Frustrating and Unlikeable Characters in a Makjang-like Drama
Subjective Entertainment Rating: 7.25I would never have watched or known of “Fashion King” had it not been the Chaos Clown Cave Chill Challenge and I was assigned this drama as a MLDer’s least favorite. Because of the low rating, I came in with very low expectations. That should be the mentality if you want to watch this, especially, if you are watching this many years later (2024 for me). But I figured, Yoon Ah In is in it, I can deal with that as he’s always been excellent in everything he’s played.
Plot:
Keeping in mind that this is a 2012 drama, I somewhat excused the physical assault, slapping, throwing things and the not very realistic fist fight. “Fashion King” actually ages pretty well and I don’t think it’s very dated. But it’s more makjang than I anticipated.
1/4 of Drama - Makjang-like introductions to all the main characters. Everything that could go wrong for Kang Yeong Gul (Yoon Ah In aka ML1) and Lee Ga Young (Shin Sae Kyeong aka FL1) went wrong. From broken families to kicking out of the house, to all the adventures getting to and in New York - it’s quite ridiculous.
2/4 of the Drama - I am slowly enjoying how things are developed. Relationships between the four main characters are more defined and the business side of things picked up a little. Feelings are developed and there’s some pining and push-and-pull, along with very muddy former relationships between Jung Jae Hyuk (Lee Je Hoon aka ML2) and Choi Anna (Kwong Yu Ri aka FL2). I probably enjoyed these episodes the most.
3/4 of the Drama - Scheming and getting back at each other continued on. Romance is getting complicated and I am slightly impatient as I realized I don’t want to root for anyone. Everyone should remain single as none of them deserves each other. Even though the drama is about the fashion industry, they don’t really dive right in. It’s a very superficial/peripheral attempt. If you don’t like business dramas, then this is a positive thing.
4/4 of the Drama - Thought I would be rewarded with a little happy romance, but no, happy times don’t even add up to 30 mins. The angst and annoyance I put up with throughout the drama, especially when it comes to romance, was not rewarded at all. And that ending, so many plot holes and everything could be resolved with a few honest conversations.
Characters:
I have a very hard time rooting for our 4 main characters. Yeong Gul appears fun and nice, but is scheming and will use you to advance and make money. Ga Young was spunky and stubborn in the first few episodes, but then she resorted to crying or sleeping all the time. Jae Hyuk is a chaebol man-child who is petty and somewhat naive, but also mean. Anna is a pitiful ex who’s trying to grasp onto something and not sink. If you like flawed characters who make questionable decisions with unclear intentions, then you would love them. For me, I am 70% frustrated and 30% entertained.
Romance:
The only somewhat consistent feelings in this drama are from Ga Young to Yeong Gul. She has liked him from the very beginning. But towards the end, I questioned if she also has some feelings for Jae Hyuk because she’s bad with boundaries. She might say NO (and sometimes says nothing), but her actions might say otherwise. Or maybe deep down she’s enjoying all the affection Jae Hyuk has for her. Jae Hyuk is like a high school boy who shows affection for his classmate by being mean to her. He would make sarcastic remarks all the time, then give you a smile and then run towards you to apologize and make nice. He does not know how to love properly. I couldn’t tell if he still had feelings for Anna in the earlier episodes. Was he unable to show or he’s just using her? I would have liked to believe that Anna did indeed love Jae Hyuk in the beginning. But how she was discarded like trash broke her and drove her towards Yeong Gul. But her affections for Yeong Gul are probably not 100% sincere. She needed a life jacket, and she found one in Yeong Gul. Yeong Gul, once recognizes his feelings, is the easiest to spot and the more cliche lover. He wants to give Ga Young everything he has, wants payback for those who mistreat her and wants to give her all the best. Yet, of course, he doesn’t use words. If he and Ga Young actually talk to each other, I would not be so frustrated.
Acting:
Yoo Ah In really keeps me in this drama. He’s just so charismatic and I can’t help but draw to him. He’s not the typical handsome type, but no matter what drama he’s in, he’s the center of the attention. I love his acting here. Amazingly, I found Lee Je Hoon paled in comparison to Yoo Ah In a little. Probably because his character is a little more pitiful. But his character also allows him to show much more range than the other 3 main leads. Visually, he does not have the swagger for a rich Director and he walks funny. Shin Sae Kyeong is so pretty and young. But she always has the same crying face. I am not sure if it’s the writing of the character or her acting, I get annoyed when she just stands there and not says anything, and acts all shy. Kwong Yu Ri is so beautiful. She really does give off the high class designer vibe, and the subtle bitchiness in the way she walks and talks.
