A Virtuous Business (Korean: 정숙한 세일즈) is a 2024 South Korean comedy drama television series written by Choi Bo-rim, directed by Jo Woong, and starring Kim So-yeon, Yeon Woo-jin, Kim Sung-ryung, Kim Sun-young, and Lee Se-hee. The series is a remake of the 2016 British television series Brief Encounters by Oriane Messina and Fay Rusling. Set in the 1990s and tells the story of women who make door-to-door sales about adult products. It aired on JTBC from October 12, to November 17, 2024, every Saturday and Sunday at 22:30 (KST). It is also available for streaming on Netflix in selected regions.
| A Virtuous Business | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Hangul | 정숙한 세일즈 |
| Hanja | 貞淑한 세일즈 |
| Literal meaning | Virtuous Sales |
| Revised Romanization | Jeongsukan seiljeu |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chŏngsuk'an seilchŭ |
| Genre | Comedy drama |
| Based on | |
| Written by | Choi Bo-rim |
| Directed by | Jo Woong |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Park Se-joon[1] |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 70 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | JTBC |
| Release | October 12 – November 17, 2024 |
| Related | |
| Brief Encounters (2016) | |
Synopsis
editA Virtuous Business follows the independence, growth, and friendship of the four Bangpan Sisters who jump into door-to-door sales of adult products in a rural village in 1992, a time when sex was still a taboo.
Cast and characters
edit
Main
edit- Kim So-yeon as Han Jeong-suk[2]
- A housewife who lives a virtuous life. She elected as the Geumje Chili Lady "Jin" with her bright beauty, married her husband, her first date, and led a modest and passive life. However, she is unable to buy her only son a new bag and worries about monthly rent arouses her. When she jumps into door-to-door sales of foreign adult products to make money on her own, she discovers the natural talent of a marketer she did not know she had.
- Yeon Woo-jin as Kim Do-hyun[2]
- An American-style detective who lived in the United States. He grew up in a wealthy family and graduated from a prestigious Ivy League school, returns to Korea and is promoted quickly through special promotions at Gangnam Police Station but for some reason, he is transferred to Geumje Police Station.
- Kim Sung-ryung as Oh Geum-hee[2]
- The elegant brain of the Bangpan Sisters. She graduated from Ewha Womans University who grew up well-mannered and called a lady back then. However, she is currently spending her free days in Geumje, the hometown of her husband whom she married through her family's arrangement.
- Kim Sun-young as Seo Young-bok[2]
- A mother of four children who has a wonderful relationship with her husband. She jumps into door-to-door sales to somehow provide separate rooms for her children. She also plays the role of licorice that makes the Bangpan Sisters laugh by turning even extreme situations into humor.
- Lee Se-hee as Lee Joo-ri[2]
- A single mother raising her son alone and Geum-je's "it girl". She runs a beauty salon and wins the hearts of men who send her sly glances for enjoying unconventional clothes with her smiling face and cute speech. At first, she enters door-to-door sales thinking that it is an interesting event in her boring daily life, but she grows up to become the brash youngest who wakes up her sisters with a lively fact bomber who is not frustrated under any circumstances.
Supporting
edit- Kim Won-hae Choi Won-bong[3]
- Geum-hee's blunt kkondae husband, owner of the town pharmacy.
- Choi Jae-rim as Kwon Seong-soo[4]
- Jeong-suk's unfaithful fighter husband.
- Im Chul-soo as Park Jong-sun[5]
- Young-bok's loving but incompetent husband
- Kang Ae-sim as Lee Bok-soon[3]
- Jeong-suk's mother
- Seo Hyun-chul as Do-hyun's colleague[3]
- Jeong Soon-won Do-hyun's colleague[3]
- Kim Jung-jin as Eom Dae-geun[6]
- Son of a wealthy real estate agent who the townspeople can't stand, he has low self-esteem, works part-time at the town pharmacy and is very geeky, higly enthusiastic about the things he likes, and secretly a great photographer.
- Park Ok-chul as a local supermarket owner[3]
- Park Ji-ah as a butcher shop owner[3]
- Kim Sun-mi as a rice shop owner[3]
- Joo In-young as Cheol-mul[7]
- A hardware store owner who is one of the Anti Sisters fighting against Bangpan Sisters.
