A Virtuous Business - Review: It's About Much More Than Just Sex Toys

Before we go deeper into what this Korean show really is about, let's see a brief summary of the plot:

A Virtuous Business is a remake of a British TV show from 2016 called Brief Encounters, by Oriane Messina and Fay Rusling. The South-Korean version was written by Choi Bo-rim, directed by Jo Woong, and starred by Kim So-yeon, Yeon Woo-jin, Kim Sung-ryung, Kim Sun-young, and Lee Se-hee.

Set in 1992, in the rural Geumje village, this show follows the story of four women who decide to sell sex toys to their neighbors - sometimes in casual get-togethers, sometimes by knocking door to door. Each one of them has their particular reason to get involved in such a controversial business, even more in the 90s.

With time, these women become real friends, and, together, dream about becoming financially independent.

If this K-Drama was set in the present day, it would still be considered uncomfortable to some. Now, imagine how this story will play out in a small, strict, rural village in the 90s and in a country as culturally conservative as South Korea.

To understand why this line of work is so controversial in this setting, we need to go through the history of women's rights in Korea.

Before the entire country adopted Confucianist philosophy, Korean women enjoyed more freedom and status. Korean Shamanism, an ancient religion, was often led by women, which reflects how Korean society was a bit more equal in that sense.

However, after the Joseon Dynasty took over (from 1392 to 1897) and after Confucianism took over the rules of Korean society, the role women played culturally changed drastically. Confucianism promotes a pretty strict patriarchical family structure and puts women on the sidelines, or, more specifically, in the home: their roles are taking care of their husbands, family, children, and their homes. They are only wives, mothers, and daughters.

At this time, many were pushed out of the school system and public life. Their sole purpose for living was the Confucianist ideal of "three obediences" for women: to obey their father before marriage, their husband after marriage, then their son after their husband dies. They had close to no autonomy at all.

From the 20th century onwards, particularly after the Korean War, economic shifts and feminist movements made equal rights a very relevant matter. Women started demanding access to education and job opportunities.

However, women's issues in South Korea are still a very complex matter. Many, despite their incredible credentials and education, sometimes just as good or even better than the men's, can't get the same opportunities. Furthermore, South-Korean women overall still face sexual harassment, discrimination, and twice as much work as men after they become mothers. Single mothers are still looked-down upon.

They also still struggle with image issues, impossible beauty standards, and societal pressure that dictates how they should behave and act. The beauty standards for women in Korea are so unrealistic that of them have plastic surgery before they're 30.

Considering all of these factors and expectations bearing down on Korean women to this day, we can easily understand why selling sex toys in the 90s would be nearly social suicide, right?

Besides each of these characters' personal motives for getting into this business (which we'll cover soon), one of the reasons why our protagonists decide to face the stigma and keep working, even enduring verbal and physical harassment at times, is not just money: it's friendship.

The emotional link that forms between these four is the main force that pushes them forward. One carries the other even when their load is too heavy.

And, I daresay, A Virtuous Business covers this theme pretty well. They also touch on the stigma around this line of work and the toys they sell.

Watching their friendship evolve with time as they share intimate details about themselves, like their sexual fantasies (which they haven't even told their husbands because they're scared they would judge them), or even as they join forces to avenge a betrayal is heart-warming.

These women are also all of different ages, status, and all have different personalities. Not even that drives them apart or shakes their determination. Another great thing about this TV show is that it really makes us cheer for and believe in this friendship.

As we mentioned, each one of them has their own reasons to get into this line of work, and it's basically money. The only exception is Oh Geum-hui, who already led a comfortable life and, apparently, just joins the business to feel alive - to feel her life means something, in a way.

Han Jeong-Suk is a beautiful stay-at-home mom and wife who even used to compete in beauty pageants in her village. She married her childhood crush, who turned out to be a useless bum: her husband can't hold a job and spends the little he makes in questionable businesses.

She, instead, leads a modest life and is mother to a son, Hang Jeong-Suk. However, she sees herself cornered into a wall when her husband spends their rent money. To make things worse, she catches him cheating on her with her best friend.

Now willing to turn her life around, she decides to go into this highly controversial business and face everyone in her life to take care of her son. When she starts selling sex toys, she finds out she, surprisingly, has a talent for marketing and sales.

Geum-Hui was born in a rich family and graduated from an excellent college. She had an arranged marriage to a pharmacist and moved to Geumje, his hometown. She was living a boring life when she meets Han Jeong-Suk, who works for her as a housekeeper.

One day, at Han Jeong-Suk's request, she opens her home for a business meeting, and it's at this meeting that the women start selling their imported products. She has fun with the experience and starts selling these products too, which makes her reflect on her life, her desires, and passions.

Seo Young-Bok is a mother to four children, and the poorest woman out of the bunch. Unlike the other husbands in this story, hers is absolutely devoted to her, but he can't get a job for reasons we learn slowly as the story unfolds. Seo Young-Bok's story shows that, though love is important, it isn't enough to raise a family. So, she starts working with Han Jeong-Suk, and soon becomes her biggest supporter and best friend.

Lee Ju-Ri is a single mother to a highly gifted son, and the youngest out of the four women. She has learned how to handle harassment and the attacks she suffers for being an independent single mom. She owns a small beauty salon, but, to make ends meet (and make her seemingly monotonous life a bit more fun), she starts selling the sex toys with her friends. Lee Ju-Ri is the one that cheers the others on when things get tough.

Kim Do-Hyeon is a cop, and was adopted as a child. After getting a promotion, he moves to Geumje, where he starts solving simple crimes and tries to unravel the secret behind an old crime involving arson and the kidnapping of young children. Though it is somewhat centered around a mystery, Kim Do-Hyeon's story is the least exciting one. It is a bit slow and lacks emotion, as well as depth.

His end is satisfying, but a few forced coincidences make it a bit unrealistic.

A Virtuous Business is a K-Drama that makes us reflect on what makes us embarrassed, scared to show ourselves, and speak about our wants and needs. It's about getting to know ourselves, finding out more about ourselves. And, mostly, about how women get stronger when they support each other, and hear each other. Even more considering that a lot of people (in any country) want to crush women just for being women.

However, as for the storyline and the script, this show could have gone over the stigma around this line of work, and how it negatively and positively impacted the village, the clients, and their homes, a bit more. Because it's such a controversial line of work, the show could have gone deeper into these repercussions.

Another issue is Kim Do-Hyeon's storyline. As I mentioned, besides not that exciting, it seems to happen in parallel to the main story, and isn't really a part of it. When we finally understand why this entire storyline exists, it's sort of out of nowhere, almost all spilled over the final chapters. It reads as rushed.

By the way, the entire last episode feels that way, and doesn't really add anything to the story. It throws a few plot lines out of nowhere at us, such as their store being trashed and the unexpected return of a character, which is a bit pointless because we won't have time to follow it through.

The time skip that ends the show jumps to years in the future. Our main character is already successful, but we don't know how she got there. I would have preferred to see her evolution, even if just briefly, in flashbacks.

This rushed ending, for a show that dedicated so much time to a less exciting subplot, is a bit of a pity. They could have spent this time developing the main theme instead.

Despite a few flaws, this TV show is worth a watch! It's not unforgettable, but it makes up for this by exploring unusual themes and making the bold choice of not going for the same old romance storyline. Instead, it focuses more on the friendship between these women and their determination to live a better life, despite societal pressure.

Would you watch this unusual K-Drama? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!