Fellow beanies, this was my comment from the article announcing the kdrama adaptation of Business Proposal and Ahn Hyo-seop’s casting as Kang Tae-mu. A mixed reaction, if there ever was one, but I tried to be optimistic.

Now we’re 6 episodes in, and suffice to say, my comment has aged extremely well. I couldn’t be happier! I love my unexpected, sleeper hits.

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    Excellent foresight by you! It’s so true that something can sound really generic or just weird on paper but the execution is way better/different than expected. I can remember everyone being very negative about Zombie Detective when it was first announced and it turned out great.

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      Honestly, at this point, I should just stick to watching dramas with generic or bizarre premises instead of eye-catching or unique ones. The past few years have seen many a drama with interesting synopses fall into mediocrity and irrelevance, while some of more basic and standard-fare ones catapulted to high ratings and/or critical and audience acclaim. Interesting how that happens. Good writing and execution really is everything

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        There’s probably an argument for generic premises having to try harder to actually be good and stand out, where eye-catching premises might just lean on concept and get a bit lazy.

        That said there are plenty of generic stories that are just phoning it in too.

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        @ladynightshade: ok, so I will give this a try when I have some time. But these kinds of relationships as you stated are replete with “icky power dynamics” to say the least. There is a deeply conflicted angle to the depiction of chaebols and their heirs in KDrama. Some of the artistic impulses clearly wanted to or actually examined the hierarchical dimensions of the Sk’n society much better than others but if the starting premise is that he is a chaebol heir, he is good looking, and powerful so let’s make him a protagonist without analysing – I might add with humour and biting wit – how these individuals and their families got to where they are and how much privilege they enjoyed in shoring up their immense wealth and status, it seems a lost opportunity. I know the (un)happy union of creativity and commerce grinds the wheels of KDrama as well as other global artistic endeavours but wouldn’t it be nice if populist KDrama could also be subversive, destabilising as provocative art should be and contribute to the shaking up of these dubious hierarchies? A fan can only dream.

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          @ladynightshade: Sorry if I came across as hectoring as that wasn’t my intention. I appreciate that people watch things like this for fun so I shouldn’t whine too much especially because you know all of this anyway! I just couldn’t help myself. Sorry!

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            @dncingemma: Hey, you didn’t come across as hectoring at all! Everything you said was entirely valid. This show is mostly just well-written comedy and fluff and most of us are enjoying it that way, especially during such hard times. I absolutely agree with you that it would be great if more kdramas can be subversive and destabilizing towards harmful, unequal social hierarchies. This just happens to not be that kdrama. Even if Business Proposal has been uniquely fun and devoid of (most, not necessarily all) the typical toxic tropes permeating this subgenre of office romcoms, criticism of chaebol/working class romances, where gratuitous wealth is romanticized and class disparities are hand-waived away, should be present in the discourse. You actually made a very good point. If you consider this hectoring (I do not), then hector away!

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            @ladynightshade: Thanks for taking the time to set my mind at ease. My commenting ‘radar’ felt a bit broken today. You are a gem!

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          @ladynightshade: This is my plot points for a Junho role as I know you like him a bit!😂

          I want Junho to be cast as an arrogant chaebol heir, then to undergo a fundamental change of worldview because of an event (have to think about what it should be but I am not going with amnesia!😂), get educated about the working class through meeting and falling in love with a fiery female union leader played by Esom -as inevitably there has to be a love story – and under her guidance, to deconstruct the entire enterprise by giving the shares away to the workers and setting up a transparent and merits based system with a foundation which is dedicated to educating the future generation of South Korean boys and girls who don’t come from wealth. Oh, and he should have a few scenes where he is at a costumes party where he chooses to wear a silk hanbok like he wore in the TRS. Preferably, the dark blue one. I had to shoehorn that into this plot!
          What do you think?

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            @dncingemma: You should be a kdrama screenwriter. I need this on my screen NOW. Junho and Esom are such an inspired choice for a romantic pairing. I love it. Radicalized Junho and his union leader girlfriend sounds so sexy. Although I do hope Esom doesn’t have to do excessive emotional labour in order for Junho to become class conscious. This is a love story between equals, not a woman carrying a man’s burden to become “good”, but I digress. I will now mourn the fact that no screenwriter – in the current social and political climate – could ever create (or even have the balls to create) this storyline into a kdrama. Maybe its got a better shot at Chungmuro?

            Special shout-out to the dark blue silk hanbok. You’re a real one for including that. I think you should create scenarios where he gets to wear pretty hanboks of every colour. It’ll make total sense in the plot, trust me.

            Please feel free to send me any and all Junho role ideas you have in your mind. This is the ultimate Junho fan-zone.

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            @ladynightshade: I am really happy that you like it. And, you already made this fantasy plot better by including what I should have. Esom’s character shouldn’t have to do the emotional heavy lifting to make him class conscious at all as Junho’s character should go through his own process of maturing with some well-placed and well-integrated humorous situations to get him there.
            And, the hanboks. The more the better. The green and navy one, the dark red one when he was running in slo mo, and that white silk get up! Yikes. Not every male actor can pull off Hanboks and look so good in them. I think he should also have his hair pulled back and put in an ornamental ring. His face is made for that, right?

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    I had a feeling about this one too. I’m loving it.

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