South Korean TV series Cleaning Up very loudly proclaims two uncomfortable truths about people in suits who work in plush offices. One, they are often slobs who do not pick up after themselves. Two, they do not notice the people who keep the place ticking: cleaners and maintenance staff, among others. This classism ultimately benefits a trio of clearers at a stock brokerage company. The three women are struggling in life and when faced with the opportunity, they use their perceived invisibility to gain insider trading secrets and make fast money in the stock market.
However, what starts off as illegally gotten financial gain escalates to a web of crime, which our leading ladies either need to beat or escape. This changes the series from a dramedy to a thriller, interspersed with romance and frayed friendship.
Yong-Mi (Yum Jung-Ah), In-Kyung (Jeon So-Min) and Maeng Soo-Ja (Kim Jae-Hwa). Source: Distributor
The ringleader is Eo Yong-Mi (Yum Jung-Ah) and she recruits her close friend Ahn In-Kyung (Jeon So-Min) and frenemy Maeng Soo-Ja (Kim Jae-Hwa, also in , available at SBS On Demand) for this so-called victimless crime. In the company where they work, the well-heeled employees only speak to the cleaning ladies if they want an area cleaned. Beyond that, they speak over them, dropping nuggets of information about their families, affairs and confidential information about mergers and acquisitions. The employees assume the cleaners are unlikely to understand business jargon, which is the first of many assumptions that come back to bite them.
The series takes off when Yong-Mi finds out that one of the employees, Lee Young Shin (Lee Moo-Saeng) has been using confidential information to buy and sell shares. She feels like she can do the same, but first, she must google insider trading and figure out how to eavesdrop on phone calls without drawing too much attention to herself.
There is a romantic element in ‘Cleaning Up’, between Lee Doo-Yeong (Na In-Woo) and In-Kyung (Jeon So-Min). Source: Distributor
What motivates someone to break the law? In Yong-Mi’s case, she’s down on her luck. Her gambling problem is out of control, she works two jobs to make ends meet, she’s trying her best to be a single parent to two kids and loan sharks are hounding her. It’s a lot to take in but Yum is a standout. In her hands, Yong-Mi is not the stereotypical ‘strong, independent woman’ or a perfect victim.
Instead, she is messy. She emotionally manipulates the young, naïve In-Kyung, dances with her kids at midnight when they should be asleep and continues to make questionable life choices. As viewers, we want her to finally catch a break, but there are points when we don’t know if she deserves it.
On the other hand, Soo-Ja is harder to warm up to. She is an unhappy wife and unappreciated by her family. She vows to leave when she hits her financial target. Her misery leeches out at work where she is disliked by everyone on the cleaning crew because she is chummy with the bosses and uses it to get the best shifts. Initially, Soo-Ja and Young Shin both could be the villain in the series but as the story progresses, nothing is so clear-cut.
In-Kyung (Jeon So-Min) with ringleader Yong-Mi (Yum Jung-Ah) in ‘Cleaning Up’. Source: Distributor
It is also worth noting that the trio are not exactly best friends, which is an interesting directorial choice. Instead, these are just three women who are bound by proximity and are trying to stay one step ahead of the law, criminals and their families.
If the premise of Cleaning Up sounds similar, it might be because it’s a remake of a British series of the same name. In addition, there are similar story lines in movies and TV series like Hustlers and Good Girls respectively. In all these shows, women are down on their luck, underestimated by everyone around them but are savvy enough to make money through dubious (or illegal) methods. In theory, a crime is a crime but thanks to good storytelling and performance, we can somehow empathise with our protagonists. It is a commentary about class, gender, moral codes and friendship.
They couldn’t get away with it forever. Source: Distributor
Cleaning Up is a slow burn and it requires dedicated viewing as there are 16 one-hour long episodes. But each episode ends with a cliff-hanger and viewers may find they are heavily invested in what these ladies are going to do next.
Cleaning Up premieres exclusively in Australia with a double episode on Thursday 19 January. Single episodes will drop weekly from 26 January.
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