- 5 weeks ago
Welcome to our detailed recap of the hit 2015 K-Drama "Splash Splash Love".
The Story:
Danbi is a high school senior who is terrified of her university entrance exams and hates math. On a rainy day, she falls into a puddle and accidentally time-travels to the Joseon Dynasty! In a world that desperately needs rain and scientific knowledge, Danbi uses her "basic" modern school skills to help the young King Lee Do.
Watch as she becomes the King's smartest advisor and finds an unexpected romance that transcends time. If you love time-travel, historical romance, and heartwarming stories, this recap is for you!
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Short filmTranscript
00:00The story begins with Danby, a high school senior in her final year.
00:04She's just a few days away from taking her university entrance exams,
00:07but the problem is, she's terrible at math.
00:10She always falls asleep during math class,
00:12which annoys the teacher so much that one day he calls her to the board.
00:16But as usual, she can't solve anything.
00:19Frustrated, he scolds her in front of everyone.
00:21When she returns home, she ignores her studies
00:24and spends her time playing with her phone and listening to music.
00:26Her mom watches her, annoyed, and tells her that if she solved math problems
00:31the same way she memorizes lyrics, she'd already be a genius.
00:35She jokes that Danby must have inherited her math struggles from her father,
00:39who was also bad at it, and that no university would accept her like this.
00:44What bothers Danby most is when her mom changes the TV channel
00:48to one of those historical dramas she always watches.
00:51Danby gives up and leaves the room, heading to her best friend's house.
00:54Her friend reminds her once again that this is her last shot at getting into college.
00:59If she fails now, she'll have no future, nowhere to go.
01:03The next morning, Danby wakes up late and runs out,
01:06already behind schedule for the big exam.
01:08Her mom encourages her as she leaves,
01:11telling her to give it her best so she can get into a good school.
01:14Danby is nervous, especially about the math section,
01:17but she tries to study on the bus until she reaches the exam center.
01:21She jumps off the bus and runs, but forgets her umbrella.
01:25As she approaches the exam building, fear takes over.
01:28She isn't ready.
01:29She starts panicking, thinking about running away
01:32instead of facing the possibility of failing.
01:35She sits under the pouring rain, heart sinking,
01:38silently wishing she could just disappear.
01:40There's a shallow puddle in front of her formed by the rain.
01:44She steps closer to it, and suddenly, something strange happens.
01:47She notices a group of people dressed in unusual clothes,
01:51all gathered and praying for rain.
01:53They say it hasn't rained in three years,
01:56and people are dying from the drought.
01:58Suddenly, Danby finds herself falling into the puddle,
02:01and begins to drown.
02:02But instead of dying, she re-emerges,
02:05in the same spot, but somehow in a different world.
02:08She's confused and starts asking the people around her
02:12if they're filming a historical drama or something.
02:14The king, seeing her strange behavior,
02:17becomes terrified and yells, asking if she's a demon.
02:21She nervously says,
02:23No, I'm just a high school student.
02:24But the way she says it sounds like
02:26some kind of magical incantation to them,
02:29which only increases their fear.
02:31Suddenly, guards surround her with swords drawn.
02:34When she realizes the swords are real,
02:36she panics and improvises, saying,
02:39I know why I'm here.
02:40Please, God, send the rain.
02:42The people repeat her words like a prayer.
02:44But the moment they all lift their heads again,
02:47she's vanished.
02:48She had already run off and kept going
02:50until she reached a place filled with ceremonial clothes.
02:53She disguises herself as one of the temple priests
02:55and sneaks into a gathering with the king.
02:58During the meeting,
02:59the king suddenly announces
03:00that they must stop relying on superstitions,
03:03and instead study science and mathematics
03:05to solve the problems in their kingdom.
03:07But the chief priest objects,
03:10saying this is dangerous nonsense,
03:12that math is just another superstition,
03:14and it's impossible to understand nature through equations.
03:18He claims the real reason for the drought
03:20is that the heavens are angry with the king,
03:22and that the only way to bring rain
03:24is for the king to perform a sacred ritual with the queen.
03:27Danby secretly slips out of the meeting
03:29and goes to look for her phone,
03:31but she gets caught again.
03:32While she waits for the king to arrive,
03:34she starts thinking maybe she can escape
03:37once it finally rains.
03:38But the king shocks her by saying
03:40that it hasn't rained in three years,
03:42and honestly, he doesn't like her.
03:44He declares that she should be executed immediately.
03:47She panics and begs,
03:49Please, wait!
03:50I'm just a student from the future,
03:52and I came here by accident.
03:54She tries to convince him
03:55that she knows a lot about history,
03:57and when that doesn't work,
03:58she quickly adds that she's also brilliant at math.
04:02Intrigued, the king postpones the execution
04:04and tells her to prove it.
