2023 Kdrama My Dearest – Episode 1+2 Recap and Theory Explained, Review

---

2023 Korean drama “My Dearest” Episodes 1+2 Plot :  “My Dearest” revolves around Lee Jang-Hyun’s arrival in Neunggun-ri, where he is deeply captivated by the atmosphere. Initially intending to stay for a short period of time, he becomes unintentionally drawn to the swinging Gil-Chae.

Determined to remain in Neunggun-ri, Lee Jang-Hyun goes to great lengths. However, Gil-Chae has already found her heart’s desire and despite her dislike for Lee Jang-Hyun, she seeks his advice on what men and women in Hanyang like. During this process, Lee Jang-Hyun discovers that Gil-Chae possesses a sincere heart and emotions easily moved by small moments of happiness. the Qing Poeple have invaded Korea and captured the king—turning their once happy and ordinary lives into turmoil overnight.

2023 Kdrama – My Dearest Episode 1 Recap

---

In Korean drama ” My Dearest ” Episode 1 recap: In the spring of the tenth year of King Hyojong in 1659, after the death of Crown Prince Jae-hyeon, some contents recorded by a historian named Shi Cao were discovered. Strictly speaking, these were some contents that should have been erased long ago and should not exist.

They contained disloyal remarks about the late Crown Prince. However, there was a man who frequently appeared in these historical records, and his actions made King Hyojong uneasy. Therefore, he secretly sent someone to investigate this man’s whereabouts.

At that time, among the military officers, there was a person who was unfit for his position as an officer. He forgot his duties and confused the Crown Prince, leading him astray. This person suffered divine punishment and gradually developed madness.

It would be best to eliminate him completely so that he could never see sunlight again. For these past few years, he has only repeated that he is someone entrusted by high-ranking officials and nobles to take care of him. And once the time comes, that person will come to fetch him.

In 1636 during King Injo’s fourteenth year: In springtime,Gil-Chae had reached marriageable age.Every scholar in her village liked her,and Gil-Chae believed she would one day marry her perfect dream man.In her dreams,she always ran towards the seaside. There,a man told her he had been waiting for her for a long time,but Gil-Chae couldn’t clearly see his face.She firmly believed it was Nam Yeon-Joon,the man she liked.To compete with Eun-Ae, today Gil-Chae decided to participate in a flower cake play.

Gil-Chae’s elegance and charm attracted many men,making other girls jealous.However,a rumor spread from inside palace claiming Qing People declared himself emperor,believing they should resist vigorously.But Lee Jang-Hyun sarcastically said that starting a war doesn’t necessarily mean winning, and mocked the young men present, asking them what they could use to fight.

❄ Gil-Chae was very angry at this young man’s rebuttal of Nam Yeon-Joon. Everyone is confused about Lee Jang-Hyun’s background. It turns out that he suddenly came to the Royal Palace a month ago to seek apprenticeship, but everyone thinks he lacks knowledge and education.

So Lee Jang-Hyun had to use money and sweet words to win over the elderly in the village, even living comfortably in the irritable Grandpa Song Chu’s house. He made a lot of money by selling persimmons and tobacco to barbarians, so it is believed that he has a close relationship with them.

He also knows how to please girls, but Lee Jang-Hyun is someone who doesn’t believe in marriage. Now all scholars want to drive away Lee Jang-Hyun, but they didn’t expect that not only can’t they get rid of him, he even took an interest in Gil-Chae swinging on a swing.

2023 Kdrama – My Dearest Episode 2 Recap

---

❄ ” My Dearest ” Episode 2 recap: Lee Jang-Hyun saves Gil-Chae, which disappoints her because she hoped Nam Yeon-Joon would be the one to save her. However, it turns out that Nam Yeon-Joon is happily chatting with Eun-Ae.

Nevertheless, Lee Jang-Hyun is very interested in Gil-Chae and even Grandfather Song Chu can see that Lee Jang-Hyun is captivated by her. Despite the Royal Palace’s reluctance to accept him, he is determined to settle down in this village and manages to enter the Royal Palace thanks to a lot of food XD

He asks the Royal Palace if they can hold a wedding ceremony for Grandfather Song Chu’s 60th anniversary after three months. This privilege is usually reserved for nobles, but at Lee Jang-Hyun’s request, the Royal Palace agrees.

