This drama is healing, and the warm cup of tea that I need while recovering from burnout.
General thoughts on the kdrama (so far, as of Episode 5, 5/6/26):
- This drama is not for everyone. I keep seeing comments that this show is muddled with plot holes, or that it's too slow, too dumb for the viewers' IQ, and thus, it's overall not worth watching. To all of this, I say: that's okay, you can drop it, you can stop watching. Exercise your free will!
- So then who is this drama for? It's for the people who have been "working until the work is done" (as Dam Ye Jin says near the end of the episode while talking to Mechoori, the very people who end up working themselves to the bone as a result. Even when work is something they are very passionate about and could talk about that passion for hours & hours, it is still work at the end of the day. Work should not be prioritized above one's health.
This drama is about depression, burnout, insomnia, trauma, pain, grief (yes, you can grieve even if someone does not pass away, any loss is a loss, especially betrayal of trust, betrayal of love, etc.), healing, learning, growing.... As of now, I'd put Sold Out on You in the same camp as When the Weather is Fine, Call It Love, Hometown Cha-cha-cha, Welcome to Samdalri, etc.
Constantly running on fumes in the productivity machine, the capitalistic grind, and the hustle culture in modern-day Seoul is not always the lifestyle for everyone. And the beautiful Deokpung village people ... These townfolk showcase another type of life to live, one with a pace very different from the city.
However, you cannot simply compare the two and say one is fast-paced and the other is slow. No, that would defeat the entire point. It's all about what they're working towards. For instance, Ye Jin's friend and colleague, Um Seong Mi, mentions that she works for a refreshing cold beer at the end of a long workday. Whereas Dam Ye Jin regularly pulls all-nighters, chugs coffee like it's water, and abuses psych & gastric reflux medications, overexerting herself & ultimately constantly thinking about work 24/7, perhaps to compensate for her feeling of guilt and trauma, which she has yet to fully unravel. So not all Seoul folk are alike.
- This drama is not for everyone. I keep seeing comments that this show is muddled with plot holes, or that it's too slow, too dumb for the viewers' IQ, and thus, it's overall not worth watching. To all of this, I say: that's okay, you can drop it, you can stop watching. Exercise your free will!
- So then who is this drama for? It's for the people who have been "working until the work is done" (as Dam Ye Jin says near the end of the episode while talking to Mechoori, the very people who end up working themselves to the bone as a result. Even when work is something they are very passionate about and could talk about that passion for hours & hours, it is still work at the end of the day. Work should not be prioritized above one's health.
This drama is about depression, burnout, insomnia, trauma, pain, grief (yes, you can grieve even if someone does not pass away, any loss is a loss, especially betrayal of trust, betrayal of love, etc.), healing, learning, growing.... As of now, I'd put Sold Out on You in the same camp as When the Weather is Fine, Call It Love, Hometown Cha-cha-cha, Welcome to Samdalri, etc.
Constantly running on fumes in the productivity machine, the capitalistic grind, and the hustle culture in modern-day Seoul is not always the lifestyle for everyone. And the beautiful Deokpung village people ... These townfolk showcase another type of life to live, one with a pace very different from the city.
However, you cannot simply compare the two and say one is fast-paced and the other is slow. No, that would defeat the entire point. It's all about what they're working towards. For instance, Ye Jin's friend and colleague, Um Seong Mi, mentions that she works for a refreshing cold beer at the end of a long workday. Whereas Dam Ye Jin regularly pulls all-nighters, chugs coffee like it's water, and abuses psych & gastric reflux medications, overexerting herself & ultimately constantly thinking about work 24/7, perhaps to compensate for her feeling of guilt and trauma, which she has yet to fully unravel. So not all Seoul folk are alike.
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