members.

This is no coincidence why Joo Jaekyung didn’t listen to doctor Lee’s recommendations as well. He never saw the results of his examination. (chapter 27) In addition, he had to rely on the expertise of doctors, but he only trusts himself, his hyung and no others. But let’s return our attention to Kim Dan and his letter.

When the doctor left the penthouse, he left a memory and treasure to the athlete: a letter full of kindness and care! (chapter 53) The letter stands in opposition to the articles and photographs. Through the letter, the main lead is teaching to the wolf this important life lesson. He needs to use his mind and as such his heart to see the truth and reality.

The doctor is now perceived correctly, because for the first time, the athlete listened to his words and opinion. Here, I mean, he believed in his confession (apology, convalescence). Interesting is that after listening to his words, Joo Jaekyung started reflecting on his own actions and emotions. (chapter 53) Thus he voiced his discomfort and annoyance. However, this time, he is not questioning the origins of his actions. He knows now that the doctor means a lot to him. He is not a waste of time. It is no coincidence that the moment he paid attention to Kim Dan’s thoughts and emotions, he opened up his own heart and mind, because according to Erich Fromm

And now, look at the expression “home with oneself”. Home is strongly connected with inner harmony, meditation and well-awareness as the foundation for genuine communication and understanding of others.. Let’s not forget that home is also a synonym for “family”. Thanks to the support of a loving family and friends, one can become true to oneself. At the same time, home with oneself helps to communicate better with others. And because the MMA fighter listened to Kim Dan words, he became more aware of himself. The doctor has become the key to the champion’s heart. He has also become his home as well. Thus Joo Jaekyung came to associate the penthouse to his loved one: (chapter 53) The latter might have no photograph of Kim Dan, but his face is now engraved in his memory. To conclude, the letter should be perceived as a mirror of truth to the athlete. He needed to hear the hamster’s words without seeing his face in order to see him properly.

Finally, I conclude that in season 2, photographs will have a different meaning in the champion and doctor’s life. They will stand for privacy, love, friendship, recognition and selflessness. Yes, I am expecting that the doctor and his lover start taking pictures of memorable events, like this day: (chapter 26) (chapter 26) The gym will face some changes.

Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My Reddit-Instagram-Twitter-Tumblr account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.

Painter Of The Night: The heart and the mind (second version)

This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter  But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents:  https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/

In the chapter 53, we discover that Yoon Seungho is in denial about his affection for the painter. The cause for his dismissal is that he believes, he always made decisions influenced by his deep thinking and never recognized that behind his actions, it was his heart influencing his mind. Because of the opposition between mind and heart, I couldn’t help myself connecting this to the famous quote made by the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal:

“Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point”. “The heart has its reasons that reason doesn’t know.”

With this citation, the author means that the mind is unable to understand the justifications and decisions made by the heart. As you can observe, love has nothing to do with logic and rationale, yet the main lead thought that all his choices were made consciously. He viewed his mind as the supreme authority, while it was not the reality. In other words, he was blind to his own heart and confused the heart with the mind. This is not surprising that on his way out, he is acting like a blind person. While he is walking, his mind is focused so much on his thoughts that he doesn’t realize where he is going. Observe that his eyes are focused on the door facing him and he keeps walking straight, until he pauses due to the scream he hears coming from the painter’s room. The reality is that he is actually acting on his impulses and emotions. He is definitely enraged because he was mocked by Min. He keeps denying the noble’s words and even tries to convince himself that what he has with the painter is nothing special. It is really complicated to pinpoint exactly what he was thinking here. Either he really wanted to bring the artist or he desired to let Min believe that he had finally given in and had planned something else. For me, I have some doubt that he was looking for the painter. His emotions were all over the place but he kept reassuring himself that Baek Na-Kyum and him had just a physical relationship. He was mad and he tried to convince his mind that the painter meant nothing to him. However, what caught my attention is that while he recalls his decision from that night, he sees the painter’s sleeping face. Back then, he felt the need to share what was on his heart, mistaking that his kiss and caress were motivated by his mind. What he really wants to share is not his mind but his heart but his eyes are not able to distinguish the difference. Because of the link between the heart, the mind and the blindness, I had a sudden revelation:

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

This means that only love or friendship can help you to distinguish what matters in life. The real values will become visible, the moment you recognize your heart. Do you know where this quote is coming from? The Little Prince, a famous work written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. And now, you know what the topic of this essay will be: a comparison between The Little Prince and Painter Of The Night. Before starting with the comparison, I need to explain the story and its signification of The Little Prince.

