“Mr. Sunshine” (미스터 션샤인)

By Jae-Ha Kim
Substack
January 19, 2019

Choi Yoo-Jin / Eugene Choi (played by Lee Byung-Hun)
Go Ae-Shin (played by Kim Tae-Ri)
Goo Dong-Mae / Ishida Sho (played by Yoo Yeon-Seok)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

Choi Yoo-Jin is the child of slaves in Korea’s Joseon era. When an aristocrat kills Yoo-Jin’s father so that he can rape Yoo-Jin’s mother, she fights back and does what she has to do to save her son. Knowing that he will be killed regardless of whether she survives or not, she begs Yoo-Jin to run as far away from their home as possible.

Orphaned and alone, Yoo-Jin manages to smuggle his way into the United States, thanks to a kind missionary named Joseph, who is reluctant to bear the responsibility for him. Nonetheless, Joseph renames the little 9-year-old boy Eugene Choi, to fit in better in the U.S. But as many non-white immigrants can tell you, a different name won’t stop others from asking, “What are you?”

With his foreign clothes and his long hair tied back in a braid, Eugene is an easy target for bullies who beat him and steal his hard-earned money.

Flash forward to Choi’s adult years. Now an officer in the Marines and a U.S. citizen, Eugene has been sent back to Joseon to see what part of the the country the U.S. wants to protect and keep. Amazingly enough, though he can’t write Hangul, Eugene speaks his native tongue nearly perfect.

I’m not saying this is impossible, but I find it highly improbable. It’s difficult enough to retain a first language when you have an entire family to speak it with. But besides Joseph, who spoke some Korean, who would he talk to? Even during my era, children were encouraged to speak only English so that they could assimilate into American society faster. I doubt that anyone encouraged little Eugene to speak Korean at home.

Before long, Eugene falls in love with Ae-Shin, the smart, strong-headed and beautiful daughter of freedom fighters (who were assassinated when she was a newborn). Raised by her nobleman grandfather, it’s clear that she inherited her parents’ desire to free Joseon from foreigners’ hands. This is where the plot gets a little iffy, because while he forbids her to further her education — because that interferes with needlepointing and stuff — he allows her to train with a gunner who is known for being part of the resistance movement.

Rigggghhhhhttttt…

Helmed by writer Kim Eun-Sook and director Lee Eung-Bok — who previously collaborated together on “Descendants of the Sun” and “Goblin: The Lonely and Great God” — the misleadingly named “Mr. Sunshine” does a beautiful job of juggling multiple storylines that are full of suspense, intrigue and achingly quiet romance.

Though Ae-Shin’s heart belongs to Eugene, she is betrothed to Kim Hee-Sung, the son of one of the richest men in Joseon. A bon vivant who wanted to escape his family’s cruel history, his love for Ae-Shin is real.

So, too, is that of Goo Dong-Mae. The son of butchers, he watched his parents shunned from society because of their low-caste job, escaped to Japan and returned to Korea as a deadly and feared samurai.

This series isn’t for the faint of heart. I’m not talking about the violence (though there is plenty of that), but rather the fatalistic theme that runs throughout the series. After all, this K-Drama starts with the death of Yoo-Jin’s parents. The ending mirrors that arc, where the survival of one depends on the sacrifices of others.

Kudos to screenwriter Kim Eun-Sook for creating a world full of real-life history, while injecting much-needed humor. And as with some of her previous works, Kim continues to show her support for BTS by naming one of her characters Kim Nam-Joon (aka RM, the leader of the award-winning Korean group).

There were two moments when I got shivers down my spine for differing reasons. The first was when Dong-Mae’s hand brushes against the bottom of Ae-Shin’s hanbok. He never touches any part of her body, but the sexually-charged way he stares at her was unsettling — so  much so that Ae-Shin cries.

The second was near the end of the series when Eugene meets a stranger in New York City, who’s trying to find his way to Columbia University. Recognizing a fellow Korean, the young man introduces himself as Ahn Chang-Ho, who in real life founded the Shinminhoe to fight the Japanese occupation of Korea. (He is also the father of actor Philip Ahn, who I used to enjoy watching on old episodes of “Kung Fu.”)

This is a series where the secondary characters more than hold their own. Besides Hee-Sung and Dong-Mae, Kudo Hina (brilliantly played by Kim Min-Jung) is a fierce character who can outwit even the most devious of men, all while being unpressed or repentant.

This is also a series where the characters are willing to die for the sake of their country. Viewers — especially those familiar with Korean history — will mourn these losses, knowing that Korea won’t truly be free until many decades later.

Airdates: Twenty-four episodes aired on tvN from July 7 to September 30, 2018.

Spoiler Alert:

Oh my heart. EVERYONE dies. OK, not everyone. Ae-Shin survives, but she watches as Eugene sacrifices his life to save hers and that of their comrades.

© 2019 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved