Review of Motel California / 모텔 캘리포니아

If you’re new here and found this blog through the mysterious powers of the Internet, welcome! My name is Ashley, and I’m a dedicated reader and movie watcher who thought to turn this website into a little digital archive of sorts.

I was watching and reading so much that I wanted to keep track of it all, so I began blogging as a way to keep these books as memories somewhat forever.

That said, I recently fell into a period of unemployment, and this blog was a solace for me. Not only was it a way to make a little bit of money when there was nothing else coming my way really, but I found, after getting my finances in order, that I enjoyed sitting down to write blog posts when I had nothing else to do in my day.

I worked as a film and television critic at a professional outlet for a while, and that was when I realized I should start my own blog to document my literary and film endeavors. Throughout the years I’ve been writing little blurbs and reviews for myself on shows, movies, and books, but never put them anywhere.

Because I’m in this little funemployed era, I’ve been catching up on my Korean dramas as well. Korean and Asian dramas have been something I’ve continuously reviewed here on the blog, but as I was working and doing graduate school, I never had the chance to really stay on top of the new releases, or even keep track of them sometimes.

Motel California is one of those shows I’ve been watching all the way through. I started watching as soon as the first episode dropped, and I’ve been waiting patiently, week by week, as the next episodes have trickled onto Viki. My Viki subscription is something that I absolutely love having, and it’s one of my most used subscriptions.

I finished up Motel California, so it’s time to get my review out! Let’s get into it. I know that introductions can get a little long, so I don’t want to ramble too much.

A woman who tried to run away from her past confronts it twelve years later.

Our main character in this show is Kang-hee, who from the beginning, we see as a loner. She was born and raised in the Motel California, but as we see throughout the course of the series, this has led to some trauma, especially when it comes to her mother. It’s implied she’s mixed with white (I thought her mother was Turkish at first, but then I saw her name and was like no way she is), which adds more to her loner vibe.

But even whens he was living at the Motel California, there’s one person who kept her going: Cheon Yeon-soo. We see they even had a bit of a romantic relationship going on: there’s an early scene that implied to me they slept together right before she ran away from home.

In the present day, Kang-hee is looking for work. She’s trying to get a job in the city as a designer, but no one is taking her seriously. She does eventually land an intern gig, but that doesn’t go well for her. There is something brighter in her future, and she does find her place.

What happens in her workplace is one of the several B plots happening in this show. I would say the focus is Kang-hee coming to terms with her past and trauma, and then her relationship with Yeon-soo specifically.

As mentioned before, it’s been twelve years since she left, but at the funeral of someone important, Kang-hee goes back to her old community. Everyone is whispering about her emergence when she appears at the entryway, but Yeon-soo is happy to see her.

That marks the beginning of their dance throughout the series. It’s hard to walk away from the past, as we see in the beginning, but when it comes to confront you in the face, Kang-hee finds herself going back into old habits and friendships. As she pursues her professional career at the same time, there are a lot of stressors going on.

Overall Thoughts

The female lead in this series is one of the more interesting ones I’ve seen lately. Kang-hee is a character who’s had quite a bit of trauma, and people don’t like her, but she manages to overcome her situation and carve her own unique path. That’s quite the feat, as a lot of female leads in Korean television shows are quite cookie cutter.

The male lead is also someone who has some solid development. He’s fairly quiet, and could serve as a foil for Kang-hee in some ways, but by the time we get to the end he opens up more and is confident. He, too, manages to carve a solid career path for himself.

I liked this series quite a bit! Sometimes I find myself wanting to watch dramas three or five episodes in, but this show I wanted to see through to the end. I don’t review those dramas, and I’m quite picky, so I think this is a solid show if I watched all of it.

Go check it out if you’re interested! You might find it worth it.

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