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EBS History of Culture Series - Part 1 THE COUNT OF MYEONGDONG
Episode 11
They called it Samuhwe.
It was a special society formed when the gangs of...
Dongdaemun, Seodaemun and Jong-ro joined forces.
The so-called Aomas, Shin Jong Hyeon was the Jong-ro gang's boss.
Choi Chang Su led the Seodaemun gang,
while Dongdaemun's boss was the infamous "political gangster,"
Lee Jung Jae.
Choi Chang Su (Seodaemun gang)
Not only Lee Jung Jae, but even Yu Ji Gwang is not here.
But he at least sent his boys.
Shin Jong Hyeon (Jong-ro gang)
We could end up with shit down our necks here!
The reason Lee Jung Jae didn't come himself...
is because he was waiting for movements from Seodaemun.
Seodaemun?!
President Lee Gi Bong.
So he feels a little queasy about striking Myeongdong, is that it?!
Wait a little more. He'll send word soon enough.
Looked like they were trying to strike a deal,
so we'll find out soon.
Let's just make our move, what damned deal?!
That's what needs to happen, if Lee Jung Jae is to be forced in.
Isn't Lee Jung Jae the one who wants to kill Lee Hwa Ryong?
All you need is to get your cabaret back,
and all I need is to teach Boss Shin a lesson, end of story.
Let's just wait.
This is the Golden Cabaret.
This man named Jo, who ran several cabarets in Myeongdong,
opened a new one here in Jong-ro.
Jung Bo Seok
The big diatribe between gangs over the cabaret's rights...
was called "The Golden Cabaret Affair."
It felt like something straight out of a western.
We will start today's episode with their story.
Talking about the underworld in a show devoted to 50s romanticism...
might feel a little out of place,
but even in the world of 50s gangsters existed a certain sense of romanticism.
Hey! Hey! Get the boys!
Prepare everything as I told you, get moving! Now!
Hurry up!
You, there. You... you.
Aomas Hyung. Let's just do it.
Lee Jung Jae won't come.
- Hey! - Yes.
How many came from Dongdaemun?
About fifty or sixty men.
We have a hundred on my side alone. Let's just go!
Let them drink a little more. We'll sweep away Myeongdong before sunset!
Yes.
Aomas Hyung.
Let's begin with the Central Theater, and then head for Myeongdong.
Boss Shin is not the problem, Lee Hwa Ryong is!
He's been scheming behind the scenes all this time.
He wants to gain control of our territory!
What? Uh?!
The meeting is not over yet?!
Did you give him the memo?
Yeah...
Look, look.
I told you it was urgent!
I must talk with him right now. Yeah.
All right... I'll wait.
Is that damned meeting going to last the entire day?
Let's just forget about that. Why don't you call Lee Jung Jae yourself?
Lee Jung Jae?!
And would he ever listen to me?
You'll make us meet, and...
Lee Jung Jae is not the issue.
What if the Jong-ro boys make a move?
Without Lee Gi Bong's consent, Lee Jung Jae is not going to touch you.
You know how much he cares about you.
Who is it?! I told you not to bother me.
It's White Bear.
Meet him.
Without your arbitration, people will get hurt.
And what's more, what will happen to Myeongdong...
if a fight breaks out over there?
People will start thinking Myeongdong is a cesspool full of gangsters!
If that happens, the one and only cultural street in Seoul will...
I know, I know that. Uh?
Both President Lee and I know that very well.
Isn't that the reason he likes you so much?
He said you were the one who turned Myeongdong into the street of culture.
What's with you?
It's urgent, Aunim.
Just speak.
All the boys from Samuhwe got together for a drink, it seems.
How many of them?
At least a few hundred.
If this were the military, that'd be enough for a regiment.
Isn't that right, Lee Sajang?
It takes at least ten privates to make a gangster.
I'm just joking.
It's a joke.
Looks like they will come before sunset.
Where is Shin Sang Hyun?
He'll probably be gathering his boys near the Central Theater.
Go tell him I'll be there soon.
Yes.
What are you waiting for?
We must get prepared as well...
