I have thought about this headline for a long time ago during the initial few episodes of Park Sihoo-ssi’s KBS drama “My Golden Life”. But because I was inundated by so many topics, I put this on the back burner.
Now after following the drama all the way till Episode 38, I thought it was an opportune time to write about pride and prejudice.
In general, when we talk about pride and prejudice, the first thing comes to mind would probably be Jane Austen’s novel by the same name. Rich, proud man who had preconceived ideas and looked down upon the poor or different class. In “My Golden Life” it started off like that. Rich and proud family who considered it their lot in life to perform “noblesse oblige” for the less fortunate. The act of “noblesse oblige” in itself has a certain element of prejudice.
However, I see another side to pride and prejudice, a reverse situation but of the same concept. This time it is the poor looking down on the rich. Added to that, it is about over-compensating for a past experience that makes one overdo things, like when you are not supposed to show favouritism to your children, instead of being fair, you overcompensate and treat your own children much harsher than you would others.
Seo Jian has her own pride and prejudice. That she is proud, there is no argument, I believe. But prejudice? I think she has that too, except that it is in the reverse. Having gone through the experience of living with the wealthy Chois as their long lost daughter, she didn’t like it, especially the “rules” of the class. In fact, she felt traumatized by it when her mother’s lie got exposed. That fear factor has made her prejudice towards wealthy people whom she dislikes and does not want to be associated with.
Despite Choi Dokyung leaving home because of her, she saw it fit to throw his rich chaebol background at him, even though she knew first hand that he is as poor as a church mouse. She told him how she deplored their wealth, in fact any wealth. Her pride blinded her so much, she refused to see things differently, making her just a guilty of being prejudice. “You think you are rich and that when you hold out your hand I have to accept?”
So just as Seo Jian accused others of being prejudiced, she should look at herself in the mirror and judge her own behavior!
And my dear, pride goes before a fall…and it would come, eventually to that!
“我黄金光辉的人生”:傲慢与偏见
很久之前,当施厚君的KBS电视剧“我黄金光辉的人生”刚播放几集时,就想到这个标题。但因为脑海里的话题好多,只能选择来写,所以就把它抛到脑后了。
一直追剧,现在观看到第38集,我觉得正好可以以这主题“傲慢与偏见”写一篇。
在大多数情况下,当我们谈到骄傲与偏见时,会想到简·奥斯汀Jane Austen的同名小说。富有,骄傲的一位,心里有数,瞧不起贫穷的阶层。在“我黄金光辉的人生”中,就是这样的开始。富有和自豪的家族,认为他们有责任为不幸或低于他们的人执行“贵族义务”。 “贵族义务”本身就有一定的偏见。
但是,我又看到另一面的傲慢与偏见,是相反的情况,但仍然是相同的概念。是穷人瞧不起富人。除此之外,过去的经历使她过度弥补的去处理事情,列如,当妳知道不应该对自己孩子表现出偏袒时,会过度苛刻的去对待自己的孩子。
徐智安有自己的骄傲与偏见。我相信,她的自豪或骄傲是无可争论的。但偏见?她是有偏见,但是相反的偏见。当她是崔财阀家多年失踪的女儿时,经历过和崔家一起生活,她并不喜欢他们的生活方式,特别是阶级的“规矩”。事实上,当徐妈妈的谎言被暴露时,她受到了创伤。恐惧的因素使她偏见,她不喜欢所有的富人,完全不想和他们打交道。
崔道京是因为她而离家出走,即使她知道他目前一无所有,但她还是因为他有着富有的财阀背景而拒绝了他。她告诉他她讨厌他们就因为他们的财富。她的骄傲使她蒙蔽了眼睛,不愿意看到不同的方面。她跟他人一样,也有偏见。 “你以为你有钱,所以当你伸出手时,我就必须接受吗?” 这就是她对穷光蛋崔道京所说的一段话。
就像徐智安指责别人有偏见,她也应该照照镜子,判断自己的行为!
而亲爱的,骄傲是在堕落之前…要来的最终还是会来的!
