The Matchmakers

Welcome back to *Hallyu Reviews!* We hope you enjoyed Sabrina’s review of **"Kiss Goblin."** If you missed it, be sure to go back and have a read!

This week, we take a look at “The Matchmakers.”
**SPOILERS AHEAD!!**

Review by: Sabrina

Synopsis

“The Matchmakers” (“Matchmakers”) is a story about Jung Soon Deok (Cho Yi Hyun) and Gyeongwoonjae (Kim Seok Woo, known mononymously as Rowoon). Set during the Joseon Dynasty, it takes a look at marriage during that period. Noble by birth, Soon Deok is a widow whose husband passed not long after they were married. Because of the custom of the times, Soon Deok is forced to live her life in service to her late husband’s family and unable to remarry. Unfulfilled, and with the aid of makeup, Soon Deok assumes the pseudonym of Yeojoodaek, a middle-class merchant and infamous matchmaker. Gyeongwoonjae is also a victim of unfortunate laws, whose wife, the crown princess, passed away suddenly following their marriage ceremony, leaving him a widower. Despite being the youngest person to place first on the state civil exam, Gyeongwoonjae is unable to hold public office or remarry. When the king faces political opposition to beginning the marriage process for the crown prince, the king turns to Prince Gyeongwoonjae, his son-in-law, for help. In return, the king promises to annul Jung Woo’s marriage to the crown princess, allowing him to finally hold public office and marry again, should he so choose. Prince Gyeongwoonjae devises a plan to make marriage matches for the daughters of a former political ally, thereby appeasing the people, and allowing for the crown prince’s marriage. Because Gyeongwoonjae is inexperienced in matchmaking, the king employs Yeojoodaek/Soon Deok to assist the prince. During the process of finding matches for the three maidens, Gyeongwoonjae and Soon Deok develop feelings for one another and Prince Gyeongwoonjae learns of Soon Deok’s true identity. They also uncover the truth behind the crown princess’s death, as well as the identity of the culprits behind attempts on the crown prince’s life. Despite facing the obstacles of their personal circumstances, as well as those of the marriage laws of the Joseon period, “Matchmakers” ends with Gyeongwoonjae and Soon Deok finally able to be together as they embark on the king’s orders to help make love matches for the unarried throughout Joseon.

Lead Couple

Gyeongwoonjae is an intelligent man who desires to serve Joseon by holding a public office. That dream is when he marries the crown princess, as members of the royal family are not permitted to hold office. After the crown princess’s death, Gyeongwoonjae fights consistently to have his marriage annulled so that he can hold public office, but his numerous appeals are denied. Over time, Gyeongwoonjae’s frustration builds and his unhappy and grumpy demeanor leads to a reputation as the Resentful Man. But Gyeongwoonjae’s frustration is certainly understandable, especially viewed through a 21st century lens. In reality, Gyeongwoonjae is capable of caring for others, and with time, Soon Deok is able to see past the mask that Gyeongwoonjae wears. And she realizes that the reason that Gyeongwoonjae became the Resentful Man was because he was surrounded by terrible people who wanted to bring him down.

Soon Deok also wears a mask in her role as an obedient – and subservient – daughter-in-law to a noble family. Even after the death of her husband, because of custom, Soon Deok is forced to serve her in-laws, the Left Minister and his family. But in secret, Soon Deok lives a double-life making love matches for the people of Joseon. In her disguise as Yeojoodaek, Soon Deok applies makeup so expertly and extensively that even her older brother, Jung Soon Goo (Huj Nam Joon), is unable to recognize her when they come face-to-face. But while the disguise works on most people, Gyeongwoonjae is the first person to recognize her without any makeup, and he says that he prefers her without it. When he begins to fall in love with the strong and confident Yeojoodaek, he realizes that she has been disappointed by many of the people in her life.

