Convenience Store Venus (2020)

the good, the bad and the controversial

THE GOOD
Ji Chang Wook and Kim Yoo Jung
Let's talk about Ji Chang Wook and Kim Yoo Jung's new k-drama Backstreet Rookie aka Convenience Store Saet Byul. Everything that's good, bad and controversial about this drama and if this drama is for you?
I am gonna be honest with you guys, I love Ji Chang Wook. So much so that I was counting days for him to come back from the military. So it’s very hard for me to accept that I haven’t liked his previous drama Melting Me Softly.

I was really dreading this one since they announced it because of the age difference between Wookie and his co-star Kim Yoo Jung. But that is just my personal issue and not at all a reason to not watch the drama. Kim Yoo Jung and Ji Chang Wook are both very talented, very good looking people who light up the screen when they are in it. I have really liked Kim Yoo Jung’s past dramas like Love in the moonlight and Clean With passion and in this drama as well she is as lovely.

Her character is of a short-tempered alpha-girl who takes no-nonsense and can kick people’s asses if required. Let's talk about Ji Chang Wook and Kim Yoo Jung's new k-drama Backstreet Rookie aka Convenience Store Saet Byul. Everything that's good, bad and controversial about this drama and if this drama is for you?
I have never seen Wook in a comedy setting quite like this, his character is funny, simple, kind-hearted, a little dumb guy who can’t fight for himself.

He is such a talented actor that when he is on screen it’s hard for me to see him as the Wookie I have seen over the years playing characters who can kick asses of 30 men without breaking a sweat. In Backstreet Rookie, there is no Ji Chang Wook there is Choi Dae Hyun.

THE BAD
Style and Makeup
Let's talk about Ji Chang Wook and Kim Yoo Jung's new k-drama Backstreet Rookie aka Convenience Store Saet Byul. Everything that's good, bad and controversial about this drama and if this drama is for you?
Here is my problem with the style and makeup team, you have two really good looking people on earth as your main lead and you decide to style them in really bad clothes and terrible makeup?

Let's talk about Ji Chang Wook and Kim Yoo Jung's new k-drama Backstreet Rookie aka Convenience Store Saet Byul. Everything that's good, bad and controversial about this drama and if this drama is for you?
Like????? Have you seen Ji Chang Wook?? That man can look good in a potato sack but then you put him in big XXL size clothes he is swimming in them and dark circles to show he didn’t sleep?? I mean, he even looked hot when he was frozen for 20 years in Melting me softly. I am personally offended. And then there is this weird red makeup around eyes whenever a character is drunk. BAD. I don’t even want to talk about the nose bleed whenever someone gets hit (and there is at least a handful of character who gets hit in every episode, which, eh) and the way the side characters are being styled.

Writing
Let's talk about Ji Chang Wook and Kim Yoo Jung's new k-drama Backstreet Rookie aka Convenience Store Saet Byul. Everything that's good, bad and controversial about this drama and if this drama is for you?
There is so much wrong with the writing of this drama that if I deep dive in it it will be a 1000 words of just me critiquing everything about it but I ain’t got no time for that (I mean I do but I am lazy and no one cares).

Some of my main issues with the drama:

Bad double meaning dialogues.
Physical fight scenes where characters can’t even have a normal human conversation without hurting each other.
Domestic abuse as comedy scenes, where a wife is beating up her husband or Kim Yoo Jung’s character is hitting drunk, sleeping Ji Chang Wook so much that he gets nose bleed when he wakes up the next day.
Worst of all, sexist, racist character (more on that below.)

The first time Jung Saet Byul and Choi Dae Hyun meet, Dae Hyun is drunk and Seat Byul is a 19-year-old high schooler and for no reason, I can understand, she decides to kiss this random drunk 20 something man she doesn’t even know without his consent and everyone is supposed to be swooning over it? She is even wearing her school dress. As an adult, I understand the problem here but what about the majority of teen audience watching this drama who might not get why it is wrong for a grown man and a teen girl to be romantically involved.

Let's talk about Ji Chang Wook and Kim Yoo Jung's new k-drama Backstreet Rookie aka Convenience Store Saet Byul. Everything that's good, bad and controversial about this drama and if this drama is for you?
Dal Shik’s (played by Eum Moon Suk) intro in the drama is him drawing an erotic webtoon and flies living in his dreadlocks. Unfortunately, it does not get better eventually. There are so many problems with this character and even if I overlook everything, the dreadlocks and cultural appropriation is still unacceptable.

