As someone with Korean heritage, it was very interesting to see the period in which my parents' generation grew up in, particularly as this "between" period after the Korean war, but before the economic boom and nostalgia of the 90s isn't something I've seen reperesented on screen before. The production did a great job.
However, the script and storyline fall short. It starts strong, in the present, with the mystery surrounding a news story which we can assume alludes to what happens to one of the main characters.. and creates a sense of huge melodrama.. but as the drama gets to the late stages (starting around ep 9-10) the story becomes rushed with plotpoints being brushed aside immediately after they happen in preparation for the next development, making character and story progression seem unearned and abrupt. By the last couple of episodes major plotpoints are rushed through so quickly and inconsequentially that it just started to lose what sense of believability it had earned during the early stages.
Really my main gripe is the pacing which mainly results from the 12ep 1 hour run time (the shortest I've seen from a kdrama that isn't considered a mini-series), and they should really have chosen either to present this as a 2 hour movie or a properly fleshed out 24 hour drama. The first 8 eps feel like they belong as the opening act of a 24 ep arc, and then within 3 eps the story comes to an abrupt end (the 12th being the present day epilogue).
If you're curious about Korean history and want a short series to watch then this isn't an awful watch, I've still given it a 7 because the beginning was pretty good, but it does flatter to deceive on what it can deliver and the climax falls on its face for me.
