Lee Ji Woo: Instead of regretting later for not doing it, take action first and make sure you don't regret it.
Episode 04: Abalone Feast
Episode 05: Busan's Cuisine
Lee So Yeon: They say, "you need money to make money"...
Episode 06: Yang Jang Pi Dishes
Episode 07: Tteokbokki Dishes
Lee Seo Yeon: I researched about the psychology of a relationship by observing Ms. A and Mr. B who are my neighbors. How can we know if Mr. B has feelings for Ms. A?
Lee Seo Yeon: At the table Ms. A sat were empty seats next to her and across from her. Where would a man sit if he was interested in her? Would he sit across from her where he can look at her better? ... No, he'd sit next to her. Anthropologist Edward Hall said you only let those that are close to you within the intimate distance zone of 45.7 centimeters. He'd want the girl he likes in his personal space that is intimate.
Lee Seo Yeon: Did you know that you involuntarily copy the actions of those you like? It's called mirroring. Mirror neurons are activated so that you mirror the actions of those you like?
Lee Seo Yeon: ... Dr. Albert Mehrabian referred to it as the belly button rule. When you're talking to someone you like, you're belly button points to the direction of that person.
Lee Seo Yeon: I'm doing this to pay back my debt, but I still have to do a proper (professional) job.
Episode 08: Do You Like Me?
Episode 09: Healthy Food in Summer
Goo Dae Young: Did you always get what you wanted easily in life?
Episode 10: Confession
Episode 11: I'm Going to Do What Makes Me Happy
Kim Sam Soon: Alfred D'Souza once said, "Dance as though no one is watching you. Love as though you've never been hurt before. Sing as though no one can hear you. Work as though you don't need any money. Live as though today is the last day of your life."
Episode 12: A Name You Want to Call in Secret
Text: A Name You Want to Call in Secret by Na Tae Joo
...
Goo Dae Young: "Having a name you want to call in secret is fantastically pleasing."
Goo Dae Young: "Having someone you wish to think about is a happy but sad thing."
...
Lee Ji Woo: "To have someone you think about before falling asleep and to have somebody you wish to wake up to after thinking about is a happy but lonely thing."
Goo Dae Young: Okay, but why are you criticizing her? What right do you have?
Baek Soo Ji: They say that "your mouth goes continuously from three until you are eighty".
Episode 02
Goo Dae Young: There are no grandmas in Korea. If women are older, they're 'noona'; if they're younger, they're 'dongsaeng'.
Baek Soo Ji: There is an infinite amount of delicious food all over the world. What about the fun you have from eating?
Baek Soo Ji: Even in beauty, "the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer".
Baek Soo Ji: Where's the world as I know it?!
Baek Soo Ji: You think I subscribe to newspapers to read them, right?
Goo Dae Young: Of course.
Baek Soo Ji: Newspapers are like my pointer; it determines whether I'm breathing or not. It tells the world whether I'm alive or dead. If by chance something happens to me at night, the newspapers in front of the door is like a sign for someone to come into my house so they can check whether I'm living or dead. That's why I subscribe to newspapers.
Episode 03
Goo Dae Young: It's not like you haven't dated, right? Right?
Baek Soo Ji: Are you crazy? Do you know how old I am?
Goo Dae Young: Chapter 1 – smile and request.
Baek Soo Ji: What?
Goo Dae Young: The majority of men like women who smile. Furthermore, (they like it) if a request is made with a smile.
Goo Dae Young: Chapter 2 – compliments make a man dance 24/7. That means admire even the tiniest of things.
Baek Soo Ji: Is there something that would make him fall in love instantly?
Goo Dae Young: You think it's that easy to win over someone's heart? Let's do this slowly.
Goo Dae Young: Plant a good scent in his mind, and begin 'skinship' naturally.
Goo Dae Young: If you're working for money, then you should work as much as you get paid.
Goo Dae Young: How do you have no common sense? How can you say that you already saw the movie?
Baek Soo Ji: I already saw it. Am I supposed to lie?
Goo Dae Young: Even if you saw it, you should have pretended you didn't and you should have gone to watch it together.
Goo Dae Young: Men don't want to date women like their mothers. They want to date a woman.
