Two months ago, I shared my thoughts on the South Korean drama, Reply 1988, which revolves around five childhood friends and their families, living in the same Ssangmundong neighborhood in Seoul back in 1988. After that, I shared the first half of the quotable lines from that drama, and now, here are the second half that I promised (from Episodes 13-20):
“How do you feel? Instead of people liking you, who is it that you like? You can like someone instead of being liked by someone. Right?”
– Dong-ryeong
“When I was young, Superman lived at my house. He was a MacGyver-type guy who could fix everything in the world. He was the superhero who appeared out of nowhere to help people and fix every sort of problem. And he was a real hero who’d never show any sort of weakness whatsoever. However, I came to know the truth after growing up. They were all normal people whose true selves were still hidden. Nobody knows what kinds of dirty, unfair, sad, scary, difficult things that fathers were forced to face throughout their lifetimes. And now I realized it. The reason why they endured through the dirty, unfair, sad, scary, difficult times, is because they had people they had to protect. It’s because they have families and me. They had to live as fathers.”
– Bora
“Giving up without even trying just won’t do. Be prepared to go through anything and do your best. And if it still doesn’t work out, then there’s nothing you can do.”
– Dong-il
“Why is losing bad? When you fought with Gyeonh-hui, she apologized to you first. Did you feel like she lost the fight? You didn’t, right?”
– Moo-sung
“In the end, fate and timing do not just happen by coincidence. They are the products of countless earnest choices that make up miraculous moments. Giving up and making decisions without reservation or hesitation, that is what makes timing. He wanted her more than I did. I should have been more courageous. It was not the traffic light nor the timing. My countless hesitations were to blame.”
– Jung-hwan
Jung-hwan and Deok-sun 
Taek and Deok-sun
“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get before you open it. You may get a bitter chocolate. It can’t be helped. That’s the fate that I have chosen. There are no regrets and no tears. No need for heartbreak.”
– Jung-hwan
“Do what you like to do. Whatever it is that you think about all night.”
– Maggie
“Children all become guests as they grow up.”
– Ra Mi-ran
“I realized, we really had fun in Ssangmundong. Why didn’t we know that back then? If we did, we’d have been adults.”
– Choi Taek
“Time will always pass. Everything will pass by. Everything will age. That might be why youth is beautiful. It shines, blindingly bright, for just an instant. But, you can never go back. A time when everything was so green, I had such youthful times.”
– Deok-sun
“1988. This is the end of our Ssangmundong story. Longing for that time and longing for that street is not because I miss a younger version of myself. That’s the place of my dad’s youth, my mom’s youth, of my friend’s youth. It’s the place that holds the youth of everything that I love. I regret being unable to say my final farewell to that place where we won’t be able to gather like that again. To the things that are already gone, to a time that has already passed, I want to say a belated farewell. Goodbye, my youth. Goodbye, Ssangmundong.”
– Deok-sun
For kdrama related posts, click here.
What are your thoughts on these quotes? Which one is your favorite? Which one resonated with you?
Oh, Nath 
I like the quote from Maggie – do what you like to do. Think this has gotten more meaning for many people since rhe pandemic started, no?
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