By Sarah Osman

The enormously entertaining A Virtuous Business also offers a lesson in nerve and resilience that women everywhere should learn from.

Kim So-yeon in A Virtuous Business. Photo: JTBC

When I first heard the premise of A Virtuous Business, I was reminded of the ’90s British comedy, The Full Monty, which follows the farcical adventures of six unemployed men who decide to form a Chippendale act to make money. Witty, charming, and surprisingly poignant, The Full Monty was a bonafide hit that even spawned a spin-off series. A Virtuous Business takes up a similar risque idea, but it’s set in rural South Korea, is centered around women, and involves sex toys.

Based on the British TV series Brief Encounters, A Virtuous Business takes place in Geumje, a town that’s so rural that the only excitement around is the annual Miss Geumje Chili Lady contest and the opening of a pub. Han Jung-sook (Kim So-yeon, stellar) is a former Miss Geumje Chili Lady who, because of her beauty and grace, was expected to leave town. Except she didn’t. She married a loser, had a kid, and now can’t afford to pay the rent. She works as a housekeeper for Oh Geum-hee (Kim Sung-ryung), who’s bored playing housewife to her husband. Jung-sook’s friend, Seo Young-bok (Kim Sun-young), is happily married, but the couple is raising four kids, and she needs some cash — and quickly. Looking for a way to get funds fast, Jung-sook and Young-bok discover the thrilling world of ‘sexy’ parties: Tupperware parties, but the products up for sale are lingerie and sex toys. Geum-hee lets the ladies use her house for the gatherings while local hairdresser Lee Jo-ri (Lee Se-hee) cultivates the customers, often drawing on her scandalous knowledge of the clientele.

The most delightful part of A Virtuous Business is the friendship that develops among the four women. They lift one another up, support each other, and laugh at each other’s jokes — this is a model for female empowerment that we need. Their conversations prove that women can embrace their sexuality while remaining ladies. Their customers are also a hilarious bunch. Watching a group of middle-aged Korean women insist that a vibrator, to them, looks like some sort of new, fancy garlic-grinding pestle is a comic discussion I didn’t know I needed in my life — but I’m so glad it came along.

The subplot involves Kim Do-hyun (Yeon Woo-jin), a handsome new detective who arrives from Seoul. He gets all the ladies twitterpated, but he’s most intrigued by Jung-sook, whom he first meets when her bag of sexy wares spills out onto the street. The flirty interactions between Jung-sook and Do-hyun are cute but understated; the pair have the kind of chemistry that’s easy to root for, but it is not in your face. It’s unclear exactly why Do-hyun is in town, but a mystery is afoot. How effectively that plot strand will play out is fuzzy, but it’s nice, for once, to have a mysterious stranger not be a central focus of the narrative.

Because the series is set in the ’90s, there’s plenty of fun fashion and hairdos from the era. The fashion isn’t just a homage to a more carefree era, but also cleverly reveals things about the characters. Geum-hee gets a perm before the first “meeting” to boost her confidence and show off her wealth. Jong-sook wears muted colors and long skirts, reflecting her ladylike image. And Jo-ri favors cheetah print skirts, not giving a damn what kind of snide remarks men throw at her. This attention to detail is what makes these characters — and Geumje — such vibrant creations.

Despite being set over 30 years ago, A Virtuous Business touches on issues of gender and sexuality that are relevant today. Misogyny, closed minds, toxic judgments — these are all problems women still have to contend with. Consider the recent controversy generated by what Sabrina Carpenter on stage, deemed  by some “inappropriate lingerie”. But the joke’s on the complainers, because Carpenter has become more successful than ever. And so it is for the fortunes of the ladies running their own ‘virtuous business”. And that’s a lesson in nerve and resilience that women everywhere should learn from.

Sarah Mina Osman is based in Los Angeles. In addition to the Arts Fuse, her writing can be found in Huffington Post, Success Magazine, Matador Network, HelloGiggles, Business Insider, and WatchMojo. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is working on her first novel. She has a deep appreciation for sloths and tacos. You can keep up with her on Instagram @SarahMinaOsman.