Miss Ripley: Episode 1

미스 리플리: 제1회
Loosely based on a real-life scandal that rocked the modern Korean art world, Miss Ripley tells the story of Jang Miri (이다해), a Japanese citizen of Korean origin left for an orphan by her mother when she was young. Coming back to Korea in an effort to leave her shady past in Fukuoka, her dilemma is how to get a work visa sponsorship in spite of her inexperience and lack of tertiary education. All her efforts turn out to be in vain and she is even almost raped by some pervert agency head. Temporarily residing in a cram school dorm, she meets Song Yu Hyeon (박유천), a Japanese-Korean who seems to have the means for a luxurious life but opts to go low-key. He is instantly attracted to her, but she refuses his friendship. Jang Myeong Hun (김승우) is a hotelier in search of someone fluent in the Hakata dialect to assist a very important client whose investment would decide the future of the hotel. Crossing paths with a disgruntled Miri, he proposes a professional partnership after she, out of desperation, unintentionally flaunts a University of Tokyo degree that she does not really have.

The last time I saw 이다해 in a drama, she was also lying. The difference is that her turn in My Girl was actually fun and kind of light. She was this irrepressible ball of sunshine that held onto some sort of boundless optimism that you cannot really help but root for her. As Miri, she is a bit deglamorized, seen in several colorful wigs, and given an equally rough time. Even so, you get this inkling that this story is going to be much darker in terms of premise, and the acting chops are leveled up. We are not saying that her My Girl stint lacked good acting; it is just that, for this one, she gets to play with a lot of emotions that can easily win her acting awards for playing such a tragically flawed human being. The story seems to be interesting as well. Who really does not want to witness a big-time scandal? Here is hoping that this K-Drama would be able to maintain the edgy storytelling for 16 episodes straight.

Expressions of the day

제 생각이 다름니다 I beg to differ

금방 올게 I'll be right back

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