Koo Kyo-hwan, left, and Go Youn-jung are seen in a scene from JTBC drama "We Are All Trying Here." Courtesy of JTBC
The JTBC drama "We Are All Trying Here" is creating a quiet sensation, depicting the deep-seated anxieties and deficiencies of the human psyche alongside a warm humanism that embraces them. Fans have offered "testimonials" for the show, claiming "not a single line of dialogue is wasted" and that they "savor each episode carefully."
The story follows Dong-man (Koo Kyo-hwan), a man who has written fourteen screenplays but has yet to film a single one, and Eun-a (Go Youn-jung), a film producer haunted by the trauma of being neglected by her mother during childhood.
Dong-man is the only member of "The Eight Club" — a group that shared dreams of directing during their "pathetic" college days — who has failed to debut in twenty years.
Portrayed as a somewhat pitiful character who talks incessantly among friends and freezes the atmosphere by scathingly criticizing the new release of a former best friend, Dong-man is a man racing downhill, shouting, "If I can’t prove myself through success, I’ll prove myself by falling apart."
However, his nonstop chatter is actually a way to confirm his existence and face the terror he feels from those who view him as a failure. Even when his self-esteem hits rock bottom and others try to cruelly expose his worthlessness, he recites a passage from his own script: "As long as there are clouds in the sky, wind in the air and leaves swaying on the trees — as long as weather still exists, then the world still exists as well."
A scene from JTBC drama "We Are All Trying Here" / Courtesy of JTBC
On the other hand, Eun-a, a planning producer at a film company, is someone who internalizes her pain.
Although she possesses such a keen eye that famous directors bypass the CEO to hand her scripts directly, she suffers from a deep fear of abandonment after being left by her mother as a child. Whenever she faces extreme anxiety or dread, she suffers from nosebleeds.
Perhaps the reason Eun-a is the only one who understands Dong-man is that she knows the "terror of worthlessness" through her own experience of being discarded. Strangely, however, she feels at peace when she is with him. This is because, despite being told he is worthless and struggling through the pain, Dong-man never truly collapses or becomes intimidated.
Source: Korea Times News
