When we first meet Seo Dong-ju (Park Hyung-sik), he’s clinging on to life after being washed ashore on a secluded beach, the glimmer of his designer watch catching the eye of a fisherman. Jumping back in time, he is introduced as the intelligent and capable right-hand man to Cha Gang-cheon, the eccentric CEO of top conglomerate Daesan Group. While most of his colleagues know him as a dedicated and passionate worker, he harbours a secret ambition to take over the group.
Moments into the opening episode, he is shown to be an irreplaceable asset in Daesan Group’s arsenal, stopping at nothing (and succeeding) to shift the spotlight away from a controversial merger involving powerbroker Yeom Jangseon(Huh Joon-ho), a law school professor and former National Intelligence Service director. While seemingly retired from political and legal career, Jangseon continues to pull the strings of major business and political dealings in the country.
We also meet Yeo Eun-nam, (Hong Hwa-yeon) an employee at Daesan who is secretly in a relationship with Dong-ju. It’s the only part of his life he allows himself to be sincere, though a number of tense phone calls taken in secret reveal there’s more to Eun-nam than meets the eye. Just as everything seems to be coming up roses for Dong-ju, he wakes up one day to a cruel, soul-crushing betrayal that he later learns was largely orchestrated by Jangseon– and thus begins Dong-ju’s quest for revenge against the scheming professor.
Buried Hearts spends much of precious first impressions putting its pieces into place, introducing its characters and their ambitions to give context to whatever’s to come later in the series. But as it is, there are a handful of plot threads that require you to suspend some belief, and the overlapping connections between characters feel rather convoluted at times – though, common in revenge K-dramas focused on the mega-rich.
Despite falling victim to overused tropes, credit where it is due, the cast of Buried Hearts make the series far more compelling than it should be. Park Hyung-sik empathically embodies Dong-ju’s every emotion, from his determination in the workplace to his sincere, puppy-like dedication to Eun-nam in a way that makes it impossible not to root for him. The confusion, hurt and rage that overwhelms him when faced with the ultimate betrayal is palpable as it happens.
And there’s also Huh Joon-ho’s Yeom Jangseon, who is calculated and quietly domineering. At times, he plays the genial old man, adored by his loving niece and nephew and at others, a cold and manipulative figure who clearly takes great pleasure in puppeteering those around him to his will. While the villains in these dramas are often one-dimensional and almost cartoonish in their motivations, Huh imbues Yeom with an essence that is truly frightening.
Buried Hearts is certainly an entertaining K-drama, with a gifted cast who have performed brilliantly and brought life to the material so far. That said, the series is unlikely to go beyond anything other Korean soaps about revenge already serve up on the regular.
Buried Hearts is available to stream on Disney+.