Not only that they decided to give this character dreadlocks they made it look so dirty that the flies live in it. It is insulting and hurtful to people. If you think this is just a style people like to do and it is not about race then please educate yourself. I am not attacking actor Eum Moon Suk, he is just playing a role that someone wrote as spoof and others went along with it. His character in Fiery Priest was my favourites every time he was on screen he made me laugh. Moon Suk is a talented actor and he doesn’t need this look to make a scene funny, he could have had normal look and still made the audience laugh.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Let's talk about Ji Chang Wook and Kim Yoo Jung's k-drama Backstreet Rookie aka Convenience Store Saet Byul. Everything that's good, bad and controversial about this drama and if this drama is for you?
Despite all this, I don’t think this drama is so bad that it can’t be watched. If you like fun rom-com and can overlook all the problems above, you should definitely watch it. I am also watching it in the hope that it gets better eventually. As a long time, Ji Chang Wook fan, writing this review didn’t give me joy. I wish he would take better scripts from now on. He deserves better. All these actors deserve better.

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Worth watching!

Sincerely, I'm dissapointed with the low score it got.
Long story short: it's a slice of life drama with comic scenes and some really good life lessons
The only reason I see for the low score is that people came with expectations of something else (even after the first episode), being a kdrama wanted more drama(but it isn't that overdramatic type) or didn't finish it.

Gave it an 9.5 score and I would recommend it to watch to someone that wants a light rom-com without exagerated drama or complicated storyline. The only thing exagerated are the effects of the fight scenes, but if you want a light show to watch it's as good as it can get.
The only reason I didn't gave it a 10 is subjective, like most opinions posted in reviews, and that's because of little things that I didn't like, but I still binged most of it.

Conclusion: Give it a try!

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This drama starting was good till 5 episodes . After that I felt, there is no chemistry between the main leads. Their acting was great but this kind of story line is not my cup of tea.
..
I just loved the female lead story but hated the male lead and his girlfriend story .
....

But I hope ji Chang will not choose these kind of drama's again


....
About other couple , I think they getmore screen space then leads but surely their story is much better than main leads story .
Pros of these drama
1) you will be in love with female lead . She is neither a naive nor a stupid female lead. She is a 21st generation girl who is responsible and lovable

2) this k-drama will teach you many good things

3) a modern type of drama


Cons of this drama


1) many controversy made itself a barrier as there are some scene which can hurt human emotion

2) I felt male lead is stupid he can see every wrong doings but still ignore them

3) not much screen space for main leads


: But on a positive note , this drama may not the best one but it is still worth watching as it can teach you many lessons.


P.s- I love ji Chang wook
But I hope he will not choose these kind of drama's again. I am missing his dramas like K2 , healer and suspicious partner
Hope he will get more fandom from his next project

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The story could be longer

I'll just do a short review about the ending



At the end when Fire Volcano said the ending for his upcoming webtoon, it showed that the two main leads were about to kiss and I was hoping that they would but in the end the didnt which was quite dissapointing because it would feel whole and the ending would have been BETTER and since Ive watch this whole movie just to see them have some skinship or interactions AS GIRLFRIEND AND BOYFRIEND but it didnt happen as well...
But overall the story plot was interesting and fresh for me BUT IT ENDED TOO QUICKLY!!!!!

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Da dimenticare...

Spiace dare un giudizio insufficiente, soprattutto considerata la presenza di uno dei miei attori preferiti, Ji Chang Wook, C'è qualcosa che non va, in questo drama. Prima ancora di vederlo, non mi ispirava. Ma il cast prometteva bene quindi a un certo punto mi sono decisa, sperando di ricredermi come a volte accade. E invece no. Tutto mi sembra sprecato. L'ambientazione, la storia, la caratterizzazione dei personaggi. Vorrei poter dire che mi ha annoiata, ma l'apatia con la quale ho seguito gli episodi fino alla fine è forse anche peggio. Zero emozione, zero interesse. Il nulla. A distanza di un po' di mesi, ho deciso di dargli un'altra chance. La prima volta arrivavo diretta da "Healer", forse qualsiasi drama avessi visto subito dopo sarebbe partito svantaggiato. Scrivo questa recensione dopo averlo visto quindi per la seconda volta...e la prima impressione, purtroppo, è stata confermata. Anche stavolta la serie non è riuscita a trasmettermi nulla, se non il dispiacere che attori così bravi non avessero utilizzato il tempo investito in questo drama per girare qualche altra serie che valesse davvero la pena di essere vista. Concludendo...che spreco.

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Something quite wrong that feels so right all along

Warning: This is a long and opinionated review. You can beg to differ. Plus, heavy spoilers ahead so beware. Don’t report me, I just really love this show and want to spread the greatness inside of it.

This one was problematic but on the other hand, it's a feel-good rom-com drama that will make you laugh, smile, and giggle like an idiot. It's not considered family-friendly drama since it's a show adopted from an adult webtoon and it's a shame because it's actually quite inspiring. Mrs. Gong got me tearing up like a baby. Her insight and philosophy in life are the best.

