A dark trip to nowhere
I am not going to give any spoilers -- just want to advise any watchers that this is a risky investment of viewer time. What starts out with potential quickly falls off the cliff in a fog of poor decisions by the writers. The word "Artificial" is the first clue to the problems with the direction this drama takes. Nothing seems real or feasible and the responses of so many people in positions of power seem a little "off the human chart." Korean dramas often portray a "slice of life" for the country -- this drama neither represents family, values, morals, accountability, normal human reactions, or consequential damage. It almost becomes a fairy tale fantasy drama when you compare it to the reality of many who hold positions of power or have star power popularity. The voices of social media and the netizen factor in this country reign supreme. So I am warning any potential viewer - the acting is good -- but just don't count on any feelings of satisfaction at the end. Just read most of the comments of those that have finished the drama. If I wanted to be in a hopeless dark place I would pick this drama to watch.Was this review helpful to you?
Deep, deep, deep down, there's something interesting here. But it's not much.
As the Winter Olympics are still in full swing as “Artificial City” comes to a close, there’s an interesting parallel that can be drawn. One of the sports that seems enticing from a thumbnail description is bobsled. Several people hurtling down a sheet of ice at unfathomable speed along a severely twisted course in a plastic shell strapped to a pair of steel blades. YES PLEASE let’s watch! Right? But other than the color of the sled and spandex, there isn’t a lot to distinguish a German bobsled run from a British one to even the Jamaicans. Same run. Same turns. Same ice. And invariably, the team that starts a tenth of a second behind in the first lap time winds up finishing about a half second behind at the end. Compared to almost any other team sport, there’s absolutely no strategy to differentiate one team from another. It’s just “run fast, hop in, don’t crash”. Once the novelty of the ice and the speed wear off, it’s a pretty lousy spectator sport.Chaebol dramas generally encounter similar issues. At first, everything is pretty: the people, the clothes, the bags, the cars, the houses and the locations. There’s the intrigue: corporate and political power grabs, succession rivalries, infidelities, children out of wedlock and corruption. It never hurts a drama to have a full plate of villains to stir up trouble and this genre is an overflowing geyser of troublemakers.
But there’s also only so many affairs and aging chairmen and shady secretaries and indiscreet affairs in swanky compounds before things start to get repetitive. First, there’s never a light moment. And the action is all plotting and scheming and keeping or revealing secrets but there’s little actual action itself that follows. And like the bobsled pinned into a defined track with only a single motivation (go fast), characters fit a narrow description: Buttoned-up. Restrained. Cautious. So there’s only so much variation to build in to one of these shows.
“Artificial City” makes no attempt to break these genre conventions. It centers on a corrupt conglomerate (Sung Jin) with an art gallery among other businesses, an unhealthy amount of political influence, an iron-fisted chairwoman (Kim Mi Sook’s Han Suk), her ruthless aide (Kim Joo Young’s Seon Mi), a reluctant heir (Kim Young Jae’s Joon Il) and a plan to make bank via the redevelopment of an area through questionable means. There’s plots. Backstabs. Affairs. Honest journalism is shut down. Prosecutors are used for corporate family gain. Vaults of secret information.
There’s only two elements of “Artificial City” that sets it apart by any amount - the characters of Park Soo Ae’s Jae Hee and and Lee Yi Dam’s Lee Seol. Jae Hee is the curator of the museum and husband to playboy corporate son Kim Kang Woo’s Joon Hyuk. She is determined to succeed by making him powerful and being his puppetmaster and protector. Lee Seol is an employee of the museum with a secret bad history with the Sung Jin family. Before long, the two develop a connection but Jae Hee’s desire for power and Lee Seol’s aim to draw blood can’t coexist harmoniously.
Of course the two are more connected than they realize and it’s a pretty solid effort by the production in how the pieces are revealed and put together slowly but unwaveringly through the show’s first half. And Lee Yi Dam, especially for an actor with hardly any filmography, and Park Soo Ae work together extremely well. The affection the characters have for each other is palpable.
