Pokor
This review may contain spoilers
Jeongsuk-han Sales!!
This is one of the few I consider a version of good adaptation from an original work. It did the storylines right and made things optimistic leaving a more warm, feel-good vibe to take home. The acting was what carried the original 'Brief Encounters' and woori Kdrama has equally top-notch performances. Kim Sun-young especially brought me to tears. The child actors were the best. The soulful music added to the melodrama tenfold. All the main cast got their moments to shine. Kim Won-hae is Kim Won-hae is perfect especially when he gets to be a diva. For once its satisfying Im Chul-soo does not just his usual bumbling bit but also some solid melodrama support. Kim Si-eun(I miss her since Lies Within) being young Bok-soon(Jeong-suk's mom) and kid Seong-su were so perfect as the past selves of their future counterparts I adored it. While a fairly faithful remake(covering most of the major storylines with revisions and few omissions) of the ITV series Brief Encounters, they're separate enough while maintaining the essence and characters with improvements on some sticky bits. Most of the characters lose their confusing depth for tropes but its dealt with well(mainly Choi Jae-rim as Seong-su). Theres something of the original's couples and marriages kept intact which I'd have liked more of from the beginning than in the second half. Loads of comedy slapstick, some deadpan...
They've added a lot more to the enterprising sales spirit of the main four and not made the business out to be a cakewalk that could be done offscreen in the backdrop of their life stories that it was in the UK with Ann Summers coming across as Tupperware. Thats why I'm evaluating this as a remake as the original does leave me a bit confused with what they wanted to convey and some of the choices(which might have been planned for more seasons) and the lack of details outside a general women's lives and period drama set in 1980s England. Here the situations and scope are defined okay, theres lots of things they brainstorm about on the sales front but its all at a basic level which is fine. The adult market of 90s korea is hard to find out about but what little I could dredge up on seemed fairly dicey and involved arrests, protests, AV and somewhat blackmarket dubiety. All things to stay away from. If this were set in 90s Japan, a JDrama(I adore how a lot of them approach subjects) or used something similar as something in another country as the basis, it could have gone very differently based in this aspect. The rocky-road realism both goes well in that it is foreshadowed in a way and doesn't in that it comes too late and in too sloppy a manner to have the required impact.
Theres several throwbacks to 1990s Korea and references to foreign movies peppered in which I adored. Especially the way some of it is utilized viz Seo Taiji and the Boys. Like with Golden Kamuy there are some anachronisms that I excuse for creativity like using of available material. But this was also the first time since Golden Kamuy(manga) ended that I've had this much fun looking up references and history and ruminating on topics. Nothing will ever top Cold Case in that in my heart. I also felt some similarities to Casa Amor the movie somewhere in how they've braoched certain topics about women's adult prodcuts. The addition of the historical adoption scandal that has been in the limelight past few years since around '21 or '22 onwards is an aside- a random red herring- and didn't quite go down that well even if they used the storyline for the ML and his relation with FL. One overall difference in story structure that isn't well done is how instead of building up all the stories slowly, separate story arcs come at one point. And some plot choices required bit too much of suspension of disbelief. Cho Sun-ae's story was an interesting perspective but negated due to its timing. But say, if foreshadowed earlier... Or been linked to Young-bok's... And Young-bok- if her life story was explored more(already the groundwork seemed there mainly due to the acting of the actors) and more of her daughters shown. Or if they had a different angle than the original's accident(I personally disliked that one thing in Brief Encounters deeply because it leads to a depressing ending and added nothing to the plot)...like just the shady past holding them down economically in the present since their SoL melodrama is what made their story shine rather than the odd crime plot from the original. Albeit, since they dealt with conflict safe and sound and ended on a positive note I get a sense of catharsis for both sets of series just from this.
