A kidnapper, a detective, and a kidnapped child. Their combination is by no means unusual. This kidnapper, Kim Myeong-jun (Yoon Kye-sang), goes to great lengths to protect the young girl he kidnapped, Choi Ro-hee (Yuna). Even though he has no choice but to engage in a continuous chase with detective Park Sang-yoon (Park Seong-hoon), who has been chasing them, he heartily says, “I’m sorry.” Detective Park Sang-yoon, who pursues them, eventually understands the kidnapper, Kim Myeong-jun, even as he tries to arrest him. The detective, who tries to look into the actual truth of the case, sees that their relationship is not simply that of a kidnapper and a kidnapped child, even when everyone else assumes that Kim Myeong-jun is a dangerous kidnapper.
The same goes for Ro-hee, the kidnapped child. Ro-hee, who is a genius and is excellent at understanding and responding to situations, actually controls Kim Myeong-jun, who kidnaps her. At the same time, she realizes that Kim Myeong-jun is the only adult who can protect her, resulting in her relying on him for protection and care. This is why the sight of them gathering in one place and collaborating cannot be ordinary. This scene contains a message full of satire that the ENA Wednesday-Thursday Korean drama throws through this special combination. That is a sharp criticism of a world without true adults.
‘The Kidnapping Day’ is based on the story of heartless adults who have sacrificed children for a secret research called the 'Genius Child Project'. Ro-hee was a child who was being used as an experimental subject by her father for the research, and she is a successful “product” of the research. However, Ro-hee's parents were murdered, and Ro-hee, who escaped from the house with no memory, was kidnapped by Kim Myeong-jun, a clumsy kidnapper who was trying to kidnap her. But in reality, he saved her.
The drama traces who murdered Ro-hee's parents and what happened to Ro-hee, showing that some force behind this project supports it. They include people like Jayden (Gam Young-seok), an overseas investment manager who wants to make a lot of money, and Dr. Mo Eun-seon (Seo Jae-hee), who supported this research for her developmentally delayed daughter. They try to kidnap Ro-hee, the successful “product” of the research, as well as find her father’s research report so they can make more genius children like Ro-hee. As a result, Kim Myeong-jun and Ro-hee, who have gradually become closer and form a paternal bond just like father and daughter, run away from their pursuit.
And finally, the true identity of Kim Myeong-jun's wife, Seo Hye-eun (Kim Shin-rok), who was hidden behind all these incidents, is revealed. She grew up in the same orphanage as Kim Myeong-jun and was adopted in place of Kim Myeong-jun by the family that was conducting research for the 'Genius Child Project'. Kim Myeong-jun was originally intended to be adopted, but Hye-eun hid in the car’s trunk to follow him. She managed to get adopted by changing the IQ test paper. However, Hye-eun was eventually dismissed because she failed to achieve results, and decided to manipulate this incident for her revenge.
This points out the difference between a crime that occurs outside the law, such as kidnapping, and a crime that takes place through a legal procedure called adoption but is terminated because it does not serve a specific purpose. In the end, doesn't either side view the child as a purpose rather than as a child? The irony of Kim Myeong-jun, a clumsy kidnapper who just wants Ro-hee, an 11-year-old girl, to be happy like an ordinary child of her age, becomes the opposite of them and becomes the child's only protector, and this critical and satirical point of view is reflected in it.
To put it conversely, this also indirectly shows what kind of situation a person who only wants a child to be happy is pushed into in this calculating, self-interested world without true adults. Kim Myeong-jun ends up being chased by the actual kidnappers. The same goes for an impartial detective like Park Sang-yoon, who tries to understand the truth of the case and protect the child until the end. Despite pressure from his superiors not to investigate further, he continued the investigation and ended up being suspended.
Kim Myeong-jun just happens to become a kidnapper, and Park Sang-yoon is a detective who is no longer able to use his power because he’s suspended. The sight of them working together and fighting to protect a young girl named Rohee makes the drama viewers cheer because they seem like the only real adults left. However, the fact that they are paying a heavy price to protect such innocence is, on the one hand, bittersweet. What a society that can't make even one child happy. Metaphorically speaking, isn't it a distorted self-portrait of our society that pushes people into ruthless competition to make them elite from a young age?
Source: https://www.entermedia.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=31115
Note: You may watch “The Kidnapping Day” on Amazon Prime. At the time of writing, it has aired 10 out of 12 episodes on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 p.m. Singapore time, with the last episode scheduled to be aired next week.
I would recommend you to watch this drama. It’s a combination of multiple genres: drama, light comedy, suspense, mystery, family values, emotion and moral values mixed into one. The chemistry between the kidnapper and the kidnapped girl is particularly sweet, with great performances from both actor Yoon Kye-sang and the very talented child actress Yuna.