Are you trying to have a fight in Myeongdong?!
Just go.
Why wouldn't we do that, Aunim?!
Just a word, and all our boys will be prepared to die for this!
Indeed, indeed they must!
Uh? Take loyalty out of a gangster, and they're just corpses.
Yeah... Yeah.
Ahh... Who?!
Madam Yang?
Ahh... forget what? I'm just busy.
Wha...What ticket?!
Im Chun Aeng?!
Aigoo, don't get me started.
Forget about invites, you couldn't get in even if you paid.
All right. Yeah... Sure, we must meet.
Uhh... Right. When?
All right.
Let's do that.
All right.
Looks like it won't work.
Director Baek said he was going to arbitrate,
but he's just pretending. Deep down...
Lee Sajang.
Don't act like this.
Just leave them the Golden Cabaret. Uh?
Ahh... How much are you going to make out of that anyway?
Shin Sang Hyun is taking care of the Golden Cabaret.
Whatever that means.
People don't trust that.
They think you're behind Shin Sang Hyun.
What are you going to do, Boss Shin?
Will you let them take the Golden Cabaret?
We must protect it.
Ohhh... Lee Sajang said he was coming!
It's Im Chun Aeng!
They just won't listen.
Neither Lee Hwa Ryong nor Lee Jung Jae.
Right. What did the president say?
To just let them be?
Ahh... This is going to turn into a big fight.
Aigoo... Ehh. Aigoo!
Aunim.
If you don't make a move, Boss Shin will get killed!
The fight is over in Jong-ro, why not send our boys as well?!
Before the flames reach Myeongdong,
let's put out the fire right at the Golden Cabaret!
You must never do it in Myeongdong, though.
Fine!
Just in case, tell everyone in Myeongdong to close up shop for the day.
Tell all the artists out there to go home, so they won't get hurt.
All right!
Don't worry about that, Aunim!
What are you doing?
The Samuhwe boys left Jahamun (Jong-ro).
Uh? How many of them?
If it's numbers, we certainly lose out.
Get moving!
What are you doing with those?
I have a plan.
What should our boys do?
You just take good care of Myeongdong. We'll deal with them ourselves.
But Lee Sajang sent me.
I said don't worry about here.
Hey... Hey!
You boys remain here, and give Boss Shin a hand.
- Yes. - Yes!
Ahh... and what did I tell you?
Didn't I say they'd go at each other?!
Would gangsters even go after us?
It's a fight for hegemony.
Lee Jung Jae and Lee Hwa Ryong are clashing!
Stop prattling that nonsense.
- Lee Sajang is not the fighting type. - That's right!
He's not a gangster.
Ahh... well, what is the big deal? You deal with fists, you're a gangster.
Listen, Mr. Hong.
Have you ever seen Lee Sajang use violence?
Lee Sajang is not a gangster.
Did he ever order his boys to bother us?!
My wife works at the Dongdaemun market, and Lee Jung Jae's boys...
keep bothering her to give them money. Those are gangsters.
Right!
Lee Sajangnim is just a businessman, he's no gangster!
Ehh... You really are clueless.
Unless he extorts money from other people,
how would Lee Hwa Ryong possibly make any money?!
Lee Sajangnim's sister runs this huge restaurant.
Ahh... right, that's right!
That Cheongungak is probably his sister's?!
Mr. Hong.
Be... Be careful with that tongue of yours.
Know how much we owe to Lee Sajang? How could you call him a gangster?!
Ahh... well, he sure found Yoon's wife when she got the dance bug.
Ahh... you little prick, always stab that old wound, will you?!
Why, is it a lie or something?!
Stop! Stop there!
I'll deal with you once and for all, you prick!
- Ahh... calm down! - What are you people doing?
Close up shop and go home earlier.
Ajumma! Go back now!
Did I get to my office too early?
Seonsaengnim, we're not open today.
How can a tavern close its doors?
And how is a tippler like me going to survive?
Looks like tonight gangsters will have a huge fight here in Myeongdong.
Those motherless dolts.
If they want to fight, they could do it near the riverbank.
