Queer Longing in a World of Pansori
Jeongnyeon is the kind of drama that grabs you by the heart and doesn’t let go especially when it sings. The combination of powerful acting and breathtaking pansori performances made me cry more than once. Every time a scene shifted into song, it felt like I was watching something sacred. The raw emotion, the vocal strength, the tradition it was honestly overwhelming in the best way.
The acting is equally incredible. The cast doesn’t just perform they embody. There’s a deep sorrow and love in the characters' eyes that feels too big for the screen. And maybe that’s part of the problem this drama is bursting at the seams with feelings it’s afraid to name.
What frustrated me, though, was how Jeongnyeon seemed to shy away from its own truth. The chemistry between certain characters especially Jeongnyeon and her close companions felt like so much more than friendship. It lingered, it tugged at you. And when I looked it up and realized the original webtoon features a lesbian relationship? Everything clicked. The drama clearly tried to straighten that out, both literally and figuratively, and the result was a narrative that felt emotionally stunted.
Even the family relationships were confusingly subtle. It’s only eventually made clear that Seo Hye-rang is Eun-Jae's mother not her aunt which changes everything about their bond. I also couldn’t shake the feeling that Seo Hye-rang and Moon Ok-gyeon were in a romantic relationship, raising Eun-Jae together. But the show dances around this so cautiously, it almost feels like erasure rather than nuance.
Jeongnyeon could have been groundbreaking. Instead, it’s a beautiful, heartbreaking piece of television weighed down by fear of fully embracing its queer roots. Still, it’s worth watching for the music, the emotion, and the silent stories that speak louder than words.
The acting is equally incredible. The cast doesn’t just perform they embody. There’s a deep sorrow and love in the characters' eyes that feels too big for the screen. And maybe that’s part of the problem this drama is bursting at the seams with feelings it’s afraid to name.
What frustrated me, though, was how Jeongnyeon seemed to shy away from its own truth. The chemistry between certain characters especially Jeongnyeon and her close companions felt like so much more than friendship. It lingered, it tugged at you. And when I looked it up and realized the original webtoon features a lesbian relationship? Everything clicked. The drama clearly tried to straighten that out, both literally and figuratively, and the result was a narrative that felt emotionally stunted.
Even the family relationships were confusingly subtle. It’s only eventually made clear that Seo Hye-rang is Eun-Jae's mother not her aunt which changes everything about their bond. I also couldn’t shake the feeling that Seo Hye-rang and Moon Ok-gyeon were in a romantic relationship, raising Eun-Jae together. But the show dances around this so cautiously, it almost feels like erasure rather than nuance.
Jeongnyeon could have been groundbreaking. Instead, it’s a beautiful, heartbreaking piece of television weighed down by fear of fully embracing its queer roots. Still, it’s worth watching for the music, the emotion, and the silent stories that speak louder than words.
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