Spreading new wave in 'Agency', lost in romance between makjang and chaebol

《Taeyuna’s Listening Bodbo》
Reporter Tae Yu-na and Ten Asia will properly cover all aspects of the drama based on what she heard and saw on the spot. We will be the eyes and ears of readers in an era where dramas are flooding in on numerous channels.

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JTBC's 'Agency', which was well-received for its portrayal of a female executive breaking through the glass ceiling, the internal politics and confrontations surrounding her, and the intense workplace of an advertising agency, lost its way after reaching the halfway point. The sudden appearance of a mother who abandoned her child and runs away adds a new wave element, and the romance between the third generation of a chaebol and a secretary is heavily discussed, eating up Lee Bo-young's screen time. This is the current state of 'Agency', which has degenerated from a well-made drama to a mediocre drama.

'Agency' is an office drama that depicts Go Ah-in (played by Lee Bo-young), the first female executive at a VC group, to build her career from the beginning to the top position. Go Ah-in, who lived a more intense life than others because she was a woman and had a poor academic background even though she had more skills than anyone else, ran to increase sales by 50% after learning that she had been promoted to managing director of the VC planning and production division as a face madam.

There was also a problem. Goan suffered from depression, anxiety disorder, panic, and insomnia due to extreme stress by relying on alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes, and the zolpidem he was taking also caused side effects such as sleepwalking. In addition, they became involved in a succession battle between siblings of the third generation of VC group conglomerates.

But someone is an orphan. By creating public opinion that “the law is not perfect” with an advertisement of 30 billion won and obtaining permission for bail from Chairman Woo Won, he gained the trust of VC Group Chairman Wang Geun-cheol (played by Jeon Guk-hwan), and was able to easily achieve a 50% increase in sales within 6 months, which was his pledge. It looks like It doesn't seem too far away to be in a position higher than that of a face madam executive on a one-year contract.

However, 'Agency', which reached the turning point, brought in a forced new wave by inserting the mother who abandoned him when he was 7 years old under the pretext of overcoming the trauma of an orphan. Seo Eun-ja (Kim Mi-kyung), an orphan's mother, ran away for her life due to domestic violence. However, out of a desire to see her daughter, she goes to work as a cleaning assistant at Go Ah-in's company for the first time in 35 years.

According to Seo Eun-ja, she watched from the side for a week and then planned to leave. However, while cleaning, she said "our daughter" loudly as if someone could hear her, so Go Ah-in's secretary Jeong Soo-jeong (played by Baek Soo-hee) immediately found out who she was, and even got down on her knees to embarrass Jeong Su-jeong. He even handed the bracelet to the orphan as if he wanted to get caught as part of it. Even though she is a victim of domestic violence, Seo Eun-ja's reality is that she abandoned her daughter's life and did not look for her for 35 years.

However, 'Agency' made it so easy for Goa-in to forgive Seo Eun-ja by comparing it to an advertisement that tells the story of a mother who reunites with her dead daughter through VR technology. An orphan who is more cool-headed than anyone else and doesn't eat with others, comes to Seo Eun-ja's house and tells her to eat and go, but doesn't she eat?

Additionally, as the romance between Kang Han-na (played by Son Na-eun) and Park Young-woo (played by Han Jun-woo) grows, the center of the play is also shaking. There are a lot of people trying to create situations that are advantageous to them by using the romance between a third-generation chaebol and a laborer, and Park Young-woo is aware of his position and is trying to move away. The romance between the two is intense, but the romance set up for Kang Han-na's growth story actually became toxic. This is because the romance between a wealthy woman and a poor man is a plot we have seen many times in makjang dramas. The strength of 'Agency' was the womanhood of Go Ah-in and Kang Han-na using each other and opposing each other, but with the romance sprinkled in, Lee Bo-young's screenplay was drastically reduced.

‘Agency’ is on a roll, surpassing 10% in viewership ratings. However, as the second half of the film progresses, the length and focus is focused on the surrounding characters except Lee Bo-young, and as the content becomes more obvious and superficial, it becomes less interesting. With only 6 episodes left until the end, there is concern that another Yongdusami work will be created.

Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr