#in-joon

It’s really interesting to see the 2022 Korean adaptation of Little Women and how it’s approaching this story in such a fresh and captivating way. There are a lot of obvious changes to the narrative but I wanted to focus on the points of the story that we’ve seen so far that do parallel the original, in order to gauge where the story might be heading.

In this case, let’s talk about the Meg/John dynamic.

In-joo and Do-il are representing the characters of Meg March and John Brook. In Louisa May Alcott’s original story, Meg and John get married, have two children, and work through the ups and downs of married life – particularly when it comes to finances. In the book Meg has a desire to own fine things and be able to keep up with her wealthier friends. Saying to John at one point, “I don’t mean to waste your money…I can’t resist them when I see Sallie buying all she wants, and pitying me because I don’t. I try to be contented, but it’s hard, and I’m tired of being poor.” (Chapter 28) Additionally, Meg’s expenses keep John from being able to buy a new winter coat that he desperately needs. Meg sees the benefits of finances differently than her family does and, albeit temporarily, she longs to live in that world. She goes to the fancy party and, too Laurie’s dismay, is flirting with some of the richer men and playing the part of a women with wealth by using the name Daisy. Even if it’s only for a night, she wants to indulge in that lifestyle before giving it up to later be with John in poverty.

We see these moments paralleled in the 2022 version. In-joo is tired of being poor and longs to have the things that her wealthier friend has (Hwa-young, who is playing the role of Sallie), who in turn pities her and offers to buy her things instead (the orchid shoes, for starters). In-joo sees the benefits of money and how having it can protect and save her family. She longs for the security of finances and the opportunities it can bring much like Meg does. Also, one of the first things she buys with her money is a new winter coat, a nice reference to John Brooke in the original. When In-joo receives the money from Hwa-young, she also takes a turn playing a part, mainly with Hyo-rin’s mom – but like with Daisy, it’s a fleeting moment before it’s gone.

Now for Do-il. It’s interesting that he is first introduced as somebody who is pretty avaricious and who’s main focus is centered on money. As is with his book counterpart, John Brooke, who spends a fair amount of time dealing with money-related issues throughout the story, Do-il’s main concerns are also centered around money and finances. Also like his book counterpart, Do-il spends a lot of time teaching In-joo and providing information for her in the form of the ledgers, IOS, and figuring out what Hwa-young was doing in Singapore. And lastly, we see Do-il step up to protect In-joo much like John Brooke steps in to protect Meg many times.

Do-il is a mystery, and his moral compass, motive, and past are all clouded in shadows. But we might be able to shed some light on him if this story does in fact follow Alcott’s original design.

That being said, stepping into the realm of conjecture and hypothesis, Do-il has some serious potential that shouldn’t be ignored – particularly for anybody questioning a romantic tie between him and In-joo.

First, in the book John Brooke is the first to fall for Meg. He holds on to her glove in secret as a sweet keepsake and quietly bids his time until her affections are returned. In the book he says, “I won’t trouble you, I only want to know if you care for me a little, Meg. I love you so much, dear.” (Chapter 23). One theory in the Do-il/In-Joo romance camp is that because Hwa-young and Do-il were good friends she could have spoken a lot about In-joo during their time together. Do-il, therefore, could already have had developed feelings for In-joo long before her met her just from what he had heard. We even get a nod towards this when they’re eating together.

Another theory in that same camp is how this story seems to be inverting some of the major plot points of original (e.g. the Mrs. Oh being selfish, stealing the money and running away vs Mrs. March being everything selfless and being a walking moral compass). An inversion of Meg and John’s struggles with having no money by having In-joo and Do-il’s struggles revolving around having TOO MUCH money is a clever spin on the tale and something that wouldn’t be surprising to see.

Since In-joo and Do-il have been paired together since the first episode and have already entered into a partnership with one another with the ledgers, their connection to one other can’t be ignored or downplayed. And considering the original text by Alcott, it would be hard-pressed (although not impossible) to have these characters completely avoid a romantic subplot as their relationship will need to have some sort of arc to it. It could remain completely platonic, of course, but given that In-joo has already been married once and has mentioned it several times, In-joo’s love life has already been included in the story and is part of her character design. It would seem the natural conclusion to draw out this thread in her character, especially if In-joo and Do-il are to represent the Meg/John dynamic.

Also, given how fundamental the romantic relationships are to Alcott’s original story and how each of those relationships reflect the character growth and overall themes of the book, it would be a surprise if this version excluded all romantic subplots.

Whether or not Do-il is actually a shady avaricious narcissist who will betray everybody and turn out to be the Big Bad remains to be seen. Currently, there seem to be other characters that have more going for them in that regard, but ultimately it’ll just come down to how far the writer of this series wants to stray from the original narrative. Clearly there are a lot of secrets surrounding Do-il and being reproachful and apprehensive of his character is only natural. But given the number of other twists and turns in this plot it would make sense to have a steady baseline character or plot point for the audience to fall back on (like the romance between Vincenzo and Cha-young in Vincenzo). A trustworthy friend in Do-il, or a romantic subplot with him and In-joo would easily fulfill that need and would also parallel Alcott’s original story.

That being said – I am fully prepared to throw all this out the window because Do-il is shady as heck and could very well be the mastermind behind all this.