tvN "Typhoon Family" opened a time capsule of 1997 that contained laughter, tears, memories and warmth. Above all, the story approached that shameful and humiliating era as a survival saga of ordinary people who endured day by day rather than melodrama, which became a major reason viewers living in the present praised it.
tvN weekend drama "Typhoon Family" (directed by Na Jeong Lee and Dong-hwi Kim, written by Hyun Jang, planned by Studio Dragon, produced by Imaginus, Studio PIC and Tree Studio) depicted in its first and second episodes the process by which carefree youth Kang Tae-poong (Lee Joon-ho), who enjoyed freedom and romance amid the prosperity his parents' generation built, is thrown into the storm season of the IMF and, in an instant, becomes a "real employee" of Typhoon Family to protect his father Kang Jin-young's (Sung Dong-il) company. The dramatic turn in which the flashy Apgujeong playboy is cast into the IMF storm, realistic portrayals of people who lost their workplaces in an instant, and the survival stories of ordinary people trying to get by all combined to draw viewers immediately into that era.
The actors' passionate performances that vividly depicted that era also stood out. In particular, Lee Joon-ho subtly portrayed Kang Tae-poong's transformation from a symbol of 1997 youth to a symbol of responsibility and growth, proving his star power. While he dominated the stage as part of "Apstreet Boys," delivering laughs with his uninhibited, cheerful youthfulness, the scene in which he discovers his late father's "bankbook letters" and finally breaks down in tears conveyed the love and remorse between father and son so poignantly that it moved viewers.
Kim Min-ha also embodied "K-eldest daughter" Oh Mi-seon, completing the archetype of a 1990s office worker with a realistic portrayal of someone who lives stubbornly despite difficult circumstances. Her characteristic full-face emotional expressions and delicate eye acting added a steadiness that did not waver in crisis, earning praise that she and Lee Joon-ho firmly established the show's central axis.
The mise-en-scène that perfectly restored 1997 naturally transported viewers to that time. The opening began with Hwang Kyu-young's song "I'm fine," as if giving courage to someone having a hard day; beepers, CRT monitors, floppy disks, city phones and the dating shows of that era that can no longer be seen. The realistic depiction of the era stimulated the nostalgia of viewers who lived through the '90s, as if opening a time capsule.
The mood of 1997 conveyed by "Typhoon Family" and the "Typhoon spirit" stemmed from the warmth that blossomed among people. Those small but sincere gestures resonated across generations. The man on the subway who hands over a newspaper he's finished reading, Tae-poong giving his seat to an elderly woman despite being tired, Cha Seon-taek (Kim Jae-hwa) carefully choosing the persimmons his boss liked after the boss's death, the Typhoon Family employees and friend Wang Nam-mo (Kim Min-seok) who risked everything to protect their company, and Jin Young, who wrote bankbook letters of four characters each every month to pour his heart out to his son — those small scenes combined to complete the warmth of a time when people endured as human beings.
Although the story could easily have slid into a narrative that only extracted tears from the sadness and pain of that difficult time, "Typhoon Family" focused on ordinary people for whom surviving came before fighting sorrow. That evoked the moist sensibility unique to that era for viewers and prompted reactions such as "I felt that air and warmth from back then again."
After the first week's broadcast delivered laughter, tears, memories and warmth, promising the birth of a life drama, viewers are eager to see what typhoon-like stories "Typhoon Family" will unfold next. It airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 p.m. on tvN.
[Photo] tvN
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