From Wikipedia: “My Mister” [aka “My Ajusshi”] is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Lee Sun-kyun and Lee Ji-eun (IU). The series was directed by Kim Won-seok (“Signal,” “Misaeng”), written by Park Hae-young (“Another Miss Oh”), and produced by Chorokbaem Media. It aired on tvN from March 21 to May 17, 2018, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:30 (KST) time slot.
The drama was a critical and commercial success, consistently topping the cable television viewership ratings in its time slot. Its final episode recorded a 7.352% nationwide audience share according to Nielsen paid platform making the episode one of the highest rated in Korean cable television history. “My Mister” drew a solid average viewership rating of 5% for a cable TV show and topped the Contents Power Index (CPI) rankings, as well as the TV popularity ranking, six times during its nine week run.
“My Mister,” its director, writer, and cast won the following awards: “Best Drama” and “Best Screenplay” from the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards; “Grand Prize (Drama)” from 2nd The Seoul Awards; “Writer Award (Drama Division)” from the 31st Korean Broadcasting Writers’ Awards; “Best Production Director,” “Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries,” “Best Supporting Actor,” and “Best New Actor” from the 6th APAN Star Awards.
“My Mister,” its director, writer, and cast received the following nominations: “Best Drama” and “Best Screenplay” from the 11th Korea Drama Awards; “Grand Prize” (Lee Sun-kyun) from 6th APAN Star Awards; “Best Director,“ “Best Actor,” “Best Actress,” “Best Supporting Actress,” and “Best New Actress” from the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards.
How I wrote these episode summaries with no spoilers
1. I assumed that you will be reading these summaries and watching the videos chronologically.
2. I narrated some of the main actions in each episode without revealing the plot’s twists and turns.
3. At the beginning of each summary starting with Episode 2, I placed in a table a recap of the major twists and turns of the previous episode. But because you have already watched the video of the previous episode, they aren’t spoilers anymore.
4. I followed this structure all throughout, except for Ep. 16 (Finale) where I included spoilers. Reason — most people want to know if the drama has a good/happy ending or a sad ending before they invest the time in watching it. And yes, “My Mister” has a happy ending.
Episode 1
Park Dong-hoon is a structural engineer and a team manager in the safety inspection department of Saman E&C (a large engineering and construction company) where his immediate boss is the grumpy Director Yoon.
Director Yoon’s rival in the inter-company politics are Director Park Dong-woon, Director Jung, and Executive Director Wang. Their company’s young CEO is Do Joon-young; he was Dong-hoon’s junior in college.
A temp employee in Dong-hoon’s department is Lee Ji-an, a loner who does menial jobs in the office.
After work, Dong-hoon meets his older brother Sang-hoon and younger brother Ki-hoon (an aspiring movie director). He offers Sang-hoon financial assistance for the upcoming wedding of his daughter. But Sang-hoon is reluctant to receive it; he also becomes suspicious of Dong-hoon’s wife, Kang Yoon-hee, and her supposed business travel.
After her evening job as a dishwasher, Ji-an goes home to a dingy apartment. Waiting for her is a loan shark named Kwang-il; after she pays off part of her loan with her earnings for that day, she gets a call about her grandmother from the nursing home. The next day, she asks her friend Ki-bum to come to the nursing home.
During the wedding of Sang-hoon’s daughter, Dong-hoon and Ki-hoon help out by collecting the monetary wedding gifts. Conflict, however, arises between Sang-hoon and his ex-wife.
Dong-hoon’s mother wants to help Sang-hoon get back on his feet financially, and so she asks Dong-hoon about putting up the house that he bought for her as a collateral for a loan.
During a company meeting, Director Yoon assigns Dong-hoon and his team to a building that hasn’t passed inspection in over a decade. Later on, a courier arrives in the office and hands an envelope containing fifty million won (US $42,000) worth of gift certificates to Dong-hoon; after looking around the office to see if anyone noticed, he hides the envelope in his drawer.
Episode 2
| Ep. 1 recap:
Dong-hoon’s wife, Yoon-hee, is having an affair with CEO Joon-young. Ji-an sneaks her grandmother out of the nursing home and brings her to the apartment; she asks her friend Ki-bum to look in on her grandmother while she’s in the office. Later on, she’s beaten up by Kwang-il, the loan shark. Ji-an asks Dong-hoon to buy her dinner; while having drinks at a bar, Dong-hoon thinks that Ji-an is being physically abused by her boyfriend. Later, his brothers quiz him about Ji-an. Ji-an steals the bribe gift certificates that were unintentionally given to Dong-hoon; the bribe money was supposed to have been given by the courier to Director Park Dong-woon as part of Director Yoon and CEO Joon-young’s scheme against their intra-company rivals. Based on the CCTV footage, security officers pick up Dong-hoon on suspicion of accepting a bribe. |
Director Park and the security officers study the CCTV footages of Dong-hoon receiving the envelope with the bribe certificates and when he returned to the office that night. They also study the email that reported the bribery.
Dong-hoon tells his wife Yoon-hee, who’s a lawyer, about what’s happening at his company. Yoon-hee becomes upset and calls up her lover, CEO Joon-young.
At a meeting, Director Yoon insists that Dong-hoon is clearly guilty of accepting a bribe. But Director Park points out the discrepancies in the bribery.
Dong-hoon confides to his brothers Ki-hoon and Sang-hoon about the bribe gift certificates and the possibility that Ji-an took it. Ki-hoon calls up his friend who’s a police officer to ask for help in getting Ji-an’s address; he and Sang-hoon also stay at the subway exit to watch out for Ji-an. Meanwhile, Director Yoon meets up with Dong-hoon and gets him drunk; he tells Dong-hoon to resign from the company, promising to find him a better job.
The next day, Director Yoon tells Director Park that Dong-hoon has confessed to everything about the bribery. Later on, CEO Joon-young meets Executive Director Wang and Chairman Wang at the cafeteria. When Chairnan Wang learns about the bribery scandal, he remembers Dong-hoon as “a fellow with a pitiful look on him.”
