Hee-jin, the smiling ex girlfriend from "My lovely Sam-soon"
Every now and then, when watching my series, I bump into characters that I like; feel close to or moved by.
These characters, who were written on paper and became alive by the power of the actors who play them, can sometimes be supporting the main characters and not that important to the plot, but the actors are either too good to fade into the background, their stories might be interesting to me or they just might be too good looking for me to overlook :D.
Either way, I'm going to pick a character that I like and write a bit about him/her.
There will surly be spoilers so if you intend to watch or am watching the series, beware!
The first character that I've picked is Kim Hee-jin from "My lovely Sam Soon".
I shall start with Hee-jin's theme song, this is the song that represents her in the series. It still makes me tear up when I listen to it.
Who is Hee-jin? She is the mythological ex girlfriend of the rich and handsome Hyun Jin-heon.
We see her first aboard a plane, taking her from the states back to Korea.
We still don't know who she is but she befriends Sam-soon's sister who sits right next to her and it's clear that she is a fun girl to hang out with and also very beautiful.
Three years before in the series timeline, Jin-heon had a horrible car accident.
Jin-heon was the driver and his brother, sister in law and a motorcyclist were killed. Jin-heon and his niece who was a toddler, got trapped in the car but survived.
While he was in the hospital, waiting for a leg surgery, Hee-jin came visit him and told him that she is going to study medicine in the state.
She left and Jin-heon didn't hear anything from her for three long years.
What Jin-heon didn't know was that the reason why Hee-jin left right when he needed her most, and why she didn't call him up, was because she was diagnosed with cancer and was going to be treated in the states.
As she tries later to explain, she couldn't tell him that she is sick because her illness seemed small and insignificant next to what he was going through.
She felt like their love was strong enough for him to wait for her although she is not writing or calling, she did ask him to wait but of couse, no sane person will wait for that long and of course, Jin-heon feels betrayed.
After three years, when she gets better, Hee-jin comes back to Korea and is ready to resume her relationship with her love.
She knows that he will be angry but is ready to explain but instead of finding Jin-heon waiting for her, she finds that he started dating another woman (which we all like very much, since she is the lovable Sam-soon).
Usually in these series, the ex girlfriend is a cold hearted witch who invents lies in order to get her love back but Hee-jin is different.
Hee-jin does't have any intention of giving Jin-heon up but she is not lying not to him and not to Sam-soon.
Hee-jin handsome doctor friend, follows her from the states to Korean. He is obviously in love with her but she is not leading him on in order to make Jin-hyun jealous.
She touched me because she was so positive and brave and because her love story was so special.
It takes a while but Hee-jin manages to get Jin-heon back to her when her doctor tels him the truth about her departure and her illness.
One of the most strongest scenes for me was when Hee-jin came to ask for Jin-hoen's mother's blessing.
The mother rejects her because after losing her son and her daughter in law, she can't stand the thought of losing another family member, and since she loved her so much and can't be sure whether or not she will get sick again, she doesn't want Jin-heon to resume his relationship with her and will nto accept her as her future daughter in law.
After a very hard scene where Hee-jin clings to Jin-heon's mother and begs her to accept her, we get to see three reactions to the rejection.
While Hee-jin breaks down and cries her heart out on the living room floor, Jin-heon's mother sits in a nearby room, looking at a family photograph, taken before the accident, where her eldest son and his wife were still alive.
Hee-jin is also in that photo, which proves that she was once part of the family and just steps away from becoming Jin-heon's wife. This tough mother, who seems so unfeeling and cold, clutched this proof of a happier past that is no more, to her heart and cries.
Meanwhile, Ji-heon's small niece is also crying, probably because she can hear Hee-jin.
This scene is beautifully played by all three actresses.
At the end of the series, Hee-jin begins a new love story with doctor Kim and plans on moving back to the states.
I'm happy that she got her happy ending.
There are quite a few series where the lovers breakup because the girlfriend wants to invest time in her career, "My girl" is just one example that I can think of, where Kim Seo-hyun ends the relationship because she wants to become a famous tennis player.
The funny part is that she comes back, after disappearing for two years, expecting her ex boyfriend to be waiting for her and when he doesn't, she does everything that she can to win him back.
There are many successful women who maintain their career while having a boyfriend/husband and family so I find this story line to be far fetched.
Hee-jin however, has a valid reason for her departure and even her lack of communication can be forgiven because it's apparent that she has never stopped loving Jin-heon.
The comments that I see viewers post, always talk of the evil ex girlfriend who should just die but I guess that people do not take into account the fact that in real life, the ex girlfriend would be the one that you would be rooting for and not the new woman.
These ex girlfriend have a history of love and affection and in some case it's very logical to assume that they will get hurt and angry when they find their ex boyfriend with another woman that they've just met.
The ex has spent many years with her boyfriend and all of a sudden has to give up her place, forget about her love and sail smoothly into the horizon without leaving a trace.
I think that giving up without a fight is strange and would indicate that the character wasn't really in love anyway but it's true that in most of the series, the breakup was initiated by the girlfriend and she is usually a clingy, annoying person who is out to get the heroine and ruin her life.
