"Little Women" Writer Describes Inspiration Behind The Blue Orchid, Reasoning Behind Drama's Ending, And More

In a new interview with Sports Seoul, writer Jung Seo Kyung of “Little Women” has shared in-depth explanations of the drama!

tvN’s “Little Women” is a drama starring Kim Go Eun, Nam Ji Hyun, and Park Ji Hu as three sisters with a close bond who grew up in poverty. When all three of them become entangled with one of the nation’s wealthiest families, they are catapulted into a new world of money and power that is unlike anything they’ve known before.

Writer Jung Seo Kyung revealed that the three sisters’ house was based off the home she lived in with a friend in college. “In that house too, we’d have to bend over to shower and there was a path of ants. There was also no mosquito net. In the summer, we lived without turning on the lights.”

She elaborated, “I only have happy memories in that house. I never once thought about earning lots of money in the future. But that kind of future didn’t seem dark, and instead just felt like ‘this is how we’ll end up living.’ There were criticisms about the descriptions of poverty at the beginning of the drama being old-fashioned romanticizations, but I think it was because it was retrospective poverty. I felt apologetic.”

Early on in the story, the three sisters get tangled in a monstrous case involving 70 billion won (approximately $49,335,400). Jung Seo Kyung shared how the money had to end up with Jeon Chae Eun’s character Park Hyo Rin, a major shareholder of her family’s Wonryung company, in order for the story to wrap up realistically.

She explained, “The safest conclusion was for the money to be dealt with judicially. I consulted a lawyer. However, a judicial process would mean the money returned to the [Wonryung] company. But in the drama, the money does not go back to where it’s supposed to return to. I wanted to send it to the farthest place from its starting point so I sent it to the youngest of the three siblings. I wanted to give the feeling of letting go of the conventional burden and starting anew.”

When Jung Seo Kyung started writing “Little Women” three years ago, she shared that all the monetary amounts were much lower – but eventually had to be raised to reflect the current economy. She also had to consider the maximum amount that could be held in an average suitcase for Kim Go Eun’s character Oh In Joo to carry around.

Before the disappearance of Jin Hwa Young (Chu Ja Hyun), she leaves Oh In Joo 2 billion won (approximately $1,409,600) in a backpack. Throughout the drama, Oh In Joo lugs all this cash around in the backpack instead of a suitcase, which Jung Seo Kyung revealed was an intentional detail. “If you put 1 billion won [approximately $404,800] in a hiking backpack, it’s to the point where you can naturally mix in with others.”

She added, “But once you get to 2 billion won, you have to carry a backpack that you’d use to go around the world. However, I really wanted to put that money on In Joo’s shoulders. When she has that on her back, she likely feels happy, but there’s also pressure, fear, and hope at the same time. I wanted to make it so that she carried those emotions on her shoulders.”

Another key point of “Little Women” was the blue orchid that was found at every murder scene. This idea came from “The Five Orange Pips,” which is one of the “Sherlock Holmes” short stories. Jung Seo Kyung shared that she wanted this flower to make two outcasts, Oh In Joo and Jin Hwa Young, meet in a random and unfamiliar place. That’s how she came up with the International Blue Orchid Association, which reflects an empty aspect of people with money and busy lives.

She explained, “‘The Five Orange Pips’ is the only one in the series where the criminal is not caught. After reading that, I was so scared at night that I couldn’t sleep. I really liked the horror that the orange pip elicit and the vivid feeling that the scene was right beside me. Although the blue orchid is a beautiful flower, I wanted to make people scared with it.”

The three sisters in “Little Women” all represented different goals and personalities, with Oh In Joo as a regular citizen, Oh In Kyung (Nam Ji Hyun) as a reporter, and Oh In Hye (Park Ji Hu) as an artist. Jung Seo Kyung remarked, “From a different viewpoint, you could think of the three sisters each holding different sides of one person.”

The writer shared that literary work about siblings typically follows three people, which she believes is to express three aspects of one’s heart. “The siblings are in their teens, twenties, and thirties. I wanted to create characters that made us think that we also experienced periods of time like them. In Joo, who isn’t smart but follows her true nature, who is vulnerable to greed but doesn’t give up. In Kyung, who wants to deal with and participate in important news of the world. My heart hurt watching In Hye. I thought, ‘Even while receiving so much love in my teens, I wasn’t able to be thankful for that or return it.'”

“Little Women” aired its finale on October 9 to its highest viewership ratings.

Start watching Jung Seo Kyung’s previous drama “Mother” here!

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