Backstreet Rookie: Episodes 1-2 Open Thread
by missvictrix
Backstreet Rookie is here, and it’s every bit as colorful as advertised. After some quick background, the story of our store owner hero and his feisty part-timer goes into full swing, and it’s rife with misunderstandings, manipulation, and a distinct manhwa feel.
EPISODES 1-2 WEECAP
Before we dig into the premiere week episodes, let’s say hello to the elephant in the room, shall we? Yes, our leading actors have a pretty big age gap between them. Some (most) people react really adversely to this; others don’t. Feel your feelings, everyone, but if you’re game, let’s see where this story takes us. As long as it’s not to a cryogenic sleep pod, I think we’ll be okay?
Our drama starts out with a bit of prologue, setting up our characters when they first meet three years in the past. It’s short and to the point — we learn everything we need to know about our leads. There’s CHOI DAE-HYUN (Ji Chang-wook), who saves kittens from sewers, and though a bit dopey, surely doesn’t deserve the cruel dumping he gets from his girlfriend (yay, Jung Eun-ji killing her cameo!).
Flip the coin, and we’ve got our heroine, JUNG SAET-BYUL (Kim Yoo-jung) who lives by the credo, “A real woman speaks with her fist.” She’s a high school iljin, an expert fighter, and is already using her sex appeal to get what she wants out of people. And in this case, that’s poor Dae-hyun. Poor dude doesn’t know what hit him when they cross paths by chance, and you can literally see him losing his brains as she mixes coyness and aggressiveness to manipulate him. The takeaway? She’s nobody’s fool, and he’s a bit of a fool.
Our leads meet again three years later, when Dae-hyun hires Saet-byul as a part-timer at his family’s 24-hour convenience store. I say “hires,” but it’s more like she hires herself, and then he goes along with it. The build up to the hiring is pretty great — Dae-hyun is working at the store literally non-stop, and there’s an on screen clock ticking away as we watch him struggle to stay conscious and cognizant of his surroundings. Ji Chang-wook does this so well; it’s hilarious, but you can also feel the pain of his sleep deprivation. So, when Saet-byul charges in and applies for the job, you can see why our hero is blindsided.
This interaction is just the start to their power struggle, and our first episode is mostly concerned with the crazy that occurs after she’s hired. Goofball though he is, it’s easy to see why Dae-hyun would suspect his new part-timer of stealing cash (the 50,000 won section of the cash register is emptied and she has a back pocket full of cash), then all the cigarettes (she’s emptied the entire display to “organize”), and then become convinced she’s a fraud when the address on her application is actually that of a prostitution ring. They set the misunderstandings to rights rather fast, and while suspicion still plays a role, the major question is why Saet-byul is there. Clearly she’s laid some plans.
In Episode 2, their entanglement only gets more so — Saet-byul’s drunk iljin friends admit she’s working there because of him (and it’s obvious to us that she’s been mooning over him since they first met), and Saet-byul might be joking about seducing him, but we know she’s not. “Say sorry to your girlfriend for me,” she quips.
Their dynamic is pretty funny, with Dae-hyun trying to be daunting and in control, but losing his nerve whenever they’re together. I like the blurriness of whether he is falling for her charms, or falling under her spell, and it looks like the power dynamics of their relationship will be the fuel for the rest of our plot (with a sprinkling of problematic friends and an angry girlfriend).
Outside of the romance angle, though, there’s also the concept of Saet-byul being the one that carries out the store owner justice that Dae-hyun is unable to follow through on (example: Jun of the illegal cigarette purchases). I like the idea of a smart and street-savvy Saet-byul protecting the goofball she loves, and this could turn out to be the best part of their interactions for me.
With our plot and characters introduced, we definitely have to talk about form, because Backstreet Rookie leads with its style. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever watched a webtoon adaptation that’s felt so much like an actual webtoon. The way shots are framed, the on screen text and embellishments, and even the crazy CGI during Saet-byul’s fight scenes (and her hilarious Super Saiyan moments) — all these things added to the feeling of watching a moving manhwa, so to speak.
Between this and the comedy, Backstreet Rookie is definitely a drama you have to be in the right mood for — while some of the comedy was really great (when Ji Chang-wook is funny, he’s funny), some of it felt a little forced. However, I’m hoping the drama evens out a little as it progresses.
