Cleaning Up – We Were Just Inside Cleaning

“Cleaning Up” is a 2022 Korean drama series, with 16 episodes, and categorized as Comedy, Romance, Family, Crime, Office or Workplace; streaming on Disney+/Hulu. This series is a remake of the UK television series of the same name.

SUMMARY: Two cleaning ladies overhear a man sharing trading and investing tips. It’s illegal and he could be arrested for “insider trading”. He might get caught and go to jail. But suppose they overhear his conversations and buy stocks based on that. Is it illegal? They’re cleaning ladies. Technically, they’re not “insiders” and they weren’t sharing the information with others for profit. One cleaning lady feels guilty and scared they will get caught and go to prison. The other cleaning lady is more daring. Her attitude is: “I’m in it now. It’s do or die!” And then there were three (3). A third cleaner overheard them and wanted to get in on it because …??? … she has dreams too.

♦ We’re Not Insiders. We’re Cleaners.

In “Cleaning Up”, at first there are two cleaning ladies.

• One lady, An In-Kyung, is a young woman who dreams of starting her own business as soon as she saves up enough money. She has saved some money, but realistically by the time she has the money saved, she might be too old to get started. Nevertheless, a girl can dream, can’t she?
• The other lady, Eo Yong-Mi, is a single mom. She is taking care of two daughters and is not getting help from anyone, especially not their grandparents. It’s hard to make ends meet. She can’t save money and she surely doesn’t have money to invest. She could say she’s older and wiser than the young woman. But it’s more like she’s desperate not to become destitute and wants a better life for her daughters. Her dreams are practical and loaded with motherly love.

They both work as cleaning ladies at a financial brokerage company and one night Eo Yong-Mi overheard one of the people who work at the company sharing financial information. It’s after hours so it must be a secret phone call. The next day listening to a televised stock market report she realizes that if she had money to invest she would have profited from that conversation she overheard. She approaches An In-Kyung and persuades her to use the money she has saved to invest and promises they will both make money. Eo Yong-Mi plants an eavesdropping device in the man’s office so she can listen to his insider trading tips. She invested An In-Kyung’s savings based on the tip and they made a lot of money!

The two became three. Another cleaning lady, Maeng Su-Ja, didn’t know what was going on but she knew Eo Yong-Mi and An In-Kyung were acting suspiciously. She threatened them and said if they didn’t give her something for her silence she was going to spill the beans. Maeng Su-Ja never had a chance to go on her honeymoon. She’s still married and her son is all grown up. Now her husband says he can’t travel because he’s too old and she should give up on wanting that honeymoon she never got to go on. Sometimes Maeng Su-Ja will take a piece of luggage, go to an airport, and pretend she’s going to travel to … somewhere. After a while, she goes back home to face her dull reality. But no matter what her husband says, she refuses to give up that dream.

Eo Yong-Mi is the leader who is determined to make money even though:

• she knows what the company employee is doing is illegal; and
• someone in that company was arrested for insider trading.

She justifies their investing by saying, they’re cleaning ladies. They aren’t sharing privileged information with anyone. They just happen to overhear a conversation. Besides who would suspect them? They’re just cleaning ladies who are “cleaning up”. But … ??? … and An In-Kyung is wise to ask: But what would happen to them if they did get caught?

Main Characters:

• Eo Yong-Mi (played by Yum Jung-Ah, “Mission: Cross”, “Alienoid 1 and 2”, “SKY Castle”)
• An In-Kyung (played by Jeon So-Min, “Sorry, Not Sorry”)
• Maeng Su-Ja (played by Kim Jae-Hwa, “The Tale of Lady Ok”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.5 out of 10 stars
• Dramabeans: 5.5 out of 10 stars
• Common Sense Media: 3 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is 8 out of 10 stars.

Various reviewers had different “generic” things to say and I agree with most of them. It’s a slow-burn. It’s an underdog tale. The characters are well-developed and relatable. Strong performances. Per K&J Reviews: “an interesting blend of spy drama, suspense, friendship, and family dynamics”.

“Is it illegal insider trading when you’re cleaning up?”  OK. I said that. Joke and pun intended.

But just so a reader does not misunderstand me and think that I am condoning crime:

• “Insider trading” is ILLEGAL. People trade stocks, bonds, or other securities based on information is usually obtained from somebody within the company, who knows of a financial impact BEFORE it becomes available to the general public. Investors with access to this info have an unfair advantage. Insider trading violates securities laws, and undermines the integrity of financial markets, and there are severe legal consequences. That’s why Martha Stewart (and others) went to jail.
  

Insider trading is BAD! OK? But the Korean series “Cleaning Up” was fun and entertaining.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

“Cleaning Up” Ends On Its Highest Ratings Yet As “Alchemy Of Souls” Soars To New All-Time High | Soompi

Crime gets messy in South Korean drama ‘Cleaning Up’ | SBS What’s On

KDrama Review: Cleaning Up | K&J Reviews

TRAILER/TEASER:

KDTeaser TV. “Cleaning Up (Korean Drama) Teaser 1,2 & 3.” YouTube, Video, 7 June 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sGqsnJlOS8.

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