Goo Dae Young: Also, why did you open that bottle with a spoon? Are you showing off?
Baek Soo Ji: Hey, it's something that all girls can't do.
Goo Dae Young: That's why you can't do any better than normal women, you dummy.
Episode 04
Episode 05
Hwang Hye Rim: They say "a cool guy has a girlfriend, and a perfect guy has a boyfriend".
Hwang Hye Rim: I should say what is right about this matter. Everyone has the freedom to wear whatever they want to wear.
Episode 06
Goo Dae Young: Guys love it when you ask them about things they're interested in.
Baek Soo Ji: I cannot get a new credit card. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I can't. So please never call again.
Hong In Ah: At times like this, you really do seem like a writer because of your crafty wording. If I get a call next time asking me to get a new credit card, I think I'll refuse it that way.
Baek Soo Ji: But it's true.
Hong In Ah: What?
Baek Soo Ji: I'm not faking it, it's real. I really can't afford another credit card now.
Hong In Ah: Why?
Baek Soo Ji: It's because I'm a freelancer; my income is irregular.
Goo Dae Young: What I mean is... act according to your means.
Baek Soo Ji: Hey, when I'm trying to meet a guy who is not of my standard, how can I not act according to his standard?
Goo Dae Young: Do you have to go to that extent to get married? But are you a 'doenjang' girl who scrimps on necessities to buy luxuries?
Baek Soo Ji: Coming up with those kind of terms to criticize women are men's hobbies, right? How many marriages exist that didn't consider the mate's stature?
...
Goo Dae Young: Even if you talk that way, Sang Woo won't marry you, never mind date you. Sang Woo is going on blind dates this weekend with women who are from good households, have good jobs, and had good educations.
Baek Soo Ji: What?
Goo Dae Young: In the end, a man with good specifications or qualifications is bound to meet a woman with good specifications or qualifications.
Goo Dae Young: A story like Cinderella only happens in fairy tales or in dramas. You do know that even Cinderella was also from a noble family, right? If Cinderella was a commoner, she would not have been invited to the ball.
Baek Soo Ji: Don't you think I know? It's not like you didn't know when you decided to help me. You just watch me. Even with that hurdle, I'm going to make it happen.
Hwang Hye Rim: What's the use of studying? The ones who graduated from rural school will have a hard time finding a job, anyway. Rather than being stressed, I thought I should enjoy life, and just live that way...
Goo Dae Young: Whether you are immature or you have no dream...
Hwang Hye Rim: Then, why are you drinking a beer in a convenient store alone? Aren't you dating?
Goo Dae Young: Why would I date? Most women expect marriage when they date. I don't have thoughts of marriage.
Hwang Hye Rim: Why?
Goo Dae Young: Why would I want to make someone suffer when my situation is like this? Rather than two people suffering, it's better that I suffer alone, right?
Hwang Hye Rim: Whether you are realistic or you have no ambition...
Episode 07
Goo Dae Young: Eat food in its season. In particular, it's the easiest way to get nourishment.
Baek Soo Ji: Look at me, I must have been really longing for a guy. I even misunderstood his kindness as romantic interest.
Baek Soo Ji: Gathering data is also work. A writer should see a lot, listen a lot, and read a lot.
Baek Soo Ji: You should be direct, but only to the right degree.
Episode 08
Hong Min Ah: It's a strategy to fulfill what they lack. The type like Sang Woo who is rather timid, will fall for a person who is free-spirited, which he lacks.
Hong Min Ah: We're not even officially dating so why do I need to settle things?
Baek Soo Ji: In my right mind, from the beginning, I guess I knew it wasn't going to work out well. So that's why for a long time, I tried really hard to not let it show , and liked him in secret. In the end, I... knowing that I'll get hurt, I got over my head. I'm pretty good with that kind of calculation.
Episode 09
Episode 10
Hong In Ah: A man an woman can meet and then separate all the time. I'm not narrow-minded.
Baek Soo Ji: What do you think you're doing? You're the one who told me to act cutesy.
Lee Sang Woo: Shouldn't I do at least this much as a man for the woman I like?
?: It's not a matter of luck to have kind friends, both women and men. You have to work for your relationships, including friendships.
