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Kill your television
In a lot of ways, Argon feels like a bit of an anomaly. Even though 2017 wasn’t *that* long ago in the grand scheme of things, in the context of the Hallyu Wave, it’s an eternity. So much has changed especially on the drama side that really, it feels like stepping back into simpler time. Argon unfortunately released at a time when Korean TV networks were only just starting to realize the fruits of dumping content onto streamers (Netflix, in this case) for a cheap penny and expecting the occasional viewer outside of the Eastern hemisphere to pick it up. Thankfully for I, and most of the people on this site, we would have found it ourselves even without that nudge from the almighty Silicon Valley algorithm gods.
Some people have compared Argon to The Newsroom, which at face value is true, but thankfully, Argon does not essentially serve as a sounding board for the creator’s views that political centrism is the only worthwhile thing. Argon definitely leans hard into the idea of objectivity and truth in the news room, but it feels much smarter about it then Aaron Sorkin’s efforts. The story involves Kim Baek-jin (Kim Ju-hyeok) who is a veteran anchor leading the investigative show Argon – however, it is quickly established that Baek-jin’s almost mad dog desire for the truth has left him in poor stead with his higher ups and forcing Argon onto a midnight time slot, and a somewhat terse relationship with the rest of his team. It’s this environment where the female lead Lee Yeon-hwa (Chun Woo-hee) finds herself as a so-called ‘mercenary’ being parachuted in to replace the senior reporter that Baek-jin lost. From there, the story is book ended by the collapse of a shopping mall, with the first two episodes dealing with the immediate aftermath of the collapse, trying to find the manager of the building who ultimately skimped on repairs to the structure, and the final two episodes where a wider conspiracy is ultimately uncovered and untangled. Admittedly, these two ends of the story are where the plot is at its strongest, and where the meat of the show feels at – with the rest of the episodes essentially serving as filler, as ways for the wider Argon team to be introduced to the audience, their motivations and desires serving in a newsroom environment. While these filler episodes are compelling for that reason, and there is the justification (though it’s not easily spelled out) of the story taking place in a six month span from the initial mall collapse, it’s hard to ultimately care about the rest of the plots because they ultimately serve as just that, filler. Episode 7’s plot does ultimately lead back into the endgame of the mall collapse, and while I do understand *why* the writers did what they did in regards to the story, it makes what is already a short (at least, by 2017, and in some regards even 2026 standards) drama at eight episodes feel like it could have been cut down by two and had more of an emphasis on the wider conspiracy, compacting the time frame even more.
Admittedly, I feel of two ways when it comes to the specific leads. Chun Woo-hee absolutely does a good job as Yeon-hwa, presenting her as an initially meek mercenary reporter who tries to power through the skepticism and mistrust of her and her rookie, gun for hire position into something better, helped by her senior’s form of tough love. And from a strictly x’s and o’s perspective, Kim Ju-hyeok does a good job in portraying a man who is wholly focused on presenting the truth without editorializing or succumbing to backroom politics, even if it comes at being a prickly asshole to those on his own team, company leadership, and not being there for his daughter at home after he was left a widower. But it’s that somewhat caustic attitude that can leave him feeling distant and ice cold to another potential viewer, especially when it’s shown that his senior (in terms of age) Shin Cheol (Park Won-sang) does more work then he ultimately does. Still, I’m willing to approach things from a more charitable angle, and again, structurally Ju-hyeok does a good job.
Most of the rest of the team, with the exception of Shin Cheol and ‘Writer’ Yook Hye-ri (Park Hee-von) don’t have the same sort of rope with regards to their characterizations, however, and it’s mainly because they aren’t interesting as characters. They get screamed at by Baek-jin, and generally act as anchors along for the ride. Thankfully, Shin Cheol and Writer Yook’s relationship is coloured by a small romantic tryst (that quickly peters out for workplace reasons) which adds a bit of spice to the proceedings, but otherwise, slim pickings abound.
