Something about the fall weather always gives me cabin fever, but since I can’t actually go on holiday, I’m hoping that JTBC’s upcoming travel drama The Package will vicariously satisfy my need to get on a plane. The fully pre-produced drama starring Lee Yeon-hee (Reunited Worlds) and Jung Yong-hwa (Three Musketeers) was filmed last year in various locations in France, which should provide for a beautiful backdrop that is already evident from its recently released poster and stills.
I particularly love the poster of the leads bicycling on a pier in the northern seaside town of Deauville. The saturated colors make everything look so vibrant and I can just imagine how good the crisp sea breeze would feel if I were on that boardwalk. The tagline above the two leads reads, “An unfamiliar place, an unfamiliar person, and an unfamiliar offer.”
The stills gives us our first look at the rest of the titular package tour members, who are described as a troublesome, loud group of people. Over the course of the ten-day tour, which will have them visit other towns in the Normandy region like Mont Saint-Michel and Honfleur, the group will face unexpected events that disrupts their holiday.
Lee Yeon-hee will play the tour guide who took the job in order to pay for her studies in Paris. She will develop an attraction to Jung Yong-hwa’s character, who starts the series distracted by the problems he left behind in Korea but becomes more romantically aware of his package tour guide. He’s described as a bit of a problematic guest who causes an accident as soon as he arrives in the airport, drawing the ire of the rest of his travel group. Aw, I feel for him, especially since he’ll be the only solo tour member.
The first of our three tour group couples is Choi Woo-shik (Fight My Way) and Ha Shi-eun (Oh Hae-young Again). He’s a perennially failing entrepreneur, while she’s a game designer, and they’ve been together for so long (ten years!) that the couple is currently straddling that awkward line between dating and marriage. They’re at a crossroads and will have to decide whether they will marry or break up after this trip is over. On the other hand, Ryu Seung-soo (Falsify) and Park Yoo-na (Sassy Go Go) are in an unspecified relationship that is the subject of much speculation within the tour group. At times attentive towards each other, and at times awkward, they are completely oblivious to the curiosity of the other travelers.
And last but not least, Jung Gyu-su (Ruler—Master of the Mask) and Lee Ji-hyun (Grand Prix) play an old, unhappily married couple. He sounds like a stubborn old fart who finds reasons to complain about anything and everything, while his long-suffering wife has spent most of her adult life caring for him. There’s also Yoon Park (Introverted Boss), a mysterious man who isn’t a member of the package tour, but arrives in France to find Lee Yeon-hee. The only hint he has to aid his search is a single picture of her, which doesn’t sound particularly helpful, but color me intrigued.
The synopsis and location of The Package personally elicit expectations of a contemplative, slice-of-life vibe, but then I remembered the writer, Chun Sung-il, and his action-heavy credits (Chuno, Runaway Plan B, Level 7 Civil Servant). His established writing style hasn’t exactly lent itself to subtlety so I’m pretty interested to see how the show turns out with his script and the two PDs who co-directed the show, Jeon Chang-geun (What’s With this Family) and Kim Jin-won (Wonderful Season, Nice Guy). If nothing else, I’m sure the show will be beautiful to look at.
JTBC’s The Package will premiere on October 13, and will air on Fridays and Saturdays after Age of Youth 2 ends. Now, off to look up more flight options for holidays I can’t take! (*cries*)
