The World of the Married Movie Review

“The World of the Married”, “The World of Marriage”, or also known as “A World of Married Couple” are the most popular Korean dramas in early 2020. For those who don’t know, this Drakor is based on the drama series on the channel British BBC entitled “Doctor Foster”. So, this drama is not a plagiarism but an adaptation, huh.

Tells about the world of married couples who betray, pushing them to sadness, anger, a sense of revenge, and also healing time.

The drama, which was played by Kim Hee Ae, Park Hae Joon, and Han So Hee, earned the highest rating in the history of Korean television dramas, which was 28.37% for its final episode. Every time a new episode of this drama airs, we often see it becoming a trending topic not only in several countries but throughout the world!

Want to know more about the Drakor that these people are talking about? Come on, just watch until the end of the review from the Bumareview team!

Synopsis The World of the Married

• Year of Release 2020
• Genres Adult , Drama , Family , Mature , Medical , Melodrama , Psychological , Romance , Slice of Life , Thriller
• Director Kim Sung Jin , Mo Wan Il
• Cast ∙ Kim Hee Ae ∙ Park Hae Joon ∙ Han So Hee

Ji Sun Woo is a doctor and associate director at Family Love Hospital. He has a high status and degree, respected and respected. She also has a happy family with her husband, Lee Tae Oh, and their son, Lee Joon Young.

It seems, Sun Woo has everything, huh? As it turns out, life is not that beautiful. Because, unbeknownst to her, she was betrayed by her own husband (and also the people around her).

When Tae Oh and Yeo Da Kyung’s affair was revealed, Sun Woo had thoughts of kicking Tae Oh out of the house, divorced, and widowed. But, this choice must be very influential on his only child. Sun Woo was confused about choosing between saving his marriage, separating, and his child’s happiness too.

The World of the Married Review

Unpredictable Plot

Unlike the clichéd stories of infidelity, where the partner’s infidelity is discovered in the middle or even at the end of the story, The World of the Married uncovers the story of the affair from its first episode.

So, the audience can understand that what this story wants to show is not the affair itself, but the life processes that occur from the characters and the relationships around them after the affair is exposed.

To be honest, not the type of person who always watches dramas or movies from start to finish. I prefer to skip scenes which, in my opinion, are less important or less exciting. However, this drama really caught my attention.

And, I think if there are scenes that are missed then the audience will not understand the continuation of the story. Every new episode is always surprising, once Sun Woo wins, he suddenly loses again. That’s why, if you watch this drama, you can’t skip it.

Close to Real Life

Why do so many people love (but also hate) this drama? Because, the theme is very close to all of us. In our environment, there are bound to be stories or gossip about someone’s family being less harmonious, whether it’s because of domestic violence, an affair, or a child with problems.

It’s all in the drama The World of Marriage. So, this drama is very realistic. In the real world, in affairs, it is often the woman who is blamed. Lack of attention, it’s not pretty anymore. So did Sun Woo.

She is described as the perfect wife. Beautiful despite her age, takes care of the house with her husband and children, even though she has a career out there as a doctor and deputy director of the hospital.

In fact, her husband’s business, which is a small film production company, is financed by Sun Woo, all house certificates and insurance are also paid for by Sun Woo. However, she is also shown to be the type of person who is ‘too rigid’, and seems to be ‘too dictating’ her husband and children. That’s what makes Tae Oh reason to have an affair.

Because, he feels he has more power , is more charismatic, and is more free with his mistress, Da Kyung. He also seems fed up of living in the shadow of a ‘director who relies on his wife’s money’ and because his wife is far more successful, as a man his ego must be smudged.

Meanwhile, Da Kyung is the son of a rich man who doesn’t have any career, nor is he told whether he had an education (college) or not when the affair took place.

We don’t know how Tae Oh and Da Kyung ended up falling in love, what is clear is that Da Kyung knows that Tae Oh is already married.

I think that Tae Oh’s motive for approaching Da Kyung is to get connections, because Da Kyung’s father is a respected person among respected people. This is evident from Tae Oh who continues to approach (and fawn over, and condescend) in front of Da Kyung’s father without the knowledge of his mistress.

As for Da Kyung, I think she has a sense of disparity with both her busy father and her socialite mother. So that finally she fell in love with a man who was quite far from her age.

Da Kyung also might think Tae Oh is rich, not knowing that it’s his wife’s property. It was proven when their affair was finally uncovered and Tae Oh was no longer accepted by Sun Woo.

Da Kyung also almost broke up with Tae Oh and had an abortion (yes, she was pregnant with Tae Oh’s child). However, he grabbed Tae Oh back and decided to get out of his house.

When discussing finances, Tae Oh says he doesn’t have anything left, and Da Kyung looks completely shocked and disappointed. He even begged his father to accept Tae Oh, him, and the baby, but the father was too embarrassed and finally the three of them left town.

Revenge Elegantly?

In the first episode, the audience was shown who the cheaters and perpetrators were, as well as any fake friends who knew about the affair but decided to stay silent. So intense and seem fast, right? In that episode too, we can see that Sun Woo decided to get his revenge in a smart way.