Credits – Many thanks! KBS Drama
15 Comments
Poor, rich, two of the world’s three, can not demand synchronization! Between each other, it is impossible to ask for consistency. If there is a collision, always believe: no flat, never equal! Good and bad, like or not, is always a concept that can not be clearly defined! Don’t take their own emotions, the eyes will not fall into local state! Deliberate to be like people like, broken, can only be the dignity of self! The weaknesses of human nature often see the shortcomings of others, and often ignore their own shortcomings. Of course, to exclude dissimilarity, in the final analysis, is the narrowness of cognition and pattern. The real world, cold and change! The story, the heroine’s ups and downs, some slumbering innocence, gradually regained some temptation, the entanglement of desire, is gradually stripped! Life is clear, be neither humble nor pushy, for their own relief! Such a state of mind, why, can not be accepted, the ultimate love of their own men? Obviously, the state of the heroine’s emotion is still still, staying in the rhythm of shallow joy! The congenial and interconnecting of the character does not represent love. Love, in no sense, past hope investment, attracting life inside, pay for the dedication and hope! Any cognitive disagreement is not without a way out. This is the life of integrity and fullness, cold or warm. The adjustment of temperature is based on the attitude and consciousness of oneself.
Interesting analysis of the destructive consequences due to “pride and prejudice”, in the drama “”My Golden Life”. Congratulations Nance! If some of the 21th century chaebols in Korean society stick to the idea that their task is to act with a “nobless oblige” behaviour towards the poor people, turning it unfortunately in a kind of prejudice for them, the people of lower status in society despise this chaebols’ conception. This happens with Jian , who although loves Do Kyung, she rejects his love, as he belongs to the rich chaebols. She is intelligent, hard-working, but her confidence in her own discernment, a combination of pride and prejudice, about the intrinsec link between Do Kyung and his family, leads her to errors and sufferings for her and Do Kyung. Do Kyung, who has left his family for his own independence and for her too, will finally prove his good character, his goodness to her, his courage to live his own life. So, as Elizabeth in “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austin, so Jian’s pride makes her misjudge Do Kyung, on the basis of her negative ,preconceived impression on chaebols, to which he belongs, thus she becoming guilty of prejudice. What I want to tell her is:”It is better to lose your pride with someone you love, rather than lose that someone you love, with your useless pride.”[John Ruskin]
Always beautiful words of wisdom from you dear Stefania
Thank you Dorothy!
Dear Stefania, as usual your quotes are marvellous, you always full of treasures up your sleeve. Unfortunately though I admire the way you put forward your choices of beautiful words, sorry to say that I don’t agree with the notion of Pride and Prejudice to be applied to this chapter of Jian and CDK’s love story. The instant I read Nance’s article my natural reaction was Jane Austen’s might jumped out her grave for being so mis quoted of her famous pride and prejudice in this context. 🙂 The thing I see is Fear. Real Fear in Jian is the reason for her inability to be convinced at this stage that it is wise of her to do anything with CDK. Her fear are not imagined, in fact she has already been threatened by his mother at the cafe, have you all forgotten this? 🙂 Jian’s reason at this stage is for self survival, for her family and her own safety and survival. Mother Choi already said to her, Seo Jian you will pay for it if you and my Dokyung dare to be together. Those are not imaginery. On the contrary to being foolish of prideful she opted out of DK’s hand, to me, if Jian were to be really prideful she will challenge mother Choi to show her that Jian is not in fear of mother Choi’s power, but Jian chose to be wise chose to stay away from DK, for now. How is it that can be interpreted that Jian is being foolishly prideful so much so that Nance is predicting Jian will fall flat from her pride? There is nothing to fall from as far as I can see? Just like previously when Nance kept asking Jian to wake up if not Sora will take CDK away, as it turned out, did Jian ever needed to wake up and run to grab CDK? No , writer did not show us that scene at all, instead all I saw was Jian said to Sora “please own him, have him with your ease of mind.” And apparently that scene when Jian made Sora looks small and pathetic is voted as viewers’ top ONE most sastifying thrilled to the end scene. Is this the wake up that Nance was calling for? I don’t see it like that. Jian has nothing to wake up from but viewers gave that as number 1 thrilled to bits scene. Now instead of we feeling out the real threat Jian is facing for her and her own family, why are we attacking Jian instead of giving her moral support that with time things will improve, why not focus our energy and mind into CDK and encourage him to spur towards success by then he has the negotiating power with his family that Jian can be spared from being harmed by the Choi’s way of power over anyone anything in their way? That is if you ladies still like to see CDK get the woman he comes to naturally fallen in love. But if all of you like to