Updated: January 22, 2024
Here’s a collection of quotes from the Korean drama, Welcome To Samdal-ri (2023):
Episodes 1-2
“I’m going to become a dragon that rises from a small stream.” – Cho Samdal
- “Back when we still had that silliness of children, the girl dreamed of soaring out from her small stream to become a dragon.” – Cho Samdal
- “The boy dreamed of becoming the girl’s small stream.” – Cho Yongpil
“But when that silliness disappears from the boy and girl, will they realize it? Perhaps a dream is most beautiful when it remains a dream.” – Cho Yongpil
“Back in my hometown of Jeju, there’s something haenyeos always emphasize when training: Dont be greedy. Remain underwater for only as long as your breath allows. The ocean may seem peaceful but it’s full of danger. So only stay down as long as your breath allows. And when you can’t hold any longer, come back to surface where you started to catch your breath.” – Cho Samdal
“There are so many planes leaving Jeju, so why am I not on one of them?” – Cho Samdal
“I’m the pride of Jeju, Cho Yong-pil. That’s my alter ego.” – Cho Yongpil
“It’s easier to get over someone who dumped you than someone you dumped.” – Jindal
“I couldn’t run and leave you behind.” – Cho Yongpil
Episode 3
“Like migratory birds setting out in winter on a long journey to find warmth, protected by our youth as our armor, we ventured out in pursuit of our dreams.” – Cho Samdal
- “The migratory birds pursued their youthful dreams, but they eventually flew back to Jeju, their home.” – Cho Samdal
- “I can’t believe what people say just because they’re anonymous. It looks like none of these has been proven to be true either.” – Cho Yongpil
“Even if you can figure out the deep sea, they say you can’t know how a person really is.”
“Being alone with your thoughts won’t give you an answer if it’s not there in the first place.” – Cho Yongpil
- “We all go through our own hardships in life.” – Cho Yongpil
- “Does it hurt your pride to see your friends again? It doesn’t matter why you came back. We’re just happy to see our friend again.” – Cho Yongpil
“Given our history, we can’t be that happy to see each other or wonder how we’re doing.” – Cho Samdal
“People I don’t need to explain myself to keep asking questions. But people I want to talk to won’t even hear me out.” – Cho Samdal
Episode 4
“The temperature and humidity hidden within the clouds change forms without our knowing, from fog to clouds and then to rain. And likewise, before I even realized it, my feelings suddenly changed forms from friendship to love.” – Cho Yongpil
- “Did you know? They say if you catch a falling cherry blossom petal, your first love will come true.” – Cho Yongpil
- “The one I fell in love with back then. My crazy fool.” – Cho Yongpil
“I should’ve met a guy who was much better than you. But I met a loser and ended up back here. So I lied.” – Cho Samdal
“The one I fell in love with back then. My crazy fool.” – Cho Samdal
Episodes 5-6
“Nothing’s changed and I’m not uncomfortable.” – Cho Yongpil
“Guess what happens when you gain more dating experience and money. You change. People change.” – Cho Samdal
“But no matter how tough things are or how things don’t go my way, I’ll always have a clear conscience.” – Cho Samdal
“We worked together for over a decade. But not a single one asked me if it was true or wanted to support me. No one asked how I was doing. No one cared to ask.” – Cho Samdal
“I worked like a dog to come this far. But it all feels meaningless now.” – Cho Samdal
“Think about it. Your dream may have disappeared, but you haven’t. So let’s find her.” – Cho Yongpil
- “You should have big dreams as a man and not be content with a small stream.” – Mr. Cho Sang Tae
- “Your dream doesn’t always have to be a job. You two are my dream.” – Young Cho Yongpil
“Perhaps, dreams aren’t supposed to be achieved but to be protected. And perhaps, my dream still has hope of being something beautiful.” – Cho Yongpil
Episode 7
“Just when I’d thought that I had completely let him go. Perhaps, that was when I was clinging onto him the most.” – Cho Samdal
“The sea is the best place to be when you’re troubled. It’s peaceful and no one bothers you there.” – Ms. Ko Mija
“There’s no such thing as an easy job. But what’s good is we neither have to retire nor compete with others. We earn as much as we work, and can keep working as long as we’re healthy.” – Ms. Ko Mija
- “You know what? If I get a scar here like this, it’ll look like I have a story to tell.” – Cho Yongpil
- “A dragon rises from a small stream, right? Be the dragon in Seoul, I’ll be the stream.” – Cho Yongpil
- “It’s not just I can’t get over her. I just chose not to.” – Cho Yongpil
- “Having a ton of money can’t always be such a good thing.” – Cho Samdal
“I don’t want you to be proud of me. I don’t want you to comfort me. I want to comfort you instead.” – Bu Sangdo
“For me, it was harder letting you go than holding onto you causing you pain.” – Cho Yongpil
Episodes 8-10
“Finding myself and inner peace isn’t easy to do.” – Cho Samdal
“Love doesn’t always need to be visible. Men love with their hearts, not their eyes.” – Cha Eunu