Episode 3
| Ep. 2 recap:
Kwang-il, the loan shark, refuses to let Ji-an get off the hook. But Ji-an smashes the windshield of the other loan shark’s car and then steals the envelope with the bribe gift certificates. Ji-an gives the envelope with the bribe gift certificates to the janitor who helped her steal them; the janitor gives the envelope with the bribe gift certificates to the security officers, who in turn give them to Director Park. Director Park confronts Director Yoon about his and CEO Joon-young’s attempt to bring him down with the bribery attempt; he presents the envelope with the bribe gift certificates still in it, saying that Dong-hoon threw the envelope into the garbage the day the courier delivered it. Dong-hoon learns from Director Park that the envelope with the bribe gift certificates was found in a trash can. He also learns that Chairman Jang wants the bribery scandal to settle down and eventually go away, with Dong-hoon keeping his job. In the elevator, Ji-an steals CEO Joon-young’s 2nd phone. After finding out that he’s having an affair with Dong-hoon’s wife Yoon-hee, she asks him for a total of 20 million won (US $17,000) in exchange for getting Director Park and Dong-hoon fired from the company. Dong-hoon agrees to have dinner with Ji-an, not knowing about her secret deal with CEO Joon-young. |
Director Park warns Dong-hoon that they’re both probably the targets in the bribery attempt. When Dong-hoon says that he doesn’t know why anyone would target him, Director Park asks if him there’s anything between him and CEO Joon-young.
After Director Yoon sees Director Park and Dong-hoon talking, he reports it to CEO Joon-young. He also reveals that the bribe gift certificates came from a temp agency, which sent Ji-an to their company.
In the subway train after they had dinner, Ji-an secretly takes Dong-hoon’s phone and installs a spy app.
One of Dong-hoon’s team members asks him why the bribe was in the form of gift certificates to a department store; after explaining that companies use gift certificates as a way of hiding a bribery, Dong-hoon tells Director Park his idea on how to track down the source of the bribe.
Ji-an reports to CEO Joon-young the conversation between Dong-hoon and Director Park. Later on, she and her friend Ki-bum follow Director Park to a club.
Episode 4
| Ep. 3 recap:
Dong-hoon orders Yoon-hee never to call CEO Joon-young again. To the directors’ surprise, Chairman Jang invites Dong-hoon to dinner. Kwang-il, the loan shark, threatens Ji-an that she will always be indebted to her. On Ji-an’s order, Ki-bum spikes Director Park’s drink. The next day, Director Park finds himself in a strange hotel room; later on, he’s arrested for a hit-and-run incident. Dong-hoon confronts CEO Joon-young if he’s the next target, saying that CEO Joon-young must have done something to him that he doesn’t know about yet. Ji-an pressures Dong-hoon into buying dinner for her again. But Dong-hoon gets fed up and tells her to reveal to everyone that it was her who threw the bribe into the trash can. He leaves, but Ji-an follows him and tries to kiss him. From a distance, Ki-bum takes a picture of them. |
Director Park studies the CCTV footage at the club and then calls the designated driver company for information about the driver. When he reports everything that he has found out, Executive Director Wang advises him to accept responsibility for causing the Chinese investors to back out and to accept a demotion to Busan.
CEO Joon-young pays Ji-an the ten million won for getting rid of Director Park. He warns her not to do anything else without his permission, but Ji-an says that she has already uploaded the picture of Dong-hoon kissing a woman (herself) on the street. Later, he asks Yoon-hee to do a background check on Ji-an.
Ji-an uses the ten million won to partially pay off her debt, but Kwang-il, the loan shark, beats her up severely.
Before leaving for Busan, Director Park warns Dong-hoon not to trust anyone.
A female employee sees Dong-hoon’s picture on a website and recognizes that Ji-an is the woman in the picture. Afraid that she will be accused of seducing Dong-hoon, Ji-an orders Ki-bum to take down the picture.
Episode 5
| Ep. 4 recap:
Director Yoon denies Dong-hoon’s plea to have Ji-an fired from their office. Later, as Dong-hoon confronts Ji-an about why he kissed him, Ji-an tells him that they’re alike in that they’re both weary of their lives. Yoon-hee tells CEO Joon-young that when Ji-an was in middle school, she stabbed a man to death. The man who Ji-an killed was a loan shark trying to collect on her debt. When the man turned his anger towards Ji-an’s grandmother, Ji-an killed him. The man was Kwang-il’s father. With Kwang-il’s written promise to forfeit the rest of her loan if he trespasses again, Ji-an asks Ki-bum to take her grandmother back to her apartment. Ji-an threatens the female employee who recognized her as the woman kissing Dong-hoon. A man who owns a construction company humiliates Sang-hoon, with Sang-hoon’s mother witnessing everything. Ki-hoon wants to kill the man, but Dong-hoon stops him. Later on, Dong-hoon confronts the man and threatens to expose all the faults in the structures he has built. He forces the man to apologize to his mother and to Sang-hoon. Through the spy app, Ji-an hears how Dong-hoon forces the man to apologize to Sang-hoon. |
Executive Director Wang and his faction think that Dong-hoon should be promoted from manager to director so that he can replace demoted Director Park in the upcoming election. But they doubt if Director Yoon would give Dong-hoon a high mark on his performance evaluation.
As Sang-hoon and Ki-hoon continue their cleaning business, Ki-hoon recognizes the woman who continually messes up the stairway as someone from his past.
Dong-hoon secretly meets Director Park, and they plan to examine CEO Joon-young’s call history. Through her spy app, Ji-an finds out about their plan; she warns CEO Joon-young that his affair with Yoon-hee could be exposed. But CEO Joon-young dismisses her warning, saying that Yoon-hee always plays safe by calling his primary phone from a public pay phone. After they part, Ji-an tells Ki-bum to send the recording of Dong-hoon and Director Park’s conversation to Saman E&C’s internal audit team.
Ji-an learns from Ki-bum that her landlady is asking for the monthly rent. Later on, she shoplifts some items from a grocery. She rushes out with the items in a grocery cart, but Dong-hoon sees her and runs after her.
During a staff dinner, one of Dong-hoon’s team members gets into a drunken argument with Director Yoon and CEO Joon-young.