Successfully Makes the Mood Upside Down Every Episode

I think the drama will end when Tae Oh is with Da Kyung and Sun Woo ends up alone with his son. I think it’s a pretty ‘fair’ ending with Da Kyung being ostracized and her new life with Tae Oh. Then, Sun Woo also looks happy with his son and he has also avenged him.

However, in later episodes, the story is sped up by two years. Sun Woo’s peaceful life is disturbed again when Tae Oh and Da Kyung return to the city of Gosan. Not just returning, her ex-husband’s life has drastically improved.

He has become a famous screenwriter and has the biggest house in Gosan. Even the people who used to gossip about Tae Oh and Da Kyung have turned nice (aka fawning). The drama is getting tense again.

Plot Heats Up, Old Love Hasn’t Disappeared?

Tae Oh’s return to Gosan made both of their hearts shake too, you know. Initially, Tae Oh clearly wants to win over his son’s heart again. Not to mention Joon Young who is starting to grow up as a teenager, the moment someone is rebelling.

And Sun Woo, who is a workaholic and single parent, cannot gain his son’s trust. This loophole makes it very easy for Joon Young to go to his father.

Among these incidents there is a moment that makes Tae Oh and Sun Woo realize that they actually still care and love each other, which leads them to sleep together one night.

And, near the ending, Tae Oh was unable to gain his son’s trust because he slapped Joon Young without listening to his son’s defense first. This is Sun Woo’s winning moment forever.

Mentally Disturbed Children Due to Parents’ Attitudes

Joon Young is psychologically deeply affected by his parents’ conflicts. Where he has to ‘take sides’, because his parents still have high egos.

It was the dissension and divorce of his parents that pushed Joon Young to take actions such as running away from home, skipping lessons, fighting with friends who gossiped about his mother and father ( mostly his mother), to shoplifting anywhere. Yes, Joon Young has kleptomania.

In Joon Young’s mind also embedded hatred for his father. First, because his father had an affair. Second, because Tae Oh ‘abused’ Sun Woo. Third, his parents’ divorce, which Joon Young thinks must be purely his father’s fault.

Fourth, when Tae Oh tries to gain Joon Young’s trust again, he fails because of a slap incident at his mansion. Lastly, when Tae Oh tried to kill himself by jumping in front of the truck, but he survived.

Sun Woo who was asked “Will mom take dad back?” by Joon Young, Sun Woo swiftly answered no.

However, the action of running up to Tae Oh (actually this is humane, who isn’t worried if someone suddenly throws themselves in front of a moving vehicle?) and hugs and grabs Tae Oh illustrates that Sun Woo actually still cares for Tae Oh.

Joon Young, who is already disgusted and hates his own father, is disappointed by his mother’s inconsistent attitude, so he runs away and disappears for a year.

I personally took a very valuable lesson from this drama. For example, in a divorce, end it on good terms, don’t let either party bring it down, don’t insult each other, because we don’t know if we want to reconcile in the future.

Even if not, keep communicating well so that the child’s mentality is not disturbed, for example like Dedy Corbuzier and Kalina, their children actually support their divorced parents because their parents seem happier when they are apart . The child’s mentality is not disturbed because both parents still support each other to raise him.

Open Endings

Dramas with hanging endings have positive and negative sides. People might say “Got it, just like that?” when the film is finished, the ending is indeed very anticlimactic.

But, because it is very open to all possibilities, everyone can speculate and make their own version of the ending of the drama. And, I respect the decision of the director and story writer for an ending like this.

At the end of the story, we can see Joon Young throws his cellphone and goes somewhere. Then, the story is accelerated to one year after the incident. Sun Woo returned to work at the hospital as before, Tae Oh also started his career again and kept his spirits up even though he was rejected everywhere.

Then, we see Sun Woo getting a letter from the Runaway Children Counseling Center. The mystery of Joon Young’s disappearance is answered. “Who goes home?”, may be a frequently asked question. But, I’m sure it’s his son’s feet. So, it was Joon Young who came home, not Tae Oh.

Each Character Experiencing ‘Healing Time’

What I also like about this drama is, each character has time to heal himself. Whether it’s Sun Woo, Tae Oh, Joon Young, even Da Kyung, who the audience considers the devil’s perpetrator.

I feel grateful that Tae Oh didn’t die as a result of being hit by a truck. Because then, all the characters will not experience the time to get to true happiness.

I’m also happy that Da Kyung divorced and dumped Tae Oh and then started her new life by continuing her interest in fashion (and the scene when she refuses a drink from a handsome boy, love it! But also kinda sad , because maybe Da Kyung is traumatized by love).

Well, finally everyone can make peace and forgive themselves and move on in a better condition.

Sun Woo Inocent?

Like many other heavy-themed Korean dramas, “The World of the Married” does not portray the characters as 100% good or bad, but shows that good people have bad sides, and bad people have weak sides and not always strong.

This drama also doesn’t corner ‘It’s Sun Woo’s fault because he is too tall and doesn’t let his husband breathe’ or ‘Tae Oh is an ignorant husband who betrays his own wife and child’, but rather leaves it all up to the audience to make their own approach and conclusions. . And, I love this drama for that.