How dare they come all the way to Myeongdong to have their fight?
Why don't you leave early as well, Seonsaengnim?
What if something happens to you?
Forget about that, and give me something to drink.
I said we're closed!
All the better.
Keep the doors closed, and let's enjoy the evening here together.
Isn't that nice, darling?
Seonsaengnim...
Closed for Emergency
What is happening today?
Welcome, Lee Seonsaengnim.
On my way here, I saw everyone rushing to close up shop.
- What's wrong? - It looks like tonight...
Lee Hwa Ryong and Lee Jung Jae will have a big fight here.
Kim Dong Geun (businessman)
So, are they going to fight right here in Myeongdong?
Yes. Looks like you'll have to go home as well, Lee Seongsaengnim.
How could I?!
The best spectacles in life are big fires and fights.
Still, should you get hurt...
And who would ever bother scribes like me?
What's with that crazy little prick?
Let's crush him!
Get him!
You bastards...
Pisses you off, doesn't it? Pricks.
Get that fool!
Don't run away!
Don't let them scare you off! There's just a few of them!
Open the door.
I know you're inside!
Must be Lee Bong Gu.
Should I open?
If the rumors spread, the whole neighborhood will be here!
Kim-gun. Be quiet!
Why, did we commit any sin?!
Ehh... I've had it with this, I can't even get drunk.
Come on in! We're all here.
Kim Gwan Shik, it's you?!
Gongcho Seonsaengnim is here too,
along with Lee Hae Rang...
Aigoo! Even Park In Hwan Seonbaenim* is here!
*Older colleague
Will you keep quiet?
Just go open the door, darling.
The waters have broken already.
Wow... you completely fooled them! Uh?!
Boss Shin, that was something. Uh?
I just used a few strategies I learned in the army.
Aomas, that fool put all his trust in Lee Jung Jae and came,
but it'll be the last time he prances his ugly mug around here.
- Let's get going. - Yes.
- Hey! Let's leave! - Yes.
You're leaving?!
He just came with a few dozen men because he looked down on us,
but it'll be hundreds next time.
Tell Lee Sajangnim.
For the time being, we'd all better lie low.
- Let's go. - Yes.
Keep it down, will you? What if gangsters come here?
It's so noisy in here!
Tell them to come if they want!
I'll serve them with a nice headbutt!
Nice! Let's all trust Kim Gwan Shik, and drink the night away!
- Cheers! - Let's drink!
Ahh... and what is this?! I told them to close!
Ajumma! Didn't you hear when I told you to close?
I did.
So why are you still open?
Ahh... why aren't you talking to me?!
Do I just close up shop because of a few hoodlums?!
Ahh... this damned wench!
You're much scarier than that Lee Jung Jae anyway.
Wha...What?!
Anyhow! If they get in, don't blame me!
Let's go!
Afraid of the wolf in front and the tiger behind*?!
*Old Chinese saying about hesitation
Aigoo... got to be quite tasty tonight.
What did I tell you?
I told you to leave them that Golden Cabaret.
Stop with the nonsense and pour me another round.
Do I even have to serve you drinks now?!
What is it that you want?
Fine.
If I serve you a drink, will you fulfill my wishes?
Let's do that.
Hwa Ryong.
Ahh... first the drink.
Aigoo... listen to him.
- Here, have one yourself. - No way, I don't drink.
Come on.
Just one cup.
Aww... so bitter!
Why are you drinking something so bitter?
Nui... (archaic version of Nuna)
What?
Nui... You know?
I wanted to become an artist.
Things turned out this way,
and now I have to live hearing people call me gangster,
but my dream was that of becoming a film director.
Of course I know that. You weren't the violent type.
That's why I always gave you money, and told you to live like a decent person.
Nui... Nui...
- Nui! - Come on, that's enough. You're drunk.
Nui... you know? I really...
wanted to become an artist.
But I didn't have the talent and ended up this way.
That's why I like Myeongdong so much. Think of how great Myeongdong is!
Scribes, painters... actors, directors!
All these people treating Myeongdong as their second home,
I love it, let me tell you!
