'Undercover Miss Hong' naturally weaves contemporary realities into its story, drawing immersion and empathy from home audiences.
The tvN weekend drama Undercover Miss Hong (directed by Park Seon-ho, Na Ji-hyun; written by Moon Hyun-kyung) is sailing smoothly amid intense buzz. The 11th episode broadcast on Saturday the 21st registered an average nationwide rating of 10.6% and a peak of 12.6% on paid platforms that combine cable, IPTV and satellite, and a metropolitan average of 10.7% with a peak of 13.1%, setting a record high. tvN's target 20-49 ratings also ranked first nationwide and in the metropolitan area, holding the top spot across all channels in the same time slot.
Focusing on the 1997 financial crisis (commonly called the 'IMF crisis'), various elements that hint at a turn-of-the-century backdrop are naturally integrated into the story of Undercover Miss Hong, making it the center of attention each episode. Beyond retro mood interior props and character styling, multiple events that defined the era are placed alongside the drama's narrative, resulting in a more three-dimensional drama.
First, the IMF crisis, which left large and small scars on our society, was realistically illuminated. Hanmin Securities cut its workforce by a staggering 40% through restructuring, and Kim Mi-sook (a person surnamed Kim, roommate of Hong Geum-bo, played by Park Shin-hye) attempted an extreme act, giving a sense of how the IMF crisis changed corporations' finances and individuals' lives wholesale. In addition, the nationwide "gold collecting campaign" in which citizens gathered gold to repay foreign debt took place, and in the drama Hong Geum-bo's father Hong Chun-seop (played by Kim Young-woong) is shown offering both of his daughters' baby rings, conveying the public's enthusiasm and dedication to overcoming the national crisis together.
The PC online community "Yeouido Pirates," whose presence grows from the latter half of the drama, is also a product of period authenticity. In the 1990s, PC online services allowed real-time text communication via bulletin boards and chat rooms; they declined after the spread of the internet and have since disappeared. As a gathering place for rumors floating around the securities world and a forum for publicizing issues — and sometimes a tool for shaping public opinion — "Yeouido Pirates," which emerged as a variable in Hong Geum-bo's undercover operation, captured viewers' attention while perfectly conveying the sentiment of PC communications of that era.
A "old banknote fraud" case, conceived by Hong Geum-bo and her newly allied partners Go Bok-hee (Ha Yoon-Kyung), Albet Oh (Cho Han-gyeol) and Lee Yong-gi (Jang Do-ha), also appeared. The scam, which involved claiming to possess scarce old banknotes and impersonating high-ranking politicians and National Intelligence Service (NIS) officials to offer to launder cash for a fee, was actually carried out and produced numerous victims. Using the same method, Hong Geum-bo and her colleagues approached Albet Oh's father Oh Deok-gyu (Executive Director, played by Kim Hyung-mook) and succeeded in obtaining Hanmin Securities' slush funds.
Thus, Undercover Miss Hong, while depicting a fictional story set in the late 1990s, adds period elements to convey meaningful messages. The crises and conflicts reflecting reality, and the wise resilience of characters who navigate them along with warm family and comradeship, gain strength and shine more brightly.
[Photo] provided by tvN
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