The drama "A Lucky Day," starring actress Lee Young-ae, which garnered significant buzz even before its premiere, is earning an increasingly positive response from viewers with each episode. Throughout her career, Lee Young-ae's unique aura and commanding presence have typically been expressed through serious and weighty characters. From Seo Jang-geum in "Dae Jang Geum" to Lee Geum-ja in "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" and Koo Kyung-yi in "Inspector Koo," her filmography is filled with characters possessing deep narratives and intense charisma. While this established image created a clear perception of "actress Lee Young-ae" for the public, it also fueled a thirst for a new kind of performance from her. In that sense, "A Lucky Day" can be seen as a pivotal work in which Lee Young-ae sheds her traditional solemnity to approach the public in a more accessible way.
In this project, Lee Young-ae relaxes her powerful image to perfectly transform into Kang Eun-su, an ordinary, working-class woman we could easily find around us. Kang Eun-su is a character who works diligently at a large supermarket, living day by day, her life far from glamorous. This setup itself contrasts with Lee Young-ae's existing elegant and sophisticated image, which might have felt slightly unfamiliar to viewers at first. However, leveraging her solid acting skills, Lee Young-ae naturally portrays a woman worn down by the harsh realities of life, quickly allowing viewers to immerse themselves in and empathize with Kang Eun-su's world. Her performance delicately captures the psychology of a character who changes after being swept up in an unexpected incident in the midst of her ordinary life.
The early part of the drama meticulously depicts the desperate situation facing the protagonist, Kang Eun-su. She barely owns a modest house to live in with her family while supporting them through strenuous labor at a supermarket. Meanwhile, her husband, Park Do-jin (played by Bae Soo-bin), a bank manager, is so generous to others that it becomes a flaw, leading them to the point of mortgaging their home. To make matters worse, he is diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and, having lost the will to live, even attempts suicide. Faced with the unbearable reality of her husband's debt and medical bills, Kang Eun-su falls into deep despair with not a single penny to her name. This serves as a crucial device to build the narrative justification for why an ordinary woman is driven to make a dangerous choice.
Just as the story seemed to be unfolding as a highly realistic family drama, an unexpected incident turns it completely on its head. A member of a drug cartel, on the run from a detective after stealing a large quantity of drugs, happens to break into Kang Eun-su's house and hides the drugs on her veranda. Shortly after, he falls to his death. A few days later, Kang Eun-su stumbles upon the massive stash of drugs. This dangerous discovery appears to her as the only lifeline to escape her rock-bottom despair. The discovery of these drugs acts as the catalyst that officially kicks off the main narrative of "A Lucky Day" and becomes the decisive moment that pushes the ordinary housewife, Kang Eun-su, to step into the world of crime.
The other central figure in this drama is Lee Gyeong, played by actor Kim Young-kwang. He first appears as the art teacher of Kang Eun-su's daughter, Park Su-a (played by Kim Si-a), seeming like a virtuous individual completely unrelated to the dark world of narcotics. Viewers are initially left to wonder how he could possibly connect with Kang Eun-su's life. However, he has another face. To earn money, he lives a double life, working at a nightclub by night, a path that naturally brings him into contact with the criminal underworld. His ambiguous character, seemingly straddling the line between good and evil, serves to further heighten the drama's tension.
The fates of Kang Eun-su and Lee Gyeong, each living a precarious life in their own world, inevitably become intertwined through the medium of "drugs." Desperate to find a way to pay for her husband's hospital bills, Kang Eun-su realizes the drugs she found are worth a fortune and decides to sell them herself to escape her crisis. She manages to track down and approach a major drug distributor known as "James," only to be shocked to discover that James is none other than her daughter's art teacher, Lee Gyeong. Faced with this stunning revelation, Kang Eun-su is flustered but, driven by desperation, makes him a dangerous business proposal, heralding a new chapter in the plot.
Initially wary of Kang Eun-su's sudden proposition, Lee Gyeong eventually agrees, judging her to be trustworthy since she is the parent of one of his students. He consents to sell the drugs on her behalf and split the profits. Thus begins the perilous partnership between an ordinary housewife and a secretive art teacher. Meanwhile, another figure enters the chase: veteran narcotics detective Jang Tae-gu (played by Park Yong-woo). He relentlessly pursues the missing drugs, closing in on Kang Eun-su and Lee Gyeong. Their cat-and-mouse game delivers thrilling suspense that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats.
Recently, KBS has shifted its programming strategy, moving away from struggling weekday dramas to focus its resources on weekend slots. While its predecessor, "The Twelve," unfortunately underperformed, "A Lucky Day" has successfully captured the audience's attention from its first two episodes. The story of an ordinary woman stepping into the world of narcotics is highly engrossing and immersive, showing the potential to evolve beyond a simple crime story into a fascinating psychological thriller that delves into the characters' minds. The combination of strong acting and a well-structured plot signals the birth of a well-made genre drama.
"A Lucky Day" brings the theme of "drugs," a subject still relatively unfamiliar and bold for Korean dramas, to the forefront. The show makes a clever choice by visualizing the drugs as looking like mint candies, lowering the psychological barrier for viewers who might find the dark theme too heavy. The premise of an ordinary housewife getting involved in crime is reminiscent of the American series "Breaking Bad," making it fascinating to watch how a completely average person makes choices and transforms when pushed to the extreme. The fact that a public broadcaster like KBS is presenting a drama with such a daring subject is also quite impressive.
The drama's title, "Eunsu Joheun Nal" (A Lucky Day), at first glance recalls the classic Korean short story "Unsu Joheun Nal" (A Lucky Day), but it is actually a pun on the protagonist's name, "Eun-su." A key point of the drama will be to see whether obtaining the drugs marks the beginning of a "lucky day" for her or the prelude to her downfall. While the first two episodes introduced various characters connected to the drugs, the story is expected to converge on Eun-su, creating an uncontrollable whirlwind of events around her. Having started with a solid viewership rating of 3.7%, the drama is expected to generate even more buzz and a stronger response as its tight plot and the cast's passionate performances continue to unfold.
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