Episode 11
Hwang Hye Rim: This is why between people you need push and pull.
Episode 12
Lee Sang Woo: Does it have to be a special day to give something to someone you love?
Im Taek Soo: Hey, does it make sense that a person with a family does not get lonely?
Im Taek Soo: If you pick on little things, you can't get married. When you put money and other calculation before your feelings, is that love? Would you even know how to love?
Episode 13
Hwang Hye Rim: But why are you worried about paying your boyfriend back (for the expensive gift)? Just accept it happily, and so the person who gave it to you feels good, express how happy you are.
Baek Soo Ji: Even so, my heart feels rather heavy.
Hwang Hye Rim: If you feel that burden, then isn't that not dating? When you are with him, does your heart flutter?
Bek Soo Ji: Yes, I'm dating, and I do feel my heart fluttering. He is so generous to me.
Hwang Hye Rim: When you are dating, how can there be such a thing like being generous? Why do you date? "To be loved like this, I'm an okay person", you do it to feel that way, and to become happy.
Goo Dae Young: A guy has to have at least one formal suit.
...
Goo Dae Young: You have to tie the necktie properly. A suit's central point is the necktie.
...
Goo Dae Young: It feels uncomfortable, right? It is at first, but you'll get used to it soon. I suppose it's true that "clothes make a person".
Baek Soo Ji: What do you like about your girlfriend?
Goo Dae Young: She seems like a girl, and a friend. If we're together, it's fun and comfortable.
Baek Soo Ji: This time, I thought I can date differently than before, but it's the same pattern. It seems like I lack in many things, and I feel intimidated...
...
Goo Dae Young: Why do you think that you lack something? You don't, at all. You're personality is great, and you're kind. You're fun and pretty. You're an okay girl. You have more than enough right to be loved. That's what I think.
Episode 14
Baek Soo Ji: What do you mean? A girl needs to see another girl. I can see her personality just by examining her face.
Goo Dae Young: Heat plays a huge role in food taste. People say that good flavor comes from how you cook, but the most important factor in cooking is the taste that comes from heat.
Hwang Hye Rim: Soo Ji, did you break up with your boyfriend?
Baek Soo Ji: No, why?
Hwang Hye Rim: You wear underwear that don't match? Ah, you haven't slept with him yet?
Baek Soo Ji: Hey, it's because we came here suddenly.
Hwang Hye Rim: That's why! You can suddenly find yourself sleeping with your boyfriend. You should always be prepared.
Lee Sang Woo: We are lovers. If we are lovers, whether good things or bad things, we should let each other know; that's what I believe.
Baek Soo Ji: That is, I only wanted to show you the nice sides of me. Even though I'm not perfect, I didn't want to become a girlfriend who lacks many things.
Lee Sang Woo: Soo Ji, you're not lacking at all. You're really amazing. So from now on, without hiding anything, I want you to show me everything.
Baek Soo Ji: I understand.
Lee Sang Woo: You have nothing to tell me?
Goo Dae Young: Huh?
Lee Sang Woo: Soo Ji. I heard she was sexually assaulted.
Goo Dae Young: Oh, you heard from Soo Ji?
Lee Sang Woo: If I did, I wouldn't be this angry. I found out coincidentally.
Goo Dae Young: The thing is, from Soo Ji's point of view, she wouldn't want the person she's dating to know about that.
Lee Sang Woo: Then what about you? Why didn't you tell me? Okay, let's say Soo Ji had no sense. Then, shouldn't you have told me? When we met yesterday, you said nothing.
Lee Sang Woo: Do you still like her? Soo Ji?
Goo Dae Young: What?
Lee Sang Woo: I warned you to settle your feelings.
Goo Dae Young: She called me instead because she's not comfortable with you! If she was comfortable with you, she wouldn't have called me.
Lee Sang Woo: I won't ask about anything. Be at ease, and cry as you wish.
Lee Sang Woo: I'm sorry, but do you know I'm happy now (that you're relying on me)?
Episode 15
Baek Soo Ji: You know what she's like. Rumors are going to spread all over the workplace soon. Why did you tell her about our relationship?
Lee Sang Woo: Well, we can't help if rumors spread. We're not doing anything bad. A man and a woman are dating because they like each other. What's so wrong about that?
