Disney Plus, 2024, 16 episodes
Genres: drama, history
Written by Shin Yeon-shick
Directed by Shin Yeon-shick
More information: HanCinema, MyDramaList
Beyond Good and Evil:
A Deep Dive into "Uncle Samsik"
Forget simplistic judgments like "good man" or "bad man" if we decide to watch the series Uncle Samsik (Uncle Samsik: A Korean Dream). It’s not even worth dwelling on questions of whether everything happened exactly as we see it. We are about to witness a drama whose fictional characters bear an immense resemblance to their real-life historical prototypes—lives shaped not by fiction, but by the actual historical facts, events, and power dynamics vividly evoked in the series.
Could a country be more bled dry than South Korea? After the exhaustion of colonial exploitation, it was ravaged by World War II, and then, barely a few years later, by the Korean War. Poverty and developmental backwardness prevailed in every field, serving as a breeding ground for internal tension. For centuries, society socialized those wishing to retain power, those striving upward, and even those simply trying to get by, to master every trick of corruption. Following the World War, Western democracy crashed down upon this established order; it is no wonder they could barely navigate the new rules of the game—if they even wanted to. There were plenty who would have preferred to blend the two. Starting with President Rhee Syngman himself (this peculiar transliteration covers the name Lee Seung-man), who, despite being a seasoned independence fighter and experiencing Western democracy in the USA, grew quite fond of presidential power in his old age, seeking to secure it forever by amending the constitution.
Our story begins in 1960, and its backbone is formed by the interrogation procedure of the main characters, where answering each question evokes preceding events. Consequently, we constantly jump back and forth in time, further complicated by flashbacks through which we learn about the childhood and youth of the protagonists and the bonds that connect them.
The playing field is extremely complex. Nodes are formed by competing parties, the government, and the army, which are also split along several lines of force, carrying out their internal struggles while the press fights its own battle for freedom. All are influenced by groups organized along ideological or economic interests—from gangs to vigilantes to elite social circles, the largest of which can be interpreted as a "shadow power." There are insiders and outsiders; some, if they can acquire enough potential, are accepted among the elite, albeit fastidiously. Park Doo-chil (Song Kang-ho) is such a secret ace, whom everyone calls "Uncle Samsik" (meaning the one who ensures three meals a day). He fought his way up from nothing to become a force capable of exerting serious influence over all aforementioned actors through his money and manipulative skills.
Samsik strives to lead the country toward something, but his hitherto blurred visions take shape upon meeting Kim San (Byun Yo-han), who envisions raising the country's standard of living and wealth through industrial development. Kim San is a young man who graduated from a military academy and studied in America on a scholarship; he appears to be a dreamer, but a very persistent and determined one.
A significant factor is the presence of the American military in South Korea; the American example and influence permeate every segment of life. Reading the biographies of several independence fighters, it became clear to me that even during the Japanese occupation, the United States was the escape route. Many prestigious politicians and other leaders returned to liberated Korea equipped with that ideology and their studies there—including Lee Seung-man. By the time of this drama, this process had only intensified, as seen in the role of the Albright Foundation.
Yet, the drama is primarily the story of Samsik and Kim San finding each other, their mutual trust and their doubts, complemented by a third important character. Kang Seong-min (Lee Kyu-hyung) is Samsik's former protégé, who has already made it to the legislature, but it seems he cannot compete with Kim San in Samsik's eyes, who is unable to either support or shake off the young man.
The drama leads us through government manipulations, the climax of which is a rigged election. The resulting protests and their deadly suppression are historical realities, as is the fact that a military coup followed.
However, the drama performs a "deep drilling" into the moral judgment of the two main characters, leaving the verdict to us. Who is this Samsik? A conniving social climber, unscrupulous in his methods, or does he truly have a vocation, perhaps a greatness? Who is this Kim San? Truly a well-meaning dreamer who accepts getting his hands dirty for the sake of the great goal, or as is thrown in his face: a hypocrite masking his own desire for power with this disguise?
As is often the case, even the most perfect plans do not work as intended, and a grain of sand gets into the machinery of the final action—because there is already a younger, differently thinking, perhaps even more unscrupulous character who simply outsteps them. The physical and spiritual collapse of Samsik and Kim San is inevitable, but where each of their fates leads from the interrogation remains the secret of the drama.
Shin Yeon-shick, seasoned in independent, low-budget, experimental, and art films, wrote an excellent screenplay and directed it worthily. Although fully understanding the story at first glance may seem a great challenge—dictating a fast pace in alternating scenes from different timelines—it compels many of us to dig into researching the events of the era.
Every character in the drama is a flesh-and-blood human with real emotions and passions. Despite knowing these excellent actors, it often feels like watching a documentary—of the more exciting kind. The blurring of reality and documentary footage occurs in the images of the protests, and few things are more uplifting and moving than those sequences. The recreated settings of the era, from costumes to interiors, are perfect in every frame; the sepia or pale blue colors and dim lighting only strengthen the feeling of looking at old postcards and photographs.
Two important "firsts" are associated with the drama: on one hand, this is the director's first television drama, made for Disney Plus; on the other, the acting titan Song Kang-ho also undertook a television series role for the first time. One cannot sufficiently praise the richness with which he plays every nuance of Samsik's character. Meanwhile, Byun Yo-han simultaneously portrays both the sympathetic and repulsive faces of Kim San's personality; it is a true feat how this duality often appears in him at once. One cannot forget the burnout radiating from him as he stumbles in the rain. It seems something predestines Byun Yo-han to portray heroes struggling in the traps of politics, as this role feels like a mature version of the character seen in Six Flying Dragons. However, the true scene-stealer is Lee Kyu-hyung. It was never in doubt what an excellent actor he is, but the way he threatens, fawns, cowers, and rages here will haunt our memories for a long time. Many others should be mentioned, but I would rather recommend browsing the credits. Since there are few female characters, two important roles must still be named: Jin Ki-joo, who portrays the fragile yet internally powerful Joo Yeo-jin, and Tiffany Young, who plays Rachel Jeong.
Koreans, having lived through everything, have a special sense for uncovering all layers of power-political relations and for facing the historical past without concealment. Their great works are countless, but I can safely state that Uncle Samsik is a true masterpiece even among them.