K-drama The Penthouse season three: high society drama spins its wheels, gets into hot water over cultural appropriation

Events have beggared belief to the extent that the never-ending twists have lost some of their edge, with villains out of jail almost as soon as they were in

In a regrettable effort to make things more colourful, the writers have given us a new character – who is a smorgasbord of troubling racial stereotypes

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Lee Ji-ah in a still from The Penthouse season three. Events so far have beggared belief to the extent that the never-ending twists have lost some of their edge.

Published: 8:45pm, 15 Jun 2021Updated: 8:45pm, 15 Jun 2021

Western soap operas typically air for years and, while writers have to find new and inventive ways to top previous highs, the tempo will vary in the interest of longevity.

However, the soap-opera-style shows on prime-time television in South Korea – known as makjang dramas – have much shorter runs and consequently more concentrated highs and a lot less downtime.

Launched last October, high society drama The Penthouse was so successful that it bucked the trend by getting an extra two seasons, the latest of which began airing this month.

Ever since it started, the show has presented some of the most outrageous characters and storylines seen on Korean television, and the writers have sought to top themselves with each new outing.

We only get 12 episodes this season, which for the moment appears to be the last, but they are each on the long side (running over 80 minutes) and they are airing once a week on Fridays as opposed to the usual twice-a-week schedule.