Fashion:
When the drama is about fashion, they better have some good fashion. And I am having a grand type admiring Yeong Gul’s eclectic and loud style, and also nice tailored suits. As I said, Yoo Ah In looks sexy and dashing in this drama. The ladies also have beautiful outfits. I like Ga Young’s casual style and work outfits, and Anna’s more high-end fashion. But Jae Hyuk in the earlier episodes looks like he’s wearing a suit a size too big for him. I have to say, Lee Je Hoon ages well. He looks more handsome in his 30s than in his 20s.
Ending:
I was going to talk about the ending, but decided to keep this spoiler-free as there are many other reviews about this disappointment. Let’s just say it’s not that hard to locate someone, or give someone a call and not rely on regular postal service completely. Communication can solve a lot of problems.
Overall, this is an interesting watch. I am not sure if I will recommend this drama when there are much better ones out there. Maybe if you are a fan of Yoo Ah In and you miss him now that he’s blacklisted? In a way, the entertainment value to ‘hate-watch’ is quite high for me. I am tempted to rate this much lower just because everyone hates it. But subjectively, it’s a 7.25 and I’m rounding this up to 7.5 to boost the rating a little. Though the characters frustrate me and it’s hard for me as a romance lover to not feel rewarded, this drama is still entertaining in a way and keeps me focused pretty well.
Completed: 1/20/2024 - Review #397
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I only watched the first episode and the preview of the second one to know that I shouldn't waste my time to understand what is going on that story. Plus, Shin Se Kyung didn't help. Her eternal confused face annoys me sooo much. I couldn't go further.
The real question is: what the hell Yoo Ah In is doing here ?! I love that actor and he seems to be someone who pick up his roles carefully. I need an explanation.
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This review may contain spoilers
Before finishing
A story well told. Two very beautiful young female leads, two handsome male leads. A series where you know you are going to watch twenty bitter chapters with up and downs, no more no less. The characters are defined, unidimensional maybe but well defined. Qualification by many, almost 5000 viewers is 5.8 on average and then I think, maybe I have been watching an edited version and not the one they gave on Korean TV because I do not think it is worst than many 8 I have seen. Someone that has lived the real transmission in 2012 must account to all of us ignorants about what happened. What is the reference that punish this series so much? Some months ago I watch Longing for you, and a reference to the Arabs made that an excellent series was punished to be well down from the 8 and a half that deserves. What was the problem with Fashion King? It is not as it has loose donkeys or something, it is an expected vengeance from an abandoned child to a chaebol who lacks the character to dominate as he must, it is a face to face round among the female leads where both of them are talented, one more than the other. And the satellite characters are credible, the story is all credible, then, what did they do in the last two chapters to take an almost eight or so to 5 dot eight. I am eager to watch it!Was this review helpful to you?
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The story began and delivered well. It's not cheesy. The idea about high-class fashion vs commercial fashion was unique an unusual.
But, it was all such a waste. The whole production turned in to throw-outs. I don't know who to blamed. It's ended in vain.
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Underdogs, antihero protagonist, messy romance.
I have a somewhat complicated relationship with Fashion King. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to everyone—in fact, if you asked me whether I would recommend it to you, the answer would probably be no—but I personally had a great time watching it. I don't really care about its reputation either. It clearly has its audience, including among Koreans, and after watching it I was actually surprised by how many people seem to genuinely like it.What initially caught me was the beginning. The first episode is a very good introduction to the characters, and the story starts surprisingly fast-paced, unfolding through chaotic events. The scenes in America are also incredibly entertaining and funny, and I really think the beginning is worth seeing. Ga-young's initial situation gives the drama huge Cinderella vibes, which I loved.
At the center of the story is Young-gul. Basically, he's a loser at the beginning, and then he meets Ga-young, who inspires him. But his ambition is ultimately much more morbid than a straightforward underdog story: it leads him towards his demise. His development was one of the main things that interested me, particularly the psychology behind it. Yoo Ah-in is also an exceptional actor here, and this is probably my favorite role of his.
Ga-young is a far better character than you could expect based on the hearsay surrounding her. She's bold, passionate and talented, but she's also someone who can stay quiet and become defensive. I don't think her quietness makes her poorly written; it's part of her personality.
Her relationship with Young-gul is particularly important to understanding her. She started everything with him and was alone before, and when you see their story in the first episodes, you realize how deep their relationship is—especially from her side. Young-gul is somewhat full of himself and takes a long time to realize that he has feelings for her, while he's attracted to another girl and slowly losing Ga-young to Jae-hyuk. So I can't blame Ga-young for falling in love with someone who doesn't return her feelings in the way she wants.