Episode 6
| Ep. 5 recap:
Dong-hoon meets Ji-an and her grandmother as they leave their apartment to spend some time on the street watching the moon. Later, he brings Ji-an’s grandmother home on a piggy back. Walking home tipsy after the staff dinner, Dong-hoon falls down to the snowy ground near the railroad tracks. Ji-an rushes to see if he’s okay. The woman who continually messes up the staircase is Choi Yu-ra, who played the lead in Ki-hoon’s failed first movie. At Jung-hee’s bar, Yu-ra profusely thanks Ki-hoon for failing with his life because that means their movie didn’t fail because of her. As the audit team ransacks his desk looking for CEO Joon-young’s call history, Dong-hoon goes to the public pay phone where the almost daily calls to CEO Joon-young were made. There, he sees Yoon-hee walking towards the public pay phone. |
Executive Director Wang tells Director Park to lie low, not wanting Dong-hoon’s investigation to lead back to them. Later on, a member of the internal audit team warns Dong-hoon about investigating CEO Joon-young’s call history.
While on a little camping trip, CEO Joon-young admits to Yoon-hee that the person who has been calling him is Ji-an. Knowing that Ji-an killed someone while she was in middle school, Yoon-hee becomes afraid.
Kwang-il, the loan shark, forces his way into Ji-an’s apartment and beats her up again.
At the office, Ji-an gets into a conflict with the team member whom she slapped during the staff dinner. The other team members thus ask Dong-hoon to have Ji-an replaced as a temp.
Yu-ra continues to try and meet Ki-hoon, first at Jung-hee’s bar and later on at his cleaning company office.
After finding out from the internal audit team about Dong-hoon’s investigation, Chairman Jang visits him at the office.
Episode 7
| Ep. 6 recap:
Dong-hoon leaves the football game in disgust; his brothers, meanwhile, escape when the game turns into a brawl and the police arrive. Ji-an rushes to see Dong-hoon and finds him on a bridge overlooking a river. During his father’s death anniversary, Kwang-il breaks into Ji-an’s apartment and beats her up. Later, Ji-an keeps replaying the recording of Dong-hoon saying to her that she’s a good person. At a bar, Dong-hoon tells Ji-an to keep keep quiet when she hears someone talking about another person; he says, “I’ll pretend that I don’t know. No matter what I may hear about you, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. So promise me this, that you’ll pretend you didn’t hear it. I’m scared because I feel like you know everything, even without me telling you.” Director Yoon warns Dong-hoon that Chairman Jang may seem supportive and friendly but that he easily changes his opinion of people if they create any problem for the company. Dong-hoon goes to the camping site and meets Chairman Jang and CEO Joon-young. |
The next day, CEO Joon-young texts Ji-an to leave Dong-hoon alone for now; he also orders Director Yoon not to do anything to Dong-hoon without his permission.
On the subway train, Dong-hoon tells Ji-an how to get free care for her grandmother. As they have dinner, he also says that CEO Joon-young used the bribery attempt to get him kicked out of the company. Ji-an replies that he should get CEO Joon-young kicked out by reporting the matter to the company’s higher-ups.
Yu-ra visits Ki-hoon and Sang-hoon’s office, bringing some lunch for Ki-hoon. Meanwhile, Dong-hoon’s mother visits Jung-hee in her bar; she tells Jung-hee her worries about Dong-hoon and gives back the money that she sent from Thailand.
When Chairman Jang asks him if Dong-hoon has any derogatory information about him, CEO Joon-young says that Dong-hoon found Yoon-hee’s phone number in his call history. But he lies about the reason Yoon-hee called him numerous times and says that Dong-hoon has been jealous about his promotion.
When Dong-hoon says that he found nothing in the call history, Director Park asks him to return the call history to him.
Ji-an meets CEO Joon-young and gives him the newest recording of Dong-hoon and Director Park’s conversation. When she balks at continuing to spy on Dong-hoon, he gives her an envelope full of money.
Episode 8
| Ep. 7 recap:
Dong-hoon tells Director Park that he can’t remember the number of the public pay phone. Later, he calls up the authorities and asks for the removal of the pay phone; at home, he rips the call history into pieces and throws them into a dumpster. Dong-hoon drags CEO Joon-young up to the rooftop and demands to know why he hasn’t stopped seeing Yoon-hee. But CEO Joon-young becomes belligerent, saying that he won’t stop seeing Yoon-hee; he also challenges Dong-hoon to tell everyone about his affair with Yoon-hee. Ji-an confronts Yoon-hee as she leaves her secret apartment. She plays for Yoon-hee the recording of CEO Joon-young explaining why it’s safe for him to have an affair with a married woman. Distressed, Yoon-hee goes to the camp site but doesn’t see CEO Joon-young there. While Dong-hoon and Ji-an are drinking together at a restaurant, Kwang-il, the loan shark, sees them. |
Reassured that Dong-hoon is on their side, Executive Director Wang bypasses Director Yoon and nominates Dong-hoon as a director.
Yoon-hee is stunned to see that the public pay phone is no longer there; she texts CEO Joon-young, telling him that she went to the camp site but didn’t find him there.
During his mother’s birthday celebration, Dong-hoon notices Yoon-hee texting someone. After the celebration, Yoon-hee goes to see CEO Joon-young in the apartment.
Yu-ra fails in her audition; at Jung-hee’s bar, she gets drunk and blames Ki-hoon for traumatizing her as an actress.
Curious about Dong-hoon, Kwang-il goes to see Ji-an’s friend Ki-bum in a PC cafĂ©; when Ki-bum refuses to say anything, Kwang-il beats him up. Later on, as Dong-hoon is walking home, Kwang-il bumps into him and steals his wallet.
Episode 9
| Ep. 8 recap:
Yoon-hee breaks up with CEO Joon-young, promising to put him through some pain. Despite his reservations about becoming a director, Dong-hoon agrees to being nominated after Director Jung warns him that if Joon-young is reelected, he will be the CEO for another two years. Kwang-il is stunned when Ji-an goes to his office to get Dong-hoon’s wallet back; Ji-an threatens to kill him if he bothers Dong-hoon. CEO Joon-young pays Ji-an to continue seeing and spending time with Dong-hoon after office hours; he wants to frame Dong-hoon for forcing an unwanted relationship on a subordinate. Ji-an becomes confused when CEO Joon-young tells her that Dong-hoon likes her. |
After the celebration, as Ki-hoon walks with her, Yu-ra says that she got a call back after her audition. Meanwhile, Ji-an follows Dong-hoon as he walks home.
