A Virtuous Business
- Leah Largaespada
- Feb 5
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 7
9/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean comedy drama with 12, 70 minute episodes.
First I provide a unique synopsis and then review. The synopsis is provided as many synopsis, particularly for Chinese and Japanese series, do not provide a very detailed description. If you are not interested in a synopsis, please scroll to the review which is labeled as such.
Synopsis
Han Jeong-suk (Kim So-yeon) would not have dreamed her life would end up as it did. Married to her high school sweetheart, Kwon Seon-soo (Choi Jae-rim), her marriage is a disappointment with a deadbeat spouse who can't keep a job who also neglects the important aspects of their marriage. Once a beauty queen Jeon-suk has to turn from doing odd jobs to support her family to something with a more solid and promising income. The opportunity to sell adult fantasy products falls practically in her lap and she finds she has a talent for directly marketing. As the business picks up speed her acquaintances turned friends, Oh Geum-hee (Kim Sung-ryung), the classy socialite; Seo Young-bok (Kim Sun-young) who has a large loving family, and Lee Joo-ri (Lee Se-hee) a bubbly, beautiful young single mom/salon owner all join for their own reasons. The four women become fast friends and business partners as they face a society that is not fully ready to accept this type of business without social repercussions. Jeon-suk finds an unlikely ally in detective Kim Do-hyun (Yeon Woo-jin) who finds himself constantly rescuing the sweet, beautiful and guileless Jeon-suk. In such a hostile environment can the four determined women make this unlikely business a success?
**Review**
This was a very heartwarming story about friendship, perseverance, and romance where the friends are more or less family. I highly recommend this for those who enjoy slice-of-life elements, overcoming the odds, and romance.
**Spoilers**
The story ends well, with most major plot points resolved and the main characters and side romances appearing to be on a path to being together. However, it's not perfect. For instance, there's no clear statement of long-term commitment between the main leads (ML and FL), though it seems they are heading towards a lasting relationship. As someone who's in it for the romance, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of a heart-fluttering confession and really disliked the separation trope. The main couple was apart for four years, and there's no indication of how or if they kept in contact during this time, making their reunion feel somewhat like a restart. This approach might have been intended to show the female lead's strength in rebuilding from nothing on her own, but it somewhat diminished the potential cuteness of the romance.
Ms. Moon nearly stole the show, with so many major plot points revolving around her. She establishes her independence from her husband, gains some equality in her marriage, supports the FL with her business, and there's the whole subplot about her son. I loved her character, she was nearly a co-lead.
Another romance that felt underdeveloped was between the hair stylist and the awkward, nerdy son of the real estate mogul. Their relationship had all the makings of something super cute, but the narrative focused more on their breakup than their reconciliation. In the ending, it was clear they were back together, but we don't see what happened during their time apart.
The initial emphasis on the FL's horrible ex-husband was significant, only for this storyline to be dropped later. His threats seemed to lead nowhere, and his son's interest in seeing his father was oddly abandoned when the ML came into the picture. Usually, there would be some confrontation or closure, but none was provided here.
The "breaking up for your own good" trope was also used, particularly with the hairdresser and her boyfriend, which I find unappealing. He's supposedly going back to school to become a photographer, possibly to cut the purse strings, but the outcome of this decision remains unclear.
All in all, my desire to know more about everything signifies how much I enjoyed the characters and the story. The technique of leaving things unfinished for the viewer to fill in the details isn't one I personally appreciate; I prefer a fully told story. This is my only critique of what was otherwise a highly enjoyable series.
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