see the two of them seperated, then yes, go ahead, call out what you wish to see the ending where the Jian haters so don’t want to see CDK ends up with her, and we will see what writer So has to tell us. For one thing I know writer has never bent her belief in what she thinks is good humanity. And til this end, the Jian character in writer’s penmanship, is one who writer chose to represent honour, responsible, generous to tell the world the story of what usually deemed as Pride and Prejudice by the norm is not how it is to be seen, not until we ourselves are truly honest with ourselves, we cannot really get the message from the writer. And lastly I asked this one last time, Nance, why is it that your disapproval of Jian is getting stronger than before? So much so that you calling out that you yourself don’t think Jian will make male lead role happy? Are you being prejudiced on a personal level? Or are you trying to influence writer to end MGL by not having the 2 leads as happily ever after type of story? From the fans’ feedback, I can see not ending Jian and CDK together does seem to make many of his fans happy, and who are those fans, you yourself know, I don’t need to name you. Thank goodness I am a viewer who either way of ending doesn’t affect my enjoyment of MGL. I have said it long before, My Golden Life doesn’t mean it must be 2 lovers together, if they are meant to be , they will, if they are not meant to be, this is just a passing phase of life journey. Similar to my fanship with PSH, is a passing phase of my life, we move on. No need to fight tooth and nail whose view is right whose view is wrong. My Golden Life has been a real life Looking Glass for me. I lost 33 years of friendship because of My Golden Life, something not until Golden Life, I said I won’t be the victim of such because I thought the mutual faith in who we are will see us through. But nuh, I am wrong, what I thought of such strong friendship turned out there is so little in it. When it comes to friendship, one hand cannot clap. I am in no fear of losing more of this type of friendship or making enemy. The strong voice inside me to speak out for the positive things writer want us to see. And I am in no fear to leave PSH fanship entirely, if all that ever comes out is negavitity and slamming. I like to see champion of all good humanity. A non PSH fan asked me, why can’t we PSH fans champion both the female and male lead, both in the drama and out of drama, why? Why the female lead always get slammed to the max? As a reader named Ann once said, whenever we speak out for Seo Jian, it is not a case that we try to defend a bad behaviour but we tried to explain a misunderstood behaviour. But to this day, same old same old, to no avail, no compassion for what Jian has sufferred. In Cantonese, I say, time that I save my breath and channel to elsewhere positive.
Chai Hua Loke Chai Hua Loke I took a little time in responding because I have been up to my eyeballs trying to clear work to make the trip to Seoul this weekend. And also because there are so many thoughts in your comments it takes a lot of time to digest all of them.
Have now touched down in Seoul.
As you know, I like to hear different views and welcome and respect different opinions. I won’t insist that one is right or wrong because people will see things differently due to their upbringing and backgrounds. And I hope that the same goes for all visitors and fans.
I never doubted that Jian lives in fear, and it was portrayed as how she clenched her hands after speaking to his mother and her heavy breathing after their meeting. In fact I mentioned her trauma and fear in the article as well but went on to say that this has prejudiced her and she overcompensated this in her actions. So much that the Oppa whom she said was trustworthy has been painted by her as being another one of the rich chaebols to the likes of “Just because you are rich, you hold out your hand and I have to take it?” She knew exactly his situation and yet threw that at him.
Fear is what blinded her and drove her to overcompensate. (Side tracking to this debate of pride and prejudice or not and if Jane Austen will jump out of her grave or not, why does SJA has to fear in the first place? If no wrong has been done, there will be nothing to fear.)
On one of the highest rated scene being the meeting between Sora and Jian? There are many reasons that contributed to its appeal, among them the appeal and curiousity of the confrontation and wanting to know the outcome especially when it was in the preview. In the scene I don’t see either ladies making any one small. In fact I see it as fair and square in sizing each other up. SJA told JSR that she can have CDK and JSR responded with I already have, we are already engaged which made SJA drop her pencil, no matter how cool she tried to act.
No one can predict Writer So’s mind, that is why she is brilliant. We all can have our own views on different things, share alike and take our stands. Some of what we think may end up right, others may end up wrong, it is but only fiction (not saying that we can’t learn from the concepts Writer So presented) and with the story still being written, anything can be changed. So for me, whatever I write goes with what I feel at a certain point in time as the drama is being played out. I won’t go insist that I am right and prove it point by point. If I am wrong, so be it as it is an opinion on a drama, fiction afterall. No big fuss or to blow up a beautiful relationship.