Episode 16
Episode 17
Goo Dae Young: Anyway, whether they are young or old, all men are same.
Bae Soo Ji: I'm sorry.
Lee Sang Woo: Those words of apology, I'm getting tired of them. You just don't have to do anything that you'd be sorry about.
Kim Mi Ran: That saying, "As soon as one develops affection, it's goodbye." is really true.
Title: 식샤를 합시다 2 Siksyareul Habsida 2
English Title: Let's Eat 2
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Year: 2015
Episode: 18
Cast:
서현진 Seo Hyun Jin
윤두준 Yoon Doo Joon
권율 Kwon Yul
김희원 Kim Hee Won
황승언 Hwang Seung Eon
조은지 Jo Eun Ji
황석정 Hwang Suk Jung
이주승 Lee Joo Seung
SYNOPSIS
서현진 Seo Hyun Jin feat. Risso - Up & Down
Goo Dae Young left the city of Seoul for various reasons. He relocated to Sejong, which is incidentally his hometown. He moved in to a new apartment building, and he set about getting to know his new neighbors.
Bae Soo Ji works as a freelance writer, and she lives next door to Dae Young. She is actually his classmate from elementary, but she's angry with him because he befriended her so that Soo Ji would frequently eat at his mother's restaurant.
Lee Sang Woo is a high-ranking government employee who lives alone in an apartment in Seojong during weekdays and goes back to his family in Seoul during weekends.Sang Woo supervises Soo Ji in her writing projects with the Department of Culture, Travel and Tourism, but he often forgets her name.
REVIEW
Let's Eat 2 is basically about food and eating. It isn't always the case that a sequel is an improvement, so I'm surprised that this drama is an exception. It is like its prequel 식샤를 합시다 Let's Eat, except it is set in a different city, and there is a different set of characters, save for one.
I love that this time around, the drama shares at least two ways of eating a certain dish. Goo Dae Young presents one way of eating, and Baek Soo Ji counters with another way. I think it's great that any one particular method of eating is not glorified as the right way because how people enjoy food can be subjective.
I find the characters in Let's Eat 2 more fascinating because they have various issues with food and eating. I liked the characters in the prequel but they all loved food, and they don't seem to have any conflicting concerns about eating.
Soo Ji has a complicated relationship with food because she used to be fat and miserable. Although she has gotten thinner, she's very worried about gaining the excess weight back. She monitors her weight closely, she's obsessed with exercising, and she's very fussy about consuming calories that she sometimes goes on a strict 'one meal per day' diet.
Lee Sang Woo is indifferent about food, and he doesn't see eating as a fun activity but more like something he needs to do in order to live. I think it's interesting that there's a character who is not fixated with eating, because there are people who are just like him.
Anyway, I really like the close friendship that developed between Dae Young and Sang Woo, and I wish they didn't have to deal with having a girl come between them. It's hard enough to meet good friends and maintain relationships as an adult, so the additional complication of a love triangle is quite a letdown.
Honestly, I don't really know if I want Soo Ji to end up with either Dae Young or Sang Woo because she has a lot of issues, and I think it's important that she address all her personal concerns first before she engages in a serious relationship with another person.
Soo Ji has a distorted sense of self because of her weight issues in the past, and she needs to evaluate how she sees herself, both as she actually is and as she wants herself to be. She wants to be with someone because she feels lonely, but she should learn that being alone doesn't necessarily mean that she couldn't be happy. Soo Ji also wants to get married to someone with a stable income because she's always had financial difficulties, but she should assess how she views money, and she should focus on attaining financial stability by herself.
Dae Young is someone Soo Ji is comfortable with because they knew each other when they were younger, but I don't really think that's enough of a reason for them to be together. I hate that he continues to call her the unfortunate nickname of Pig even though he is aware that she hates it.
Aside from being fed up with the much utilized childhood-friends-to-lovers trope in Korean dramas, I'm aware that a continuation of the Let's Eat series is possible, and I don't want Soo Ji and Dae Young to end up together in Let's Eat 2, only for Dae Young to be with someone else again in the next drama.
