Saagar Kote
Created by Jo Yeong-min and Song Hye-jin, Netflix’s Korean drama series ‘You and Everything Else’ or ‘Eunjungkwa Sangyeon’ narrates the story of two friends, Ryu Eun-jung and Cheon Sang-yeon, whose lives are forever intertwined by a complicated, yet enduring, love-hate relationship. Their friendship starts at a young age when they are in school, and goes through the trials and tribulations of life till they reach their 40s. In this journey, they deal with complex emotions, which cause them to be supportive of each other at times, but also be resentful or dismissive on different occasions, which makes the bond very complex.
When they reunite at 42, Sang-yeon’s battle with cancer brings their shared past, and they reminisce about their journeys, where Ryu Eun-jung becomes a screenwriter and the other a successful film director. The most emotionally complex element of the series is when Sang-yeon requests her friend to accompany her as she considers assisted suicide due to her medical condition. The series delves into the themes of loyalty, morality, friendship, and meaning through the perspectives of the two main characters.
You and Everything Else Intricately Portrays Genuine Human Emotions
Despite being a fictional story originating in the mind of the writer Song Hye-jin, ‘You and Everything Else’ is a grounded take on human connection narrated through the experiences of Ryu Eun-jung and Cheon Sang-yeon. While the premise and the characters are fictional, the emotions that they deal with are rooted in genuine human experiences. The character of Ryu Eun-jung is often caught between admiration and resentment. The evolution of the character is what makes the show feel more authentic, as it deals with different stages of life.
In a press conference, Kim Go-eun, who portrays Ryu Eun-jung, expressed how she tried to inject the dynamic essence into her portrayal. She said, “I worried about performing as a 20-year-old character again. I thought about how her character may dramatically change from 20 to 30. As we age, our faces can remain the same, but your personal aura changes. I tried to show that change.” The nuanced performance of the actress brings real human emotions to the forefront.
Talking about the theme of death in the show, Park Ji-hyun, who essays the role of Cheon Sang-yeon, opined, “I thought a lot about life and death while filming and, in order to express that, I studied a lot by watching various books and documentaries. I was worried about whether I would dare to express things that I hadn’t experienced firsthand, but Kim Go Eun advised me a lot, so I tried to immerse myself in acting as much as possible.” The preparations made by the actress enabled her to portray her character more authentically in a grounded manner.
Other Perspectives Reveal the Narrative’s Essence of Friendship and Reality
The show is both emotional and heartwarming at the same time, as it looks at the complexities of friendship through the lens of the main characters. Speaking about the title of the show, the director and co-creator Jo Yeong-Min stated, “I made the title about the two main characters. There are many titles like this, for example Romeo and Juliet, but I felt the relationship is the most important part of this drama, and I felt there were no other titles I could make that focused on this aspect: The importance of their complex relationship. Compared to other drama content, I wanted to emphasize how we wonder about other friends as time goes on.”
Friendship is the heart of the narrative that carries the story forward. The fact that the co-creator wanted the title to reflect a story of friendship clearly indicates the approach adopted to provide an authentic take on human connection. He added, “The actors prepared a lot to appear like university students. To create that atmosphere, alongside backgrounds and props to capture that era, we did use filters for a perfect but natural effect as well.” The efforts of the actors to portray their roles as realistically as possible add to their effectiveness. Furthermore, the connection forged between the actors in the sets presumably helped them to emote in front of the camera as well. In this case, there is an intertwining of the real-life friendship of the actors and the fictional friendship of the main characters.
Kim Go-eun expressed her feelings about her co-star and stated, “I felt countless times how lucky I was that Ji-hyun was Sang-yeon. That sense of reassurance cannot be put into words. When I first met the writer, they mentioned this story might be about those who remain. Even when accompanying Sang-yeon, I thought deeply about the life Eun-jung would continue afterward. That was the heaviest feeling for me.” The emotional arc of the protagonists finds deep resonance in the experiences of the actors, which makes the series more meaningful.
The Storyline Captures the Sensitivities of Terminal Cancer and Assisted Death
One of the most emotionally challenging parts of the show is the experiences of Cheon Sang-yeon, who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Following this, she contemplates and eventually chooses Assisted Death. She asks her friend Ryu Eun-jung to accompany her to Switzerland, where she intends to go ahead with the process. Reportedly, when talking about this aspect of the story, Kim Go-eun opined that this element of the story is emotionally triggering, which indicates that dealing with this part of the story was presumably a very difficult task for her. She stated, “That’s why this project is so precious to me. I kept asking myself, ‘How could I possibly let her go? How can I send her off well?’ That thought alone made me cry.”
In 2024, The Korea Herald reported on the case of an old man named Lee Myung-shik, who, in 2019, after retiring from his public service, was diagnosed as living with paralysis from the waist down due to acute myelitis. With no treatment options and constant pain, he eventually sought physician-assisted suicide in Switzerland. However, the requirement to travel alone was a difficult obstacle, leading him to challenge South Korean laws that criminalize assisted death. In January, the Constitutional Court began reviewing Lee’s petition, marking the first time the top court has examined the legality of preventing an individual’s voluntary choice to end their life.
Despite South Korea’s ban on assisted dying, as of April 2023, around 204 South Koreans had reportedly joined assisted dying facilities in Switzerland, with at least 10 already making the final journey there. This reflects Cheon Sang-yeon’s journey in the show, where she opts to travel out of her country and go to Switzerland, where her choice is legal. This issue of the legality of assisted death is a tough debate that has also caused a divide in South Korean public opinion. Thus, though the story and characters of ‘You and Everything Else’ are fictional, they essentially provide viewers with a genuine experience with grounded and realistic depictions of human connections.
Read More: Is Netflix’s Abandoned Man Based on a True Story?
