[비즈한국] From the very beginning, there was a sense of a grand production. I was impressed as soon as episodes 1 to 3 were released, and now that we are at episode 7 (as of July 31), I am certain. Since it is an 11-episode series, there are 4 episodes left, and despite the bitter memories of works that started strong but fizzled out, I cannot stop my excitement. This is the story of Disney Plus’ ‘PINE’, based on the webtoon by writer Yoon Tae-ho.
In the 1300s, during the Goryeo Dynasty, a trade ship departing from the Yuan Dynasty heading to Japan drifted near the West Sea and sank off the coast of Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do. As time passed, bowls would occasionally get caught in fishermen's nets, and it turned out they were relics from the Song and Yuan Dynasties that had been on that ship. As rumors spread that blind treasure was buried under the sea, grave robbers from all over the country began to stir. The protagonists of ‘PINE’, Oh Gwan-seok (Ryu Seung-ryong) and his nephew Oh Hee-dong (Yang Se-jong), are among those who jumped on that trend.
As this was an actual incident involving hundreds of grave robbers, there are countless characters in the drama. Centered around Oh Gwan-seok and Oh Hee-dong, there are figures from Seoul: antique expert Song Ki-taek (Kim Jong-soo), known as the 'Insadong Wildcat' who commissioned the treasure hunt project; Chairman Cheon Hwang-sik (Jang Gwang) of Heungbaek Industries, who provided the funding to Song Ki-taek; and his young wife Yang Jung-sook (Im Soo-jung). Then there are Lim Jeon-chul (Kim Sung-oh) and Na Dae-sik (Lee Sang-jin), workers and overseers who head down to Mokpo with Gwan-seok and Hee-dong. Additionally, there are pottery expert Ha Young-su (Woo Hyun), ship owner Hwang Tae-san (Hong Ki-joon), and diver Go Seok-bae (Im Hyung-joon), whom Gwan-seok approaches in Mokpo for the treasure hunt.
However, Gwan-seok’s group is not the only one at this gold mine. The famous antique fraudster Professor Kim (Kim Eui-sung) appears, leading a team that includes diver Lee Bok-geun (Kim Jin-wook), who knows the exact location of the buried ship, and the Mokpo gangster Jang Beol-gu (Jung Yun-ho) and his gang. After twists and turns, Gwan-seok’s group and Professor Kim’s group decide to join forces, but as the scale grows, other characters get involved. There is Park Seon-ja (Kim Min), a coffee shop waitress who approaches Hee-dong with a desire to go to Seoul; Shim Hong-gi (Lee Dong-hwi), a Mokpo police officer and cousin of Beol-gu who is needed for the power of authority; and the group including Deok-san (Kwon Dong-ho), a man from Busan who was swindled by Professor Kim and came to catch him, and Coach Kim (Won Hyun-jun) who arrived to help Deok-san. The number of characters flocking like moths to a flame is staggering.
As it depicts such a complex crowd of humans, the key is how each character and their relationships change depending on the situation, and ‘PINE’ depicts those difficult aspects fluently. A large part of this credit goes to the actors who perfectly embodied their characters. Needless to say, seasoned actors like Ryu Seung-ryong, Kim Eui-sung, Kim Jong-soo, Woo Hyun, and Jang Gwang are great, but the transformation of Yang Se-jong, who mainly had a neat image in rom-coms, and Im Soo-jung, who changed her face into the 'Queen of Desire', is dazzling. And what about the performance of Jung Yun-ho, who has been active for over 20 years as U-Know Yunho of TVXQ? Although he has been acting for quite some time, ‘PINE’ is so good that it could be called actor Jung Yun-ho's true 'first lesson', holding the viewer's gaze with his slick Jeolla-do dialect and skillful acting. Even the acting of those who made special appearances is as lively as a raw fish. Just look at the 'tiki-taka' banter between Park Sang-myun and Seo Kyung-seok, who made special appearances as captains in episode 1.
As it is based on the original work by writer Yoon Tae-ho, whose various works such as ‘Moss’, ‘Misaeng’, and ‘Inside Men’ have been successfully adapted, the lines are not just pretentious one-liners but are grounded in life, tightly written, and evoke laughter while stealing your heart. “What do you think is the most important thing if you want to pull a con? It’s sincerity, sincerity.” Such humorous lines emphasizing sincerity during scams are rampant throughout. How could you not laugh when he says, “Do you check when you wipe your butt? You wipe it with the belief that it’s probably there,” or when Gwan-seok attaches his nephew Hee-dong as a ‘gift’ to entertain Madam Jung-sook, who holds the purse strings, and says with sincere tone, “Hee-dong-ah. Let’s do our best, you and I”? The lines that capture the ironic situation of diligent grave robbers who must somehow survive while lying to, stealing from, and deceiving each other blend with the acting prowess to create a truly savory flavor. On top of this, dialects from all eight provinces of the country, led by the Jeolla-do dialect, are mobilized to add zest.
Only by episode 5 was the first piece of pottery hauled up, and the first sacrifice emerged in episode 7, so the main story is set to unfold in the remaining 4 episodes. There are more than one or two points to watch, such as how the secret mission ordered by Chairman Cheon to Gwan-seok will proceed, whether they will safely dig up over 1,000 treasures as the grave robbers want and each grab a large sum of money, whether the schemes of the Madam and the Insadong Wildcat will work, and above all, who will survive on this vast, open sea boiling with desire.
‘PINE’ is a work that there is no reason to refuse if you like caper movies with a light rhythm featuring various groups of humans, such as the films ‘Tazza’, ‘The Thieves’, and ‘Smugglers’. The pacing control of director Kang Yoon-sung, who directed the first ‘The Outlaws’ film and the ‘Big Bet’ series, and the feast of acting from seasoned actors are thrilling. This will be enough reason to recommend a subscription to those who are not yet subscribed to Disney Plus.
About the author, Jung Soo-jin?
She has worked at various magazines, covering and writing about movies, travel, and popular culture. She does not want to fall behind on trends, but she has become an old-school person who predicts obvious clichés for the next scene while watching the latest dramas. She is trying to regain her lost sense while drifting through the vast OTT world, and her current wish is for a bundled OTT subscription plan.