Although Sang Woo has been Soo Ji's crush for the longest time, it's hard to root for them to be together because they only know each other on a superficial level, particularly their carefully constructed professional images, and they don't really know each other as they truly are, which includes their faults and insecurities.
It took some time for me to warm up to Sang Woo because I can't believe that he couldn't be bothered to know his colleagues' names even though he has been working with them for a few months. I think a person's name stands for that person, naturally, and if you don't make an effort to learn a person's name, it implies that you couldn't care less about that person.
Even though they have very different lifestyles, I think a romantic relationship between Sang Woo and Soo Ji can work out if she was honest with him about her financial limitations, and how burdensome she feels when Sang Woo spends a lot of money on her when she cannot do the same for him.
Eating is another issue that Soo Ji and Sang Woo have to deal with as they are dating, but I think Soo Ji is also responsible for any misunderstanding. Soo Ji knows how Sang Woo feels about eating and she's willing to make some allowances for him, so she should understand that she also needs to tell Sang Woo about her situation.
If I have to pick a pairing to root for, I'd rather Soo Ji and Sang Woo end up together because their relationship seems more interesting. As long as they are both willing to share their true selves to each other, I think it's possible for them to really get to know each other, and to eventually become comfortable with each other as intimate lovers.
Episode 03: I Want to Be Alone, Everybody Get Out!
Episode 04: Answer Me, Neighbors
Episode 05: Worry Over Money, Cry Over Money
Episode 06 : Pride and Prejudice
Goo Dae Young: Why are you so bright all the time?
Yoon Jin Yi: There's something that my dad used to say all the time. "If a worry goes away by worrying about it, then there would be no worries." It's a Tibetan proverb.
Yoon Jin Yi: If being depressed doesn't solve the problem, there's no use being depressed.
Episode 07: Wht is Life Like Eating Dinner Alone?
Episode 08: Things that You Can See Only When You Quit
Episode 09: Mamma Mia!
Episode 10: Mr. ShikSha Over Flowers
Goo Dae Young: Eating out alone is indeed the best way to eat. It's the truth of eating. I'll tell you the reason for it.
Goo Dae Young: The more people there are to eat together, and the more choices in the menu there are, it is a matter of course that opinions are at odds. But when I eat alone, I can decide what I want to eat quickly.
Goo Dae Young: When you eat with other people, you have to be cautious about your eating speed and dining etiquette, and you can't eat just the pieces that you want. But if I eat alone, I can eat comfortably without considering other people. I can dine with only myself in mind.
Episode 11: Those Not In Love Now, All Guilty
Episode 12: The Taste of Love... Bitter Sweet
Episode 13: The Man Who Was Only Looking at Me
Episode 14: She Has Disappeared
Episode 15: Silence
Yoon Jin Yi: What's more difficult in life than love?
Episode 16: Still... Let's Eat
Rice by Chun Yang Hee
To you who eats a lot because you are lonely,
To you who sleeps a lot because you are weary,
To you who cries a lot because you are sad,
I write this down.
Chew on your feelings that are cornered,
Like you would chew on rice.
Anyway, life is...
Something you need to digest.
Title: 식샤를 합시다 Siksyareul Habsida
English Title: Let's Eat
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Year: 2014
Episode: 16
Cast:
이수경 Lee Soo Kyung
윤두준 Yoon Doo Joon
심형탁 Shim Hyung Tak
윤소희 Yoon So Hee
이도연 Lee Do Yeon
장원영 Jang Won Young
정수영 Jung Soo Young
SYNOPSIS
Lee Soo Kyung is a 33-year-old divorcee who works as a secretary in a law firm. Fiercely independent, she is quite content on living on her own and has no plans for remarriage. Soo Kyung's only interest is eating delicious food at popular restaurants but she cannot eat out alone.
Goo Dae Young is a 29-year-old insurance salesman who lives next door to Soo Kyung. He has an easygoing personality but he turns quite serious whenever someone makes flippant comments about food. He loves eating, and he seems to be quite knowledgeable about great restaurants in the area.
Yoon Jin Yi is a 23-year-old college student who moves in the apartment next to Soo Kyung and Dae Young. She came from a privileged background but her family situation took a turn for the worse when her father was sued for malpractice and imprisoned. With her bright personality, Jin Yi is navigating the challenges of being independent and living on her own in a positive light.
