The opening scenes of “The All-Round Wife” feature a pretty typical depiction of aspirational South Korean middle class. Cho-hee (played by Han Da-gam) once had a scheme to move her family out of their expensive home in the Gangnam district of Seoul and pocket the money accordingly for better future use. Well, the real estate market didn’t cooperate with that scheme, so even in the present day, Cho-hee works as the sales leader at a middle-sized company.
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I wanted to watch “The All-Round Wife” in part because the capitalism discourse of “Squid Game” has distorted people’s notions of what economic life in South Korea is like. It also distorts people’s notions of what shows most South Koreans watch. “The All-Round Wife” is a soap opera that’s intended to be relatable. It has, as its heroine, an everywoman pushing forty. Like literally, the Korean title of “The All-Round Wife” more directly translates as a nationally representative wife.
There’s definite goofiness, especially with the exaggerated sound cues that have a nasty habit of sapping the tension out of any halfway decent scene. But by and large “The All-Round Wife” is a fairly effective social drama. Feminist even, although I mean that more in the academic sense than the colloquial sense. In one scene an agitated Cho-hee resigns herself to working second shift, as she comes to a house that is unclean- albeit more in the set design sense than it actually being all that filthy.
Yet constant dreams of success in the real estate market, and access to better school for her daughter Ri-an (played by Kim Tae-yeon-I) spur Cho-hee to keep on dreaming. “The All-Round Wife” doesn’t exactly have a clear message on whether such dreaming is good or bad. One of Cho-hee’s underlings, Eui-kyeong (played by Kim Ga-ran) is so distracted by visions of real estate glory she nearly sabotages a big sale, yet her overall she is treated with pity rather than scorn.
Other characters include Cho-hee’s husband Nam-gu (played by Han Sang-jin), a sweet yet probably hopelessly absent-minded professor. Cho-hee’s younger brother Kang-rim (played by Shim Ji-ho) is a neat freak and a bit of a jerk, although as a divorce lawyer that probably comes with the territory. Then there’s Jae-min (played by Han Jung-woo), who beats Cho-hee for a big promotion despite being an outsider, evoking “10 Minutes” of all movies as his kind personality contrasts with the naked nepotism by which his position was secured.
Review by William Schwartz
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“The All-Round Wife” is directed by Choi Ji-yeong, written by Kim Ji-wan-I, and features Han Da-gam, Han Sang-jin, Geum Bo-ra, Shin Hyun-tak, Kim Tae-yeon-I, Shim Ji-ho. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/10/04~Now airing, Mon~Fri 20:30 on KBS.
William Schwartz
Staff writer. Has been writing articles for HanCinema since 2012, having lived in South Korea since 2011. Started out in Gyeongju, then to Daegu, then to Ansan, then to Yeongju, then to Seoul, lived on the road for HanCinema’s travel diaries series in the summer of 2016, and is currently settled in Anyang. Has good tips for utilizing South Korea’s public bus system. William Schwartz can be contacted via william@hancinema.net. He also has a substack at williamschwartz.substack.com where he discusses the South Korean film industry in broader terms and takes suggestions for future movies to review.
[HanCinema’s Drama Review] “The All-Round Wife” Episodes 1-2 (2021/10/05)
Source: Laban Lang Philippines
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