The torrid and tumultuous lives of women in high society are back in the spotlight in the new Korean drama series Mine. The 16-episode tvN production follows others such as SKY Castle and The Penthouse in examining the desires of powerful women and the prejudice they face, in spite of their social rank and material wealth.
Mine explores the lives of the family behind the fictional Hyowon Group, a powerful Korean corporation, who live, by their own description, in “another world”. This world is a lush, landscaped paradise away from the bustle of Seoul, dotted with sleek, modernist buildings and teeming with a small army of staff. This expansive oasis, which necessitates golf carts to get around, is home to just 10 family members.
Head of that family are Chairman Han (Jeong Dong-hwan) and his harridan of a wife, Yang Soon-hye (Park Won-sook). They have three grown-up children, the buffoonish eldest son Jin-ho (Park Hyuk-kwon), the capable second son Ji-yong (Lee Hyun-wook) and the tempestuous daughter Jin-hee (Kim Hye-hwa).
But our lead characters are the daughters-in-law, Ji-young’s wife Seo Hi-soo (Lee Bo-young) and Jin-ho’s wife Jung Seo-hyun (Kim Seo-hyung), and two key new members of the staff, Kang Ja-kyeong (Ok Ja-yeon), tutor to Hi-soo’s young son Ha-joon (Jeong Hyun-jun), and maid Kim Yoo-yeon (Jung Yi-seo), to whom Seo-hyun’s son Soo-hyeok (Cha Hak-yeon) has taken a fancy.
However, both Hi-soo and Seo-hyun are in fact stepmothers to these young Hyowon Group heirs, which adds an element of doubt to their positions.
Beyond recent high society shows, Mine also bears several striking resemblances to the global hit Parasite . From the minimalist production design of the homes to the secret agendas of some of the staff, Bong Joon-ho’s acclaimed social inequality polemic feels like a clear influence on the look and structure of the show.
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Thematically, however, the tangents dissipate after a few episodes, because make no mistake about it, this highfalutin melodrama is definitely part of the recent wave of prime-time makjang dramas (Korean soap opera-style melodramas).
Like other recent hit makjang dramas, Mine kicks off with a fancy party, which requires a squadron of staff to prepare and wait on a single table of grumpy family members, who are down each other’s throats even before the hors d’oeuvres are served.
After shushing some squabbles, Chairman Han addresses the table and calls for the staff to bring him a special blue diamond he wants to give to someone at the table, but before he has the chance to do so, he collapses.
With Chairman Han in a coma in hospital, a battle brews for which child will temporarily take over the company, but the real drama occurs in Hi-soo’s home, where tutor Ja-kyeong is growing very close to her charge Ha-joon. What’s more, she’s caught sauntering in Hi-soo’s dress one evening, the first of several instances during which she crosses the line.
There’s clearly more to Ja-kyeong than meets the eye and the show doesn’t hide what that is for very long. Ok Ja-hyeon, coming off a demented supporting role as a serial killer-turned-demon in The Uncanny Counter , relishes the character, imbuing her with a sinister and possessive vibe. However, it’s so clear that something is off that it is a wonder Hi-soo doesn’t fire her early on.
Maid Yoo-yeon’s story, meanwhile, has a lot less meat on it. She was placed within the Hyowon compound thanks to her association with Mother Emma (Ye Soo-jung), a nun who is connected with several members of the family and clearly has her own agenda, which has yet to be revealed.
Yoo-yeon is the character we should relate to, she is the normal girl who enters into this rarefied space and observes the outrageous and entitled behaviour that occurs within it. She tries to keep her head down, until she catches the eye of handsome grandson Soo-hyeok, who has just returned from America. Soo-hyeok suggests they switch rooms, and Yoo-yeon refuses until Soo-hyeok strong-arms her with his doey eyes.
Mine is a lot more placid than the fiery theatrics we’ve come to enjoy from The Penthouse, but that’s not to say the show doesn’t use the same kind of tricks. One of its most enjoyable extravagances is the constant sound of smashing glass and porcelain that routinely disturbs the otherwise tranquil soundtrack.
Grandmother Soon-hye and her children Jin-ho and Jin-hee frequently throw tantrums, which involve launching expensive kitchenware against walls, while the staff watch on, calculating the escalating value of the damage as debris rains on the floor.
Soon-hye, who has a pet peacock and a hobby of slapping her staff, is a caricatured but fun-to-watch villainess, and her traits were clearly passed down to Jin-hee especially, who gets into hot water when videos of her throwing a temper tantrum at a bakery go viral online.
Four episodes in, the elegantly mounted Mine has been reasonably diverting, but it’ll need to kick it up a notch to avoid being something to kill the time between the second and third seasons of The Penthouse.
Mine is streaming on Netflix.