Through Deputy Jung (the married female employee who’s having an affair with another employee), Director Yoon senses that there’s something about Ji-an that he can use against Dong-hoon. He contacts the person in charge of the temp employees and then orders his spy to dig into Ji-an’s background.
Obsessed with Ji-an, Kwang-il asks his fellow loan shark to call up Dong-hoon in his office to reveal that Ji-an tried to pay off her loan by using the bribe gift certificates that she stole from Dong-hoon’s drawer.
Episode 10
| Ep. 9 recap:
Dong-hoon finds out from Choon-dae, the janitor, about how difficult Ji-an’s life has been — how her mother got herself deeply into debt, how Kwang-il’s father beat up her grandmother repeatedly ... During their meeting, Yoon-hee offers Ji-an enough money to leave Saman E&C. But Ji-an says that even if she leaves, CEO Joon-young will just find somebody to bring Dong-hoon down. When Ji-an asks her if she’s planning to stay with Dong-hoon despite her affair, Yoon-hee replies that it’s none of her business. But she’s dazed when Ji-an says that Dong-hoon knows everything about her affair with CEO Joon-young. While confronting Kwang-il, Dong-hoon is stunned when he learns that Ji-an killed Kwang-il’s father. On the street, while listening to Dong-hoon and Kwang-il arguing and fighting, Ji-an crumbles to the ground, crying, after hearing Dong-hoon say, “I would kill anyone who beat up my family!” |
Dong-hoon helps Ji-an move her grandmother to the assisted living facility. As they leave, he asks her how much money she owes Kwang-il; he also tells her to call him up if Kwang-il ever bothers her again because he has 30 guys in the neighborhood who will help her.
Things become worse between Yoon-hee and CEO Joon-young when she confirms from him that Dong-hoon knows about their affair; she vows to destroy him. Also, as Chairman Jang’s physical health continues to deteriorate, CEO Joon-young becomes paranoid about what Executive Director Wang and his faction are doing. He pressures Ji-an to let him listen in on the meeting between Dong-hoon and Executive Director Wang’s faction. Furious over what he heard, he gives Ji-an ten days to get Dong-hoon kicked out of the company.
A former police detective reports to CEO Joon-young that Dong-hoon tried to pay off Ji-an’s debts to a loan shark and that he fought with the loan shark. The detective also shows him pictures of Dong-hoon giving Ji-an’s grandmother a piggy back ride.
CEO Joon-young confronts Ji-an with what the detective showed him. As they’re talking, Ji-an notices someone spying on them.
Episode 11
| Ep. 10 recap:
Ji-an gives Dong-hoon a new pair of work slippers, but he doesn’t wear them in the office. The restaurant manager tells Dong-hoon that wives who cheat and then try to rebuild their families are the most detestable. The “spy” turns out to be Ki-bum. With Ki-bum’s camera, Ji-an shows CEO Joon-young pictures of him and Yoon-hee; she warns him to get his cover story ready because his enemies are watching him. Ji-an sees the former police detective following Dong-hoon. She catches up with Dong-hoon, and after confessing her feelings for him, she asks Dong-hoon to smack her on the head. But he calls her a crazy bitch. When she screams that “Park Dong-hoon likes Lee Ji-an!” he slaps her, knocking her to the ground. |
CEO Joon-young calls up Yoon-hee and warns her that someone has taken pictures of them together. Yoon-hee replies that Dong-hoon knows everything about their affair. Dong-hoon overhears their conversation, and the next day, he skips going to the office and goes instead to the temple to see his friend. Meanwhile, CEO Joon-young asks some men to sweep his office for eavesdropping bugs or secret cameras.
Ki-hoon finds out that Yu-ra has gone back to vomiting on the staircase and that her director is blaming her for the problems with the film they’re shooting.
The next day, to the shock of everyone in the office, Dong-hoon confronts CEO Joon-young about Yoon-hee and then punches him. During an emergency meeting of the directors, CEO Joon-young denies any wrongdoing in his friendly meeting with Yoon-hee; he also accuses Executive Director Wang and his faction of spying on him and taking the pictures.
Episode 12
| Ep. 11 recap:
CEO Joon-young questions Ji-an about the picture of her being hit by Dong-hoon; he also listens to the recording of her confession of love for Dong-hoon. After the directors’ meeting, Dong-hoon and CEO Joon-young threaten each other. Dong-hoon refuses Ji-an’s siggestion that he fire her; he also demands that she give him another pair of slippers. The former detective reports to CEO Joon-young that Ji-an killed Kwang-il’s father when she was in middle school. Yoon-hee finally breaks down and asks Dong-hoon to forgive her for cheating on him. But Dong-hoon explodes into anger and recriminations; he says that she declared him worthless by cheating on him. |
The directors continue to prep Dong-hoon for the upcoming interviews. Later on, after working on a project with his team members, Dong-hoon and Ji-an meet his friends, Sang-hoon, and Jung-hee near the bar.
Ki-bum hacks into Saman E&C’s email server and finds pictures of Ji-an and Dong-hoon. He warns Ji-an that even if he deletes the email message and the pictures, they could be resent all over again.
While Yoon-hee and CEO Joon-young meet at the rooftop, Ji-an joins them. When Yoon-hee tells Ji-an to leave the company, Ji-an replies that she has already spent what CEO Joon-young paid her and that leaving now would negatively affect Dong-hoon because of the rumor that she and Dong-hoon are romantically involved.
Ki-hoon confronts the director who’s trying to put the blame on the movie’s impending failure wholly on Yu-ra; later on, Yu-ra goes to the bar and slaps Ki-hoon.
For the upcoming interviews of the candidates for directors, the candidates’ co-workers will also be interviewed. Dong-hoon’s senior team member is scheduled to be interviewed, but at the last moment and despite objections, Director Yoon wants Ji-an to be interviewed instead.
Episode 13
| Ep. 12 recap:
Ji-an is moved emotionally by the show of concern given to her by Sang-hoon, Jung-hee, and Dong-hoon’s friends. Kwang-il tells Ji-an that he remembers how he used to carry her to safety after his father would beat her into unconsciousness. During the interview, Chairman Jang arrives and hears Ji-an say that during her time with the company, she was treated like a human being, which gives her hope of being a decent person. She also says that even if she’s fired, she will remember Saman E&C with fondness. |
Ki-hoon finds out that Yoon-hee cheated on Dong-hoon. While Dong-hoon is on his way home that night, Yoon-hee calls him up and says that Ki-hoon knows she cheated on him.