And I have always taken the stand that I am biased where Park Sihoo-ssi is concerned. But I am not a Jian hater, in fact only a few days ago I complimented her for standing up against mother Choi’s bullying. I just don’t write much about her as this is not what the blog has been set up for. I am also not a Jian supporter who don’t see or want to see her flaws.
I do not agree that Writer So embodied her to be good humanity, and that she fully represents honor, responsibility and generosity. Like every one of the characters in the drama, she has her flaws which many supporter ignore or downplay. There were certain aspects of her behavior that I do not like, and not because I am a Jian hater eg: when she left for the Choi family almost immediately after knowing the news. I have said that she was selfish and in particular did not care for her father’s feelings and that she acted in haste and not think things through. Part of what I felt was articulated right back at her recently by Father Seo in Ep 38 or was it Ep 37. That I see as Writer So’s way of “righting” or “correcting” issues or problems, transforming her characters. I am sure she will do the same with the other characters and probably more for CDK and SJA so that at the end of the drama, they will find their golden lives.
Because of how engaging “My Golden Life” is, there has been extremes in views, people taking sides and refusing to accept the viewpoints of others. As you said, there are Jian haters but likewise, there are plenty of Dokyung haters and Jisu haters out there and vice versa there are people who go overzealous in being Jian supporters and thinking the world of her, same with Dokyung and Jisu. And this will continue all the way until the drama ends…and maybe even beyond. Because you are a PSH fan, you probably only catch up on his news and think that some PSH fans slam the female lead too much. You should see how vehement the Dokyung haters write about him and they don’t mince their words.
You ask why my disapproval of Jian has increased and why I think that Jian and Dokyung will not be happy together? I have neither increased or decreased my approval of Seo Jian. But to me, it is evident that Seo Jian and Choi Dokyung come from different worlds and no matter what, they will always carry the family baggage and parentage because they can’t cut these off. If they can’t compromise and meet half way or when one has to sacrifice for the other and even if one is prepared to do so but the other turned in down, no one can be happy. So just as CDK cannot make SJA happy, neither will she be able to make him happy in the long term. To me, if they can’ t make each other happy, no point for them to be together so why prolong their suffering? A clean break would be best. However, if they can be happy, of course like any romantic, I would want them to be together.
Am I trying to influence the writer? A funny question in my view. Who am I to have any influence!
Brilliant reply Nance👏👏👏. Glad to hear you landed safely. Glad to read all the levelled headed thoughts in your reply. Enjoy Seoul. Keep warm.
I was halfway constructing my comment in your ig of this same article. Hence the above quick reply as I read your painstaking efforts in your such busy precious time in Seoul. Hence I had just quickly replied above as my very 1st natural reaction when I read your well constructed reply, which I must say, you must have felt good to have written that reply. And I give credits where credits is due. You should know I don’t mince my words. Just wanted to add a little something here as I have expressed my further comment regarding Jian’s fear that you deemed to have made her over compensating hence in a way is her prejudice. You can be right to use that thought process when CDK is singled out as an autonomous being where Jian slapped her conclusions of her experiences derived from Chois onto CDK. It is very unfortunate to CDK, no argument about that for being born a Choi, to the degree of being unfair too, HOWEVER, the reality is regardless of who CDK is himself, at this stage, when he himself is powerless, is not yet fully established, the threat of Jian and her family’s safety hinges on any little link or ties with CDK, therefore to me, it is still Fear, the Real Fear that overules other things that is driving Jian in her actions and decisions. You can argue that if Jian the force behind CDK chooses at the stage not to be with him, then the chances of CDK to succeed on his own is even lesser without the strong motivation. Yes, on argument this looks to be so, but the consequences of going against Chois at this point in time will bring bigger harm to both of them, weigh that against the point of both of them working together to gain success, which any viewer would like to see that both of them combine to get synergy. But alas, no, the writer chose to institute that looming thick layer of dark clouds of Chois threat above the two of them, that if they are to be together, “”Seo Jian, You Will Pay For It.”” as mother Choi said. Hence, as I said in your ig, the connection I would use at this point to explain is Maslow’s Theory of Human Hierachy of Needs, take care of your basic needs 1st, which is hunger, followed by safety, before hunger is satisfied, a human will go kill in danger to satisfy hunger, when hunger is satisfied, then they realised they ought to run away from that killing field of animals where they just hunted for food, run to shelter for safety. When safety also get satisfied and taken care of, then the human start to think about his intellectual and spiritual needs. Jian, at this stage of development, is taking care of her and her family’s safety needs. So her fear led her to wisdom and decisions, instead of prejudice, in her latest actions.