Kim Hak Moon is a 35-year-old lawyer and Soo Kyung's boss. They went to the same university for college, where Hak Moon nursed a one-sided love for Soo Kyung. Indignant that she doesn't remember him even though he confessed to her in the past, Hak Moon is exceptionally critical of Soo Kyung at work.
REVIEW
I wanted to watch Let's Eat because it is about food and eating. Although I'm not as preoccupied with eating delicious food as the main characters in the drama, I believe that if you're going to eat anyway, you might as well make the most out of the experience if you can.
Yoon Jin Yi: "If a worry goes away by worrying about it, then there would be no worries." It is a Tibetan proverb.
-- E06 Pride and Prejudice
Though I was interested in the drama because of the food, even I think the extensive shots of food and of the characters eating food are too much and sometimes unnecessary. The food certainly looked delicious the first time I saw it, and seeing it a few more times won't make it even more sumptuous several times over. It just doesn't work that way.
I also didn't like the extensive scenes of people eating as I felt the time could have been taken to share some facts about the food instead. In particular, I felt somewhat uncomfortable watching Lee Soo Kyung eat as her eating scenes are pointedly sexual and calculatingly orgasmic in nature. I have watched a lot of food-related productions, and there are several female characters that are purposely written to react to food in a similar way, but the way that Soo Kyung's scenes are filmed really took things to a whole different level.
Anyway, it may seem that I'm not really into food as I claim to be but that's not really the case. Like Soo Kyung, I follow a few blogs about food that I refer to whenever I am planning to eat out with family and friends. I also read newspapers and magazines regularly, and I often check out the sections about food, such as restaurant reviews and recipes. I make certain that I go to the local restaurants in the areas where I studied (both for college and for graduate school), where I worked, and where I lived.
Unlike Soo Kyung though, I have many people I can eat out with. In my family, my dad is usually the one who introduces us to good food but my two younger brothers have also assumed the role several times. I am also fortunate to have friends and colleagues who like eating out as much as I do, and we usually bring each other to good restaurants.
I understand Soo Kyung's issues with eating alone, possibly because I also grew up in a culture where eating is always a communal experience, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve that make dining alone in public less problematic. For instance, it is better to eat out alone during lunchtime on weekdays, and you may choose to go either before or after typical dining hours if the restaurant you want to go to is open all day.
Goo Dae Young also has a point about how eating out alone is actually a great idea. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best way to eat, but you have to admit that there are a lot of advantages to eating out alone.
Goo Dae Young: Eating out alone is indeed the best way to eat. It's the truth of eating. I'll tell you the reason for it.
Goo Dae Young: The more people there are to eat together, and the more choices in the menu there are, it is a matter of course that opinions are at odds. But when I eat alone, I can decide what I want to eat quickly.
Goo Dae Young: When you eat with other people, you have to be cautious about your eating speed and dining etiquette, and you can't eat just the pieces that you want. But if I eat alone, I can eat comfortably without considering other people. I can dine with only myself in mind.
-- E10 Mr. ShikSha Over Flowers
However, I don't really recommend eating out alone mainly because the servings are huge, and what is supposedly a single serving is actually good for two to three people. I think it's better to eat out with a group of people so you can get a variety of dishes to share with everyone. This way, you don't overeat and you are not stuck with too much of one thing or dish.
One of Soo Kyung's reasons for not wanting to eat out alone is because the restaurants don't have takeout boxes so that the customers can take home leftover food, and I wonder how common that is in South Korea and other countries. This is not particularly a concern where I live because most people tend to over-order food and don't want to waste food, so most restaurants are aware that diners will want to take home any leftover food and are more or less prepared to accommodate such requests.
Anyway, I like the poem about food, rice in particular, and life at the end of the drama. Life is really something that people should break down, and assimilate through reflection.
Rice by Chun Yang Hee
To you who eats a lot because you are lonely,
To you who sleeps a lot because you are weary,
To you who cries a lot because you are sad,
I write this down.
Chew on your feelings that are cornered,
Like you would chew on rice.
Anyway, life is...
Something you need to digest.
-- E16 Still... Let's Eat