When you look at this picture, you have the impression that this is a book addressed to children, although it is actually quite the opposite. This famous work is in fact classified as a philosophical tale. First, the author was criticizing through this fiction our modern society… People should know that it was written during World War Two, where reasoning was misused to the extreme (see my analysis Baek Na-Kyum’s confessions part 1 and 6) 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 and people in general

– 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. The main protagonist might be the little prince, yet this fiction is told from the perspective of an adult. The narrator is an aviator whose plane crashed in the desert and there, he meets the little prince. Yet the story doesn’t start with their encounter, it starts with the narration about the aviator’s childhood. It is important as it represents the key of the story. Because of his bad experience with adults, the narrator decided to grow up and give up on his imagination and creativity. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry associates these values to innocence and childhood. In other words, the narrator was incited to give up on his childhood. The cause for this change were drawings. Once he painted an elephant eaten by a boa and the adults couldn’t understand the picture.

This is the boa with the elephant inside. Notice that the head and the eyes are on the right.

They rejected it as they claimed, it was impossible in reality. They forced him to drop his passion, drawing, because he always had to give explications to his pictures. That’s why he chose his career as pilot and became like all the adults, a pragmatic person using his reason all the time. In the whole book, adults are criticized, they prefer numbers over emotions and simple things like laugh f. ex. They are often portrayed as superficial and narrow-minded.

However, by meeting the little prince, the narrator rediscovers the importance of innocence and childhood. As a conclusion, one of the main messages of this philosophical tale is that adults should keep the inner child in them, they should stop using too much the reason and mind so that they are able to realize what matters in life. If you have the time, then I encourage you to read this wonderful work, full of deep meanings, although it really looks like a fairy tale due to the title and the pictures. In reality, the images are addressed to adults, to let them rediscover the child in them they abandoned because of reality. The author is encouraging people that despite growing up, they should keep an innocent and pure side in themselves, hence the readers discover this quote in The little Prince

“All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.”

We have a scene in the manhwa where the contrast between adulthood and childhood is illustrated. The children can indeed enjoy the beauty in simple things, while the scholar’s mind is only focus on his books and his hunger for power and admiration. Therefore he can’t really enjoy life as he is left unsatisfied with his situation. As you can observe, the manhwa offers a similar philosophy. Jung In-Hun is just an adult who lost his inner child a long time ago.

And now, it is time to focus on the characters from the philosophical tale. You can imagine to which person I am associating Yoon Seungho, it’s the narrator and aviator. He truly resembles Yoon Seungho a lot. He is an adult through and through, using his mind all the time. That’s why he doesn’t know happiness and joy. Furthermore, their situations are similar. The pilot is in the desert, feeling lonely and facing a dangerous situation. The main lead in Painter of The Night is lonely as well. He might meet many people but he doesn’t share his thoughts to others. Furthermore, his sex sessions are fights so we could say, he has to face a certain danger as well. He needs to live up to people’s expectations: an infamous hell-raiser. A desert is like hell and for Yoon Seungho life has nothing to offer. He is already living in hell. From my point of view, just like the pilot, he was also forced to grow up, to face reality and used his reason and mind to survive… and everything happened because of an adult, his father. I am quite sure that father Yoon never loved his son, just viewed him as a tool for his own interests. And when his life and position were threatened due to the purge, he chose to betray and abandon his son in order to survive. The latter became an adult through really bad experiences. He hasn’t even recovered from it yet, therefore his hand is shaking in Yoon Seung-Won’s presence and he keeps having a nightmare, the moment he meets one member from his former family. In fact, his inner child died at the moment he got betrayed by his own father so that he stopped living for real. He was like a zombie, the mind was the only proof that he wasn’t truly dead. His thoughts were the remains of his existence and this explains why he detests the idea that he is a man consumed by lust. For him, the body was just a tool thereby he never paid attention to his own body. His sex sessions were just a tool to deceive people, to hurt his father and ensure that he wouldn’t get wounded again. This explicates why he is no big eater, why he was even willing to give his whole lunch to the artist. He only existed through the mind and his eyes. That’s why he can’t see and recognize his own heart even after meeting the painter.