Oh on that Sora and Jian scene, I didn’t mean who has an upper hand, as it revealed in later episode, Sora went with the purest intention. What I meant was referring to your earlier call of Jian to wake up, but I didn’t see any waking up deemed necessary from writer, writer has let Jian slowly recover from severe depression as long as she needed. You were calling out for her to wake up instead of her walloping in her misery then, Anyway, that was a while ago. As we understand, the efforts to come up with daily articles is a tremendous job, sometimes you hit it spot on, sometimes you have a miss, or may not even be a miss, could just be Chai Hua chose to come whack you with her sharp tongue 🙂
To this end, my personal view that writer has chosen honourable, responsible and generous female lead as the basic attributes in order that writer can spin and slap her with all angles of life challenges, my this opinion still being held strong and firm. Is only when a person is big enough and honourable enough then only she could take on all the blames of the consequences that were directly or indirectly caused by her. The same goes with Jian’s father, the 2 of them are of highest standard of an honourable human beings conscience, is my view. But I am running out of time to elaborate. I will await ep 37 and 38 to understand your view of writer righting what had been wronged by Jian own conscious/ or realisation. I envisaged these 2 episodes having more to do with Jian’s realisation that had she died in her suicide, what would be the impact to her loved ones, so I shall watch it for myself.
One last thing, it’s all fair ground that this blog is designed to support PSH not a blog to support the female lead, hence the importance of how you analysed the drama as it spinned around the role of CDK. Nevertheless, I call for positive messages, empowering messages to promote the good of humanity, for example you could have written encouraging words about Jian that because of her bad experiences and her real fear and maybe prejudices, we sincerely wish with time Jian will come to realise the strength of CDK’s love…..something like that…. instead of your tone of condeming her that she will fall from her pride. You kept reassuring reader that you are not a Jian hater, but your tone is telling that you just don’t like and approve Jian all these times, is what I am frankly and honestly telling you now. That is a Jian’s hater type of tone to a reader. As a non PSH fan interpreted your article and feedback to me. I cannot help when I sniffed too much negative labellings poured onto the female lead in your choice of writing, allowed me to be very frank, to the degree that it gives readers the essence that you are losing your impartiality to the extend of attacking the female lead’s role character, something I myself also feeling it that’s why I asked of late you seem to have increased your tone of disapproval of Jian. That to me, does not look healthy and positively viewed by non PSH fans, people form the perception (and as you have just written, from perception to prejudice) that the PSH fans are Jian haters. And I certainly don’t want to be one of such perceived group by the public. That’s why I said, I have no qualms of losing friendship, after all, 33 years of PERCEIVED strong friendship, end of the day, there was so little in it, there was absolutely no faith about me this human being in flesh and blood, but instead the fanatism of supporting an actor who doesn’t even know the 2 of us our existence , took importance over our friendship. It is no longer just about a drama thingy, when I am quoting this, I am saying when I decided to be frank of how of late the sway of tone seems to be endless slamming whenever the topic touches Jian, rather than encouraging. There is absolutely no joy in who wins the argument is what I am saying. Not that I didn’t know this wisdom before regarding no joy in winning argument, but the wisdom I didn’t have before is that I had been wrong that my faith in my trust in friendship that slapped me right in my face. Why I am still here talking is for the sake of positivity and good humanity. Similarly to Jian’s natural response, once slapped you learnt and be wise, or in your view, be prejudiced. But if that “prejudice” or my “wisdom” is your tool to propel you to safety, you do that regardless. Cantonese saying you have seen ghost afterwards naturally you are scared of the dark.
You know me too that I dont mince my words. If I am a Jian hater, you won’t just get just those few words or one or two articles that mention her in passing. And please dont second guess my thinking and presume it is what you perceive. It is definitely not.
No worries Nance 😊. Regarding your point why Jian has to fear if done nothing wrong, my answer is the definition of what is wrong in Choi’s rules is not the normal world of definition. By right there should be nothing wrong to be in love with CDK afterall is mutual. But you know very well to the Chois THAT calls for death sentence. So how can you tell Jian that her fear is unjustified?
I wasn’t referring to that, Jian has nothing to fear to love CDK and there is nothing the Chois can do just bec she loves him. Her fear arose because of that one lie of her mother that will forever haunt her. And not her fault either as Mother Choi funnily mentioned it.