According to a recent survey by job recruiting Web site Career ( Open the link ), two out of three people view married men who spend their time raising children and doing house chores positively.
Reflecting such a change in people's idea of the traditional role of husbands and wives, SBS TV's "Bad Wife (Pulryang Chubu)", which airs 9:55 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, recorded an 18.6 percent viewing rate this week, the highest among other TV dramas in the same time slot, according to TNS Media Korea. Owing to its popularity, its broadcasting period has been extended two more weeks.
The story is about Su-han, a fatherly man in his mid-thirties, who becomes a full-time home manager after voluntary retirement, while his wife Mi-na becomes the breadwinner who had only concentrated on household chores up until then.
The subject of "Bad Wife" is quite ordinary compared to other dramas. There is no amnesia nor is there an innocent child who contracts a fatal disease like other Korean dramas in the same time-slot. The changing roles of a husband and wife are not such an extraordinary or an unusual subject for a TV drama.
However, in such a banal setting, the drama succeeds in bringing out a variety of entertaining situations. By changing roles with each other, the married couple comes to face a new environment and, due to the new environment, they face changes through understanding and conflict. The drama realistically describes the process of such change, by providing a few details of some ordinary lives.
While husband Su-han finds out that a district office gives cooking lessons and struggles with the relentless power of solidarity of housewives in his community, breadwinner Mi-na learns to how to get along with her superior and make decisions such as buying her own clothes or her husband's shoes.
Hence, although they understand each other at first, they become tired and stressed due to the new situation, leading to their complaining and conflict. In one incident, just because Su-han takes some money from Mi-na's pocket without informing her, the two get caught up in an enormously tense mood. This shows that marriage life is a collection of miscellaneous aspects of lives, in which small happenings lead to unexpectedly serious situations.
"`Bad Wife" demonstrates that what is important in drama is not some unusual subject or incident but an ability to create a story out of unimportant things", says TV critic Kang Myong-seok.
However, Kang also points out that such focus on details of lives can also be a limitation for the drama.
"When Su-han and Mi-na find themselves in the new situation, the drama could provide excitement just by showing their changes and the tensions between people around them", Kang said. "However, as they become accustomed to a new environment, the drama becomes somewhat stagnant. Su-han's events with house chores such as getting an electric shock while working at home are repetitive, and the relationship between Mi-na and her superior are described as that of an ordinary woman and a millionaire, making the drama a bit sluggish and cliche".
"It is always difficult for a TV drama to find an balance between reality and dramatic excitement", he said.
The writer of the drama Kang Eun-jeong says that the purpose of her show is to make people laugh, happy and appreciate the value of family.
"I feel so glad when I hear married couples say that they have reconciled with each other as they couldn't help laughing while watching the drama", she said. "Su-han will from now on keep hesitating between keeping and abandoning her family. But in the end, he will choose the best way to keep the family rather than his own dreams or desires... I hope the viewers will have a chance to cheer up while watching the drama".
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