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Have you ever watched a K-Drama, movie, or music video and felt like the whole world needs to experience it and simply be obsessed with it just like you are? If that sounds like you, we relate! Welcome to Kpopmap's brand new series called "Underrated Scene of the Week" where we pick some amazing scenes from even more amazing K-Dramas, films, music videos & more and appreciate them for the brilliant work of art they are!
You can read all of our picks for "Underrated Scene Of The Week" here.
This week's Underrated Scene comes from the K-Drama that is making waves all over the world ever since its premiere - "Little Women". Starring Kim GoEun, Nam JiHyun, Park JiHu, Wi HaJun, Kang Hoon & more, "Little Women" tells the story of three sisters who grew up in poverty, getting mired in a web of conspiracy and ultimately tackling the most influential family in South Korea. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by American novelist Louisa May Alcott but subverts its tropes to create a gothic masterpiece that will send chills down your spine. The best part about the drama is its fast pace which will keep you on your toes and you'll still love every second of it.
Spoiler Alert!
Content Warning: Suic*de.
The particular scene we're highlighting in this article is one that is key to understanding the power dynamic of the characters on the show. Kim GoEun plays Oh InJoo, the eldest of the three sisters who works as a bookkeeper and is an outcast at her workplace. She is friends with another "outcast", Jin HwaYoung (played by Choo JaHyun), who stands at the centre of the action in this drama. InJoo's ordinary and uneventful life is plunged into chaos when she finds Jin HwaYoung's dead body hanging in her closet and subsequently, realizes that she has left the 70 billion KRW she embezzled from the company to her.
InJoo is sought out by Director Shin HyeonMin (Oh JungSe) and Choi DoIl (Wi HaJun) who coax her into helping them recover the 70 billion KRW, which was in fact the illegal slush fund of the company in exchange for a handsome compensation. Faced with a dilemma, InJoo initially refuses the offer and quits her job but eventually comes around to accept it.
InJoo grows increasingly suspicious of Director Shin and tries to pin the untimely death of HwaYoung on him and the audience is given more than enough evidence to believe her. However, attempted murder isn't the only thing fishy about Director Shin. He also seems to have a "type" when it comes to women, which is women who wear cheap heels. We learn that Director Shin is the son of a shoe repairman and despises women from elite families who wear expensive shoes. We are also told that it was Director Shin who hired Oh InJoo and his bias becomes even clearer when he uses InJoo's cheap heels to send her a message.
During InJoo's negotiation with Director Shin, she has the upper hand. She sets her own conditions and they are mostly accepted too. However, just when you think she is the one wielding power, Shin swoops in with a biting metaphor. He points out InJoo's shoes, asking her ever-so-curtly where she got them from. When she is taken aback, he continues, emphasizing the fact that cheap heels are made with glue, which is why they break off easily (something that happened to our heroine in the first episode) and make one feel uneasy.
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When the ground beneath your feet, your very foundation is shaky, you'll be anxious every moment because you cannot trust your shoes and by extension, yourself. Such heels represent fragile power, the illusion of it all and thus, Director Shin instructs InJoo to get herself a sturdy pair of expensive heels with the money he gives her. This further goes to imply that only money is true power and only he can lend it to her. If InJoo refuses, she'll end up "dragging her feet" or struggling for the rest of her life.
Through it all, InJoo is distraught, unnerved and clearly intimidated, which makes her lose the upper hand in a second. She later gets a package sent to her with a pair of red stilettos, which traumatises her, especially after the sight of HwaYoung's lifeless legs in red heels when she found her dead. Clearly, heels are the primary symbols in this drama so far and we cannot wait to see where they take us next.
Something that is worth high praise in this scene is Kim GoEun's incredible array of expressions that leave us speechless. From the way her eyes flit around the room, her lips quiver and curve upwards and she swallows the lump in her throat, every single detail is spectacular, to say the least. It was only possible because this is Kim GoEun we are talking about and she never fails to impress. InJoo wants to be confident and assertive but she is flustered and uncertain and it shows.
"Little Women" is turning out to be a marvel of Korean television and we're obsessed! Are you watching "Little Women"? What was your favourite scene from the episodes so far? Tell us in the comments section down below!
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