POV: 8 reasons why A Virtuous Business shattered many stereotypes as a K-drama!

A Virtuous Business is the most un-K-drama K-drama ever and here’s why I loved it!

A story of four rural women in South Korea, A Virtual Business talks about their search of financial and personal independence and how they ended up running an adult products business in 1992. In the process of starting this business, they also embark on a journey of self discovery. They are four very different women from different walks of life who introspect the life that they’ve had and what they can do to make it better and happier. Since sex is a taboo topic in most Asian households, especially for women, Jeong-Suk and her team were constantly shamed by society and surprisingly other women! Because of course how dare they talk about sex and finding the G spot! Hawww! Because it breaks these stereotypes, a Virtuous Business truly is one of a kind and one that’ll stir important conversations amongst women!

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Here’s every highlight from the show that stuck with me!

Women too want to have sex for pleasure

While in the 90s this was probably not a thought that crossed many women, you’d be surprised how the case is still the same in 2024 as well. There are a plethora of households who still don’t look at women beyond a reproductive machine, they cannot wrap their heads around the fact that maybe women might find pleasure in sex too? A Virtuous Business pushed this idea throughout the series and I loved it solely for this reason! How women in all walks of life were brought together and made to think about what they like or dislike in the bedroom, how they can express themselves through sex is something that was the need of the hour on-screen.

It normalizes using sex toys and playing with different kinds of lingerie in the bedroom

Using sex toys is a huge part of pleasure for men and women. But not many are even aware of the various kinds of sex toys that are available. The show not only talks about it, but we also see the lead characters research on it so they can understand it and sell it better to other women.

It promotes self-pleasure for women

There’s a scene in the show where Jeong-Suk introduces a vibrator to her customers for the first time. They looked at it as if it's dropped from an alien planet. Some even thought it's a face massager and when they found out what it actually is, of course a lot of over reaction followed and they threw it away. But it was Jeong-Suk who made them believe that it can take you to a magical place that most women wish to go to. Having tried it herself, she could attest to the fact that they would all get the happy ending that they deserve!

It tries its best to break the taboo of sex in Asian households and doing any kind of business around it

Jeong-Suk and her entire team faced immense judgment from the people in her town for selling products related to sexual pleasure. Most of them who made Jeong-Suk feel like an outcast were in fact women. They called it ‘dirty work’ because it was related to sex and the truth is that it isn’t even an exaggerated reaction, it’s exactly how people would react in real life as well. It normalizes the fact that there are many kinds of businesses that exist and sex toys is in fact a huge market out there to tap into.

It portrays various kinds of family and how each one of them is special in their own way

Jeong-Suk and Lee Ju-Ri are both single mothers who are working hard to make ends meet for their sons. Seo Young-Bok is a mother of four children with another one on the way. She is the sole breadwinner of her family while her husband is a stay at home dad. Geum-Hee decides to not try for a child because of her infertility issues and hence it's just been her and her husband for all of these years. The show highlights how all kinds of families exist, with each one feeling like the grass is greener on the other side. There’s beyond the ‘nuclear’ family that we were taught about in school because life isn’t as black and white as it seems. 

It’s set in the early 90s but it’s a story that’s super relevant even now 

As mentioned earlier, you’d think that women not being shamed for having sex for pleasure would be a problem of the 90s but it happens pretty much even now. While the series shows that people are backwards because it's the 90s, it actually is a smart move on the makers' part to hold a mirror of reality to the people of today.

It’s a sweet reminder for getting the kind of love you actually deserve

Jeong-Suk’s first husband put zero effort into their relationship. He disliked her being assertive in bed, in fact he disliked her having a mind of her own at all. But after their divorce, Do-Hyun came into her life and accepted her, her son and her career and showered her with the love she actually deserved. Then comes Lee Ju-Ri, who was a single mother from the beginning of the show until she met Dae-Geun who was so not her type. She was always open to dating but she dated men who didn’t really understand her feelings until a nerdy guy like Dae-Geun came along. He was open to them casually dating until she was okay enough to get serious. This was the one pair I did not see coming!

Have you watched the limited series yet? Let us know in the comments below!

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