Korean dramas consistently feature poor women who fall hopelessly in love with wealthy men. The leading ladies of these dramas are depicted as a starry-eyed ingenue like Cha Eun Seung (Park Shin Hye) of "The Heirs" or as uncultured girls like Geum Jan Di (Gu Hye Sun) in "Boys Over Flowers."
"Let's Eat 2" departs from this paradigm with Baek Soo Ji, a young woman who realistically struggles with the challenges of dating a wealthy man. Seo Hyun Jin shines in her earnest portrayal of Soo Ji, character who reflects the universal traits of ordinary women.
Soo Ji was once a novelist but has not written a full manuscript since struggling with societal pressures to lose weight, become successful and nab a great guy. She limits herself to eating once a day and struggles to subsist on infrequent paychecks from freelance writing. Her life begins to change when she develops a crush on Lee Sang Woo (Kwon Yul), a fastidious government worker who is supervising her freelance project.
"Let's Eat 2" fully explored Soo Ji's dire financial situation in episode 12.Soo Ji plunges into dire monetary circumstances, after renegotiating her rent, to purchase a robotic vacuum for her boyfriend. The vacuum follows several big ticket items including a cruising bike and camping equipment, which were all purchased by Soo Ji in her attempts to impress Sang Woo. She mentally calculates the cost-benefit of each item but is willing to plunge into debt, in order to make a good impression on Sang Woo.
Most K-Drama heroines readily accept pricey gifts and entertainment from their chaebol boyfriends without questioning the cost. Soo Ji keeps a running tally of the amount that Sang Woo is spending by searching the price of tickets or items on the Internet.
In episode 12, the situation reaches a fever pitch. By the conclusion of the episode, Soo Ji has diminished her bank account to $11 U.S. dollars. She and Sang Woo enjoyed a date which consisting of box seats at the opera and a gourmet meal. It is the first time Soo Ji has eaten in front of Sang Woo and she conceals her desire to have more substantial food. After researching the cost of the opera tickets and her dinner bill, she realizes that Sang Woo spent more than $1,200 on their date.
Soo Ji continues is hungry for street food and is dissatisfied with the amount of money she has spent over the course of a few days. She spots her neighbor Dae Young eating at a nearby street stall and rushes over to devour spicy rice cakes, with reckless abandon.
Soo Ji has a carefree friendship with Dae Young (Beast's Yoon Doo Joon), an insurance salesman. Soo Ji enjoys eating junk food like fried chicken and Dae Young willingly accepts her dietary habits.
The teaser for episode 13 eluded to a greater focus on the flawed relationship between Soo Ji and Sang Woo. After exhausting her bank account, Soo Ji discovers that she is unable to purchase food but is wearing a necklace from Sang Woo that carries a $1,100 price tag.
Hopefully, "Let's Eat 2" will continue to explore the dynamic between Soo Ji and Sang Woo, which is one of the most earnest portrayals of a rich boy meets poor girl relationship since "My Lovely Sam Soon."
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About the writer: Adrienne Stanley is a contributing writer for Kpopstarz, KDramastars, MTV Iggy and CJ Entertainment's KCON blog. Her passions include a love of K-pop and Asian drama. When she is not writing, she is compiling her favorite music videos for Waywire or hanging out on Twitter (@retrogirladdy).
