Sisyphus’ Sigma: A Look into Mental Illness
'' Neither 'good' nor 'evil' are absolute, but mere labels created by mortal man in an attempt to make their own brand of order out of 'the natural order of things.' You pointed out in your letter that there is some good in almost everyone- and some evil. Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps the 'good' you speak of as being in almost everyone maybe isn't all that 'good' or that maybe the bit of evil inherent in most of us really isn't all that 'bad'? I've always felt that people are given credit for being 'good' or filled with 'goodness' for simply doing what should be expected of any human being ....
''For the purposes of our discussion... the first thing we need to do is separate the term 'evil' from the term 'sin' ... It is not much that the two terms are extremely different as it is that they are separated by eons with regards to import and impact. If sin and evil do exist (which I seriously doubt) then sin must be reserved for the masses, for people like you and I, whose sphere of influence and capacity for wreaking havoc on the lives of others is infinite. And, of course, their 'evil' is compounded- in my judgment- by the fact that they have it in their collective power to do otherwise.''
Kang Dong Won:
Voice of a Murderer/ Haunters/ Kundo: Age of the Rampant/ Maundy Thursday/ Duelist
Kang Dong Won.. Kang Dong Won.. Everybody talks about Kang Dong Won; in dramas, articles, blogs, and Facebook. Like c’mon! I have this in me. If I’m not intrigued by someone or something on my own, the possibility that I’d be intrigued enough to look them up is less than 5%. And that 5% is for people I completely trust in their taste. So even when the whole world around me was singing KDW, it led me to only add his famous works on my list. And they stayed there for years until I started my Killers article and the readers started mentioning Kang Dong Won. It was time and..
You might guess I’m a fan now. Dammit.
He’s acted as a murderer quite too often, don’t you think?? But strangely it suits him very well.
Voice of a Murderer
He was the voice in Voice of a Murderer. We never see the criminal. We can only hear his voice. And whoever chose Kang Dong Won for the role knew exactly what he was doing. Not only that, his voice resembles the voice of the real murderer because it’s haunting. That calmness and indifference! The threatening tone while staying composed! The unsettling pitch! It was crazy. The voice itself was capable of driving the parents insane.. No wonder the case is still unsolved.
Haunters
I just sighed.
Have you ever felt like you wanted to hug a criminal? Because you know that hug might be able to stop them? I have, while watching Haunters.
Criminals might be complicated and require lots of psychological analysis, but not all of them. Our criminal here does not. Who made him a criminal? We did. The world did. How many of us could have turned into criminals at any point in our lives? You know what I’m talking about. Being different in this world means being an outcast. How many can turn the fact that they’re outcasts into opportunities? How many are crazy enough to manage their own insanity and survive this disgusting world? Not many. And I can’t blame those who can’t. It requires one person sometimes to turn the life of another upside down. If Kang Dong Won’s character in Haunters had only one person who accepted him as a child, he would never have murdered. His murders were not right. Innocent people did die. But dammit the world abandoned him. Why would he care about the world?? Kang Dong Won was totally breathtaking in the film and broke my heart.
Kundo: the Age of the Rampant
A similar but different character appeared in Kundo: the Age of the Rampant. An abandoned boy. If you were going to abandon them, just don’t have them! I don’t know what’s so complicated about this! So the boy was abandoned. The boy hated the world. The boy wanted recognition and love. The boy didn’t care about others because nobody cared about him. The boy grew up to be a talented but cruel young man. The young man committed all kinds of crimes. Was he born inhuman? No. Was he ripped of his humanity? No. Am I justifying his crimes? No. Do I understand him? Completely. Do I relate? 100%
This hell we live in.
Duelist
You’re alone in this world. Nobody cares about you. One person pretends he does. You think it’s sincere. Would you kill for that person?
Don’t answer so quickly.
In Duelist, KDW did just that. He ran across another opportunity for happiness. He wanted to snatch it, to hold onto it. But he couldn’t desert the one person who took him in. Who on earth can blame him??
That long hair falling across his face and those sword fights! WOW!
Our Happy Time
As for Our Happy Time.. I cried enough already watching that. I can’t even try to summarise what the sentimental film was about. I just can convey what it left behind. Let’s say I killed someone. I was not planning to. I didn’t intend to. But I did. The cursed world led me to the crime but that doesn’t free me of my fault. I live with regret and pain. I hate myself everyday for my crime. I regret and regret again. I repent every day. Then I’m presented with a gift. For a short period of time, I can be happy. For the first time in my life, I can be happy. I killed someone and I’m eternally sorry for that. I would live my life paying for my sin. Just allow me to live. I don’t care where or how. Just allow me to live.
Here I go again; crying like crazy.
