Save me

What is the limit to our faith's power?

Name: 구해줘 (Goohaejwoe) | Save Me

Country: South Korea

Year: 2017 and 2019

Status: Completed

Episodes: 32 (2 Seasons)

Duration: 60 min

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological

Synopsis:

Two seasons, two stories. In the first season we follow the story of Im Sang Mi that just moved to Miju-gun due to the failure of her father’s business. Due to a very painful adaptation, the family faces several problems until Baek Jung Ki, a pastor of the Church of Goosunwo, shows up and offers them help. But not everything is what it seems, the Church of Goosunwo is actually a religious cult. In the second season we follow the life of Wolchoori’s citizens that, due to the construction of a dam, will watch their village be submerged in water. A tumultuous process until the arrival of Choi Gyung Seok with the purpose of helping them receive compensation to help them restart somewhere else. Without knowing that in fact he is a conman wanted by the police and his true intention was to rob them of their money.

Review

Before I begin this analysis I have to explain that religion was never something that was very present throughout my life. In other words, I don’t consider myself to be religious, and I don’t follow any particular doctrine. That stated, you can consider me as an agnostic.

These two stories, though very distinct from each other, end up connected by the firm belief in religion, the consequences attached to this faith, that lead to the exploitation of the people’s naiveness and fanaticism.

Starting by elaborating on the first season: Sang Mi arrives in Miju-gun with her family looking for a different life, but the search for happiness is abruptly ended by a tragic death; she is a warrior with a great sense of justice and devotion towards her family and the people she loves.

Her fate changes when she comes across a group of four friends: Han Sang Hwan, a law student and the only son of the city’s governor, that lives under the shadow of his father’s corruption and for not helping his best friend when he needed it the most; Seok Dong Chul, that just got out of prison, grew up with his grandmother and was always regarded as a bad influence for his friends even though, deep down, he was a good kid; Woo Jung Hoon, son of the town’s chief of police; and Choi Man Hee, that in spite of his build up looks, is a very sweet and caring boy. The four friends will team up to save Sang Mi and secretly help her get rid of the religious cult of the Church og Goosunwo.

The second season follows the story of the residents of the village of Wolchoori and Kim Min Chul, who just got out of prison and is the first one to realize that Choi Gyung Seok is a fraud. In spite of his violent and errant past, he takes care of people and those who saw him grow up, but he does not choose the best way to do so and ends up being misinterpreted by everyone around him.

Although he finds out that Choi Gyung Seok is a conman and a violent person, no one believes him and he is rejected by his own family.

The main conflict of both stories unfolds with the solving of the crimes that are being committed by the religious cults and by their leaders, at the same time as they try to save the people that are being deceived by these schemes.

Never has a drama stirred me up so much and made me angry as these two stories, from the stories unfold to the cracking of the crimes behind these organizations, to the hideous crimes committed and the despicable characters. I felt anxious as the story progressed and suffered as much as the characters.

Without question, the way the story is crafted, as the creation of these characters, is something that stands out and is very well achieved, for no one can watch and remain indifferent. And I must add that the chosen cast and their performance is worthy of a standing ovation.

Another positive aspect to mention is the sound editing and the soundtrack, that greatly impact and add to the feeling of expectation for what’s to come and what will appear in front of us.

One of the things that kept me apprehensive was the way the author was going to finish the spiralling events. What would be the ending? I think that the author did not disappoint with his pragmatic and wise finale. No character leaves indifferent, caring the pain from the past on their back, similar to what happens in real life.

Whisper of the Heart

Throughout the work I questioned myself regarding how cruel can a person be and I started looking at everything around me differently.

These two stories are a gold mine when it comes to themes: religion, corruption, bullying, domestic violence, human rights, etc.

Another aspect that was approached and that left me perplexed was the religious fanaticism. First, how can one blindly believe in something that one does not see? In a way to meticulously follow everything that is allegedly said and imposed. I respect people who follow a religion as a choice, but that does not mean it can overthrow moral and ethical values, such as Human Rights. That is something that no religion should step over. That's when the fanaticism is born, since people become blind and can no longer distinguish between what is right or what is wrong.

Another theme that touched me was the bias between family and friendship bonds: is family more important and protecting it is the right thing to do regardless of what they might do? In my opinion, family is something that we do not choose and sadly we cannot control whether they will be kind human beings or merciless pricks. Some friendship bonds are more important than blood ones.

To conclude, I must refer to one more topic approached in both seasons: the current society and the social reinsertion of ex-cons. Seok Dong Chul and Kim Min Chul were two victims of the system in which our society lives, surrounded by looks and with no respect towards others. We all know about people with the same background as them that, if they were helped instead of judged, their path would have been different. Both were raised in a distorted family environment and everyone around them decided to close their eyes instead of change. And what happens? A tragedy happens that ends up dooming the lives of these young men.

To make matters worse, when they leave and try to overcome their past, people only look at what they have done and not to what they actually are. This creates an endless spiral in which there is no solution. Because the solution was preventing this from happening.

I advise everyone to watch this drama and I am certain that you will be as angry as I was watching some of the things that happen as the stories unfold. It’s, undoubtedly, a work that approaches several ethical questions and problems in our society.

To finish, I leave you with the following statement from Sang Mi:

“The illusion that he rose to the heavens and did not die is frightening. Because although the root of the evil was cut, the wind had already spread its seeds.”

I chose this asian drama to be part of the Ecletic Heart 30 Post Challenge under the topic “Drama that nobody watched, but should''. Since this drama was shown through a South Korean private (paid) channel, it ended up not having a big audience. And, since it isn’t a romantic comedy, few people watched it. However, it’s a touching story that everyone should see to learn some of the basic principles for being a human being.

Rating - 🟉🟉🟉🟉🟉🟉🟉🟉🟉 (10)