[Dispatch=Yuhaneul Reporter] As the title suggests, infidelity is not everything. From visually pleasing fashion to unpredictable characters, to directing that captures the genre's essence. While the familiar subject matter of infidelity has been brought in, the way it fills that space is distinctly different.
The Coupang Play series "Infidelity Is Not the Problem Right Now" (written by Jung Eun-kyung and Park Su-rin, directed by Lee Chang-hee, hereafter "Infidelity Is Not the Problem") has entered its midpoint. The fissures within two families surrounding the infidelity are now fully emerging.
There is plenty to see. Kim Hye-soo brings character depth through fashion, while Jo Yeo-jung does so through acting. Kim Jihoon adds tension as an unpredictable variable. Director Lee Chang-hee's sensory direction is also noteworthy.
"Dispatch" examined four appeal points of "Infidelity Is Not the Problem."
◆ Kim Hye-soo | Fashion is also character
Kim Hye-soo plays Kyung-hee, an influencer and CEO of an interior design company. She is a character who has risen from a semi-basement to an upscale townhouse. As if flaunting her success, she displays flashy and bold styling in every scene.
Her entrance is striking. Hot pink sporty set-up with white zipper details. A slit detail was added to the skirt. The vivid colors and bold silhouette reveal Kyung-hee's characteristic confidence.
When showing the CEO's face, it is different. Purple check tweed jacket matched with black jumpsuit. Sheer stockings and enamel heels add to the chic atmosphere. The glamorous yet bold style expresses the composure of a successful businesswoman.
In this work, Kim Hye-soo boldly twisted her existing image. The restrained appearance shown in "Trigger" and "Juvenile Court," and the dignified face in "Shroup" are hard to find. This time, she has transformed into the flashy and uninhibited Kyung-hee.
From fashion to speech patterns and body movements, she has infused the desire to flaunt success. Kim Hye-soo actively utilized bold styling and a figure full of vitality. She completed the character of Kyung-hee from head to toe.
◆ Jo Yeo-jung | A twist hidden behind elegance
Jo Yeo-jung's strength is the twist hidden behind an elegant face. The character she plays, Su-jung, is outwardly a refined and flawless dermatologist. However, when stress builds up, she puts on gloves and smokes. In front of her daughter, she crumbles helplessly.
She moves freely between elegance and sensitivity, and airheadedness. There are moments reminiscent of the naive wife in the film "Parasite" (2019). This time, she is far more autonomous and determined. Rather than being pulled by circumstances, she directly shakes the table with her own choices.
Beneath the composed exterior lies obsession and desire. Jo Yeo-jung reveals Su-jung's duality through subtle changes in expression and tone. The more she tries to maintain elegance, the more apparent the anxiety becomes.
The contrast with Kyung-hee is also interesting. While Kyung-hee actively revealed herself through primary colors and glamour, Su-jung hid herself through restrained colors and organized style. The personalities of the two people diverge sharply from their fashion and spaces.
◆ Kim Jihoon and I-DLE | Unpredictable variables
Kim Jihoon plays Jae-hong, Kyung-hee's husband and an unknown actor. Outwardly, he is bright and glib. However, inside, there is long-accumulated inferiority complex. The reality of being subtly disrespected touches his pride.
He may seem somewhat naive, but he is bold enough to commit infidelity with the neighbor's wife. One moment he appears like a comical character, the next he suddenly reveals a sharp face. It is not easy to predict what choices he will make at any given moment.
Kim Jihoon does not exaggerate this instability. He lets expressions of wounded pride show behind smiles, and buries inferiority in small actions. Jae-hong goes beyond a simple adulterer and becomes a variable capable of shaking the direction of the narrative.
The relationship between I-DLE is also a reason why infidelity is not everything. Yeji (played by Jun Si-hyun) and Min-seo (played by Doyoung-seo) recognize each other's wounds and gradually confirm their feelings. As the two become entangled in a hit-and-run accident, the story extends in another direction.
It is confusing, yet strangely addictive. Multiple different incidents—infidelity, the relationship between the children, and a hit-and-run accident—become tangled at once. How unpredictable characters will make their next choice, this unpredictability is another source of fun in "Infidelity Is Not the Problem."
◆ Direction | Once it rolls, it cannot stop
The direction is handled by Lee Chang-hee, director of "The Killer's Shopping List" and "Others Are Hell." Firstman Studio, which includes Hwang Dong-hyuk, director of "Squid Game," is participating in production. The sensibility for handling genre tension is evident throughout the work.
The most striking device is the variation in perspective. By setting different central characters in each episode, the same event is viewed from a new angle. What was a betrayal to one character becomes a choice of survival or desire to another.
First-person perspective angles, narration, and bold screen effects are actively utilized. Following the character's gaze directly or visually varying complex emotions. Rather than a familiar infidelity drama, it is closer to a genre piece mixing black comedy and thriller.
The color and lighting also change to match the character's psychological state. Kyung-hee's world is flashy and exaggerated, while Su-jung's space is cold and dry. When Jae-hong appears, an unstable sense of rhythm is added.
The fun of the drama lies not in the infidelity itself, but in its aftermath. Through various incidents, hidden desires and fissures explosively cascade. Pushing this through fast-paced development and difficult-to-predict character play is what makes "Infidelity Is Not the Problem" unique.
<Photo source=Coupang Play, SNS>