I think that if the ex girlfriend is a nice person, like Hee-jin, she deserves her happy ever after.
These characters, who were written on paper and became alive by the power of the actors who play them, can sometimes be supporting the main characters and not that important to the plot, but the actors are either too good to fade into the background, their stories might be interesting to me or they just might be too good looking for me to overlook :D.
Either way, I'm going to pick a character that I like and write a bit about him/her.
There will surly be spoilers so if you intend to watch or am watching the series, beware!
The first character that I've picked is Kim Hee-jin from "My lovely Sam Soon".
I shall start with Hee-jin's theme song, this is the song that represents her in the series. It still makes me tear up when I listen to it.
Click to viewWho is Hee-jin? She is the mythological ex girlfriend of the rich and handsome Hyun Jin-heon.
We see her first aboard a plane, taking her from the states back to Korea.
We still don't know who she is but she befriends Sam-soon's sister who sits right next to her and it's clear that she is a fun girl to hang out with and also very beautiful.
Three years before in the series timeline, Jin-heon had a horrible car accident.
Jin-heon was the driver and his brother, sister in law and a motorcyclist were killed. Jin-heon and his niece who was a toddler, got trapped in the car but survived.
While he was in the hospital, waiting for a leg surgery, Hee-jin came visit him and told him that she is going to study medicine in the state.
She left and Jin-heon didn't hear anything from her for three long years.
What Jin-heon didn't know was that the reason why Hee-jin left right when he needed her most, and why she didn't call him up, was because she was diagnosed with cancer and was going to be treated in the states.
As she tries later to explain, she couldn't tell him that she is sick because her illness seemed small and insignificant next to what he was going through.
She felt like their love was strong enough for him to wait for her although she is not writing or calling, she did ask him to wait but of couse, no sane person will wait for that long and of course, Jin-heon feels betrayed.
After three years, when she gets better, Hee-jin comes back to Korea and is ready to resume her relationship with her love.
She knows that he will be angry but is ready to explain but instead of finding Jin-heon waiting for her, she finds that he started dating another woman (which we all like very much, since she is the lovable Sam-soon).
Usually in these series, the ex girlfriend is a cold hearted witch who invents lies in order to get her love back but Hee-jin is different.
Hee-jin does't have any intention of giving Jin-heon up but she is not lying not to him and not to Sam-soon.
Hee-jin handsome doctor friend, follows her from the states to Korean. He is obviously in love with her but she is not leading him on in order to make Jin-hyun jealous.
She touched me because she was so positive and brave and because her love story was so special.
It takes a while but Hee-jin manages to get Jin-heon back to her when her doctor tels him the truth about her departure and her illness.
One of the most strongest scenes for me was when Hee-jin came to ask for Jin-hoen's mother's blessing.
The mother rejects her because after losing her son and her daughter in law, she can't stand the thought of losing another family member, and since she loved her so much and can't be sure whether or not she will get sick again, she doesn't want Jin-heon to resume his relationship with her and will nto accept her as her future daughter in law.
After a very hard scene where Hee-jin clings to Jin-heon's mother and begs her to accept her, we get to see three reactions to the rejection.
While Hee-jin breaks down and cries her heart out on the living room floor, Jin-heon's mother sits in a nearby room, looking at a family photograph, taken before the accident, where her eldest son and his wife were still alive.
Hee-jin is also in that photo, which proves that she was once part of the family and just steps away from becoming Jin-heon's wife. This tough mother, who seems so unfeeling and cold, clutched this proof of a happier past that is no more, to her heart and cries.
Meanwhile, Ji-heon's small niece is also crying, probably because she can hear Hee-jin.
This scene is beautifully played by all three actresses.
At the end of the series, Hee-jin begins a new love story with doctor Kim and plans on moving back to the states.
I'm happy that she got her happy ending.
There are quite a few series where the lovers breakup because the girlfriend wants to invest time in her career, "My girl" is just one example that I can think of, where Kim Seo-hyun ends the relationship because she wants to become a famous tennis player.
The funny part is that she comes back, after disappearing for two years, expecting her ex boyfriend to be waiting for her and when he doesn't, she does everything that she can to win him back.
There are many successful women who maintain their career while having a boyfriend/husband and family so I find this story line to be far fetched.
Hee-jin however, has a valid reason for her departure and even her lack of communication can be forgiven because it's apparent that she has never stopped loving Jin-heon.
The comments that I see viewers post, always talk of the evil ex girlfriend who should just die but I guess that people do not take into account the fact that in real life, the ex girlfriend would be the one that you would be rooting for and not the new woman.
These ex girlfriend have a history of love and affection and in some case it's very logical to assume that they will get hurt and angry when they find their ex boyfriend with another woman that they've just met.
The ex has spent many years with her boyfriend and all of a sudden has to give up her place, forget about her love and sail smoothly into the horizon without leaving a trace.
I think that giving up without a fight is strange and would indicate that the character wasn't really in love anyway but it's true that in most of the series, the breakup was initiated by the girlfriend and she is usually a clingy, annoying person who is out to get the heroine and ruin her life.
I think that if the ex girlfriend is a nice person, like Hee-jin, she deserves her happy ever after.