With her latest feature The Daechi Scandal, Kim Soo-in set out to “talk about the cracks that arise when we live without truly looking at our own lives.” And while the film certainly makes its intentions clear with a plot filled with jealousy and misunderstandings, its bigger ambitions around isolation are cut short by under-developed secondary characters and a divided focus.
In the affluent Daechi-dong neighbourhood in Gangnam, Yoon-Im (Ahn So-Hee, A Single Rider, Train to Busan) is a respected teacher at a hagwon (private academy). Despite Yoon-Im’s reputation for being “heartless” and rude (a persona she willingly plays into with a sarcastic sense of humour), Yoon-Im gets along with and cares greatly for her students.
The world of Korea’s elite and competitive hagwons sets the stage for an intriguing premise, and it is a world director-writer Kim Soo-in is well-versed in, having worked at a Daechi-dong hagwon herself for two years. During these early moments the film regularly dips into comedy and playfulness with satirical portrayals of bootlicking co-workers and overbearing parents.
But it’s soon clear this setting is merely set dressing around a tale of unresolved grief and betrayal. Ki-Haeng (Park Sang-Nam), a secondary school teacher and Yoon-Im’s ex, appears to tell her that their mutual friend from university, Na-Eun (Jo Eun-Yu) will pass away soon after being in an extended coma. Yoon-Im still harbours resentment towards Na-Eun following an incident during freshman year which ripped their friendship group apart. Ki-Haeng forces Yoon-Im to accept a letter written by Na-Eun before she was in a coma. However, the letter exchange is captured on camera by a disgruntled parent from Yoon-Im’s hagwon, who spreads the footage purporting it to be leaked test questions. Meanwhile, another friend from university turns up at Yoon-Im’s door, the happy-go-lucky Michio (played with appropriate charm and much-needed levity by Takuya Terada).
As Yoon-Im deals with reconciling with her past, The Daechi Scandal quickly reveals its main concern as not so much around the titular scandal, but rather the impact of being emotionally isolated from not just each other, but also with ourselves.
Despite her outward success, in reality Yoon-Im is stuck in stasis. Since university, she stays in the same student apartment with the same lock code, surrounded by trinkets of her previous friendship with Na-Eun and photographs of the cat she shared with Ki-Haeng. Her only happiness and dedication is towards her students, with her life outside the classroom consisting of lonely nights drinking beer or iced coffee alone at home. While Yoon-Im is strong-willed when it comes to teaching, she ultimately avoids “bothersome” confrontations and carries a sense of resignation towards her own life ambitions, a striking duality portrayed with a delicate touch by Ahn-Sohee.
In delving into the previous trauma affecting Yoon-Im, the film frequently flashes back to the early college days of her friendship group and the events which led to their eventual breakup. What could have been a way to encourage emotional investment in Yoon-Im’s friendships and ultimate betrayal instead just recalls well signposted plot reveals which lack impact. Given the relatively short amount of time we spend understanding the full group’s dynamics or anyone outside of Yoon-Im’s perspective, it is hard for the audience to connect with any of these supporting characters. This lost potential particularly rings true of Na-eun, whose paper-thin portrayal as someone driven to extremes by jealousy is presented without any interrogation of why.
As the film reaches its third act, director-writer Kim Soo-In struggles to neatly wrap up all of the various storylines from Yoon-Im’s past and present whilst maintaining a satisfying sense of momentum. Several major character moments are framed as emotional climaxes through repetitive use of slow-motion, only for the film to continue onto the next plot point with little acknowledgement of what came before.
While The Daechi Scandal perhaps includes too many narrative threads and secondary characters than it can handle, the realisation of the character Yoon-Im (both on the page and on screen) are strong enough for the film to still work, further cementing Ahn So-hee’s versatility as a leading actress.