Ji-an hears Director Park tell Dong-hoon that he’s close to finding out who drugged him and brought him to the hotel; his friend is a police officer who’s studying the CCTV footages of the areas near the hotel. Ji-an rushes to see Ki-bum, who tells her that if he’s caught, she will also be caught.
The former detective, who’s working for CEO Joon-young, asks Kwang-il for information about Ji-an’s friend who’s good with computers; he promises to kill Ji-an and her friend if Kwang-il helps him.
Director Park’s friend, the police officer, catches up with Ki-bum in a PC cafĂ©; as Ki-bum escapes, he calls up Ji-an and tells her to run. After the call, Ji-an sends a text message to Dong-hoon, wishing him good luck for his interview the next day; she also says, “It’s no big deal.”
Episode 14
| Ep. 13 recap:
Dong-hoon and his brothers are thrown into turmoil over Yoon-hee’s affair. Dong-hoon punches Ki-hoon, and Sang-hoon says that if Yoon-hee apologizes, Dong-hoon must take her back. Before the police arrives in Ki-bum’s house, Kwang-il and his fellow loan shark sneak into the house and take all of the computers. During Dong-hoon’s interview, Director Yoon shocks the other directors by revealing that Ji-an has a criminal record for murder. While Ji-an is walking alone with a backpack full of her belongings, she listens in through her spy app to Dong-hoon’s interview. She hears Dong-hoon tell Director Yoon and the other directors that the court ruled that Ji-an’s killing of the man was justified self defense. After the interview, Dong-hoon finds out from his team members that they still can’t contact Ji-an. In his drawer, he sees a new pair of slippers. |
CEO Joon-young finds out from the former detective that it was Ki-bum who drugged Director Park and took him to a hotel; fearful that Ki-bum might have some incriminating evidence about him, he orders the former detective to find Ki-bum.
After listening to the recordings in Ki-bum’s computer, Kwang-il’s fellow loan shark tells him that they should blackmail CEO Joon-young. Meanwhile, Ji-an shows up unannounced in CEO Joon-young’s house.
Chairman Jang berates the directors for digging up their employees’ past; besides ordering them to find Ji-an, he tells them to decide immediately on who the next director would be.
Director Park rushes to the police station after learning that Ki-bum has been arrested in an Internet cafĂ©. While listening to Ki-bum’s interrogation, he finds out about Ki-bum’s connection to Ji-an. He becomes suspicious of Dong-hoon and calls him up for a meeting; he orders Dong-hoon to turn off his cell phone just before he arrives at their meeting place.
Episode 15
| Ep. 14 recap:
Ji-an warns CEO Joon-young that since she has killed someone before, she’s ready to kill again for Dong-hoon’s sake. After being elected as the new director, Dong-hoon celebrates his promotion in Jung-hee’s bar with his mother, brothers, friends, Yoon-hee, Yu-ra, and Sang-hoon’s estranged wife. Ji-an, who’s now working in a shipping warehouse, listens in on the celebration. At the meeting place, Director Park takes Dong-hoon’s phone and asks a wiretapping specialist to see if a spy app has been planted in the phone. Afterwards, he tells Dong-hoon that Ji-an planted the spy app on his phone because she’s working for CEO Joon-young; he tells Dong-hoon that they should not remove the spy app so that they can catch their enemies. Dong-hoon becomes embarrassed after realizing that Ji-an has heard all of his conversations with Yoon-hee and CEO Joon-young. At a parking garage, CEO Joon-young tells Dong-hoon that, in exchange for money, Ji-an schemed with Ki-bum to disgrace Director Park and to spy on him. When he can’t say where Ji-an is now, Dong-hoon punches him. |
The next morning, Dong-hoon goes to the police station to visit Ki-bum; he asks Ki-bum to tell Ji-an, “It’s no big deal.”
Executive Director Wang, Director Park, and their faction come up with a plan to make Ji-an come out of hiding so that they could take CEO Joon-young down with her. But Dong-hoon asks Director Park to give him time to convince Ji-an to go to the police; Director Park, however, is adamant that Ji-an committed a crime and that CEO Joon-young must go to jail.
Kwang-il listens to Ji-an’s recordings on Ki-bum’s computer while his fellow loan shark does a background check on CEO Joon-young. Meanwhile, after being released from jail, Ki-bum calls up Ji-an; he becomes upset when Ji-an says that she deleted all her recordings.
Dong-hoon meets Chairman Jang for a meal. After confessing to Chairman Jang about his wife Yoon-hee’s affair with CEO Joon-young, he says that he’s resigning from the company.
Episode 16, Finale (with spoilers)
| Ep. 15 recap:
Dong-hoon finds Ji-an in her janitor-friend’s house and takes her to a hospital. Yoon- hee says that since Ji-an is only an accomplice to CEO Joon-young’s offenses, she will only be sentenced to probation. Later on, Dong-hoon brings Ji-an to Jung-hee’s bar. Chairman Jang tells Dong-hoon that he has known about the affair since he came to the camp site. He convinces Dong-hoon not to resign, saying that he will reinstate Director Park and convince him not to file charges against Ji-an. Kwang-il’s fellow loan shark blackmails CEO Joon-young. During a get-together in Jung-hee’s bar, Dong-hoon tells Ji-an that they should visit her grandmother at the facility before they go to the police station. Ji-an tells Jung-hee that when she’s reborn, she wants to be reborn in this neighborhood. Meanwhile, as Dong-hoon walks home, he says, “Let’s be happy.” |
With Yoon-hee as her lawyer, Ji-an testifies about what she did to Director Park. But CEO Joon-young gives an entirely different version of what happened; he also orders his lawyer to file charges against Ji-an.
Ji-an’s grandmother dies; Dong-hoon, his brothers, Jung-hee, Yu-ra, Yoon-hee, Ki-bum, and the members of the Sunday morning soccer club all attend the funeral.