With many of the conversations dropping stories of daily life offhand, depictions, attitudes, etc I was reminded of certain parts of certain books(Mrs. Harris during the clam fishing women's scene, Embroideries, etc), movies and pondered over impressions I recalled of grannies and others. Those women's magazines at the hair salon were the biggest nostalgia bait to me. The small town setting especially really brought out various cross sections in one place. I have heard of situations similar to Jeong-suk's mothers and got the same impression of how fickle theoretical law is to reality. The bickerings and gossips and second-hand tales dropped in background conversations... Mainly how the idea of being open about sex is a paradox. Most women with close friends/acquaintances or kind of groups, have always been overly free and open in talking sex lives /menopause /childbirth /"gossip", trying out traditional methods especially foods, etc just like the Geumje women long before the Mrs Kim's marital aids came to town. I have vague memories and later anecdotes of my grandmother's duality, the frank talks she and certain others used to have and how when I told my mom about being bewildered by certain collegaues in my new job, she tells me her colleagues talked of their sex lives and gynae issues openly between friends/aquaintences too. The Geumje citizen's objection to this new business and product perception is a sort of prejudice. And coz its out on the outside. Heo Young-ja and her original counterpart(who was more far more puritanical) are this cornerstone, also a sort of foil in this somewhere. The chains to be liberated from societal mores, not being seen as a person with valid desires. Casa Amor was in 2015 and yet be it the 1982 or 1992 or 2015- UK or Korea, its all universal and timeless. Theres always the taboo, prejudice, a backlash from some section no matter how much times change and laws change and all. Even relationships, marriages, frustrations, compromises, gossip, blame-game - constants.
Jeong-suk learning from the mistakes of those before her with similar predicament, availing of that divorce option available to her without being bound by society's judgement and trusting her own judgement set things in motion. It was one of the most cathartic moments in the drama without a doubt. Instead of moping about the travails of being divorced or single mothers Jeong-suk and Ju-ri living their lives as they want- that felt real good. I was satisfied with how Geum-hui and Young-bok's stories went overall. I just wish we had more of Ju-ri. Loved her to bits. And silly Dae-geun! His actor is good at being diverse. I also wish we could have seen Seo-yeon's story from the original, even if abridged, as it was quite a vital angle. This is the third major issue that they play it too safe with the plot. The 15+ rating for such a topic is deterrent itself but so is the plot's reticence to embrace the topic fully. They could have changed far more of the storylines from the original than keeping some that were fairly unecessary and given the the townswomen more tales that theres an infinte history of(the side characters were really lively) or how they thaw more and become regulars. But I kindof get paring some things down for what they wanted to focus on for the 12 episodes. The compatible relation shown between FL and ML was sweet. The FL for the most part is too much a Yamato Nadeshiko as is her meaningful name a Korean-equivalent pun for, but she gets to show a lot of steel and innate leadership/managerial skills.
Maybe making it 16 epsiode to explore more and un-rush some things would have been better though things were kept crisp with just 12 and tied plotlines up neatly enough. Theres an epilogue for the guys that should be a cut scene from before the 4 years later ribbon cutting. Do-hyeon had returned as Geumje's police chief, Won-bong and Jong-sun get a quintessential romcom fall-and-catch scene(Jong-sun got the full-time job at the pharmacy years ago) and Dae-geun's now a pro. The titledrop comes at last with their new business' name at the very end- and its really punny- Virtuous Business aka Jeongsuk Han's Sales...
They've added a lot more to the enterprising sales spirit of the main four and not made the business out to be a cakewalk that could be done offscreen in the backdrop of their life stories that it was in the UK with Ann Summers coming across as Tupperware. Thats why I'm evaluating this as a remake as the original does leave me a bit confused with what they wanted to convey and some of the choices(which might have been planned for more seasons) and the lack of details outside a general women's lives and period drama set in 1980s England. Here the situations and scope are defined okay, theres lots of things they brainstorm about on the sales front but its all at a basic level which is fine. The adult market of 90s korea is hard to find out about but what little I could dredge up on seemed fairly dicey and involved arrests, protests, AV and somewhat blackmarket dubiety. All things to stay away from. If this were set in 90s Japan, a JDrama(I adore how a lot of them approach subjects) or used something similar as something in another country as the basis, it could have gone very differently based in this aspect. The rocky-road realism both goes well in that it is foreshadowed in a way and doesn't in that it comes too late and in too sloppy a manner to have the required impact.