❄ Meanwhile, Gil-Chae goes to the Royal Palace looking for Nam Yeon-Joon to express her feelings but receives an answer that Nam Yeon-Joon chooses Eun-Ae instead.

❄ However, Gil-Chae doesn’t want to give up and decides to seek advice from someone knowledgeable. Surprisingly enough, Lee Jang-Hyun comes into her mind first and it scares Gil-Chae. But for love’s sake, she still goes there the next day hoping to make a deal with Lee Jang-Hyun: exchanging test questions from his private school for lessons on Han Yang life so that she can have something interesting to talk about with Nam Yeon-Joon~

And so it goes; Lee Jang-Hyun teaches Gil-Chae many things that Han Yang girls and boys like and even takes her to experience Qing Lou (brothel) where they enjoy listening Ryang-Eum -the best singer in Joseon-. Indeed, when Gil-Chae hears this beautiful voice, she is deeply moved and even sheds tears. It’s as if she were a child excitedly experiencing the adult world for the first time~

On the way home, Gil-Chae told Lee Jang-Hyun that he was indeed like what other girls said – the reason for not getting married was because he couldn’t fulfill his duties as a man. This made Lee Jang-Hyun burst into laughter.

He gently told Gil-Chae that he was different from those cowardly men at the Royal Palace. After spending this day together, it seemed like Gil-Chae couldn’t get Lee Jang-Hyun out of her mind.

The next day, Gil-Chae didn’t go to see off Lee Jang-Hyun on his journey because she was more concerned about Nam Yeon-Joon who had come to the Royal Palace. It turned out that Nam Yeon-Joon brought some scholars with him and claimed to be preparing a proposal to send an envoy to comfort the Qing People and resolve the current situation.

This method caused a fierce battle between two factions within the court. King Injo had previously punished those who were friendly with Qing People, so if King Injo now tried to appease them, he would surely face criticism. Therefore, he believed that this war might really be unavoidable.

In Yiju, Lee Jang-Hyun encountered a person who had been killed in this place where people from various countries coexisted but harbored resentment towards each other due to trade relations. However, it seemed like Lee Jang-Hyun knew who the murderer was. He first captured Lin Guqin and Mo Sai and asked about whether Qing People were truly planning to invade Korea or not.

In the past, Qing People treated Korea as their elder brother but now they were eyeing it greedily for attack. So Lee Jang-Hyun deliberately provoked both factions into fighting each other and also helped Yang Chun force Lin Guqin into telling the truth.This made Yang Chun want to adopt Lee Jang-Hyun as his son but got rejected by him instead.

So he wanted to use courtesans to ruin Lee Jang-Hyun and keep him in Yiju. Of course, Lee Jang-Hyun was not happy about it, but Yang Chun had high hopes that Lee Jang-Hyun could replace him as he was slowly getting old.

However, the truth was that it was actually Lee Jang-Hyun who sent someone to carry out the murder (the person who got killed liked to sow discord among different ethnic groups).

At the Royal Palace, Lee Jang-Hyun finally presided over Song Chu’s grandfather and Yi Rang’s grandmother’s wedding ceremony. He accidentally discovered that Gil-Chae actually liked Nam Yeon-Joon and unexpectedly witnessed Gil-Chae setting up a scheme to kiss Nam Yeon-Joon.

But because of this, he also saw how heartbroken Gil-Chae was when she got rejected by Nam Yeon-Joon. Suddenly, Lee Jang-Hyun confessed to Gil-Chae saying “Come be with me,” which shocked her greatly. Gil-Chae thought that Lee Jang-Hyun must have been captivated by her just like other men in the village who desired her.

So she made it clear that she disliked him and everything about him, which surprised Lee Jang-Hyun. Later on, he found out that all Gil-Chae wanted was a man who would never change so they could grow old together.

At this moment, everyone happily sang and danced without realizing that Qing People were already on their way invading Korea with plans of imprisoning the Korean monarch.