I hope Kang Dong Won doesn’t do any more criminal roles. I’m worried about his mental health for real.
Choi Min Soo: Warrior Baek Dong Soo
Who was not a killer in this drama?! Why am I choosing Choi Min Soo –I’ll be covering Yoo Seung Ho later don’t give me that look- it’s because he presented an interesting type of killer. One who found himself a killer one day but despite knowing he shouldn’t pursue that path, he kept walking it. He didn’t know why but he didn’t know otherwise. We might not be assassins but most of us belong to Chun’s category; doing something for life not because we want it or happy at it but because we are afraid to try another route; because we’re terrified of getting broken in the eyes of others just like we’re broken in our own eyes. Choi Min Soo in Warrior Baek Dong Soo was anything but hateful. He’s an assassin alright –and is really good at martial arts and overflowing with charisma and those melancholic eyes- and can act all merciless but then, he’d sit by the river or on top of a mountain and start drinking and from his posture and the look in his eyes, you’d feel pain piercing into his very soul. When he spoke, he would utter the words you’re afraid to admit are swarming in your mind. And you know you shouldn’t but you sympathize with him throughout. If he doesn’t make you cry at least three times throughout the drama..,
Then you need a special treatment session with me.
Son Chang Min: Cruel City
*Spoiler Alert*
-If you haven’t watched the drama, I don’t advise you to read this-
I think the scariest and most dangerous of crimes is manipulating others to your own benefit by using their most valued beliefs and people. What’s more petrifying is actually believing you’re in the right, and what you’re doing is serving whatever higher goal you believe in. Son Chang Min as Min Hong Ki is a despicable sociopath with a narcissistic personality disorder (my own diagnosis) who believes the world revolves around him and around his not-so-emphasized-goal; because the writer knows, just like we do that it’s ridiculous.
Have you heard of Franklin Randolph Dial? The infamous American serial killer? I read the book written about him,At Large. If you ever have time, do read it. If you don’t, make some time. Anyway, what was so intriguing about Dial was that he could get almost anybody to help him and sympathize with him or at least shake their beliefs and insert ideas into their minds. He did it so naturally; all the time. Even when you knew he was manipulating you and he was a genius cold-blooded hitman with two separate lives you’d still get affected. Because he had that ability! Because he could delve into anybody’s soul and just plant some seeds there. Min Hong Ki did the same.
He presented a blood-curling performance. If you've read Actors Over 40 you’d know I’m a fan of Son Chang Min and believe me, this is his best performance ever.
Im Joo Hwan: Oh My Ghost
Im Joo Hwan for me is always a yes. I have this deep and incomprehensible love and admiration for him. I don’t know what you think but I believe he is extremely good at becoming one with his characters.
So I was so happy to see him in Oh My Ghost. Or more precisely, he was the main reason I started the drama. And though I fell for Jo Jung Suk once more, it was Im Joo Hwan. Holy! A man possessed by an evil spirit. The evil spirit is the opposite of his real personality. So he’s the kindest and most helpful gentleman on earth and suddenly something pisses the inner spirit and of course the nice true man vanishes. Im Joo Hwan was creepy in this awesome drama, if I was to admit even scary at moments. That sudden change in facial expressions would give me the shivers. And I wanted a happy ending for him as well. Honestly the real person was really not to be blamed. He was possessed. That was the reason I provided my super ego with when it stared me in the face accusing me of wishing a merciless killer a happy ending. But I knew it was more because it was Im Joo Hwan playing that character that I prayed for its peace.
Forgive me spirits for I have sinned.
Na Jong Chan: Shine or Go Crazy
I love pleasant surprises. Don't we all? And this surprise was one of the most pleasant ever. I liked Shine or Go Crazy. I thought it would have been much better if it was only 16 episodes. It really dragged a lot and the struggle for power killed me there but the drama had so many great things about it. Na Jong Chan was one of the main things.
In his debut drama, the 21-year old actor presented a mind-blowing performance of a very talented swordman working in the shadows to help his love achieve her goals. You wouldn't believe how real he was. His story was what made me cry throughout. He chose to kill for love. This theme usually makes me roll my eyes. Like...I mean...You know! But it wasn't like that at all here. He'd do things you wouldn't believe he'd do, because he lived for someone else. People can live for each other, the drama claims. People do kill for each other! Not jealousy, or passion, or honour crimes. This is not killing for love. The person I love is ambitious. The person I love can't be with me. The person I love needs me to hide and get rid of their enemies. What do I do? I live like that. I die like that.
Totally rejected by my mind.
My heart tore to pieces for them.
Ah! Just in case you're curious! The quote at the beginning of the article was written by hitman-serial killer- psychopath Franklin Randolph Dial in a letter to his pen pal journalist.
Be well!
