Three Meals a Day

Uncle Samsik Episode 1 introduces us to the man himself as he explains that his name is uttered with love and respect. He adores it.

It’s 1960 at a secret bunker where we meet Kim San. A blindfolded prisoner, Han-min, is taken away shouting that it was Uncle Samik, as San watches. San is then questioned – confirming that he referred to him by that name. He explains what it means and that Samik, CEO of Sail Developments, kept everyone fed during the war.

Now in 1959, on Nov 26^th at a US Army storage facility, they’re buying oil for cash. Everyone scatters as the MPs arrive, taking away whoever they catch. The Seodaemun gang leaders manage to get away.

On Nov 30^th, protesters gather on the streets of Seoul, supporting re-election of their current President, Rhee Seungmin. The Seodaemun gang leaders discuss how Uncle Samik can get anyone out of jail, even from the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC). They report to Samsik explaining their plight – but he wants them to call him Uncle when they’re asking for a favor. And they’ll need to get rid of someone for him – Yoon Palbong. In return, he’ll help and add a pile of money on top to ensure they get the job done.

At San’s rather modest house, his father is bedridden and his sister-in-law is down to the last grains of rice. When he heads out to work, his school-aged niece, Jina, walks with him.

At the Ministry of Home Affairs, National Construction Bureau, San gets a call from Yeojin who tells him not to come tonight – there are suspicious people lurking, but he won’t be deterred. Then he heads out to a meeting.

At his HQ, Uncle Samsik’s notes the Seohae Oil Factory on his map. Once it’s in place he’ll become a member of Cheongwoo Federation, providing him ultimate power. Then he’s called to meet General Jang Doosik.

On his way out, Yoon Palbong approaches, manhandling and reminding about what the three of them did in Busan. Yoon asks if he’s spoken to Kang Seongmin, insisting that he must get the Dongdaemun nomination. He intends to attend the Innovation Party speech to ensure he gets his way. Afterwards, Samsik ensures that the police will be called away during the event.

San presents to Minister Choi on the country’s economy. But he’s hardly started when the Minister is called away by the President. San insists the priority should not be unemployment rather than re-election, begging for one hour, but the Minister hurriedly departs.

At a restaurant, Uncle Samsik meets General Jang asking if he has access to Hong Youngki, Head of the CIC, to help with his ‘nephew’ who was caught stealing oil from the US Army. Samsik says he created a general like Jang just so he could do such tasks for him. The General notes that Hong had a third of the generals stirpped of their rank by claiming them Communists, creating any evidence needed. Samsik thinks that he and Hong are the same and sends Jang to take care of his task.

Back at the office, San’s superior shouts at him for arguing with the Minister. And he’s not impressed when San says he’s leaving to speak a the Innovation Party rally. But Choo Intae is like a father to him, so he heads out anyway, saying he’s done with writing reports.

From the Blue House, the President dithers over running for a forth term, believing he’ll be criticized, but easily changes his view as Minister Choi reassures him.

At a posh hotel, Samsik prepares his speech to the Cheongwoo Federation where only the top businessmen are gathered. It’s all thanks to Ahn Yosub’s guidance that Samik can be there. In his speech, he notes that as soon as the construction of the industrial complex is done, they can eat pizza like Americans. He tries to describe it but no one knows what he’s talking about.

In another room, Ahn Yosub hears that some of the oil companies are not in agreement – even though the government guarantees payment plus rights to the port, railways and diplomatic status. But Petrol Harvest, Seohae Oil and others are making demands and it sounds like they’re trying to call off the deal. And this, after all the money the other members have already invested. Yosub calls for Kang Seongmin. 

Waiting in the hallway, Samsik describes the beauty of pizza but his colleague isn’t sure what cheese is. When he hears about the additional oil company demands, Samsik worries his brand new membership status is in danger.

Outside, Yoon approaches Kang Seongmin, reminding him of their previous deal and keen to scoop the Dongdaemun nomination.  He threatens that he’ll have men at the Innovation Party event and could expose how they killed Yosub’s son, Min-chul, in Busan. Kang promises they’ll speak after the election. 

