REVISITING
LEE JOON GI’S
2020 MASTERPIECE
BAEK HEE SUNG
FLOWER OF EVIL
ONE OF
THE GREATEST
TELEVISION
CHARACTERS
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 One of the greatest television characters that Lee Joon Gi has played is the fake Baek Hee Sung in Flower of Evil, South Korea's amazing television masterpiece. The 2020 suspense-melodrama offers a glimpse of the trials and tribulations, and the storms that Baek Hee Sung had to weather throughout his life. Flower of Evil speaks of the scars of the dark past of the life of Baek Hee Sung, whose real identity is Do Hyeon Su. Exposed as the son of a serial killer, he is ostracized, bullied and taken advantage of by the people in his village. Changing his identity to hide his traumatic past, he meets the feisty Cha Ji Won, his future detective wife, who is ignorant of his dark history. He wants his life to count for something but, his past persists in stalking him and he suffers at the hands of various villainous characters.     CARRYING THE BURDEN OF THE FATHER
In the thrilling story, the audience learn that Do Hyeon Soo (or the fake Baek Hee Sung) was persecuted, harassed, tormented and intimidated when young
by the villagers in his hometown after his serial killer-father’s death. Stigmatization
and victimization ruled his life. He faced social ostracism, discrimination and
a damaged reputation due to his father's nefarious deeds. There is a pervasive sense of injustice as he was compelled to
carry the weight of being the son of the dead psychopath. He, his father’s son,
had to unfairly bear the burden of his father’s crimes as his dead father was a
constant eerie presence in his life. 
Do Hyeon Soo, whose experiences were traumatic, kept things
bottled up inside. Vulnerable and having low self-esteem, he, diagnosed with an
anti-social personality disorder, lived life in the shadows. He shared
with Cha Ji Won that he was not right in his head because he could even see his
dead father.
  
CARRYING THE BURDEN OF THE SISTER
To further aggravate his situation, Do Hyeon Su’s sister killed the village chief, albeit out of self-defence.
It was implied the former was inappropriate with her when she went to beg him not to
harass her brother with shamanistic rituals or exorcism rites.
Further into the story, she was found not guilty but the harm had already
been done. Having taken the blame for the murder, he became even more traumatized. Although he escaped scrutiny and went under the radar upon assuming another identity, he was already a damaged person.
   
BETRAYAL BY A FRIEND
Defamation of character. Kim Moo
Jin, a vainglorious reporter, who was his former neighbour and best friend in
school, wrote sensational stories about Do Hyeon Soo and his psychopathic
father for his weekly paper, The Hanjoogan. The unprincipled reporter intentionally used his influence to hurt or further ruin his former
friend’s name so that he could garner more likes or clicks from gullible readers. Kim
Moo Jin seemed ignorant of the fact that, ‘With great power comes great
responsibility’.    To get a scoop for his weekly
newspaper, the unethical reporter Kim Moo Jin even underhandedly taped one of his conversations with Baek Hee Sung. He baited his former
schoolmate to trap him into disclosing his false identity and implicating
himself.  SLANDER AND FALSE ACCUSATIONS BY A CO-WORKER
Do Hyeon Su was also an irresistible target of wicked lies and
wild rumours. Slanderous stories, and false accusations which circulated about
him, took on a life of their own and spread like wildfire.
 When Do Hyeon Su was hired as
a food delivery boy, Nam Soon Gil, Do Hyeon Soo’s avaricious nightmare
co-worker tried to murder him for his money.
 Nam Soon Gi later came back to
haunt him. Nam unknowingly confessed to Do Hyeon Su that he was blinded by
greed when he was younger. It was ironic that the paranoid man, who was guilty
of premeditated murder in the past, now falsely accused his victim of trying to
murder him. Guilt and fear, which had been playing tricks on Nam Soon Gil’s mind,
pressured him to circulate fictitious
stories about Do Hyeon Su. He accused the latter of attempted murder.   Before Nam Soon Gil’s murder
by an unknown attacker, he had phoned Kim Moo Jin to repeat the rumour that Do
Hyeon Soo assisted in his father’s serial killings.
 SLANDER AND FALSE ACCUSATIONS BY A LOONY Park Kyung Choon, a taxi driver, also fuelled the story of Do Hyeon
Soo being a psychopath.
   FRAMED AND DEMONISED
Yang Jin Tae, the nephew of the unscrupulous village head, was also not
blameless. A deceitful twist emerged from the narrative. Do Hyeon Soo was
framed and demonised. Yang revealed that he had conspired with his uncle to smear
the victim’s reputation. More false rumours about the young boy were spread.
Yang ‘killed a chicken and cut
its belly open and left it in a public place' and then, framed Do Hyeon Soo
for having committed the horrible and disgusting act.     OPPRESSION AND DEFRAUDATION OF A MINOR Claiming that the boy was possessed by his dead father's evil spirit, Kwon Seong Bok, the greedy Gagyeong-ri village head hired a shaman
to perform numerous exorcism rites on the young boy supposedly to drive out evil spirits or
demons from his body. Like a vulture, he took advantage of the helpless and
hapless children of the dead serial killer and fed on their weakness and
vulnerability. Yang Jin Tae divulged how his uncle lined his pockets with the dead
man’s money, and fleeced the children of their inheritance, using the exorcism
rites as an excuse to channel money into his pockets.       SHARKS THE MADDING CROWD 
Do Hyeon Soo was forcefully dragged into the strange and frightening exorcism rituals. The ghastly memory of the irrational residents of Gagyeong-ri village, who joined in the frequently-held ceremonies, remained one of the most vivid in his recollection. Struggling against them was to no avail. The squirming victim was restrained and stoned. Taunting and screaming at him, they exhibited violence beyond comprehension. The collective aggressive and outrageous acts, frenzied behaviours and chaotic atmosphere left him disoriented and traumatized. He was so shaken and distressed that he was
convinced that he could even see his dead father.  
BULLYING
In the summer of 2002, his schoolmates, led by Kim Moo Jin, set
upon him and tied his hands behind a tree. They tormented him about his
serial-killer father. Having been influenced by the devious and scheming village
head, the boys did not believe that Do Hyeon Su didn’t know about his father’s
secret nefarious activities. The bullies pelted him with stones and insults.
  GROSS EXPLOITATION
To add to the list of Do Hyeon
Soo’s woes, he was taken advantage of by the exploitative and unjust boss of the
Chinese Restaurant. It seemed that the unscrupulous boss took advantage of the
hardworking food delivery boy who was without an identification card. He was
given a low wage.
A pertinent question was
raised by junior detective Im Ho Joon, ‘Did you pay him properly?’ He did not. The unscrupulous restaurant owner’s answer, though evasive, was
telling in a surprising way. One can connect the dots. Nam Soon Gil, Do Hyeon
Su’s co-worker, had stolen the latter’s hard-earned savings to learn cooking
skills from the restaurant boss.          CHANGED IDENTITY
Nam Soon Gil, Do Hyeon Su's co-worker lured him into the forest with the intention to murder him. After the scuffle with Nam
Soon Gil, Do Hyeon Su rushed headlong into the car driven by the real Baek Hee
Sung. He fell unconscious and the evil Baek wanted to bury him in a circular grave that he had dug but Do Hyeon Su was saved by Baek’s mother. The ironic twist was, in the end, Baek lost
consciousness and went into a deep coma. Do Hyeon Su assumed his identity.
 ABDUCTION
  Kidnapped by a loony abductor,
Do Hyeon Soo was brought to an indoor shrimp fishing pool where his hands and
feet were bound.   Park Kyeon Sung, the mentally
unstable kidnapper, tried to extract a confession from him that he had
kidnapped the former’s missing wife.
 