And now, you can already envision who the little prince is. This is our beloved Baek Na-Kyum whom I strangely related to a lamb during the first season. The irony is that when the aviator and The Little Prince met in the desert, the latter asks the aviator to draw him a sheep. Since the narrator hasn’t drawn for a long time, he paints an elephant eaten by a boa and strangely, the boy understands the meaning of the drawing perfectly. However, the boy is not satisfied with this and keeps requiring his sheep. By each new drawing, he complains about the picture: too ill, too old etc. At the end, the aviator designs a box telling him that the sheep was inside.

It’s the boy with the sheep inside. It’s naturally very small.

The little prince accepts the image with the explication. This outlines that only imagination matters in a painting. As time passes on, the aviator gets closer to him and rediscovers his passion and talent: drawing. They become friends without realizing it. Striking is that in both words, the painting is important. Sure, in the manhwa, the roles are reversed. The lord is the one asking the low-born to draw him erotic pictures. However, remember painting is related to imagination and creativity which are both associated to childhood by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. And we know for sure that Baek Na-Kyum was inspired by his own creativity, when he started painting erotic picture of sodomy in his childhood. They were the expressions of his innocence and purity in the end, which the aristocrat felt. We could say that through the publications, the noble rediscovered the forgotten childhood and innocence. And this coincidences with the narrator’s life. The latter used to love painting but was forced to renounce his passion, painting. So by meeting Baek Na-Kyum, the lord is encouraged to paint again. (chapter 8) (chapter 23) (chapter 36)

On the other hand, the topic of Baek Na-Kyum’s painting had nothing to do with innocence and purity, as they were all showing sex. However, I interpret that the boy was longing for love, and already knew about his sexual orientation. He saw it as something natural and nothing embarrassing. In his eyes, sex was an expression of love, which was unusual for this historical period. Sex was related to marriage, family and procreation. With this signification, the manhwa sends one message: homosexuality is no abnormity, it is also a form of love. So when the aristocrat discovered Baek Na-Kyum’s erotic publications, he sensed the naturality, purity and warmth in these paintings. That’s why he felt so moved and he needed them for his sexual activities. Before, he had to use subterfuges to fake erections. This is no surprise when he meets the painter for the first time, he is full of joy and innocence. Remember when he even grabs the painter’s hands, he is treasuring them. There is indeed a certain candidness in his gestures and comments. The erotic paintings were the fire to ignite the main lead’s heart. The inner child was awaken. Therefore he is again happy like a little child, when the artist appears at his chamber in the chapter 8. Thanks to the painter, the lord’s heart started beating again. He was able to reconnect with emotions that were buried by his huge trauma. However, since he had to use strategies to force the painter to paint, he explained everything with his eyes and mind. Although the low-born rejected him in the chapter 49, the aristocrat overlooked an important aspect: The heart. Baek Na-Kyum’s heart is racing in the lord’s presence so this is definitely more than physical attraction. Another parallel with the French story is the value of responsibilities. The aviator and the prince become responsible for each other, while they live in the desert. And this is what is occurring in the manhwa. Yoon Seungho takes his responsibility for the low-born and it is the same for the painter. The latter is the one who offers comfort and warmth to the lord, only him can soothe the noble’s extreme emotions.