2023 Kdrama My Dearest – Episode 1+2 Theory Explained, Review

---

” My Dearest ” starts off with several scenes that depict the outline of Lee Jang-Hyun’s storyline, played by Namkoong Min. The writer cleverly uses historical data from 1659 that should not exist as a starting point, letting the audience know that Lee Jang-Hyun’s character may have a tragic ending in the future. This sets up anticipation for whether Lee Jang-Hyun and Gil-Chae will become the protagonists of this heartbreaking tale in My Dearest.

Then, the timeline is brought back to 1636 to portray Lee Jang-Hyun and Gil-Chae’s storyline. This design by the writer creates curiosity among viewers about what might have happened between these two characters during this period of time. I quite like how My Dearest establishes a melancholic atmosphere around Lee Jang-Hyun right from the beginning.

The beach where he encounters true love in his dreams is also where he will ultimately face persecution in the future. Lee Jang-Hyun’s expression is both desolate and reminiscent of reliving past love, as evidenced by the tear he sheds, which conveys intense feelings of heart-wrenching romance.”

Lee Jang-Hyun said those precious sounds, echoing Gil-Chae’s narration while swinging on the swing. “Did you hear it? The sound of flowers, I heard this precious sound today.” These were the words spoken by Lee Jang-Hyun on the first day he met Gil-Chae, expressing his inner feelings.

He spoke these words with tears streaming down his face, filled with sadness! Especially at the beginning of “My Dearest,” it reveals a secret: “At that time, among the officers, there was someone unfit to be an officer. He forgot his duty and confused the Crown Prince, leading him astray.

That person suffered divine punishment and gradually developed madness. It would be best to put him to death so that he can never see sunlight again. For these past few years, he has been repeating that he is someone entrusted and taken care of by high-ranking officials and noble people. And once the time comes, that person will come for him.” Is Lee Jang-Hyun the one who has been imprisoned? Will Gil-Chae be waiting for him?

“People are inherently cold-hearted and cannot bear such grand emotions.” Lee Jang-Hyun’s motivation to help Grandfather Song Chu hold a remarriage ceremony can be seen as a reflection of the sincere love between Grandfather Song Chu and Grandma Yi Rang.

In contrast, Lee Jang-Hyun himself does not want to get married, perhaps because he doesn’t believe in love or because past experiences have made him feel unworthy or unable to handle it. As a result, he is closed off in matters of the heart and afraid of emotional attachments. In episodes 1 and 2 of ” My Dearest ” Lee Jang-Hyun says, “Can you hear it? The sound of flowers. I heard this precious sound today” and “Don’t you smell the scent of bamboo in this village?” He consistently uses smells and sounds to describe the village, highlighting its loveliness and sincerity. It portrays Neunggun-ri as a place where rare emotions exist.

I feel that there is an indescribable bittersweetness in the love story between Lee Jang-Hyun and Gil-Chae in “My Dearest.” This is achieved by first presenting the possibility of a tragic outcome for Lee Jang-Hyun in episode 1 with the idea that “the harder and more intense love is now, the more painful it will be in the future.” This technique successfully creates a sense of preciousness in their relationship that sets it apart from typical romantic dramas.

Lee Jang-Hyun’s mysterious background is quite intriguing. Who exactly is he and what kind of origins does he have? What emptiness lies within his heart? These are all layers of mysteries, and how does Lee Jang-Hyun intersect with Crown Prince So-Hyun? In the second episode of ” My Dearest ” when Lee Jang-Hyun returns to Yiju, we can infer from Yang Chun’s dialogue that he originally lived there but left for a few months which turned into several years.

Therefore, it seems like Lee Jang-Hyun is searching for something. “There’s no need to let marriage dull my inner romance. Going through several love affairs also leaves one feeling cold. What I mean is, don’t think about marriage anymore.” Perhaps what Lee Jang-Hyun is seeking is true affection rather than being bound by societal expectations.

The backdrop of ” My Dearest ” takes place during the imminent invasion of Joseon by the Qing Dynasty forces, leading to war. In the ending scene of the second episode, Gil-Chae expresses her wish to live an ordinary life with someone who won’t betray her until old age.

Thus, the upcoming war will disrupt the peaceful and contented days in Joseon as mentioned by Gil-Chae. This might be why Lee Jang-Hyun comes into contact with Crown Prince So-Hyun – perhaps because he wants to protect Gil-Chae’s desire for such a life together~