#1 Vincenzo

Today I decided to write about one of the most popular korean drama of 2021 with 14.636% average nationwide ratings. It is of course about 'Vincenzo'! The series was produced by Studio Dragon for tvN chanel. It was emited every Saturday and Sunday on 9 pm from February 20 to May 2. This drama counts 20 episodes lasting about 70 minutes aech. It does not have any particular genere, because it contains elements of horror, crime and comedy.

The serries was starred by biggest stars of korean drama world such as Jeon Yeo Bin, mostly known from taking roles in movies not  series, or Ok Taecyeon from korean pop boysband 2PM. The greatest suprise for fans was actor Song Jong-ki who came back to the industry after long break of acting after personal problems. As many of you probably know, this trio has naever met before in any show, so it was additional adventage. In many interviews during the promotion period we can see really unique synergy between the actors which does not always happen. I believe that is why it was shown on the screen too. If you want to watch any interviews with them I am leaving here links for my favourite ones:

• On The Swoon chanel on Youtube where they play mafia game,

• On Netflix Korea chanel on Youtube where they do the TMI Quiz.

I think that now is perfect moment to explain about what this korean drama is. The series revolves around Park Joo Hyung, also known as Vincenzo, who was adopted by an Italian mafia family as a child. The Cassano family lawyer comes back to South Korea to get his gold, hidden under the building of Geumga Plaza. The corrupt Bable Group company, which illegally obtained the rights to demolish the building, stood on his way to get part of the award for work. Because od the difficulties with leaving South Korea Vincenzo decides to take revenge on the company, which, as it turns out, was also related to the imprisonment of his biological mother. Together with the employees of the Jipuragi Law Firm (Yoon Byung-Hee, Yoo Jae-Myung and later Jeon Yeo-Bin), he plans a series of attacks that will lead to the collapse and reveal worst crimes and secrets of Babel Group. Conflict between two companys ultimately take the form of a fight for life. They try to trick each other into crimes, for example, Babel Group boss Jang Joon-Woo reported Vincenzo's arrival in South Korea to Interpol as a chance for spreading wings of Italian mafia in the country. The main character was almost deported! In addition to the main characters and their fight for justice, the inhabitants of Geumga Plaza decide to defend themselves against losing their place of residence and work. They constantly struggle with the local gang that has been hired by the Babel Group to get rid of them from the building. They also help Jipuragi Law Firm as much as they can to save the place.

The series is full of comic characters and situations, which makes the story more interesting. Sometimes events become quite absurd. The thread that made me laugh to tears is the relationship between the main character and... the Inzaghi dove! It started with just disturbing Vincenzo while he was asleep and ended up with saving his life. Inzaghi saved him from hired killers along with a flock of pigeons under his leadership. The comic of characters is sometimes too exaggerated, but this corresponds to the overall idea of the series. My favorite character was a member of the International Security Intelligence Agency from the Italian Deputy An Gi-Seok, who founded the Vincenzo fan club. As an employee of the Agency, he was only involved in paperwork for years due to the lack of conflicts between South Korea and Italy. The meeting of the Italian mafia consigliere was a dream come true for him. Despite the illegal actions of the lawyer, he supported Vincenzo in the actions against Babel Group.

I am not completely surprised by the popularity of this Korean drama. The scriptwriter skillfully managed to weave the context related to the Italian mafia into the plot, including the Italian language itself, to create unique characters and maintain the appropriate dose of seriousness and humor. I have to admit that the production stands out from other Korean dramas of its kind. However, I would not recommend it to people who are just starting their adventure with Korean productions, because of the specific humor that you first need to get used to. Finally, I leave a link to the Official Trailer of the series:

Total score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