This is another form of responsibility

Since the painter is the little prince, we have to explain how he came to meet the aviator in the desert. He comes from a planet, where one day a rose suddenly appeared. Before, he worked every day, cleaned the planet. On his planet, he had to remove baobab seeds and to clean volcano chimneys so that they wouldn’t explode. And now, you can envision my smile, while writing this. Remember that from the start, I kept comparing the aristocrat to an dormant volcano, which erupted each time he was in a huge conflict with the painter. The latter was the spark to initiate the fire, he was the one who brought him back to life. However, the more time he spent with him, the calmer and the more patient our protagonist became. Notice that the little prince brought tranquility and regularity to his planet, as he cleaned the chimneys each day. This is exactly what is happening to our protagonist. Only the artist is able to calm the main lead.

Note the parallels between the little prince and the painter. Both symbolize innocence and purity. They are also hard-working and dedicated. They are social, although the manhwalovers shouldn’t forget that both the little prince and the artist came from a secluded place. The brothel is not a place where many children come by and where people want to chat with the gisaengs. As you sense, they were quite secluded, however they felt comfortable there. But if the little prince lived on his own on his planet and was happy, what made him leave his place?

If you look at the planet, you’ll notice a rose protected by a glass bell. The little prince fell in love with the rose but the latter was vain and quite arrogant. The flower requested a lot of things from the boy so that at the end, he couldn’t bear it any longer. He became unhappy as he was wounded by the rudeness and selfishness of the rose. At the end, he decided to leave her. The rose recognized her faults and even apologized. Finally she confessed her love to the boy, yet never asked him to remain by her side. She wished him happiness and tried to hide her tears before his departure. She regretted her behavior but she didn’t attempt to change the prince’s mind. She just complained that both were stupid to realize their feelings for each other. However, in this story the boy only realizes that he felt love for his rose after landing on earth. It took him a long time to recognize what love really is. For that, he needed a guide. Now, if the manhwalovers compare the philosophical tale with Painter Of The Night, they’ll detect some parallels between the rose and the scholar. Both represents the love of the innocent main lead. Furthermore, Jung In-Hun and the rose are arrogant, stupid, vain and selfish. The painter had to leave the scholar’s side too. However, the huge contrast is that the teacher never regretted anything, he felt no remorse for the physical and emotional abuse on the painter. Besides, he never cried for the low-born, while the rose was genuine. Nonetheless out of pride, the flower tried to hide her tears and sadness. With the departure of the prince, it is implied that the rose will die as there is no one to take care of her. She is already coughing. However, like I explained before, the low-born mistakes his admiration for love. His mind has been manipulated and influenced by the low noble and his noona, hence he is blind to the obvious. Just like our powerful protagonist, both ignore their hearts. One doesn’t know that his heart is beating again, while the other was constantly repressing his deepest desires at the beginning. He wouldn’t listen to his heart, just only his mind which was actually the scholar’s mind. Now, it is a little different. He is accepting his sexual desires, the mind is no longer controlling his body. However, the painter hasn’t recognized the meaning behind the racing of his heart.

Just like in the philosophical tale “Candide”, the little prince is learning through experiences. After leaving his planet, he meets different kind of adults, all of them living isolated on a planet. His initiatory journey makes him realize the danger of adulthood. The first one is a king who gives orders to the little prince. The latter questions his position as king, as there is no one else next to the king. The latter believes his power is unlimited and doesn’t recognize the absurdity of his situation. Here, the author wanted to criticize the futility of power. A person can’t truly rule over nature as he can’t control it. Then the monarch can’t truly rule over people as the latter can just refuse to obey the orders. Strangely, I couldn’t restrain myself to associate the king to our protagonist Yoon Seungho as well. The latter had to learn through the hard way that his power meant nothing in front of the painter. The latter kept rejecting him, criticizing him and even challenging him with his authority. It took him a long time to realize this… he was on the verge of abdicating, when he finally changed his approach. Observe the painting is what brings them back together. This is no coincidence, since imagination and creativity are important for children. Then if I had to compare all the other adults, I would say that Jung In-Hun is a combination of the geographer and the conceited man. The former lives in his books and makes no experience, he doesn’t visit the places he reads in his books. He has no idea about real life and the conceited man lives in order to get admired. The scholar is often seen in company of books and has no idea about the real world, therefore the lord warned him before his departure to the city. As for the conceited man, since he is alone on his planet, he is left unsatisfied. And we all know how arrogant and conceited the low noble is. The two adults represent each of them a negative feature which people should avoid in their life. Knowledge is good but without experience, it is reduced to nothing.