Fate

In “Matchmakers,” we learn about Ssangyeonsulsa, a goddess of matchmaking, who imbues various matchmakers throughout history with her abilities. Because of her natural talent for making love matches, Soon Deok believes that she may be Ssangyeonsulsa. If she is Ssangyeonsulsa, matchmaking is her fate. This gives her a reason to do what she loves, even though it is considered a job that is beneath her noble class. When she explains this to Gyeongwoonjae, it spurs a discussion about fate, a common Korean trope. Soon Deok believes in fate “because the relationship between a man and a woman is like fate.” Gyeongwoonjae argues that since his heart races whenever he sees her, she must be his fate. But Soon Deok argues that since a former Ssangyeonsulsa matched her with her former husband as her fated one, their feelings are merely passing winds that will fade with time. Both Gyeongwoonjae and Soon Deok lost their first loves early in life. This raises the question; can you be fated to love more than once in your life?

And in a twist of fate, it turns out that it is Gyeongwoonjae, not Soon Deok, who is Ssangyeonsulsa. Soon Deok is crushed as she no longer has a justification for her love of matchmaking. But though it is not Soon Deok’s fate to be Ssangyeonsulsa, her ability for matchmaking is undeniable. “Matchmakers,” therefore, seems to make the argument that you can accomplish great things in life, regardless of your fate.

Role of Women

“Matchmakers” highlights the distinctions during the Joseon Dynasty between men and women - their abilities and their roles. It was a time of oppressive laws and societal norms towards women, who were viewed as incapable. Intelligent women, such as the eldest of the old maidens, are viewed as acting outside of their natural role as women. People often feel threatened by strong and intelligent women, and an example of this is when the defense minister makes up the rumors about the eldest maiden being possessed by a virgin ghost. He wants to “fix her attitude” because he feels she is acting arrogant, despite being an old maiden. It is the duty of women to marry and have children, and therefore, the three old maidens are ostracized by society as abnormal.

According to custom and law, women of the Joseon Dynasty were meant to be "filial to their parents and in-laws, loyal to their husbands, and [obedient to] their sons after the deaths of their husbands." Even after a spouse’s death, it was a woman’s duty to serve her in-laws, which is demonstrated by Soon Deok’s servitude toward her late husband’s family. Forbidden to remarry, Soon Deok does not even get to decide matters concerning her own son, Jo Geun Seok (Kim Si Woo). All of the matters concerning her son, his health and his education, are decided by her mother-in-law, Left State Minister’s wife, Park So Hyun (Park Ji Young).

It was the role of the women in a family to help the men achieve success in life. For example, Soon Deok’s sister-in-law, Jo Ye Jin (Oh Ye Ju) bears the responsibility of helping her nephew hold a government position. Therefore, rather than marrying the farmer she truly loves, she must marry a noble family equal in status to their family. In so doing, she bolsters her nephew’s chances of holding a high office.

Most of the women in “Matchmakers,” however, fall outside of the norm of Joseon Dynasty women. The strength of the three old maidens’ blind mother, Maeng Sang Choen's wife (Choi Hee Jin), is inspiring. Her daughters, for a variety of reasons, do not wish to marry. And against the cultural norms, she respects her daughters’ wishes and does not force marriage upon them. She is truly ahead of her time. She refuses to allow her eldest to become a mistress to the defense minister, even when arrested as a criminal for refusing.

Soon Deok’s mother-in-law, Left State Minister’s Wife, rules both her home and her husband’s political party. Many men, including her husband – Left State Minister Jo Young Bae (Lee Hae Young) – and her brother – Defense Minister Park Bok Ki (Lee Soon Won) – acknowledge her abilities, even while attempting to maintain the appearance that the men are in charge. At one point, Left State Minister derisively asks what a woman know about politics. But despite this prejudice, Left State Minister knows that his wife’s political instincts are crucial to his success as a politician. So Hyun reads Sun Tzu’s "Art of War," one of the first known treatise on warfare strategy in history. So Hyun believes that a family will not go down as long as its women are standing strong.