Where “Artificial City” shines is where it isn’t really anything but a case study on these two main characters. To watch these characters develop - as they come to grips with whether the goals they have dedicated their lives towards remain meaningful or if new discoveries should set them on a new path - that is the hidden gem within “Artificial City”. And the performances by Park Soo Ae and Lee Yi Dam are strong; strong enough to give the production some bursts of powerful emotion.
But regardless of how meaningful character development may be, the hidden gem is far too hidden below everything else. And whenever the focus shifts off of Jae Hee and Lee Seol and their internal conflicts, things become less satisfying viewing-wise.
Not to mention that within the “everything else” there’s plot and logic holes EVERYWHERE. In one episode, Han Suk is damn near omnipotent and ruthless. The next, she’s somehow cornered and conciliatory. Secretary Go always knows where everyone is and is usually lurking in plain view but no one ever notices her. Worse, character after character knows that they’re a target but they make no attempt to be discreet. Or a character knows that this other character is a threat to their safety and happiness, but if they get a call from the danger, they don’t just pick it up, they go and meet the threat in person with not a single precaution. And then there’s the reversals where the weak character suddenly takes charge but it’s not at all clear what fulcrum was the mechanism to elevate them. Then again, it doesn’t really matter because regardless of the churning action on the surface, as soon as the movement pauses, nothing has really changed.
Does a scintillating production value or skilled direction help? Nope.
But it’s a great cast so that makes it worthwhile, right? There’s some strong work in spots here, but in general, ehh, not really.
So is it recommended? Well, if it’s twenty hours of bobsled on a loop or “Artificial City”, opt for the latter. But otherwise, it’s not a must watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
Half Baked
Hmm this was a difficult drama to rate. It hooked me from start to ending with a great storyline, and then ended with a revenge that somehow failed at conclusion.The other thing that irked me was that although there were many opportunities, the whole truth was never really disclosed to the public and kept safe behind closed doors of the privileged.
This is a drama that refuses to give a slice of happy and its aim seems to be to tell its viewers that reality is a bitch. It lures you with the premise and hopes and plans of revenge, and even with 20 episodes the revenge cannot be served.
Life goes on as usual for higher-ups who committed the crimes, with no actual repercussions. Realistic but for a drama viewer who wants to see justice served at least outside real life, not satisfying.
Notable acting by the ladies, I was especially drawn to the characters portrayed for Yoon Jae Hui and Oh Ye Rin.
The artworks by Son Sangki in this drama captivated me a lot, they evoked emotions and thoughts to intrigue me enough to do a google search on the artist and explore more of his artworks including his Artificial City series which is perhaps what the drama is named after.
In summary, I did not regret spending my 20 hours here as the storyline was actually entertaining until the unfortunate ending. Minus 3 stars for not giving the bad people what they deserved.
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Good Enough
Korean Drama "Artificial City" tried to be something, but left all the plotlines half baked.The drama starts strongly, with the introduction of the family and the main lead, with hints about her past and an intriguing second female lead with lots of secrets. However, the drama adds too many stories, which hardly blend smoothly together, as well as have a proper conclusion.
The ending was okay, original and realistic, though the drama had created the mood of revenge and having those at fault being responsible for their crimes.
On the other hand, the performances were intense and emotional.
So, overall, five out of ten.
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Bad
It's nothing but a dreadful watch, following this piece of artificial soulless junk made me wonder why some cast members, who are well off, accept such projects. I feel like somewhere not too long ago writers stopped trying when it came to these high-society themed dramas. A squeaky clean wardrobe, a massive mansion and a handful of dirty secrets won't cut it anymore. The shallowness and the lack of substance made a killer combo for a mind numbing experience. The drama's message absolutely wasn't worth 20 episodes to tell its tale nor was it interesting or entertaining to follow. In fact, they did a goddamn poor job in that regard. I'm fairly certain if you were to pick up any random drama from Park Soo Ae or Kim Kang Woo catalog it would be a guaranteed better watch than whatever this was.Was this review helpful to you?