As you can sense, the little prince and the narrator stand both on opposite sides, yet after their meeting, they discover what they were both missing which coincides with our protagonists: childhood/innocence versus knowledge/experience. The pilot rediscovers his creativity and innocence but he shares his knowledge and experience to the little prince. This is the same with Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho. Besides, both of them stand on the opposite side of the social hierarchy reinforcing the contrast. In other words, they both change for the better. While the lord teaches the painter critical thinking, the former experiences what it means to take care of his partner. He makes many experiences, positive and negative, yet from them he is able to learn and change indeed for the better. While the pilot realizes the importance of friendship, as the boy becomes his companion and confident, the lord feels the same need: he wants to share what is on his mind… he would like to communicate his thoughts and feelings. As you can sense, the noble was not realizing that he desired to share his heart.

On the other hand, the prince makes on earth a huge discovery: he learns what friendship and love are. How does he know these?

Before encountering the pilot, the little prince meets a fox. The former tells him that he is looking for friends to which the fox replies, he can’t become his friend as he is not tamed. Hence the animal proposes a deal to the boy. The latter should tame him as taming signifies bonding. “if you want a friend, tame me”.

Le Petit Prince et le Renard : "Qu'est-ce que signifie apprivoiser ?" –  Umanz

Now, you can observe how similar both works are. Right from the start I kept saying that the painter has been slowly taming the protagonist, an eagle, and the latest chapter (53) proves me that this metaphor was totally correct. The painter tamed Yoon Seungho, was even willing to get wounded in the process in order to soothe the lord’s anger. The hug signifies their special relationship. The huge difference here is that taming is not connected to friendship but to love. However, as you can observe, the protagonists in both stories are making the same experiences. They learn the true value of love and friendship, they make bad experiences. One encounters terrible adults which resembles a lot to the painter’s past tragedies. The main lead made him suffer, yet everything was caused by the scholar… Remember that if the rose had treated the boy nicely, he would have never left his own planet. On the other hand, Yoon Seungho is discovering the innocence and purity through the painter. He comes back to life, as he reconnects with his inner child and his heart.

Another similarity is when thanks to the fox, the little prince realizes how unique his rose was:

“It’s the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important.”

And unique reminds us of the lord’s word at the beginning of the chapter: “special”. He refused to admit that Baek Na-Kyum was special to him.

The fox plays a huge role in the philosophical tale as he embodies knowledge and wisdom. In other words, he is the opposite of cunningness, which is usually related to the fox. Now, you already anticipate who the fox in Painter of The Night is. It’s Min. He is the one who tells Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho what the lord feels for the low-born. Yet, in this story, Min is far from wise and well-intentioned. That’s why he kisses the painter. Through his gesture, he reveals the secret. The lord likes the painter. In The Little Prince, the fox also unveils a huge secret:

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Striking is that his nickname “Black Heart” fits so well. Since he sees with his heart, he can recognize the true nature of their relationship. The problem is that neither the low-born nor the powerful lord were using their hearts in order to perceive their affection for each other, both were using their mind:

This is what the painter tells to himself. Notice the word “mind” here.