While the webtoon feel I can get behind, Backstreet Rookie also seems to be hanging on to its source material a bit more than expected. Long story short, it’s got this subtle raunchiness to it that actually surprised me. I expected a cute, sassy PG story… but what we’re getting feels more like a watered down version of the adult story it’s adapted from. From suggestive comments, to Dae-hyun’s friend’s orgasmic drawing session (eww!), to the way the camera looks at Saet-byul’s body — I’m honestly not so used to seeing these things in dramaland.
That being said, a drama’s first week is only the first week, and if there’s anything I’m coming away with after our premiere, it’s that Backstreet Rookie knows its flavor, and it’s not afraid to use it. There’s something to be said for that, and we’ll have to see where we go from here.
I actually like the drama’s premise, and I really like the setting of the store (it’s such a great little microcosm for a story to take place) — in fact, the store and the surrounding “streets” look so much like a set that it only amps up that moving manhwa feeling I talked about earlier.
Also, I can’t not say how drop-dead gorgeous Kim Yoo-jung is. This isn’t a role I might have chosen for her if I was her agent, but she is so confident and in-charge playing Saet-byul that I almost feel like I’m under the same spell she’s putting on Dae-hyun.
We’ll dig more into the characters and developing plot next week, but in the meantime, as we chat about this drama, let’s remember that while we might have different opinions and takes on this story and the many issues that are attached to it — we can all still be friends at the end of the day. After all, there’s enough expired kimbap at Dae-hyun’s store for everyone.
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Tags: Backstreet Rookie, Do Sang-woo, featured2, first episodes, Han Sun-hwa, Ji Chang-wook, Kim Yoo-jung
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51 stpauligurl
June 21, 2020 at 7:34 PM
Here I am, about to wade into the fray of all the comments (some more angry than others) to say that when I saw the number of comments I immediately went to find the show and found myself kinda sorta on the fence about it. But I'll try it again next week to see if it gets any better.
1. Age gap between ML and FL is nothing to me. I know too many couples with more than a 20 year age gap.
2. The FL kissing the ML on the street was a way for the writer to say this is a young woman who is determined to make herself known and thinks she can get away with anything. Men in kdramas do it all the time but I don't see many angry comments about all of those scenes.
3. Dreadlocks man- I'm waiting to see what they do with him. The flies in his hair were REALLY NOT needed and I didn't like the image. And his drawing the porn. ugh... will FF from now on.
4. The girls fighting and bodies flying everywhere was kinda funny and reminded me of SWBDS - but mainly I just FF through them.
5. JCW is adorable in his dorky cluelessness. I kept remembering that he played that role in Healer and wondered if he was going to break into Healer mode. But he does dorky very well.
6. The violence of the mom bashing the dad and hitting everyone and yelling at them. I do not like that and skipped all the scenes with his parents.
7. FL is GORGEOUS- period.
8. Next episodes are better than the first two - so I'm holding off judgement until next week.
and I hope the comments section is a bit calmer next week as well..
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52 Slice-of-Life Dramatics
June 21, 2020 at 8:50 PM
Putting aside all the controversy here, I don't really know where the drama intends to go because the first 2 episodes only introduced the physical background setting of the convenience store, but sheds no further light or introduces no other setting substantive plot-wise. Whilst Episode 1 was mildly interesting with all the anime-ish effects, Episode 2 was quite... filler-ish for me, i.e. boring. Doesn't seem to be a good sign if the second episode already feels filler-ish. Shall stick around for next week's episodes to see if there is a further backbone plot driving this, otherwise, I can't figure out how this drama can last 16 episodes.
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53 Carmen
June 21, 2020 at 9:03 PM
Cultural appropriation is just US things,
It so funny to me to see people melt down because "they can't use it, it ours and we've been getting flack for it" so the solution is exclusively?
Let's be frank, it is better if dread is perceived as something normal but marginalized the use of it because "you can't wear it?
What's the outcome you want to be?
By saying that no one beside black can wear dread, it all just mounted to "false outrage. All I hear is because we don't get good reception wearing it, no one can, let's drag everyone down so they feel what we felt when it has nothing to do with race. Called is "Rastafarian" for PC sake and doesn't want to recognise that black isn't the only one with curly hair that prefer dreads as their hairstyles.
EP 2 shows that people questions the character origin and they make sure to tell the viewer he is Korean, the other people even more confused and weirded out by him because he is Korean, he is not seen as black bad man but Cavemen Korean who has no identity. The drama hasn't even ended to make any statements over him and yet "cancel" outrage wants to play society police. Does dread a holy hairstyle? Or something you earn by accomplishing something? Earning a right by birth is exactly something we shouldn't promote.
