Mad Concrete Dreams captivated living rooms with unpredictable developments and film-like immersion.
Episode 1 of the new tvN weekend drama Mad Concrete Dreams (writer Oh Han-gi, director Lim Pil-seong, hereafter "Mad Concrete Dreams"), which premiered on the 14th, opened an exciting prologue by showing leveraged-by-everything landlord Gi Su-jong (Ha Jung-woo), who used every resource to buy the ordinary three-story Seyun Building, facing the threat of losing the building and then becoming embroiled in a staged kidnapping.
Mad Concrete Dreams recorded a nationwide household average rating of 4.1% and a peak of 5.1% for episode 1, and a Seoul metropolitan area household average of 4.4% and a peak of 5.4%, ranking first among cable and general programming channels in its time slot for a refreshing start. It also ranked first among cable and general programming channels in the tvN target 20-49 male and female viewer ratings for both the Seoul metropolitan area and nationwide. (Based on paid platforms including cable, IPTV and satellite / provided by Nielsen Korea)
Gi Su-jong, who bought the ordinary three-story Seyun Building by leveraging everything, was a building owner but lived a hard life. To pay loan interest, he handed out flyers and worked delivery part-time jobs, and he was a thrifty building owner and family head who worried about monthly loan repayments and bought his wife's birthday present through a used transaction. There was only one reason Gi Su-jong held on. He said, "Whether it kills me or feeds me, I have to hang on until redevelopment," clinging to hope and enduring each day.
One day, Gi Su-jong received a strange contact from an unknown financial company, Real Capital. He was notified that he would have to hand over the building if he did not repay the loan. When Gi Su-jong could not get through by explaining his situation to the person in charge, Yona (Shim Eunkyung), he loudly invoked the name of his brother-in-law, detective Kim Gyun (Kim Nam-gil), from the violent crimes unit. When he learned that Real Capital had even collected his list of creditors, he sensed that things were turning strange.
Preoccupied with the building, Gi Su-jong broke his promise to attend couple's counseling with his wife Kim Seon (Lim Soojung) and even touched his daughter's study abroad fund, straining the couple's relationship. Unable to collapse here, Gi Su-jong struggled to find money from various places and even asked his brother-in-law Kim Gyun for help.
That night, Kim Gyun, who was investigating Real Capital, died in a car accident. There Gi Su-jong saw the mortician (Lee Shin-gi) who had been beside Yona. Realizing that Real Capital was behind Kim Gyun's death, Gi Su-jong fled the scene in terror. At the funeral, Gi Su-jong learned that Kim Gyun had applied for his severance pay and had tried to lend him money, which left Gi Su-jong struggling with guilt.
The highlight of the broadcast that day was the shocking ending. Returning to the Seyun Building and about to report to the police, Gi Su-jong heard suspicious thumping sounds from an empty underground freezer. When he opened the door, he found his friend Min Hwal-seong (Kim Jun Han), who had been probing about the freezer, and Min Hwal-seong's wife Jeon Yi-kyung (Jung Soojung), who had been kidnapped and bound. The ending featured Gi Su-jong's startled reaction as he was unknowingly entangled in a staged kidnapping, raising curiosity about what the full story of the kidnapping will be in episode 2.
Episode 1 of Mad Concrete Dreams compellingly unfolded from the daily life of debt-ridden, survival-type landlord and family head Gi Su-jong to his encountering unexpected incidents and disturbances. Returning to living rooms after 19 years, Ha Jung-woo exerted a screen-commanding presence that increased viewer immersion. With his distinctive, life-rooted acting, he portrayed Gi Su-jong's bittersweet reality while driving the drama by vividly expressing moments when the character was pushed into crisis.
Lim Soojung, who showed realistic couple acting with Ha Jung-woo, and Kim Jun Han and Jung Soojung, who closed the episode with the staged kidnapping ending, raised expectations about how they will play active roles as the incident unfolds. Villain Yona, played by Shim Eunkyung, left a unique impression with a chilling yet innocent feel, making viewers curious about the tension she will bring to the drama.
[Photo] tvN broadcast capture of Mad Concrete Dreams
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