As a corporate crime suspense thriller, ‘Buried Hearts’ takes an interesting approach to its narrative structure. The show opens with a flash-forward, a man’s body is discovered in the sea, dead, with an emphasis on his watch. We go back in time, to see Seo Dong-Joo (Park Hyung-Sik) attending a government hearing where Heo Il-do (Lee Hae-Young) is being grilled over the possibility of corruption in an energy collaboration between Heo Il-do’s company and the government. Seo Dong-Joo then sends a signal to an assemblyman, who incites chaos into the proceeding. Already, we are told that Dae-san, the company of Heo Il-do and Seo Dong-Joo are not to be trifled with. 

The set up shows us the dirty dealings of a chaebol and how you’d never want to mess with their people. Seo Dong-Joo is one of those people, the right-hand man of Cha Gang-Cheon (Woo Hyeon), the CEO of Daesan and the father-in-law of Heo Il-do. In fact, the first episode is quick to show us that Cha Gang-Cheon is much closer to Seo Dong-Joo than Heo Il-do and Heo Il-do is not happy about it, neither is his wife, Cha Deok-Hee (Kim Jung Nam). But Seo Dong-Joo is loyal and is working hard playing the politics of business to try and get a promotion for himself. Keeping him grounded is his lover, Yeo Eunnam (Hong Hwa-Yeon), who is also working at Daesan.

From the get-go, the series feels like it’s primarily a suspense thriller set in the messy world of conglomerates. Seo Dong-Joo’s goal seems to be how he’ll navigate raising in the ranks, especially when he’s not part of the family; as chaebol families have a tendency of keeping the highest positions in the business only to family. Seo Dong-Joo had already given up dating Cha Gang-Cheon’s granddaughter for Yeo Eunnam. 

But the big twist is that this thriller’s fulcrum, the surprise at the end of episode one, is that this is a love story, and Seo Dong-Joo must contend with Eunnam in ways that was predictable but still shocking when it unfolds.

What makes ‘Buried Hearts’ so interesting is the narrative approach to the story. Director Jin Chang-Gyu (‘Military Prosecutor Doberman’) and writer Lee Myung-hee allows the story to begin right in the middle without taking too much time establishing characters and relationships. The show does that while the plot is unraveling before our eyes. It’s a hit-the-ground-running sort of approach that gives ‘Buried Hearts’ a different energy and pace. It’s exciting because there’s so much, we still don’t know but we are already at the heat of it, most especially by the end of episode one, that there’s very little room to breathe.

While Heo Il-do and his family seem to be an obvious obstacle for Seo Dong-Joo, the big mystery is how Heo Jun-Ho’s Yeom Jang-Sun plays into it. A former prosecutor and what seems like a current-day fixer is trying to create a relationship between himself and the Daesan group. He also has a connection with Seo Dong-Joo (is he Dong-Joo’s mentor?) but the show is setting him up to be the main adversary. This is where the politics and intrigue of the chaebol world will come to play, and I hope it’s as exciting as the first two episodes is making it out to be.

The show is slick and has a distinct and fresh energy that makes it an intriguing watch. It may be bogged down if it leans too heavily on the romance aspect but if it handles it the same way it handles all the other narrative aspects of the first two episodes, this might be a very enjoyable watch.

My Rating:

Buried Hearts is now streaming on Disney+.