- Woo Hyun-joo as Jo Soon-ae[8]
- Jung Young-joo as Heo Young-ja[9]
- Owns a real estate agency, overbearing mother of Eom Dae-geun, who doesn't respect her son and thinks he's a failure. The one who led the Anti Sisters who is called Madam Bokdeokpang.
Special appearance
edit- CEO of Fantasy Lingerie, a company that sells adult products door-to-door by Bangpan Sisters.
Production
editIn March 2024, Kim So-yeon, Lee Se-hee, Kim Sung-ryung, and Kim Sun-young were reportedly cast as the four female leads of the series.[11][12][13][14]
In May 2024, Yeon Woo-jin was reportedly cast as the male lead of the series.[15]
In July 2024, the five actors were officially confirmed to lead the series. Directed by Jo Woong, written by Choi Bo-rim, provided by SLL, and co-produced by HighZium Studio and 221b.[16]
Release
editJTBC announced that A Virtuous Business is scheduled to air in the second half of 2024.[16] The series was confirmed to be broadcast on October 12, 2024, and would air every Saturday and Sunday.[17] It is also available to stream on Netflix in selected regions.[18]
Viewership
editA Virtuous Business : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)
Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.[19]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Season | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |||
| 1 | 0.833 | 1.016 | 1.014 | 1.289 | 1.124 | 1.302 | 1.126 | 1.302 | 0.995 | 1.355 | 1.271 | 1.898 | 1.210 | |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[19] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | October 12, 2024 | 3.862% (1st) | 3.996% (1st) |
| 2 | October 13, 2024 | 4.544% (1st) | 4.676% (1st) |
| 3 | October 19, 2024 | 4.632% (1st) | 5.101% (1st) |
| 4 | October 20, 2024 | 5.924% (1st) | 6.495% (1st) |
| 5 | October 26, 2024 | 5.070% (1st) | 5.559% (1st) |
| 6 | October 27, 2024 | 6.035% (1st) | 6.188% (1st) |
| 7 | November 2, 2024 | 4.834% (1st) | 5.091% (1st) |
| 8 | November 3, 2024 | 5.576% (1st) | 5.664% (1st) |
| 9 | November 9, 2024 | 4.393% (1st) | 5.027% (1st) |
| 10 | November 10, 2024 | 5.950% (1st) | 6.015% (1st) |
| 11 | November 16, 2024 | 5.725% (1st) | 5.846% (1st) |
| 12 | November 17, 2024 | 8.580% (1st) | 9.077% (1st) |
| Average | 5.377% | 5.391% | |
Accolades
editListicles
edit| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NME | 2024 | The 10 best Korean dramas of 2024 | 9th place | [20] |
References
edit- ^ Baek, A-young (November 24, 2024). '정숙한 세일즈' 오늘(24일) OST 온라인 컴필레이션 발매 ['Quiet Sales' OST online compilation released today (24th)]. enews.imbc.com (in Korean). Retrieved November 24, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ a b c d e Hwang, So-young (July 25, 2024). 김소연·연우진·김성령·김선영·이세희 '정숙한 세일즈' 출연 [Kim So-yeon, Yeon Woo-jin, Kim Sung-ryung, Kim Sun-young, and Lee Se-hee to Appear in 'Virtuous Sales'] (in Korean). JTBC. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oh, Seung-hyun (September 6, 2024). '성인용품 판매' 김소연→김성령, 연습도 핫하네...'풍기문란' 연기 차력쇼 (정숙한 세일즈) ['Adult Product Sales' Kim So-yeon → Kim Sung-ryung, Even Practice Is Hot...'Immorality' Acting Power Show (Virtuous Sales)] (in Korean). Xports News. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Kim, Hyun-rok (September 9, 2024). 김소연, 성인용품 판매 뛰어든다...최재림, 또 문제적 남편('정숙한 세일즈') [Kim So-yeon, Jumps into Adult Product Sales...Choi Jae-rim, Another Problematic Husband ('Quiet Sales')] (in Korean). SPOTV News. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Son, Bong-suk (September 25, 2024). 배우 임철수, '정숙한 세일즈' 다정하지만 무능한 남편 박종선 역 출연 [Actor Im Chul-soo to appear in 'Virtuous Sales' as affectionate but incompetent husband. Park Jong-sun] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Hwang, So-young (September 6, 2024). '소년시대' 김정진, '정숙한 세일즈' 출연..김소연과 호흡 ['Boyhood' Kim Jung-jin, 'Virtuous Sales' appearance..Working with Kim So-yeon] (in Korean). JTBC. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Son, Bong-suk (September 13, 2024). 배우 주인영, '정숙한 세일즈' 철물 역 낙점 [Actor Joo In-young, selected as the role of ironware in 'Virtuous Sales'] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Son, Bong-suk (September 24, 2024). 