We can't miss a Park Hyungsik drama. After all, I've seen a lot of his shows. And while reviews for this drama were not that glowing, it was still worth our time, especially because it helped us witness furthermore how much Park Hyung Sik is growing as an actor.
Plot
Buried Hearts tells the story of Seo Dongju (Park Hyung Sik), a loyal director of the Daesan Group of Companies and a trusted right hand man of Daesan's Chairman Cha (Woo Hyeon of 1987: When the Day Comes, Law School, More than Friends, and Reply 1988). He is in a happy and steady relationship with Yeo Eunnam (Hong Hwayeon). However, Dongju's world turns upside down when it turns out that Eunnam is Chairman Cha's granddaughter and she left him to marry Dongju's high school rival, Yeom Huicheol (Kwon Soohyun of Record of Youth and High Society), to get more shares in Daesan. Dongju is heartbroken and things get worse as he finds himself entangled in the web of crimes and corruption perpetuated by former prosecutor turned Professor Yeom Jangsun (Heo Junho of Escape from Mogadishu and Snowdrop), Daesan's self-proclaimed savior/fixer but who's actually manipulating things behind the scenes to destroy and take over Daesan. The story takes us through how Dongju successfully survives all attempts by Yeom and his group to destroy and kill Dongju.
Park Hyungsik as Seo Dongju / Chu Seonghyeon
I've seen like half of Park Hyungsik's movie and shows - Juror 8, Doctor Slump, Soundtrack #1, Happiness, Suits, Strong Girl Bong Soon, She Was Pretty, High Society, and What Happens to My Family. And I think this might be his deepest and most serious role to date. Dongju is so sinister and scheming, making it so difficult to beat him. He is very perceptive about the intentions and the next moves of his enemies, making him always a step ahead of them. That's why it's not surprising that everyone is after his head.
Dongju has his soft side too. Like that heartbreaking aborted proposal for Eunnam where he went through the trouble of buying a dress for her and learning violin to woo her. Then you have his breakdown scenes like when his sister (Han Jihye) was killed and he was crying on his own while drinking the tea (or was it honey?) that she gave him. Or when he was sentimental over the book and postcard that was supposed to be given to him by Yeo Sunho (Joo Sangwook), Eunnam's dad, whom Dongju thought was his dad too.
But Park Hyungsik was in his element doing badass stuff as Dongju. He did really well in the numerous scenes where he was tortured. I loved the way he played with Daesan Enerygy's president and Eunnam's stepfather, Huh Ildo (Lee Haeyoung of Confidential Assignment, Moving, See You in My 19th Life, The Glory, and At Eighteen), like Dongju teasing Ildo about regaining his memory of who shot him. Or when he threatened Yeom to shoot himself and risk losing any chance of retrieving the patriotic fund that Dongju stole. And while Yeom and his minion Guho (Joo Yeonwoo) were visibly shaken by that scene, Dongju just walked away as if nothing happened. Or the time he threatened Chairman Cha's butler, Secretary Gong (Seo Kyunghwa), not to tell anyone that Dongju was actually Seonghyeon. Or how he revealed to Ildo that he knew Ildo killed Sunho, Dongju's mom (Shin Goeun), and Dongju, and that Dongju and Seonghyeon were one and the same. Or how he asked Ildo and his family to leave Daesan or how he dared Ildo to shoot him while calling Ildo father and confronting Ildo about his mistakes later on. Or how he ordered Yeom and Chairman Cha not to attend Ildo's funeral and how he played with the two by being the only person who knows the patriotic fund's and Daesan's personal vault's passcodes. Or that creepy confrontation with Yeom whom he locked up in the vault.
After seeing Park Hyungsik here, I'm not sure if he still has anything left to prove. But I'll still be watching out for him because he just seems to keep on getting better.
Hong Hwayeon as Yeo Eunnam
As Eunnam, I found Hong Hwayeon very appealing. She left us curious because she seemed like someone very mysterious. It's unfortunate though that her screen time decreased significantly as the show progressed. So there's not much to say about her. But I had to write about her because was probably one of the few sane characters in this drama. And perhaps as a self-note to see more of her in the future.
Execution
First, let's go through the not so okay stuff. I'm not sure if it was done deliberately to make things lighter or funny, but Chairman Cha didn't look like the patriarch of a conglomerate family. He looked quite wimpy and more of a comedian to me.