The courageous Do Hyeon Soo
repeated the cruel rumours, taunts and slander that had been spread around
about him.
Unable to defend himself in the
life-threatening situation, the victim violently bit off part of the ear lobe
of the perpetrator.
    EXONERATION
The chilling motives of the
perpetrators of crime, the psychopathic Baek Hee Sung and his indulgent and immoral educated
parents, who tried to frame Do Hyeon Su, were uncovered in the end. Baek's parents
momentarily floundered upon discovery of the truth by Kim Moo Jin.
Do Hyeon Su was exonerated
from crimes committed by the real Baek Hee Sung.
  WHERE THE RIVER MEETS THE SEA
Rivers are metaphors of life. 'Where the river meets the sea' is a symbol of death or a transition to the afterlife. The real Baek Hee Sung, a psychopath, was shot by the police at the place 'where the river meets the sea', a symbol of the
ending of a river or the ending of a life.  Do Hyeon Su or the fake Baek Hee Sung, is a helpless and hapless victim of defraudation, theft, betrayals, false accusations, trumped-up charges, bullying, slander, exploitation and harassment from the madding crowd. It is fortunate that Do Hyeon Su survived the countless attempts to kill and discredit him. The river also symbolizes the circumstances of a person’s life. The estuary, the place where the river meets the sea, a limited space between 2 worlds, can symbolize a point of transition or change. This is the point where Do Hyeon Su’s life changed for the better.
    The amazing cast of Flower of Evil includes the child actor, Jung Seo Yeon (Baek
Eun Ha). Cha Ji Won, the wife of Do Hyeon Su, is played stunningly by the
beautiful Moon Chae Won. The other excellent actors include Seo Hyun Woo (Kim
Moo Jin), Jang Hee Jin (Do Hae Su), Nam Gi Ae (Gong Mi Ja), Choi Dae Hoon (Lee
Woo Cheol), Choi Young Joon (Choi Jae Sup), Kim Soo Oh (Im Ho Joon) and Yoon
Byung Hee (Park Kyung Choon).
The psychopathic character, the real Baek Hee Sung, portrayed
superbly by Kim Ji Hoon is the perfect foil for the vulnerable Do Hyeon Su or
the fake Baek Hee Sung, portrayed powerfully by the multi-faceted Lee Joon Gi
who has captured the hearts of the global audience with his extraordinary
acting skills combined with authentic emotions and subtle nuances.
The unique 2020 masterpiece, directed by the exceptional
director, Kim Cheol Kyu and written by the remarkable Yoo Jung Hee, emphasizes
‘Good triumphs over evil.’ The duo has novel ideas and see things from unique
perspectives.
THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING
- Edmund Burke –
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