I only lasted 4 episodes. I like Siwan, but not that much!
Besides the fact that rural locations in Korea, whether on the coast or in the mainland, are just really beautiful and make for great cinematography, my (pretty obvious) take on this show and others about small towns is that kdrama writers are very conflicted about small town life. On the one hand, they want to contrast it to the cold, impersonal, bustling big city, and portray it filled with simple, down to earth residents who care for each other.
On the other hand, they are more honest about small towns than the U.S. Hallmark movie specials, because they know that people have been abandoning them and flocking to Seoul for decades, and small towns can be terrible places for people to live, especially young people, because of the lack of economic opportunities and limited social and cultural life.
Thus, the Summer Strike weird sentimental/brutal combination of beautiful seascapes, serial killers, drunken louts and mean old folks, because they are part of a loving community of simple, down to earth people.
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