After escaping from the former police detective, Kwang-il sends to Dong-hoon all of the recordings from Ki-bum’s computer. Dong-hoon submits the recordings to the police investigators, and the news about Yoon-hee’s affair with CEO Joon-young becomes known in the office.
Chairman Jang gets Ji-an a new job in Busan; after firing CEO Joon-young and Director Yoon, he reinstates Director Park.
One year later ...
Dong-hoon forms his own company with his former team members from Saman E&C.
Yu-ra becomes successful in her movie career; meanwhile, Ki-hoon begins writing a screenplay.
Ji-an returns from Busan to Seoul; while in a coffee shop with her co-workers, she meets Dong-hoon.
Historical / cultural backgrounders and other information
1. “Goose fathers” in Korea as depicted in Ep. 16 (Finale)
All throughout the drama, Dong-hoon and Yoon-hee’s son, Ji-seok, is depicted as studying in the US despite his tender age. And in Ep. 16 (Finale), Yoon-hee joins her son in the US and enrolls in a school where she can learn English. In one scene, Dong-hoon breaks down emotionally as he lives alone in Korea.
This part of the drama depicts Dong-hoon as a “gireogi appa” or “goose father,” a Korean cultural phenomenon of fathers living alone and working hard in order to support their spouses and children who are living abroad. From Wikipedia:
A gireogi appa (literally “goose dad”) is a South Korean term that refers to a man who works in Korea while his wife and children stay in an English-speaking country such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand for the sake of the children’s education.
Many Korean people desire to speak English well. This desire is sometimes referred to as “English Fever.” English proficiency is very important not only for students but also for office workers because they believe that English skills determine their social position and promotion in the company. However, it is not easy for Koreans to learn and speak English fluently due to the difference in sentence structure between Korean and English.
To overcome this difficulty, some parents choose to raise their young children in one of the English-speaking countries, and in the process, mothers and children live together in a foreign country, and fathers remain in Korea and live alone.
The term is inspired by the fact that geese are a species that migrate, just as the gireogi appa father must travel a great distance to see his family. Estimates of the number of gireogi appa in South Korea range as high as 200,000 men. The word ’gireogi appa’ was included in the report ’2002 New Word’ by the National Academy of Korean Language.
S. Korean “goose fathers” so lonely they keep flies (Reuters, 2012): The “goose father” nickname refers to the seasonal visits made by the fathers to their faraway families, the way geese migrate every year. “Eagle fathers” are men wealthy enough to visit at will, while “penguin fathers” have no idea when the next reunion will take place.
“South Korean hunger for foreign schooling strands lonely ’goose fathers’” (Christian Science Monitor, 2014): An estimated 500,000 South Korean fathers stay behind while their wives and children relocate for an English-language education abroad.
“Wild goose families: The sacrifices so many Koreans make to give their kids a life in Canada” (CBC Canada, Feb. 2020)
“The Lonely Culture Of Wild Goose Fathers In Korea” (October 2020): The culture of wild goose fathers began in the mid-1990s among middle-aged parents around 30-40 years old.
2. To better understand and appreciate “My Mister” and other K-dramas, we should understand the Korean concepts of “han” and “jeong.” From “The ‘beauty of sorrow’ in the TV masterpiece, My Mister” by Brooks Riley (director, producer, film critic, editor, and screenwriter):
If there’s a double helix running through the Korean psyche, then it consists of two strands, han (í•ś) and jeong (ě •) two concepts that seem to infuse Koreans with states of mind that their dark history of multiple occupations has delivered right to their genes.
It’s not necessary to be acquainted with han and jeong to be caught in the currents and undertow of anguish and joy that move through My Mister. Like most great works, it succeeds on levels beyond social specificity. But knowing of han and jeong enriches the experience as the interplay of these two opposing forces propels the series forward in unexpected ways, like a revolving, emotional pas de deux.
Other articles by Brooks Riley: “The Intoxicating Radiance of Mr. Sunshine: What Hollywood could learn from a South Korean TV series”; Killing time: The brilliant machinations of “Beyond Evil”
3. YouTube videos on Korean concept of “han”
Han is a uniquely Korean concept that even Koreans have a hard time defining.
It’s considered impossible to translate into English, but it’s often described as an internalized feeling of deep sorrow, injustice, resentment, regret and anger.
The term han is difficult if not impossible to translate into English – at least not in a word or two. Words such as “rage” or “deep sorrow” are not sufficient to capture the complex of emotions that it evokes. Yet it is something that Koreans can readily identify when they see it.
4. Relevant articles:
3 Life Encouraging Lessons We Can Learn From My Mister (hellokpop)
My Mister’ receives warning for the controversial IU-Jang Ki Yong violent scene (allkpop)
IU Wanted To Refuse Her Drama Role In My Mister” Because Of Her Lolita Controversy (Koreaboo)
IU Responds To Controversy Surrounding Storyline And Violence Of “My Ahjussi”
My Ahjussi” drew criticism ahead of its premiere when people suspected it may be a love story about a man in his 40s and a woman in her 20s.
Lee Sun Gyun [male lead actor] clarified, “It’s not a love story, but a human story.”
5. The main character Ji-an has a grandmother who is deaf-mute.
Lessons in photography from “My Mister” with in-depth analysis of its cinematography
I. In-depth analysis of the drama's cinematography
Index: A. Arc shot in the most memorable scene from “My Mister” (Ep. 12); B. Cross dissolve to show that Ji-an’s sneakers symbolize her dreary life; C. The desaturated colors from scenes in Eps. 1-5 change in Ep. 6 when the colors become brighter and deeper; D. “My Mister” uses a lot of split screens; E. Flashing/flickering lights during flashback scenes; F. Motion blur (aesthetic blur); G. Rack focus: A K-drama isn’t a K-drama if it doesn’t have rack focus shots; H. Camera shake; I. Some elegant push in and pull out shots from “My Mister”; J. Visual cues; K. Symbolic uses of reflections. mirrors, and glasses?; L. Miscellaneous observation.
A. Probably the most memorable shots and scene in “My Mister” come from Ep. 12 when Dong-hoon and his friends walk Ji-an to her house.