04:05He gives her a Pythagorean theorem problem to solve.
04:08At first, she's confused
04:10and says she can't even understand what's written,
04:12but when she realizes it's the Pythagorean theorem,
04:15she solves it quickly.
04:16The king is amazed.
04:18He says his own scholars usually take three days
04:20to solve such a problem.
04:22From that moment on,
04:23everyone starts treating Danby as Gossam,
04:26a male scholar.
04:27The king gives her a mission,
04:29teach math to the people.
04:31If she succeeds, he'll let her return home.
04:34But he's the first student,
04:35and she's shocked to discover
04:37he doesn't even know how to count.
04:38She patiently begins teaching him
04:40from the very basics,
04:42numbers, addition, and subtraction,
04:44all the way up to multiplication.
04:46Eventually, they prepare for a math contest
04:49against a rival city musician.
04:51If Danby loses, she'll be punished.
04:53She boldly challenges the king
04:55and even hits him in frustration
04:57when he gets things wrong.
04:58The guards rush in,
05:00ready to kill her for touching the king,
05:02but he stops them and laughs it off.
05:04They hide all the math papers
05:05whenever the queen visits,
05:06pretending to be practicing music instead.
05:09One day, the king notices Danby is starving
05:11and invites her to eat with him,
05:13but she doesn't like the food
05:14and takes him to the kitchen.
05:15Using ingredients from her bag,
05:17she makes him some delicious instant noodles.
05:20He loves them, even though they're spicy.
05:22When she offers him water,
05:24he refuses, saying he likes the heat.
05:26The next morning,
05:27the entire palace hears him screaming.
05:29When Danby checks on him,
05:31she sees he's put a protective talisman on his ear,
05:34thinking she cursed him.
05:35She rolls her eyes and says,
05:37Look, superstar.
05:38It was just noodles, not black magic.
05:40There was no magic or spell.
05:42It was just the chili hitting his stomach too hard.
05:45When she told him that, he asked,
05:47What's a stomach anyway?
05:48So Danby sat down and explained to him
05:51what the stomach is,
05:52what intestines are,
05:54and even about the heart,
05:55and how if he puts his hand on his chest,
05:57he'll feel it beating.
05:59But he said,
05:59I don't feel anything.
06:01She smiled and said,
06:02It's okay.
06:03One day,
06:04when you're with someone you love,
06:06you'll feel it on your own.
06:07He was amazed at how much knowledge she had.
06:10He started seeing her as a brilliant scholar,
06:12so he asked her to teach
06:13all the royal scholars of Joseon,
06:15not just math,
06:16but everything from science to agriculture.
06:19That night,
06:20he offered her a tangerine,
06:21and she casually said,
06:23Thanks, without ceremony.
06:24But he got very upset.
06:26You're a Joseon wanderer.
06:27You should have saved that fruit
06:29for three days at least.
06:30You don't appreciate blessings.
06:32She laughed and said,
06:33It's just a tangerine.
06:35Don't be so dramatic.
06:36Later,
06:37the two of them went out to play ball
06:38in the palace courtyard,
06:40and she got him to run
06:41for the first time in years.
06:43The next day,
06:44the king sat with his future bride
06:46and told her that he would be served
06:47a magical love potion that night in his stew,
06:50and after that,
06:51they'd be married immediately.
06:53But fate had other plans.
06:55That bowl ended up in Danby's hands.
06:58She started behaving very strangely,
07:00and ended up falling asleep in the palace.
07:03When she woke up,
07:04she kept apologizing to the king,
07:06but he simply told her,
07:08Nothing happened, Ghosem.
07:09Forget it.
07:10They went for a walk outside,
07:12and he told her that if she could achieve her mission,
07:15she would earn a high rank in the council
07:17and even be gifted a royal horse.
07:19But she said,
07:20I don't want anything.
07:21I'm going back to my world
07:22as soon as the rain falls.
07:24The king replied,
07:25Then from now on,
07:26don't treat me like a king.
07:27We're equals, man to man.
07:29But the next day,
07:30disaster struck.
07:32Danby was arrested and accused of mocking the king.
07:34They tied her by the limbs,
07:36preparing to torture her.
07:37But the king stepped in and explained to the priests
07:40that this young scholar had valuable knowledge.
07:42One priest, however,
07:44seized the opportunity and said,
07:46Fine.
07:46Then I must test him myself.
07:48He has two weeks.
07:49If it doesn't rain by then,
07:51we'll execute him.
07:52Danby didn't give up.
07:54She kept studying,
07:55calculating everything,
07:56and the palace musician helped her build a rainfall gauge.
08:00Then, without warning,
08:01rain began to pour from the sky.
08:04Danby was overwhelmed with joy,
08:06but the king suddenly remembered what she said,
08:08that she would leave once it rained.