Samsik greets Kang inside, promising that Yoon will be dealt with at the Innovation Party tonight. Kang just wants him dead as he keeps dreaming about Min-chul and wants the whole thing to be over. Yes, Samsik can do this for him.

Reporting to Yosub, Kang hears about the 8 partnering companies that are making demands because they distrust the government. Ahn questions why he let Kang join the national assembly, noting that if his son Min-chul had lived, he’d be the one in Kang’s shoes right now and would surely be doing a better job. Yosub also notes that the President will certainly run for re-election, that he’s likely hired the protesters shouting in the street to keep himself in office.

Outside the room, Samsik tells his colleague that Kang has ordered him to kill Yoon, that his fears over murdering Min-chul are getting to him. And he’s certain Kang will try to kill him off next.

Yosub’s younger son, Ahn Ki-cheol, reports that Petrol Harvest is scouting areas in the Philippines. Kang says he’ll meet with Choi Min-kyu to sort things out and a desperate Ahn notes they’ll give him anything to resolve this.

At the Rally, San checks with Yeojin to see if they’re ready for her father’s speech. While outside the Seodaemun Gang pair are pleased to see the police leave, just as Samsik said they would. Inside, Samsik joins the audience, awaiting Choo Intae’s speech. 

Choo’s speech on peaceful unification begins to applauds, while in the hallway the fight with Yoon’s men begins. Choo notes the current President is putting on a show of leaving office, that he’ll use innocent people for another war. The crowd cheers but soon the fight rolls into the event room and Choo is hustled away. Outside, Yoon makes an escape but the rest of his 25 men seem to be caught.

One of the audience mocks Choo for running away but San steps in, convincing the man to listen to him explain how Korea can reach prosperity. The moment he mentions pizza, Samsik is hooked. He talks of the abundance in America, just as Samsik did. Noting, as a poor student, he didn’t envy US fighter planes but having a population that’s well-fed.

In a private meeting, Kang explains the industrial complex to Minister Choi and that the whole thing could fall apart. He promises help with the election if he can help with the oil company problem. Choi notes that both Ahn and the President are in their 80s – that power will soon need to pass down. He suggests they could help each other to lead the Liberal Party.

Meanwhile, San, at the rally, explains how all the railways and connections could give Korea the opportunity to sell to countries like China. They can use their young population to be an industrialized nation, just as Choo Intae dreams. As everyone cheers for Choo, it’s San who is photographed, as Samsik looks on intently.

The Episode Review

So much going on here. Who’s keeping up? In summary, there’s a ton of dirty politics going in the background as people are murdered or ambushed to make way for those that wish to rule the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The Korean War ceased in 1953, American Military is still in place for support and North and South Korea are divided, through the cold war and into today.

As Samsik and others talk about ‘being fed’ it occurs to me that they mean more than filling empty rice bins. They’re talking about all kinds of nourishment – from political positions and business deals to getting people out of jail and reinforcing the machine that makes it all happen. Everyone wants to see the country progress but have different ways of looking at it – some willing to kill to get their specific dream on the table. The idealistic Choo Intae looks to peacefully reunify the two countries and, aligned with that, Kim San hopes for Korea to be as abundant as America by igniting it’s young population and industrializing. 

While other politicians and businessmen seek to become a global power, they also intend to wield that power. The Federation would be built through backdoor deals to create a prevailing group that will be able to make their own rules, earning status for the country but nicely filling their pockets as well. In short, the rich will become richer.

And now that Samsik has seen the light in San’s eyes, he’s marked him as someone who both has a plan and can change hearts and minds. Someone he could use on his endless team of people who owe him a favor. Now he’ll just have to figure out how to get him on side.

While this story is packed with information and drama, there’s also so much going and so many names, places and dates it’s a little hard to follow, making it tougher to enjoy casually. One must be quite focused. But hopefully now that the storyline is established it will become a smoother watch. It feels a little nitpicky but the colloquial subtitles on Hulu don’t necessarily jive with the time period and the names aren’t always exactly right. Not a huge worry, there’s plenty to like about this drama with fabulous sets and an interesting peek at 1950s Korea – including those endless cigarettes like every country at that time – all packed into a story with legs. Are you in? Let’s see what episode 2 holds for us…

How did you hear about Uncle Samsik? Let us know in the comments below. 

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