Nui...
I love Myeongdong.
I love it.
I will make Myeongdong into our culture street! Nui...
Myeongdong...
What's so great about Myeongdong? Money is all you need to love.
The fight between the Samuhwe boys and the united Myeongdong gang...
spread all the way here to Myeongdong.
The Seodaemun and Jong-ro gang aided by the Dongdaemun boys,
this Samuhwe might have "invaded" Myeongdong,
but both gangsters and merchants had already covered their tracks.
Lee Hwa Ryong just avoided the fight.
The gangsters back then were much different than today's ones.
With the advent of the 1960s, this world once dominated by fists...
passed the torch to sashimi knives and the like,
turning those gangs into full-fledged organized crime societies.
Still, the 50s gangsters weren't certainly "knights of the town,"
as many films portrayed them.
Gangsters were just gangsters.
But the gangsters of Myeongdong were different.
These hoodlums, on the contrary, were something the merchants here needed.
Openly political activists like Lee Jung Jae and their gangs,
that is something the merchants here didn't want to see.
For instance, the man who had close ties to so-called political gangsters,
Lee Gi Bong preferred the gentleman-like Lee Hwa Ryong...
instead of all the criticism surrounding someone like Lee Jung Jae.
Was my praise for Lee Hwa Ryong too excessive?
Because, after all, Lee Hwa Ryong was a gangster himself.
We'll now move on with our story.
Hyun Gyeong.
Oh my... Park Seonsaengnim!
You've become as good as a farmer now.
We live like this.
It's nice to see that.
You didn't have lunch yet, right?
I'll make you some fresh ssam (boiled rice wrapped in lettuce).
Su Young...
Go ahead, he should be in the backyard.
Su Young!
It's me, Su Young.
I still remember your face, choosing books at the Marie.
But... now you're choosing eggs in the hencote?
Can't all be as stylish as you.
How can you get muddy all day?! Uh?
What did Mommy tell you? Told you not to play with mud, didn't I?
What is all this? Uh? You just changed, and look at this mess.
How many clothes do you have to change every day?
Nose...
Hyun Gyeong feels like an ajumma from the countryside already.
Su Young.
Come back to Myeongdong, will you?
Everyone misses you.
I talked with Oh Sang Soon Seonsaengnim,
and we decided to publish some kind of collection together.
Isn't it time we write something ourselves?
Write it yourself.
I'll just keep writing essays.
"The Age of Bronze," how does it sound?
Oh Seonsaeng's hideout is at the Bronze Coffee Shop,
so calling our collection The Age of Bronze...
I said you write that.
You'll stop writing poems?
I'm no poet, I'm just a translator.
You know?
Going to the States gave me a lot to think about.
It made me shed tears, out of rage.
Those people live so well, but what about us?
The war destroyed and broke everything around us,
people died and had to separate.
It enrages me!
So, isn't it time we live a decent life ourselves?
If we are to achieve that, we scribes must raise our voices.
I...
Go ahead.
What is it, Su Young?
I have a hard time feeding us three already.
You can go. I have to work.
Think about it.
Are you leaving already?
- I'll come by often. - There's no need.
Park Seonsaengnim, forgive him. He's just...
Who told you to barge in like that?
I apologize.
He's doing that because of me, I guess.
And what did you ever do wrong?
I made a hole this big in his heart.
How are you?
It's Su Myeong!
- Just a second, Eonni. - Yes.
Take this for starters.
This is the fee from Taeyang, this is for the Seoul Shinmun translation...
Anyhow... all the last month's fees have been paid.
Tell Oppa I came.
Thank you.
I'll have to get going now.
Is he doing okay?
Yes.
He might have always been a little obstinate,
but it looks like his wounds still haven't healed yet.
Try to understand him, Park Seonsaengnim.
He's doing perfectly fine.
That miser.
Kim Shi Cheol (poet)
He went, "I offered drinks to that fool for years,
but one day I go visit him at his house to see if,
for once, I could get some nice chicken in return.
But he has the guts to refuse.
How can one be such a miser?!"
