The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract: Episodes 1-2

by Benjamin Liu

Yet another contract marriage K-drama has hit the airwaves, but this time our heroine hails from the Joseon era. She’s spunky, ambitious, and ahead of her time — until suddenly she isn’t. Transported to the year 2023, she finds herself woefully out of place and decidedly behind the times, but maybe the man with a familiar face will help her adjust to the 21st century.

EPISODES 1-2

The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract isn’t a groundbreaking drama — not that it pretended to be. In fact, the first episode contains enough K-drama tropes to fill up a bingo card, and yet, I found the premiere utterly charming. (So far) The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract has managed to do what many dramas before it have failed to do: Frankenstein a bunch of plot devices stolen from past iconic K-dramas into something that feels fresh despite its unoriginality.

Our amalgamation begins with the introduction of our leading lady, PARK YEON-WOO (Lee Se-young), who moonlights as the mysterious and highly sought after hanbok and undergarment designer. Yeon-woo is the daughter of a noble family, and although her wealth and loving parents have granted her more freedoms than the average woman of her time, she desires complete independence. She’s simultaneously keenly aware of the unfairness of her circumstances, and utterly naive in thinking that the solution to her problems is a fresh start in either Qing or the Americas, where — let’s be real — we all know an unmarried Joseon woman isn’t going to fare much better.