Most of the Korean dramas I have seen have been romantic comedies, so lately I have been trying to get myself to see more drama-type shows. One of those shows I decided to check out is Queenmaker on Netflix.
The first thing about the show that appealed to me was the fact that the trailer reminded me a bit of the US TV series Scandal. The main character in the series is also a fixer ala Olivia Pope, but this time instead of the White House, this fixer deals with politics on a smaller scale, this time involving the position of Mayor of Seoul.
The second thing that attracted me to this show is that it stars Kim Hee-ae, who had previously starred in another drama I had seen called The World of the Married. She was amazing in that show, and I felt that with her involved this was the kind of drama that I would be looking to see for a change.
The last thing that pulled me in was that it was dubbed in English. Don’t get me wrong, I have loved Korean dramas since the early 2000s, and I have preferred watching them in the original language since I get to appreciate the depth of the acting better that way but discovering this dubbed in English (as opposed to Tagalog) made me curious so I had to watch it!
Queenmaker is about a corporate fixer named Hwang Dohee who worked for a big corporation in Korea until the suicide of an employee became her wake-up call to how bad things have gotten with the company because of the problems she had to fix for them. Hoping to make things right and fueled by her conscience, she decides to push a human rights lawyer to run for Mayor of Seoul, competing against the son-in-law of the company owner she used to work for.
The show is a quick watch with only eleven episodes for the entire season. I was happy that the length was just right for the story. It was not too short that it left some things unanswered, but it was not too long that it was just dragging the story to make it long enough.
I loved that this was a drama through and through, and it was refreshing that it did not put any focus on the romance element --- it gave the female leads their moment to shine as strong women who could take on the world and everything that was thrown at them.
It was interesting to see how much of a focus they gave to politics for this show. Shining a light on how they campaigned and how important image and PR are for politicians made me curious about the similarities and differences when it comes to politics in South Korea and the Philippines. It made me think that this is a drama that would do well in the Philippines if they decided to do a remake of it.
What I did find scary about the show was how powerful these corporations are in South Korea. The show makes it seem that these people have power over politicians, and how more sway in how things are done than the politicians themselves. They showed how these people “handle” things and how they seem to be able to get away with just about anything. Even if there was justice in the end, somehow, I feel that the people who did wrong still got the better end of the stick compared to the people they had wronged (and killed). Do these things really happen in South Korea or is this purely fiction and not inspired by anything in real life? I hope it is the latter.
I was very satisfied with Queenmaker, and I loved how the show ended. Even if she knew she could get away with it with her connections, Dohee still gave herself up and owned up to her part as a fixer for the corporation she worked for. It wouldn’t feel sincere if she did not give herself up considering that the reason she went after her former bosses was to right the wrongs they had committed.
It was also exciting to see that at the end of the series, Dohee is visited by someone who wanted her services. Someone who seemed powerful enough to get her out of jail. Would this mean a second season? If yes, I am all for it!
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