Another good part of the criticism summed up for you: by all means, never hold the men accountable, blame the woman, and also trash on the actress playing an introverted character, all the while praising the (male) actors. At least Koreans know Shin Sae-kyeong is a good actress who delivers her lines well. Plus, she has a genuinely impressive ability to cry silently.
I also liked that not only she can make the first step herself, she does eventually leave him and is capable of confronting him. Her feelings aren't always expressed through dialogue; you can understand a lot of what she's feeling from her eyes and subtle expressions. That's part of why I found her more compelling than the reputation of the drama might lead you to expect.
The love triangle was actually one of my favorite parts. It makes sense that Ga-young would start looking towards Jae-hyuk, especially as he genuinely falls in love with her. He also helps her at the beginning when she's trying her best to regain a place she unfairly lost. In fact, at some point I started shipping Ga-young with Jae-hyuk myself.
Jae-hyuk has his own storyline as well. He's the second male lead and struggles with his position in the fashion company, as well as with his father's expectations. He has a somewhat jerkish and childish personality, and his feelings for Ga-young put him through an internal conflict. Meanwhile, the second female lead is Jae-hyuk's girlfriend. She struggles because she lacks talent, while Young-gul is attracted to her. I ended up liking both of them too, which made the interactions between the four characters especially enjoyable.
That said, I can absolutely understand why the drama isn't for everyone. After the beginning, there's a whole lot of character interaction and melodrama that probably won't appeal to many people. You really need to enjoy an old-fashioned love triangle and the increasingly negative character arc of the main character. Someone who appreciates old melodramas might be more receptive to it than someone looking for a more modern or straightforward romance.
But I happen to enjoy old melodramas, and Fashion King kept me invested. Three of my friends ended up watching it and mostly liked it, and it was fun to talk about. One of them is a writer himself and was amazed by the storytelling. On that note, yet another detail is how the drama subverts some expectations and tropes, even if it doesn't always do things in a way that will work for everyone.
I was also surprised by the amount of appreciation it seems to have. I encountered more fans than I expected, including Korean viewers praising it under recent SBS compilations (it DID have frustrated viewers and controversy over the ending, but also many praising the chemistry, acting or straight-up calling it their favorite drama, and even the "hate" comments are funny), where it had around 10% ratings when it aired. It even has Russian fans, which is funny because that's not particularly unusual in my experience, since around 90% of the FMVs for my favorite melodrama, Born Again, are Russian.
The production side was another reason I enjoyed it. The OST is amazing, and I really liked the cinematography, some good shots. In particular, I noticed the contrasting colors at the beginning and how they gradually softened with time. Combined with the New York setting and the atmosphere of the early episodes, it gave the drama a visual identity that I found very appealing.
About comic relief, the drama had its fair share thanks to the side characters, specifically the factory's ahjummas who liked to gossip about our main characters.
And then there's the ending. I know it's a major reason many people disliked the drama, but I personally didn't regret watching it because of the ending. It's open to interpretation, so you can choose how you understand it, but I liked the meaning (as there were two symbolic meanings which were related). I also appreciated the foreshadowing surrounding it. For me, the ending didn't erase the enjoyment I got from the rest of the drama. Instead, it was a powerful and fitting ending, even if it's a dark tale. Definitely the most shocking and artistic ending I've seen in a K-drama.
One thing that came to mind is the impact capitalism can have on people. As class conflict was an obvious theme of the drama, with the disgust between the two men and constant fight. The blind obsession with revenge and greed, even the psychology of seeking an apartment a floor above, while coming from a poor and chaotic background.
So, no, I wouldn't recommend Fashion King to everyone. Its reputation doesn't bother me, but I can see why it has one. It's a very particular kind of drama, and you have to be willing to enjoy its old-fashioned melodrama, love triangle, character interactions and the increasingly troubled psychology of its main character.
But personally, I found it genuinely fun. I liked the characters, I was invested in the romance, I thought the psychology of Young-gul was particularly interesting, and I loved the beginning in America, the OST and the cinematography. The female lead was likeable, the second lead became someone I actually wanted to see with her, and Yoo Ah-in's performance was excellent.
It isn't a drama I need to defend as universally good. I just think there's something genuinely enjoyable and interesting underneath its reputation, and I'm glad I watched it. Someday, I also want to watch What Happened in Bali by the same writers.
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