Dong-hoon and Ji-an meet Jung-hee, Sang-hoon, and his friends in front of the bar. As they walk Ji-an to her house, they engage in some small talk and teasing. When Ji-an replies to Jung-hee that she wants to be at their age because life might not be as hard as it is now for her, everyone stops and looks at her. After quick cuts showing Dong-hoon’s friends and Sang-hoon, the camera then arcs around Ji-an, showing the reactions of everyone around her. With a smile, Jung-hee then takes Ji-an’s arm and walks on, with Dong-hoon’s friends and Sang-hoon smiling in approval.
(The arc shot isn’t smooth and is a bit wobbly in keeping with the emotional tension of the scene.)
Later, as Dong-hoon, Sang-hoon, and his friends leave, Ji-an softly tells them, “Thank you.”
This scene (accentuated by the wobbly arc shot) is deeply moving because it was probably the first time Ji-an experienced being immediately accepted and cared for by people who were complete strangers to her.
B. In numerous shots, we are shown Ji-an’s sneakers (most probably her only pair of shoes). What convinces me that they symbolize her dreary life are the cross dissolves in Ep. 10.
In this scene, Ji-an waits on the street for Dong-hoon to give him a new pair of slippers. In the first shot, the camera pedestals (moves) up from Ji-an’s sneakers to her face. The cross dissolves then show closeups of Jian’s face and her sneakers, combined with wide shots of Ji-an on the street.
(What if the sneakers were PPL? It still wouldn’t change my belief that they symbolize Ji-an’s dreary life.)
Pedestal up
Cross dissolves
Speaking of cross dissolves, another scene when the drama effectively uses them is in Ep. 10 after Dong-hoon found out about Yoon-hee’s affair. He stops doing some household chores, slumps down, and stares off into space. Even without dialogue, that scene is so moving and captures Dong-hoon’s misery so well.
C. The desaturated colors from scenes in Eps. 1-5 change in Ep. 6 when the colors become brighter and deeper. Ep. 6 marks that part of the drama when things seem to change for the better in Ji-an’s and Dong-hoon’s lives. And that is done when the color palette changes.
Relevant resources on color schemes and uses of colors in K-dramas:
(1) “K-drama color: The power of the palette” from Dramabeans: “Sometimes, color palettes can even become such a strong element that a network’s entire body of productions fits into a tonal schema and almost becomes a part of their brand. A good example of this is OCN productions and their now-unmistakable dark and gritty look.”
(2) “The Power of Koreanovela Color Palettes in Storytelling” by Jess Convocar, May 2020.
Using examples from K-dramas, the author explains the four uses of color: Color Sets the Atmosphere; Color Shows Time; Color Directs Attention; Color Helps Tell the Story.
(3) “Tracking Color Symbolism In Kdrama: Goblin’s Use Of Red”
(4) “Color Palette Kdrama edition”
(5) “Colors in Korean Drama, shared by Lee Chang-hee, Film Director from Korea” (1:18 mark)
D. “My Mister” uses a lot of split screens. The split screen that I like the most comes from Ep. 10; previous to the scene of Joon-young meeting with the former police detective, the detective went to see Kwang-il and showed him pictures of Ji-an and Dong-hoon. In the scene when Joon-young sees the picture of Dong-hoon, the split screen shows Kwang-il’s surprised reaction when he sees the piggyback ride (something which we didn’t see in the previous scene).
In Ep. 14, Ji-an uses a public pay phone to call up Dong-hoon; that scene is marked by numerous split screens.
Relevant resources on split screens in dramas and movies:
(1) “The 15 Best Uses of Split Screen in Cinema History”: “The split screen has many uses: it can show the same moment from two angles, or more often two scenes happening in different places but simultaneously; the most classic example of this use is the “phone call” split screen, where you have each person on the phone on a side of the screen.”
(2) “The Art of Split Screen” by Premium Beat traces the history of split screens and how renowned directors such as Edgar Wright and David Fincher use them today.
(3) “Split Screen in Movies” (Vimeo)
(4) “Split Screens - Everything You Need To Know in 5 Minutes” (No Film School)
E. Flashing/flickering lights and desaturated colors during flashback scenes
Except for Ep. 16, the flashback scenes have desaturated colors and are marked by flashing or flickering lights as you can see in these GIFs. In Ep. 16, while Ji-an is watching the football game on the parking lot, she remembers her last visit with her grandmother. The shots have soft focus, but the colors are bright.
F. Motion blur (aesthetic blur)
“My Mister” uses “motion blur” several times, with the first instance in Ep. 1, if I remember correctly. In Ep. 9, the scene shows the young Ji-an who's feeling lonely because no one came to her graduation. She’s standing still while the celebrating students and their parents around her are shown in motion blur.
The most significant uses of motion blur is near the end of Ep. 6 when Dong-hoon and Ji-an are in a bar.
You can see the blur when Dong-hoon drinks his wine and then pours the cup down. The next shot is of the bar’s exterior where the people walking are shown in motion blur. After the shot of the wine glass, there’s another motion blur as Dong-hoon raises the glass and drink again. In the next shot, the camera trucks (moves parallel) to Dong-hoon, who becomes in focus.
In the GIF below, you can see the blur again when Dong-hoon drinks his wine and then puts the cup down. The camera then trucks (moves parallel) to Ji-an, who becomes in focus as Dong-hoon becomes out of focus.
Relevant resources:
(1) “What is Motion Blur, Is Motion Blur Good & Why Does it Happen?” (Studio Binder): Motion blur is the visual streaking or smearing captured on camera as a result of movement of the camera, the subject, or a combination of the two. The human eye naturally registers motion blur in real life, so a subtle blur in film often mimics reality better than if it were absent. When applied intentionally, this effect may be referred to as aesthetic blur.
(2) “Using Motion Blur for natural Movement”
(3) “Motion blur photography and shutter speed explained”
(4) “Blur and shutter angle explained”
G. Rack focus: A K-drama isn’t a K-drama if it doesn’t have rack focus shots.
1. In Ep. 10, Ji-an and Dong-hoon take her grandmother to the assisted living facility. This deeply moving scene (without any dialogue) between Ji-an and her grandmother is reinforced by the use of several rack focus shots.
In the taxi, her grandmother is in focus while Ji-an is out of focus. The grandmother turns and she becomes out of focus, and Ji-an becomes in focus.
