This is one of the few I consider a version of good adaptation from an original work. It did the storylines right and made things optimistic leaving a more warm, feel-good vibe to take home instead. The acting was what carried the original 'Brief Encounters' and woori Kdrama has equally top-notch performances. Kim Sun-young especially brought me to tears. The child actors were all adorable. The soulful music added to the melodrama tenfold. All the main cast got their moments to shine. Kim Won-hae is Kim Won-hae is perfect especially when he gets to be a diva. For once its satisfying Im Chul-soo does not just his usual bumbling bit but also some solid melodrama support. While a fairly faithful remake(covering most of the major storylines with revisions and some omissions) of the british series they're separate enough while maintaining the essence and characters with improvements on some sticky bits. Most of the characters lose their grey depth for tropes but its dealt with well. Theres something of the original's older couples and marriages kept intact though which I'd have preferred more of from the beginning than in the second half. Loads of comedy slapstick, some deadpan...

And they've added a lot more to the enterprising sales spirit of the main four and not made the business out to be a cakewalk that could be done offscreen in the backdrop of their life stories that it was in the UK with Ann Summers coming across as Tupperware. Thats why I'm evaluating this as a remake as the original does leave me a bit confused with what they wanted to convey and some of the choices(which might have been planned for more seasons) and the lack of details outside a general women's lives and period drama for 1980s. Here the situations and scope are defined okay, theres lots of things they brainstorm about on the sales front(ironc at end that they do basic things a company'd normally do and salespersons wouldn't have to) but its all at a basic level which is fine. The adult market of 90s korea is hard to find out about but what little I could dredge up on seemed fairly dicey and involved arrests, protests, av and somewhat blackmarket dubiety. If this were set in 90s Japan, or used that as the basis, it could have gone very differently based in this aspect. The realism both goes well in that it is foreshadowed in a way and doesn't in that it comes too late. Theres several throwbacks to 1990s Korea and references to foreign movies peppered in which I adored. Especially the way some of it is utilized viz Seo Taiji and the Boys. Like with Golden Kamuy theres some anachronisms that I excuse for creativity using available material. I also felt some similarities to Casa Amor the movie somewhere. The addition of the historical adoption scandal thats in the limelight past few years as an aside- a random red herring didn't quite go down that well even if they used the storyline for the ML and his relation with FL. One overall difference that isn't well done is how instead of building up all the stories slowly, story arcs come at one point alone. And some plot choices required bit too much of suspension of disbelief starting with the main detective. Cho Sun-ae's story was an interesting perspective but negated due to its timing but say, if foreshadowed earlier... Or been linked to Young-boks... And Young-bok's- if her life story was explored more(already the groundwork seemed there mainly due to the acting of the actors). Or if they had a different angle than the original's accident(I personally disliked that one thing in Brief Encounters because it leads to a depressing ending)...like just the past holding them down economically since their melodrama is what made their story shine rather than the odd plot from the original. Albeit, since the original's are fixed with positive endings for Young-bok and Geum-hui I get a sense of catharsis for both sets of series just from it.

With many of the conversations dropping stories of daily life offhand, depictions, attitudes, etc I was reminded of certain books and pondered over impressions I recalled of grannies and others. The small town setting especially brought out various cross sections in one place. Mainly how the idea of being open about sex is a paradox. Most women with close friends/acquaintances or kind of groups, have always been overly free and open in talking sex lives /menopause /childbirth /"gossip", trying out traditional methods especially foods, traditional medicine, rituals, etc just like the women of Geumje long before the sales came to town. Their objection to the business and product perception is a sort of prejudice. And coz its out on the outside. Heo Young-ja and her original counterpart(who was more far more puritanical) are this cornerstone and the foil in this somewhere. The chains to be liberated from societal, not being seen as one's own person. Casa Amor was in 2015 and yet be it the 1980s or 1992- UK or Korea, its universal and timeless. Theres always the taboo, prejudice, a backlash from some section no matter how much times change and laws change and all. Even relationships, marriages, frustrations, compromises, gossip, blame-game - constants.

Jeong-suk learning from the mistakes of those before her with similar predicament, availing of that divorce option available to her without being bound by society's judgement trusting her own judgement set things in motion. It was one of the most cathartic moments in the drama without a doubt. Instead of moping about the travails of being divorced or single mothers Jeong-suk and Ju-ri living their lives as they want- that felt real good. I was satisfied with how Geum-hui and Young-bok's stories went overall. I just wish we had more of Ju-ri. Loved her to bits. And Dae-geun! I also wish we could have seen Seo-yeon's story from the original, even if abridged, as it was quite a vital angle. This is the third major issue that they play it too safe with the plot. The 15+ rating for such a topic is deterrent itself but so is the plot's reticence. They could have changed far more of the storylines from the original than keeping some that were fairly unecessary. Could have had more tales of the townswomen(the side characters were really lively) too or how they thaw more and become regulars. But I kindof get paring some things down for what they wanted to focus on for the 12 episodes. The compatible relation shown between FL and ML was sweet. The FL for the most part is too much a Yamato Nadeshiko as is her meaningful name a Korean-equivalent pun for, but she gets to show a lot of steel and innate leadership/managerial skills.

Theres some clips from trailers and makings and interviews that make me feel they've cut out some scenes from the final version. Maybe making it 16 epsiode to explore more and un-rush some things would have been better though things were kept crisp with just 12 and tied plotlines up neatly enough. Theres an epilogue for the guys stories that should be a cut scene from before the opening of the new shop 4 years later. Do-hyeon returned as Geumje's police chief, Won-bong and Jong-sun get a quintessential romcom fall-and-catch scene(Jong-sun got the full-time assisstant job at the pharmacy the past few years) and Dae-geun's now a pro photographer. The titledrop comes at last with their new business's name at the very end- and its really punny Virtuous Sales aka Jeongsuk Han's Sales...