Culture is not stagnant, the debate over dread always left e speecless because all of promote is division, separation and exclusivity because banning something isn't something you do partly and you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Normalised the dread so no one get called ugly for it.
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lynnet
June 27, 2020 at 2:03 PM
It's not just the dread dear , its everything from the dread ,to the reggae music to the pan African coloured clothing, if it had just been the dread ,I could have shrugged it off as an interesting choice in hairstyle but when you put everything together then yes , its mocking blackness and Rastafarianism
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54 Tessa
June 21, 2020 at 11:57 PM
Anyone that criticizes this drama is a hypocrite. PERIODT.
First of all, some of y'all are saying the girls/KYJ wore short skirts. I've seen many actresses wear worse things. Most of the girl groups wear way shorter and raunchier things.
Second of all, what is wrong with the reference to prostitution? Doesn't it happen in real life?
Then I don't know what the webtoon guy has to do with black people or Africans in general. They simply noted that his dreads were unkempt. I don't know why people should take that as representing Black Americans or Africans as a whole(I'm Africa. I'm Nigerian and I found it amusing)
Last but not the least, they had to portray that the webtoon guy wrote erotic webtoons; how else would they have portrayed it. The drama is rated 15; it's shown at night; I don't know why some people are acting like babies.
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Eighteen
June 23, 2020 at 1:01 PM
Okay, first of all, sorry for the upvote. I meant to hit reply but I upvoted by accident. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to take it back. (@dramabeans, that needs work, please. Thank you.)
Now, my fellow Nigerian. I see from your profile picture that you are pretty grown, which is why the fact that you can't see how the character in question is insulting to black culture is extra disappointing.
Let me start by saying, the fact that you are Black does not give you the qualification to approve racist or insulting images or actions. The fact that you found this portrayal of a character, who dresses and styles himself in a way commonly associated with Black people and who also happens to be pretty revolting in general for a human being, amusing does not mean that it is okay. Your statement, "I'm Africa. I'm Nigerian and I found it amusing", is not only grammatically incorrect, but it is also another way of saying, "Oh, I'm Black and I find it funny so yeah it's okay for everyone to laugh at it." You are permitting people of other races and cultures to see images like this and go, "oh yeah, that Black girl laughed at it. lol, it's okay."
American media has been propagating a stereotypical idea of Black people and Black culture for hundreds of years. This idea has caught on in other countries like South Korea and is being reflected in their media too. I mean even if they had to have a character with dreads and Jamaican style clothing, why make him the weird, jobless, perverted one? Why can't he just be a regular guy with a 9 to 5? or at least a part-time job? Why can't he just actually be a Black person, instead of some weird washed-up middle-aged Korean dude? If they wanted a Korean in the role why give him attributes commonly associated with Black people? Black people and other People of Color have had to deal with misrepresentations in the media for years. Is it so bad to want to see better representations of our people and culture in the media?
The people who watch this are going to see this character, not as one weird dude from some show, but as a representation of people who look like him. They will apply their feelings about this character to everyone else who resembles him in style and clothing. Now this may all seem like an exaggeration but I assure you film and other forms of visual media are more powerful than you'd think which is why people like me study them (an actual qualification. You should be taking notes).
Listen, I get it. Coming from a predominantly Black country, it's hard sometimes to understand or see the nuances of racism. I still have a hard time at times but shutting down those who see a problem in things like this or discrediting their beliefs is not the way to go, my sister. At least listen to what they are saying and if you still disagree then at least you tried.
Accepting representations like this as "jokes" and "not a big deal" has contributed to where we are today...
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Esther
June 23, 2020 at 2:10 PM
I couldn’t agree more on what you said.
@tessa First of all, criticizing a drama does not mean you hate the cast and crews of the drama. People are free to criticize whatever they feel needs criticism and just because you like it does not mean everyone should. That’s why there’s something called “Constructive criticism”. It doesn’t make than a hater or hypocrite like you said.
Secondly, like @loisom said just because you’re black and don’t see anything wrong with it does not makes it right!
I seriously hate to say this but please, don’t bring the Naija mentality in here. It’s cancerous!
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Esther
June 23, 2020 at 2:11 PM
@misspeppermimi🤦♀️
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misspeppermimi
June 23, 2020 at 2:42 PM
I agree fully. The dreads are quite offensive. Especially as Koreans make such a big deal with washing their hair every day.
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Lee
July 11, 2020 at 6:34 PM
That's not good for your hair actually!
