9 Important Lessons That "Hwayugi" Taught Us About Love

The romantic plot of “Hwayugi” is unique to say the least, featuring demon Son Oh Gong (Lee Seung Gi) falling in love with human Jin Sun Mi (Oh Yeon Seo) despite his initial desire to eat her. Selfish and independent at heart, Oh Gong suddenly finds himself acting weirdly emotional and doing cheesy things for Sun Mi — and no one is more surprised at his behavior than Oh Gong himself. For 9 revelations about love that “Hwayugi” gave us through Oh Gong’s eyes, read on!

Warning: a few minor spoilers ahead.

1. You don’t always want to be in love

Dramas and songs often glamorize love, but it’s not all fun and games. Sometimes you’re perfectly happy on your own, and don’t even want to be in love! But how are you supposed to resist when you’ve met that special person, or when someone puts a magical love-inducing bracelet on your wrist?

Oh Gong knows firsthand how frustrating it is to go from carefree bachelor to caught up in feels.

2. Especially if it’s one-sided

Even worse than Oh Gong’s sudden onslaught of feelings is the (initially) one-sided nature of these feelings. We all know how miserable one-sided love is, but for some reason it’s a bit funny when it happens to Oh Gong; perhaps because he’s not used to rejection, or because we can’t feel too bad for him when he had been trying to eat Sun Mi in the first place.

3. Love will make you act weird

Love is strange in that it can make you put someone else’s needs above your own — which comes as quite a surprise to selfish Oh Gong, who has always just done as he pleased until now. So naturally, he is quite confused when he finds himself making sacrifices for Sun Mi, whether these are simple, like lending her his coat when we know how much he hates the cold:

Or more serious, like valuing her happiness and wellbeing over his own:

4. You’ll cringe at yourself

While you’re acting weird, you’ll also find yourself doing some extremely cheesy things towards the person you love. The formerly cool and suave Great Sage can’t stop himself from acting sweet and cheesy towards Sun Mi, even though he knows how cringe-worthy his actions are!

5. Jealousy is real

Jealousy is a new emotion for Oh Gong, and he doesn’t quite seem to understand how it works at first, assuming that as long as he doesn’t see something that makes him jealous, he won’t be bothered by it.

However, Oh Gong does eventually discover that there is more to jealousy than he thought….

6. But threats are never a good tactic

And the Great Sage learns that no matter how jealous and bitter he gets, threats are not the way to win Sun Mi’s heart.

Because threatening to eat your romantic rival is not going to instill a sense of loyalty in your significant other.

7. The highs of love are high

Oh Gong adorably discovers just how rewarding love can be, like when he opens himself up to new experiences with Sun Mi and learns about new things he likes.

Or when he feels inexplicable joy when he and Sun Mi have shared interests.

Have you ever seen someone so thrilled to have a favorite color in common?

8. But the lows are low

On the flip side, Oh Gong learns that his love for Sun Mi means shouldering some of the burden of her emotions, which initially makes no sense to selfish Monkey — the Great Sage has never before cared about how anyone else feels, so why should his emotional state be dependent on Sun Mi’s?

Because that’s love!

9. Happy memories last, magical bracelet or no

Finally, “Hwayugi” taught us that no matter what the outcome of a love is, whether it lasts or comes to an end, the happy memories of good times will endure.

Oh Gong and Sun Mi have their fears about what will happen once the Geumganggo is removed: Will Oh Gong stop loving Sun Mi? Will he eat her? Will they kill each other? But these worries don’t stop them from enjoying their time together to its fullest, and being thankful for the happiness they have.

Because love can be incredibly rewarding, even if you’re a powerful and immortal demon!

Hey Soompiers, what lessons have you learned from “Hwayugi”? Let us know in the comments!

Don’t miss “Hwayugi” on Rakuten Viki. Start watching below:

[viki]https://www.viki.com/videos/1123028v-hwayugi-episode-1?utm_source=soompi&utm_medium=soompi_news&utm_campaign=soompi_link&utm_content=9-important-lessons-hwayugi-taught-us-love&utm_content_id=1129451wpp[/viki]

hgordon stays up way too late on weeknights marathoning K-dramas and trying to keep up with the latest K-pop releases.

Currently watching: “Master In The House” and “Hwayugi.”
Looking forward to: “Mr. Sunshine” and “Grand Prince.”
All-time favorite dramas: “Scarlet Heart: Goryeo,” “Goblin,” and “Hwayugi.”