"Cunning Single Lady" is a charming drama about a couple that married too young and parted for all the wrong reasons.
The marriage did not work because Na Ae Ra, played by Lee Min Jung, was so busy trying to avoid the fate of her parents' marriage that she could not stay married to someone she saw as a failure. She watched her dad mooch off of her mom for so long that she swore it would never happen to her.
So she chose a smart ambitious spouse who would support her and let her stay home. Except that smart spouse, played by Joo Sang Wook, was too ambitious to stay at an unrewarding desk job. He decided to strike out on his own, missed a few paychecks, and a panicky Na Ae Ra threw him out.
Years later he's a success and she's sorry. But although he still has feelings for her, he thinks her cruel and superficial for kicking him out. He doesn't want any part of her.
Will this romantic comedy end up by reconciling the unhappy ex-spouses? Probably, or it wouldn't be a romantic comedy. But what's noteworthy is that one previous drama and another currently running drama also focus on divorce. In each drama story, the couples work through their problems and rediscover their feelings for each other.
While it would be nice if all troubled marriage partners found a way to reconcile, it may not be realistic to suggest they can. The divorce rate in Korea is rising quickly, and, at 47 percent, is currently the third highest in the world, close behind the U.S. and Sweden. To reduce this rate, the government has suggested mandatory counseling sessions before couples can finalize their divorce.
As with other social trends, the rising divorce rate is mirrored in k-drama plots, but apparently not in a realistic way.
Divorce was a plot element in "One Warm Word," where an affair threatened to end two marriages. It is also a plot element in "Emergency Couple," where two exes, played by Song Ji Hyo and Choi Jin Hyuk, meet as interns in the emergency room. Although the marriage ended in fighting, the two discover they still love each other. In the final third of the episodes, it looks as if the two are headed for reconciliation.
Will "Cunning Single Lady" bring the two former spouses together? How could it not? Joo Sang Wook and Lee Min Jung have great screen chemistry. Obviously Lee Min Jung's character will have to appreciate her husband for more than his ability to bring home a paycheck. And he will have to see that she was pushed into panic mode by her parents' unhappy marriage.
What do you think about the fact that dramas make it seem possible for divorced or divorcing couples to reconcile? Should k-dramas treat such subjects realistically? Or would you prefer the romantic fantasy?
