They Don't Kiss Until Episode 16

Lingerie, Handcuffs, and Vibrators, Oh My!

When planning the October release post, which I never wrote, I saw that this show, A Virtuous Business, was to premiere. I didn’t know what platform to watch it on, but I saw Kim Tan’s mom, Kim Sun Young, and the villain from The Penthouse, and I was sold.

I turned on Netflix last night, and there it was, waiting for me to start watching. It’s only the first two episodes, but let me tell you, I am sold!!!!!

A Virtuous Business follows four women who live in a small rural town in early 1990s South Korea. The women attempt to have some level of freedom (financially and emotionally) by joining a multi-level marketing scheme selling lingerie and adult toys. As you know, South Korea is a conservative country, and in the 1990s, it was even more conservative, so of course, high jinks ensued.

The main character is Han Jung-Suk (Kim So-Yeon), a beautiful housewife who has always lived in the town and once won Miss Chili Pepper (a beauty pageant for the little town, a big deal). While she loves her husband and life, she struggles. Her husband has always been a “bad boy” and never keeps a job, as he eventually gets into fights and is fired. To make ends meet, Jung-Suk takes on odd jobs here and there, including cleaning the house of Kim Tan’s mom, Oh Geum-Hui (Kim Sung-ryung). Geum-Hui is a highly educated, childless, and bored housewife. Her husband, though not having an affair, stays late after work, chasing clout and social opportunity. When Jung-Suk hesitantly asks Geum-Hui if she can host Jung-Suk’s first party, Geum-Hui initially refuses but, in defiance of her husband, hosts two parties and decides she is enjoying her new life.

Then there is Seo Young-Bok. She is poor, poor. Her husband, while he loves her, and it is evident from their four children, one still in diapers, is a no account. He doesn’t have a real job and scrounges for money. Young-Bok meets Jung-Suk, dropping their kids off at school for the first day, and strikes up a friendship. She bumps into her again when both respond to the ad in the paper about selling lingerie door to door, possibly making five hundred thousand won a month or roughly $300 a month. She convinces Jung-Suk to do the business, and they team up. Finally, there is the younger Lee Ju-Ri. Ju-Ri is already a businesswoman and a young single mother; she runs a hair salon but wants extra money to help raise her kid. Ju-ri is the most open-minded of the four.

Door-to-door sales are not a new concept. If you are a child of the 90s, you probably know a woman who was selling either Avon (shout out to Skin So Soft) or Mary Kay. The promise of flexible hours and as much income as you can sell was promising for stay-at-home mothers and single parents. I even tried selling adult toys in graduate school (unsuccessfully, I’m not a salesperson). So this concept of striving and trying and women’s friendship is enough for me to watch this show. Already, two episodes in I am committed to seeing these women succeed, and they seem to have acquired so much success already in just the two episodes, so I am super excited to see how the rest of the episodes.

But! In addition to the heartwarming story, a mysterious new addition to the town Kim Do-Hyeon (Yeon Woo-Jin, Thirty-Nine, Daily Dose of Sunshine). Detective Kim is an American-born and raised, American-educated Seoulite who moves to Geumje to take over an open position. The town police recognize that he seems overqualified, especially since he comes from bustling Seoul. Detective Kim seems odd. He isn’t the congenial small-town cop, and he seems to have moved into town to uncover a mystery associated with all of the town’s residents. It wouldn’t be a small-town K-drama setting without a major crime secondary story in the background! Here’s looking at you Behind Your Touch and When the Camellia Blooms!

Overall, A Virtuous Business has been a righteous good time so far, and I look forward to the following discussions.