[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Access 2014" Episode 1

From the very beginning "Access 2014" frames itself in the romantic tradition of "The Contact", the 1998 film with which it shares its (Korean) title. This isn't just in the sense that narrator Roy Kim directly references the film. Everything about the ascetic, from the smooth music, to the cool empty recording room, to the entire concept of "Access 2014" is all about the idea of making a connection in the digital age. Do we actually need to see a person's face in order to make a personal connection?

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The program strains some of its credibility from the get-go by having all of its performers be so attractive. Regardless of what happens in the period up until they meet each other, it's pretty clear that they're not going to want to give up on the whole deal just because they think the other person is ugly. So that's one intellectual challenge that isn't going to be met here- although in all fairness it's so rare to see unattractive people on television in any format anywhere that this isn't a unique flaw of "Access 2014".

What's worth focusing on, and what at times feels a lot more unsettling, is the sheer optimism exhibited by the people here. They genuinely want to believe the best in these other people, these strangers who they won't meet for twenty days. And all of these people are perfectly fine with that. As the program points out at the very beginning, most people are not in fact willing to take up this challenge. The fact yet remains that there are those who do.

And watching the sheer romance of the situation, it's difficult to fault them. "The Contact" isn't the only classic Korean romance reference here. Extensive use is made of mailboxes through which the couples can send communication, a very deliberate evocation of "Il Mare". To date the concept is about as attractive as the people on the other end. They all have this hope that they're going to make this connection, and even if there's lots of giggling over the specifics, even in that giggling there's joy.

"Access 2014" is shockingly intimate even as it's completely unreal. The program is taking incredibly obvious cues from romantic film. This would be cause for mockery except that the producers have unusually good taste, and are instead recreating situations from movies without physical intimacy. The question is inevitably begged- what is this? What am I watching? Is this even really a drama? I have no idea, and yet, the dreamlike presentation, not quite reality television and not quite fiction, makes me want to see more.

Review by William Schwartz

Narration by Bae Suzy and Roy Kim