Some of the bad guys didn't look that bad either. Like Guho. Or Ildo who looks too weak and on the verge of crying everytime Yeom castigates him. His jealousy and insecurity over Dongju was really his downfall. And I couldn't completely understand Yeom's fixation on Daesan. I'm sure there are other companies out there that might be easier to break. Especially after they've unsuccessfully attempted to eliminate Dongju too many times and how Dongju always predicted their next moves.
I also found the Chairman's eldest daughter, Deokhui (Kim Jungnan of Reborn Rich, Snowdrop, Crash Landing on You, SKY Castle, and What Happens to My Family), perplexing. She seemed so guilty after her first husband died in the hands of Ildo. But she still asks Ildo to kill Dongju again. Has she really got no fear or remorse? I'd expect that from Yeom probably but not from her.
But having said that, Buried Hearts does not scrimp on the suspense, plot twists, and cliffhanger endings. Oppa says it might have copied some old shows or movies like the Bourne series. And at times, it feels as if it's sensationalizing and unnecessarily prolonging the family drama. But the show handles it quite well that you can't help but watch it until the end.
Of course it all starts with how episode one ends. Eunnam, the love of Dongju's life and the girl he chose over the Chairman's granddaughter, turns out to be that granddaughter. She leaves Dongju to marry the latter's rival and Yeom's nephew to get more Daesan shares to beat Ildo. And everything about Eunnam's complex family unfolds - her dad was killed by her stepfather.
Then you have Dongju bluffing his way to survival by telling Yeom that he has access to the patriotic slush fund. And when Yeom falls for it, Dongju masterfully hacks into the account so he can really control it in its entirety. Which leads to Yeom's revenge by getting in the way of Eunnam and Dongju's reunion and ordering Ildo to kill Dongju. And when that proves unsuccessful, Yeom now uses his manipulative side to blackmail Ildo to retrieve the same amount of money Dongju stole, otherwise, he'll release the video showing Ildo shooting Dongju. I'm not sure if Yeom truly believed that he was doing all of these crazy things for the sake of his country.
Fortunately, Mr. Bae (Lee Yoo Joon of Big Mouth, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, Wonderful Days, and Reply 1994), the guy who initially thought of just stealing Dongju's watch and leaving him for dead in the sea, had a change of heart. As a fugitive, Mr. Bae proved to be instrumental in helping Dongju hurdle a lot of challenges that came his way.
I was conflicted about the amnesia bit. In the beginning, it felt too convenient. Then I was concerned that the show would have a problem dragging this out to 16 episodes, which was how Oppa felt when Dongju regained his memory quickly. Oppa thought things might not be that exciting anymore now that he remembers everything. But in the end, I enjoyed it while it lasted - especially with how Dongju used it to play with Yeom and Ildo. I liked how he threatened to shoot himself in front of Yeom saying he does not know what is real or not. Or how he went super crazy by eating something with cinnamon, which he was allergic to, to make the others think he still had amnesia. I didn't like that Dongju's sister had to die for him to fully regain his memory. I felt it was quite convenient and the sister was used too much as a collateral damage.
There were characters that seemed really important but didn't really do that much aside from helping push the story forward. For a while there, I thought Secretary Gong was related to Dongju. Or that Dr. Kang (Noh Susanna of Samjin Company English Class and The Producers) was going to be instrumental in helping Dongju catch the bad guys. If the show used these characters to distract us, then I guess it was successful.
I liked Chairman Cha's motorcycle ride with his illegitimate son, Ji Seonu (Cha Woomin of Melo Movie). Although again, I found it too convenient that Seonu would be the one to find the Chairman when the latter was lost walking barefoot due to dementia.
Huicheol was not likable at all but I appreciated how he agreed to initiate the divorce with Eunnam so that the latter would not need to pay any penalty.
And of course, the biggest bombshell of all was the truth about Dongju's family. Who would have thought that the guy who's tried to kill him so many times was actually his father? And such a dramatic way to reveal it while his father was trying to kill him yet again. My biggest takeaway here? At least, Dongju and Eunnam are not blood relatives as the show seemed to have implied in the beginning.
And how this paved the way for Ildo to finally break free from Yeom - telling the latter that he was going to team up with his more competent son, Dongju, and that Yeom should back off Daesan. Of course, this choice came with inevitable consequences. With Yeom brainwashing the Chairman against Ildo and Dongju, whom he tagged as thieves in cahoots in bringing down Daesan, which then led the Chairman to agree to killing Dongju and Ildo.