The lord confuses his mind with his heart. And the painter is in the same situation. He got hurt, when he saw the kiss between Min and his lord. However, he tried to rationalize this incident. He shouldn’t feel wounded. On the other hand, he kept asking why. As you can see, the painter’s mind is controlling his heart. I had the impression that he would be the first one to recognize his emotions, because he is the only one who talks about his heart. Notice the resemblance to the famous citation. The artist mentions his eyes and heart, just the the fox: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Yet, I had underestimated the strength in the artist’s will and mind. That’s why I come to the conclusion that Baek Na-Kyum values more his eyes and impressions than his heart.

Thanks to Min, the fox, the secret was finally unveiled.

However, I have the impression that unlike in the French novel, a rivalry could start between Black Heart and Yoon Seungho. In The Little Prince, the aviator and the fox didn’t fight against each other because they were too different. Yet I believe, this could become different here, for both are nobles. Back then I felt, Black Heart might try to covet the commoner, since he kept asking the lord to bring Baek Na-Kyum to him (chapter 33, 52). Sure, he enjoys the fun and likes playing with the protagonist’s feelings, yet I sense a certain obsession and envy behind his requests. I can’t forget the look he had on the painter in the chapter 8. Min looked at him with a certain desire. And this assumption was proven correct: The Joker is determined to taste Baek Na-Kyum. However, he is not wise like the fox in The Little Prince. In truth, he embodies the negative version, because he is not reflecting on his own behavior and emotions. He has no idea why he is so obsessed with the painter: for me, there’s no doubt that he is confusing lust with love. He definitely got upset, when he saw the couple hugging each other tenderly. That’s why he felt the urge to vomit. Min is too focused on looking at Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum that he is not recognizing his true motivations behind his actions. That’s why he said this: In my opinion, The Joker needs the presence of others in order to feel his own existence. In other words, while the fox in the original story asked the prince to tame him, the fox in Painter Of The Night is acting the opposite. He is trying to tame the others, but he keeps failing all the time.

As you can observe, both works convey similar messages: value the right things. Power and wealth mean nothing, as they don’t bring happiness. Love, friendship and relationship are vital for humans. At the same time, it is important to keep a certain purity and innocence in us, even if we are adults. That’s exactly what the two protagonists are learning now. The noble is longing for chastity and love, although he hadn’t recognized it yet.

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. The adult would be rational and say yes, he died. The child would answer that he returned to his planet in order to see his rose, like the snake told him. And this is important as even this story mentions death. This belongs to the growing up and facing reality.

We have a similar evolution in the manhwa. The painter loses little by little his innocence, he experiences the harshness of the world, whereas the lord is rediscovering the lost childhood, his buried heart, just like the aviator.

At the end of the story, the narrator says that he is still looking for the little prince, even asking the readers if they saw him which shows, he refuses to imagine his death. He has maintained his pure heart despite their separation. 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. However, Painter Of The Night can’t have the same ending. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the moment the noble admits his love and is willing to show it correctly (chapter 70) , he starts acting like a child again: he plays pranks (chapter 70) (chapter 74) or he is teasing his lover. , These are signs of the return of his innocence. The readers can feel the inner child in Yoon Seungho.

Nevertheless the message is really similar: the lord and the painter are discovering what really love is. While the painter confused “love” for Jung In-Hun with admiration and later indoctrination, the noble never felt anything before. That’s why he couldn’t recognize his affection for the low-born, he was denying the existence of his heart. For him, he was just a mind and his body a tool. As a conclusion, they need to pay attention to their hearts and stop relying too much on their mind. That was the lesson the readers should learn from the chapter 53.

Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.

Cha Soo Hyun, Kim Jin Hyuk and The Little Prince

Image result for le petit prince
He leaves his planet.

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.

Encounter CSH paintings bedroom.png

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. 

Encounter episode 1 Morro Cabana 8.png
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.

Encounter episode 15 CSH and the painting the little prince.png
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 influence of The Little Prince in Encounter

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.

Encounter CSH paintings bedroom.png

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.

le petit prince et la rose_2.JPG
picture from the book
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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.

Encounter episode 1 Morro Cabana sea sunset.png
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.  

   

Image result for allumeur de réverbère petit prince

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.

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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.

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episode 16
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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.