First, let's address the controversies. I’ve seen a bunch of articles online pointing out all the problematic areas of the show. I gotta admit, I agree with them. But the thing that really bothered me is the way Hwang Geum-bi insulted and looked down on Dal-shik because of his dark skin and hairdo. A phrase: utterly disgusting. Plus those buzzing flies, are so annoying! I get it, it’s for comedic purposes but sadly, it rubbed me the wrong way. A lot of things from the early to mid episodes saddened me a bit.

Controversies aside, the romance and other comedy areas in the show were very fun and entertaining despite the drama not having a complex plot. The story gets better as episodes go by. I came only for my boi chang-wook, but the bit-by-bit comedy from the supporting acts and cute interaction from the main leads got me staying put. Some parts were bland and skippable. Probably be much better if they made it a little shorter than 16 episodes. To further understand what I mean by "fun", here are some scenes I absolutely loved throughout the show.

1. Aphrodite and Fire Volcano's hilarious love-to-hate relationship. The accidental donation of a million won and their flirtatious phone calls without knowing their greatest enemy is on the other end really got me!
2. The witty conversations between the 4 Heavenly Kings band members. The actors were the perfect fit for these characters. Absolutely loved them!
3. When the atmosphere starts to change because of some slip-tongued words by the ML's father. Mrs. Gong's eyes will begin to widen and Mr. Choi will begin to tremble.
4. Dal-shik spying on the convenience store and intentionally chiming in to get free food. I burst out laughing after he got caught hahaha
5. When the journalist fixed her misleading article. I went nut after she followed Kang Ji-uk and photographed him behind his back then proceed to write misleading information. I know celebrities like him are bound to these encounters but it’s just annoying.
6. Subtle references to other shows (Pulp Fiction dance & Dae-hyun singing “You Are My Everything” from Descendants of the Sun).
7. Saet-byul & Dae-hyun’s hand sign communications. They were too adorable!
8. When the family members alongside Dae-hyun’s friend and part-timer switch shifts, something hilarious and chaotic occurs afterward.
9. Dal-shik singing outside the convenience store and Dae-hyun being the clueless man he was, didn’t know his friend was dedicating the song to “scary horse”
10. Dae-hyun's Mom slaying everyone's world. The way she stood up for herself and her family. How she sincerely apologized for her mistakes. One of the best K-drama mama out there!


This drama is not something to take so seriously. It's a fun and goofy show with less serious fight scenes. It's honestly a bit odd for me to witness chang-wook as the defenseless Dae-hyun considering he's best known as one of the best action stars in K-drama world. This project is definitely a breath of fresh air. We got to see the everyday life of a convenience store owner and how his family scraped by. The way the story unfolds is good enough but I’m still left wondering what happened to the mean girls of Fancy Girls. They just suddenly accepted Eun-byul after she stood up for herself when they made her do all the household chores? What happened to Director Woo? He kissed Yeon-joo, yes. But what happened next? It wasn’t awkward the next day, they straight up neglected their actions during that night. Dae-hyun never got to find out and I'm here left curious about what would’ve happened if he did find out. Maybe it’ll add more intensity to the drama? Who knows. And let me just add the bullies that are blackmailing Eun-byul, they don’t look scary. Just some bored feeling-savage punks and that I applaud. Perfectly encapsulated the real meaning of “bully”.

Moreover, the appealing visuals and engaging cinematography fit the vibes of the show perfectly. The OSTs are the best damn thing. Every time something hilarious or chaotic happens, I automatically mouth “crazy, crazy”. I love the cast very much. I couldn’t picture anybody else playing the characters. I wasn’t really swayed by the main leads’ chemistry but something about them captivates me and makes me want to watch the ‘til the end… uhh (which I did).

Nevertheless, if you don’t mind some disturbing insults to people of color and box braid hairdos, then dive into the world of Saet-byul and Dae-hyun. Things can get boring but I suggest continuing it unless you feel really disappointed cause the gems of this show are hidden everywhere. It’s kinda messy. There are life takeaways along the way, but as I said they are everywhere and styled progressively so you’ll need to watch a chunk before getting in there to further understand. Might be unrealistic at times, therefore, I advise don’t expect too much. This drama is solely for entertainment purposes. Have fun dear folks!

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Cowardly and Weak Characters and Writing Nearly Torpedo This Series!

This series was fairly strong through the first 12 episodes. It should have ended there, rather than filling the last four episodes with needless drama and uninteresting stories.

"Our Beloved Summer" is easily the best K-drama about young love that I've yet seen. It had intelligent, likable characters with a nice, smooth, and non-cliched story. This series falls well short of that one. The only thing that saves this series from the depths of despair is that it has strong performances by most of the cast.

Unfortunately, we have a menagerie of weak, cowardly characters, that for a while, are at least likable. That is, until they continue to demonstrate cowardice and weakness until the end.