“Some days, we make decisions that are perfectly right. Other days, we make decisions that are perfectly wrong.” – Cho Yongpil
“The variable that you suffered as much I did. I was broken down by the variable again.” – Cho Yongpil
“Some things stay the same even if time goes by. Perhaps like me?” – Cho Yongpil
- “It’s better not to take a photo if it’s going to be deleted anyway.” – Cho Samdal
- “But the pictures you took by mistake and deleted might be meaningful to someone else, right? Like memory.” – Cho Yongpil
Episodes 11-12
“They say, ‘A shadow is cast behind a shining person’. Behind the splendor and bright smiles, there is a hidden darkness that’s difficult to notice.” – Cho Samdal
“It’s much harder to get back together with someone you broke up with than to get to know and date a stranger. Because we’d never forget why we broke up.” – Cho Samdal
“The memories of our love are stronger than the reason for our break-up.” – Cho Yongpil
“Even if there’s no one to protect me, I’m ten times stronger than anyone else. Those who have others to protect are always much stronger.” – Cho Haedal
“I never taught her how to fall, but I did teach her how to get back up. She’ll get back up every single time!” – Ms. Ko Mija
“Finding Cho Samdal is no longer my goal. Now, it’s to achieve things as Cho Samdal.” – Cho Samdal
Episode 13
“Just like it took your old friend, I’m scared the sea will take away you, too.” – Hayul
“You know those times when you want to open up your head and remove your brain? So you can get rid of thoughts filling it up. In those times, you feel better once you get some fresh air.” – Cho Samdal
- “If it will never happen, just give up, Sang-do. It’s a one-sided love.” – Cho Samdal
- “If you keep loving someone even when there’s no hope, it’s too painful.” – Cho Samdal
- “If you keep throwing it away, I’ll keep bringing it back.” – Cho Yongpil
“There’s no story to a poem. There are only emotions.” – Cho Yongpil
“Love but do it in silence. Afraid that even the shortest encounter would be a disturbance to you. After leaving, how far apart are we now? However far away, wherever you may be, I know it hurts but without anyone knowing, love in silence. Just like a sharp blade that becomes dull over time, just until that pain starts to dull, let me love alone.”
Episode 14
- “It’s not ‘again’. It looks like they never stopped liking each other.” – Cho Jindal
- “It feels like there was never a moment when you weren’t a part of my life.” – Cho Samdal
“What if I tried so hard to forget you that I really did forget you? What if I missed you and wanted to see you so much that I tried to remember your face but couldn’t remember it? You mean so much to me. I didn’t want to be without you for a single moment in my life. That’s why I didn’t forget about you.” – Cho Yongpil
“Let’s be in love.” – Cho Yongpil
“I never had a chance. I mean, after around 30 years, even the most well-built buildings are bound to form cracks, too. So how is it possible that I still don’t have even the slightest opening to get in between them?” – Bu Sangdo
“You see this hackleberry tree? Think of me as this tree. Even if none of the towns people care about it, it still shields us from the wind and gives us shade. Just like this hackleberry tree, even if you don’t love me back, I’ll love you forever.” – Mr. Cho Sangtae
“You two have my blessing. You can be together!” – Mr. Cho Sangtae
Episodes 15-16
“Forgiving her doesn’t mean you’ll forget your wife.” – Grandma
“Yong-pil once told me no dragon can rise from a small stream by themselves. They get help from the loaches, mandarin fish, and frogs in the streams.” – Cho Samdal
“Everything’s just so simple and quick. The same people who assumed I was guilty are now saying they knew I was innocent.” – Cho Samdal
“In a world where everything changes so fast each day, I discovered the way to not get caught up and lose myself in my hometown of Samdal-ri.” – Cho Samdal
- “The place where I can truly be myself. My hometown. My people.” – Cho Samdal
- “Looking into those around me, I find myself and my path within them.” – Cho Samdal
- “If it’s not love, then why do you smile at me? Why would you worry about me if you didn’t love me?” – Jeon Daeyeong
“So just like you’ve supported my dream, can’t I do the same for you?” – Cho Samdal
“My vision was hindered by all the hate I received, so I failed to see some things. So many people still loved me. I may have not noticed, but Seoul was full of love, too.” – Cho Samdal
- “As always, we’re going for only as long as our breath allows without being greedy.” – Cho Yongpil
- “And whenever we’re out of breath, we’ll come back to that place. Our small stream, Samdal-ri.” – Cho Samdal
“Having a place to return to is an incredible relief.”
Genre: Rom-com, Slice-of-life
Synopsis: The story of two childhood friends on Jeju Island who were driven apart by different goals in life, but reunite after facing a crisis.
No of episodes: 16
Cast: Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hae-sun
Writer: Kwon Hye Joo
Director: Cha Young Hoon
Network: JTBC
Streaming platform: Netflix
Date: December 2, 2023
Netflix subtitle translation:
Soo-ji Kim, Kim Ye-eun
Images: JTBC
KORB 