For example, the main character, namely Sun Woo. Is he a protagonist who is kind, weak, and liked by everyone like FTV characters or drakor romantic comedy genres that are usually on the market? No.

Sun Woo is not good, but not bad either. If I say, he is manipulative, and smart. She is a person who can fake her smile but turns out to be vengeful, waiting for the bomb to explode to get everything out. This could be a positive or negative side of him.

Her attitude towards her in-laws so far is also arguably not an example of an ideal daughter-in-law. He never visited his mother-in-law, even though his mother was treated forever (like a nursing home but for sick elderly) at the hospital where he worked.

Even though, Tae Oh was even worse as his own biological child but never even visited and called his mother. Then, when Sun Woo cornered his mother-in-law about him knowing about his son’s affair.

It’s like he’s giving his mother an ultimatum that he’s going to destroy Tae Oh, and her mother has to watch when that happens. Even though Sun Woo knows that his mother has a chronic heart disease that cannot have heavy thoughts or be surprised.

I too, if I were Sun Woo, I would be upset and feel betrayed, but with him telling this to his mother, and Tae Oh’s mother finally dying the next morning, I don’t think that’s a good thing.

Don’t forget Sun Woo who used his powers as a doctor by prescribing sleeping pills for Min Hyun Seo, a hardworking young girl who can’t escape her abusive boyfriend .

In exchange for the drug prescription, Sun Woo asked Hyun Seo to follow Tae oh Dan Da Kyung and then reported everything to him. As a doctor and an intellectual, Sun Woo should not act like that even though he is blinded by anger and jealousy.

Sun Woo also took advantage of his husband’s best friend’s crush on him, namely Son Je Hyuk. He gets information and ideas on how to take revenge on Tae Oh secretly, and also by illegal means.

Instead, Je Hyuk wants to sleep with Sun Woo and hopes Sun Woo will leave Tae Oh and choose him. In fact, Je Hyuk has a wife who is loyal to him and Sun Woo is also friends with his wife, namely Go Ye Rim.

Indeed, Ye Rim also has faults, such as not telling Sun Woo about Tae Oh’s affair, as well as being secretly jealous of Sun Woo because she knows her husband has always liked Sun Woo.

However, even though they have betrayed each other, Ye Rim still cares about Sun Woo and his family, as evidenced when someone broke into Sun Woo’s house, he went to his neighbor’s house and called the police. He also temporarily accommodated Joon Yeong when Sun Woo and Tae Oh ‘talked’ which led to domestic violence planned by Sun Woo.

Why did I say planned? Because Sun Woo lured Tae Oh. He implicitly said as if he had killed their son, Joon Yeong. Tae Oh was furious and couldn’t believe Sun Woo could go that far.

He also punched and pushed Sun Woo against the wall until his head bled and he fainted. This was seen by Joon Yeong and also Ye Rim. Tae Oh was reported to the police and their divorce went smoothly and Sun Woo won because he has a lot of evidence now.

Likewise when he confessed to Da Kyung that he and Tae Oh slept together again one night, even though Tae Oh and Da Kyung were already married. Then, explains his hypothesis about how Da Kyung is just a substitute for him.

It has positive and negative sides in my opinion. On the negative, he had previously promised to keep this a secret, and if he wanted Tae Oh to return to his new family.

So, he shouldn’t have to tell Da Kyung and Da Kyung’s parents about this. But, on the plus side, he cares for Da Kyung at least a little.

He is worried that one day Da Kyung will be the next Sun Woo, aka replaced too. So, it’s better to leave Tae Oh for now. Although, it could be that Sun Woo’s motive is to knock Tae Oh to the bottom with this.

Conclusion The World of the Married

“The World of the Married” is a drama about an affair and an intense adult life. This drama illustrates that marriage is not always sunshine and rainbow , but there are storms too.

This drama packs a story beautifully to show how complicated marriage is. After learning about her husband’s affair, Sun Woo has two options, namely to divorce or not to divorce.

There may be a lot of viewers who support Sun Woo in getting a divorce, and Tae Oh deserves a complete fall as told in the last episode. Either getting divorced or forgiving has its advantages and disadvantages.

Through the other characters in this drama, we can also see that divorce is not always the best choice, especially for women and those they love (children and nuclear family, for example).

Since, South Korea is still conservative, divorce is not a topic that people can talk about openly. For example, the divorce of South Korean artists isn’t overly exposed, right?

Those who are divorced are not invited to television or YouTube for confirmation and so on, unlike in our country. Although it seems closed, the divorce rate in South Korea is very high in East Asia.

Fun fact : extramarital affairs were a crime prior to 2015, however, the law still does not prevent the perpetrators of the affair. Because sex is not the business of the South Korean government, it is like everyone’s right to have intercourse with anyone.

But, adultery is illegal. So, the law on infidelity was contradictory. In fact, almost half of all married men have had an affair at least once in their lives.

Those who dream of marrying their idol can think again, lol . Put it this way, there are people who don’t cheat at all. But, once cheating, he may not do it just once. This applies to both men and women, yes. That’s enough drama review this time. What do you think about this drama ” The World of the Married “?