Analyzing Jealousy Incarnate: Career Development (Part 2)

In my previous article, I focused on the career development of the female lead in Jealousy Incarnate and the trials she faces in order to succeed. This time I will discuss the male lead’s career and it was interesting to see how much it contrasted with his female counterpart. She admittedly has to work 10 times harder to gain the level of respect he has. On the other hand, he is naturally talented and things just somehow always seem to work out for him. This is part 2 of my analysis on the career development of the main leads in Jealousy Incarnate.

Jealousy Incarnate is a drama that is set in the world of journalism and the media, focusing on Lee Hwa Shin as a well known and well-educated anchorman from a well-to-do family who is ambitious and very good at what he does. Meanwhile, Pyo Na Ri is the polar opposite, who comes from a poor background, is awkward, and struggles in the workplace where she is not very well respected. Na Ri has a one-sided crush on Hwa Shin who mostly ignores her presence.

Hwa Shin’s Career Development

We meet Hwan Shin in Thailand where he had been reassigned for the past 3 years after a reporting scandal involving his older brother. Hwan Shin has a contrasting personality of being an unbearably rude jerk to people but is noble enough to recognize not to place blame on the Female Lead when she has been sacrificed by her broadcasting company. He even tells off a sexist PD for his scummy directions to female weather reporters to perk up their butts and boobs live on tv. 

He is a rude jerk who is also a decent human being???  Even more so, he stands up for Female Lead to his former sister-in-law who doesn't acknowledge weather reporting as true journalism, by pointing out that while they (Hwan Shin & former in-laws) just read the news from a paper written by others, while Pyo Na Ri does the research, writing, and reporting on her own.

Hwa Shin’s career gets entangled with his breast cancer diagnosis as he must quickly accept his new reality and have the surgery done before his big competition for a 9 pm anchor slot. Specifically, because he is so competitive for the slot he even recklessly delays his daily radiation therapy. His daily visits to the hospital would make him noticeable and therefore the illness could be used as a weakness by his competitors. The sheer amount of irresponsibility for his health is frustrating to watch on one hand but also makes him very formidable to always keep his eyes on the prize, and refuses to allow his personal life to affect his career.

Everything tends to work out too smoothly for him which is why I enjoyed the moment he deviates from his standard self. He puts his job on the line to help Na Ri, whom he has grown feelings for, by using the company helicopter for his own personal use, giving her a ride to her newscasting live audition. Not only is he suspended for a month, but he is also disqualified from auditioning for his goal as a 9 pm anchorman slot, all in the name of love. Making him even more irresistibly attractive is the fact that he is too happy in love to be significantly affected by the loss of opportunity which is very telling for an ambitious man like Hwa Shin.

Given another opportunity on the 7 pm time slot after completing his one-month suspension, Hwa Shin continues putting his job on the line with shenanigans like getting up from his seat and missing a segment so he can call his rival/bestie to intercept Na Ri’s blind date. The first time it was endearing and he did it for her career, however, this time around his actions are just purely foolish.

Hwa Shin wouldn't be Hwa Shin without flip-flopping from being childish to being commendable, mature, and heroic, as he comes to Na Ri’s rescue by beating the living daylight out of her sleazy and misogynistic co-newscaster who bullies her, reminding him that “a real reporter is weak to the weak and strong to the strong”.

We get to see first hand why Hwa Shin has the respect and fame he does when he coaches Na Ri for the Mayoral election night which they both cover together. Hwa Shin is incredibly talented, thinking on his feet and improvising seamlessly even in a broadcasting crisis like the expert he is.

One thing I noticed in the drama and I wondered if it’s intentional is that Hwa Shin doesn't suffer nearly as many crises at work as Na Ri does. The one time he does is when the sleazy reporter he previously beat up, misunderstands and thinks Pyo Na Ri has breast cancer which he blabbers to the whole company. Pyo Na Ri is only a contract employee and rumors of her having an illness will result in her inability to be hired as a full-timer. 

So, the charismatic and heroic Hwa Shin refuses to put the woman he loves on the line and publicly reveals to the world he has breast cancer after reporting a segment on men having the illness. he tells the public that he discovered that more than protecting his job, it was more important protecting the person loves and didn't regret announcing his cancer diagnosis to the world because he hoped the minority could be treated fairly without being stigmatized.

The breast cancer outing is a hit, and to his surprise, the audience loves Hwa Shin’s bravery. Unfortunately, love does lead him to many immature actions on-air that put him in hot water. He criticizes some of the presidents of large companies and angers the head of the broadcasting and company’s sponsors. Women have been fired for less but he is simply reassigned to radio where he discusses health issues that are normally not discussed in public. 

Hwa Shin is clearly forgiven as he eventually comes back at the 9:00 pm anchor news slot, except in the seat usually occupied by women. Something tells me he doesn't mind it since he has been somewhat of a feminist from episode one.

Analysis

What I enjoy about Hwa Shin is that his career development is not linear but rather in zigzags. We meet him as he finishes his reassignment from Thailand, where he was sent after reporting on his brother’s scandal and trying to get the much-coveted 9 pm anchor position. He is obviously well respected at work because many of his shenanigans only lead him to a slap on the wrist. While for the majority of the show he mostly stays at the top and hardly experiences a work crisis, maybe rightfully so because he is so darn good at his job. When he does experience it, he doesn't stay down for long and snaps back up to the top where he belongs.

This is a major contrast to Pyo Na Ri’s career that mostly seems to stay in crisis, although she does have sudden moments of successes here and there. It is a real representation of how sometimes many things come easy to men in the workplace, while sometimes women must work 10x harder with no respect to enjoy short moments of success. Granted yes Hwa Shin certainly is a better and more talented anchor than Pyo Na Ri. However, she is an excellent weather reporter.

My favorite moments of Hwa Sin in the workplace is when he is a mentor to both Hye Won and Na Ri, as he genuinely teaches them for their success and has a great amount of respect for them. Though this is only when he is working with them, in other settings his attitude towards them is a different story. Hwa Shin disrupts many gender norms primarily by being a breast cancer patient and standing up to women in his workplace, as well as calling out men for being pigs. I can't even say he has toxic masculinity because what man wouldn't feel insecure to suffer breast cancer, especially when you are a public figure.

People seem to misunderstand Hwa Shin as someone who cares more about his job than his loved ones. However, I understand him. When they are in a situation where they are going to be hurt regardless of what he does, he is willing to protect them. He takes the action that will hurt them less, even if that action leads to people hating him for it.