08:10He ran to the house where she was staying
08:12and found her crying in front of the rain gauge,
08:15overwhelmed with emotion.
08:17He told her,
08:18You need to escape right now.
08:20I've been preparing for this.
08:21A ship headed for Ming is waiting for you.
08:23But she shook her head.
08:25I've spent my whole life running away.
08:27I only ended up here
08:28because I was trying to escape my world.
08:31At that moment,
08:32the palace musician,
08:33who had secretly been working with the high priest,
08:36arrived.
08:37The priest had ordered him to kill the scholar,
08:39believing Danby might truly be from the future.
08:42The musician told the priest,
08:44If that's true,
08:45then he's even more dangerous.
08:47We must get rid of him.
08:49The musician took Danby and put her on a horse,
08:51galloping through the woods
08:52until they reached a forest.
08:54There, he told her,
08:55I've known for a while that you're a girl,
08:58but I'm a decent man.
08:59Your secret is safe with me.
09:01She explained that it wasn't intentional.
09:03The job she landed was offered to a boy
09:06and she had no choice but to take it.
09:08Meanwhile, back in the palace,
09:10the high priest tried to convince the king
09:12that everything Danby had taught them
09:14must be destroyed,
09:15especially the new written language she was developing.
09:18They had to stick to tradition
09:20and eliminate the boy's influence,
09:22but the king couldn't accept that.
09:23He left the palace on horseback,
09:25searching for her.
09:26Elsewhere in the forest,
09:28the guards finally caught up to Danby and the musician.
09:31He let her escape and stood in their way,
09:33fighting them off until the queen herself appeared,
09:35her feet bleeding.
09:37She had run all the way there,
09:39desperately searching for them.
09:40Danby kept walking along the road
09:42until she reached a fork and didn't know where to go.
09:45Then she remembered something the king once said,
09:47that the sun is Joseon's clock.
09:50So she followed the sunlight until she reached the sea.
09:53And there, the king was already waiting for her.
09:56That night, they sat side by side watching the stars.
09:59She told him,
09:59in the future, we don't see stars like this,
10:03only the brightest ones.
10:04He replied,
10:05look now,
10:06the only stars you're seeing are the ones you choose to see.
10:10But if you stop and look closely,
10:12you'll start to see more.
10:13Those stars were always there.
10:15They just didn't appear until you decided to see them.
10:18The eyes see what the heart wants.
10:20After a quiet pause,
10:21the king confessed that he loved her.
10:24He said he wanted to create a new, easier language
10:26so common people could learn,
10:28not just the nobles.
10:29She suddenly remembered something,
10:31pulled out her money from the future,
10:33and saw his face printed on the currency.
10:35That's when she realized,
10:37he really would succeed.
10:38When the king returned to the palace,
10:40he announced he would begin paying salaries
10:43to those who serve the people well.
10:45The high priest surprisingly agreed,
10:47saying that anyone who benefits the people
10:49should be rewarded.
10:50What do you think of Gosam?
10:52He asked.
10:53But no one else in the court agreed.
10:55They believed Gosam should be banished
10:57or even executed.
10:58Still, Danby continued to secretly teach the king
11:01everything, math, writing, and reasoning,
11:04without the priests knowing.
11:05One day, while walking through the palace,
11:08she found the queen hiding and eating in secret.
11:11They had forbidden her from eating too much,
11:13so she wouldn't gain weight and ruin her appearance.
11:16Danby offered her one of her instant noodle cups.
11:19The queen accepted it,
11:20and as they ate, they started chatting.
11:22From that moment on, they became friends.
11:25A few days later,
11:26the queen approached the king
11:27and told him she knew everything.
11:29She had already informed the queen mother too,
11:31because the girl, Danby,
11:33was supposed to be one of his concubines.
11:35Suddenly, Danby found herself being prepared
11:38for something she didn't understand.
11:40The palace maids were dressing her up
11:42and applying makeup.
11:44She had no clue what was going on,
11:46until she realized they were preparing her
11:48for the midday rest with the king
11:50and that she was to become his first woman.
11:53The moment she understood what was happening,
11:55she panicked and ran away
11:56from the mad people around her.
11:58One of the headmaids quickly informed the king
12:00that she had escaped on her way to the palace.
12:03The king went out to search for her
12:04and eventually found her,
12:06but he grabbed her by the arm
12:07and pulled her into a room.
12:09Danby screamed, protesting,
12:11You said we'd stay just friends.
12:13I'm only 19.
12:14The king chuckled and replied,
12:1619?
12:17That means you've got at least
12:18three years of adulthood.
12:20You're not a kid anymore.
12:21Besides, I've known you were a girl
12:23for a while now.
12:24I haven't touched you, have I?
12:26But tonight, you need to stay here.
