Welcome To Samdal-Ri Episode 13 is the definition of giving modern twists to old concepts. We have two lovers who separated because of family issues (like Romeo and Juliet), but the separation itself is proof of their love for each other. We normally hate angsty episodes, but this one is special, and here is the recap of it.
Spoiler Alert
What are Jin Dal and Hae Dal doing?
The three sisters have rather turbulent luck with their love lives. Hae Dal hits it off well with the dolphin guy, and he drops a slight hint that he may have fallen in love with her at first sight. The misunderstanding between them is also clear about Ha Yul being Hae Dal’s daughter and not her niece. Hae Dal further tells him that she is a widow and has been raising Ha Yul alone all her life. She had initially gone to Seoul to be a swimmer and was set for great things. She had the talent and had also earned the opportunities, but once she became pregnant, her life changed. Hae Dal insists that she just has different dreams now, and she did not give up on anything, but her heart probably still yearns for what she could have been.
Meanwhile, Jin Dal has voted on behalf of her family in favor of the theme park. The total tally is in favor of the venture, and when Mi Ja comes to know what Jin Dal is doing, she is furious in the way only an Asian mom can be. Luckily, Jin Dal has someone willing to protect her while not hiding the fact that he is still in love with his ex-wife. Jin Dal asks her mother to just stop diving so that they won’t have to rely on the theme park. Most of the village is against the park because they believe it will pollute the sea and its surroundings. However, they cannot turn a blind eye to the money it will bring. Mi Ja has been working relentlessly because she wants to be independent and not rely on her children. The money would ensure that she stayed independent, thereby meeting her goals. Yet she insisted on working.
Mi Ja had a point in wanting the area to get commercialized and polluted, and it is required for a middle ground to be reached with the business people. In the meantime, she tells her daughters to mind their own business and let her live her life.
Do Sam Dal and Yong Pil break up again?
Yong Pil thought that Sam Dal had broken up with him because his father had been giving Mi Ja a hard time. When he heard that Sang Tae had forced Sam Dal to break up with him, he was devastated by the situation. His father thinks that Sam Dal’s coming back is making Yong Pil look pitiful, but he counters that it is Sang Tae’s actions that are doing that. Sam Dal remembers when Sang Tae’s wife had just passed away, and he was not in his right state of mind. He had almost been about to kill himself because of his delirium, and Yong Pil had broken down because of that. This is why Sam Dal never said anything, because she did not want to create a further rift between the father and son.
Sam Dal says that she has her family to stand by her, but all Yong Pil has is his father. Sam Dal decides to break up with him again, even though she says that she will never love anyone like she loves Yong Pil. This breakup is to make sure that she preserves the relationship between Yong Pil and one of the most important people in his life. But Yong Pil is not ready to accept that. He tells Sam Dal that he will solve the matter in whichever way he can because it is not Sam Dal’s problem to carry.
The fact that these two have kept this a secret is proof of the fact that their bond is unbreakable. Yong Pil is right when he says that it is his problem, but Sam Dal never thought of them as separate individuals when it came to these matters. She saw them as one unit that was meant to protect and cherish each other, whether they were together or not. As for Yong Pil, he has been vocal that he wouldn’t even try to get over Sam Dal because there is no one else for him. When Sang Do tries to tell Sam Dal about his situation (using the ‘my friend’ analogy), she tells him to give up on his love if there is no hope, though she won’t do it because she herself is hopeless. It is this moment that teaches Sang Do that he never had any chance with Sam Dal, whether or not she was with Yong Pil.
Do Sam Dal and Yong Pil decide to be together?
When Sam Dal takes her mother to the doctor, she comes to know that she first started medication on the day of Sam Dal’s breakup, which is when Mi Ja’s service was being held. Sam Dal’s mother confirms that it all started with Sang Tae’s meanness towards her, and Yong Pil has been taking care of her since. He did not break up with Sam Dal because of his father but because of Mi Ja, because he could not be with Sam Dal when his father was treating his girlfriend’s mother so badly. Mi Ja has decided that she won’t get in the way of Sam Dal and Yong Pil. She had never explicitly rejected their relationship, but she had preferred them apart because of the tension between her and Sang Tae. Now, she wants to stand up for her daughter more instead of leaving her alone in this battle.
When Sang Tae’s mother-in-law goes missing, Mi Ja finds her, but the old woman is just as angry with her and insults her a lot. When going back home, Mi Ja tells Sang Tae to take his anger out on her and leave the kids alone. She points out that Bu Mi Ja would not have wanted Yong Pil to be so miserable. Sang Tae is furious to hear his wife’s name from Mi Ja, but finally, she replies back to him that he was not the only one to suffer a loss. She had also lost her best friend, and she mourned for her every day. This is what Yong Pil had also told him earlier. Bu Mi Ja was not just Sang Tae’s wife. She was someone’s mother, daughter, and best friend. Everyone was grieving, but they were also living their lives, while Sang Tae was simply stuck in the loss for twenty years. He believed that his anger was his way of remembering her, but he failed to see the love that people still hold in their hearts for her.
At the end of Welcome To Samdal-Ri episode 13, Sam Dal sees that Yong Pil has always come to her exhibitions. He had also been avoiding her, but his love had always been around. Even in her final exhibition, he was the only one who had come and left behind some words of encouragement for her. Sam Dal knows that she cannot be without Yong Pil, and when he comes to get her, she hugs him. The preview tells us that she is going to be with him. Once Sang Tae and Eun Ju are sorted out, there will be a happy ending.
Final Thoughts
On a slightly inappropriate note, we have never seen Ji Chang Wook look as good as he does in this drama. That is the only reason we are able to sit through the angst, because he looks so good when dealing with that. Also, his wardrobe is so much better than Sal Dal’s, and his stylist should get a raise, while Shin Hye Sun should consider bringing back her stylist from See You In My 19th Life.
