This is one of the few I consider a version of good adaptation from an original work. It did the storylines right and made things optimistic leaving a more warm, feel-good vibe to take home. The acting was what carried the original 'Brief Encounters' and woori Kdrama has equally top-notch performances. Kim Sun-young especially brought me to tears. The child actors were all so adorable. The soulful music added to the melodrama tenfold. All the main cast got their moments to shine. Kim Won-hae is Kim Won-hae is perfect especially when he gets to be a diva. For once its satisfying Im Chul-soo does not just his usual bumbling bit but also some solid melodrama support. Kim Si-eun(I miss her since Lies Within) being young Bok-soon(Jeong-suk's mom) and kid Seong-su were perfect as the past selves of their future counterparts. While a fairly faithful remake(covering most of the major storylines with some revisions and omissions) of the ITV series 'Brief Encounters', they're separate enough while maintaining the essence and characters with improvements on some sticky bits. Most of the characters lose their confusing depth for tropes but its dealt with well(mainly Choi Jae-rim as Seong-su who leaves so much unfinished). Theres something of the couples and marriages kept intact which I'd have liked more of from the beginning than in the second half(esp Kim Won-hae's nag+sweetness). Loads of comedy slapstick, some deadpan...

They've added a lot more to the enterprising sales spirit of the main four and not made the business out to be a cakewalk that could be done offscreen in the backdrop of their life stories as it was in the UK with Ann Summers coming across as Tupperware. Thats why I'm evaluating this more as a remake since they've stuck too close to the British drama. Brief Encounters did leave me a bit confused with what they wanted to convey and some of the choices they made(which might have been planned for more seasons) and the lack of details outside a general women's lives and period drama set in 1980s England. This is something I've found with a few other British drama which left me scratching my head but at the same time its all compact(Luther...every season...). Here the situations and scope are defined okay, there are lots of things they brainstorm about on the sales front but its all at a very basic level, which is fine. The adult products market of 90s korea is very hard to find out about but what little I could dredge up on it seemed fairly dicey and involved arrests, protests, AV and somewhat blackmarket dubiety. All things to stay away from especially if you want to talk about women's products and they should have stayed away from tying it to it even if coincidentally. If this were set in 90s Japan where women's adult products were starting to get traction, or were a JDrama(I adore how a lot of them approach subjects) or they kept the Ann Summers model as it was abroad, it could have gone very differently in this aspect. The rocky-road realism of never-ending issues goes well in that it is foreshadowed in a way. But it doesn't in that it comes too late and in too sloppy a manner to have the required impact. They had wind in their 'sales' to launch into their best endings.

Theres several throwbacks to 1990s Korea and references to foreign movies peppered in which I adored. Especially the way some of it is utilized viz Seo Taiji and the Boys. Like with Golden Kamuy there are some anachronisms that I excuse for creativity mainly due to available material. This was also the first time since Golden Kamuy(manga) ended that I've had this much fun looking up references and day-to-day history and ruminating on topics. Nothing will ever top Cold Case in that in my heart though. I also felt some similarities to Casa Amor the movie somewhere- some scenes. And of course the ending is as if they did the whole of Casa Amor's business building moments offscreen which they should have put in as small snippets or still photos to show how we reach the epilogue at least. The ending actually really reminds me of the finale to Waikiki somewhere...

The addition of the historical adoption scandal that has been in the limelight past few years since around 2021/22 onwards is an aside- a random red herring- so it didn't quite go down well even though they used the storyline for the ML and his relation with FL. One overall difference in story structure that isn't well done is how instead of building up all the stories slowly from the beginning so they feel connected, separate story arcs come up and are tied in just before they are to emerge each time. And some plot choices required bit too much of suspension of disbelief like a lot of Do-hyeon's. Cho Sun-ae's story was an interesting perspective but negated due to its timing. But say, if foreshadowed earlier... Or been linked to Young-bok's... And Young-bok- if her life story was explored more(already the groundwork seemed there mainly due to the acting of the actors) and more of her daughters shown. Or if they had a different angle than the original's accident(I personally disliked that one thing in Brief Encounters deeply because it leads to a depressing ending and added nothing to the plot)...like, just the shady past holding them down in the present since their SoL melodrama is what made their story shine rather than the odd crime plot from the original. Albeit, since they dealt with the conflict deftly and ended on a positive note I got a sense of catharsis for the British version just from this(someone give some catharsis for In-tae...).