Then you have Ildo and Dongju's short, sweet, and rudely interrupted reunion, ending with Ildo dying to save Dongju. This was so heartbreaking especially as it came after that sentimental conversation they had about having small talks, how Dongju takes after Ildo in terms of greed but with Dongju countering that he never crossed the line unlike Ildo, and how Dongju should scatter Ildo's ashes in the sea where the latter tried to kill the former so he can spend the rest of his afterlife asking for forgiveness and repenting over his sins.
Then you have the never ending loyalty switches. Ms. Ji (Do Ji Won), Chairman Cha's mistress, teaming up with Yeom. Or the Chairman's second daughter, Cha Gukhui (Hong Soohyun), agreeing to Ms. Ji's marriage to the Chairman after Dongju threatened to rat on Gukhui for stealing money from Daesan's vault. Then you have Chairman Cha asking Dongju to marry Eunnam right away, which did not push through. Or Yeom's loyal Administrator (Sung Nojin of Gyeongseong Creature 2, Our Blues, Youth of May, and Law School) teaming up with Dongju.
I loved Dongju's little support group composed of Mr. Bae, hacker friend Myung Taegum (Kong Jiho), and his foster mother Madame Pi (Son Jina of The Glory). I wish the show delved more on their connections to or relationships with Dongju and what really motivated them to help him fight Yeom.
One of the biggest casualties for me is Eunnam's and Dongju's half brother, Taeyun (Yoon Sanghyeon of Doctor Slump). That boy must be suffering so much because of everything that he knows. Like how Ildo didn't call an ambulance when Dongju had that cinnamon episode or how he caught Ildo in the act of shooting Dongju.
And you have to love the events leading up to the finale beginning with that drone Dongju used to broadcast live Yeom's admission of his crimes. Or how the Chairman was now so very conflicted if he should trust Dongju or Yeom. And Dongju pitting everyone after Daesan against each other, which I divide into team Taeyun and team Seonu. In the end, I loved how the Chairman chose to do right by Ildo, by telling all about the murder before he loses his memory completely.
It was a nice touch for the show to talk about the greed of politicians that gets them embroiled in webs of corruption. And the interplay between government and big business and the crazy and sometimes exciting world of family corporation politics - who sides with who, who marries who to further their corporate greed, the need for male successors/heirs, etc.
One thing I really liked about the finale was how Dongju didn't kill Yeom. If he did and with Eunnam telling him he did a good job because he deserved to be the one to kill Yeom, I would've felt really bad because it would have perpetuated a cycle of killing. What Dongju did in locking up Yeom in Daesan's vault that he's been lusting over for the longest time was more well-deserved. Yeom lost everything, including his family, with Dongju getting him to turn over all of his assets for donation. And Yeom still went to jail. I was curious though why Yeom didn't tell on Dongju for abducting him and keeping him in detention for a year.
I liked that Huicheol left the prosecution, a place where he could never really shine on his own given that it's his uncle's turf. And it was a bonus to see him and Dongju engaged in a light banter, hopefully paving the way for a more meaningful and respectful friendship between them.
Greed being the central theme of the show was present until the very end. Deokhui driving herself crazy with her obsession in having Taeyun inherit Daesan. I admired how Taeyun was humble enough to admit that it might not be for him and Seonu might be a better fit and how Dongju supported him by telling him to still give it a try but giving him the freedom to leave if he really does not like it. It's just unfortunate that this happened when Seonu was beginning to show his dark side which led him to kill Taeyun. I liked that question Dongju posed on the Elder, telling the latter that he didn't seem like the greedy type, so what changed.
I loved that with everything wrapped up (almost at least), Dongju decided to step back to find himself, to re-center his moral compass hopefully, which was badly messed up when he was so consumed by his desire for revenge against Yeom. I liked that he trusted Eunnam with the code, reassuring her that she was capable of leading Daesan. I find that a very powerful clapback to the Chairman's obsession over having a guy run Daesan. It was sad to see Dongju scattering Ildo's ashes over the sea and playing the violin afterwards but that was a really nice final shot of him looking out into the sea on the yacht. I hope he's just planning to throw away the guns and not use them for anything else. Sure, more bad news awaits him when he comes back. But I know Dongju will emerge victorious yet again.
Oppa says...3.6.
Noona says...4.