So I'd tell him this.
"Look, that's how he makes a living. It would be like asking me for a poem."
That's what I always told people when they badmouthed Kim Su Young.
And then Kim Ju Young said he just crossed the line asking him that,
that he had to make a living, so it couldn't be helped.
But he really did put that much effort to feed his family.
It's just that, in our literary circles,
he was famous for never offering people drinks.
He would certainly accept one, but paying for you... No way.
Jang Seok Ju (poet/critic)
It's not that Kim Su Young was stingy with people.
He thought of literature as his own form of labor,
and wasting the fruit of such labor over drinks is something...
that went against some kind of ethical principle of his, I think.
For someone with such a staunch literary consciousness,
he just thought something like that would belittle his work.
Do you think that's the reason he's not coming to Myeongdong?
He just doesn't want to pay for drinks, what else could it be?
He makes money raising chickens, then he's got his translations and essays.
Kim Su Myeong brought back an armful of envelopes full of money!
That wretched fool...
Why act like that when you feel otherwise?
It's you who can't live without Kim Su Young, of all people.
Who needs him?!
I explained myself enough, so he could give it a rest already.
Ahhh... what did I ever do wrong to Kim Su Young?!
Here... have some.
You wretched fool...
I drink even more because of you!
You can't even handle all those drinks,
so why do you keep it up?
You heartless man...
How can you ignore people's feelings so much?
Wretched fool...
Park In Hwan was never someone known for handling his liquor well.
He would get drunk right away, on the contrary.
But, exactly because he didn't want people to make him face that reality,
he forced himself to drink even more.
If he ever got drunk, he would furtively head out and puke,
after which he'd come back in and continue drinking.
Drinking like that is what seemed to have caused...
Park In Hwan's own death.
You were too harsh with him today.
Park In Hwan sincerely considers you...
You're doing this because of me, aren't you?
Is it because of me?
It's not.
Then, why are you driving a rift between people and you?
If you feel embarrassed because of me, then I...
I said it's not that.
It's not that, Hyun Gyeong.
That's not the reason I'm not meeting anyone.
It's because I can't write.
I don't know what I should write, that's why.
In this age... what kind of literature this period needs,
what can I write to make people happy...
You're already writing that.
I read that poem you wrote a few days ago.
"Give me energy,"
"More energy is what I need."
"On the luxurious fields of greens,"
"Give me energy."
"Before the wind gorges you away from me..."
You're a genius.
Who could ever write better poems than yours?
Are you happy? Living this way.
Yes, let's live this way. All three of us, for the rest of our lives.
Right, Hyun Gyeong?!
Let's just worry about ourselves.
Every poet knows loneliness.
Shouldn't that loneliness pierce your every bone,
before that majestic prose can be born?
And loneliness doesn't merely visit poets' gates.
I don't know why I always end up stopping here.
Ahn Je Seung (Kim Baek Bong's husband)
It's because of Choi Seung Hee.
What did I tell you?
Don't always try to surpass her achievements,
just use them as a springboard.
Make Choi Seung Hee's style yours.
And only then you will find your own path.
And who is ever going to acknowledge that?
Whatever my dance turns out to be, they will call me a poor man's Choi Seung Hee!
You are Kim Baek Bong! Why can't you believe in yourself?
Let's try again.
Don't think of anything else, just dance.
Move as you wish.
If it feels like Choi Seung Hee's style, I will tell you.
This was the lonely struggle of Kim Baek Bong,
trying to surpass the legacy of her teacher Choi Seung Hee.
Because Choi's achievements were an almost impenetrable fortress to break,
Kim Baek Bong's despair drenched her bones just like a poet's pathos would.
When I finally found my own footing by going solo,
Kim Baek Bong (dancer)
I thought I had reached a level where I could speak with my own "voice,"
and although I told you earlier I did, it was terrifying to endure it.
Your mentor is no longer by your side,
so you can't help but question every single thing you do on your own,
and neither did I know what kind of art I was creating with my work.
So her absence and the precious advice I lost.