With many of the conversations dropping stories of daily life offhand, depictions, attitudes, etc I was reminded of certain parts of certain books(Mrs. Harris during the clam fishing women's scene, Embroideries, etc) and pondered over impressions I recall of people I know, etc. Those women's magazines at the hair salon were the biggest nostalgia bait to me- I was a bit like Dong-u. The strong point was indeed depicting women's stories. The small town setting especially really brought out various cross sections in a single place. I have heard of situations similar to Jeong-suk's mothers. How fickle theoretical law is...the sense of justice so ephemeral. The bickerings and gossips and second-hand tales dropped in background conversations...Mainly how the idea of being open about sex is a paradox. Most women with close friends/acquaintances or kind of groups, have always been overly free and open in talking sex lives /menopause /childbirth /"gossip", trying out traditional methods especially foods just like the Geumje women were doing long before Mrs Kim's marital aids came to town. I have vague memories and anecdotes of certain people of yore in my life(how someone can share in delight over r-rated movies, lecture on about how being prudish is bad and yet consider lipstick a sin because culture says so?). And how when I told my mom about being bewildered by certain colleague's lunchtime chat in my then new job, she tells me her colleagues too talk of their sex lives and issues openly between friends and even vague female acquaintances. The Geumje citizen's objection to this new business and product perception is a sort of prejudice. And coz it will end up out in the open to judgement of others. While its girltalk within themselves, sex is no such taboo. The butcher, the hardware store lady, Young-bok...all their pre-existing openess are quite true to life. Heo Young-ja and her original counterpart(who was more far more puritanical) are this cornerstone in this somewhere. Young-ja is also shown as a foil to Jeong-suk's mother and their stories are sad with no easy answers. The chains to be liberated from are societal mores. Casa Amor was in 2015 and yet be it the 1982 or 1992 or 2015- UK or Korea, its all universal and timeless. There is always the taboo, prejudice, a backlash from some section no matter how much times change and laws change and laws cycle around and all. Even relationships, marriages, frustrations, compromises, gossip, blame-game - constants.

Jeong-suk learning from the mistakes of those before her with similar predicament, availing of that divorce option available to her without being bound by society's judgement and trusting her own judgement set things in motion. It was one of the most cathartic moments in a drama without a doubt. Instead of moping about the travails of being divorced or single mothers Jeong-suk and Ju-ri living their lives as they want- that felt real good. I was satisfied with how Geum-hui and Young-bok's stories went overall. I just wish we had more of Ju-ri. Loved her to bits. And silly Dae-geun! His actor is good at being diverse I'm amazed seeing him in other dramas at the same time. I also wish we could have seen Uhm Seo-yeon's story from the original, even if abridged, as it was quite a vital angle. It could bring up conflict on how she avoids an arranged and unhappy marriage unlike her mother and even round out the contrast of those with the small town perspective with someone who left for the big city. Her Seoul connection could also have brought in the plot twist last arc with foreshadowing. This is the third major issue- how they play it too safe with the plot. The 15+ rating for such a topic is deterrent but so is the plot's reticence to embrace the topic fully. They could have changed far more of the storylines from the original instead of keeping some that were fairly unnecessary and given the the townswomen more tales that theres an infinite history to chose from(the side characters were really lively). Or how the women thaw and become regulars(considering the later product lineup also include some other items that would see more regular sales). But I kindof get paring some things down for what they wanted to focus on for the 12 episodes. The compatible relation shown between FL and ML was sweet. The FL for the most part is too much a Yamato Nadeshiko as is her meaningful name a Korean-equivalent pun for, but she gets to show a lot of steel and innate leadership/managerial skills.

Maybe making it 16 epsiode to explore more and un-rush some things would have been better though things were kept crisp with just 12 and plotlines got tied up neat enough. Theres an epilogue that should be a cut scene that should be placed somewhere before the 4 years later ribbon cutting. Do-hyeon had returned as Geumje station's new police chief, Won-bong and Jong-sun get a quintessential romcom fall-and-catch moment(Jong-sun got a full-time job at the pharmacy 4 years ago) and Dae-geun's now a pro. The titledrop at last ties things up with their new business' punny name shown at the very end- Virtuous Business aka Jeong-suk Han's Sales...