Eighteen
June 24, 2020 at 9:02 PM
I went through the trouble of not being insulting or just getting mad. I actually wrote something I put a lot of thought and patience into so I really hope you read it and maybe get something from it @tessa
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55 hannaehh
June 22, 2020 at 12:22 AM
When I first saw the pairing, the age gap did make me feel a bit awkward, but I didn’t mind it so much because KYJ is already 22, she can have adult role and break the stigma of her being child actress. I gave ep 1 a try and to me the problem of this drama is the plot, writing and directing itself. SWDBS also did have “manga” vibe during her fighting scene, but the fighting scene in this drama is utterly ridiculous. It gives me vibe that this drama is immature and childish. I also don’t like the effects of SB flying to DH and kissing him? I was like wth?? Flying effect one thing, but a high schooler kissing a random adult? Aren’t we supposed to teach the young generation about consent? I know it’s to show how problematic the character is when she was young, but there are so many other ways to do. Another thing that I don’t like is about the dreadlock friend being portrayed as some sort of weirdo and pervert as he likes drawing erotic manga. Plus, it’s not cool how the female lead character is pursuing the lead guy when she knows he’s already have a girlfriend. I always hate this kind of troop. It seems like the female lead is “confident” but to me, it’s just plain rude. The whole thing is just not right for a FAMILY drama.
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gunslling
June 22, 2020 at 5:39 PM
she is delinquent, troublemaker and dropout from high school, he said to her that she shouldn't do it but do you think she cares?
it's characterisation, we suppose to find her a troublemaker and suspicious like the male lead
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56 spicykimchi
June 22, 2020 at 4:47 AM
*sigh* JCW needs a new agent/agency.
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57 sharon_th
June 22, 2020 at 6:48 AM
Okay so I was really anticipating this drama because of JCW, I really really love him. The age gap or any other thing didn't bother me at all. But I can't be the only one who found the flow and scenes of the story SO IRRITATING. Don't get me wrong but some scenes were really annoying, annoying enough I considered dropping one of my favourite bias' drama. Doesn't happen quite often. That being said I really think this drama isn't my cup of tea, I hope it does well but I don't know how far I'll watch it. Something about it is SO IRRITATING I can't even explain. Also I really feel that JCW is the action king of kdramas and should have stuck with that. Romcoms aren't his thing let's agree okay? Dont tell me K2 or Healer didn't give you goosebumps like no other. I just don't get the vibe
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58 Zuzubee123
June 22, 2020 at 7:26 AM
The character with the dreads is racist. He is clearly appropriating a person who is black, not "a hippie" like some people want to claim. They cast a dark skinned actor (not a coincidence and I'm not convinced they didn't darken his skin or ask him to get tanner for the role), he has dreadlocks, he is wearing Rastafarian clothing, and listens to reggae music. It was a conscious decision to make him look like a person who is black.
Combine that with the fact that his character is a thief, perverted, and filthy with bugs in his hair, all of which are hateful stereotypes used to oppress and degrade black people. Racist.
I encourage anyone who thinks this is OK to please educate yourselves. Please stop allowing this crap to slide and making it seem like it's no big deal. It was unnecessary and they went out of their way to add in this racist character. It makes me sad that so many people are cool with this.
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Eighteen
June 23, 2020 at 12:04 PM
🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣 FACTS
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59 Izaid
June 22, 2020 at 8:29 AM
For something so bad, I’ve never seen so many people care enough to write their reactions here. I’m gonna watch this drama. LOL
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60 welh
June 22, 2020 at 12:55 PM
I started to watch but then gave up because episode 1 did not make any sense. Was it a kung fu movie? Was it a high school/coming of age comedy? Was it going to be Pegasus convenience store? Was it going to be a creepy drama?
Considering the number of comments, the show did spark a lot of viewer reactions, both good and bad. My impression that it was not worth the time to spend to see if the story make sense or would continue to be a mess.
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61 Simi
June 22, 2020 at 7:12 PM
I love JCW in action, but I'm not going to lie, I also really love him in romance! Just the way he stares is enough...So yeah, I love him playing this dorky guy. And I love how he's doing romance, so boo on some of you for saying he should only do action. However, he should choose better scripts. That's probably one of the reasons why some aren't liking him in romance...or they're Healer obsessed. Go for romance, but something intense like Empress Ki.
However, the story is just okay for now and I don't like the portrayal of his friend; but he's loyal so that's nice I guess. But I will wait until the end before I judge. Who knows maybe there will be a point to this?
