Episode 6: Introduction to Gift-Giving
By Bonyo Lee
The feelings that Chilbong has towards Najeong intensifies, showing that he is falling for her, but at the same time, we see Najeong’s shift in her feelings towards Sseuregi. Dongil goes to Sseuregi for help regarding Ilhwa’s sudden mood changes, and Sseuregi says that it can possibly be menopause, a term that Dongil is not familiar with and something that he doesn’t know how to handle. Everyone in the boarding house becomes oblivious on how they’re treating Ilhwa and makes it obvious to us that she's going through a hard time with the presence of menopause. Haetae seeks relationship advice from Najeong and Yoonjin but still ends up single. At the end of the episode, they reveal that Ihwa is actually pregnant, leading everyone to change their attitudes to becoming a lot more helpful and supportive.
In this episode of Reply 1994, we learned that gift giving can be more than just a physical gift that often represents one’s appreciation. I believe that the way they use gift giving in the episode can give us an understanding on some important issues in Korean culture.
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The gift of advice is first seen in the scene when Dongil gives baseball advice to Chilbong. Dongil is the coach of the baseball team Seoul Twins, and to show the existing hierarchy in Korea that we discussed in class, Dongil gives Chilbong criticism so he can improve even though he already surpassed Dongil’s expectations to keep the respect he gets from Chilbong. Advice was also given to Haetae from Najeong and Yunjin when he had relationship problems with his girlfriend. They ended up telling him that he doesn’t understand what his girlfriend truly means but that must be because Haetae is not from Seoul, emphasizing on how Seoul is better than areas outside of Seoul in South Korea on this specific topic.
One of the gift of knowledge scenes is when Dongil goes to Sseuregi to ask why Ilhwa was acting strange all of a sudden. Sseuregi explains that it’s likely to be menopause, and he teaches Dongil how he should act if that is the case. This knowledge that’s given to Dongil is very helpful not just to Dongil but to the Korean audience with many who don’t know much or anything about menopause. According to Park Youngjoo, Kim Hesook Suzie, and Kang Hyunchoel, they said, “The absence of reliable data [in Korea] makes it difficult to address the relevant health and social issues related to menopause.” (2002: 1024) Sseuregi uses his knowledge to explain to Dongil and also teach the audience that Menopause is a natural process of life. Menopause can create many problems for women but Dongil’s gift of support and attention to Ilhwa further teaches the audience on how you can act when your spouse goes through menopause.
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A reoccurring problem in this episode was Ilhwa providing all the kids the gift of attention and time as that is what’s expected in a Korean mom, but only to be neglected and rejected. Tilland says that many Korean women talked about getting anxiety from just the responsibility to “know” their children, something that’s important but also burdensome (2016:231). The possibility of mental health complications does exist for a lot of Korean moms and it will only worsen with the added presence of menopause.
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All the examples from this episode of how using gifts in the forms of advice, knowledge, time, and attention can deliver the audience the elements in Korean culture that existed during that time.
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Word count: 448
The following are some questions to think about:
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What are some of the elements of Korean culture mentioned in the episode that still exist today or don’t exist today?
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The way the drama delivered the idea of menopause and how people handled this situation, how much of it is real in Korea?
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What do you think about Korea regarding advice as a form of a gift?
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What are other forms and meanings of gift giving, other than the kinds mentioned above that exist in Korea?
Bibliography:
Park, Youngjoo, Hesook Suzie Kim, and Hyunchoel Kang. "The Age at Menopause and Related Factors in Korean Women." Journal of Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing 32, no. 7 (2002): 1024-1031.
Tilland, Bonnie. "Family Is Beautiful: The Affective Weight of Mothers-in-Law in Family Talk in South Korea." Journal of Korean Studies 21, no. 1 (2016): 213-244.
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