K-Drama Reaction: Strongest Deliveryman

Once again, we have proven that karma has its own savage way of striking back.

The media revealed how Lee Ji-yoon (Ko Won-hee) omma sabotaged the Restaurant Row and Strongest Deliveryman. This resulted in a massive boycott from the outraged public that led to the bankruptcy of the Jung family restaurant and all their other businesses. Serves Ji-yoon omma right. But I feel bad for all of their employees who lost their jobs because of the scandal, and of course for Ji-yoon and her abuji who will also have to deal with this unfortunate ending to their business empire. Yes, Ji-yoon is all good at living a simple life, but I don’t think her dad deserves this. He’s such a good and hardworking man, but because of his wife’s greediness and dirty tactics, he also lost everything.

Karma wasn’t the only thing that saved Strongest Deliveryman from falling down; Choi Kang-soo’s (Go Kyung-pyo) employees also did their best to revive it. They expanded their services from merely delivering food orders to also delivering other items. Tons of Kang-soo’s friends also invested in the company that revitalized its financial status. But of them all, Lee Dan-ah (Chae Soo-bin) did the most significant thing: she helped Kang-soo find the strength to come back and start over again.

I understand Kang-soo’s decision to sort of run away to his hometown and leave everything behind. It was really frightening for him to think of what will now happen to the future of his employees, partner restaurant owners, and Dan-ah who all depend on him. Kang-soo seemed to be all decided to give up, but Dan-ah’s presence ultimately changed his mind to give Strongest Deliveryman another try. And it turned out to be one of the best decisions he have ever made in his life.

I’m very much happy that Strongest Deliveryman was able to bounce back and thrive because this company isn’t just an ordinary one. It’s goal is not to make the ones behind it rich, but to give hope to hardworking people who have dreams but aren’t so lucky in finding sustainable source of income. This is what set Strongest Deliveryman apart from the rest.

I’m also glad that we’re able to witness the happy endings of the couples in this drama, the realization of each of the characters’ individual dreams, and the closure to their personal battles. I only wish that Ji-yoon and Oh Jin-gyu (Kim Seon-ho) were given more moments together to establish that they’re truly in love and not only stuck with each other due to their circumstances. These two deserved to be given this much to at least make up for their huge decisions to give up their comfortable lives. But sadly, there was only a little time allotted to them in the final episode.

Another thing that I’m not very satisfied with is how the finale tackled Dan-ah, Jin-gyu, and Kang-soo’s individual family issues. It felt hurried. Kang-soo omma’s revelation of her reason for leaving him and his father behind was very touching but wasn’t given enough weight due to lack of time. I think this part could’ve been dealt with better if only the storytelling picked up its pace.