배우 우현주, '정숙한 세일즈' 조순애 역 낙점 [Actress Woo Hyun-joo, selected as Jo Soon-ae in 'Virtuous Sales'] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ 정영주, 김소연 란제리에 '동공지진'...풍기문란 결사반대 (정숙한 세일즈) [Jung Young-joo, Kim So-yeon's lingerie 'earthquake'...Strong opposition to indecency (Virtuous Sales)] (in Korean). Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Ryu, Ye-ji (September 13, 2024). 라미란, 성인용품 사업 시작했다..."성생활에 관심 有, 누릴 권리 있어"('정숙한 세일즈') [Ra Mi-ran, Started Adult Products Business..."I'm Interested in Sex Life, I Have the Right to Enjoy It" ('Virtuous Sales')] (in Korean). Ten Asia. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Kim, Ye-eun (March 15, 2024). [단독] '대상 배우' 돌아온다...김소연, '정숙한 세일즈' 주인공 [[Exclusive] 'Grand Prize Actor' Returns...Kim So-yeon, 'Virtuous Sales' Leading Role] (in Korean). Xports News. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Kim, Ye-eun (March 15, 2024). [단독] 이세희, 미혼모 된다...'정숙한 세일즈' 주연 [[Exclusive] Lee Se-hee becomes a single mother...Starring in 'Virtuous Sales'] (in Korean). Xports News. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Kim, Ye-eun (March 15, 2024). [단독] 김성령, '정숙한 세일즈' 주연...김소연·이세희와 호흡 [[Exclusive] Kim Sung-ryung, starring in 'Virtuous Sales'...Working with Kim So-yeon and Lee Se-hee] (in Korean). Xports News. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Kim, Ye-eun (March 20, 2024). [단독] 김선영, '정숙한 세일즈' 주연 합류...김소연과 호흡 [[Exclusive] Kim Sun-young joins the cast of 'Virtuous Sales'...Working with Kim So-yeon] (in Korean). Xports News. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Lee, Seung-hun (May 22, 2024). [단독]19禁 코미디 도전..연우진, '정숙한 세일즈' 남자 주인공 [[Exclusive] 19+ comedy challenge..Yeon Woo-jin, male lead in 'Virtuous Sales'] (in Korean). Star News. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ a b Lee, Mi-ji (July 22, 2024). 김소연X연우진X김성령X김선영X이세희 '정숙한 세일즈' 캐스팅..올 하반기 방영(공식) [Kim So-yeon X Yeon Woo-jin X Kim Sung-ryung X Kim Sun-young X Lee Se-hee Casting for 'Virtuous Sales'..Airing in the Second Half of This Year (Official)] (in Korean). Herald Pop. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Bae, Hyo-joo (September 23, 2024). 김소연X연우진, 야한 속옷+성인용품 보고 '찐당황'(정숙한 세일즈) [Kim So-yeon X Yeon Woo-jin, 'Really embarrassed' after seeing sexy underwear + adult products ('Virtuous Sales')] (in Korean). Newsen. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ "Video: "A Virtuous Business" - Official Trailer - Netflix" (Press release). Netflix. September 23, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024 – via The Futon Critic.
- ^ a b Nielsen Korea ratings:
- "Ep. 1". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). October 12, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
- "Ep. 2". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). October 13, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
- "Ep. 3". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). October 19, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- "Ep. 4". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). October 20, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- "Ep. 5". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). October 26, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- "Ep. 6". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). October 27, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- "Ep. 7". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). November 2, 2024. Archived from the original on November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
- "Ep. 8". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). November 3, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
- "Ep. 9". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
- "Ep. 10". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). November 10, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- "Ep. 11". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
- "Ep. 12". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). November 17, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
- ^ Ziwei, Puah (December 10, 2024). "The 10 best Korean dramas of 2024". NME. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
External links
edit- Official website
(in Korean) - A Virtuous Business at IMDb
- A Virtuous Business at HanCinema