12:28Everyone's watching.
12:29Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you alive.
12:31The truth is, my mother's extremely stubborn
12:33and no one can persuade her easily.
12:35The next morning, Danby went to speak with the musician.
12:38He asked her,
12:39Are you sure you want to go back to the future?
12:41But she didn't answer.
12:43She was torn and her heart was full of doubt.
12:45She just walked off and sat alone.
12:48After a while, the queen came
12:49and told her someone wanted to see her.
12:51When Danby entered the palace,
12:53she found herself face to face with the queen mother,
12:56who looked exactly like her real mother.
12:58She completely broke down in tears
13:00and no one understood what had triggered her crying.
13:04That night, she went to see
13:05the new astronomical system of Joseon,
13:08one she had personally helped create.
13:10It would help the kingdom
13:11accurately track the days and months.
13:14The king then invited her
13:15to come see something else he'd been working on.
13:17He had developed a new alphabet
13:19made up of 28 letters,
13:21meant to simplify reading and writing
13:22so that everyone in Joseon,
13:24not just the scholars, could learn.
13:26As they walked into the middle of the great hall,
13:29he asked her to sit in the ceremonial chair.
13:32Then, he placed the royal hairpin on her head,
13:35a symbol of marriage,
13:36and asked her to stay with him forever.
13:38Danby started crying and told him,
13:40I can't.
13:41I promised myself I'd go back once the rain comes.
13:44My mother is waiting for me and she trusts me.
13:47The king gently replied,
13:49Then go see her and come back.
13:51Let's live here together.
13:52But she refused again.
13:53He lost his patience and said angrily,
13:56You're right.
13:57The future is better than this Joseon,
13:59full of sickness and disease.
14:01Do whatever you want.
14:03Then he stormed off, heartbroken.
14:05She remained in the hall, standing still.
14:08When suddenly, she was struck on the head
14:10and knocked unconscious.
14:11Someone stabbed her with a sword,
14:13and the entire building was set on fire.
14:16When the king heard what happened,
14:18he risked his life and ran through the flames
14:20to rescue her.
14:21The next day, he summoned his assistant and said,
14:24The ancient text disappeared last night.
14:27He accused the high priest of stealing it.
14:29The king grabbed the priest's hand and said,
14:32Did no one teach you to erase all evidence
14:34after committing a crime like this?
14:36Then he turned to Danby and asked,
14:38Was this the voice you heard?
14:40She nodded.
14:41It turned out that the book in her bag
14:43had shielded her from the stab.
14:44The king, furious, confronted the priest.
14:47You knew what he meant to me.
14:49Why did you do this?
14:50The priest answered coldly,
14:52Because if that new language spreads,
14:54young people will start thinking freely.
14:57It'll create chaos.
14:58It will destroy the kingdom.
15:00I'm not afraid of dying.
15:02I'm afraid of the disorder that will ruin the future.
15:05The king replied,
15:06Even if you try to stop it,
15:08I will build this system of writing for the people.
15:10I want to be someone who makes their dreams possible.
15:13Why should we fear a future we won't even live to see?
15:17A world we know nothing about?
15:19But the priest wasn't moved.
15:20He fell to his knees and said,
15:22Please, execute me and end this.
15:25Soon the sky turned gray and rain began to fall,
15:28just lightly at first.
15:30Danby went around the palace,
15:31saying goodbye to her friends one last time before leaving.
15:34The king asked if he could walk with her to the farthest point.
15:38They walked side by side until they reached the seashore.
15:41There, Danby stepped into the same pond she had once fallen into
15:45and allowed herself to sink again, just like before.
15:49Moments later, she emerged again, back in her own world.
15:52She looked around and realized that only a few seconds had passed.
15:56There was still time to make it to the exam.
15:58She ran as fast as she could toward the test hall
16:00and saw her teacher waiting.
16:02The entrance exam had just started.
16:04She rushed to her seat and took the test.
16:06Later that day, she returned home and found her mother waiting for her.
16:09She ran into her arms, holding her tightly.
16:12Everything about Danby had changed.
16:14Her behavior, her perspective.
16:16Everything had shifted after her journey.
16:18She had learned to value the people and things around her more deeply.
16:22Months passed.
16:23One day, as she walked out of school,
16:25the sky opened up and rain began to fall again.
16:29Suddenly, someone placed an umbrella over her head.
16:32She looked up and saw a face strikingly familiar.
16:35He looked exactly like the king of Joseon.
16:38But he simply smiled and said,
16:40We met a long time ago.
16:41On the bus.
16:42You dropped your umbrella.
16:43And that's where the story ends.
16:45If you've made it to the end,
16:47let us know what you thought in the comments.
16:49And tell us what you'd like us to summarize in the next video.
16:52Thanks for watching.
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