Thread by @lullydash

#TheRedSleeve challenge : the poem North wind from the book of odes #LeeSeYoung #LeeJunHo #BaeksangArtsAwards2022 #BaeksangArtsAwards

The book of odes plays a main role in #TheRedSleeve. It’s one of san’s favorite book. He offered it to Deok Im when they went together to the bookstore. She would read the poem during his lockdown and then let the book in his room, despite Yeongjo’s orders #LeeSeYoung #LeeJunHo

The Book of odes (Shih-ching) is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th-7th centuries BC, said to have been compiled by Confucius. It has been studied and by scholars in China over two millennia #TheRedSleeve

Confucians thought that learning ancient Chinese poetry was essential for politicians & bureaucrats. A lot of the answers of the issues were given by the symbolism of the poems #TheRedSleeve #LeeSeYoung #LeeJunHo

The poem read twice by San & Deok Im in #TheRedSleeve is North wind. Cold blows the north wind;
Thick falls the snow.
Ye who love and regard me,
Let us join hands and go together.
Is it a time for delay?
The urgency is extreme!

The north wind whistles;
The snow falls and drifts about.
Ye who love and regard me,
Let us join hands, and go away for ever.
Is it a time for delay?
The urgency is extreme!

Nothing red is seen but foxes,
Nothing black but crows.
Ye who love and regard me,
Let us join hands, and go together in our carriages.
Is it a time for delay?
The urgency is extreme!

San & Deok Im had both a strong intellectual connexion. She saved him as a child by tearing a book (bc she knew hanja). They met as adults in the library. She transcribed books. They And he offered her his favorite books #TheRedSleeve #LeeSeYoung #LeeJunHo

The reading of the poem, can be interpreted as a love confession. Each time, San (who knows the poem by heart) will recite those lines : together with my beloved ones, we shall return while holding hands ». #TheRedSleeve #LeeSeYoung #LeeJunHo

When San asks Deok Im to read the poem for the 2nd time, it’s a way to reconnect to each other after Mun Hyo’s death that teared them apart for a while. #TheRedSleeve #LeeJunHo #LeeSeYoung

Some ppl say the poem is about lovers eloping which could be the literal meaning. Some on the contrary think it’s about grief & harship. In the context of #TheRedSleeve, the poem is read when San faces hard times: when San is locked down first, then after his son’s death.

In that case, it’s more about the comfort brought by your loved one when adversity strikes. As San said, even if they lost their son, they still can carry on bc they have each other. What’s terrible is that San ignores he’s about to lose Deok Im too …#TheRedSleeve

But 14 years later after Deok Im’s death, snow falls again as the symbol of the death calling San in the after life #TheRedSleeve #LeeJunHo #LeeSeYoung

As San is lying unconscious in his bed , the flowers have lost their petals : his love for Deok Im has disappeared…since the 1st episod of #TheRedSleeve , the flower blooming was the symbol of his love growing

But the book of odes is near him, as his only comfort and last memory of Deok Im #TheRedSleeve #LeeJunHo #LeeSeYoung

When San, while meeting Deok Im in the annex, remembers how much he loves her & how he missed her, he voluntarily choose to die. They go, while holding hands, see the blooming flowers 🌺 as the symbol of their eternal love in the afterlife #TheRedSleeve

San says he will never let go her hand again …as the lovers of the poem North wind #TheRedSleeve #LeeSeYoung #LeeJunHo

And this moment became eternity ….
End of the thread 🧵. #TheRedSleeve #LeeSeYoung #LeeJunho