Choi Dae Hyun is an honest and good-hearted young man nearing 30 who owns a convenience store. He treats his customers with respect and kindness. However, when it comes to his love life, Dae Hyun is about as dense as they come. In our culture, he's what we call a "whipped" man. Someone who has no say or power with his girlfriend. She calls the shots. She abuses him to no end. She toys with him like a puppy, and yet, he hasn't the brains or the guts to do anything about it. It's hard to feel sorry for people like this because they are part of the problem. The abused is just as much responsible as the person doing it.

We also have Saet Byul, a master of martial arts, and a young woman who falls hopelessly in love with Dae Hyun. She also has the task of raising her little brat of a sister. However, Saet Byul isn't very responsible. She provides underaged high school kids--including her sister--hard liquor to drink. She also never has the guts to seize opportunities when they present themselves. She also commits the most brazen act of cowardice by running away when she deems herself unworthy of Dae Hyun. Frankly, I never would have wanted her to come back. The writers proved how inept they were with the characters by creating plot points that go against the characters they created. There is no way Saet Byul would turn down Dae Hyun's initial offer of love. The writers simply felt the need to fill another few episodes with pointless drama. Yet another reason why the show backfires.

We also have two typical Korean mothers who dominate, interfere, and meddle in their children's lives. Of course, the key reason has nothing to do with love at all, but about money. It's sad how many people in this world equate success with money. Such parents have no business being parents. They claim to "know better" when they clearly do not. And meddlers may claim that they are doing it for someone else, but that is a lie. They are only doing it for themselves. And, even though I understand that this is an Asian culture, it's truly sad when a 30-year-old man can't stand up to his mother and simply tell her the truth.

We also have several uninteresting characters in Dal-Shik--who is funny in some respects--and Eun Byul, Saet Byul's bratty sister. This actress was the only one whose performance was cringe-worthy. Always uttering her lines in that whiny tone. And her story was left open-ended, as was Dae Hyun's sister.

By the 13th episode, I found myself no longer invested or caring about what happened between Saet Byul and Dae Hyun. Both pretended to be honorable, but they were cowards instead. I even fast-forwarded through most of the final episode because it was that bad. Oh, and you had one of the worst cop-out kissing scenes I've ever seen in the last episode.

However, as I said before, the performances were mostly very good. Ji Chang Wook has a real gift for comedy and the delivery of his lines. I thought that he was simply outstanding. It's just too bad he wasn't given a better script to work with.

Kim Yoo Jung was also very good as Saet-Byul. She has a dazzling smile that reminds me a lot of Lynda Carter from the 1970s. Both have unparalleled smiles. Only Mina Shin can equal her, except that Mina Shin has done a far superior job in picking good roles. Shin is still easily the much better actress.

I've always loved Kim Sun Young. I've already seen her in a few roles, including "Crash Landing On You" and she's just a brilliant character actress. It's too bad that her role was very much wasted here as a woman who is clearly ashamed of her husband and family. It's always sad to see a parent have shame for those closest to them. It simply speaks to their own problems and issues.

I really wanted to like this series, and as I said, I did for a while until it was bogged down in useless, petty melodrama and cliched plot lines that no longer fit the characters. This series is definitely a "must miss" in my book. I want characters that end up with redeemable traits as well as being likable, even if they don't necessarily start out that way. This show gives us characters that I'd never care to get to know or cheer for. And that is what is truly sad.

Now I need to quickly go and find a quality K-Drama to wash the bad taste of this one out of my mouth.

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This drama was okay it was bad, just not my kind of drama to watch but I endured it. Ji Chang Wook and Kim Yoo Jung did very well in the lead roles they played. The other main roles and support cast also did well. The only part that I really liked was Kim Yoo Jung's part doing really great martial art choreography. I don't know if she truly knows this art and I did research to see if she had training but to no avail. The storyline was going back n forth from one love to the other... I should've read the details of the drama before watching. I also viewed that Kim Yoo Jung was nominated 3 times for the Excellence Award and won two for this drama. Congrats to her.

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The age gap distorts a otherwise heartwarming experience

This story was actually wonderful. To everyone concerned about the age gap, not much romance actually takes place between the two characters, explicitly but there were some weird moments for me personally- for example, the male lead saving the child female lead when he was fully grown- sparking a ten year long crush… and a couple more.

There is not actually a lot of romance stuff that goes on from the male lead’s side, as he is pretty passive in the relationship. I feel like this would have worked better with the female lead moving on in the end, and going forward with her life.
One thing I dislike is that they fail to go into detail about the past- for eg, the story of the female lead’s father and How he met the first and second male lead, etc…..


Overall a decent show, but the extreme age gap was unnecessary. 8 years could have been 4 at max, and the story wouldn’t have changed at all.

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