Theres several throwbacks to 1990s Korea and references to foreign movies peppered in which I adored. Especially the way some of it is utilized viz Seo Taiji and the Boys. Like with Golden Kamuy there are some anachronisms that I excuse for creativity like using of available material. But this was also the first time since Golden Kamuy(manga) ended that I've had this much fun looking up references and history and ruminating on topics. Nothing will ever top Cold Case in that in my heart. I also felt some similarities to Casa Amor the movie somewhere in how they've braoched certain topics about women's adult prodcuts. The addition of the historical adoption scandal that has been in the limelight past few years since around '21 or '22 onwards is an aside- a random red herring- and didn't quite go down that well even if they used the storyline for the ML and his relation with FL. One overall difference in story structure that isn't well done is how instead of building up all the stories slowly, separate story arcs come at one point. And some plot choices required bit too much of suspension of disbelief. Cho Sun-ae's story was an interesting perspective but negated due to its timing. But say, if foreshadowed earlier... Or been linked to Young-bok's... And Young-bok- if her life story was explored more(already the groundwork seemed there mainly due to the acting of the actors) and more of her daughters shown. Or if they had a different angle than the original's accident(I personally disliked that one thing in Brief Encounters deeply because it leads to a depressing ending and added nothing to the plot)...like just the shady past holding them down economically in the present since their SoL melodrama is what made their story shine rather than the odd crime plot from the original. Albeit, since they dealt with conflict safe and sound and ended on a positive note I get a sense of catharsis for both sets of series just from this.
With many of the conversations dropping stories of daily life offhand, depictions, attitudes, etc I was reminded of certain parts of certain books(Mrs. Harris during the clam fishing women's scene, Embroideries, etc), movies and pondered over impressions I recalled of grannies and others. Those women's magazines at the hair salon were the biggest nostalgia bait to me. The small town setting especially really brought out various cross sections in one place. I have heard of situations similar to Jeong-suk's mothers and got the same impression of how fickle theoretical law is to reality. The bickerings and gossips and second-hand tales dropped in background conversations... Mainly how the idea of being open about sex is a paradox. Most women with close friends/acquaintances or kind of groups, have always been overly free and open in talking sex lives /menopause /childbirth /"gossip", trying out traditional methods especially foods, etc just like the Geumje women long before the Mrs Kim's marital aids came to town. I have vague memories and later anecdotes of my grandmother's duality, the frank talks she and certain others used to have and how when I told my mom about being bewildered by certain collegaues in my new job, she tells me her colleagues talked of their sex lives and gynae issues openly between friends/aquaintences too. The Geumje citizen's objection to this new business and product perception is a sort of prejudice. And coz its out on the outside. Heo Young-ja and her original counterpart(who was more far more puritanical) are this cornerstone, also a sort of foil in this somewhere. The chains to be liberated from societal mores, not being seen as a person with valid desires. Casa Amor was in 2015 and yet be it the 1982 or 1992 or 2015- UK or Korea, its all universal and timeless. Theres always the taboo, prejudice, a backlash from some section no matter how much times change and laws change and all. Even relationships, marriages, frustrations, compromises, gossip, blame-game - constants.
Jeong-suk learning from the mistakes of those before her with similar predicament, availing of that divorce option available to her without being bound by society's judgement and trusting her own judgement set things in motion. It was one of the most cathartic moments in the drama without a doubt. Instead of moping about the travails of being divorced or single mothers Jeong-suk and Ju-ri living their lives as they want- that felt real good. I was satisfied with how Geum-hui and Young-bok's stories went overall. I just wish we had more of Ju-ri. Loved her to bits. And silly Dae-geun! His actor is good at being diverse. I also wish we could have seen Seo-yeon's story from the original, even if abridged, as it was quite a vital angle. This is the third major issue that they play it too safe with the plot. The 15+ rating for such a topic is deterrent itself but so is the plot's reticence to embrace the topic fully. They could have changed far more of the storylines from the original than keeping some that were fairly unecessary and given the the townswomen more tales that theres an infinte history of(the side characters were really lively) or how they thaw more and become regulars. But I kindof get paring some things down for what they wanted to focus on for the 12 episodes. The compatible relation shown between FL and ML was sweet. The FL for the most part is too much a Yamato Nadeshiko as is her meaningful name a Korean-equivalent pun for, but she gets to show a lot of steel and innate leadership/managerial skills.
Maybe making it 16 epsiode to explore more and un-rush some things would have been better though things were kept crisp with just 12 and tied plotlines up neatly enough. Theres an epilogue for the guys that should be a cut scene from before the 4 years later ribbon cutting. Do-hyeon had returned as Geumje's police chief, Won-bong and Jong-sun get a quintessential romcom fall-and-catch scene(Jong-sun got the full-time job at the pharmacy years ago) and Dae-geun's now a pro. The titledrop comes at last with their new business' name at the very end- and its really punny- Virtuous Business aka Jeongsuk Han's Sales...
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