In the GIF below, the grandmother becomes in focus while Ji-an remains out of focus. From the reverse angle, the grandmother is out of focus while Ji-an is in focus. Then, Ji-an is first out of focus and then becomes in focus. From the reverse angle, the grandmother is in focus while Ji-an is out of focus.
2. Ep. 9: Yoon-hee gets a phone call. As she becomes out of focus, the framed family portrait on foreground (frame right) becomes in focus.
3. Ep. 6: Ji-an (foreground, frame left) is in focus while Dong-hoon (background) is out of focus. Ji-an becomes out of focus while Dong-hoon becomes in focus.
4. Ep. 6: Dong-hoon is on the subway train. As he becomes out of focus, his reflection becomes in focus.
5. Ep. 5: Dong-hoon (foreground) goes to the public pay phone. As Yoon-hee approaches him from frame right, they become out of focus as Ji-an (deep background) becomes in focus.
H. Camera shake to depict or reinforce tension in a scene
1. Ep. 10: Yoon-hee is overcome with guilt after finding out from Ji-an that Dong-hoon knows about her affair with CEO Joon-young. The subtle camera shake reinforces her emotional tension.
2. Ep. 9: Kwang-il threatens to kill Ji-an and Dong-hoon if his plan to extort money from him doesn’t work. The camera noticeably shakes to reinforce Ji-an’s emotional tension in her closeup and especially in the wide shot showing her in front of her house.
I. Some elegant push in and pull out shots from “My Mister”
Push in
1. Ep. 9: Ji-an plans to give Dong-hoon a new pair of office slippers, but she doesn’t have the chance to give it when Dong-hoon becomes cold towards her on the way home and refuses to buy her food. While listening in through the spy app and by calling up Kwang-il, she finds out that Dong-hoon has found out that she stole the bribe gift certificates. Later on, she becomes upset when Dong-hoon can’t give his team members a reason for hiring her when others are more qualified.
As Ji-an stands on the street, the camera pushes in on her to reinforce her emotional tension over what has been happening between her and Dong-hoon.
Pull out
Ep. 12: Director Yoon tried to make Ji-an admit that she has an illicit relationship with Dong-hoon. But, as Chairman Jang listens, Ji-an answers that she will always be grateful not only to Dong-hoon but also to Saman E&C. Later on, Ji-an and Dong-hoon have some drinks at a restaurant. At the end of the scene, they’re framed by the restaurant’s window as the camera slowly pulls out; the framing and the pull out give the scene a relaxed, soothing vibe of two kindred spirits enjoying each other’s company.
Explanation of the terms “push in” and “push out”:
The article “Types of Camera Movements in Film Explained: Definitive Guide” (Studio Binder) defines what a push-in shot is: “A push-in moves the camera closer to a subject typically with a dolly camera movement or Steadicam. Push-ins can draw the audience’s attention toward a specific detail. Filmmakers also push-in toward characters to try and infer what is occurring internally. This can be a reaction, thought process, or internal conflict.”
Push in shots are used to “create subtle intimacy, tension rising, and importance.” From “The Push-in” (YouTube video): “The Push-In, sometimes called the Character Dolly, is a camera move where the camera dollies forward toward the subject of the shot. A short push-in is like an exclamation mark. A long, slow push-in builds drama and heightens the emotional meaning of the scene. The push-in is a powerful cinematic tool for heightening tension and dramatizing a revelation, and it’s one of the fundamental techniques of the cinematographer and layout artist.”
From “The Effects of a Push in vs. Pull out” (Cinematography): “When the camera pulls out from a character to show empty space around them, it creates a feeling of isolation and loneliness, abandonment, or rejection.”
J. “Visual cues” are explained in an excellent series of articles from “My Drama List” written by someone with the username “3GGG.”
Popular Visual Cues found in K-Dramas, Part 1: visual ways to establish a conflict, division, or fight between two or more characters
Popular Visual Cues in K-Dramas, Part 2: boxing to establish a character’s vulnerability, solitude, or fear; comfort and respite; change; danger; showdown
Popular Visual Cues in K-Dramas, Part 3: Dutch angle
Popular Visual Cues in K-Dramas, Part 4: Interpersonal cues (using cues simultaneously or one after another)
These MDL articles on visual cues will help you better “read” K-dramas. (I prefer, however, the term “framing” instead of “boxing.”)
Examples of lines that establish a conflict, division, or fight between two or more characters:
Examples of boxing (framing) to establish a character’s vulnerability, solitude, or fear; comfort and respite; change; danger; showdown:
K. Symbolic uses of reflections in “My Mister”?
“My Mister” has numerous shots of Ji-an or Dong-hoon with their reflections on certain surfaces as you can see in the following GIFs:
The article “Seeing Through a Glass, Darkly” (November 1, 2018) from a Wordpress website dedicated to discussions about “My Mister” makes some interesting points about the symbolic uses of reflections, glases, and mirrors in this drama. I don’t agree with everything the article says, but it has some great insights.
L. Miscellaneous observation
In Ep. 10, Ji-an and Dong-hoon bring her grandmother to an assisted living facility. Afterwards, they ride a bus back to Seoul. They sit separately, with Dong-hoon near the front of the bus and Ji-an near the back. At the end of the scene, the cinematographer uses a wide angle lens; notice that the space inside the bus and the distance between Dong-hoon and Ji-an are exaggerated (as if they’re really far apart). I think the cinematographer, as guided by the director, purposely used a wide angle lens to show the still big emotional and psychological gap between Ji-an and Dong-hoon (she’s still working for CEO Joon-young, and Dong-hoon doesn’t know that Ji-an knows about his fight with Kwang-il).
II. Lessons in photography from “My Mister”
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| Bokeh (aesthetic quality of the blurred areas of a photograph) |
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| Foreground and background blur |
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| Foreground blur |
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| Out of focus highlights, background blur |
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| Low angle POV, leading lines |
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| Natural frames |
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| Shallow depth of field |
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| Compressed or stacked perspective |
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| Linear perspective |
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| Lines of direction |
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| Shooting against the light |
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| Low angle POV |
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| Selective or differential focusing |
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| Conveying depth through overlapping forms |
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| Linear perspective |
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| Warm colors, lines of direction |
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| Over the shoulder shot (OTS) |
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| Reflection |
