Dear Jaeyi, Dear Hongrang - a Review

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 Dear Hongrang is a drama that lingers. It's about love and tragedy and longingness. And it will haunt you even after it ends.



I will not dwell on what the story is about. If you watched it, you know what it's about and how it ended. But I want to talk about how it lingers after you finish. It stays because of that quiet, aching moment of human connection. Jaeyi, who only had Hongrang by her side and when she lost him, she felt no other connection from anybody, even his father. Until Mujin arrived. Then Hongrang, born from slaves, a human talisman, gained that connection from those he grew up with, from his so-called Mother. But true connection only came when he met Jaeyi.

The romance between Jaeyi and Hongrang is subtle, which started from suspicion that turned into a strong bond that was tragic from the start. Theirs is a love that endures despite the grief and the trauma that both of them have experienced and their desires that can either save or destroy them.

Is it a happy ending?

Well, yes and no. After Hongrang dies, many of the characters found the justice and the peace that they all deserve. Even before he left, Jaeyi found peace with the discovery of his brother's body. Hongrang finally got the revenge he has been longing for after finding out it was the Crown Prince who gave him all those pain and trauma.  Jaeyi even found the courage to stand up to her stepmother, who until the end longs for the son she lost because of her greed. 

Kkot-nim kills Yeol-guk, the man she loved but who betrayed her, the same man who helped the Crown Prince hurt innocent children. After trying to force Jaeyi into marrying him and then giving his loyalty to the Crown Prince, Mujin dies protecting his adoptive sister. That was the redemption we all needed. His sacrifice to save her was indeed enough for him to redeem himself.

After all the suffering that the two of them have endured, it seems unfair that they quickly parted by death. But with meeting each other, in a way they both found something important. Hongrang finding himself, finally feeling like a human being, feeling like a man, that he has ever felt before. And Jaeyi found that peace even after losing the person that she loves.

And that ending gave me hope. That maybe, in the end, they finally found each other and will be together, for eternity. 

The story is very tragic. But this gives us an opportunity to look into their journey. And all that they have expressed, desires, greed, love, empathy, compassion, hope. And may their encounters make us look into our own selves. And experience the love that our main characters have; that heart-felt, stronger-than-death love, love that surpasses death, into the eternal.   

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