Netflix’s Typhoon Family is a great show that is being slept on. Starring Joon-Ho, fresh off the success of King The Land, and Kim Min-Ha of Pachinko fame, it is a light drama that’s both entertaining and more relaxed than most weekend dramas we’ve had recently. The show is set in the late 90s and perfectly balances “vintage” with modern. The cast does a great job of taking us back to the past, and I’m quite enjoying the show, wishing more people would watch it. The latest two episodes focus on Tae-Poong’s mistakes and his struggle to try and fit in. After the death of his beloved father, Tae-Poong is left to head up “Typhoon Trading,” the company his dad worked hard all his life to build, but will he be able to save it during the difficult financial crisis the country is going through? That’s what we’ll find out in Typhoon Family. With that, let’s jump into episodes 5 and 6.
Spoiler Alert
Why Doesn’t Tae-Poong Get The Shoes Immediately?
In episode 5, Tae-Poong excitedly goes back to Busan to find that the shoe factory he bought out is completely empty. Worried he’s been scammed again, he goes looking for Mr. Park everywhere until he finds him beaten up and apologizing for making a mistake. Turns out his shoes were collateral for a loan, and though he thought he was going to pay them off with the money Tae-Poong gave him, the interest has gone up too high because it’s loan sharks, so Park’s shoes are gone, and Tae-Poong is left empty-handed too.
On the other hand, Nam-Mo becomes friends with the girl he liked from the dating show, Mi-Ho (who is also Mi-Seon’s sister), after saving her from some weird men at his chicken shop. At the same time, Tae-Poong misses a date with his mother because of what happened in Busan. Now the loan sharks who have the shoes are willing to sell 500 pairs to Tae-Poong if he can pay them 5 million won. Tae-Poong clearly doesn’t have that kind of money, but Mi-Seon offers him the savings that his father had left her, along with some cash out of her own pocket, to save the day. Tae-Poong refuses at first but eventually gives in.
When Tae-Poong finds the loan shark, he realizes the biggest problem here: Pyo Hyun-Jun is already there and taking away his shoes from the loan shark. Apparently, his father had sent him down to Busan specifically to mess things up for Typhoon Trading. When Tae-Poong looks around a little, he finds Mr. Park beaten up halfway to death, and begging for help. This is what makes Tae-Poong furious, and he makes the most reckless decision so far on the show (though he’s had many of those). Tae-Poong tells the loan shark that he’ll pay him 100 million won in three months if he lets him have all the shoes. The loan shark accepts, but for collateral, he asks for the CEO’s eyes, and instead of just putting his thumbprint on the contract, he slaps his whole palm down on it.
When Tae-Poong gets Mr. Park home, he meets his daughter as well, and she’s an adorable child who’s clearly concerned when she sees how beat up her dad is. His injuries are obvious even after he dresses up in a Santa outfit to disguise his bruises and apologize for missing Christmas with the family.
How Does Tae-Poong Decide To Offload The Shoes?
Mi-Seon is surprised when a whole fleet of vans arrives at the office in Seoul with a whopping 7000 pairs of safety shoes, not the 500 she was expecting. Immediately, she’s furious at Tae-Poong for acting without consulting with her and going out of his way to help out a business partner instead of focusing on their own business. She walks out on him, and it’s not until late that night when he finally finds her and walks her home that he manages to give her a full apology. When Mi-Seon says he treats this business as a joke, he gets very upset and talks about how Typhoon Trading was never a joke to him, but that he can’t turn a blind eye to someone begging for his help when their life’s in danger. Finally, she forgives him, but on the condition that he never act without asking her again, and that he not put himself and his health at risk. This stops him from telling her about the eyeball collateral story.
