The new trend of creating dramas based on Webtoons is probably one of the best things that have happened to Webtoon fans. They get to see their favourite characters being personified by talented actors that give emotions to the characters and spice to the story.
The 2020 drama ‘Backstreet Rookie’ is a production based on the Webtoon ‘Convenience Store Saet-byul’, written by Hwalhwasan, and it is our feature for today’s drama review.
Starting off
Directed by Myoungwoo Lee and written by Son Geun-joo, ‘Backstreet rookie’ tells the story of Jung Saet-Byul (Kim Yoo-Jung), the elder daughter to a taekwondo master and her sister of Jung Eun-Byel (Ahn Sol-Bim).
After losing both of their parents the Jung sisters find themselves in a position where they need to look after themselves, after distant family members are unable to offer emotional support of stability to these sisters.
Jung Saet-Byul decides to become the head of her family and quits school to support her little sister’s studies. She decides to get a part-time job at GS25 convenience store where she reunites with Dae-Hyun (Ji Chang-Wook).
Saet-Byul and Dae-Hyun met a couple of years ago after she asked him to buy cigarettes for her. He refused at first as they were still school students but ended up buying them and telling Saet-byul and her friends to quit the habit and become better.
Saet-byul feels touched after Dae-hyun shows worry for them and decides to give him a kiss.
Even though she looks tough on the outside Saet-byul is a rather thoughtful girl that had to go through hardships in life. She refuses to let bullies get their way, due to her taekwondo skills and fearless attitude many see her as a delinquent but she never fights without a reason.
Dae-hyun decides to quit his corporate job and open his own 24 hours convenience store, he struggles with the shifts but gets help from his family and close friends.
New Beginnings
After Dae-hyun hires Saet-byul, his convenience store starts to earn more, and also makes him trust her, not just as an employee but also a friend. During the time they spend working together they both create a lovely bond of support and honesty, even though Saet-byul has a crush on him.
Despite this, Saet-byul respects his relationship with his current girlfriend. However, Dae-hyun’s girlfriend feels threatened by her closeness to him, this leads to her wanting Dae-hyun to fire Saet-byul but he is unable to do so mainly because she is good at her job and his family really likes her.
Both Dae-hyun and Saet-byul, throughout the drama work-out the ups and downs of their business, family and personal life. Their friendship and support become important for them.
Quirky and trendy
‘Backstreet Rookie’ is a drama that falls in the slice-of-life genre with certain quirkiness around it that makes it an interesting watch. However, this drama received a lot of criticism for scenes deemed inappropriate in Korea, and cultural insensitivity with international fans.
This drama did try to be more current and trendy, touching topics related to scams, friendship, bullies and the difficulties of adulthood. Though I would have loved it if the approach had been taken in a different way making it more sensitive for culturally diverse audiences.
Their soundtrack is very good, my favourite song was ‘Treasure’ by the R&B singer Colde. Check the full OST here.
If you watched this drama let us know your opinion in the comments and you can check the trailer below.