Old Maidens

“Matchmakers” centers around the efforts to marry off the daughters of the king’s late friend, Maeng Sang Choen. It is a political move by the king to eliminate objections to the marriage of the crown prince. The three women are past the typical marrying age for Joseon, and all 3 have rumors surrounding them. The eldest daughter, Maeng Ha Na (Jung Sin Hye), is rumored to be ignorant and possessed by a ghost. In reality, she is beautiful, smart, and dutiful. Gyeongwoonjae and Soon Deok ultimately match her to the crown prince.

The middle daughter, Maeng Du Ri (Park Ji Won), is rumored to be too aggressive and ill-tempered to make a fine bride. In reality, she has passion and spunk and zero patience for the patriarchy. Gyeongwoonjae and Soon Deok ultimately match her to Jung Shi Yeol (Son Sang Yeon), a Sungkyunkwan scholar and a Momma’s boy. He is younger, and he and his mother find Du Ri’s spirit and loyalty inspiring.

The youngest daughter, Maeng Sam Soon (Jung Bo Min), is rumored to dress like a man and have a preference for women. In reality, Sam Soon is an infamous novelist who writes under the pseudonym, Hwa Rok. The reason that she sometimes dresses as a man is because women are not allowed to be writers. She falls in love with Inspector Jung, Soon Deok’s older brother, who is charged with arresting Hwa Rok for the death of a maiden who allegedly committed suicide after reading one of his novels. Inspector Jung does not concur with the unfair charge and helps to clear her name. Gyeongwoonjae and Soon Deok ultimately match these two together.

Crown Prince

Hands down my favorite character in “Matchmakers” is Crown Prince Lee Jae (Hong Dong Young). Despite his young age, he is wise and fair, and easily the most progressive-thinking man in “Matchmakers.” He sees the value in a happy marriage. While he knows it is his duty to marry as the crown prince and future king, he also understands that a happy pairing is ideal. He represents the men who view women as partners in life, rather than helpmates.

Humor

The physical comedy in “Matchmakers” makes it one of the funnier K-dramas I have seen. From Soon Deok’s prone body after almost being discovered by her mother-in-law in her Yeojoodaek disguise, to Gyeongwoonjae’s fainting as two unmarried members of the opposite sex violate Confucius’s teachings by standing too close, and Servant Kim Oh Bong’s (Kim Hyun Mok) gasp when the original matches made by Gyeongwoonjae and Soon Deok begin to unravel, the comedy in this K-drama kept me laughing out loud. Even the names of the three old maidens gave me a chuckle. (If you missed it, the eldest daughter is named Ha Na – “hana” or “하나” means one in Korean; the middle daughter is Du Ri – “dul” (sometimes written as “du,” depending on its placement) or “둘” means two in Korean; and the youngest daughter is named Sam Soon – “sam” or “삼” means three in Sino-Korean.

Final verdict: WATCH

“The Matchmakers” is definitely a WATCH. It has an interesting love story that weaves in and out of a political thriller, and it’s perfectly-timed (and oft unexpected) moments of humor keep you laughing, while simultaneously preventing the heavier moments from bogging down the pace of the series – for most of the series, at least. It takes a look at the role of marriage in society as well as women and their value. It also cautions against allowing political aspirations to consume your life, regardless of gender. An element that I was initially undecided about, but ultimately found to be refreshing, was that the characters occasionally broke the “fourth wall” by speaking directly to the camera, as if participating in an interview. This gave “Matchmakers” a more modern feel, despite its historical setting. Unfortunately, the comedic moments slow down towards the end of the K-drama as the drama increases. And though both leading actors are talented, they share no chemistry. The result is a lukewarm, albeit interesting, love story that lands on our WATCH list.

So there it is, our review of “The Matchmakers.” What did you think?! Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Have a favorite K-drama you think we should review, comment down below!! We look forward to seeing you back again soon!

Up next, “My Demon”

While You Were Sleeping

Kiss Goblin

FOLLOW