Backstreet Rookie (2020)
Quick Take: Backstreet Rookie (2020), starring Ji Chang-wook and Kim Yoo-jung. 9.0/10. 16 episodes of 60 min.
Synopsis: Two sisters, Jung Saet-buel and Jung Eun-buel, were trained by their father in martial arts but his early death leaves them on their own. Jung Saet-buel drops out of school to work. She uses her martial arts skills to protect her sister and friends from bullies. She has a long-time crush on Choi Dae-hyun and applies for a part-time job in his convenience store, hoping to impress him. She triples the sales, but his girlfriend is jealous and wants Choi Dae-hyun to fire her. He is about to do so when Jung Saet-Buel is evicted from her apartment, and then her sister runs away, and then she gets appendicitis. Choi Dae-hyun’s mother discovers Saet-buel has nowhere to stay and moves her into the attic room at their house. That does not sit well with the girlfriend. Her solution is to get Dae-hyun to leave the convenience store and take a job at corporate headquarters, a plan which includes no options for Saet-buel.
Review: Backstreet Rookie goes by quick and easy. It reminded me of Strongest Deliveryman (2017), in its sympathetic depiction of the struggles of Seoul’s blue collar workers. Dae-hyun’s eccentric friend, a webtoon cartoonist, provides comic contrast to some painful bullying on an adult level, even more cruel than what the street kids inflict on each other.
Ji Chang-wook’s character in Backstreet Rookie is very like his character in Lovestruck in the City: An honorable mensch who gets jerked around. He’s sweet, kind of bumbling, but well-meaning throughout. Alas, this nice-guy persona is not the highest and best use of Ji Chang-wook. He is very good at looking dangerous, and should be given the opportunity. No doubt it’s easier for him to cakewalk through a romantic comedy, but I hope he takes on more challenging roles in the future.
Casting overall is excellent in Backstreet Rookie. Dae-hyun’s bickering parents were pitch-perfect. Han Dal-shik, the crazy webtoon cartoonist, was outstanding. Kim Yoo-jung, as Jung Saet-buel, was excellent — beautiful, strong, determined, caring and protective of those she loves. The relationship between Dae-hyun and Saet-buel is a nice slow burn but 16 episodes without a kiss — just a few hugs — seems excessively G-rated. When it aired in Korea, Backstreet Rookie was criticized for the “inappropriate contact between a schoolgirl and a grown man.” The reference is to an impulsive quick kiss that Sael-buel plants on Dae-hyun, to his surprise and annoyance. Seriously?
Rewatchable - 3, Compelling - 4, Plot/ Story/Writing - 9, Acting/Casting - 10, Production - 10, Bonus - 4. Bonus points for Ji Chang-wook.
Notes:
Ji Chang-wook
has been acting in musical theater, films, and television dramas since 2008. His breakthrough role was in Empress Ki (2013), followed by action drama Healer (2014). His other popular K-dramas include Warrior Baek Dong-soo (2011), The K-2 (2016), Suspicious Partner (2017), Lovestruck in the City (2020), and The Sound of Magic (2022).
Kim Yoo-jung
started her career as a child actress in 2004, and then transitioned into teen and adult roles. The lower photo is from Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), when she was thirteen years old. Her recent dramas include Love in the Moonlight (2016), Clean with Passion for Now (2018), and Lovers of the Red Sky (2021).
Kim Min-kyu
has been active in films and television dramas since 2013, including Because This is my First Life (2017), Queen: Love and War (2019), Snowdrop (2021), and Business Proposal (2022).