Seo Ye-ji was in the blockbuster series It’s Okay to Not Be Okay with Kim Soo-hyun two years ago. Her career was briefly halted a year later when she became the target of a scandal, forcing her to withdraw from a project.
She’s finally back on the big screen in a new high-society thriller that starts with her sexy character manufacturing her own scandal, aka Eve’s Scandal.
This latest contribution to South Korea’s famed run of upper-crust satires features Baroque music, colorful threads, and dramatic entrances. As in SKY Castle, The Penthouse, and Mine, the emphasis is primarily on the women who stand behind society’s patriarchal paragons.
Prim and vain women seize every opportunity to assert the power that comes with their social standing, and they strive even harder behind the scenes to keep or increase their status.
Kang Yoon-kyum (Park Byung-eun), chairman of the LY Group, is Korea’s richest man. He enters the stage during a press conference to announce record returns, but the headlines quickly change when a scandal breaks out during his address – his affair has been discovered.
Han So-ra (Yoo-sun), Yoon-wife, kyum’s cuts an imposing figure in a bright diamond pattern dress, but her steely demeanor is shaken when the scandal breaks. He strikes out at her minions and shudders at the prospect of her formidable father, Han Pan-ro (Jeon Kuk-hwan).
When Yoon-kyum enters a dark room and looks up at Seo, she makes an even greater entrance. With her back to us, she rises from an elaborate rocking rocker and towers over him, emphasizing the power dynamic between these two characters.
The question is, how did they arrive? As we settle into the main narrative, the program responds by transporting us back three months in time.
Mothers gossip in their seats during a recital at the posh Liyan Kindergarten. Yoon-interest kyum’s is peaked when a bandoneon (an accordion-like instrument) player comes and begins playing a tango. When Kim Sun-bin (Seo) performs a heady tango with a male dance partner, she takes everyone’s breath away (particularly Yoon- kyum’s).
Sun-bin is a new face in this tight and restricted social scene, which adds to her attraction. She is the mother of another girl in the school and introduces herself to the other parents at the reception following the recital, ingratiating herself with her poise and manners to everyone except So-ra, who resents seeing someone she regards as a lower class take the spotlight.
Sun-abrupt bin’s appearance in their midst is no coincidence. Her real name is Lee La-el, and when she was a teenager, Pan-ro, Korea’s all-powerful prime minister, tore her family apart.
La-father el’s was a great inventor compared to Bill Gates, but he was beaten to death in front of his daughter when he refused to yield to Pan-greedy ro’s corporate merger desires. La-only el’s ally was idealistic young lawyer Seo Eun-pyeong (On the Verge of Insanity’s Lee Sang-yeob), who assisted her in fleeing to America.
Thirteen years later, La-el has returned home and has begun an act of huge revenge that includes courting Yoon-kyum. The only potential stumbling block in her approach is Eun-pyeong, a popular assemblyman who recalls the youthful La-el.
Seo made her debut less than a decade ago, and she has just recently become a household name. The actress has accomplished this by cultivating a distinct and frequently fascinating persona, that of an aloof and cool-as-ice prima donna.
She applies her cool, measured performing style to Eve, where it is the driving force around which everything else must revolve.
Due to her recent scandal, Seo is likely to have been denied an A-list co-star for Eve, such as Kim Soo-hyun or Lee Joon-gi (the drama she backed out of would have had her perform opposite Kim Nam-gil), and Park Byung-eun isn’t exactly a household name.
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While his name may not be recognized by many, Park is the type of assured and versatile actor who always enriches the productions in which he appears, whether as a righteous detective in Kingdom season two or a troubled scientist in Seobok.
Park’s performance as Yoon-kyum has been stolid yet silent thus far, but as the character develops over the next few weeks, so should his.
Aside from that, Eve has an uphill battle due to its overly familiar plot and accompanying aspects. The posh schools and classical music of hits like The Penthouse feel dated, and recall the disappointment of the 2021 Korean TV series High Class.
Despite its sensual implications, Eve is a relatively safe project for Seo, one that relies on her pre-existing image and is unlikely to fade or burnish it.
Despite her excellent portrayal of Eve’s character, the drama is coming under fire for airing too many intimate scenes. Even though many people believe the drama should be re-rated, there is rising interest in how the tale will unfold in the remaining episodes.