In the meantime, Mr. Park gets a good look at their office, and he’s surprised to see there are only two employees at Typhoon Trading, not counting Song-Jung, who was hanging around to use their computer for free. He does bond with Song-Jung over their shared nerdhood and love for Star Trek, though. At night, Mr. Park decides to sleep in the office rather than accept Tae-Poong’s offer to bunk with him, but there’s something about the way he says it that triggers Tae-Poong’s instincts, and he ends up rushing back to the office to see that he’s disappeared. He finally tracks the man down to the bus station, where he’d booked a ticket for Wando Island, where he was planning to go into hiding, even abandoning his daughter with his wife’s family. Tae-Poong manages to talk the man around, though, and they finally decide to export the shoes instead of looking for a local buyer.
The question, of course, was how to find foreign buyers? Nobody would buy their safety shoes in China or Saudi Arabia; the Chinese would manufacture the same goods as them for half the price and with no respect for patents. That’s when Tae-Poong sees a truck selling flowers from Europe and gets the idea of marketing their shoes to the West. He gets Song-Jung to come over with his camcorder, and Typhoon Trading puts together a fancy demo video for their product, showing him jumping on glass shards and dealing all sorts of abuse to the shoes. While most recipients of the tape trash it without a second look, some potential foreign clients are clearly interested. And just like that, they bag a deal for 5000 pairs of safety shoes to be shipped to a Mexican company, and the whole office celebrates.
In the meantime, we see snapshots of how the other characters’ lives are going too. Tae-Poong’s mom’s been having a tough time, and she’s been job searching as a middle-aged woman with no work experience. She finally finds work at a garment factory. But her manager tells her she’s worthless and needs to come in half an hour early every day to do even half as much work as everyone else. She goes home with her fingers covered in bandaids every day, but she still has space in her heart for kindness and cooks Mi-Seon’s younger brother meals every day.
Mi-Seon’s sister, Mi-Ho, brings the demeanor her air hostess training gave her to her job at the department store, but it doesn’t bring her much thanks. She is constantly demeaned and disrespected, and on one occasion, when an angry customer pushes her to the ground, she’s got no one around her to pick her up, leaving her sobbing on the floor. Mi-Seon and their brother happen to be there the same day, though, and help get her back on track. Also, Nam-Mo keeps meeting with Mi-Ho, and he brings her hand warmers for when she’s cold because “I can’t hold your hand yet.” They’re cute, but it’s going to get complicated when the other two find out.
What Goes Wrong With Their Shipment?
At the end of episode 6 of Typhoon Family, just as Tae-Poong is celebrating the first actual sale he’s ever made, another tragedy strikes, and it’s Pyo’s fault again. Hyun-Jun had come to the shipping company they were going to be using and whispered all sorts of allegations about Typhoon Trading into his ear, leading him to blacklist the company. This means they won’t be able to get their goods to Mexico in time, losing them the contract. Tae-Poong is furious and even shatters the window of Hyun-Jun’s car to threaten him. On the same day, Mi-Seon finds out that Tae-Poong promised the loan shark his eyes if they didn’t pay him back, and she’s tired of the disrespect and the lack of communication from him. As they’re walking home, past a fish market, some of the ajummas selling fish even late at night can tell the Seoul couple have had a fight, and even tease them about it. But just then, inspiration strikes Tae-Poong. He looks around the harbor and realizes there are a bunch of ships that go far out to sea every day; what better way to get the shoes out of Korea?
After asking around, he finds his way to a deep-water trawler, and he and Mi-Seon ask for the captain, asking if he’ll take other kinds of cargo, like shoes. To their surprise, the old man seems to nod, and the pair walk closer to the ship to try to hear what he has to say. That’s when the captain waves his hand, and Tae-Poong and Mi-Seon get doused in salt by the crew, with the episode leaving us on a cliffhanger on that frame. Will they manage to get the shoes to Mexico? We’ll have to wait for the next episode to find out. Additionally, it looks like another ship will be sailing next week. Yes, it seems Tae-Poong’s finally admitting he has a massive crush on Mi-Seon.