That was my biggest fear,
but what I did...
was trying my very best so that, if I ever got the chance to meet her again,
I would hear her praise me.
And then there were people criticizing me without even seeing my work,
so all I wanted was to reach her level, that would have sufficed.
That was my wish.
Thinking back now, working so hard as I did,
our styles weren't too different. It was the same dance at the root.
But I also think that my own style of dance,
my view of what dance represents, could be felt there as well.
Between January 18 and 27 of 1955, an exhibition of Lee Jung Seop's works...
took place at the Seoul Midopa Gallery.
Lee Jung Seop's hope was one and one only,
that of selling as many paintings as possible,
and later going to meet his family in Japan.
Nam Deok.
I'm coming.
My dear!
I'm coming to meet you.
Tae Hyeon...
Tae Seong!
Daddy is coming!
Daddy will sell all these paintings,
and come...
come to meet you all.
Tokyo - 1953
Lee Nam Deok (Lee Jung Seop's wife)
Don't worry about me and go, dear.
I'll take good care of our kids.
Dear!
Can't I... just remain here with you?
Make yourself a regular passport and then come back.
How can you just smuggle yourself here like this?
I don't want to go.
If you endure the next couple of months, we can get back together.
You can't even wait for that?
What if I can never meet you again?
What if war breaks out again, and we never get to see each other anymore?
Before the end of the war, Lee Jung Seop smuggled himself into Japan,
and spent a week there with his family.
That ever so brief meeting and their final breakup...
is what must be populating his dreams once again.
Gu Sang told him to just go there once, since he missed them so much.
Lee Young Jin (Lee Jung Seop's nephew)
So he left for Japan, with a temporary certificate of sojourn.
Then, his in-laws wrote a pledge so he could enter the country.
Once there, they told him to come back with proper documents,
since he was an artist, and he didn't need to run away.
And one of his wife's relatives signed a document vouching for him,
proving they wished him to come back.
It might have been hard to endure, but he was forced to go back,
and the manner in which he returned back home...
could only disappoint him, considering what he did to get there.
So all this situation sent him into a deep despair, inevitably.
Come on in.
- Ohh... Park Hyung! - Park Hyung.
It's quite a nice work, you know?
Isn't it?!
Title is great as well.
"A Streetcar Named Desire." It's nice.
It will be a huge hit!
- Is Shin Hyeop going to do it? - We must.
But Blanche is the problem.
Will we find the right actress to play her?
Have a seat, Park Hyung.
Today, we'll close with an anecdote about Kim Gwan Shik.
How can you not be sober yet at this hour?
It's better than drinking straight from the morning.
How are you going to teach anyone in this state?
No worries!
I'll sober up on my way to school.
And you even promised you'd never drink again if we married.
I'll keep all the promises in the world.
Save for the one asking me to stop drinking.
Ohhh... it smells...
On the next episode, we'll once again put the spotlight...
on Kim Gwan Shik's eccentric behavior.
Brought to you by WITH S2 Written In The Heavens Subbing Squad
Main Translator and Timer: MisterX
Timing QC: Victory
Editor/QC: thunderbolt
Coordinators: mily2, ay_link
Drink whatever you want after work, but make sure you come here sober.
Is that clear, Kim Seonsaeng?
But those exciting lessons from Kim Gwan Shik Seonsaeng...
cannot compare with what you can witness yourselves out there!
"It's that unforgettable shack..."
"Gyeongsang Province accent..."
I'm just irresponsible as the head of a family.
I often feel too embarrassed to face her.
I'm neither on this nor that side! I'm just Lee Jung Seop!
I have no damned ideology!
So you've become like a farmer now, Su Young.
It's nice to see that.
I'm particularly happy to see you in such good health.
Still, you will continue writing, right?!
I keep writing about raising chickens.
Really? That has got to be fun.
When you write, that's the real you.
And what I want to see from you.
I just didn't write them down,
but I already created countless poems already.
Inside me... They all live inside me.
I will write.
But not about this rotten despair.
I'll sing my prose about fireworks of life exploding around me.
I'm just...
a poor sentimentalist living in sadness.
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