Ultimately, it’s the bones of Argon that I feel I enjoyed the most. Chun Woo-hee’s performance is the best of the bunch overall, and as mentioned above, I feel like this is a more ‘tolerable’ way of getting across truth and objectivity in news media without the centrist moralizing of Aaron Sorkin and The Newsroom. But there’s no hiding that the main chunk of the episodes are filler that don’t serve the wider conspiracy plot that the first and last two episodes bring into the equation, and a large portion of the Argon crew feel superfluous. For me, a pretty easy one watch series, and it’s length is certainly a benefit for those who stick it out.
Some people have compared Argon to The Newsroom, which at face value is true, but thankfully, Argon does not essentially serve as a sounding board for the creator’s views that political centrism is the only worthwhile thing. Argon definitely leans hard into the idea of objectivity and truth in the news room, but it feels much smarter about it then Aaron Sorkin’s efforts. The story involves Kim Baek-jin (Kim Ju-hyeok) who is a veteran anchor leading the investigative show Argon – however, it is quickly established that Baek-jin’s almost mad dog desire for the truth has left him in poor stead with his higher ups and forcing Argon onto a midnight time slot, and a somewhat terse relationship with the rest of his team. It’s this environment where the female lead Lee Yeon-hwa (Chun Woo-hee) finds herself as a so-called ‘mercenary’ being parachuted in to replace the senior reporter that Baek-jin lost. From there, the story is book ended by the collapse of a shopping mall, with the first two episodes dealing with the immediate aftermath of the collapse, trying to find the manager of the building who ultimately skimped on repairs to the structure, and the final two episodes where a wider conspiracy is ultimately uncovered and untangled. Admittedly, these two ends of the story are where the plot is at its strongest, and where the meat of the show feels at – with the rest of the episodes essentially serving as filler, as ways for the wider Argon team to be introduced to the audience, their motivations and desires serving in a newsroom environment. While these filler episodes are compelling for that reason, and there is the justification (though it’s not easily spelled out) of the story taking place in a six month span from the initial mall collapse, it’s hard to ultimately care about the rest of the plots because they ultimately serve as just that, filler. Episode 7’s plot does ultimately lead back into the endgame of the mall collapse, and while I do understand *why* the writers did what they did in regards to the story, it makes what is already a short (at least, by 2017, and in some regards even 2026 standards) drama at eight episodes feel like it could have been cut down by two and had more of an emphasis on the wider conspiracy, compacting the time frame even more.
Admittedly, I feel of two ways when it comes to the specific leads. Chun Woo-hee absolutely does a good job as Yeon-hwa, presenting her as an initially meek mercenary reporter who tries to power through the skepticism and mistrust of her and her rookie, gun for hire position into something better, helped by her senior’s form of tough love. And from a strictly x’s and o’s perspective, Kim Ju-hyeok does a good job in portraying a man who is wholly focused on presenting the truth without editorializing or succumbing to backroom politics, even if it comes at being a prickly asshole to those on his own team, company leadership, and not being there for his daughter at home after he was left a widower. But it’s that somewhat caustic attitude that can leave him feeling distant and ice cold to another potential viewer, especially when it’s shown that his senior (in terms of age) Shin Cheol (Park Won-sang) does more work then he ultimately does. Still, I’m willing to approach things from a more charitable angle, and again, structurally Ju-hyeok does a good job.
Most of the rest of the team, with the exception of Shin Cheol and ‘Writer’ Yook Hye-ri (Park Hee-von) don’t have the same sort of rope with regards to their characterizations, however, and it’s mainly because they aren’t interesting as characters. They get screamed at by Baek-jin, and generally act as anchors along for the ride. Thankfully, Shin Cheol and Writer Yook’s relationship is coloured by a small romantic tryst (that quickly peters out for workplace reasons) which adds a bit of spice to the proceedings, but otherwise, slim pickings abound.
Ultimately, it’s the bones of Argon that I feel I enjoyed the most. Chun Woo-hee’s performance is the best of the bunch overall, and as mentioned above, I feel like this is a more ‘tolerable’ way of getting across truth and objectivity in news media without the centrist moralizing of Aaron Sorkin and The Newsroom. But there’s no hiding that the main chunk of the episodes are filler that don’t serve the wider conspiracy plot that the first and last two episodes bring into the equation, and a large portion of the Argon crew feel superfluous. For me, a pretty easy one watch series, and it’s length is certainly a benefit for those who stick it out.
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