KYJ is doing a great job as the feisty lead! She knows what she wants, and that's cool. But there's a line and as long as she doesn't cross it, I'm rooting for her to get the ML.
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62 Eighteen
June 23, 2020 at 12:02 PM
I really really do not like Dae-Hyun's friend. The character is annoying but I can just skip his parts and be over it. His hair though. I really hate his hair. Reggae writer or whatever his name is, what does he think he is?!! I'm really tired of seeing things like this in Korean media. What are the writers, producers, and directors doing? Don't they have researchers??! I mean it's 2020, not that it would be okay even if it was the 1800s, but information is so much easier to find right now. If they're going to appropriate something at least be respectful. The only thing that character does is propagate an idea that's unfortunately been associated with dreads for a long time: that the people who have them are weird or crazy. And that's not right.
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Swannie
July 10, 2020 at 8:39 AM
@Eighteen
I read your compelling response to @Tessa, it was a well written and respectful rebuke of her being a Nigerian giving the OK to the cultural appropriation of Jamaicans. I was all in agreeing 100%.
The above comment was written an hour before your reply to Tessa. Just for my own edification, are you saying though you strongly disapprove of the Han Dal Shik character, you are still watching this show, just fast forwarding past this character?
I don't want to assume, so I wanted to ask.
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Eighteen
July 17, 2020 at 7:46 AM
Hi, I was saying that if the character was just some weirdo I could skip his parts but the fact that he's a big disrespect to Black and Jamaican culture is unacceptable. I did not watch past the first episode of the show and I do not plan on doing so because it just adds unnecessary drama and anger to my life. There aren't a lot of dramas that I like lately but I'd rather wait for the few that are actually good that waste my time on this one. Quality over quantity.
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Eighteen
July 17, 2020 at 7:47 AM
And thank you for actually reading through my comments and taking time out to clarify 😊
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63 Sifimoyo
June 24, 2020 at 6:24 AM
I cannot believe the comments about the age difference! What century are they living in? If you didn’t KNOW their respective ages - and I don't know and don’t care - I would put the girl 22/24 and the guy 28/29? They are both incredibly good looking and make a perfectly acceptable pairing. For the record I left my parents, home at 20 to marry a guy of 30 with whom I have two beautiful children. Yes, I might have to push his wheelchair around 30 years from now, but so what! It’s disgusting to suggest that a ten year age gap is socially unacceptable, it depends on the individual, surely? And it’s ok if the gap is the other way round? (Www Search, Encounter). We were thinking of coming to Korea on holiday, will we be stoned by disapproving locals.??
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64 Vespertyne29
June 26, 2020 at 12:12 AM
https://www.koreaboo.com/news/backstreet-rookie-continues-stir-controversy-6k-complaints-filed/
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J
June 26, 2020 at 1:22 AM
For a change Knets know that a drama isn't just 'fiction'.
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65 Ella
June 26, 2020 at 9:43 AM
I so much love did drama can't stop laughing
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66 Charlie
June 26, 2020 at 4:54 PM
I am quite neutral in this discussion, not being a fan of the actors or the PD. So let me say that the criticisms of the drama are exaggerated. A modest kiss is not outrageous, despite the age difference, a tight-fitting dress is not vulgar, there is no racism. Stating all this is signing petitions is nonsense. Over the years, dramas with notable age differences (Goblin) or miseducation for various reasons have been exalted, some in which the woman was treated as an object even without the need to exhibit curves. Certainly adapting that webtoon was perhaps not a good idea. KYJ should change agent or hope for a stroke of luck like Mdbc. But she has an attractive, strong character, wait before judging
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67 Lee
July 11, 2020 at 6:45 PM
What is the synopsis for this drama? What is the story arc? Is there one? While most folks are aggravated by the dreadlocks dude and the daring dresses I am put off by the violence! "A real woman speaks with her fist." Since when? Are you telling me that high school girls actually beat the crap out of each other? The FL punched the ML in the head twice, and even took a few shots at the sloth! What is up with that? So disappointing! The first thing that put me off was the whole kitten rescue. Why was this scene needed? Animals used for human entertainment is horribly wrong. The kitten was distressed and the ML grabbed him by the skin to get him out of there. Are there no animal welfare advocates on set to make sure no animal is harmed in Korea? Anyway there are far too many good dramas started up this month to stick with this one.
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68 Preethi
July 14, 2020 at 9:33 AM
Why is everyone talking about the age gap here and in Goblin but no one's talking about the age gap in Mr. Sunshine?
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